[ti:What 'Strikes a Chord' with You?] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:08.68]And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. [00:19.84]On this program, [00:21.12]we explore words and expressions in the English language. [00:27.16]We give examples that show how to how to use them. [00:31.32]And sometimes we explain where they come from. [00:36.28]Today, our expression comes from music. [00:41.08]A chord is three or more musical notes sounded at the same time. [00:50.40]The word "strike" means to hit. [00:55.60]But when we play a note on a musical instrument, [00:59.32]we can also say we struck a note. [01:04.44]So, our expression for today is to strike a chord. [01:11.40]In its most general definition, to strike a chord [01:15.72]means something relates to you somehow. [01:20.48]It resonates with you. [01:23.80]If something strikes a chord with you, [01:26.72]it is familiar to you in some way, [01:30.24]for better or for worse. [01:33.88]Something can strike a positive chord. [01:37.52]It is familiar to you in a good way. [01:41.24]It creates good feelings or thoughts. [01:45.28]For example, a love song struck a deep chord with James. [01:51.88]It is the song he sang to his wife at their wedding. [01:56.64]Or maybe the song was playing on the radio when she left him. [02:02.28]In that case, the song would strike a negative chord with James. [02:09.20]As you can see from those examples, [02:11.96]you can add other words to describe what type of chord [02:16.68]is being struck – a deep chord, a negative chord. [02:23.40]Here are some other examples. [02:25.92]A teacher's advice can strike a responsive chord with students. [02:32.96]And a politician's speech can strike a sympathetic chord with voters. [02:40.72]Those two words – sympathetic and responsive [02:44.96]– are commonly used with this expression. [02:49.76]You might hear people say something "struck a familiar chord." [02:55.16]But to me, this sounds a bit unnecessary. [02:59.24]If something strikes a chord, it means it is familiar in some way. [03:05.16]So, we don't need to add the word "familiar" to the expression. [03:10.40]But I have heard it used that way before. [03:13.72]Maybe it means something is really familiar. [03:19.56]Sometimes we use to strike a chord this way: [03:24.44]If something creates strong feelings or thoughts, it strikes a chord. [03:30.56]And that "something" could be unfamiliar to the person. [03:37.12]Here is another situation where we use this expression: [03:42.40]If something strikes a chord with you, [03:45.52]you approve of it. You agree with it. [03:50.20]For example, during the election the politician's position [03:54.84]on the economy and jobs must have struck a chord with voters [04:00.76]because she won easily. [04:04.68]Let's talk for a minute about sentence structure. [04:09.44]If you look back at our examples, [04:12.12]most if not all of them use the word "with" [04:16.20]– with James, with students, with voters. [04:22.24]But you can use this expression without the word "with." [04:27.72]In this way, "strike a chord" means [04:32.00]it caused a strong emotional reaction to something. [04:37.12]For example, that movie must have really struck a chord. [04:41.96]Everyone came out of the theater crying. [04:47.08]Hopefully learning English continues to strike a chord [04:50.76]with all of you ... a positive one! [04:54.92]And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. [04:58.16]Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. [05:01.20]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM