單詞背后的故事

“單詞背后的故事”是一個電臺節(jié)目，通過講故事和舉例子，讓英語學習者更系統(tǒng)地了解到英語習語的意思與用法。當然，要學以致用才能真正掌握這些習語哦。12月是白色的。同學們能從這句話中猜出本期要介紹的習語嗎？對了，就是白花花的雪哦！一起來學習如何形容暴風雪吧！Ready? Go!

Some popular American expressions come from areas of the United States where people experience problems of living in cold winter weather.

Winters in the northern United States are always cold and snowy. Sometimes heavy snow is brought by violent storms with high winds and extremely low temperatures. Americans call these storms 1)blizzards. Blizzards are usually described as blinding. Because no one can see through the blowing snow. Until about 120 years ago， the word “blizzard” had nothing to do with snow. It had several other meanings. One was a sharp blow， like hitting a ball with a stick. Another meaning was a gunshot. A third was any sort of statement or event that was the most extreme of its kind.

An especially violent and heavy snow storm struck the state of Iowa in 1870. The newspaper editor in one small town called the terrible storm a blizzard because it was the worst winter storm in a long time. This use of the word spread across the country in the next few years. Soon， any especially bad winter storm was called a blizzard.

Although no one likes a blizzard， many people love snow. It changes the appearance of everything around us. When snow is falling， the world seems somehow soft， peaceful and quiet. Snow，especially in large amounts， covers everything. But too much snow is a real problem. Heavy， deep snow is difficult to move.

Clearing snow from roads and sidewalks is hard work. Someone who is 2)snowed under has a lot of snow to clear. That expression “snowed under” also has another meaning. Anyone who has too much work to do is snowed under. You might explain to a friend that you cannot see her tonight， because you are snowed under with work. It also is possible to snow someone under with words. The idea is to change someone’s mind by making a great many pleasant but 1 statements or claims. That is a 3)snow job. A boy may use a snow job for example， to try to get a girl to go out with him. The pretty words of his snow job are like the snowflakes that cover the real world around us. However， snow jobs unlike blizzards are easily seen through.

We hope you have enjoyed our attempts to explain some popular American winter expressions. And that wish is no snow job.

1) blizzard 暴風雪。原義指突擊，射擊，過激的言論等。

2) snow under （工作或事情）負擔過重，壓倒

3) snow job 花言巧語