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| Words in the News
Monday 20 August 2001
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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Russia: 10 years on from the coup
Summary: Ten years ago an attempted coup in Moscow led to the fall of the USSR. Since then, life has changed in different ways for two sets of Russian citizens. This report from Caroline Wyatt:
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| | The News | |
| | | House-hunting with the new Russian elite is a disconcerting experience. Most Moscow flats are tiny and crammed full of aunts, grandmothers and children as families seek to save money. But the flat that Konstantin Yermakov and his wife, Olga, are looking at in central Moscow costs more than a million dollars, with gold and marble everywhere.
The Yermakovs are new Russians - entrepreneurs reaping the glittering rewards of capitalism. Konstantin says that even the existence of such a flat would have been unthinkable in Soviet times when he was a civil servant and “profit” was a dirty word. Now he is a successful businessman.
Yet, over the past ten years, while some may have achieved fabulous wealth, Russia's switch to casino-style capitalism has also left many losers. In the village of Olgovo, just fifty kilometres north of Moscow, there is no longer any running water, the pipes are broken and no-one has the money to fix them. For many Russians this anniversary is little cause for celebration and just another day in the struggle to survive.
CAROLINE WYATT, BBC NEWS, MOSCOW
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| | The Words
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| | | house-hunting
looking for somewhere to live, such as a house or flat
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| | | disconcerting
something that makes you feel worried, embarrassed or uncomfortable
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| | | crammed full
if you cram something full, you fill it as much as possible
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| | | reaping the rewards of
benefit from, get something useful from
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| | | such a flat
a flat like this
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| | | unthinkable
so strange that you cannot imagine it
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| | | a dirty word
a word or concept not to mention, a taboo subject
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| | | achieved fabulous wealth
become extremely rich
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| | | casino-style capitalism
a form of capitalism where some people win a lot while others lose a lot, as in a casino
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| | | little cause for celebration
not much reason to celebrate
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| | Read more about this story | |
| | Other Words in the News archives | |
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