Voa - Root of the Problem
In this Sept. 2, 2015 photo, ginseng grower Denny Colwell shows the rings that develop on older ginseng roots. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) https://www.51voa.com/VOA_Special_English/let-s-get-to-the-root-of-the-problem-88930.html
Content
Today we talk about we explore words and expression in the English language.
To roots of most plants grow below the ground. There, they have some very inportant jobs. The roots anchor the plant. They secure it in the ground. Roots also take in water and minerals to feed the plant, the roots store food and nutrients.
So, roots are the foundation of the plant: the supporting structures. And that gives us our first expression: “to put roots down”.
When you put roots down, you make a place your home by creating connections. You get a job and maybe buy a house. You also make friends and join activities. You might start a family. As your children start school, your ties to the school and other partents are also roots.
All these things connect you to a place. Each connection makes it harder for you to leave. Just link the roots of a place, they ground you.
If you want to move a plant, you must be careful not to disturb the roots too much. If you do, you could kill the plant.
And that brings us to another way we use the word root. The root can also be the start or cause of something. For example, I could say that my love of mysery story is rooted in my childhood full of Agatha Christie books! Now, problems have roots too. So, people could say that a small town’s problems are roots in a lack of good jobs.
That suggests our next expression: Get to the roots of the problem. When we get to the root of the problem, we get to the cause of it. You can also strike at the root of a problem if you are looking for a way to solve it.
Sometimes we use the verb “dig” to go with some root expressions. As we said, roots are underground. You must dig to reach them. So, we cound say, “A lack of jobs is just one issue To get to the root of the city’s larger problem, we must dig deeper”
Here’s an example:
A: I just heard that the city council is going to add more money to this year’s school budget.
B: That’s good news!, But I’m not sure more money is going to fix high truancy rates and poor classroom behavior.
A: Well, it cannot hurt.
B: True. But to really help students, we need to get the root of the education problem.
A: And what do you think the root of the problem is?
B: I think the “roots” to that problem are vast and complex.
Now for our final expression. There is a common saying in English that involves roots. You may here people say that money is the root of all evil. That expression comes from the Bible “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” While it may not be root of all evid, I’m sure that greed has caused quite a few problems.
And that’s the end of this Words and Their Stories. (Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English.)
Words in this story
| Word | Mean | Example | Illustration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor ang.kuh |
A heavy object attached to a cable or chain and used to moor a ship to the sea bottom, | The ship was at anchor. |  |
| Mineral ˈmɪn(ə)r(ə)l/ |
A substance that is formed naturally in the earth, such as coal, salt, stone, or gold. | The area is very rich in minerals. |  |
| Put down roots | to feel that you belong in a place If you put down roots in a place where you have moved to live, you make new friends and join in new activities there so that you feel it is your home. Settle somewhere, become established, as in We’ve put down roots here and don’t want to move away. This metaphoric expression, first recorded in 1921, likens the rooting of a plant to human settlement |
 |
|
| Mystery | something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. | the mysteries of outer space |  |
| Strike | to hit or fall against the surface of something (In everyday English, people usually say hit rather than strike:) |
She fell heavily, striking her head against the side of the boat | |
| Council | A group of people that are chosen to make rules, laws, or decisions, or to give advice | the Los Angeles city council |  |
| Truancy | when students deliberately stay away from school without permission | the school’s truancy rate |  |
| Vast | extremely large | vast areas of rainforest |  |
| Evil | BAD-things to harm other people | The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. | |
| Quite | very, but not extremely | He’s quite a good soccer player. |  |
Conclusion
'With languages, you are at home anywhere.‘ – Edward De Waal
