VOA慢速英语20061008a

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Hit: If a Student's Grades Hit Bottom, It Is Time to Hit the BooksBy Frank¹ Beardsley

Broadcast: Sunday, October 08, 2006

Now, Words and Their Stories - a VOA Special English program about American expressions. I'm Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word hit.

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Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. Baseball players hit the ball. Missiles² hit an airplane. A car hits a tree.

Hit also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions. One is hit the road. It means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song, Hit the Road.

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Another common expression is hit the spot. At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a target with an arrow. Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. Now, hitting the spot usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.

Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began, Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces³, that's a lot...

Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. If the price of shares of a stock⁴ hits bottom that might be the time to buy it. Its value can only go up.

A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.

When a student's grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books. Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study. A student might have to tell her friends she can not go with them to the movies because she has to hit the books.

Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student. The father or mother may hit the ceiling when they see the low grades. Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, is violently angry. A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding anniversary⁵.

To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. That is what you use to hit nails into the pieces of wood to hold them together. When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, it goes into the wood perfectly⁶. And when someone says your words or actions hit the nail on the head, he means what you said or did was exactly right.

If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to hit the hay⁷. That expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some people slept on hay in barns⁸ where they kept their farm animals.

Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.

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This VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Frank Beardsley. I'm Rich Kleinfeldt.

1 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• 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。

2 missiles   

导弹( missile的名词复数 )； 投射物

参考例句：

• More than ten missiles were decoyed away from targets. 十多枚导弹受骗未命中目标。
• The angry crowd at the football match threw bottles and other missiles at the players. 愤怒的观众向足球队员丢瓶子和其他东西。

3 ounces   

n.盎司( ounce的名词复数 )；少量，一点儿

参考例句：

• Six ounces of cheese, please. 请称6盎司的乳酪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Xiangzi bought four ounces of liquor and three coppers worth of peanuts. 祥子要了四两白干，三个大子儿的落花生。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

4 stock   

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

参考例句：

• 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。

5 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

8 barns   

n.牲口棚( barn的名词复数 )；（公共汽车、卡车等的）车库；仓房；简陋的大建筑物

参考例句：

• Hurstwood breathed freely when he saw the barns. 当赫斯渥看见车场时，轻松地出了一口气。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Groups of ham actors took the barns by storm like soldiers. 一伙伙的蹩脚演员就象士兵攻占堡垒一样大闹各仓。 来自辞典例句