[ti:Brrrrrrrr! Cold Enough For Ya?] [ar:Shirley Griffith] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:11.69]Now, the VOA Special English program [00:16.00]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:18.78]Cold weather has a great effect [00:23.32]on how our minds and our bodies work. [00:26.82]Maybe that is why there are [00:30.20]so many expressions [00:31.81]that use the word cold. [00:34.53]For centuries, [00:36.07]the body's blood has been linked [00:38.96]closely with the emotions. [00:42.05]People who show no human emotions [00:45.68]or feelings, for example, [00:47.80]are said to be cold-blooded. [00:50.89]Cold-blooded people act [00:54.22]in cruel ways. [00:56.39]They may do brutal things to others, [00:59.82]and not by accident. [01:03.33]For example, a newspaper says [01:07.84]the police are searching [01:09.95]for a cold-blooded killer. [01:13.05]The killer murdered someone, [01:15.87]not in self-defense, [01:18.23]or because he was reacting [01:20.56]to anger or fear. [01:22.57]He seemed to kill for no reason, [01:25.95]and with no emotion, [01:28.83]as if taking someone's life [01:31.67]meant nothing. [01:33.42]Cold can affect other parts of the body. [01:38.31]The feet, for example. [01:40.44]Heavy socks can warm your feet, [01:45.02]if your feet are really cold. [01:47.34]But there is an expression [01:49.96]-- to get cold feet [01:52.68]-- that has nothing to do [01:54.65]with cold or your feet. [01:57.64]The expression means being afraid [02:02.11]to do something you had decided to do. [02:06.04]For example, you agree [02:09.08]to be president of an organization. [02:11.66]But then you learn that [02:14.69]all the other officers have resigned. [02:17.17]All the work of the organization [02:20.72]will be your responsibility. [02:23.48]You are likely to get cold feet [02:27.08]about being president [02:29.29]when you understand the situation. [02:31.80]Cold can also affect your shoulder. [02:35.77]You give someone the cold shoulder [02:39.56]when you refuse to speak to them. [02:42.90]You treat them in a distant, cold way. [02:46.99]The expression probably comes [02:49.87]from the physical act of [02:52.04]turning your back toward someone, [02:54.92]instead of speaking [02:56.86]to him face-to-face. [02:59.10]You may give a cold shoulder [03:02.02]to a friend who has not [03:04.56]kept a promise he made to you. [03:06.98]Or, to someone who has lied [03:10.67]about you to others. [03:12.48]A cold fish is not a fish. [03:17.17]It is a person. [03:18.90]But it is a person [03:21.37]who is unfriendly, [03:23.13]unemotional and shows [03:25.34]no love or warmth. [03:27.57]A cold fish does not offer [03:30.91]much of himself to anyone. [03:33.40]Someone who is a cold fish [03:37.11]could be cold-hearted. [03:39.65]Now a cold-hearted person [03:42.34]is someone who has no sympathy. [03:45.12]Several popular songs [03:48.12]in recent years were [03:50.66]about cold-hearted men [03:53.00]or cold-hearted women, [03:55.34]who without feeling, [03:57.27]broke the hearts of their lovers. [04:00.28]Out in the cold [04:02.81]is an expression often heard. [04:05.44]It means not getting something [04:08.71]that everybody else got. [04:10.51]A person might say that everybody [04:14.10]but him got a pay raise, [04:16.83]that he was left out in the cold. [04:20.66]And it is not a pleasant place to be. [04:23.82](MUSIC) [04:36.49]This VOA Special English program, [04:40.39]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:43.17]was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. [04:46.52]Maurice Joyce was the narrator. [04:49.41]I'm Shirley Griffith.