My dictation:
Now the VOA special English program - words and their stories.
Expressions
about water are almostly as common as water itself. But many of the
expressions using water have unpleasent meannings.
The
expression "to be in hot water " is one of them. It is a very old
expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing
extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get "in hot water". When we are in hot water, we are in trouble.It can be any kinds of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.
"Being in deepwater" is almost the same as being in hot water.When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imaging a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you
invest in
stocks without knowing anything
about the
stock market.
"To keep your head above water" is a colorful
expression that meaning staying out of
debt. A company seeks to keep it's head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
"Water over the dam" is another
expression about past event. It is something that it is finished, and it cannot be changed. The
expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she have made. You might tell her to forget
about it, you say it is water over the dam.
Another common
expression" to holdwater" is
about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing
about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container.If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes;if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.
"Throwing coldwater "also is an
expression that deals with ideas or proposles, it
means to not like an idea. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.
This VOA special English program - words and their stories was written by Mellon Christiana. I’m Rich Frankfort.
相关单词：extremely
extremely解释：adv.极其，非常，极度
extremely例句：
The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。
相关单词：invest
invest解释：v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予
invest例句：
I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。
相关单词：stock
stock解释：n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货
stock例句：
The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。
相关单词：stocks
stocks解释：n.（树木等的）干( stock的名词复数 )；公债；家系；家族
stocks例句：
The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse. 经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
They want to unload the stocks on the market. 他们想把股票在市场上抛售掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：debt
debt解释：n.债务，义务，负债状态，罪，过失
debt例句：
The man was pressed to pay off his debt.那人被逼还债。
The firm had to charge off the debt as hopeless.公司只得把那笔没希望要回的债务注销。
相关单词：means
means解释：n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富
means例句：
That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。
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