词汇大师-- Happier People Spend Less Time on Small Talk

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: a psychologist says well-being is related to having less small talk and more substantive conversations. RS: Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona led a study in which 79 under

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Law and Language

Broadcast on Coast to Coast: November 21, 2002 AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble and this week on Wordmaster -- language and the law. RS: That's what our guest today writes about in a column for The Green Bag, which calls itself An Entertainin

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Lida Baker: Listener Questions

Broadcast on Coast to Coast: November 14, 2002 Rebroadcast on VOA News Now: November 17, 2002 AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster, English teacher Lida Baker answers some of your questions. RS: Starting with this fro

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Language of Terror, Part 1

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- language and the impact of the September eleventh terrorist attacks on the United States. RS: Start with something as simple as the date. September eleventh, or 9-11 as American

词汇大师--How to Avoid Being Seduced by Words

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: Our guest is the author of a book called On Words: Insight Into How Our Words Work -- and Don't. RS: Paula LaRocque has worked for many years as a writing instructor and newspaper

词汇大师-- 'House' or 'Home'?

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: using the Internet to help make sense of words that are closely related. RS: Like house and home, for example. Both describe a living situation. But house refers to the building,

词汇大师-- Terms to Chew Over

AA: I'm Avi Arditti and this week on Wordmaster: Rosanne Skirble and I serve up a feast of idioms related to health and gluttony, as we present the classic children's fairy tale Hansel and Gretel -- retold by Slangman David Burke. MUSIC: Hansel and G

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Race Terms

AA: This is Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- as delegates in South Africa discuss racism, we discuss the language of race. RS: About thirteen percent of Americans are African American. They are now rivaled in number by

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--How America Got Its Name, Part 1

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble with Wordmaster. Some time ago, a listener wrote to ask if there is a difference between America and United States. We think this is a good time to answer that question. RS: Recently we read about an effort by

词汇大师--What Is Your Conversational Style

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: What students coming to study in the U.S. can do to avoid culture shock in the classroom. RS: We asked Susan Iannuzzi. She's an international consultant in English language teachi

词汇大师--Seriously: 'OK' Began as a Joke

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We talk with Allan Metcalf, author of the new book OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word. RS: And not just the greatest word, in his view. ALLAN METCALF: America's m

词汇大师(Wordmaster)--T Is for Trouble

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: a pronunciation question from Quebec, Canada. RS: Nam-Thien Khuu writes by e-mail, I have heard [that the letter 't' is silent when it comes after a stressed syllable]. Am I right

词汇大师-- Why Handwriting and Spelling Drills

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We're back with Virginia Berninger, an educational psychology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. RS: A study she and her colleagues did found that children in f

词汇大师--How to Get the Most From a Complaint Letter

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: a lesson in complaining. RS: English teacher Lida Baker is with us from Los Angeles to discuss a topic suggested by one of our listeners, an English teacher in Iran. His students

词汇大师--Make an Appeal to 'Sensitivity'

A: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: our guest is linguist Geoff Nunberg. He's been listening to how Americans debate issues, and there's a particular word he often finds they invoke: sensitivities. GEOFF NUNBERG: It'

词汇大师--What Sisters Say About Each Other

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We're joined by Deborah Tannen, the Georgetown University linguist and author of best-selling books on how we communicate. Her early work focused on the different conversation sty

词汇大师--Think Age Makes No Difference for Twins

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We're back with linguist and author Deborah Tannen, discussing communication between sisters, the topic of her most recent book You Were Always Mom's Favorite! RS: Did you talk to

词汇大师--If Someone Leaves You at a Loss for Words

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: A conversation with Kathleen Kelley Reardon, a management professor whose newest book is called Comebacks at Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation. KATHLEEN REARDON: A

词汇大师--'Don't Let Somebody Else's Words

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We're back with management expert Kathleen Kelley Reardon, talking about her new book, Comebacks at Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation. RS: She says dealing with dif

词汇大师--[1]Break In, Break Out, Break Up

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: Slangman David Burke explains some of the many uses for the word break. RS: He's brought along a letter filled to the breaking point with examples. DAVID BURKE: 'Dear Slangman, I