Learning English

Slippery toilets could save billions of litres of water

People use about 140 billion litres of water a day. Now a newly invented ultra-slippery toilet spray could help reduce that amount dramatically.

Language challenge

Which word means ‘toilet’ in British slang?

a) zoo
b) loo
c) poo

ነቲ ቪድዮ ብምዕዛብ ነቲ ስራሕ ዕመምዎ

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The story

Researchers in the United States say they have produced an ultra-slippery coating for toilets that could help to save vast quantities of water around the world.

They say the spray-on coating significantly reduces the amount of water needed to flush a toilet effectively.

Key words and phrases

unsightly
unpleasant to look at

• There is some unsightly graffiti on the bus stop.
• The neighbours left an unsightly pile of rubbish outside their house.

state of the art
the most technologically advanced

• My new car is state of the art – it’s solar powered.
• I bought a state-of-the-art robot vacuum cleaner – it really works!

shed
get rid of/dispose of

• A snake sheds its skin a few times a year.
• Rob gave up eating chocolate biscuits and shed weight.

To do

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

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Language challenge answer

b) loo

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