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  • Hello. Welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

  • I'm Tom and joining me this morning is Catherine. Hi, Catherine.

  • Hello Tom and hello everybody. Today's story is about a

  • big development in the world of professional football.

  • Don't forgetif you want to test yourself

  • on today's vocabulary, we have a quiz at bbclearningenglish.com.

  • Now, let's hear more about

  • this story from a BBC Radio 5 live news report:

  • Yes, there are plans to start a new European Super League in football.

  • This Super League will include six English football teams

  • and more teams from Europe. Now, this news has been met with

  • mixed reactions to say the least: some are in favour,

  • but a lot of people are strongly opposed to the idea.

  • OK. So, we've got three words and expressions that you can

  • use to talk about today's story. Catherine, what are they?

  • We have: 'breakaway', 'beggars belief' and 'blunt take'.

  • 'Breakaway', 'beggars belief' and 'blunt take'.

  • Some great British-English expressions there. Catherine,

  • let's take a look at your first one and your first headline, please.

  • Yes, we're starting in the UK with the Evening Standardthe headline:

  • 'Breakaway' – independent, separate after leaving a group.

  • Catherine, what can you tell us about this word 'breakaway'?

  • Well, I can tell you that it's an objective and we use it

  • before the noun 'Super League'.

  •   Now, the spelling of this word is: B-R-E-A-K-A-W-A-Y.

  • Now, that's actually two words: 'break' and 'away',

  • but we put them together to make the adjective 'breakaway'.

  • OK. So, what does it mean, this word 'breakaway'?

  • We've looked at how it's put together.

  • What's the meaning of the word?

  • Well, it means you've literally...

  • you've broken with something and you've moved away from it.

  • So, you were part of a group or an organisation, but you've

  • now left that group and you've started doing a similar activity,

  • but you've done it on your own.

  • So, we're looking at this Super League,

  • right, which is kind of 'broken away' from what has come before it.

  • Now, we've got these two words: 'break' and 'away'.

  • 'Break' is not always a good word, right?

  • I could break my arm or I could break somebody's heart.

  • Yeah, most definitely.

  • And it's often used – 'breakaway' means usually you've...

  • you're a 'breakaway group': you're doing your own thing,

  • but the group that you've left is not happy about it.

  • Or you weren't happy with the way the group was behaving or organising itself;

  • you think you can do it better, so you leave that old group

  • and you start doing the same thing yourself. Now, as you can imagine,

  • a lot of times when people do that, somebody's not happy.

  • So, 'to break away'. This is a phrasal verb, right?

  • Yes, absolutely. Yes, as well as an adjective,

  • you can use it as a phrasal verb.

  • You can 'break away' and start your own group.

  • You can 'break away from', and you use a preposition 'from',

  • a previous group. Now, Tom, I've heard on the grapevine a rumour

  • about something called TBC.

  • TBC Learning English!

  • Yeah, Tom's Broadcasting Corporation Learning English.

  • This is my 'breakaway' group, which I've been thinking about starting.

  • ...Outrageous. I can't believe it.

  • You're going to 'break away' – phrasal verbfrom the BBC and

  • you're going to start a 'breakaway' English teaching company.

  • And do you know what that would make me as a person?

  • That would make me a 'breakaway', which is the noun, right?

  • We can also use a 'breakaway' as a noun to refer to the person or

  • thing that breaks away. Exactly.

  • Great. OK. That's 'breakaway'.

  • Let's take a look at our summary slide, please:

  • So, 'break' – a word with a lot of uses.

  • There's a video of Sam giving us some more, right, Catherine?

  • Yes, five more, in fact.

  • And to watch that video, it just takes a minutejust click the link.

  • Click the link in the description.

  • Perfect. OK. Catherine, let's take a look at your next headline, please.

  • Yes, we are now at the Burnley Express,

  • here in the UKthe headline:

  • 'Beggars belief' – is shocking, outrageous.

  • Nice British-English expression.

  • Catherine, what can you tell us about this one?

  • Yes, it's another two-word expression, Tom.

  • The first word – 'beggars': B-E-G-G-A-R-S.

  • Second word is 'belief': B-E-L-I-E-F.

  • It 'beggars belief'.

  • It's a fixed expression; we don't change it. And it's a verb phrase,

  • so you use it after a subject, which is usually 'it'.

  • Now, it's similar to 'unbelievable', but it's like 'shocking'.

