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  • Young female footballers from Afghanistan

  • have been given the right to live in the UK

  • after leaving the Taliban-controlled country.

  • I'm Neil and this is News Review from BBC Learning English.

  • Joining me is Roy. Hello Roy.

  • Hello Neil and hello everybody.

  • If you would like to test yourself on the vocabulary around this story,

  • all you need to do is head to our website

  • bbclearningenglish.com to take a quiz.

  • But now, let's hear more about this story from this BBC News report:

  • Yes. So, a group of young female Afghan footballers

  • and their families have been given visas to come and live in the UK.

  • These footballers had left Afghanistan to get away from the Taliban

  • and have been living in Pakistan.

  • OK. Well, you have been scanning the world's media

  • for this story and you have picked out

  • some really useful words and expressions. What have you got?

  • We have: 'resettled', 'granted' and 'flee'.

  • 'Resettled', 'granted' and 'flee'.

  • So, let's have a look at your first headline please, Roy.

  • So, our first headline comes from the UK,

  • from the Evening Standard, and it reads:

  • 'Resettled' – forced or helped to move to a different place to live.

  • Yes. So, this word is spelt R-E-S-E-T-T-L-E-D

  • and it means that somebody has been moved by force,

  • or from help, from one place to another to live.

  • Now, let's first of all look at that word.

  • Right in the middle of that word is the word 'settle',

  • which means to move somewhere to live.

  • So, for example, my parentswhen I was a lot younger

  • they moved to the Isle of Wight in the south of the UK to live.

  • So, they settled on the Isle of Wight

  • and it's about a choiceyou choosing to do something

  • and it being a permanent arrangement.

  • Now, in the word 'resettled', we have that prefix 're-', which means 'again'.

  • So, for example, Neil, if you do something once

  • and then you do it again, what do you do?

  • You 'redo' it.

  • 'Redo' it: so, you're doing it for a second timeagain.

  • And the idea of 'resettled' is moving where...

  • you are settled in one placeyou're living in one place

  • and then you move to another place: you 'resettle'.

  • Now, it's important to remember this is often that you're helped

  • or you're forced to do that move.

  • That's right. So, for example, if you live – I mean, we looked

  • at a story from the Canary Islands with the volcano a few weeks ago.

  • If a volcano explodeseruptsnear you and the lava is flowing

  • towards your house and destroys it or there are floods, for example,

  • you may have to be 'resettled' – that's move to a new place.

  • And in that situation there is something forcing you – a natural disaster

  • but the authorities are there to help you 'resettle'.

  • In other situationswe can think of, for example,

  • with many indigenous populations around the world

  • governments force them to move onto new settlements

  • and that was done by force.

  • So, it was not with the best intentions.

  • No, no. Absolutely not.

  • And you used an interesting word there.

  • You used the word 'settlement', which is the place where people 'settle'

  • and the people that do the 'settling' are called 'settlers'.

  • That's right, yeah. So, that word 'settle' in the middle there

  • is the key to all of this.

  • Absolutely.

  • OK. Let's get a summary:

  • So, we mentioned natural disasters and people having to move.

  • We covered a story, a while ago, about a flood in Australia,

  • in which crocodiles were seen swimming up and down the streets of a town.

  • Where can our viewers find it?

  • All you need to do is click the link in the description and I can tell you,

  • if there were crocodiles swimming down my streets,

  • I would want to be 'resettled' immediately.

  • I'm sure you would! OK.

  • Let's have a look at your next headline.

  • OK. So, our next headline comes from the National and it reads:

  • 'Granted' – given something officially.

  • Yes. So, this word is spelt G-R-A-N-T-E-D

  • and it means to be given the permission

  • or the right to do something.

  • So, for example, in this case these people have been given visas:

  • they have been 'granted' visas.

  • Another good example is you can 'grant' somebody access to a building:

  • you can give that person the permission to enter the building.

  • Or, for example, on computers

  • if you can't access my file, I can 'grant' you the access:

  • it's about giving the permission.

  • OK. Royso, you said it's like 'give':

  • so, why don't we just use 'give'?

  • What's the difference between 'grant' and 'give'?

  • Well, yeah, I mean, informally you could say they've been 'given' visas,

  • but 'grant' is a bit more official.

  • It's a bit more about giving permission to do something.

  • It's an official thing. And it's also...

  • has this sort of idea of it being about a favour

  • or helping someone to do something.

  • That's right, yeah.

  • We see this word, 'grant', also as a noun, don't we?

  • And it's... it refers often to financial help.

