Now, the
VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
(MUSIC)
Americans
use many expressions about fish and fishing.
For example, if something sounds fishy, it may not be true. Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water
when I go to a party and everyone but me is doing the latest dance. When I ask my friend if she likes my new
dress, I would like her to say something nice.
In other words, I am fishing for a compliment. You might tell someone to fish or cut
bait if he repeatedly attempts to do something he is unable to do.
Sometimes a lawyer will ask a witness
many questions in an effort to discover the facts of a court case. This is called going on a fishing
expedition.
Some expressions involve
different kinds of fish. Information
that is used to draw attention away from the real facts of a situation is
called a red herring. If you
want to express a feeling of surprise, you might cry "holy
mackeral!" although we do not know why a mackeral is holy.
Once
I went to a county fair and tried my luck with a game of chance. It was so easy; it was like shooting fish
in a barrel. Then I went on the
fastest, highest and most frightening ride: the roller coaster. At the end of the ride, I did not feel so
well. A friend said I looked green
around the gills.
I grew
up in a small town where everybody knew about my life. There were times when I thought I was living
in a fishbowl. So I moved to
Washington, where things were different.
Now I take the train to work every day
during rush hour when many other people travel to their jobs. Sometimes the train is so crowded that we
are packed in like sardines. Sardines
are tiny fish that lie close to each other in cans.
One
man who works in my office is a cold fish.
He is unfriendly and does not like to join us at office
parties. Another man in my office likes
to enjoy alcoholic drinks at parties.
In fact, you might say he drinks like a fish. We need to help him stop drinking.
Last
week, my sister's car broke down as we were driving to a friend's marriage
ceremony. "This is a fine
kettle of fish," I said. "Now we will be late."
My
sister attends a small college where she is one of the smartest students. She always wants to be a big fish in a
small pond. Recently, my sister
broke up with her boyfriend. I told her
not to worry, she will find another one because there are plenty of other
fish in the sea.
(MUSIC)This VOA Special English program was
written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Barbara
Klein. You can find more WORDS AND
THEIR STORIES at voaspecialenglish.com.