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Japanese
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04:56 |
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J01 |
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Words and Their Stories -- a program about special expressions. Today, the
expression, "apple-pie order," meaning perfect order, very well-organized.
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J02 |
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Nobody is sure where and when the phrase, "apple-pie order," began. Some
claim New England while others say that Scottish and English writers used
the phrase a long time ago. But the housewives of New England cut their
apples in even slices and filled their pies with them in a well-organized
way -- row upon row. As one writer said, the women of New England loved
order -- everything in the right place. And this perhaps explains why it
is generally believed that the expression, "apple-pie order," came out of
New England.
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T
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J03 |
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On the opposite side of this picture is an old expression that describes
wild disorder. The phrase is "apple of discord." It comes from Greek
mythology. All the gods and goddesses sat around the table to celebrate
the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. Discord who was a troublemaker threw a
golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful. It
was not an easy decision to make. How could one choose between Juno,
Minerva, and Venus? So, it was left to Paris to decide. He chose Venus.
Juno and Minerva were furious, and threatened to settle matters with him.
And this brought on the long Trojan War.
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J04 |
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The apple is older than history. It is celebrated in the folk stories of
ancient countries as one of the best-loved fruits. It has also given
mankind a lot of trouble as the Bible tells the story. It became a symbol
of good and evil, and man lost God's goodwill because he could not resist
the pleasure of eating it. He has been having a hard time ever since, and
must work and sweat to eat and stay alive. There is among some a strange
belief that Adam's sin in eating the apple left a mark on the front part
of his throat It is called the "Adam’s apple." It can be more clearly seen
on men than women's throats. Adam's apple is what it is called. Beyond
that, nothing is certain.
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J05 |
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At one time, the tomato was called a "love apple," but this was a mistake.
This is how the mistake happened:
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J06 |
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In the 16th century, Spain imported the tomato from South America and
exported it to Morocco. Italian traders carried it to Italy. The Italian
name for it was pomo dei Moro, apple of the Moors. When French growers
imported it, they thought dei Moro meant d'amour, the French word for
love, and so pomo dei Moro became "apple of love." In German, it is still
Liebesapfel or "love apple."
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J07 |
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The apple has been responsible for a number of strange beliefs and
superstitions. One of them is that it gives a man strong, masculine
powers. If you eat apples because you like them, that is fine, but if you
do so for other reasons, you may be disappointed. And if you ask if it is
true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, my answer is that an
apple every day will never do anybody harm.
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Voice of America
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