时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2015年VOA慢速英语(九)月


英语课

Besties, Buds 1, BFFs ... Friends!


Now, the VOA Learning 2 program Words and Their Stories.


Language changes over time. Many words and expressions have changed over the centuries.


But the word “friend” has stayed the same. It is a rare example in the English language. The meaning and usage 3 of “friend” has stayed unchanged for hundreds of years.


Well, that is until 2005.


That was when the social website Facebook started using the word as a verb. Now, you can “friend” someone or “unfriend” them, as the case may be. However, be advised, using friend as a verb only works 4 when talking about Facebook. Of course, that may change some day too.


But for now, the correct word for making friends is the verb “befriend.” For example, you can use a sentence like, “She befriended many Korean students while living in China.”


Speaking of making friends, it is easy to be friendly when things are going well for you. Maybe you have lots of money, a nice house and a fast car. No wonder people like you!


But what happens when you run into trouble? Maybe you lose your job or wreck 5 your fast car? When you run into real trouble and need real help, you quickly learn who your real friends are.


In American English, we often use the saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” When you are in need, the person who helps you through the difficult times is, indeed, a friend.


There is also some debate about this expression. Some think it is not “indeed” but “in deed,” as in a person’s actions. The meaning does not change much, but the expression using “in deed” stresses the action of helping 6 a friend in trouble.


The words tight and thick are often used to describe really strong friendships. If you are tight with someone, you are close with them. For example, I know two people who have been friends since grade school. They are super tight.


A good friend will see you through “thick and thin,” meaning both the good times and the bad.


One of my favorite expressions to describe close friends is to say they are “thick as thieves.” This may sound as if the friends are living a life of crime. Not so. But the saying may have its roots in criminal circles, which gives this expression a somewhat 8 risky 9 feeling.


Some word historians 10 say this expression began in 17th century England within thieving communities. Thieves would often have secret languages to communicate. Today “thick as thieves” describes people who understand, trust and defend one another.


Speaking of crime, we sometimes joke that two people are partners in crime. Again, it doesn’t mean they are actually criminals. This expression means that you always know what the other person is doing.  


Two people do not have to be together all the time to be called two peas in a pod. Peas growing inside a pod are often very similar. So, people who are like peas in a pod have a lot in common.


If two people are always together they are said to be attached at the hip 7, or joined at the hip, even if they are very different from each other.


Some people get along so well, it’s as if they were made to be together. A dated expression that describes this relationship is to go together like a horse and carriage. These days Americans rarely say that. Instead, you might say “they go together like “milk and cookies.” Or you could use other foods that go well together like, “mac-n-cheese,” “salt and pepper,” or “peanut butter and jelly,” which is very American.


But if you do not get along with someone then you are like oil and water. In other words, you don’t mix.


And that brings us to enemies, which will be the subject of another Words and Their Stories.



芽( bud的名词复数 ); 苞; 半开的花; 未长大的叶
  • the first buds appearing in spring 春天的初芽
  • Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring. 柳枝绽青报春来。
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
n.惯用法,使用,用法
  • I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
  • The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
pron.一些,某物;adv.多少,几分
  • The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
  • The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。
adj.有风险的,冒险的
  • It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险,但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
  • He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。
n.历史学家,史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )
  • Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
  • Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
标签: VOA慢速英语
学英语单词
Abies dayuanensis
aboukir
acetylalisol
acoustic navigation system
acoustical insulation board
alkyl metal
all-against-all
anthracology
anti-deteriorant
betwist-mountain
Bilečko Jezero
biological oceanography
birth-control campaigners
bloodworks
boom mic
bucket blade
Cai Lay
casadei
cheapener
checkrows
Classic Triad
coated bulb
Copsychus
crohn's
cubed
Cutaneo
daisy chained priority mechanism
delivering information
electro-deposit copper
english-based
febris recurrens europaea
flux monitors
gallery kiln
Gaussian equation
genus Gavia
Glengarry Ra.
go to school to sb
hamart-
highest possible key value
irenina hydrangeae
isoetid
Kampinda
land use survey
lead splash condenser
limit register
Lionel Hampton
log-lin
low-lying placenta
mean volume diameter
membrane modulus
metalepses
methyl n-undecyl ketone
methymethacrylate
mid-parent
mist-detection instrument
msstic tests
multi-stage method of washing
natural exhaust
new jack swing
Noikohis
nozzle tube lever block
nun's cloth
offset bulb
oncurable
one-piece casting
open wire link
orthographers
overrulest
Passive portfolio
paste reactor
peak temperature
pervestigation
photorelay
physical distancemeter
pinus longaevas
porphyry shell
precision measurement
preconsign
premixed gas
pulls
ranajit
reference fringe
relieve sb of
Rhododendron megeratum
rivieras
rr. musculares (n. femoralis)
Salfit
saline diuretic
scintillation decay time
silver(II) oxide
soft toys
starvation of processes
steam trap (upright bucket type)
Stegi
Stromatoporoidea
thallations
transparent electrode
triggered response
universal electron microscope
war machines
Warmeriville
Wellerellacea