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| [00:09.885] | Now,the VOA Special English program WORDS |
| [00:14.664] | AND THEIR STORIES. |
| [00:18.129] | Hot is a simple,easily understood word. |
| [00:24.284] | So are most ofthe expressions made with |
| [00:28.242] | the word hot. |
| [00:29.666] | But not always, |
| [00:31.597] | as we shall see. |
| [00:33.527] | The words hot potato,for example, |
| [00:38.855] | give you no idea at |
| [00:40.737] | all to the meaning of the expression, |
| [00:43.224] | hot potato. |
| [00:45.306] | The potato is a popular vegetable in |
| [00:48.909] | the United States |
| [00:51.143] | .Many people like baked potatoes, |
| [00:53.178] | cooked in an oven |
| [00:55.108] | or fire.Imagine trying to carry a hot,baked potato |
| [00:59.583] | in your hand.It would be difficult,even painful, |
| [01:03.445] | to do so. |
| [01:05.530] | Now we are getting close to the meaning of hot potato. |
| [01:10.103] | Some publicly disputed issues are highly emotional. |
| [01:16.708] | The issues must be treated carefully,or they will |
| [01:22.193] | be difficult and painful if an elected official |
| [01:24.935] | has to deal with them.As difficult and painful |
| [01:29.726] | as holding a hot potato. |
| [01:34.652] | One such hot potato is taxes. |
| [01:39.474] | Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for |
| [01:43.86] | a politician.And yet,if taxes are not raised, |
| [01:48.370] | some very popular government programs could be cut. |
| [01:53.244] | And that also can make a politician very unpopular. |
| [01:56.240] | So the questions must be dealt with carefully, |
| [02:01.674] | the same way you would handle any other hot potato. |
| [02:06.392] | Another expression is not so hot.If you ask someone |
| [02:14.822] | how she feels,she may answer "not so hot. |
| [02:20.405] | "What she means is she does not feel well. |
| [02:24.112] | Not so hot also is a way of saying that you do not |
| [02:27.872] | really like something.You may tell a friend that |
| [02:32.695] | the new play you saw last night is not so hot. |
| [02:37.60] | That means you did not consider it a success. |
| [02:41.481] | A hot shot is a person,often a young person, |
| [02:47.17] | who thinks he can do anything.At least he wants to |
| [02:51.180] | try.He is very sure he can succeed.But often |
| [02:55.904] | he fails.The expression was born in the military |
| [03:00.525] | forces. |
| [03:01.235] | A hot shot was a soldier who fired without |
| [03:05.701] | aiming carefully. |
| [03:07.72] | Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger. |
| [03:13.933] | A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead. |
| [03:20.88] | An angry person's neck often becomes red. |
| [03:23.642] | We say he is hot under the collar.You could |
| [03:28.220] | say that your friend is no hothead.But he |
| [03:32.432] | got hot under the collar when someone took his radio. |
| [03:37.55] | In nineteen sixty-three,hot line appeared as a new |
| [03:43.298] | expression. |
| [03:45.481] | The hot line was a direct communications link between |
| [03:49.898] | the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. |
| [03:54.371] | The hot line had an important purpose:to prevent |
| [03:57.974] | accidental war between the two competitors during |
| [04:00.358] | the period known as the Cold War.The American president |
| [04:06.406] | and the Soviet leader were able to communicate |
| [04:09.248] | directly and immediately on the hot line.This helped |
| [04:13.880] | prevent any conflict during an international crisis. |
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