It's Not the End of the World

And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning¹ English.

Each week on this program, we explain expressions often used in American English. We give you lots of examples. This way, you can learn how to use the expressions when you speak English.

Today we talk about a very serious thing: the end of the world. In both popular culture and religious² works³, the end of the world is sometimes called the apocalypse or Armageddon.

You do not need me to tell you that the end of the world is a bad thing. It is also not likely to happen during our lifetime⁴. (fingers crossed)

As an expression, we use "the end of the world" to be dramatic⁵, to overstate, or to sell rock-n-roll songs.

It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine...

Now, let's listen to these two people using the term "the end of the world."

What is wrong with Theo? Why is he crying so hard? Sarah broke up with him. But they were going out together for only a month. I know. I know. Listening to him cry like that, you would think it was the end of the world.

Now, this expression is not all bad. In fact, we often use it in the negative form. When you want to say that things are not so bad, you can say "it's not the end of the world." In other words, whatever the situation is, it could be much worse.

Here is an example:

Our football team was hoping to finish in first place. But it won't be the end of the world if we don't.

If I say that something bad is "not the end of the world," I am trying to make myself or someone else feel better about it.

And here are a more examples:

I will be disappointed⁶ if we cancel our trip to Spain this year. But it won't be the end of the world. There is always next year!

A rainy wedding day is not the end of the world. People will have fun no matter what the weather does!

Losing your job does not have to be the end of the world. You will find another one!

If your English studies are coming along slowly, do not worry. It is not the end of the world! And to help, you can join me again next week for another Words and Their Stories!

Until next time. I'm Anna Matteo.

Don't they know it's the end of the world? It ended when you said goodbye.

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. The song at the top of the show is REM singing "It's the End of the World (And I Feel Fine.) The song at the end is Skeeter Davis singing "End of the World."

Words in This Story

apocalypse – n. a great disaster : a sudden⁷ and very bad event that causes much fear, loss⁸, or destruction⁹

Armageddon – n. the site or time of a final and conclusive¹⁰ battle between the forces of good and evil¹¹

dramatic – adj. attracting attention : causing people to carefully listen, look, etc.

negative – n. an expression (as the word no) that denies¹² or says the opposite

disappointed – adj. defeated in expectation or hope

wedding – n. a marriage ceremony usually with its accompanying festivities

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 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 lifetime   

n.一生，终身，寿命，使用期限

参考例句：

• He wrote many books during his lifetime.他一生著作甚多。
• During his lifetime his work was never published.他的作品在他的有生之年从未出版过。

5 dramatic   

adj.引人注目的；戏剧的；演戏的

参考例句：

• She plays a very dramatic woman with flashing eyes.她饰演一位双眼闪光的引人注目的妇人。
• His speech was dramatic.他的演说激动人心。

6 disappointed   

adj.失望的，不满意的，不如意的

参考例句：

• He seemed disappointed when the man refused his request.当那个人拒绝了他的要求时他看起来很失望。
• He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless.他屡次失望，以致变为了绝望。

7 sudden   

n.突然，忽然；adj.突然的，意外的，快速的

参考例句：

• All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
• The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。

8 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

9 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

10 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。

11 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

12 denies   

v.拒绝( deny的第三人称单数 )；拒绝承认；拒绝…占有；否认知情

参考例句：

• He denies that the movie glorifies violence. 他否认这部影片美化暴力。
• She denies neglecting her baby. 她不承认没有照看好她的孩子。