  • If something 'beggars belief', you're really shocked, you're outraged.

  • It's... it's a really, kind of, affronting thing that has happened.

  • So, you're really... you don't like what's happened.

  • If you beg... if it 'beggars belief', it's quite shocking.

  • Sort of like, 'I can't believe it,' right?

  • Yeah. In a bad way. You know, you're like, 'What??!'

  • So, when I first heard the story of Tom's Broadcasting Company, I've got to

  • say, I turned round and I said: 'It beggars belief that he's done that!'

  • OK. Concentrating on the language, good example.

  • You said: 'It beggars belief that...'

  • And this is a common sort of way that we can use this expression, right?

  • Yes. You can use it as... you can just say the statement:

  • 'Something's happened: Tom set up TBCit beggars belief'.

  • Or you can say: 'It beggars belief that Tom has set up a rival to the BBC.'

  • Can't believe it.

  • You can't... I can't believe it: it beggars belief.

  • I can't believe that we've come to the end of this section.

  • It beggars belief that we're here. OK. Let's take a look at

  • that summary slide, please, for it 'beggars belief':

  • So, in today's story we've seen that lots of people in the

  • world of football are being very loud and very noisy,

  • making their opinions heard about the Super League. But we have a video

  • from the archive about football crowds becoming quieter, right?

  • Yes, we do. Not as quiet as they are at the minute

  • because of lockdownthere's no crowds at all.

  • But we do have a programme about the way that football crowds are actually

  • making less noise than they used to. Just click the link... to watch the show.

  • Just click... Just click the link in the video. OK. Perfect.

  • Catherine, let's have a look at your next headline for today, please.

  • Right, OK. We are at HITC, here in the UKthe headline:

  • 'Blunt take' – completely honest opinion.

  • Catherine, tell us about 'blunt take'.

  • Here we go. So, we've got two words here.

  • The first word – 'blunt': B-L-U-N-T. The second word – 'take': T-A-K-E.

  • Now, when we say these words slowly, you'll hear it like this: 'blunt take'.

  • But in a sentence, you won't hear the 't' sound at the end of 'blunt'.

  • We'll say it like this, Tom: 'Blunt take'.

  • It will all come together into 'blunt take'. A 'blunt take'. OK.

  • Catherine, give us your 'blunt take'. What does this mean, this expression?

  • OK. 'Blunt take' meansif you give a 'blunt take' on something,

  • you say your opinion very honestly, very openly, and even if you know

  • the person isn't going to like what you're saying, you don't soften

  • anything you're going to say: you say it directly. You tell it like it is.

  • You say it like it is, or you tell it like it is. Great.

  • OK. So, this adjective 'blunt'. What does this mean?

  • Well, if something's 'blunt' – if a knife is 'blunt', it isn't sharp.

  • And a sharp knife will cut cleanly,

  • but if you cut something with a 'blunt' knife,

  • it's not going to be pleasant... it's not going to be comfortable.

  • So, we can say ...we can say it's sort of not refined, right?

  • It's not polished or perfect.

  • Exactly. So, here it means, kind of, honest.

  • And 'take' – what's a 'take'? Why do we use 'take' in this expression?

  • OK. A 'take' is your opinion on something.

  • If you give somebody your 'take' on something, you give your opinion.

  • So, a 'blunt take' is a brutally honest opinionno niceness.

  • You're just saying it the way it is.

  • So, we can use the verbs 'deliver', 'give' and 'provide' with this.

  • We can 'deliver', 'give' or 'provide a blunt take'.

  • Catherine, could you please give me the 'blunt take'.

  • What do you think about TBC Learning English?

  • Tom, I think you're crazy.

  • That's it. Nothing more to say.

  • Ooh. Telling it like it isgiving us the 'blunt take'. OK.

  • And at this point, let's cut to our summary slide, please:

  • OK. Catherine, can you give us a recap of today's vocabulary, please?

  • Yes, we had: 'breakaway' – independent, separate after

  • leaving a group. We had: 'beggars belief' – is shocking, outrageous.

  • And 'blunt take' – completely honest opinion.

  • And don't forgetif you want to test yourself

  • on today's vocabulary, we have a quiz at bbclearningenglish.com.

  • And of course we are all over social media as well.

  • That's it from us today. Thanks for joining us and please come back next time.

  • Bye. Bye!

Hello. Welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

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