Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo! News (Online Article From 31 December 2010)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/new_year_s_eve;_ylt=Au.EDaRl._gD.QwBr2YE2kKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNlY2NscGgwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjMxL25ld195ZWFyX3NfZXZlBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbWlsbGlvbnNnYXRo

If you are awake at midnight and are celebrating the arrival of the New Year, we say in English that you are ringing in the New Year. At midnight the world ushers in 2011, in other words, the world will inaugurate 2011. Some dream that in 2011, successful talks between Israel and Palestine will usher in a new era of peace.

Worldwide (around the world), people are celebrating  and enjoying themselves by being lively and noisy. Many of these revelers are singing, dancing and drinking. These revelers are gathering in large crowds such as in Times Square, New York. Others are simply at home gathered with their family. When people gather, they come together in one place to see or do something. This Christmas, I returned to the States to gather with my family.

Happy New Year 2011!!

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Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo! News (Online Article From 31 December 2010)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101231/wl_nm/us_france_newyear

Well, it’s that time of year in France when friends get together with a glass of champagne around a blazing fire. However, that blazing fire could be your car! Once again, French authorities brace for these annual New Year torchings. In other words, they are preparing for an unpleasant night. Have you ever watched a movie where a boat, ship or space ship are about to be hit by a large object? Usually in this situation, the captain will cry out, “Brace for impact!” This tells the crew to prepare themselves for the impact or blow that will hit the vessel. In France, the authorities are bracing for the impact of the car torchings.

Disaffected youths in France’s suburbs compete with other suburbs to see who can cause the most damage. To be disaffected means to longer feel any loyalty. Many of France’s youth in the suburbs feel that they are discriminated against and thus have become hostile and rebellious toward authority.

Bracing for this night and in an attempt to fight against this competition between suburbs, the police will keep the vandalism statistics under wraps. If you are good at not telling anyone a secret, you can keep it under wraps. You could also say that the French police will keep a lid on the vandalism statistics.

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Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo News (Online Article from 26 November 2010)

If you stab someone or something, you push a sharp object such as a knife into that person or thing. Thankfully, in the case of this Marine who was stabbed in the back, his wound wasn’t severe. The Marine was trying to stop a shoplifter, who had tried to shoplift a laptop computer. Shoplifting is the act of stealing from a shop. This comes from the verb ‘to lift,’ which also means to steal.

Other interesting expressions with ‘stab’:

• Unpleasant feelings or emotions can stab you if you feel them very strongly. When my grandmother passed away, sadness stabbed my heart. If someone’s words stab you, you feel a strong sense of sadness or fear.
• a stabbing – In the article, the Marine was a victim of a stabbing. This is the name for this type of attack.
• a stabbing pain – This is very intense and sharp pain such as would be felt in a heart attack or severe injury.
• to stab someone in the back – If someone trusts you and that person thinks you are loyal to them, but you do something bad that is disloyal and hurtful, you stab them in the back.
• a stab in the dark – If you make a guess at a question or problem that is not based on any knowledge and which will probably be a wrong answer, we call this a stab in the dark. Sometimes while playing trivia games and I don’t know the answer, I’ll make a stab in the dark.

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