American English

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Offline nusrat-diu

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American English
« on: March 06, 2012, 04:35:12 PM »
Today I was at the library looking for a few books. I was at the university library on campus, and it is huge. I was walking up and down aisles of books for like an hour. Finally I found the books I wanted. I took the books to the front desk. Most books you can check out from the library for three months. But apparently the books I grabbed you can only check out for two weeks. The clerk at the front desk scanned my books and then scanned my student ID card.

For some reason the scanner could not read my card. The clerk tried to scan it a few times, and then he just decided to punch in my student ID number instead. After I checked out he told me that the books were due back on July, 1st.

As I was leaving and walking through the front door, the alarms went off. I had to step back in a open up my backpack to prove that I didn’t steal anything. Finally, they let me go. I hope this does not happen again in two weeks when I come to turn my books back in.

American English Vocabulary from this story

campus- refers to the entire school (usually universtiy) grounds

huge- very large

like- like has many uses. In this context "like" means "approximately", "about", or "roughly"

to check out- term used when borrowing or buying something from a store or library (usually a large store)

student ID card- a card that proves you are a student of a particular school ("ID" stands for "identification")

due back- must be returned

alarms went off- the alarms were activated (began making a loud noise)

open up- colloquial way to say "open"

to turn books back in- to return something that you borrowed (usually used when talking about library books)

Nusrat Jahan
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University

Offline nusrat-diu

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Re: American English
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2012, 04:39:02 PM »
Barack Hussein Obama Jr. is currently the 44th president of the United States of America. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Columbia and began working as a civil rights attorney in the state of Chicago in 1992 until 2004. Barack started his campaign for president in early 2007. The competition was tough during the Democratic presidential primaries while running against Hillary Clinton. As we know, Obama would end up winning, and became the first African American presidential candidate for a major party. Later in 2008, Obama won the general election against the Republican candidate, John McCain. Obama officially became president in January 2009.

Barack was born in 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother was a Caucasian woman from Kansas and his father was a foreign student on scholarship from Kenya. His parents met in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii. Obama's parents were divorced in 1964, and his father moved back to Kenya. Barack only saw his father one more time before his father died in a car accident nearly 18 years later in 1982.

Obama's mother remarried to another foreign student from Indonesia. In 1967, all foreign Indonesian students were forced to return to their homeland by the new military leader in Indonesia. Obama went to school in Jakarta for around 4 years until he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. His mother continued to work in Indonesia as anthropologist. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and came back to live with Barack and her parents for one year until she died.

Obama struggled with his interracial heritage and admitted to using marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol during his teenage years. He began college in LA in 1979 and eventually graduated from Harvard, Columbia and eventually became a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.

In 1996 Obama was elected into the Illinois Senate, and re-elected in 1998 and 2002 (he lost the election in 2000). In 2004 he won the election and was sworn in as the Illinois Senator in January 2005. He was only the fifth black Senator in US history. In 2008, Barack defeated John McCain by receiving 52.9% of the popular vote, and became the America's first black president.

Today Barack still speaks Indonesian learned while living there as a child. He still enjoys playing basketball, and was once a member of his high school's varsity team. He met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1989, and the two were later married in 1992. Obama developed his Christian views during his adult life. His mother was raised by non-practicing Baptists and Methodists. His father was raised Muslim but later became an atheist. Obama later became a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988. He was an active member there until 2008 when Reverend Jeremiah Wright made controversial remarks during Barack's presidential campaign.

American English Vocabulary from this story

Jr.- a title to given to a son when he has the same name as his father; pronounced "Junior" (Barack Obama's father's name is Barack Obama Sr.)

Harvard and Columbia- two of the best universities (for academics) in the United States

attorney- another name for a lawyer

primaries- refers to the primary elections for president

running for president- seeking the position (trying to be elected) president

major party- the major parties in America are the Democratic and Republican Parties

caucasian- a white person

scholarship- money given to qualified students for the purpose of education (to be on scholarship means to be recieving this money)

divorce- ending a marriage

to get remarried- to get married again

to move- in this context "move" means to change the location of where you are living

around- in this context "about" means "approximately"

anthropologist- a scientist that studies the human origins, behavior, and development

diagnose- to determine or find (usually used for when talking about disease, or illnesses)

teenage years- then years when someone is between the ages of 13 and 19

LA- short form of the city "Los Angeles"

Illinois Senate- a council or group having the highest responsibities in the (Illinois) state government

to re-elect- to be elected again into the same position

Senator- a member of the Senate

popular vote- the number of votes cast by individual votes (as opposed to the eletoral college)

today- currently

varsity team- a schools top players (players that participate in games) for a specific sport

non-practicing- a term used often in a religious context meaning "not an active member" or "non-participating member" of a church or religion

Baptists and Methodists- different Christian denominations (churches)

reverend- a leader and authority in certain Christian denominations (usually of a single church building)

atheist- someone who does not believe in God, supreme beings, or life after death
Nusrat Jahan
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University

Offline nusrat-diu

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Re: American English
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2012, 04:39:49 PM »
Cool American English Facts

1. there are over 540,000 words in the American English Language

2. McDonalds opens a new restaraunt every 13 hours"

3. Roughly 95% of all Americans eat at McDonalds or Burger King at least once a year

4. Roughly 4.5 million native american indians live in the United States

5. about 50 million American do not have health insurance

6. Tiger Woods earns over $35,000 every hour

7. About 1/3 of all of the money in America is in California

8. Alaska is America's largest state

9. Over half of all African Americans in the US live in the South Eastern states

10. American English is the most popular form of English in the world

11.- America uses over 25% of the world's energy

12.- Roughly 90% of the Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the US border
Nusrat Jahan
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University

Offline nusrat-diu

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Re: American English
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2012, 04:41:43 PM »
Britney Spears was born on December 2, 1981. She is one of the most popular artists in the history of the world, selling over 83 million albums.

