BBC Learning English
Words in the News
26th October 2011
Dancing into history
Transcript:
An historic leap! American David Hallberg will soon be in the limelight as the first foreign
principal dancer of Russia's Bolshoi ballet company.
At the height of the Cold War, 50 years ago, when Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev
defected to the West, an American dancer in Moscow would have been unimaginable.
But now Hallberg has the opportunity to wow the Bolshoi's fans.
Vocabulary:
leap
a leap is a big jump  but it can also be used to suggest a sudden change.
in the limelight
limelight was originally a form of stage lighting before electricity. The expression 'in the
limelight' now means being 'the centre of attention'.
at the height of
at the time when the situation was at its most intense.
defected
left a country with a particular political regime in order to escape that system.
to wow
to please, to impress.
Watch this video online: Dancing into history http://bbc.in/uZH1r8
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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Exercise:
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC
news report.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
leap / in the limelight / at the height of / defected / to wow
1.
North Korea has denied sending spies into South Korea to murder the most senior official
ever _____________ from the Communist country.
2.
It's certainly the case that the way most brides and grooms choose to preserve their brief
moment _____________ has been evolving, away from the stuffy and predictable.
3.
"It gets people on board to have a look and they're _____________ by it. It's showing people
that these boats are affordable, that they're not just for billionaires."
4.
Many see Australia moving away from its old allegiances, towards a future firmly within the
Asian region. But can it make the emotional and cultural _______ to replace Europe and
America at the centre of its consciousness with Asia?
5.
The Pistols, having recently sworn on tea-time telly, were ____________ their notoriety,
many of the tour dates were cancelled, and protesters gathered to sing carols and pray for
the misguided souls inside the town's Castle Cinema.
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Answers:
1.
North Korea has denied sending spies into South Korea to murder the most senior official
ever to defect from the Communist country.
Source: North Korea denies plotting to kill prominent defector http://bbc.in/nwKOCS
2.
It's certainly the case that the way most brides and grooms choose to preserve their brief
moment in the limelight has been evolving, away from the stuffy and predictable.
Source: Wedding planner: Preserving the memories http://bbc.in/i2ITp4
3.
"It gets people on board to have a look and they're wowed by it. It's showing people that
these boats are affordable, that they're not just for billionaires."
Source: Group buying online shopping trend hits the Middle East http://bbc.in/qoyDKw
4.
Many see Australia moving away from its old allegiances, towards a future firmly within the
Asian region. But can it make the emotional and cultural leap to replace Europe and
America at the centre of its consciousness with Asia?
Source: Embracing Australia's Asian future http://bbc.in/pXA53S
5.
The Pistols, having recently sworn on tea-time telly, were at the height of their notoriety,
many of the tour dates were cancelled, and protesters gathered to sing carols and pray for
the misguided souls inside the town's Castle Cinema.
Source: Punk rock: Anarchy in the UK tribute tour in Caerphilly http://bbc.in/mXX7Y0
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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