[ti:Bird Words]
[ar:Jill Moss]
[al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES]
[by:www.voa.com]
[00:00.00]go to voa.com for more...
[00:10.85]Now, the VOA Special English program
[00:14.15]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:16.52]Today we explain some expressions 
[00:20.04]about birds. 
[00:21.79]For example, if something 
[00:23.96]is for the birds, 
[00:25.58]it is worthless 
[00:27.32]or not very interesting. 
[00:29.50]Someone who eats like a bird 
[00:32.36]eats very little. 
[00:34.17]And a birds-eye view 
[00:36.47]is a general look 
[00:38.21]at an area from above.
[00:40.14]Did you know that 
[00:42.69]if you tell a young person 
[00:44.31]about the birds and the bees
[00:46.61] you are explaining 
[00:47.97]about sex and birth?? 
[00:49.90]Have you ever observed that 
[00:52.77]birds of a feather flock together? 
[00:55.50]In other words, people 
[00:57.37]who are similar become friends 
[00:59.30]or do things together. 
[01:01.10]Here is some good advice: 
[01:03.65]a bird in the hand 
[01:05.52]is worth two in the bush. 
[01:08.07]This means you should not risk 
[01:11.11]losing something you have 
[01:12.86]by trying to get more 
[01:15.03]of something you do not have.
[01:17.27]Sometimes I can do two things 
[01:21.25]by performing only one action. 
[01:23.87]This is called killing 
[01:26.23]two birds with one stone. 
[01:28.66]But I would never really 
[01:31.08]kill any birds. 
[01:32.33]I love all kinds of animals.
[01:35.37]This is a real feather in my cap. 
[01:38.30]It is something to be proud of.
[01:41.10]Most of the people I work
[01:43.77]with are early birds. 
[01:46.01]They believe that the early bird 
[01:48.56]catches the worm. 
[01:50.24]They think that a person 
[01:52.29]who gets up early in the morning 
[01:54.66]for work has the best chance of success. 
[01:57.83]Everyone in my office works hard, 
[02:01.31]but some people have 
[02:03.93]had their wings clipped. 
[02:05.17]Their jobs have been limited. 
[02:07.91]This is because the office 
[02:10.33]is organized by pecking order. 
[02:13.13]People with more years 
[02:15.12]and experience 
[02:16.18]are given more responsibility.
[02:18.48]Some bird expressions are 
[02:22.46]about crows, chickens and ducks. 
[02:25.57]For example, when I am driving, 
[02:28.50]I always travel as the crow flies.
[02:32.42]I go the most direct way. 
[02:35.15]Anyone who eats crow 
[02:37.95]has to admit a mistake or defeat.
[02:41.50]Now let's talk about my sister.
[02:45.98]She is not very young. 
[02:48.65]She is no spring chicken. 
[02:51.70]She will work any job 
[02:53.94]for chicken feed 
[02:55.74]-- a small amount of money. 
[02:57.80]She is easily frightened. 
[03:00.91]For example, she is 
[03:02.96]too chicken-livered to walk down 
[03:05.57]a dark street alone at night. 
[03:08.50]Often she will chicken out 
[03:10.74]¨C she will not go out alone at night.
[03:14.10]My sister was an ugly duckling. 
[03:18.33]She looked strange 
[03:19.94]when she was a child, 
[03:21.19]but she grew up to 
[03:23.42]be a beautiful woman. 
[03:24.61]Sometimes she thinks too much 
[03:28.40]about having something 
[03:30.39]in the future 
[03:31.45]before she really has it.
[03:33.88]She counts her chickens
[03:35.80]before they are hatched. 
[03:37.54]Sometimes her chickens 
[03:39.79]come home to roost. 
[03:41.46]That means her actions 
[03:43.77]or words cause trouble for her. 
[03:46.13]However, my sister does not worry 
[03:49.68]about what people say about her. 
[03:51.98]Criticism falls off her 
[03:54.53]like water off a duck's back.
[03:57.26]Politicians are sometimes 
[04:01.06]considered lame ducks 
[04:02.80]after losing an election. 
[04:04.67]They have little time left 
[04:07.28]in office and not much power. 
[04:09.77]Congress holds a lame duck session 
[04:13.44]after an election. Important laws 
[04:16.80]are not passed during this period.
[04:19.41](MUSIC)
[04:29.80]This VOA Special English program,
[04:33.78]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, 
[04:35.77]was written by Jill Moss. 
[04:37.82]I'm Faith Lapidus.
[04:40.82]go to voa.com for more...