[ti:The Cold, Hard Reality] [ar:Shirley Griffith] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:10.86]Now, the VOA Special English program [00:15.81]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:18.69]Cold weather has a great effect [00:23.27]on how our minds and our bodies work. [00:27.30]Maybe that is why there are [00:30.25]so many expressions [00:31.86]that use the word cold. [00:34.76]For centuries, [00:36.36]the body's blood has been linked [00:39.10]closely with the emotions. [00:41.92]People who show no human emotions [00:45.79]or feelings, for example, [00:48.03]are said to be cold-blooded. [00:51.54]Cold-blooded people act [00:54.50]in cruel ways. [00:56.25]They may do brutal things to others, [01:00.33]and not by accident. [01:03.73]For example, a newspaper says [01:08.22]the police are searching [01:10.41]for a cold-blooded killer. [01:13.62]The killer murdered someone, [01:16.19]not in self-defense, [01:18.40]or because he was reacting [01:20.91]to anger or fear. [01:23.02]He seemed to kill for no reason, [01:26.38]and with no emotion, [01:29.46]as if taking someone's life [01:32.02]meant nothing. [01:34.39]Cold can affect other parts of the body. [01:38.44]The feet, for example. [01:40.95]Heavy socks can warm your feet, [01:44.92]if your feet are really cold. [01:47.62]But there is an expression [01:50.37]-- to get cold feet [01:53.14]-- that has nothing to do [01:55.09]with cold or your feet. [01:58.09]The expression means being afraid [02:02.57]to do something you had decided to do. [02:06.43]For example, you agree [02:09.52]to be president of an organization. [02:12.22]But then you learn that [02:15.07]all the other officers have resigned. [02:17.70]All the work of the organization [02:21.21]will be your responsibility. [02:24.12]You are likely to get cold feet [02:27.51]about being president [02:29.41]when you understand the situation. [02:32.17]Cold can also affect your shoulder. [02:36.17]You give someone the cold shoulder [02:39.90]when you refuse to speak to them. [02:43.20]You treat them in a distant, cold way. [02:47.33]The expression probably comes [02:50.23]from the physical act of [02:52.57]turning your back toward someone, [02:55.48]instead of speaking [02:57.30]to him face-to-face. [02:59.62]You may give a cold shoulder [03:02.45]to a friend who has not [03:04.83]kept a promise he made to you. [03:07.38]Or, to someone who has lied [03:10.75]about you to others. [03:13.31]A cold fish is not a fish. [03:17.61]It is a person. [03:19.39]But it is a person [03:21.84]who is unfriendly, [03:23.48]unemotional and shows [03:25.69]no love or warmth. [03:27.89]A cold fish does not offer [03:31.35]much of himself to anyone. [03:33.80]Someone who is a cold fish [03:37.25]could be cold-hearted. [03:40.11]Now a cold-hearted person [03:42.70]is someone who has no sympathy. [03:45.36]Several popular songs [03:48.21]in recent years were [03:51.00]about cold-hearted men [03:53.13]or cold-hearted women, [03:56.82]who without feeling, [03:57.66]broke the hearts of their lovers. [04:00.78]Out in the cold [04:04.48]is an expression often heard. [04:06.12]It means not getting something [04:09.25]that everybody else got. [04:11.20]A person might say that everybody [04:14.79]but him got a pay raise, [04:17.14]that he was left out in the cold. [04:20.91]And it is not a pleasant place to be. [04:24.37](MUSIC) [04:37.22]This VOA Special English program, [04:41.13]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:43.88]was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. [04:46.87]Maurice Joyce was the narrator. [04:49.91]I'm Shirley Griffith.