VOA慢速英语2018--The Good and the Bad of Rain and Clouds

 

Now, the VOA Learning¹ English program Words and Their Stories.

On this program we explore common words and expressions in American English.

Some are very common. For example, I'm sure that most of you have heard the expression "raining cats and dogs." We use it when it is raining very, very hard. In other words, when it is pouring!

Now, we have another useful expression about hard rain: "When it rains, it pours!" This means that when something bad happens, other bad things usually happen at the same time. We often use this saying after someone describes a lot of bad things, one after the other, like in this example.

Boy, my sister is really having a hard time these days.

Why? What’s wrong?

First, someone stole her car. Then she broke her arm in a biking accident and a falling tree cut a hole in her house – all in one week!

That is one unlucky week. You know what they say: When it rains, it pours.

When using this expression, know that it can be helpful in any situation. You can say it to your best friend or to your employer². Also, we often say it in a sing-song way, like this – “When it rains … it pours.”

Now, the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that English speakers use this idiom for a series of bad things. However, other websites say you can also use it to describe many good things. While I have heard it used to describe many good things, more often than not, the "rain" in this expression represents bad things.

So, even though we mostly use "When it rains, it pours" for bad situations, you can also use it in good ones. However, we only use the next one in bad times.

If a person is under a cloud, they are thought to have done something bad or dishonorable. A person might even be a under a certain type of cloud, such as a cloud of suspicion³. If you are living under a cloud of suspicion, other people believe that you have done something wrong.

But, we use this expressions for companies and organizations as well – not just people. For example, currently⁴ many scandals⁵ surround some women’s gymnastic organizations and some universities in the United States. They are under a cloud of suspicion.

However, if you add a few extra words to the phrase, the meaning changes greatly. If I am living under a dark cloud, it means I am depressed⁶ and sad all the time. We can make this phrase even more descriptive by saying "living under the dark cloud of depression" or "living under the dark cloud of poverty." So, you see -- there are different types of dark clouds you can live under.

But even people for people living under a dark cloud, there is hope. There is always hope. And that brings us to our last expression: Every cloud has a silver lining⁷.

This expression means there is always something hopeful in even the most difficult or unhappy situation. A silver lining on a cloud shows that the sun is behind it. Even a really terrible, bad event may produce something happy or hopeful.

For example, let's say a friend of yours is in a car crash. She is not badly hurt but her car is too damaged to fix. When the tow⁸ truck driver comes to take her car off the road, she starts talking to him. They find out that they share a love of old cars. So, they plan to meet the following weekend at a car show. Soon they become great friends. When she tells this story to her friends and family, they often say the same thing: Every cloud has a silver lining!

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories! I'm Anna Matteo.

Words In This Story

depressed – adj. feeling sad

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• 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 employer   

n.雇用方，雇主

参考例句：

• My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
• His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。

3 suspicion   

n.猜疑，怀疑；怀疑，嫌疑

参考例句：

• There was just a suspicion of light in the east. 东方刚刚泛白。
• I confess to some suspicion of your honesty.我承认对你的诚实有所怀疑。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 scandals   

丑事( scandal的名词复数 )； 流言蜚语； 闲话； 诽谤

参考例句：

• Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。
• a series of sex scandals 一系列性丑闻

6 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

7 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

8 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。