Britney Jean Spears was grew up in a small town in Louisiana near the border of Alabama. When Britney was young she was very accomplished in gymnastics, and frequently sang and danced with the local church choir.

Her debut hit and album"...Baby One More Time", was considered the number one in America in 1999. In 2000, Britney came out with another album called "Oops I Did it again" which was also listed as number one and sold over 1.3 million records in its first week on shelves. Overall, more than 10 million copies of this album was sold in the US alone. Britney's next album "Britney" also debuted at number one, but was slightly less successful than her previous two releases, selling roughly 750,000 albums in its first week in stores.

It is well known that Britney and Justin Timberlake were in a relationship for several years. In 2002 that relationship ended. In the music video of Justin's hit single "Cry Me a River", a girl resembling Britney is used, hinting that Britney had cheated on Justin during their time together.

Britney performed at the MTV Video Music Awards many times and in 2003 performed Madonna's song "Like a Virgin". Britney performed the song with Christina Aguilera and Madonna herself. At the and of the performance Britney and Christina both ended up kissing Madonna, causing an absolute riot in the media for weeks.

Britney's fourth album titled "In the Zone" was released in 2003 and also debuted at number one. Britney Spears was the first person in history to have their first four albums debut at number one.

In 2004 Britney got engaged to one of her dancers, Kevin Federline. Britney had only known Kevin for three months when they decided to tie the knot. In 2005 Britney had her first child. Britney had scheduled a C-Section performed, instead of a traditional birth. Spears gave birth once again to her second child in 2006. Soon after, Britney and Kevin filed for divorce. Both Britney and Kevin filed for legal custody of the children. Eventually her and Kevin agreed on joint custody of the kids.

During 2007, Britney was in and out of rehab and one day spontaneously shaved her head. A few days later Britney was charged with a hit-and-run, but was not arrested.

In October 2007, Britney's fifth album "Blackout" was released. The alum debuted at number two in America with hit songs "Gimme More" and "Radar".

In 2008 Britney's drug and mental issues continued. Once again she was in and out of rehab. Many people think that Spear's could be bipolar, although it is not official. Later in 2008, Britney released her sixth album Circus its hit single "Womanizer" quickly became the number one song in America, and her follow up hit "Circus" was listed in the top ten.

Britney is one of the most decorated and successful performers of all time. Her name, and music are world renowned. She has changed the face of pop music forever.

American English Vocabulary from this story

accomplished - when someone is "accomplished" it means they have been very successful and have achieved many things in a certain area

choir- a singing group (usually a large group)

debut hit- first hit

to come out with an album- to release an album (CD)

records- in this context "records is the same as "albums"

on shelves- in this context "on shelves" means "in stores" or "for sale"

releases- in this context "releases" means "released albums"

in stores- for sale (on shelves)

relationship- boyfriend and girlfriend

hit single- one song that is very popular

to hint- colloquial way to say "to suggest"

to cheat on someone- to be unfaithful to someone in a relationship (be involved with another man or woman)

riot- violent or extreme panic and confusion

media- TV, newspaper, magazines, internet, radio, etc.

to debut- to appear for the first time

to have a child- to give birth

debut hit- first hit

C-Section- when a baby is not born normally and removed from the mother's womb by surgery (stands for "cesarean section")

traditional birth- normal birth

to file for divorce- to complete the documents to request a divorce (end a marriage)

file for custody- to complete the documents to keep and be in responsible for one's children after a divorce

joint custody- when both parents share responsibilty for their children after a divorce

rehab- (rehabilitation) to have treatment or counseling to return to good health (rehab can for drugs, alcohol, physical injury, or emotional distress)

spontaneously- suddenly without warning or thought

to be charged with a crime- to be accused of committing a crime

a hit-and-run- leaving or driving away after causing an accident or harm to someone or something (usually happens with cars)

issues- in this context "issues" means "problems"

bipolar- having two completely different personalities

decorated- having received much aknowledgement for one's accomplishments

world reknowned- known around the world

to change the face of something- to change entirely how something is done or perceived
Nusrat Jahan
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University

Offline jas_fluidm

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Re: American English
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2012, 05:12:25 PM »
nice to know

Offline nusrat-diu

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Re: American English
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2012, 03:44:34 PM »
Thanks for going through it.
Nusrat Jahan
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University

Offline poppy siddiqua

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Re: American English
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2012, 10:20:31 AM »
Nice information. Thank you Madam for sharing with us.
Poppy Siddiqua
Lecturer, ETE

Offline Md. Zakaria Khan

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Re: American English
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2012, 07:30:54 PM »
Many thinks, I know

Offline anamul

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Re: American English
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2012, 02:37:53 PM »
ID:113-23-2675 NAME:MD:ANAMUL HASAN SEC:B
When we will go to America it will very helpful for us to communicate American people. Thank you mam.

Offline ayasha.hamid12

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Re: American English
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2014, 06:07:25 PM »
Mam, This is too much informative.. Thanks Mam..