VOA News - There's a New Kind of Party Girl in America

door-to-door ^{link »}

get-togethers ^{link »}

swap ^{link »}

host ^{link »}

lingerie ^{link »}

gadget ^{link »}

stun ^{link »}

o subdue ^{link »}

t ^{link »}

send forth ^{link »}

jolt ^{link »}

eager ^{link »}

gown ^{link »}

pockets ^{link »}

metallic ^{link »}

zapped ^{link »}

positively ^{link »}

Background:

Most Americans know about (and many own) Tupperware, which are small plastic containers like the ones you see in the photograph here. I remember my mother going to Tupperware parties at her friends' houses back in the 1960s and 1970s. (I never went to one myself.) They were a very popular way of selling things for the company. They have become less popular in the past 20 years as more women have moved into jobs outside the home, but I guess they are still around (still exist).

As the article states, there have recently been other types of "parties" to sell things to women, including taser guns. Many Americans think that they need to protect themselves, especially in big cities, and since we have an (unfortunate) culture of guns in the US, this is the next logical step. ^{link »}

ESLPod.com's Vocabulary Helper

door-to-door = when someone walks to each house to sell something or give information to people about something

get-togethers = meetings, parties, gatherings

to swap = to exchange, to give something to someone who gives you something else

host = the person who lives at the house where the party is held

lingerie = underwear that women wear to look more sexy (well, that's what I am told...)

gadget = device, usually a mechanical or electrical machine

stun = to shock, to make someone suddenly unable to move or think; stun guns send out an electric charge that is very painful and "stuns" you

to subdue = to control someone by violence or force

to send forth = to discharge, to shoot

jolt = powerful force that is painful, like when someone pushes you

eager = willing, very interested in doing something

gown = a dress

to pocket = to keep money, to earn money

metallic = made of metal

zapped = to get hit by an electric charge

positively = very, completely


^{link »}