BBC Learning English
Video Words in the News
27 March 2013
From the ashes of Pompeii
Transcript:
Frozen in time&
Plaster casts of victims buried following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius around
2,000 years ago.
They are part of a major exhibition of more than 250 archaeological
discoveries in the British Museum about the Roman cities of Pompeii and
Herculaneum.
Jewellery still intact, a cot turned to charcoal& they offer a snapshot of the
lives of ordinary people at the time.
Vocabulary:
frozen
stopped moving and completely still
plaster casts
copies of statues or other objects made from plaster: a mixture of white powder
and water that becomes hard when it dries
archaeological discoveries
items or information found by archaeologists: people who study the past by
looking at objects, graves and buildings from that time
charcoal
hard, black substance made from burned wood
snapshot
a description that tells you about a place or situation at a particular time
Watch the video online: From the ashes of Pompeii http://bbc.in/WTdHjJ
Video Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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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.
frozen / plaster casts / archaeological discoveries / charcoal / snapshot
1. It is comparatively easy to find evidence of human occupation in caves
through the dating of __________ from fires or bones from long-ago
dinners, Dr Cohen said.
2. Gori's main tourist attraction is its museum to Stalin. The ornate building,
with its collection of heroic photographs and Stalin's death mask, appears
__________ in time - a Soviet shrine to the dictator, almost untouched
since the museum was built in 1957.
3. The excavation has revealed artefacts that show a __________ of life in
Ireland at least as far back as the 9th century AD.
4. The gymnast, who won a bronze medal at London 2012, had to stand with
her body covered in plaster-filled bandages for an hour while the cast was
made.
The __________ was then taken back to Ms Giblin's Sussex studio where
the artwork was completed.
5. Recent __________ on the Arabian Peninsula have uncovered evidence of a
previously unknown civilisation based in the now arid areas in the middle of
the desert.
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Answers:
1. It is comparatively easy to find evidence of human occupation in caves through
the dating of charcoal from fires or bones from long-ago dinners, Dr Cohen said.
Source: 'Oldest pottery' found in China
http://bbc.in/Jpa3P
2. Gori's main tourist attraction is its museum to Stalin. The ornate building, with
its collection of heroic photographs and Stalin's death mask, appears frozen in
time - a Soviet shrine to the dictator, almost untouched since the museum was
built in 1957.
Source: Georgia divided over Stalin 'local hero' status in Gori
http://bbc.in/14mm0EC
3. The excavation has revealed artefacts that show a snapshot of life in Ireland at
least as far back as the 9th century AD.
Source: Fermanagh crannog dig extended for further week
http://bbc.in/XuFLKV
4. The gymnast, who won a bronze medal at London 2012, had to stand with her
body covered in plaster-filled bandages for an hour while the cast was made.
The plaster cast was then taken back to Ms Giblin's Sussex studio where the
artwork was completed.
Source: Beth Tweddle sculpture presented to her in Liverpool
http://bbc.in/WmpgQ4
5. Recent archaeological discoveries on the Arabian Peninsula have uncovered
evidence of a previously unknown civilisation based in the now arid areas in the
middle of the desert.
Source: Desert finds challenge horse taming ideas
http://bbc.in/XClkIa
Video Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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bbclearningenglish.com