Lyrics of if u say by Huang Dawei

Now,the VOA Special English program WORDS

AND THEIR STORIES.

Hot is a simple,easily understood word.

So are most ofthe expressions made with

the word hot.

But not always,

as we shall see.

The words hot potato,for example,

give you no idea at

all to the meaning of the expression,

hot potato.

The potato is a popular vegetable in

the United States

.Many people like baked potatoes,

cooked in an oven

or fire.Imagine trying to carry a hot,baked potato

in your hand.It would be difficult,even painful,

to do so.

Now we are getting close to the meaning of hot potato.

Some publicly disputed issues are highly emotional.

The issues must be treated carefully,or they will

be difficult and painful if an elected official

has to deal with them.As difficult and painful

as holding a hot potato.

One such hot potato is taxes.

Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for

A politician.And yet,if taxes are not raised,

some very popular government programs could be cut.

And that also can make a politician very unpopular.

So the questions must be dealt with carefully,

the same way you would handle any other hot potato.

Another expression is not so hot.If you ask someone

how she feels,she may answer "not so hot.

"What she means is she does not feel well.

Not so hot also is a way of saying that you do not

really like something.You may tell a friend that

the new play you saw last night is not so hot.

That means you did not consider it a success.

A hot shot is a person,often a young person,

who thinks he can do anything.At least he wants to

try.He is very sure he can succeed.But often

he fails.The expression was born in the military

forces.

A hot shot was a soldier who fired without

aiming carefully.

Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger.

A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead.

An angry person's neck often becomes red.

We say he is hot under the collar.You could

say that your friend is no hothead.But He

got hot under the collar when someone took his radio.

expression.

The hot line was a direct communications link between

the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States.

accidental war between the two competitors during

the period known as the Cold War.The American president

and the Soviet leader were able to communicate

directly and immediately on the hot line.This helped

prevent any conflict during an international crisis.