[ti:It's Time to 'See the Light']
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:08.12]And now, Words and Their Stories,
[00:11.08]from VOA Learning English.
[00:17.32]In many places, the holiday season in December
[00:20.84]can be a magical time.
[00:23.76]During this month, many cultures
[00:26.24]celebrate with festivals of lights.
[00:30.24]From Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Sydney, Australia;
[00:34.68]from Lyon, France to many cities in Japan
[00:38.44]-- lights are used to lift the spirits and to celebrate.
[00:44.44]So, today we will talk about a few expressions
[00:47.88]that use the word "light."
[00:51.20]The first is to be a beacon of light.
[00:55.64]A beacon of light gives hope and happiness to others.
[01:01.00]If you have ever been called a beacon of light,
[01:04.36]take it as a big compliment.
[01:07.96]A person who is a beacon of light
[01:10.88]makes things better for everyone around them.
[01:15.48]A beacon of light can be a person
[01:18.00]who helps guide others to safety,
[01:20.88]much like a lighthouse does for ships and boats.
[01:26.08]These people can even cast light on the darkness in our lives.
[01:31.80]When we cast light on something, we make it better.
[01:36.12]The expression can also mean
[01:39.00]that we explain something more fully
[01:42.00]or expose some unknown parts of an issue or problem.
[01:49.00]Some people like to say,
[01:50.84]"Let me cast a little light on the subject,"
[01:53.84]before they explain something.
[01:57.56]After someone casts light
[02:00.24]on a complex or difficult issue,
[02:03.44]you might begin to see the light.
[02:07.44]If you see the light, you understand something.
[02:11.64]Often, you have realized a difficult truth.
[02:16.48]For example, years ago my friend refused
[02:20.40]to believe that her boyfriend had a drinking problem.
[02:24.20]But when he was arrested for drunk driving,
[02:27.72]she began to see the light.
[02:30.12]She got him help and now he has been
[02:33.00]alcohol-free for many years.
[02:35.92]So, he saw the light, too.
[02:39.68]This expression is very different
[02:42.32]from seeing the light of day
[02:44.92]--although they sound similar.
[02:48.08]When something sees the light of day,
[02:50.48]it is made available to others.
[02:53.56]For example, some people write stories and poems.
[02:58.52]But these works never see the light of day.
[03:02.20]They stay hidden in a desk drawer or notebook.
[03:07.64]To see the light of day can also mean to be born
[03:11.76]or to come into existence.
[03:15.08]Let's say you worked on a big project
[03:17.60]for many months or even years.
[03:21.20]You will probably feel very excited
[03:24.40]when it finally sees the light of day.
[03:28.68]Now, let's talk about "bad light."
[03:31.76]Bad lighting can make even the most beautiful person
[03:36.40]look bad in a picture or video.
[03:39.60]So, it is not surprising that seeing something in a bad light
[03:44.88]means to form a bad opinion of something or someone.
[03:50.52]Sometimes our habits and attitudes
[03:54.00]can be seen in a bad light.
[03:57.64]For example, a scientist was seen in a bad light by her coworkers.
[04:03.20]They said she was not a team player.
[04:07.64]Now, let's hear these some of these expressions used
[04:10.64]in a discussion between two friends.
[04:14.88]A: Wow, you look awful. Are you sick?
[04:19.04]B: No. I haven't slept in a week.
[04:22.80]A: Why? What's wrong?
[04:24.92]B: My roommate started playing the bag pipes.
[04:29.00]They are SO loud. And she plays late at night!
[04:35.76]A: The bag pipes?! Oh, that's too bad.
[04:39.56]Well, have you told her to stop?
[04:41.96]B: No. She's a really nice person.
[04:46.04]So, I don't want her to see me in a bad light.
[04:49.64]I mean, we all do annoying things, right?
[04:53.80]A: Yes. But, we all don't play the bag pipes late at night.
[04:58.44]Look, you need to do something. You need your sleep!
[05:02.76]You could hide her bag pipes. Hide them somewhere
[05:07.16]so they will never see the light of day again!
[05:10.16]B: You are so mean! But you are also right.
[05:15.20]I'm beginning to see the light. I'll say something later.
[05:19.76]But for now (yawn) can I crash on your couch. I'm beat!
[05:28.52]And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.
[05:31.68]Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.
[05:34.56]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA京香2018下载
ENTER NUMBET 0015www.hanjz.com.cn
zllnbw.com.cn
ydrrzk.com.cn
www.te23a.net.cn
51donow.net.cn
fhzdj.com.cn
www.psyentry.com.cn
ecady.com.cn
www.dorjs.com.cn
bubin.com.cn