How to Be a Good Egg and the Salt of the Earth

Song How to Be a Good Egg and the Salt of the Earth
Artist 英语听力
Album VOA慢速英语：词汇典故

Lyrics

[00:00.100] Now, the VOA
[00:12.310] Special English program
[00:14.600] WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:16.940] We present more
[00:18.280] expressions about food.
[00:20.420] They are from Elenir Scardueli,
[00:24.050] a listener in Brazil.
[00:25.750] My mother always told us
[00:28.490] there is no use crying
[00:30.880] over spilled milk.
[00:32.720] That means you should not
[00:35.160] get angry when something
[00:36.610] bad happens
[00:37.810] and cannot be changed.
[00:39.700] People said my mother
[00:41.890] was a good egg.
[00:43.430] She would always
[00:44.930] help anyone in need.
[00:46.720] We never had to walk
[00:48.710] on eggshells around her.
[00:50.650] We did not have to be careful
[00:52.650] about what we said or did
[00:54.690] because she never got angry at us.
[00:57.770] She also told us you have to
[01:01.460] break some eggs to make an omelet.
[01:04.300] This means you have to do
[01:07.090] what is necessary to move forward.
[01:09.680] My mother believed
[01:11.870] you are what you eat.
[01:13.860] A good diet is important
[01:16.550] for good health.
[01:17.790] She would always give us
[01:19.980] nutritious food.
[01:21.220] She liked serving us meat
[01:24.010] and potatoes for dinner.
[01:25.700] Meat and potatoes can also mean
[01:29.340] the most important part of something.
[01:31.680] It describes someone
[01:34.160] who likes simple things.
[01:36.000] Here is another expression
[01:38.440] about meat: one man's meat
[01:41.280] is another man's poison.
[01:43.170] In other words, one person might
[01:46.650] like something very much
[01:48.170] while another person
[01:50.210] might hate the same thing.
[01:51.900] My father was also a good
[01:56.030] and honest person.
[01:57.220] People said he was the salt
[02:00.170] of the earth.
[02:01.610] He would never pour salt
[02:03.650] on a wound, or make someone
[02:05.740] feel worse about something
[02:08.080] that was already
[02:09.630] a painful experience.
[02:11.270] However, sometimes
[02:13.960] he told us a story that
[02:16.540] seemed bigger than life.
[02:18.190] So we had to take it
[02:21.430] with a grain of salt.
[02:23.020] That is, we could not
[02:25.520] believe everything he told us.
[02:27.690] My husband has a good job.
[02:30.980] He makes enough money
[02:33.270] to support our family.
[02:34.910] So we say he brings home the bacon.
[02:38.990] He can cut the mustard,
[02:41.590] or do what is expected of him at work.
[02:45.520] It is easy to find my husband
[02:48.350] in a crowd.
[02:49.310] He stands almost two meters tall.
[02:52.440] He is a tall drink of water.
[02:55.430] I take the train to work.
[02:58.420] It is not a pleasant ride
[03:00.870] because the train
[03:02.310] can be full of people.
[03:04.100] It is so crowded that
[03:07.190] we are packed like sardines
[03:08.680] – just like small fish in a can.
[03:12.010] My supervisor at work
[03:16.390] is sometimes out to lunch.
[03:18.730] She is out of touch
[03:21.120] and does not always know
[03:23.610] what is going on in our office.
[03:26.300] Yet she is right about one thing:
[03:29.330] there is no such thing
[03:31.680] as a free lunch.
[03:33.670] Something may appear
[03:36.210] to be free of charge,
[03:37.900] but there may be a hidden cost.
[03:40.890] When we fail to see problems
[03:45.390] at work, my supervisor tells us
[03:48.880] to wake up and smell the coffee.
[03:51.820] We need to pay more attention
[03:54.660] and fix the problem.
[03:56.410] I once made a big mistake
[04:00.060] at the office and felt foolish.
[04:02.300] I had egg on my face.
[04:04.190] Over the weekend,
[04:06.180] my friend invited me to watch
[04:09.110] a football game on television.
[04:10.810] But I do not like football.
[04:14.100] It is not my cup of tea.
[04:16.690] We hope this program
[04:19.680] has given you food for thought,
[04:22.070] that is, something to think about.
[04:24.960] (MUSIC)

Pinyin

[00:00.100] Now, the VOA
[00:12.310] Special English program
[00:14.600] WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:16.940] We present more
[00:18.280] expressions about food.
[00:20.420] They are from Elenir Scardueli,
[00:24.050] a listener in Brazil.
[00:25.750] My mother always told us
[00:28.490] there is no use crying
[00:30.880] over spilled milk.
[00:32.720] That means you should not
[00:35.160] get angry when something
[00:36.610] bad happens
[00:37.810] and cannot be changed.
[00:39.700] People said my mother
[00:41.890] was a good egg.
[00:43.430] She would always
[00:44.930] help anyone in need.
[00:46.720] We never had to walk
[00:48.710] on eggshells around her.
[00:50.650] We did not have to be careful
[00:52.650] about what we said or did
[00:54.690] because she never got angry at us.
[00:57.770] She also told us you have to
[01:01.460] break some eggs to make an omelet.
[01:04.300] This means you have to do
[01:07.090] what is necessary to move forward.
[01:09.680] My mother believed
[01:11.870] you are what you eat.
[01:13.860] A good diet is important
[01:16.550] for good health.
[01:17.790] She would always give us
[01:19.980] nutritious food.
[01:21.220] She liked serving us meat
[01:24.010] and potatoes for dinner.
[01:25.700] Meat and potatoes can also mean
[01:29.340] the most important part of something.
[01:31.680] It describes someone
[01:34.160] who likes simple things.
[01:36.000] Here is another expression
[01:38.440] about meat: one man' s meat
[01:41.280] is another man' s poison.
[01:43.170] In other words, one person might
[01:46.650] like something very much
[01:48.170] while another person
[01:50.210] might hate the same thing.
[01:51.900] My father was also a good
[01:56.030] and honest person.
[01:57.220] People said he was the salt
[02:00.170] of the earth.
[02:01.610] He would never pour salt
[02:03.650] on a wound, or make someone
[02:05.740] feel worse about something
[02:08.080] that was already
[02:09.630] a painful experience.
[02:11.270] However, sometimes
[02:13.960] he told us a story that
[02:16.540] seemed bigger than life.
[02:18.190] So we had to take it
[02:21.430] with a grain of salt.
[02:23.020] That is, we could not
[02:25.520] believe everything he told us.
[02:27.690] My husband has a good job.
[02:30.980] He makes enough money
[02:33.270] to support our family.
[02:34.910] So we say he brings home the bacon.
[02:38.990] He can cut the mustard,
[02:41.590] or do what is expected of him at work.
[02:45.520] It is easy to find my husband
[02:48.350] in a crowd.
[02:49.310] He stands almost two meters tall.
[02:52.440] He is a tall drink of water.
[02:55.430] I take the train to work.
[02:58.420] It is not a pleasant ride
[03:00.870] because the train
[03:02.310] can be full of people.
[03:04.100] It is so crowded that
[03:07.190] we are packed like sardines
[03:08.680] just like small fish in a can.
[03:12.010] My supervisor at work
[03:16.390] is sometimes out to lunch.
[03:18.730] She is out of touch
[03:21.120] and does not always know
[03:23.610] what is going on in our office.
[03:26.300] Yet she is right about one thing:
[03:29.330] there is no such thing
[03:31.680] as a free lunch.
[03:33.670] Something may appear
[03:36.210] to be free of charge,
[03:37.900] but there may be a hidden cost.
[03:40.890] When we fail to see problems
[03:45.390] at work, my supervisor tells us
[03:48.880] to wake up and smell the coffee.
[03:51.820] We need to pay more attention
[03:54.660] and fix the problem.
[03:56.410] I once made a big mistake
[04:00.060] at the office and felt foolish.
[04:02.300] I had egg on my face.
[04:04.190] Over the weekend,
[04:06.180] my friend invited me to watch
[04:09.110] a football game on television.
[04:10.810] But I do not like football.
[04:14.100] It is not my cup of tea.
[04:16.690] We hope this program
[04:19.680] has given you food for thought,
[04:22.070] that is, something to think about.
[04:24.960] MUSIC