VOA慢速英语2021--Let's Talk About Our Shadow

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

Let's start today's program with a riddle².

What follows you all day long, but when the night or rain comes, it is gone?

If you said your shadow, you are right!

This dark, flat image of yourself can seem huge and threatening, although you know it holds no power. But that image helps to explain this saying: someone is afraid of their own shadow.

We use this expression to describe someone who is afraid of everything, even very small things. So, this expression is a little bit of an insult³.

First let's hear two friends use this expression.

Hey, can you help me with something? I need to plant some flowers at a grave⁴, but I need to do it tonight.

That's a strange request and usually I say "yes" to those. But I'm busy tonight. What don't you ask Beth?

Beth? Are you serious?

What's wrong with Beth?

Beth is afraid of her own shadow! There is no way she is going to help me plant flowers at night in a cemetery⁵.

Good point. Okay, I can move some things around and help. What time should I meet you at the cemetery?

Midnight.

Midnight? At the cemetery? Now I'm feeling afraid of my own shadow.

In English, a shadow can also be considered a weak form of ourselves. So, when someone is a weaker version⁶ of what they used to be, we can say they are a "shadow of their former self."

On the other hand, a person who is "larger than life" casts a big shadow. In this case, the shadow is not from their actual bodies but from their personality and successes. To "cast" in this case means to send something out or forward.

Children of very successful people often have problems. They "live in the shadow" of their parents and can feel not successful by comparison⁷. We could also say that the successes of the parents "cast a shadow" over the lives of the children.

Something else that can cast a shadow is our sins⁹ – actions considered to be bad. Here is another expression "old sins cast long shadows."

Think about your shadow on a sunny day. The shadow you cast can be long and far-reaching. The same can be said for our past mistakes and sins. They can reach far into the future. They affect our present-day situation.

So, the saying "old sins cast long shadows" means that the wrong things we do early in our lives can have long-term effects.

I like to read mysteries. And often, the sins of one person comes back to cause them great problems. In one mystery, a jewel thief double-crossed her partner. She kept the jewels they stole together for herself. She changed her name and moved to a quiet English village. She thought she had gotten away with it. But her partner in crime found her ... and eventually so did the police. In the end, they were both arrested. When the police came to take the jewel thief away, she said, "How did you find me? My crime was so long ago." The detective answered, "Old sins cast long shadows."

"Old sins cast long shadows" also can be used in another way. It can be used to talk about other people's sins and how they affect us. It means that sometimes people suffer from the sins of others.

As far as usage¹⁰, please note that the verb "cast" is often used with shadow and shadow expressions.

Words in This Story

riddle –n. a puzzling question to be solved or answered by guessing

shadow –n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light

grave –n. a burial place

cemetery –n. a burial ground

former –adj. coming before in time

cast –v. to send or direct (something) in the direction of someone or something

sin⁸ –n. an action that is or is felt to be bad

double-crossed –v. an act of betraying¹¹ or cheating an associate

detective –n. a police officer whose job is to find information about crimes that have occurred and to catch criminals

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 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

3 insult   

vt.侮辱，凌辱；n.侮辱的言词或行为

参考例句：

• You will insult her if you don't go to her party. 你要是不去参加她举办的聚会，就对她太无礼了。
• I can't sit down with that insult.我不能忍受那种侮辱。

4 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

5 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

6 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

7 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

8 sin   

n.罪，罪孽，过失；vi.犯罪，违反

参考例句：

• It's a sin to waste food.浪费食品是一种罪过。
• It's a sin to be indoors on holiday.假期中待在家里实在是罪过。

9 sins   

n.违背宗教[道德原则]的恶行( sin的名词复数 )；罪恶，罪孽；过错，罪过；愚蠢的事，可耻的事v.犯罪，犯过错( sin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Greed is one of the seven deadly sins . 贪婪是七罪宗之一。
• They had confessed their sins and done their penance. 他们已经告罪并做了补赎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

11 betraying   

对…不忠( betray的现在分词 )； 背叛； 出卖； 泄露

参考例句：

• For years they had been betraying state secrets to Russia. 他们多年来一直在向俄罗斯泄露国家机密。
• Don't try to trick me with words into betraying the secret. 别拿话来诈我。