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Words in the News - BBC LearningEnglish

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Ivory protest

Transcript

Beautiful ornaments from an ugly trade.

More than a ton of ivory has been taken to New York's Times Square and destroyed as a protest.

Many of the items were confiscated from an antiques dealer in Philadelphia.

The international trade of ivory was made illegal in 1989 but officials say around 35,000 elephants are still being slaughtered in Africa every year.

The message is that traders' profits should be crushed and people shouldn't buy ivory.

(Note: 1 ton = 907.185 kg)

Vocabulary

ornaments
objects used for their beauty, with no practical purpose

confiscated
items taken away by an authority

illegal
against the law

slaughtered
killed violently

crushed
(here) reduced dramatically; destroyed

To do

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

ornaments / confiscated / illegal / slaughtered / crushed

1. Mr Jeffrey added: "Criminals involved in the __________ supply of medical products through the internet aren't interested in your health, they are interested in your money and are able to get this by selling you a potentially dangerous product or by stealing your bank details. "

2. Germany has signed an agreement for the return of a Matisse painting, looted by the Nazis, to the family of its original Jewish owner.

Femme Assise [Seated Woman] was __________ from the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Adolf Hitler's art dealer.

3. Last year a record 1,215 rhinos were __________ for their horns in South Africa - and at the same time, 42 poachers were killed by rangers and police. This bloody conflict is fuelled by the mistaken belief in Asia that rhino horn cures cancer, and it's growing more intense every year.

4. The lock-rings - worn either as earrings or in the hair by a person of wealth and status about 3,000 years ago - were discovered in Rossett.

The __________ will now go on display in Wrexham County Borough Museum.

5. "Instead of allowing his spirit to be __________ and giving up, instead of allowing himself to be filled with anger and frustration, Jafar Panahi created a love letter to cinema," said Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, who headed this year's jury.

Answers

1. Mr Jeffrey added: "Criminals involved in the illegal supply of medical products through the internet aren't interested in your health, they are interested in your money and are able to get this by selling you a potentially dangerous product or by stealing your bank details. "

See story

2. Germany has signed an agreement for the return of a Matisse painting, looted by the Nazis, to the family of its original Jewish owner.

Femme Assise [Seated Woman] was confiscated from the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Adolf Hitler's art dealer.

See story

3. Last year a record 1,215 rhinos were slaughtered for their horns in South Africa - and at the same time, 42 poachers were killed by rangers and police. This bloody conflict is fuelled by the mistaken belief in Asia that rhino horn cures cancer, and it's growing more intense every year.

See story

4. The lock-rings - worn either as earrings or in the hair by a person of wealth and status about 3,000 years ago - were discovered in Rossett.

The ornaments will now go on display in Wrexham County Borough Museum.

See story

5. "Instead of allowing his spirit to be crushed and giving up, instead of allowing himself to be filled with anger and frustration, Jafar Panahi created a love letter to cinema," said Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, who headed this year's jury.

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cloudburst

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