  • Yeah. Again, that important word there is 'help'

  • and it's facilitating something to happen.

  • So, a good example of this is maybe if somebody needs help

  • or they don't have access to finances to go to university,

  • they receive a 'grant';

  • or maybe a charity or a person receives a 'grant' to do something.

  • It's about being helped

  • and that idea again of a favour or permission to do something.

  • Yeah. And there's another expression, quite common, isn't there?

  • To 'take something for granted'.

  • Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

  • We hear this a lot, especially parents talking about their children:

  • 'Oh, he or she takes me for granted!'

  • Now, this idea is believing that something is true or it's available,

  • without really questioning or asking something.

  • Now, a great example of this:

  • just recently, something's happening in the UK, isn't it, Neil?

  • That's right, yes. People may have heard

  • that we've had problems getting petrol in the UK

  • and so there are queues at petrol stations,

  • or the petrol stations are just empty and it's...

  • it's a, kind of, shocking surprise for people here

  • because we 'take it for granted' that there will be petrol

  • when you go to a petrol station.

  • Yeah. And I can think of another example: in the UK,

  • at the start of the Covid pandemic,

  • I went to the supermarket and the shelves were just...

  • there was nothing in the supermarket and toilet paper wasn't there.

  • Now, I 'take for granted' that my supermarket will have toilet paper

  • and I think a lot of people 'took that for granted'

  • and when the toilet paper wasn't there any more,

  • it was a big... a big shock.

  • That's right. Yes, there are many things that we 'take for granted'

  • that perhaps we shouldn't.

  • OK. Let's get a summary:

  • One of the things that we 'take for granted'

  • is that we will be here forever on this Earth,

  • but anyone who takes...

  • takes a step back and looks at us floating in space will realise

  • that actually we're a fragile little place,

  • and space is a theme that we have been looking at in detail

  • at BBC Learning English recently, haven't we, Roy?

  • Yes, we have indeed.

  • Now, this episode is all about who owns space.

  • Now, I was... I was... I learnt a lot from this episode.

  • I found it really interesting

  • and all you need to do to watch it is click the link in the description.

  • OK. Let's have a look at our next headline.

  • OK. So, our next headline comes from the Sun and it reads:

  • 'Flee' – to leave a place of danger.

  • Right. So, this word is spelt F-L-E-E

  • and it's about escaping a dangerous situation

  • or something that you're very scared of.

  • So, we use itand it's got this idea of being in panic or chaos.

  • You're running away very, very quickly.

  • We often 'flee' dangerous situations.

  • Now, earlier on, you spoke about that volcano going off

  • on the...in the Canary Islands.

  • A lot of people will have...

  • they will have to have 'fled' from that situation.

  • They will have run awayescaped that situation.

  • Yeah, interesting past tense there, you used, Roy: 'fled'.

  • It's not 'flee-ed'; it's 'fled'.

  • Yes. So, it's: 'flee', 'fled', 'fled'. F-L-E-D – 'fled'.

  • Now, obviously, this is for very extreme situations that we use this literally

  • you know, with volcanoes or very dangerous situationsbut we do...

  • we do sometimes use it in an exaggerated sense, don't we?

  • We like to exaggerate with the word 'flee'.

  • Yeah. So, perhaps you... you're at a party

  • and someone arrives, who you just don't want to see

  • ex-girlfriend, ex-boyfriend or

  • someone you've had an argument with or somethingand you might 'flee'.

  • It means escape that situation because it's uncomfortable for you.

  • Yeah. And there's a...

  • there's another word which sounds the same,

  • but has a completely different meaning, isn't there?

  • Yes, there is.

  • Now, in the spirit of the homophones that we like to talk about,

  • there is another word spelt F-L-E-A

  • and this is a small creature that jumps.

  • It does huge jumps and it usually bites animals or people.

  • It was believed to be responsible for spreading the plague:

  • it was biting people and spreading the plague, back in the day.

  • I'm really scared of these creatures;

  • they're making me feel itchy right now.

  • I'm kind of itchy, just thinking about 'fleas':

  • I... I would like to 'flee' this situation.

  • Go for it!

  • OK. Let's get a summary:

  • Time now for a recap of the vocabulary please, Roy.

  • Yes. We had 'resettled' – forced or helped to move to a different place to live.

  • We had 'granted' – given something officially.

  • And we had 'flee' – leave a place of danger.

  • If you would like to test yourself

  • on the vocabulary you've heard in this programme,

  • go to our website bbclearningenglish.com.

  • You'll find a quiz and all kinds of other activities.

  • Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

  • Bye.

Young female footballers from Afghanistan

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