When You 'Raise the Bar,' Things Get Hard

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

On this program we explore words and expressions in American English. Today we talk about a common idiom from sports: To raise the bar.

To raise the bar means to set a high standard and to raise expectations. It can also mean to set higher goals.

You can raise the bar for yourself or for others. But we often use this expression when someone's performance is much better than others.

When you raise the bar, you increase the expectations of people who have settled into a way of doing things. For example, let's say a person is really good at playing a video game. If he joins a team game, his skill level will raise the bar. The other players will have to play better to come up to the new level of competition.

When you use the expression, you can sometimes put a word before "bar." This will describe the situation better.

For example, when a new intern³ started at VOA Learning English for his fall semester⁴, he would wear a suit during online video meetings. Most of us who had been working at home for many months, did not dress up. We looked presentable, but our clothes were not formal. So, he really raised the clothing bar for our weekly meetings.

Here is another example.

Let's say you are invited to go to a potluck party. At a potluck party, everyone is supposed to bring one thing to drink or eat. You make a very tasty cake with four layers and fancy⁵ decorations. The host might say, "Wow you really raised the potluck bar for the rest of the people at the party."

Word experts say people began using the idiom "raise the bar" around the turn of the twentieth century.

It comes from the sport of track and field, specifically⁶ the high jump and the pole vault⁷ events.

These events involve raising a bar incrementally⁸, or a little at a time, to see how high the athletes can jump or vault over a bar.

Now let's hear these two friends use the expression together.

A: How's the new job going?

B: Great! I go into the office an hour early every day and stay late almost every night. Plus, I get all my work done days ahead of my deadlines.

A: Aren't you worried that you might be raising the bar a bit too high?

B: No way! If other people can't perform as well, that's good for me, right?

A: Well, you don't want to raise the bar SO high that one day YOU have trouble getting over it.

B: You know, that's a really good point. I never thought of it like that.

A: That's what friends are for.

B: Maybe I'll ease² up a little bit...

A: Good idea.

And that brings us to the end of this week's Words and Their Stories. When it comes to teaching⁹ American English, we hope we raise the bar just a little bit higher for English learners.

Words in This Story

idiom –n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meaning of its separate words

standard –n. a level of quality or performance that is considered acceptable¹⁰ or desired

semester –n. one of two, half-year periods that make up an academic year at a school or college

pole vault –n. an athletic¹¹ event in which people compete by using a pole to jump over a bar this is high above the ground

incrementally –n. a small amount by which something is made larger, greater or higher

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

3 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

4 semester   

n.一学期，半学年，六个月的时间

参考例句：

• A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
• I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。

5 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

6 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

7 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

8 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

11 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。