Low-hanging Fruit
2023-04-02
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Have you ever gone to a farm or an orchard to pick fruit?
3Was all of the fruit easy to pick, or were some pieces easier to reach than others?
4Perhaps there were some apples in a tree that were too high for you to reach.
5And maybe you saw that others had picked the easiest fruit to reach before you.
6Today's Words and Their Stories, however, is not about fruit, but about ideas.
7If you are the first person to arrive at an apple tree during harvest time, you can easily find some low-hanging fruit.
8These are the apples that are on the branches closest to the ground.
9Low-hanging fruit describes the most obvious or easiest things to do to help you reach a goal.
10The problem with low-hanging fruit is that it is easy for others to get there first, too.
11People who try to create new music, TV shows, or movies sometimes face this problem.
12They might believe that the best melodies and story ideas have already been taken.
13Some songwriters or scriptwriters might say that the creative low-hanging fruit has already been picked.
14When most of the fruit, ideas, or things that we desire have already been taken, we can say that the remains are slim pickings.
15This means there are only a few useful things left to choose from.
16And, when almost nothing of value remains, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
17That means we are trying to get the last little bits.
18There is nothing but scraps left.
19"Scraps" are small, unwanted pieces that remain at the end of a process, like bits of food remaining after making or eating a meal.
20The scraps are often given to animals or thrown away.
21So, if you have nothing but scraps, it means you have the least valuable things, worth almost nothing to most people.
22When there is nothing left of something we need, like water, we must solve the problem. One answer is to dig a well to reach water underground.
23Some wells can last for many years, but others run dry. When the well has run dry, there is nothing left.
24Paul Simon is a famous American songwriter.
25In 2007, he told a reporter, "I think there's a certain reservoir of melody that you are born with, and in the beginning, you draw on that. And then after a while, a relatively short while, you use it up."
26A reservoir is a place where water is stored, such as a pool, a pond, or a lake.
27Simon added that when the artist has used all that is in the reservoir, he or she needs to expand their skills.
28Otherwise, their creative well is going to run dry.
29So far, we have talked about running out of ideas. But what happens if you get lucky and find a lot of something valuable, like oil or gold?
30In those cases, you have hit the mother lode. The term mother lode came from California after gold was discovered there in 1848.
31It describes a narrow area of rock in the state about 190 kilometers in length.
32This rock was the source, or "mother," of the gold found in rivers and streams in the area.
33Is VOA Learning English your mother lode for learning new idioms and expressions? Let us know in the comments below.
34And be sure to keep reading Words and Their Stories!
35I'm Andrew Smith.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Have you ever gone to a farm or an orchard to pick fruit? Was all of the fruit easy to pick, or were some pieces easier to reach than others? Perhaps there were some apples in a tree that were too high for you to reach. And maybe you saw that others had picked the easiest fruit to reach before you. 3Today's Words and Their Stories, however, is not about fruit, but about ideas. 4If you are the first person to arrive at an apple tree during harvest time, you can easily find some low-hanging fruit. These are the apples that are on the branches closest to the ground. Low-hanging fruit describes the most obvious or easiest things to do to help you reach a goal. 5The problem with low-hanging fruit is that it is easy for others to get there first, too. 6People who try to create new music, TV shows, or movies sometimes face this problem. They might believe that the best melodies and story ideas have already been taken. 7Some songwriters or scriptwriters might say that the creative low-hanging fruit has already been picked. 8When most of the fruit, ideas, or things that we desire have already been taken, we can say that the remains are slim pickings. This means there are only a few useful things left to choose from. 9And, when almost nothing of value remains, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. That means we are trying to get the last little bits. There is nothing but scraps left. 10"Scraps" are small, unwanted pieces that remain at the end of a process, like bits of food remaining after making or eating a meal. The scraps are often given to animals or thrown away. So, if you have nothing but scraps, it means you have the least valuable things, worth almost nothing to most people. 11When there is nothing left of something we need, like water, we must solve the problem. One answer is to dig a well to reach water underground. Some wells can last for many years, but others run dry. When the well has run dry, there is nothing left. 12Paul Simon is a famous American songwriter. In 2007, he told a reporter, "I think there's a certain reservoir of melody that you are born with, and in the beginning, you draw on that. And then after a while, a relatively short while, you use it up." 13A reservoir is a place where water is stored, such as a pool, a pond, or a lake. Simon added that when the artist has used all that is in the reservoir, he or she needs to expand their skills. Otherwise, their creative well is going to run dry. 14So far, we have talked about running out of ideas. But what happens if you get lucky and find a lot of something valuable, like oil or gold? 15In those cases, you have hit the mother lode. The term mother lode came from California after gold was discovered there in 1848. It describes a narrow area of rock in the state about 190 kilometers in length. This rock was the source, or "mother," of the gold found in rivers and streams in the area. 16Is VOA Learning English your mother lode for learning new idioms and expressions? Let us know in the comments below. And be sure to keep reading Words and Their Stories! 17I'm Andrew Smith. 18Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21pick -v. to select and take something 22orchard -n. an area of land on which fruit trees are grown 23branches -n. the parts of a tree that grow from its trunk and have leaves, fruit, or flowers on them. 24obvious -adj. easily seen or understood 25melody -n. the main notes that make a song or tune 26draw on -v. (phrasal) to utilize or to take from a quantity or source 27pond -n. a small body of water 28________________________________________________________________ 29We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expression in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 30We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each 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.