| Song | Colors |
| Artist | 英语听力 |
| Album | VOA慢速英语：词汇典故 |
| [00:10.00] | Now, the VOA Special English program |
| [00:15.50] | WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
| [00:18.34] | Every people has its own way of saying things, |
| [00:23.39] | its own special expressions. |
| [00:26.53] | Many everyday American expressions |
| [00:30.26] | are based on colors. |
| [00:32.75] | Red is a hot color. |
| [00:36.14] | Americans often use it to express heat. |
| [00:40.57] | They may say they are red hot |
| [00:44.30] | about something unfair. |
| [00:46.24] | When they are red hot |
| [00:48.44] | they are very angry about something. |
| [00:51.37] | The small hot tasting peppers |
| [00:55.27] | found in many Mexican foods are called red hots |
| [00:59.20] | for their color and their fiery taste. |
| [01:02.48] | Fast loud music is popular with many people. |
| [01:07.71] | They may say the music is red hot, |
| [01:11.64] | especially the kind called Dixieland jazz. |
| [01:15.78] | Pink is a lighter kind of red. |
| [01:20.11] | People sometimes say they are in the pink |
| [01:24.40] | when they are in good health. |
| [01:26.34] | The expression was first used in America |
| [01:30.32] | at the beginning of the twentieth century. |
| [01:33.06] | It probably comes from the fact |
| [01:36.34] | that many babies are born with a nice pink color |
| [01:40.33] | that shows that they are in good health. |
| [01:43.22] | Blue is a cool color. |
| [01:46.65] | The traditional blues music in the United States |
| [01:51.48] | is the opposite of red hot music. |
| [01:54.22] | Blues is slow, sad and soulful. |
| [01:59.06] | Duke Ellington and his orchestra |
| [02:02.34] | recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo |
| [02:05.03] | – about the deep blue color, indigo. |
| [02:08.77] | In the words of the song: |
| [02:10.86] | "You ain't been blue |
| [02:13.75] | till you've had that Mood Indigo." |
| [02:16.29] | Someone who is blue is very sad. |
| [02:20.37] | The color green is natural for trees and grass. |
| [02:26.34] | But it is an unnatural color for humans. |
| [02:30.23] | A person who has a sick feeling stomach |
| [02:33.97] | may say she feels a little green. |
| [02:36.96] | A passenger on a boat |
| [02:40.88] | who is feeling very sick from high waves |
| [02:43.37] | may look very green. |
| [02:45.05] | Sometimes a person may be upset |
| [02:49.96] | because he does not have something |
| [02:52.40] | as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. |
| [02:56.19] | That person may say he is green with envy. |
| [03:01.01] | Some people are green with envy |
| [03:04.60] | because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. |
| [03:08.49] | Dollars are called greenbacks because that is |
| [03:12.82] | the color of the back side of the paper money. |
| [03:15.64] | The color black is used often in expressions. |
| [03:20.66] | People describe a day in which everything |
| [03:24.05] | goes wrong as a black day. |
| [03:26.63] | The date of a major tragedy |
| [03:29.87] | is remembered as a black day. |
| [03:32.75] | A blacklist is illegal now. |
| [03:36.64] | But at one time, some businesses refused |
| [03:40.42] | to employ people who were on a blacklist |
| [03:43.65] | for belonging to unpopular organizations. |
| [03:46.59] | In some cases, colors describe a situation. |
| [03:51.37] | A brown out is an expression |
| [03:54.80] | for a reduction in electric power. |
| [03:57.09] | Brown outs happen when there is |
| [04:00.33] | too much demand for electricity. |
| [04:02.43] | The electric system is unable to offer |
| [04:05.56] | all the power needed in an area. |
| [04:07.05] | Black outs were common during World War Two. |
| [04:11.59] | Officials would order all lights in a city |
| [04:15.32] | turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes |
| [04:18.46] | to find a target in the dark of night. |
| [04:21.45] | (MUSIC) |
| [04:28.91] | I'm Warren Scheer. Listen again next week |
| [04:32.35] | for another WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program |
