'Spoon-feeding' Not Just for Babies

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

Today, we talk about eating and comfort food – those delicious favorites that make you feel good inside. Comfort foods provide a sense of well-being² and are usually the foods that you enjoyed as a child.

Most cultures have one type of comfort food -- soup! Whether hot or cold, meat or vegetable, thick or thin, homemade soup is one of those dishes that can make you feel comforted and happy.

In most cases, you need a spoon to eat soup. Eating it with a knife and fork would not work as well. In fact, when a way of doing something does not work, we can say it is like eating soup with a fork. In other words, it is the wrong tool for the job.

Spoons are the best tool for eating soups and other treats, like ice cream. That is, unless you are very young. Babies cannot hold a spoon by themselves. They are spoon-fed by parents or care-givers.

When we spoon-feed babies, we give them food. But, we do not just push the food into their mouths and down their throats. Babies should be fed slowly and carefully. We don't want them to choke³ or hurt themselves from eating too quickly. You may also have to spoon-feed others who cannot feed themselves.

However, food is not the only thing we spoon-feed. We can also spoon-feed information. Usually that information is very detailed⁴ or hard to understand. So, we must explain it carefully. When explaining something complex⁵ or detailed to others, you may have to spoon-feed the information.

But never tell them that! Nobody wants to be spoon-fed.

This term is a little insulting⁶. It means⁷ that they are unable to understand the information by themselves. It must be given to them in small amounts like a baby eating food.

There is another way to use this expression. When you spoon-feed someone you can also give them so many ideas or opinions that they do not need to think for themselves. So, it's not that the person does not understand. It is that you are spoon-feeding them the information you want them to have.

There is yet another meaning of the word "spoon-feed." It can also mean to "baby" or "spoil⁸" someone by doing too much for them. If someone is always spoon-fed, they will not learn how to take care of themselves.

Now, let's hear how to use the expression "spoon-fed."

The two people in this short conversation are city planners. They have designed a new library. But before they build, they must get the approval⁹ from the local government, the city council¹⁰. And that is where they run into a problem.

Hey, I'm back from the meeting.

So, how did it go? Did the city council approve our plans for the new library?

I don't know.

What do you mean? You went to the meeting, right?

Yes.

And you explained our plans?

Well, yes. But they didn't seem to understand ... any of it. So, they postponed¹² their vote.

Postponed? We don't have time for another postponement¹³. Did you go through all the details of the plan?

Yes.

Did you show them our budget? Our numbers show that it will be cheaper to fix up the old, historic¹⁴ building rather than building a new one. Did you explain how our library will better serve the community?

Stop already! I spoon-fed every detail of our plan to them. But they still decided¹⁵ to postpone¹¹ their decision.

I will set up private meetings with each council member and personally spoon-feed each detail to them... again. Maybe then they will understand.

Um, I doubt it.

Words in This Story

delicious – adj. very pleasant to taste

dish – n. food that is prepared in a particular way

conversation – n. an informal¹⁶ talk involving two people or a small group of people : the act of talking in an informal way

library – n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow

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 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

3 choke   

vt.窒息，阻塞，噎，抑制；vi.窒息，阻塞，噎；n.窒息，噎，阻气门

参考例句：

• He started to choke as he was eating too fast.他吃得太快,噎住了。
• The fish bone in her throat made her choke.她喉咙中的鱼骨使她哽噎。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

6 insulting   

侮辱的

参考例句：

• She was really insulting to me. 她对我实在粗鲁无礼。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

7 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

8 spoil   

n.战利品，赃物，奖品，掠夺，次品；vt.损坏，破坏，溺爱；vi.腐坏，掠夺

参考例句：

• Don't bunch the flowers up so tightly,you'll spoil them.别把花束得这么紧，会弄坏的。
• Overacting will only spoil the effect.表演过火，效果反而不好。

9 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

10 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

11 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

12 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

13 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

14 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 informal   

adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的

参考例句：

• I got an informal reception.我受到了非正式接待。
• The leaders met over informal lunches.领袖们在非正式午餐时进行会晤。