“太阳”的故事

There are many expressions using the word“sun”. So today， lets talk about the stories of the sun.

The first expression is about everything， everything under the sun. If you own a store that sold many different things， your advertisements could say you sell everything under the sun. This would not be exactly true， of course. But what would advertising be without some creative descriptions？

Here is another example： Lets say you are talking with a friend you have not seen for a long time. The two of you could have a lot of things to share. So， you talk about everything under the sun.

“Under the sun” is an old expression—at least 3，000 years old. It means everywhere the sun shines. King Solomon of Israel used it in the Bible. He wrote that nothing under the sun is new. What has been will be again， he said， and what has been done will be done again.

There is nothing new under the sun， there is nothing new anywhere. New or old， few things can be hidden in the bright light of the sun.

That leads to another expression： a sunshine law. This law says that all government meetings must be open to the public. In some states， sunshine laws also say the government must permit the public to see government records.

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution published a report about the value of sunshine laws. It told about how officials of a local government met secretly with a land developer to discuss using public land for a private entertainment center. The deal was stopped when it finally became publicly known.

“It often takes a crisis，” the newspaper report said， “to awaken citizens to their rights under the state sunshine laws.” It said the laws are called that because they shine sunlight on dark corners where secret deals can be made.

Another expression about the sun is sunbelt. The word describes the warmer states of the American south， from Florida to California. The warmer weather in the Sunbelt causes many people to move there. They move from the Frostbelt， the colder northern states， and the Rustbelt， the older industrial states.

In addition， labor costs are lower in the Sunbelt， and labor unions are not as strong as in the north. So many companies moved their factories to the Sunbelt. Workers followed. By 1990， the Sunbelt cities of Los Angeles， San Diego， Phoenix， Houston， Dallas， and San Antonio were among the ten largest cities in the United States.

From geographic areas to music， the word “sun” finds its place.

Every type of music—from rock to pop to country—has songs about the sun. One of the most popular is“You Are My Sunshine”. What began as a sad love song is now a classic childrens song. Many performers have recorded this song.

The rock group Beatles have several songs with“sun” in the title. A couple are “Here Comes the Sun” and “Good Day Sunshine”. Elton John sang “Dont Let Sun Go down on Me”.

And the musical group 5th Dimension wanted to let the sunshine in on a United States that was heavily involved in the Vietnam War. “Let the Sun Shine In” became a popular song in the anti-war culture in the 1960s U.S. This song was originally in the musical theater performance and movie “Hair”， which criticized the Vietnam War. Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions using the word “sun”！

英語中有很多表达中使用了“太阳”一词，所以今天我们就从太阳的故事说起吧。

首先要说的第一个表达是关于所有的，位于太阳之下的事物。如果你有一间商店，出售各种商品，那么你就可以在广告上说你店里的东西“应有尽有”。当然，这也未必全是真的。但是没有创意描述的广告还叫广告么？

举另一个例子：你和一个很长时间没有见面的朋友谈话时，你们两个可能有很多事情想要分享。因此你们说的话题可能是天南海北包罗万象的。

“under the sun”是一种非常古老的说法，最起码有3000年的历史了。这个说法指的是所有在太阳下笼罩的地方。以色列国王所罗门在圣经中这样使用过。他写道，太阳之下皆为旧事。他说，已有之事会必再有，已行之事会必再行。

太阳之下无新事，任何地方都没有。新或旧，只有极其一小部分可以在强烈太阳光之下隐藏。

由此引导出另一种表达：“阳光法案”。这种表达含义是政府所有会议必须向公众公开。在一些州，“阳光法案”还可以理解为政府必须准许公众查看政府记录。

《亚特兰大宪政报》发表了一篇有关“阳光法案”价值的报道。该报道讲述了当地一位政府官员是如何秘密会见土地开发商、讨论利用公共土地开发私人娱乐中心的事情的。当这件事被公众知晓之后被叫停。

该报道称：群众往往需要一场危机才能意识到他们在各州“阳光法案”下的权利。该报道称，该法案被称之为阳光法案，是因为他们把阳光照进存在秘密交易的黑暗角落。……