Are you up on Down?
Like Up, Down too, is simple to understand.
It normally means towards the ground or at the bottom, but it can also mean “fine, soft, hair from the skin” (for example, goose down). Down is also a proper name, as in Down’s syndrome.
Down is such a versatile word that one can use it in many interesting ways. However it’s easy to screw it up, so follow carefully as I nail it down for you.
Governments like to play up the good news, and play down the bad news. In Japan, when a leader messes up, he usually steps down. In Taiwan, unpopular leaders are often shouted down instead.
When demonstrators rally against people they hate they would chant “Down with (Sadam, Fidel, Idi Amin, etc…)”
Some people used to do that with America too. Today America is anchored down with so many daunting problems that people are more likely to say, “Pity those poor Americans”.
Like a speeding car America was once barreling down the roadway. Today its economic engine is sputtering. Americans have severely cut down their spending, and brought their expectations down to earth, but have no fear, America may be down, she is definitely not out.
Some people think education is to blame for America’s problems, which may explain why the book “Dumbing down of America” is a runaway best seller. You can find the edited down excerpt of this interesting book on the web. It can also be downloaded from the internet.
Everyone likes to stand up for a good cause, however if you stand down from an election, it means you're withdrawing from the contest.
If you’re well-informed on something, you’re up on it, but when you’re down on something, it does not mean you’re un-informed; it could simply be that you just don’t like it.
With the summer slipping away, and the days getting shorter, we may be feeling a little down. But don’t be downhearted, it’s time again to get down to business, and be heads down in our work and studies.
A snail inches down the garden path, but boys in high spirit jaunty down the road, singing and whistling along the way. Please keep the noise down, fellas!
Why do we feel let down when someone disappoints? To avoid disappointing our bosses we often manage down their expectations.
Instead of simply saying "Manchester has won the soccer match!" why do the headlines scream “Manchester downs Liverpool”?
Why is Australia referred to as Downunder? And why do Maritimers say “down home life used to be slow and easy”?
If your name were Down, people might say this about you, “Joe Down lives down here, and he likes to get down and dirty.”
The Down Street station is one of the best known of London's closed tube stations. The British Prime Minister lives in number 10, Downing Street. Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin.
Life is full of difficult choices. To live a simple life we must narrow down our choices. So come on down from your perch and learn to smell the roses.
There are many fun places to visit on Wanwei, but sometimes people engage in name-calling and that can be a real downer. It’s hard to pin down the reasons why some people are hostile to those who hold different views from theirs. Often it’s politics that make people go ballistic. If you’re on Wanwei, please tone down your rhetoric. A gentleman does not stoop down to the level of a scumbag.
Things have quietened down a lot since I wrote my piece about put downs; it may finally be possible to ratchet down my workload, and settle down to a more manageable tempo.
With the midterm vote looming, Democrats have to tamp down their expectation. The initial euphoria of Obama’s election has made an unexpected downturn, and the people are poised to vote down any government measures to increase revenues. They may even yank down candidates with unrealistic grand schemes. To win the voters’ approval candidates must water down overly ambitious proposals.
There you have it, my friends. I have given you the low down on down. I shall now take my leave, but if you are up on down, zip down here and show us your stuff!
UP：一個舉足輕重的單詞
英語課 - 如何對老外說“很棒”？
How many ways to say “yes”?
