VOA慢速英语2021--Let's 'End on a High Note'

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

To say 2020 was difficult, is probably the understatement of the year.

The coronavirus pandemic turned 2020 into a really tough year. It affected² our lives in many ways and made other serious issues even more difficult to address. There was also social and political unrest in the United States and other places around the world.

All of this added up to one big, stressful year called 2020. In fact, if 2020 were a song, it probably would be filled with low, depressing³ notes.

In English, "low notes" are unpleasant things that happen during an event, any event. So, if something ends on a low note, it ends in an unpleasant way.

For example, once I took a fun vacation. But it ended on a low note. On the last day, all my money was stolen. Then my flight home was delayed. So, I had to sleep in an airport for two days!

Here is another example. A friend of mine used to be a good student. But then something changed. His high school years ended on a low note. He barely⁴ passed his classes and got into a fight with his teacher.

Thankfully, life, music, and English also have high notes!

In English, a "high note" is something pleasant or enjoyable.

So, to end something on a high note is to end it with something pleasant. It can also mean to end something at the best possible point -- for example, at the point when something is most successful.

Anything can be a high note, if you choose it to be.

For example, 2020 was a disaster. But for me it ended on a high note. One cold night in late December, I saw an owl⁵ in a tree near my house. I love owls⁶ but had never seen one so close before! That was a high note for me.

Here is another example. Once I attended a wedding in Siena, Italy. The event was beautiful, the food delicious. After the wedding, I traveled to Rome to visit a friend's mother. She was an older woman with many great stories, and she was a great cook! That trip definitely⁷ had many high notes, but it ended on the highest note!

Hopefully, all of us were able to end 2020 on a high note.

How do we use high and low note? Well, we can end something on a high note. We can also "finish something on a high note." And you can "go out on high note" or "leave on a high note."

Keep in mind, all these examples also work for "low note." But let's keep our attention on the positive!

Practice using these expressions. What was a high note from your 2020?

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.

For this program, let's go out on a high note.

Words in This Story

understatement – n. a statement that makes something seem smaller, less important, etc., than it really is

stressful – adj. full of or causing stress : making you feel worried or anxious

depressing – adj. causing someone to feel sad or without hope : causing depression

barely – adv. almost not

delicious – adj. appealing to one of the bodily senses especially of taste or smell

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 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 depressing   

a.令人沮丧的；令人忧愁的

参考例句：

• Laundromat is really depressing. 自助洗衣店真闷。
• The retrospect was depressing. 回想起来令人沮丧。

4 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

5 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

6 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

7 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。