Watch Video In Yemen, dozens of people were killed in street battles between government forces and armed tribesmen. Many people had to cower in basements to avoid gunfire and the booming artillery strikes. This is almost four months after protests called for the ouster of the president, and the ongoing conflict has exacerbated already dire poverty. Things do not bode well for this corner of the Arabian Peninsula. The once peaceful protests gave way to fighting last week. |
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Word |
Sound |
Meaning |
1. exacerbated (ex-A-ser-ba-ded) | short A is a big sound, word has both short A and long A | to increase the severity of, or the violence of, to aggravate |
2. Arabian (u-RA-bee-in) | reduce first A, use good Long A on the stress | related
to the Arab land/people |
3. peaceful (PEES-ful) | make sure to move the lips for a good long E sound | free
from war or violence |
4. serious (SEE-ree-us) | make a good long E sound |
being
sincere, having deep thought |
5. fire (FI-yr) | open the jaw for a good long I, there is a small "y" sound between long I and R | a
burning mass |
6. dire (DI-yr) | make a good long I sound | causing or involving suffering,
terrible |
7. forces (FOR-ses) | put a circle on the lips for a clear long O | physical
power, military groups are called "forces" |
8. bode (BODE) | speak a clear long O | an omen or something that predicts, often used in "does not bode well" |
9. booming (BOOM-ing) | move your lips to have a clear "oo" sound, Americans consider this long U, as in "flute" | a
deep, loud sound |
10. cower (COW-er) | speak a good double vowel on "ow," this sound is a short A to a long O | to hide or shrink from a threat |
11. ouster (OU-ster) | speak a good double vowel: "ow" and "ou" have the same sound | the forced removal of someone in power |
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