GRE/Word list

I suddenly remembered about my college days when i used to read for GRE exams. For those who don't know, GRE is a mandatory exam for getting an admission in US universities. One of the things you need to do for this exam is to memorize the entire english dictionary. I and my room mates used to be so passionate about the word lists that we would often quiz each other with different words.

During those days whenever i write a letter to my parents (I am not usually someone who is interested in writing letters. But during those days i just wanted to do it because i wanted to use those words somehow.), i used to use all kinds of ridiculous words like bamboozled,gab,coquet etc.. in my letter.

Now days whenever I hear such words anywhere , I just think of my past and smile. My wife sometimes asks me the meaning of some words that she hears somewhere and i just smile back. She knows that I know the meaning of the word. But i don't think she knows why i smile back. I usually reply that I don't know (I don't know why i do that!!).

Anyway the point is why do we have to learn all those words to get through GRE? Most people here speak English in a way that is convenient for them. I am not saying that's not right. Language is just a means of communication. As long as it conveys what you want to say, that's good enough for me. Even in professional writing, i vouch for writing in clear and simple English.

I think it would have made a lot of sense if we had just studied all the American slang’s. We could at least understand what people here are trying to say when they use their slang’s. Just kidding!

I did not get a chance to write a GRE exam. But looking back if I could get hold of one of those letters I wrote to my parents, I am sure to laugh out loud.