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12

Unit 12: The continuous passive
How to sound less direct and more polite!

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  1. 1 Go beyond intermediate with our new video course
  2. 2 Reported speech in 90 seconds!
  3. 3 If or whether?
  4. 4 5 ways to use 'would'
  5. 5 Let and allow
  6. 6 Passive voice
  7. 7 Unless
  8. 8 Mixed conditionals
  9. 9 The zero article - in 90 seconds
  10. 10 The indefinite article - in 90 seconds
  11. 11 The. That's right - the! Learn all about it in 90 seconds
  12. 12 The continuous passive
  13. 13 Future perfect
  14. 14 Need + verb-ing
  15. 15 Have something done
  16. 16 Wish
  17. 17 Word stress
  18. 18 Different ways of saying 'if'
  19. 19 Passive reporting structures
  20. 20 The subjunctive
  21. 21 When and if
  22. 22 Inversion
  23. 23 Phrasal verbs
  24. 24 The future
  25. 25 Modals in the past
  26. 26 Narrative tenses
  27. 27 Phrasal verb myths
  28. 28 Conditionals review
  29. 29 Used to - review
  30. 30 Linking words of contrast

Session 2

Millions of people were left without water in Delhi after protesters damaged the city's water supply. In News Review, Finn and Neil examine the language used by the world's media to talk about this story.

Sessions in this unit

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Session 2 score

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    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

News Review

Dry Delhi

Why have 10 million people in Delhi been without water? Watch our video to learn more about the Delhi water crisis - and pick up some useful vocabulary to talk about this news story.

Language challenge

Which word do we use in British English?

a) Tap

b) Faucet

Watch the video and complete the activity

The story

Water supplies are beginning to be restored in the Indian capital, Delhi, following protests which had left 10 million people cut off.

Engineers are working to repair a canal which was damaged during violent protests by members of the Jat community.

Sanjoy Majumder - BBC News

Engineers have been working hard to repair a vital canal which supplies water to the Indian capital. Parts of the city have started receiving water again.

The canal had been breached and damaged by protesters from the Jat community, who've been demanding that they be included in affirmative action caste quotas which will give them access to government jobs and university places.

Over the past week they've blocked key highways and railway lines leading into Delhi.

Key words and phrases

restored
made to function again

cut off
unable to access something

canal
artificial river made to transport water or boats

vulnerable
if something is vulnerable, it's easy to damage or attack

grapple
to fight (a challenge or problem)

unrest
angry or violent behaviour by groups of people during protests or disagreements

News Review quiz

3 Questions

How well did you understand the language in this programme?

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Language challenge - answer

It's a tap in British English, and a faucet in American English.

More

Learn more about this story with BBC News.

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.

Session Vocabulary

  • restored
    made to function again

    cut off
    unable to access something

    canal
    artificial river made to transport water or boats

    vulnerable
    if something is vulnerable, it's easy to damage or attack

    grapple
    to fight (a challenge or problem)

    unrest
    angry or violent behaviour by groups of people during protests or disagreements

View full vocabulary reference

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