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Unit 6: Passive voice
Tips for learning irregular verbs

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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 3

Get up-to-date with the latest news and understand it too with Lingohack. Listen to and watch authentic BBC World News bulletins and learn key words and phrases that help you make sense of the news.

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    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

Lingohack

Today's Headlines

Obama's final State of the Union address

Counting Africa's elephants from the sky

Australia celebrates Elvis

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President Obama has set out the vision he hopes will define his legacy in his final State of the Union address. He vowed to continue targeting terrorist networks, accelerate the switch from fossil fuels and also launch a new drive to cure cancer. He called for Congress to be less partisan in order to make real progress.

The elephant population in Africa is continuing to decline despite an international ban on the trade of ivory tusks. Counting the remaining animals is certainly a difficult task – they roam through vast areas, across 20 countries but that is the bold ambition of the great elephant census. It's a continent-wide initiative started by the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, to keep an account of Africa's elephants and to do it from the sky.

Thousands of Elvis Presley fans descended on a town in Australia over the weekend for an annual outback festival dedicated to the iconic US singer. The celebrations in Parkes coincided with what would have been Elvis's 81st birthday. The festival was first held in 1993 and includes lookalike competitions, an Elvis-themed gospel service and large street parades as well.

To do

Try these questions to test your ability to use the words from this Lingohack.

Use the words from Lingohack

5 Questions

Use one of the words or phrases from this Lingohack to complete the sentences. You may have to change the form of the word.

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Want to learn more words from BBC news reports? Check out our other Lingohack videos.

End of Session 3

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Session Grammar

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Session Vocabulary

  • vowed
    promised (to do something)

    partisan
    supporting the political views of just one party

    bold ambition
    big or difficult aim, requiring lots of effort

    census
    official count and collection of information about a population

    iconic
    famous person or object which is thought to represent an idea or style from a particular time

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