[ti:Down to Earth]
[ar:Warren Scheer]
[al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more...
[00:09.94]Now, the VOA Special English program
[00:13.79]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:16.65]Every week at this time,
[00:18.75]we tell about popular American words and expressions.
[00:24.10]Some of these are very old.
[00:26.90]Some are new.
[00:29.00]Together, they form the living speech of the American people.
[00:34.65]Today we tell about the expression "down to earth."
[00:40.05]Down to earth means being open and honest.
[00:45.07]It is easy to deal with someone who is down to earth.
[00:49.22]A person who is down to earth is a pleasure to find.
[00:54.26]He or she accepts other people as equals.
[00:59.60]A down to earth person is the opposite of someone
[01:04.21]who acts important or proud.
[01:07.12]Down to earth people could be important members of society.
[01:12.77]But they do not consider themselves
[01:15.86]to be better than others who are less important.
[01:19.96]They do not let their importance "go to their heads."
[01:24.51]Someone who lets something go to his head
[01:28.35]feels he is better than others. 
[01:31.30]He has a "big head."
[01:34.14]A person who is filled with his own importance
[01:38.21]and pride is said to have "his nose in the air."
[01:43.81]Often the person who has a big head
[01:47.00]and his nose in the air has no reason to feel better than others.
[01:53.36]He surely is the opposite of someone who is down to earth.
[01:58.76]Americans use another expression
[02:02.20]that is similar in some ways to down to earth.
[02:06.15]The expression is "both feet on the ground."
[02:10.60]Some one with both feet on the ground
[02:13.70]is a person with a good understanding of reality.
[02:18.21]She has what is called "common sense."
[02:22.11]She may have dreams.
[02:24.42]But she does not allow them
[02:26.78]to block her understanding of what is real.
[02:30.77]The opposite kind of person is one who has his "head in the clouds."
[02:37.27]Someone with his head in the clouds is a person
[02:41.67]whose mind is not on what is happening in real life.
[02:46.17]Such a person may be called a "daydreamer."
[02:50.77]Sometimes a person with his head in the clouds
[02:54.47]can be brought back to reality.
[02:57.41]Sharp words from a teacher, for example,
[03:01.26]can usually get a daydreaming student to put "both feet on the ground."
[03:07.07]The person who is down to earth usually has both feet on the ground.
[03:13.61]But the opposite is not always true.
[03:17.72]Someone with both feet on the ground
[03:20.81]may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down to earth.
[03:27.91]When we have both our feet firmly on the ground,
[03:32.62]and when we are down to earth we do not have our noses in the air.
[03:38.72]We act honestly and openly to others.
[03:42.77]Our lives are like the ground below us ¨C solid and strong.
[03:49.28](MUSIC)
[03:59.82]This Special English program was written by David Jarmul.
[04:03.92]I'm Warren Scheer.
[04:06.17]Listen again next week at this time for another
[04:11.61]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program on the Voice of America.
[04:16.36]Go to 51voa.com for more...