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Japanese
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05:16 |
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J01 |
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Words and Their Stories - a program in Special English Our word
today is "bogus" – b-o-g-u-s. Anything that is bogus is not real. It
pretends to be real and may even look real, but it is not. In fact, the
only thing that is real about "bogus" is that it is pure American-born in
the early 1800's. No one is sure where the word came from.
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J02 |
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The first time it appeared in print was in 1827 in Ohio. At that time
police found a group of men who were coining false or counterfeit money. A
large crowd gathered around to look at the strange machine that was used
to make the money. Someone in the crowd said that the machine looked like
a bogus. Well, the next day, the local newspaper used the word, "bogus,"
and it became part of the language. From then on, the machine used by
counterfeiters was called a "bogus press." Of course, it was easy to widen
the use of the word now that it had been invented. Counterfeit or false
money was soon called "bogus money." And as the years passed, any article
that was not the real was called "bogus." But that is only one story about
the birth of bogus.
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J03 |
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The Boston Courier, a newspaper that died a long time ago, said
that the word, "bogus," came from a famous swindler with the Italian name
of Borghese. "Borghese," the paper said, "became famous by writing bad
checks, cashing them at banks and stores, then leaving town in a hurry. In
1837, Borghese was known throughout the South and the West for his
worthless checks, bills of exchange, and notes."
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J04 |
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"In time," the newspaper said, "the name, Borghese, was shortened to
become 'bogus.'"
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J05 |
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Today, we have "bogus money," "bogus mines," "bogus hair," "bogus
diamonds," and so on.
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J06 |
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Speaking of bogus diamonds reminds me of a vacation I took many years ago
in New York City. I was waiting for a train home after two delightful
weeks in the city, when a man came up to me and asked softly if I would
like to buy a genuine diamond ring. His manner led me to believe that
perhaps he had found the ring and wanted money quickly. Little did I
realize that he was what is known as a small-time swindler, a cheat, a con
man. He showed me the ring and asked for $15. It looked real, but then I
said, "A real diamond will scratch glass, won't it?" He pulled me over to
a store window and scratched the diamond against the glass and made a deep
cut. I gave him the money. I put the ring on my finger and got on the
train, feeling I had made a good bargain. Why, the diamond would pay for
my trip!
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J07 |
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When I got home, I showed the ring to my wife. She asked me to take it off
my finger which I did. My finger was green. The ring itself was copper,
not gold or gold plate. The diamond was a bogus diamond. I started to get
angry.
"Why that cheat!" I said. "That swindler!"
My wife looked at me and smiled.
"Yes," she said, "he was a swindler but so were you. You knew, when you
paid him $15, that a real diamond is worth much more than that. So both of
you were trying to get the better of the other. Only you lost."
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J08 |
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I looked at my bogus diamond and then put it away. I still have it just to
remind myself that what might seem real could be bogus.
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Voice of America
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