Learning English

Uluru rescue

Australia's Aboriginal people urge visitors not to climb on the famous rock. But thousands do every year.

Language challenge

Which fictional characters have in recent years come to mean 'stupid people' in British English.
a) The Teletubbies
b) The Muppets
c) The Simpsons

Watch the video and complete the activity

The story

Three men have been rescued from Australia's most famous rock, Uluru - formerly known as Ayer's Rock. The climbers – all from Australia and in their early 20s – got into difficulties when they left a designated pathway and got stuck in a crevice.

They were brought to safety after an 11-hour rescue operation. Australian indigenous groups consider the 350-metre sandstone monolith to be sacred and urge visitors not to climb it.

Key words and phrases

designated
officially having a particular purpose

indigenous
describes people, plants and wildlife that have lived in a certain place for longer than later arrivals

sacred
connected with religion or considered to be holy or precious.

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.

Downloads

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Language challenge - answer

b) The Muppets. In British English, if you think someone is behaving in a stupid way, you can call them a muppet.

End of Session 2

Join us in Session 3 for Lingohack - our video which teaches you words from the news using the latest BBC World News bulletins.