Dear Reader,
Today we are going to do three different things with the one-minute news clip on the BBC website. First, sort the new items into the following categories:
- BP Oil Spill
- Aid for Gaza
- Soccer World Cup
|
|
…by beating Uruguay on Saturday |
To win against Uruguay on Saturday |
|
|
…carrying aid for Gaza |
To bring help to Gaza |
|
|
…pouring into the Gulf of Mexico |
To spill into the Gulf of Mexico |
|
|
…making a fresh attempt |
To try again |
|
|
…heading for Egypt |
Egypt is the destination |
|
|
…for hosting the tournament |
To be the host of the Soccer World Cup |
|
|
…reach the climax |
To come to the high point |
|
|
…a fractured underwater pipe |
A pipe with a crack and leaks |
|
|
…the vessel would not change course |
The ship would not change direction |
|
|
…after diplomatic intervention |
After diplomacy was initiated |
Here are the answers:
|
World Cup |
…by beating Uruguay on Saturday |
To win against Uruguay on Saturday |
|
Aid for Gaza |
…carrying aid for Gaza |
To bring help to Gaza |
|
BP Oil Spill |
…pouring into the Gulf of Mexico |
To spill into the Gulf of Mexico |
|
BP Oil Spill |
…making a fresh attempt |
To try again |
|
Aid for Gaza |
…heading for Egypt |
Egypt is the destination |
|
World Cup |
…for hosting the tournament |
To be the host of the Soccer World Cup |
|
World Cup |
…reach the climax |
To come to the high point |
|
BP Oil Spill |
…a fractured underwater pipe |
A pipe with a crack and leaks |
|
Aid for Gaza |
…the vessel would not change course |
The ship would not change direction |
|
Aid for Gaza |
…after diplomatic intervention |
After diplomacy was initiated |
Next, do you notice that the speaker uses expressions with the –ing often instead of building clauses (Nebensätze). This is a very popular and good stylistic technique used in English and sounds less clumsy.
Last, I would like to point out that expressions, such as
- To reach a climax
- A fractured underwater pipe
- The vessel would not change course
- After diplomatic intervention
are typical for an English native-speaker to say and would be said differently if I were translating directly from German to English. As such, they are excellent to learn and to use when you speak or write English.
Kind regards,
Nelly Thomas