A story using expressions with the word hair.
Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
A listener named Rita wants to learn about expressions with the word "hair." So we will tell a story.
Yesterday when I woke up, I looked in a mirror. I looked very neat and organized. Not a hair was out of place. But today when I woke up, I knew I was going to have a bad hair day. My hair was standing up in all the wrong places. I thought I would be unhappy all day and things would not go well. I work at home so I just hoped that my computer would work right and not have a bad hair day also.
I was very tired because I did not sleep well last night. I made the mistake of watching a horror movie on television. The movie really made my hair stand on end. It was about a house possessed by evil spirits. The thought of having to live alone in a house like that was so frightening it was enough to curl your hair. I will say it another way: watching that movie was a hair-raising experience.
I prepared a meal for my children but they were behaving badly. I turned on the television so they would be quiet. I did not want them to be difficult or to get in my hair while I was working on the computer.
My children were making so much noise that I could not work. I was getting angry. In fact, I was ready to pull my hair out. I told them to please be quiet or I would punish them. But they knew I would not harm a hair on their heads.
I decided to make myself some strong coffee so I could work better. But my drink was so strong that it could put hair on your chest.
Finally, I got back to work. I was writing a proposal for a project. I knew that I was very close to finishing the proposal. Success was very close – within a hair's breadth. My supervisor called me to discuss the project. She wanted to argue about very small differences and unimportant details. But I told her not to split hairs.
Later, I got a telephone call from a friend whom I had not seen in a long time. In fact, I had not seen hide nor hair of him in months. So I was glad to know that he was all right.
I worked all day and finished my project. So I decided to celebrate, have some fun and let my hair down. I played some old recordings, and my children and I danced around the room. The recordings are from my favorite musical, a show called "Hair." It takes place during the 1960s when many young people wore their hair very long.
(MUSIC)
Not a hair was out of place：干净利索，一丝不乱
bad hair day: “头发糟糕的日子”，暗示一整天都不顺利，心情不好。
make one's hair stand on end: 使人毛骨悚然
curl one's hair：令人惊诧，令人惊恐
hair-raising：令人恐惧
get in one's hair: 激怒某人
pull one's hair out：生气，发怒
harm a hair on one's head: 不伤某人一根毫毛
put hair on one's chest: 让人不舒服
a hair's breadth：即将来临，指日可待
split hairs：在小事上争论不休，斤斤计较
hide nor hair：踪影，痕迹
let one's hair down: 放松
