Do You Believe the 'Grass Is Always Greener'?
2022-03-13
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1And now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
2Springtime is coming soon to the northern half of the planet.
3That means signs of green plant life are beginning to show!
4Some flowers and trees will start to bloom and some grasses will become more green.
5In the United States, many people spend a lot of time and money growing a yard full of weed-free green grass.
6Even if that area surrounding the house is not used very much, some people still want it to look nice with lots of healthy-looking green grass.
7Neighbors can even get competitive over who has the greenest, thickest lawn.
8But competing with and comparing ourselves to others is usually not a good idea.
9In fact, we have an idiom to describe that exact situation.
10That idiom is: "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."
11This expression describes people who are not happy with their own lives, and they think that someone else - or everyone else - has a better life than they do.
12Some might say this idiom describes the human quality of always wanting something different than what you have.
13Some people are never happy with their own situation.
14They are never satisfied.
15They think others have it better or easier than they do.
16Even if their life is perfectly fine, they still look at others and want what they have.
17The idiom also expresses this idea: people often think a different set of conditions would bring them greater happiness.
18So, we use this idiom to remind people that this is not often the case.
19Let's say you "look over the fence" and see that your neighbor has a new car, a big house, and a good-looking partner.
20You may want what that neighbor has.
21But what you may not know is that the new car and big house are making your neighbor poor.
22And the good-looking partner is actually a mean, unpleasant person.
23Let's listen to a conversation between two friends.
24Notice how they use a shortened form of the idiom.
25This is often how you will hear it.
26A: Did you hear the news about Martin? He's moving again.
27B: What? That's the third time in a year! What's wrong this time?
28A: Well, he visited a friend in Oregon and saw that the guy has got a big house with a big yard, and the city has more farmers' markets and bike lanes than where he lives now.
29So now he's moving out there to start over.
30B: He did the same thing a few months ago when he visited a friend in California.
31A: You know Martin. He's always been a grass-is-always-greener kind of guy.
32B: Well, hopefully he'll be happy in Oregon.
33A: I doubt it.
1And now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. 2Springtime is coming soon to the northern half of the planet. That means signs of green plant life are beginning to show! 3Some flowers and trees will start to bloom and some grasses will become more green. 4In the United States, many people spend a lot of time and money growing a yard full of weed-free green grass. Even if that area surrounding the house is not used very much, some people still want it to look nice with lots of healthy-looking green grass. 5Neighbors can even get competitive over who has the greenest, thickest lawn. 6But competing with and comparing ourselves to others is usually not a good idea. In fact, we have an idiom to describe that exact situation. 7That idiom is: "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." 8This expression describes people who are not happy with their own lives, and they think that someone else - or everyone else - has a better life than they do. 9Some might say this idiom describes the human quality of always wanting something different than what you have. Some people are never happy with their own situation. They are never satisfied. They think others have it better or easier than they do. Even if their life is perfectly fine, they still look at others and want what they have. 10The idiom also expresses this idea: people often think a different set of conditions would bring them greater happiness. So, we use this idiom to remind people that this is not often the case. 11Let's say you "look over the fence" and see that your neighbor has a new car, a big house, and a good-looking partner. You may want what that neighbor has. But what you may not know is that the new car and big house are making your neighbor poor. And the good-looking partner is actually a mean, unpleasant person. 12Let's listen to a conversation between two friends. Notice how they use a shortened form of the idiom. This is often how you will hear it. 13A: Did you hear the news about Martin? He's moving again. 14B: What? That's the third time in a year! What's wrong this time? 15A: Well, he visited a friend in Oregon and saw that the guy has got a big house with a big yard, and the city has more farmers' markets and bike lanes than where he lives now. So now he's moving out there to start over. 16B: He did the same thing a few months ago when he visited a friend in California. 17A: You know Martin. He's always been a grass-is-always-greener kind of guy. 18B: Well, hopefully he'll be happy in Oregon. 19A: I doubt it. 20And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 21Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 22____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24bloom - v. to produce or yield flowers 25yard - n. an outdoor area next to a building that is often bordered (as by shrubs or fences) 26weed - n. a plant that tends to grow where not wanted and to prevent the growth of more desirable plants usually by taking up space 27lawn - n. ground (as around a house or in a garden or park) that is covered with grass and is kept mowed 28idiom - n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be learned as a whole 29fence - n. a barrier (as of wood or wire) to prevent escape or entry or to mark a boundary 30satisfied - adj. pleased or content with what has been experienced or received 31bike lane - n. a division of a road marked off with painted lines, for use by cyclists