VOA慢速英语--Who Wants Some Candy?

 

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

On this program, we explore common expressions in American English. And today we talk about something many people like to eat – candy!

I want candy! I want candy!

Candy comes in many flavors and textures². Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy and gum.

Hard candies are, well, hard! So, they last a long time.

But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can’t eat eye candy.

Eye candy is a person – man or woman – who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds⁴.

Arm candy is also non-edible candy. It is another term for a good-looking person. In this case, the good-looking person is someone’s date or romantic interest. The two might even link arms to show they are together. That is why we call it “arm candies.”

So, all arm candies are also eye candies, because they must be good-looking. But not all eye candies are arm candies, because they can be alone.

And beware⁵ of someone calling you “arm candy.” It suggests you are only being pursued because of your good looks.

There. I said it. I did not candy coat the truth.

Some people like to eat chocolate candies filled with different flavors like almond, cherry or caramel. (REUTERS/Dave Kaup)

What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don’t directly discuss its bad parts.

For example, let’s say you work in a chocolate factory. You hear your boss accuse a co-worker of stealing some candy. You do not want to make the situation worse. So you tell your colleagues, “I think Louisa will be leaving the chocolate business very soon,” instead of, “Oh Louisa? She is being fired right now.”

Okay, after all this talk about candy you may crave⁶ something sugary. If you do, you can say you have a sweet tooth. People with a sweet tooth love to eat sweets -- not just candy, but also cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream… you name it! If it has sugar, they like to eat it!

Or maybe that is not you. After all, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy or are no longer a child … you can still be called a kid in a candy store.

This expression means a person is very excited and happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!

This expression also suggests the person is acting⁷ in a somewhat childish⁸ and silly way. And he or she does not care!

Talking about children brings us to our last expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy -- mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.

On the other hand, if something is simple and your intentions are sweet, you can say easy as pie or easy as cake.

Now, we talked about those last two expressions in an earlier Words and Their Stories. I used them again because repetition is important when learning a language.

And I’m not going to candy-coat it: You need to practice too.

That brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time … I’m Anna Matteo.

The candy man, the candy man can

The candy man can 'cause he mixes it with love

And makes the world taste good.

Words in This Story

flavor – n. a particular type of taste

texture¹ – n. the way that a food or drink feels in your mouth

taste bud³ – n. one of many small spots on your tongue that give you the ability to taste things

non-edible – adj. not fit to be eaten

romantic – adj. of, relating to, or involving love between two people

pill – n. a small, rounded object that you swallow and that contains medicine, vitamins, etc.

crave – v. to want greatly

intention – n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve : an aim or purpose

1 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

2 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网

3 bud   

vi.发芽，萌芽；n.芽，花蕾

参考例句：

• Some flowers bud their leaves very early in spring.有些花在春季里很早发出叶来。
• A bad habit in a child should be nipped in the bud.应该尽早把孩子的坏习惯改过来。

4 buds   

芽( bud的名词复数 )； 苞； 半开的花； 未长大的叶

参考例句：

• the first buds appearing in spring 春天的初芽
• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring. 柳枝绽青报春来。

5 beware   

vt./vi.谨防，当心

参考例句：

• Beware of the fire.留心火烛。
• Beware of being too impatient with others.注意不要对他人太没有耐心。

6 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 childish   

adj.孩子的，孩子气的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• The little girl spoke in a high childish voice.这个小女孩用尖尖的童声讲话。
• We eventually ran out of patience with his childish behaviour.我们终于对他幼稚的行为忍无可忍。