[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... [00:10.90]Now, the VOA [00:12.64]Special English program, [00:15.04]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:17.77]Today we explain [00:21.01]more popular proverbs. [00:23.71]A proverb is a short, [00:25.50]well known saying [00:27.34]that expresses [00:28.74]a common truth or belief. [00:31.93]Proverbs are popular [00:33.98]around the world. [00:36.23]Many listeners have sent us [00:38.71]their favorite proverbs. [00:41.01]They give advice about [00:43.00]how to live. [00:44.65]We begin with two popular [00:47.89]proverbs about staying healthy [00:50.48]by eating good food: [00:53.42]One is an apple a day keeps [00:57.60]the doctor away. [00:59.15]Another is you are what you eat. [01:03.63]Several proverbs about birds [01:07.12]also give advice. [01:09.26]You may have heard this one: [01:11.40]The early bird catches the worm. [01:14.89]This means a person [01:16.83]who gets up early, or acts quickly, [01:20.47]has the best chance of success. [01:23.76]Another famous proverb is a bird [01:27.45]in the hand is worth two in the bush. [01:30.89]This means you should not risk [01:33.92]losing something you have [01:35.92]by seeking something [01:38.02]that is not guaranteed. [01:40.45]Here is another piece of advice: [01:43.54]Do not count your chickens [01:46.33]before they are hatched. [01:48.68]In other words, [01:50.12]you should not think too much [01:52.46]about some future event [01:54.66]before it really happens. [01:57.69]Another proverb warns do not [02:01.57]put all your eggs in one basket. [02:04.77]This means you should not [02:07.85]put all of your resources together [02:11.00]in one place because you could [02:13.94]risk losing everything at one time. [02:18.02]Many Americans learned this [02:20.71]the hard way by investing [02:23.05]all their money in stock shares, [02:26.00]which then lost value. [02:28.29]Another proverb says a fool [02:32.53]and his money are soon parted. [02:35.56]This means someone who acts [02:38.71]unwisely with money will lose it. [02:42.24]Here is more advice: [02:44.89]If at first you don't succeed, [02:48.17]try, try again. [02:50.92]Also, never put off until tomorrow [02:55.20]what you can do today. [02:58.10]You might learn that haste [03:01.48]makes waste if you do something [03:05.46]so fast, resulting in mistakes. [03:08.81]Most people would agree [03:11.35]with this proverb: [03:12.49]honesty is the best policy. [03:15.23]Yet another proverb advises us [03:19.30]not to be concerned about [03:21.24]something bad that you cannot change. [03:24.53]It says there is no use crying [03:28.32]over spilled milk. [03:30.31]Do you agree with the proverb [03:33.95]that children should be seen [03:36.39]and not heard? [03:37.73]Maybe you have told your children [03:40.57]that hard work never hurt anyone. [03:44.21]But other people say that all work [03:48.00]and no play makes Jack a dull boy. [03:52.28]They believe it is not wise [03:55.08]to spend all your time working [03:57.87]and never having fun. [04:00.26]Finally, here is one of our [04:03.70]favorite proverbs: [04:05.14]People who live in glass houses [04:08.33]should not throw stones. [04:10.58]This means you should not [04:13.31]criticize other people [04:14.71]unless you are perfect yourself. [04:18.90](MUSIC) [04:28.91]This VOA Special English program [04:32.60]was written by Shelley Gollust. [04:35.34]I'm Barbara Klein. [04:37.19]You can find more proverbs [04:39.43]and other WORDS AND THEIR STORIES [04:42.33]at our Web site, [04:43.97]51voa.com.