万花筒 2012-03-07&03-09 美国各州英语大不同

 We think across America we’re all speaking the same English, but in fact, we are not. And we’ve been hearing from you all day, because a new dictionary is out—and it’s the dictionary of American regional English, it’s just arrived and Peggy emailed, for instance, a whiskerdilla means that’s really something if you’re in Wisconsin. Linda in Oklahoma told us grocery cards are buggies there, and here’s ABC’s John Berman with more.

 

Behold¹, conclusive² proof that American is the world’s only super power. 

 

To you this might look like a dust bunny. That pull of hair and dust that collects under your bed, but in the northeast they call it a Dust Kitty, the south House Moss³, Pennsylvania a Woolie, and California a flug or a monggy, the monggy, 170 words for this same thing, we truly are the land of plenty, plenty of words, quirky, colorful, different words, depending on where you’re from.

 

Heavy rain, in the Ozarks, a fence lifter, Tennessee, a Gully washer, and on the Gulf⁴ coast, a Toad⁵ Strangler. 

 

A large sandwich in Pennsylvania is a Hoagie, in New York a Hero, and in New England, Grinders, except the parts of Boston where they call it a Spucky. 

 

And in Appalachia, you can wash it down with a Pretty Girl’s station, which is what they call lemonade. Or grab a drink at the bubbler in Wisconsin, a water fountain to the rest of us. It’s perfect for a parched⁶ throat, or as they say in Mississippi a parched goozle. It’s a celebration and reminder⁷ of our rich real diversity. A country where you can eat a plate of noodles or hit a river to go noodling, that’s barehanded cat fishing, I tried it in Missouri. 

 

We all might speak differently, but we all speak American, and if you don’t like it, you have a bad case of the moligrubs, and should go shut  yourself in a rumpled⁸ camera. 

 

John Berman, ABC news, New York.

1 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

2 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

3 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

6 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句