'Full Steam Ahead!'
2022-06-19
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3Today we talk about "steam."
4Steam is water heated to the boiling point.
5Above 100 degrees Celsius, water becomes a gas.
6When placed under pressure, steam can supply energy for heating, cooking, or mechanical work, as in a steam engine.
7"Steam" can mean other things too.
8It can be used to mean anger or to describe someone who is angry.
9For example, it is not healthy to get steamed over every little issue. Life is too short.
10Every time a friend of mine receives criticism, she gets steamed for a while.
11When I learned this about her, I knew to give her time and space to calm down after giving her any suggestions.
12"Steam" can also mean energy, active force, or motivation.
13This kind of steam is good for getting things done.
14For example, I once led a large group of people in a big creative project.
15I knew we needed to work up steam to get the job done.
16In other words, we would need a lot of energy.
17I told the team what was needed.
18I wanted to encourage them to get started.
19So, I said to them, "Full steam ahead!"
20But it is also easy to "lose steam" if you don't plan well.
21Once, I started a project in the spring but by summer I had run out of steam.
22I did not have the energy or motivation to finish.
23Steam can also mean suppressed emotional tension or frustrations.
24Life can be busy and full of frustrations and problems.
25If we don't talk about them, pressure can build up inside us - like a volcano that is ready to blow its top.
26When we blow our top, we become angry, often quickly.
27So, sometimes we need to "let off a little steam."
28We need to ease the tension.
29When we let off steam, we release feelings that we may have been avoiding.
30We can also say, we need to "blow off steam."
31When we blow or let off steam, we calm down or release emotions or energy by doing something we like.
32Like a tea pot blowing off steam, it is a release of energy.
33So, when life gets frustrating, I like to go for a walk to blow off some steam.
34But some people may like to yell to let off steam.
35For some people, blowing off steam is hard to do.
36They don't know how to relax or calm down.
37Blowing off steam can mean that we "air out" issues that are bothering us.
38To air out concerns is a way of easing the pressure in our steam engine.
39It means to discuss our thoughts openly, so we feel better.
40Next time you need to blow off some steam, listen to VOA Learning English and relax with an English lesson!
41That's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
42Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. 3Today we talk about "steam." 4Steam is water heated to the boiling point. Above 100 degrees Celsius, water becomes a gas. When placed under pressure, steam can supply energy for heating, cooking, or mechanical work, as in a steam engine. 5"Steam" can mean other things too. 6It can be used to mean anger or to describe someone who is angry. For example, it is not healthy to get steamed over every little issue. Life is too short. 7Every time a friend of mine receives criticism, she gets steamed for a while. When I learned this about her, I knew to give her time and space to calm down after giving her any suggestions. 8"Steam" can also mean energy, active force, or motivation. This kind of steam is good for getting things done. 9For example, I once led a large group of people in a big creative project. I knew we needed to work up steam to get the job done. In other words, we would need a lot of energy. I told the team what was needed. I wanted to encourage them to get started. So, I said to them, "Full steam ahead!" 10But it is also easy to "lose steam" if you don't plan well. Once, I started a project in the spring but by summer I had run out of steam. I did not have the energy or motivation to finish. 11Steam can also mean suppressed emotional tension or frustrations. Life can be busy and full of frustrations and problems. If we don't talk about them, pressure can build up inside us - like a volcano that is ready to blow its top. 12When we blow our top, we become angry, often quickly. 13So, sometimes we need to "let off a little steam." We need to ease the tension. When we let off steam, we release feelings that we may have been avoiding. We can also say, we need to "blow off steam." 14When we blow or let off steam, we calm down or release emotions or energy by doing something we like. Like a tea pot blowing off steam, it is a release of energy. So, when life gets frustrating, I like to go for a walk to blow off some steam. But some people may like to yell to let off steam. For some people, blowing off steam is hard to do. They don't know how to relax or calm down. 15Blowing off steam can mean that we "air out" issues that are bothering us. To air out concerns is a way of easing the pressure in our steam engine. It means to discuss our thoughts openly, so we feel better. 16Next time you need to blow off some steam, listen to VOA Learning English and relax with an English lesson! 17That's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 18Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 19Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 20__________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22motivation -n. the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something 23encourage -v. to make someone more hopeful or energetic 24tension -n. a feeling of nervousness or being unable to feel at ease 25frustration -n. a feeling of anger or annoyance caused by not being able to do something 26relax -v. to make or become loose or less tense