official

01. Government [officials] expect the governor to make an announcement this afternoon.

02. The [official] residence of the British Prime Minister is No. 10 Downing Street.

03. The [official] reason given for the hospitalization of the President is exhaustion, but there is widespread speculation that he actually had a heart attack.

04. The Queen is on an [unofficial] visit to the city, visiting friends.

05. The [official] government figures place the number of dead at 100, but other observers fear the total is closer to 300.

06. In the country of Bhutan, all citizens [officially] become a year older on New Year's Day.

07. The Republic of South Africa has two [official] national anthems.

08. The capital city of Turkey was formerly known as Constantinople, and the name Istanbul was not [officially] adopted until 1930.

09. In the culture of the ancient Incas of Peru, a couple was considered [officially] married when they took off their sandals, and handed them to each other.

10. The Japanese sport of sumo wrestling has 70 [official] winning moves.

11. The [official] at the British Embassy was very helpful when we tried to contact our son, who was travelling in England at the time.

12. The United Nations has six [official] languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.

13. Buckingham Palace became the [official] London residence of Britain's sovereigns in 1837.

14. "The Star-Spangled Banner" didn't become the [official] national anthem of the United States until 117 years after it was written.

15. Badminton was not recognized as an [official] sport in the Olympics until 1992.

16. There are 14 languages that are [officially] recognized for conducting national affairs in India.

17. In the Netherlands, marijuana is not [officially] legal, but people are able to buy it in registered "coffee shops."

18. Women were [officially] banned from performing Japanese kabuki theater in 1629.

19. East and West Berlin were [officially] rejoined in 1990.

20. Lt. Richard van de Geer was [officially] the last American soldier to die in the Vietnam War, on May 15, 1975.

21. The man looked lovingly at his new bride, and remarked, "We have now been [officially] married for one day."

22. Our wedding took place in our living room, and was [officiated] by a justice of the peace.

23. The [official] disallowed the goal because the player touched the ball with his hand.

24. The players felt that they had lost the game simply due to poor [officiating].

25. New employees must complete a three-month trial period before being [officially] hired for a permanent position.

26. The islands of the Maldives are [officially] the flattest country in the world

27. He is an administrator, but his [official] title is Co-ordinator of Programming Initiatives.

28. Many spectators became angry at the call by the [official], and began to throw beer bottles and garbage on the field.

29. In February of 1974, at the end of an Islamic conference, the government of Pakistan [officially] recognized Bangladesh as an independent nation.

30. Because Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia is uncertain, [officials] can only estimate the country's actual size.

31. A measles epidemic introduced to Fiji by their chiefs upon return from an [official] trip to Australia reduced the Fijian population by 50% in one century.

32. In August of 1806, the German Emperor [officially] dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.

33. [Officials] believe the plane crash was due to a build-up of ice on the wings.

34. For many decades, corrupt government [officials] stole public funds in Haiti.

35. We all celebrated when our friend Kwok Leung [officially] became a citizen of Australia.

36. The island of Malta is currently an [official] candidate for membership in the European Union.

37. In 1976, the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation admitted it had bribed senior government [officials] in the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden and Italy.

38. Health [officials] are analyzing water samples to find out exactly what it is that has made over 20 people in the town sick in the last 2 weeks.

39. Her father is a very important [official] in the government of her country.

40. Please remember that while travelling abroad, you are acting as an [unofficial] ambassador of your country.

41. Claud Cockburn once said, "Never believe anything until it has been [officially] denied."

42. Barbara Ehrenreich once remarked, "We who [officially] value freedom of speech above life itself seem to have nothing to talk about but the weather."

43. Ron Nesen once suggested that nobody believes the [official] spokesman, but everybody trusts an unidentified source.

44. George Jean Nathan once noted that bad [officials] are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

45. When asked by a customs [official] if he had anything to declare, British author Oscar Wilde replied, "Nothing, except my genius."

46. Aldous Huxley once stated that [official] dignity tends to increase in inverse ratio to the importance of the country in which the office is held.

47. A Russian proverb states that if you talk to an [official], you must talk rubles.