Are You a Party Animal?
2023-02-12
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries are events that we often celebrate with a party.
3Have you ever noticed how some people love such gatherings while others dislike them just as strongly?
4And we have names for both kinds.
5Consider the term party animal, for example.
6A party animal does not just like parties.
7They love parties.
8They are always ready for parties.
9They seek out parties and they may throw a lot of parties as well! When a party animal is at such gatherings, they are often the most energetic and enthusiastic of attendees.
10They are likely to be called the life of the party.
11That is the person who is best at keeping the party fun and alive.
12On the other hand, there are people who do not enjoy parties.
13They do not think such gatherings are fun.
14This person is a party pooper.
15When others want to have fun together, they would rather be doing something else.
16A person can be a party pooper about events other than parties, also.
17Let's say a friend asks you if you want to go for a bicycle ride.
18You say no. You say it is cold and cloudy and you have too much work to do.
19Your friend might call you a party pooper as a result.
20Similar to the party pooper is a Debbie downer.
21This is someone who always points out the bad in a situation.
22The term came into existence in 2004 as the name for a character on the television show Saturday Night Live.
23A similar meaning word is killjoy: someone who crushes a pleasurable experience.
24We could also substitute the term buzzkill, although it can be anything that destroys a pleasurable situation.
25For example, rain is a real buzzkill at a parade.
26We can also say that a negative person dampens the mood of a situation.
27Dampen literally means to make something wet.
28Similarly, we can say someone is a wet blanket if they make a situation less enjoyable.
29And how do we describe the actions of such a person?
30We say they throw a wet blanket on a situation.
31"Party" is both a noun and a verb. When people are very excited about a social event, they might say they want to party down.
32You can party down at a baseball game or at a restaurant or dance place.
33Just remember, often partying down can mean being up all night!
34So who are you? Party animal? Killjoy?
35Or something else completely? Let us know.
36And please feel free to celebrate the expressions you are learning from Words and Their Stories.
37I'm Andrew Smith.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries are events that we often celebrate with a party. Have you ever noticed how some people love such gatherings while others dislike them just as strongly? And we have names for both kinds. 3Consider the term party animal, for example. A party animal does not just like parties. They love parties. They are always ready for parties. They seek out parties and they may throw a lot of parties as well! When a party animal is at such gatherings, they are often the most energetic and enthusiastic of attendees. They are likely to be called the life of the party. That is the person who is best at keeping the party fun and alive. 4On the other hand, there are people who do not enjoy parties. They do not think such gatherings are fun. This person is a party pooper. When others want to have fun together, they would rather be doing something else. 5A person can be a party pooper about events other than parties, also. Let's say a friend asks you if you want to go for a bicycle ride. You say no. You say it is cold and cloudy and you have too much work to do. Your friend might call you a party pooper as a result. 6Similar to the party pooper is a Debbie downer. This is someone who always points out the bad in a situation. The term came into existence in 2004 as the name for a character on the television show Saturday Night Live. 7A similar meaning word is killjoy: someone who crushes a pleasurable experience. We could also substitute the term buzzkill, although it can be anything that destroys a pleasurable situation. For example, rain is a real buzzkill at a parade. 8We can also say that a negative person dampens the mood of a situation. Dampen literally means to make something wet. Similarly, we can say someone is a wet blanket if they make a situation less enjoyable. And how do we describe the actions of such a person? We say they throw a wet blanket on a situation. 9"Party" is both a noun and a verb. When people are very excited about a social event, they might say they want to party down. You can party down at a baseball game or at a restaurant or dance place. Just remember, often partying down can mean being up all night! 10So who are you? Party animal? Killjoy? Or something else completely? Let us know. And please feel free to celebrate the expressions you are learning from Words and Their Stories. 11I'm Andrew Smith. 12Andrew Smith wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Catherine Kelly Weaver was the editor. 13_____________________________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15enthusiastic -adj. characterized by having strong positive feeling and support for something 16character -n. a fictional role 17_____________________________________________________________ 18We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 19We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 20Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.