VOA慢速英语2014 Hold Up or Held Up?

 

Hold Up or Held Up? 

Now, Words and Their Stories, a VOA Special English program about American expressions.

I’m Rich Kleinfeldt with expressions made using the word “hold.”

“Can’t hold a candle to” is a popular expression. It is from the time before electricity, when people used candles for light. Someone who lived in a big house would have a servant light his way by holding a candle. The expression meant that the person who cannot hold a candle to you is not fit even to be your servant. Now, it means such a person cannot compare or compete. In the following song, singer Dolly Parton tells her new love that her old flames, her old lovers¹, cannot compare with him…

Another expression is “hold your tongue.” It means to be still and not talk. “Hold your tongue” is not something you would tell a friend. But a parent or teacher might use the expression to quiet a noisy child.

“Hold out” is an expression one hears often in sports reports and labor² news. It means to refuse to play or work. Professional football and baseball players “hold out” if their team refuses to pay them what they think they are worth. Members of labor unions “hold out” and refuse to work until they get the work agreement they want.

The expression “hold up” has several different meanings. One is a robbery³. A man with a gun may say, “This is a hold up. Give me your money.” Another meaning is to delay. A driver late for work may tell his boss, “I was held up by heavy traffic.” Someone who was robbed on the way to work might say, “Sorry, boss, I was held up by a hold up.”

Still another meaning of the expression is for a story to be considered true after an investigation⁴. The same driver late for work could say, “My boss did not believe a hold up held me up. But the police confirmed what I said, so my story held up.”

“Hold on” is another expression. Often it means wait or stop. As you leave for school, your brother may say, “Hold on, you forgot your book.”

“Hold on” is used to ask a telephone caller to wait and not hang up his telephone. If you call a library to ask for a book, the librarian might say, “Hold on while I look for it.”

Our final expression is “hold the line.” That means to keep a problem or situation from getting worse -- to hold steady. For example, the president may say he will “hold the line on taxes.” He means there will be no increase in taxes.

Now, I must “hold the line” on this program -- I have no more time left today.

 

This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Frank⁵ Beardsley.

1 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 robbery   

n.抢劫；抢劫案

参考例句：

• A man is being questioned in connection with the robbery.一名男子就那起抢劫案接受查问。
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。