BBC Learning English
Video Words in the News
11 December 2013
The icing on the cake
Transcript:
A slice of life in Dresden.
For 20 years, the German city has been holding a festival dedicated to its
traditional Christmas fruit cake, the 'stollen'.
Cutting it was no piece of cake. Several bakers needed sharp knives and
determination to make sure everybody got their share of the 4,246kg treat.
In the end, only crumbs were left. But people with a sweet tooth need not
worry. There's always next year.
Vocabulary:
slice
a flat, thin piece
dedicated
intended for a particular purpose
piece of cake
easy
determination
resolve
sweet tooth
a liking for sweet food
Watch the video online: The icing on the cake http://bbc.in/1e2DVuw
Video Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
Page 1 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com
Exercise:
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.
slice / dedicated / piece of cake / determination / sweet tooth
1. "Our universities want to give places to students with the qualifications,
potential and __________ to succeed, irrespective of their background.
That's why we are pumping millions more into outreach programmes."
2. "Everyone was so motivated," said Dr Dusko Ehrlich. "To have such an
exciting project to run - it's a __________. The work went much faster
than we expected."
3. The US SpaceX company has announced its intention to take a big
__________ of the market for launching the world's TV and telecoms
satellites.
4. The monks also had a very __________ and even ate sweet porridge
served with meat. Desserts were often soaked in honey and included fritters
and nutmeg cookies.
5. "It's essential that all staff receive support and training in the administration
of IV fluids and hospitals should ensure time is __________ to this," she
added."
Video Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
Page 2 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com
Answers:
1. "Our universities want to give places to students with the qualifications,
potential and determination to succeed, irrespective of their background.
That's why we are pumping millions more into outreach programmes."
Source: Universities accused of being 'as exclusive as ever'
http://bbc.in/1aR2djo
2. "Everyone was so motivated," said Dr Dusko Ehrlich. "To have such an
exciting project to run - it's a piece of cake. The work went much faster
than we expected."
Source: Human gut microbes hold 'second genome'
http://bbc.in/Jab75A
3. The US SpaceX company has announced its intention to take a big slice of
the market for launching the world's TV and telecoms satellites.
Source: SpaceX launches SES commercial TV satellite for Asia
http://bbc.in/1bu8Onk
4. The monks also had a very sweet tooth and even ate sweet porridge served
with meat. Desserts were often soaked in honey and included fritters and
nutmeg cookies.
Source: Medieval recipe book reveals wealth of Evesham's monks
http://bbc.in/1cmpsms
5. "It's essential that all staff receive support and training in the administration
of IV fluids and hospitals should ensure time is dedicated to this," she
added."
Source: One fifth of patients' drips 'are dangerous'
http://bbc.in/1d6gVpb
Video Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
Page 3 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com