听碎 VOA
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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES

Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

各国人民都有自己说话的方式，有自己独特的表达。许多日常的美语表达都与色彩相关。

Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

红色(red)是一种暖色。美国人通常用它来表达强烈的情感。遇到不公正的事，他们也会说 red hot。此时，他们是在说自己非常生气。许多墨西哥食物中所用的小辣椒因其颜色和火辣的味道被叫做“red hots”。节奏快音量大的音乐深受大家喜爱。人们会说这类音乐“red hots”很劲爆，特别是迪克西蓝爵士乐

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that
shows that they are in good health.

粉色(pink)是一种浅红色。人们会用“in the pink”来表达自己身体健康。在二十世纪初这个表达第一次在美国被使用。这可能是因为许多婴儿
出生时皮肤呈健健康康的粉红色。

Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red-hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke
Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: “You
ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.” Someone who is blue is very sad.

蓝色(blue)是一种冷色调。美国传统的蓝调音乐和热烈奔放的音乐截然相反。蓝调音乐舒缓、悲伤、感情深切。艾灵顿公爵同他的管弦乐队录制了一首著名的关于靛蓝色的歌曲 Mood Indigo。歌词中唱到“只有经历过Mood Indigo，才算真正理解悲伤”。一个人 blue，说明他非常悲伤。