Very Busy People 'Burn the Candle at Both Ends'

 

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language a little more closely².

Often, our expressions come from everyday objects.

Today we talk about a candle. Sometimes we use candles to create a feeling of calm or some other sort of feeling. We call that an ambiance. For example, dinner by candlelight is a lot more romantic than dinner under fluorescent³ lights.

Often candles smell nice, too. We can buy our favorite scents⁴, or kinds of smells. This makes them even more calming.

But candles are useful as well. If the electricity goes out, candles can light a dark night. In the days before electricity, candles were a main source of light for work.

And that brings us to today's expression — "to burn the candle at both ends."

This expression is used several ways.

Usually, it means that we are busy with work but not always. Let's say I spent all of last year working on two very important goals at the same time. Friends could say that I burned my candle at both ends for a whole year. Finally, I got burned out, which means I was really tired.

If we use up all of our energy by leading a busy life with work, friends, and seemingly⁵ endless activities, we can say we are burning the candle at both ends. We are busy from early morning until late at night.

Here is another example. Ever since starting a new job and getting her master's degree, my friend Annette has been burning the candle at both ends. She has been doing a lot.

The expression also appears in creative forms of writing.

In her poem, "Figs⁶ from Thistles: First Fig," poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote about it this way:

My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah, my foes⁷, and oh, my friends -- it gives a lovely light!

Now, let's hear how these two friends use the expression in this short exchange.

Where have you been? I haven't talked to you weeks!

I know. Sorry about that. I got a book deal last month. So, I've been kind of busy with that.

Congratulations. But I thought you were still in school?

I am. That's why I've been burning the candle at both ends for the past...what month is it?

It's February. Wow! You have been busy.

At VOA Learning English, we work really hard to bring you informative⁸ programs. Sometimes we even burn the candle at both the ends to get the job done. Thankfully, though...not every week!

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

romantic –adj. related⁹ to or involving a feeling of love

fluorescent lights –n. lights that get bright when electricity passes through a tube filled with gas

source –n. the cause of something

master's degree –n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after one or two years of additional study following a bachelor's degree

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 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

3 fluorescent   

adj.荧光的，发出荧光的

参考例句：

• They observed the deflections of the particles by allowing them to fall on a fluorescent screen.他们让粒子落在荧光屏上以观察他们的偏移。
• This fluorescent lighting certainly gives the food a peculiar color.这萤光灯当然增添了食物特别的色彩。

4 scents   

n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉

参考例句：

• The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
• The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 seemingly   

adv.从表面上看起来，似乎是

参考例句：

• Seemingly,we can do nothing to prevent this from happening.我们似乎没有什么办法阻止这件事发生。
• For several seemingly interminable seconds no one spoke.有几秒钟没有人讲话，这几秒钟似乎十分漫长。

6 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

7 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

8 informative   

adj.提供资料的，增进知识的

参考例句：

• The adverts are not very informative.这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。
• This intriguing book is both thoughtful and informative.这本引人入胜的书既有思想性又富知识性。

9 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。