[ti:Proverbs About How to Live] [ar:Barbara Klein] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:10.31]Now, the VOA [00:12.70]Special English program, [00:14.99]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:17.72]Today we explain [00:20.71]more popular proverbs. [00:23.01]A proverb is a short, [00:25.45]well known saying [00:27.10]that expresses [00:28.55]a common truth or belief. [00:31.86]Proverbs are popular [00:33.85]around the world. [00:35.69]Many listeners have sent us [00:38.82]their favorite proverbs. [00:40.87]They give advice about [00:43.02]how to live. [00:44.81]We begin with two popular [00:47.84]proverbs about staying healthy [00:50.48]by eating good food: [00:53.32]One is an apple a day keeps [00:57.35]the doctor away. [00:59.29]Another is you are what you eat. [01:03.39]Several proverbs about birds [01:06.97]also give advice. [01:09.06]You may have heard this one: [01:11.20]The early bird catches the worm. [01:14.44]This means a person [01:16.74]who gets up early, or acts quickly, [01:20.27]has the best chance of success. [01:23.40]Another famous proverb is a bird [01:27.28]in the hand is worth two in the bush. [01:30.78]This means you should not risk [01:33.97]losing something you have [01:35.81]by seeking something [01:38.00]that is not guaranteed. [01:40.10]Here is another piece of advice: [01:43.53]Do not count your chickens [01:46.03]before they are hatched. [01:48.57]In other words, [01:50.01]you should not think too much [01:52.30]about some future event [01:54.64]before it really happens. [01:57.13]Another proverb warns do not [02:01.79]put all your eggs in one basket. [02:04.86]This means you should not [02:07.90]put all of your resources together [02:10.83]in one place because you could [02:13.97]risk losing everything at one time. [02:17.35]Many Americans learned this [02:20.93]the hard way by investing [02:23.02]all their money in stock shares, [02:25.81]which then lost value. [02:28.30]Another proverb says a fool [02:32.44]and his money are soon parted. [02:35.67]This means someone who acts [02:38.56]unwisely with money will lose it. [02:42.05]Here is more advice: [02:44.94]If at first you don't succeed, [02:48.13]try, try again. [02:50.86]Also, never put off until tomorrow [02:55.20]what you can do today. [02:58.09]You might learn that haste [03:01.44]makes waste if you do something [03:04.18]so fast, resulting in mistakes. [03:07.46]Most people would agree [03:10.30]with this proverb: [03:11.31]honesty is the best policy. [03:14.64]Yet another proverb advises us [03:18.03]not to be concerned about [03:20.17]something bad that you cannot change. [03:23.50]It says there is no use crying [03:27.34]over spilled milk. [03:29.64]Do you agree with the proverb [03:32.97]that children should be seen [03:35.21]and not heard? [03:36.61]Maybe you have told your children [03:39.30]that hard work never hurt anyone. [03:42.99]But other people say that all work [03:46.92]and no play makes Jack a dull boy. [03:51.41]They believe it is not wise [03:53.95]to spend all your time working [03:56.53]and never having fun. [03:58.97]Finally, here is one of our [04:02.51]favorite proverbs: [04:04.20]People who live in glass houses [04:07.18]should not throw stones. [04:09.73]This means you should not [04:12.08]criticize other people [04:13.87]unless you are perfect yourself. [04:17.65](MUSIC) [04:28.06]This VOA Special English program [04:31.41]was written by Shelley Gollust. [04:33.90]I'm Barbara Klein. [04:36.14]You can find more proverbs [04:38.48]and other WORDS AND THEIR STORIES [04:41.46]at our Web site, [04:43.15]51voa.com.