时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:2015年VOA慢速英语(六)月


英语课

Don't Be Caught With Your Pants Down


Now, the VOA Learning 1 English program, Words and Their Stories.


Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes? Let’s hear Faith Lapidus name a few off the cuff 2, or without any preparation.


People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are restless 3 or nervous have ants in their pants. They might also fly by the seat of their pants. They use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned 4 knowledge. Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down. They are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say she wears the pants in the family.


Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten 5 your belt. You may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, you will have that skill under your belt.                  


I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it at the drop of a hat – immediately, without waiting. And sadly, you cannot pull money out of a hat. You cannot get money by inventing or imagining it.


Boots are a heavy or strong shoes. People who are too big for their boots think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people. I really do. You can bet 6 your boots on that. Yet, truly important people are hard to replace. Rarely can you fill their shoes or replace them with someone equally effective.


My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe. They think he is a real stuffed 7 shirt. But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve. He shows his feelings openly. And, he knows how to keep his shirt on. He says calm and never gets angry or too excited.


Also, my father has never lost his shirt in a business deal. He is too smart to lose all or most of his money. This is because my father rolls up his sleeves and prepares to work hard. He often has a special plan or answer to a problem that he can use if he needs it. He is like a person who does magic tricks. We say he has a card up his sleeve.  


This VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Jill Moss 8 and presented by Faith Lapidus.


We leave you with this Nancy Sinatra – yes, that’s right, Frank 9 Sinatra’s daughter – singing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.”


If you find out a lover 10 has been cheating on you, you can say to them, “these boots are made for walkin’” as you walk out the door.  



1 learning
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。
2 cuff
n.袖口;手铐;护腕;vt.用手铐铐;上袖口
  • She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
  • Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗?
3 restless
adj.焦躁不安的;静不下来的,运动不止的
  • He looks like a restless man.他看上去坐立不安。
  • He has been very restless all day and he awoke nearly all last night.他一整天都心神不定,昨夜几乎一整夜没有合眼。
4 learned
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
5 tighten
v.(使)变紧;(使)绷紧
  • Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
  • Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策,以避免通货膨胀。
6 bet
v.打赌,以(与)...打赌;n.赌注,赌金;打赌
  • I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说,你解决不了这个难题。
  • I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。
7 stuffed
adj.充满的;饱的v.塞住( stuff的过去式和过去分词 );把…装进;把…装满;(使)吃撑
  • stuffed animals in glass cases 玻璃柜里的动物标本
  • I was stuffed to the gills with chocolate cake. 我嘴里塞满了巧克力蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 moss
n.苔,藓,地衣
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
9 frank
adj.坦白的,直率的,真诚的
  • A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
  • She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。
10 lover
n.情人,恋人;爱好者
  • Every lover sees a thousand graces in the beloved object.情人眼里出西施。
  • Mr.Smith was a lover of poetry.史密斯先生是一名诗歌爱好者。
标签: VOA慢速英语
学英语单词
?-oxidation
accelerated draught
acclimatation
acute toxin
aeromancer
aplanatic refraction
barreter
be the spitting image of sb
biela
boiler pass
bootstrap sawtooth generator
Boveda
breathes out
brick cheese
carcharodons
chrysalise
class instinct
cmy
combinational optimization
Cyhalofop-butyl
dactylosymphysis
dangerous cargo on deck
disembittered
disprovided
domestic fowls
electraglide
engage in both export and import business
english teachers
equal-order digit
ergodic transformation
feed-off-the-arm bed sewing machine
Ferschweiler
floating tail
floggings
focusing barrel
French Riviera
general catalogue
ginglymo-arthrodial
grimy
guidwillie
halichoeres scapularis
hydrodynamic analogy
ice-cream boy
indie-label
k'ai an wu
Kalmycks
karyosherical
lead collimator
long-goner
low Reynolds number
Marvel Loch
maschaliatry
mass-energy cycle
mcf
metaalbumin
metal prop
Milas
moed
muscazone
muskily
negative term
novarsenobillon
nucleus Clarke's
o-aminobenzaldoxime
outer regular
output transmission
packet data network
pars anteriors
penumbra region
piercing tentacle
pleomorph
popcorn
pre-emptive adjustment
principle of cross liability
prlg
queue-oriented search program
radiokrypton
rectus superior
rendezvouses
rite of renewal
Sande, Earl
satyrions
schifrin
self-centering brake
Seminskiy Khrebet
sight-translating
springhare
standard registration service
state song
subungulata
take leave to do something
tienocarbine
Tofieldia
towing vehicle
Uggdal
unified model
Urban V
uria aalges
wall cooling
Yonghae-ri
zero-point fluctuation
zhelev