AS IT IS 2016-04-01 Some New Words for VOA's Word Book

AS IT IS 2016-04-01 Some New Words for VOA's Word Book

Some big news today here at VOA Learning¹ English. We are adding new words to our 1,500-word Word Book.

The first edition of the Word Book came out in 1962. Every now and then, we update it. Some words are added and some are taken away.

We only decided² to add these words after careful thought. We think they will be useful as your English improves.

Here are the Word Book’s new words.

Dadgum

Running latte

Hangry

Have you ever used these words or heard them before?

In case you have not, here is what they are and how to use them.

Dadgum is a word used to express dissatisfaction or anger. For example, if you are hanging a picture on the wall and hit yourself with the hammer, you could yell³: “dadgum it!”

Sometimes coffee drinkers are said to be running latte. A latte is a coffee drink made with hot milk. The delicious drink is spelled l-a-t-t-e. Sometimes, you might have to stop for one on your way to work. When the coffee stop delays your arrival you can say “I ran latte.”

Hangry is used to describe a person who is hungry and angry because of it. Hangry people are sometimes hard to be around until they get something to eat.

You will be hearing these words in our news and feature programs.

We urge you to use them also in your expanding English vocabulary.

Caty, wait, there’s a new expression to add to the word book.

What is it, Dan?

It’s APRIL FOOLS!

Ugh!

Today is April Fools’ Day. It is a day when people in many countries play fun tricks on each other. Some historians⁴ think the day goes back thousands of years to ancient Rome.

These words we just mentioned, they’re real. But they are informal. They are not yet in the Learning English Word Book. But you can find hangry in the Oxford⁵ Dictionaries’ website.

We hope you enjoyed our little joke. And that you have a great April Fools’ Day.

Words in This Story

informal– adj.  having a friendly and relaxed quality

delicious– adj.  a very pleasant taste

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 yell   

vi./n.号叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• This gave them a chance to yell.这给了他们大声喊叫的机会。
• When his schoolmate made the last goal,the boy gave out with an untrammeled yell.那个男孩在他的同学踢进最后一球时不禁纵声欢呼。

4 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。