VOA词汇掌故2023--Differences Between Board, on Board, Aboard

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

Today, we discuss the word board.

As a noun², board has a couple of meanings.

It can be a long thick piece of wood or other strong material – like a diving board. A board can also be a group of people who make decisions for an organization. An example is a board of directors.

As a verb, board means several things.

Board can mean providing food for someone regularly. For example, a college student's costs include housing³ and food, called room and board.

Board can also mean closing off parts of a building with pieces of wood. Sometimes in scary movies, people board up the doors and windows to keep monsters from entering.

Board, on board, aboard

Board, on board, and aboard are all used differently.

At a train station, we sometimes hear a conductor say, "All aboard," as the train is getting ready to leave. And the captain of a ship might say, "Welcome aboard," as you climb on the boat.

However, we say you board a plane, train, or boat when you get on it. And we say you are on board once you get on.

If you agree with an idea or a process, we also say that you are on board with it. But we never say you are aboard with it. And if you are very excited about an idea or process, you do not just get on board, you jump on board!

We also use the term onboarding to describe the process of starting a new job. This is the process in which new workers learn about a company, work rules, and things related⁴ to the job.

Across the board

At VOA Learning English and many other organizations, all workers are required to attend onboarding and other training. So, we say the training requirement affects everyone across the board.

We use the expression across the board when something affects every part or every individual within a larger group. For example, when the government raises taxes on all income levels, it affects everyone across the board.

Experts say, across the board comes from a horse-racing bet⁵. It means the same amount is bet for a horse to come in first, second, and third in a race.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

We hope you are on board with the expressions and use them in your next English conversation!

Words in This Story

scary –adj. something that causes fear or makes people afraid

monster –n. a strange and horrible imaginary⁶ creature

conductor –n. a person who takes tickets on a train

bet –v. to put money at risk in hope of winning more money by guessing the outcome of a game or a competition

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 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

3 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

4 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

5 bet   

v.打赌，以(与)...打赌；n.赌注，赌金；打赌

参考例句：

• I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
• I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。

6 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。