Words and Their Stories: If a Student's Grades Hit Bottom, It Is Time to Hit the Books
学个词:kick-off Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - a VOA Special English program about American
expressions. I'm Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word hit.
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Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. Baseball players hit the ball. Missiles hit an
airplane. A car hits a tree.
Hit also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions. One is hit the road. It
means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song, "Hit the Road."
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Another common expression is hit the spot. At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a
target with an arrow. Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. Now, hitting the spot
usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.
Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot,
twelve full ounces, that's a lot..."
Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. Something that has hit bottom can go no lower.
If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom that might be the time to buy it. Its value can
only go up.
A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.
When a student's grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books. Hit the books is another way to
saying it is time to study. A student might have to tell her friends she can not go with them to
the movies because she has to hit the books.
Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student. The father or mother
may hit the ceiling when they see the low grades. Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the
room, is violently angry. A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding
anniversary.
To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. That is what you use to hit nails into the
pieces of wood to hold them together. When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, it
goes into the wood perfectly. And when someone says your words or actions hit the nail on the
head, he means what you said or did was exactly right.
If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to hit the hay. That
expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some
people slept on hay in barns where they kept their farm animals.
Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.
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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Frank Beardsley. I'm
Rich Kleinfeldt.
现在是VOA特别英语词语典故时间。我是Rich Kleinfeldt，现在为您介绍一些含有hit这个单词的表达方式。
hit是一个很小的词，但是很有威力。棒球选手击球，导弹袭击飞机，汽车撞击大树。
hit还和其他单词组合在一起，组成丰富的表达方式。其中一个短语是hit the road，意思是开始旅行或者离开
某个地方，就像"Hit the Road"这首歌中唱的那样。
另外一个常用短语是hit the spot。这个短语最初的意思是，用箭射中目标的中心。做到这样的人对自己的射击
结果很满意。现在，hit the spot通常意味着一种食物或饮料让人很满意。
许多年前，百事可乐销售广告中有一首歌的开头是这样的：“百事可乐非常令人满意，足有12盎司，……”
另外一个包含hit这个词的短语是hit bottom(触底)。触底的事物不可能更低或者更坏了。如果股票的价格触底
，是时候买进了，它的价格只会上涨。
如果一个学生告诉你他的分数触底，这说明他在学校成绩不好。
如果一个学生的成绩触底，那么，是时候hit the books了。hit the books意思是开始学习。一个学生可能不得
不告诉她的朋友，她不能跟他们一起去看电影了，因为她必须学习。
不好好学习会导致一个学生不愉快的处境。他的父亲或母亲看到这么低端分数时可能会hit the ceiling(勃然大
怒)。撞到天花板的人非常愤怒。如果丈夫忘记结婚纪念日，妻子可能会勃然大怒。
制作木制品时，通常要用到锤子。锤子用来敲击钉子，将木块钉在一起。如果你刚好敲到钉子的头部或顶部，它
就可以完好地进入木料。如果有人说你的话语或者行为hit the nail on the head，他的意思是说你说的或做的
完全正确。
钉完所有的钉子之后，你可能会很疲劳，是时候hit the hay了。hit the hay来源于人们用干草铺床的时代。当
养殖农场动物时，人们通常谁在谷仓中的干草上。
hit the hay的意思很简单，表示睡觉。好主意！我认为我现在也应该睡觉了。
