[ti:What Does It Mean To Be 'On the Nose?'] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:08.16]Now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. [00:20.16]Our bodies give us so many expressions. [00:24.00]And today we talk about the facial feature [00:28.00]that sticks out the most...your nose! [00:33.00]Well, unless you are wearing a mask, [00:36.40]which covers the mouth and nose. [00:39.36]But most of the time our noses are noticeable. [00:43.88]You can see them clearly. [00:46.52]And that fact gives us this expression: [00:51.40]"as plain as the nose on your face." [00:55.12]This describes something that is very clear, [00:59.40]easy to see or understand. [01:02.28]It is obvious. [01:06.60]Here is one way to use it. [01:09.16]My friend Marina liked my other friend, Christopher, a lot. [01:15.16]She never told me, but I could tell. [01:18.88]Every time he entered the room she acted differently. [01:23.84]She talked faster and fixed her hair a lot. [01:27.44]And she laughed at every joke he made, [01:31.16]even the ones that were not funny. [01:35.04]So, to me she obviously liked him. [01:39.08]When I asked her about it, she said, "How did you know?" [01:43.44]"Marina, I said, "it's as plain as the nose on your face. [01:49.40]Which means...he probably knows too!" [01:53.28]Her face turned deep red from embarrassment. [01:58.56]Imagine we all have to wear masks [02:01.52]all the time for years and years. [02:05.64]If that happens, this expression might change. [02:10.04]But for now we still use it. [02:13.96]Here is our next expression. [02:16.60]It's an easy one: on the nose. [02:21.08]This expression has two very common meanings. [02:25.32]If something is "on the nose," it is exactly right. [02:32.00]It is accurate. [02:35.20]For example, his guess about the new company succeeding [02:39.88]was right on the nose. [02:42.08]After only a year, it is making a lot of money. [02:47.92]"On the nose" also means something happens [02:51.00]at the exact set time. [02:54.48]For example, Marjorie's work day starts at 10am. [02:59.72]And she arrives to the office every day at 10am on the nose. [03:07.04]But being "on the nose" and on time [03:10.04]doesn't mean you have to do it every day. [03:13.00]It just means you agreed to be somewhere [03:16.68]at a certain time and you are there. [03:21.28]Some word experts say [03:23.64]this usage of "on the nose" comes from radio. [03:29.32]When recording a radio show, [03:31.68]the voice performers are in a recording room. [03:35.40]They are separated from the producers [03:39.08]and sound experts by glass. [03:43.00]Oftentimes, the recording could not be interrupted. [03:46.96]So, if a show was running on time, [03:50.72]the producer would put a finger on his or her nose [03:55.52]to let the performers know. [03:59.60]Here is our last expression. [04:01.72]One thing noses do is smell things. [04:07.28]The nose can help us find food. [04:10.08]Sometimes it can help us detect danger, [04:13.92]like smelling smoke. [04:16.32]This is a valuable ability. [04:20.00]So, if you have a special ability for something, [04:23.72]we can say you "have a nose" for it. [04:27.76]For example, a good detective has a nose for solving crimes. [04:34.28]They can sniff out hidden clues. [04:38.16]To sniff is to breathe in quickly, like this: sniff sniff. [04:43.72]If you have a nose for news, [04:46.40]you are good at finding news stories. [04:49.84]It's like you can sniff out an interesting story. [04:55.56]Many of our listeners definitely have a nose for learning English. [05:01.60]And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories! [05:05.64]Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. [05:09.20]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM