'All Over the Map' Can Be Good and Bad

2022-10-02

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • And now Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
  • 2
  • The world is filled with many interesting places.
  • 3
  • A map helps us find them.
  • 4
  • Any place you need to find -- a street address, business, famous landmark or park -- is most likely on a map.
  • 5
  • Which brings us to our expression: all over the map!
  • 6
  • We use this expression in several different ways.
  • 7
  • The first way means to be spread out over a great distance.
  • 8
  • For example, years ago I drove across the United States by myself.
  • 9
  • I was all over the map on that trip -- through mountains, deserts, forests, and more.
  • 10
  • Here is another way we use this expression.
  • 11
  • All over the map can also mean having many different kinds of something.
  • 12
  • For example, if a restaurant offers a variety of dishes from many different countries, you can say its menu is all over the map.
  • 13
  • Here is another example.
  • 14
  • Washington, D.C. is a very international city.
  • 15
  • People from all over the map live and work together in D.C.
  • 16
  • Here's another example. If someone asks me what music I like, it's hard to answer.
  • 17
  • I enjoy listening to many kinds of music -- from rock to classical to soul and country.
  • 18
  • You could say my musical interests are all over the map.
  • 19
  • Or, another example: My favorite international store sells a little of everything.
  • 20
  • It has coffee from Brazil, chocolate from Belgium, soap from France, and tea from Japan.
  • 21
  • But you can also buy fresh vegetables! That store is all over the map with its products!
  • 22
  • Finally, we also use the expression all over the map to mean confused or unfocused.
  • 23
  • If thinking, speaking, or planning is unorganized, we can describe it as all over the map.
  • 24
  • This expression can also describe a person.
  • 25
  • If someone is all over the map, they could be having a hard time focusing on one thing.
  • 26
  • Here's an example. My coworker Karen led a very confusing meeting.
  • 27
  • First she talked about plans to move the company overseas.
  • 28
  • Then she switched to sales estimates for the next season and later, budget cuts.
  • 29
  • Her presentation was all over the map! Nobody had a clear understanding of the project.
  • 30
  • Another project I worked on was set up to fail.
  • 31
  • The directions the designer gave to the team were all over the map.
  • 32
  • The builders did not even know where to start digging!
  • 33
  • And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
  • 34
  • I hope our expression was clearly explained.
  • 35
  • This is not time to be all over the map!
  • 36
  • Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
  • 1
  • And now Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
  • 2
  • The world is filled with many interesting places. A map helps us find them. Any place you need to find -- a street address, business, famous landmark or park -- is most likely on a map.
  • 3
  • Which brings us to our expression: all over the map! We use this expression in several different ways.
  • 4
  • The first way means to be spread out over a great distance.
  • 5
  • For example, years ago I drove across the United States by myself. I was all over the map on that trip -- through mountains, deserts, forests, and more.
  • 6
  • Here is another way we use this expression.
  • 7
  • All over the map can also mean having many different kinds of something. For example, if a restaurant offers a variety of dishes from many different countries, you can say its menu is all over the map.
  • 8
  • Here is another example. Washington, D.C. is a very international city. People from all over the map live and work together in D.C.
  • 9
  • Here's another example. If someone asks me what music I like, it's hard to answer. I enjoy listening to many kinds of music -- from rock to classical to soul and country. You could say my musical interests are all over the map.
  • 10
  • Or, another example: My favorite international store sells a little of everything. It has coffee from Brazil, chocolate from Belgium, soap from France, and tea from Japan. But you can also buy fresh vegetables! That store is all over the map with its products!
  • 11
  • Finally, we also use the expression all over the map to mean confused or unfocused. If thinking, speaking, or planning is unorganized, we can describe it as all over the map.
  • 12
  • This expression can also describe a person. If someone is all over the map, they could be having a hard time focusing on one thing.
  • 13
  • Here's an example. My coworker Karen led a very confusing meeting. First she talked about plans to move the company overseas. Then she switched to sales estimates for the next season and later, budget cuts. Her presentation was all over the map! Nobody had a clear understanding of the project.
  • 14
  • Another project I worked on was set up to fail. The directions the designer gave to the team were all over the map. The builders did not even know where to start digging!
  • 15
  • And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. I hope our expression was clearly explained. This is not time to be all over the map!
  • 16
  • Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
  • 17
  • Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 18
  • ________________________________________________________________________
  • 19
  • Words in This Story
  • 20
  • variety - n. collection of different things
  • 21
  • dish - n. food prepared in a particular way
  • 22
  • menu - n. a list of the dishes that may be ordered (as in a restaurant) or that are to be served (as at a banquet)
  • 23
  • classical - adj. relating to music in a European tradition that includes opera and symphony and that is generally considered more serious than other kinds of music
  • 24
  • confused - adj. being disordered or mixed up
  • 25
  • unfocused - adj. not concentrated on one point or objective
  • 26
  • ________________________________________________________________________
  • 27
  • We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story.
  • 28
  • We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:
  • 29
  • Write your comment in the box.
  • 30
  • Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
  • 31
  • Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free.
  • 32
  • Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.