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Sunday, December 30, 2012

London's Leaning Tower - Words in the News


Transcript

Everyone knows this leaning tower but how about this one?
Experts say the famous London landmark could go the same way as the iconic Italian monument.
Cracks have been spotted in the walls of the Parliament building; recent construction work may have caused subsidence.
But time is on its side as the tower won't tilt
as much as Pisa's for at least 10,000 years.


landmark
well-known building or structure

cracks
partial breaks

subsidence
movement of earth

time is on (its) side
it won't happen quickly

tilt
lean to one side


Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

landmark / cracks / subsidence / time is on (its) side / tilt

1.
The structure - dubbed the blinking eye bridge because of its ability to _______ to allow ships pass under it - opened to the public on 17 September 2001.

2.
There were fears that the east end of the building would collapse, after centuries of ____________. Deep-sea diver, William Walker, worked under water in total darkness for six years placing bags of concrete to stabilise the building.

3.
The 14m (45ft) high letters in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles have been a Californian ______________ since 1923.

4.
For the Royal Family's most high profile new recruit, a role continues to be carved out. She is, like Prince William, still tiptoeing towards her destiny.______________. She has four patronages, not 400.

5.
Nimet, a mother of three, told Reuters she was tempted to return to her damaged home. "It looks fine from the outside, but inside it looks very unstable with all the ___________ in the walls. What other choice do we have but to go back to our houses?" she said.


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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Sealed fate - Words in the News





  • Transcript

Rescued from certain death at sea.

This seal pup has been separated from its mother by storms and joined others in a sanctuary in the Netherlands. The refuge has been overwhelmed by the arrival of hundreds washed up on the beaches.

They are fed herrings stuffed with vitamins.

But when they grow up, they will face other challenges. Overfishing and pollution also affect their chances of survival.





  • sanctuary
safe place

  • overwhelmed
received a number greater than it would normally cope with

  • washed up
brought to the shore of a body of water

  • stuffed
totally filled with (something)

  • overfishing
fishing too much to the point of threatening the local fish population


Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

sanctuary / overwhelmed / washed up / stuffed / overfishing

1.
Turkey was often very difficult to get, so housewives were advised to cook "murkey", which was ____________ mutton. The stuffing was largely made of breadcrumbs. No-one threw away a stale loaf in those days.

2.
About 40,000 people on Mindanao are living in evacuation centres after losing their homes and possessions. China and the US are among international donors offering assistance. Mr Ramos said funeral parlours had been ___________ by the catastrophe.

3.
The 2011 statistics included a very high peak of common dolphins being stranded during February and a high number of porpoises ending up on the coast during the winter. The group has also received samples from the 13m sperm whale which was __________ on Connemara's Omey island last week.

4.
Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood, eating about 80% of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught. However, restrictions on catches have been tightened in recent years because of concerns about __________.

5.
An animal ___________ in Bishop Auckland is appealing for help after being swamped with hundreds of hens released from their battery cages.



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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Leap of Faith - Words in the News






  • transcript


Over a hundred metres above the Zambezi River.


With just a cord tied around her feet, an Australian adrenaline junkie launches herself into the void.


But Erin Langworthy's bungee jump became a nightmare when the line broke.