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| Words in the News
Monday 29 April 2002
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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Iran's reformists and conservatives
Summary: Iran's political scene is sharply divided between reformists and hardline conservatives within the Islamic regime. In recent months the country has faced a number of major challenges from outside its borders and was named as part of President Bush's axis of evil. This report from Jim Muir:
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| | The News | |
| | | First there was the American-led attack on neighbouring Afghanistan, and the subsequent stationing of western forces there in Iran's backyard. Then Tehran was bracketed, along with its old enemy Iraq, and North Korea, in President Bush's axis of evil. The climactic escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians further focussed hostile American attentions on Iran, which is associated with Islamic militants. All of this naturally produced numerous calls here for national accord between the rival factions. But until recently, there was little by way of real action in that direction. In fact, if anything, all these outside issues seemed until recently only to exacerbate the bitter divisions, with blame and recriminations flying around as the pressures built up. It's certainly early days, but it does seem that the climate is being prepared for a domestic détente which would allow the country's leaders to formulate and pursue truly national policies on such vital issues as how to respond to the Palestinian crisis, and whether or not some kind of dialogue should be opened with Washington in order to defuse the perceived American threat to Iran.
Jim Muir, BBC, Tehran
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| | The Words
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| | | subsequent
something that happens or exists at a later time than something else
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| | | bracketed
grouped together with
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| | | climactic
a climactic moment in a situation is one in which an important event occurs
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| | | national accord
national agreement
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| | | exacerbate
make worse
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| | | recriminations
accusations made by people or groups about each other’s behaviour
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| | | détente
friendly relations between two countries where previously there had been problems
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| | | to defuse
to make less dangerous
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| | | perceived
if you perceive someone or something as doing a particular thing, it is your opinion that they are doing this thing
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