When Does a Problem 'Snowball'?
2023-12-17
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2If you live in a part of the world that is experiencing winter right now, it might be snowing.
3But even if you do not live in a snowy climate, try to image cold, snowy weather.
4Imagine having a snowball fight with your friends.
5A snowball is, of course, a ball of snow.
6But not all snow makes good snowballs.
7If the snow is too light and dry, it will not hold together.
8It is powdery. Wetter snow makes for great snowballs. You can pack it into a tight ball, which is great for throwing.
9A snowball might hurt a bit, but it would not cause a lot of damage.
10But imagine that snowball rolling down a hill. As it rolls, it picks up more and more snow.
11It gets bigger and bigger until it crashes into something and causes damage!
12And that gives us "snowball" as a verb.
13Dictionary.com defines the verb "snowball" as becoming "larger, greater, more intense..." very quickly.
14If something like a project, campaign, or business snowballs, its progress rapidly increases and grows.
15For example, after a photographer posted a picture on Instagram of a monkey protecting a human baby, her followers snowballed to over 1 million within a week!
16However, when we use this expression the ending results are usually not good.
17Something that snowballs in a bad way goes downhill quickly.
18For example, when we do not take care of small problems, they can snowball into bigger ones.
19Now, let's hear an example using the verb "snowball."
20A: I have a friend who lied about knowing sign language on her resume.
21She thought no one would ask her to actually prove she knew sign language.
22But her boss asked her to.
23In fact, he set up a big meeting with the deaf community and assigned her to act as translator.
24She lied about why she could not attend the event.
25But her boss surprised her with an unplanned meeting.
26That is when he found out that she did not know how to sign.
27Her lie on her resume quickly snowballed into a workplace drama that got her fired from her job.
28Next, let's talk about the expression snowball effect.
29A snowball effect is a situation where one action or event causes many other similar actions or events.
30And these actions or events grow and grow bigger and more problematic - just like a snowball rolling down a hill.
31A snowball effect is similar to a chain of events.
32However, with a chain of events, one thing leads to another.
33But these events do not necessarily intensify or grow bigger.
34And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.
35Hopefully, using resources on VOA Learning English is having a snowball effect on your English studies ... in a good way!
36Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2If you live in a part of the world that is experiencing winter right now, it might be snowing. 3But even if you do not live in a snowy climate, try to image cold, snowy weather. Imagine having a snowball fight with your friends. A snowball is, of course, a ball of snow. But not all snow makes good snowballs. If the snow is too light and dry, it will not hold together. It is powdery. Wetter snow makes for great snowballs. You can pack it into a tight ball, which is great for throwing. 4A snowball might hurt a bit, but it would not cause a lot of damage. But imagine that snowball rolling down a hill. As it rolls, it picks up more and more snow. It gets bigger and bigger until it crashes into something and causes damage! 5And that gives us "snowball" as a verb. 6Dictionary.com defines the verb "snowball" as becoming "larger, greater, more intense..." very quickly. 7If something like a project, campaign, or business snowballs, its progress rapidly increases and grows. For example, after a photographer posted a picture on Instagram of a monkey protecting a human baby, her followers snowballed to over 1 million within a week! 8However, when we use this expression the ending results are usually not good. Something that snowballs in a bad way goes downhill quickly. For example, when we do not take care of small problems, they can snowball into bigger ones. 9Now, let's hear an example using the verb "snowball." 10A: I have a friend who lied about knowing sign language on her resume. She thought no one would ask her to actually prove she knew sign language. But her boss asked her to. In fact, he set up a big meeting with the deaf community and assigned her to act as translator. She lied about why she could not attend the event. But her boss surprised her with an unplanned meeting. That is when he found out that she did not know how to sign. Her lie on her resume quickly snowballed into a workplace drama that got her fired from her job. 11Next, let's talk about the expression snowball effect. 12A snowball effect is a situation where one action or event causes many other similar actions or events. And these actions or events grow and grow bigger and more problematic - just like a snowball rolling down a hill. 13A snowball effect is similar to a chain of events. However, with a chain of events, one thing leads to another. But these events do not necessarily intensify or grow bigger. 14And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Hopefully, using resources on VOA Learning English is having a snowball effect on your English studies ... in a good way! 15Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 16Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 17________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19climate - n. a region with specified weather conditions 20powdery - adj. resembling or consisting of matter in a finely divided state 21intense - adj. existing in an extreme degree 22resume - n. a short account of one's career and qualifications 23translator - n. to turn into one's own or another language 24We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? Our comment policy is here.