| [04:35.69] | in Special English on the Voice of America. |
| [00:10.00] | Now, the VOA Special English program |
| [00:15.50] | WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
| [00:18.34] | Every people has its own way of saying things, |
| [00:23.39] | its own special expressions. |
| [00:26.53] | Many everyday American expressions |
| [00:30.26] | are based on colors. |
| [00:32.75] | Red is a hot color. |
| [00:36.14] | Americans often use it to express heat. |
| [00:40.57] | They may say they are red hot |
| [00:44.30] | about something unfair. |
| [00:46.24] | When they are red hot |
| [00:48.44] | they are very angry about something. |
| [00:51.37] | The small hot tasting peppers |
| [00:55.27] | found in many Mexican foods are called red hots |
| [00:59.20] | for their color and their fiery taste. |
| [01:02.48] | Fast loud music is popular with many people. |
| [01:07.71] | They may say the music is red hot, |
| [01:11.64] | especially the kind called Dixieland jazz. |
| [01:15.78] | Pink is a lighter kind of red. |
| [01:20.11] | People sometimes say they are in the pink |
| [01:24.40] | when they are in good health. |
| [01:26.34] | The expression was first used in America |
| [01:30.32] | at the beginning of the twentieth century. |
| [01:33.06] | It probably comes from the fact |
| [01:36.34] | that many babies are born with a nice pink color |
| [01:40.33] | that shows that they are in good health. |
| [01:43.22] | Blue is a cool color. |
| [01:46.65] | The traditional blues music in the United States |
| [01:51.48] | is the opposite of red hot music. |
| [01:54.22] | Blues is slow, sad and soulful. |
| [01:59.06] | Duke Ellington and his orchestra |
| [02:02.34] | recorded a famous song Mood Indigo |
| [02:05.03] | about the deep blue color, indigo. |
| [02:08.77] | In the words of the song: |
| [02:10.86] | " You ain' t been blue |
| [02:13.75] | till you' ve had that Mood Indigo." |
| [02:16.29] | Someone who is blue is very sad. |
| [02:20.37] | The color green is natural for trees and grass. |
| [02:26.34] | But it is an unnatural color for humans. |
| [02:30.23] | A person who has a sick feeling stomach |
| [02:33.97] | may say she feels a little green. |
| [02:36.96] | A passenger on a boat |
| [02:40.88] | who is feeling very sick from high waves |
| [02:43.37] | may look very green. |
| [02:45.05] | Sometimes a person may be upset |
| [02:49.96] | because he does not have something |
| [02:52.40] | as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. |
| [02:56.19] | That person may say he is green with envy. |
| [03:01.01] | Some people are green with envy |
| [03:04.60] | because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. |
| [03:08.49] | Dollars are called greenbacks because that is |
| [03:12.82] | the color of the back side of the paper money. |
| [03:15.64] | The color black is used often in expressions. |
| [03:20.66] | People describe a day in which everything |
| [03:24.05] | goes wrong as a black day. |
| [03:26.63] | The date of a major tragedy |
| [03:29.87] | is remembered as a black day. |
| [03:32.75] | A blacklist is illegal now. |
| [03:36.64] | But at one time, some businesses refused |
| [03:40.42] | to employ people who were on a blacklist |
| [03:43.65] | for belonging to unpopular organizations. |
| [03:46.59] | In some cases, colors describe a situation. |
| [03:51.37] | A brown out is an expression |
| [03:54.80] | for a reduction in electric power. |
| [03:57.09] | Brown outs happen when there is |
| [04:00.33] | too much demand for electricity. |
| [04:02.43] | The electric system is unable to offer |
| [04:05.56] | all the power needed in an area. |
| [04:07.05] | Black outs were common during World War Two. |
| [04:11.59] | Officials would order all lights in a city |
| [04:15.32] | turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes |
| [04:18.46] | to find a target in the dark of night. |
| [04:21.45] | MUSIC |
| [04:28.91] | I' m Warren Scheer. Listen again next week |
| [04:32.35] | for another WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program |
| [04:35.69] | in Special English on the Voice of America. |