Let's Talk About Our Shadow
2021-11-14
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Let's start today's program with a riddle.
3What follows you all day long, but when the night or rain comes, it is gone?
4If you said your shadow, you are right!
5This dark, flat image of yourself can seem huge and threatening, although you know it holds no power.
6But that image helps to explain this saying: someone is afraid of their own shadow.
7We use this expression to describe someone who is afraid of everything, even very small things.
8So, this expression is a little bit of an insult.
9First let's hear two friends use this expression.
10Hey, can you help me with something?
11I need to plant some flowers at a grave, but I need to do it tonight.
12That's a strange request and usually I say "yes" to those.
13But I'm busy tonight. What don't you ask Beth?
14Beth? Are you serious?
15What's wrong with Beth?
16Beth is afraid of her own shadow!
17There is no way she is going to help me plant flowers at night in a cemetery.
18Good point.
19 Okay, I can move some things around and help. What time should I meet you at the cemetery?
20Midnight.
21Midnight? At the cemetery? Now I'm feeling afraid of my own shadow.
22In English, a shadow can also be considered a weak form of ourselves.
23So, when someone is a weaker version of what they used to be, we can say they are a "shadow of their former self."
24On the other hand, a person who is "larger than life" casts a big shadow.
25In this case, the shadow is not from their actual bodies but from their personality and successes.
26To "cast" in this case means to send something out or forward.
27Children of very successful people often have problems.
28They "live in the shadow" of their parents and can feel not successful by comparison.
29We could also say that the successes of the parents "cast a shadow" over the lives of the children.
30Something else that can cast a shadow is our sins - actions considered to be bad.
31Here is another expression "old sins cast long shadows."
32Think about your shadow on a sunny day.
33The shadow you cast can be long and far-reaching.
34The same can be said for our past mistakes and sins.
35They can reach far into the future.
36They affect our present-day situation.
37So, the saying "old sins cast long shadows" means that the wrong things we do early in our lives can have long-term effects.
38I like to read mysteries.
39And often, the sins of one person comes back to cause them great problems.
40In one mystery, a jewel thief double-crossed her partner.
41She kept the jewels they stole together for herself.
42She changed her name and moved to a quiet English village.
43She thought she had gotten away with it.
44But her partner in crime found her ... and eventually so did the police.
45In the end, they were both arrested. When the police came to take the jewel thief away, she said, "How did you find me? My crime was so long ago."
46The detective answered, "Old sins cast long shadows."
47"Old sins cast long shadows" also can be used in another way.
48It can be used to talk about other people's sins and how they affect us.
49It means that sometimes people suffer from the sins of others.
50As far as usage, please note that the verb "cast" is often used with shadow and shadow expressions.
51And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Bryan Lynn.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Let's start today's program with a riddle. 3What follows you all day long, but when the night or rain comes, it is gone? 4If you said your shadow, you are right! 5This dark, flat image of yourself can seem huge and threatening, although you know it holds no power. But that image helps to explain this saying: someone is afraid of their own shadow. 6We use this expression to describe someone who is afraid of everything, even very small things. So, this expression is a little bit of an insult. 7First let's hear two friends use this expression. 8Hey, can you help me with something? I need to plant some flowers at a grave, but I need to do it tonight. 9That's a strange request and usually I say "yes" to those. But I'm busy tonight. What don't you ask Beth? 10Beth? Are you serious? 11What's wrong with Beth? 12Beth is afraid of her own shadow! There is no way she is going to help me plant flowers at night in a cemetery. 13Good point. Okay, I can move some things around and help. What time should I meet you at the cemetery? 14Midnight. 15Midnight? At the cemetery? Now I'm feeling afraid of my own shadow. 16In English, a shadow can also be considered a weak form of ourselves. So, when someone is a weaker version of what they used to be, we can say they are a "shadow of their former self." 17On the other hand, a person who is "larger than life" casts a big shadow. In this case, the shadow is not from their actual bodies but from their personality and successes. To "cast" in this case means to send something out or forward. 18Children of very successful people often have problems. They "live in the shadow" of their parents and can feel not successful by comparison. We could also say that the successes of the parents "cast a shadow" over the lives of the children. 19Something else that can cast a shadow is our sins - actions considered to be bad. Here is another expression "old sins cast long shadows." 20Think about your shadow on a sunny day. The shadow you cast can be long and far-reaching. The same can be said for our past mistakes and sins. They can reach far into the future. They affect our present-day situation. 21So, the saying "old sins cast long shadows" means that the wrong things we do early in our lives can have long-term effects. 22I like to read mysteries. And often, the sins of one person comes back to cause them great problems. In one mystery, a jewel thief double-crossed her partner. She kept the jewels they stole together for herself. She changed her name and moved to a quiet English village. She thought she had gotten away with it. But her partner in crime found her ... and eventually so did the police. In the end, they were both arrested. When the police came to take the jewel thief away, she said, "How did you find me? My crime was so long ago." The detective answered, "Old sins cast long shadows." 23"Old sins cast long shadows" also can be used in another way. It can be used to talk about other people's sins and how they affect us. It means that sometimes people suffer from the sins of others. 24As far as usage, please note that the verb "cast" is often used with shadow and shadow expressions. 25And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Bryan Lynn. 26Anna Matteo wrote this for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand and Ashley Thompson were the editors. 27___________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29riddle -n. a puzzling question to be solved or answered by guessing 30shadow -n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light 31grave -n. a burial place 32cemetery -n. a burial ground 33former -adj. coming before in time 34cast -v. to send or direct (something) in the direction of someone or something 35sin -n. an action that is or is felt to be bad 36double-crossed -v. an act of betraying or cheating an associate 37detective -n. a police officer whose job is to find information about crimes that have occurred and to catch criminals