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| Words in the News
Tuesday 31 December 2002
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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Kofi Annan's plea for access to information
Summary: As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations for BBC World Service the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, made a plea for the peoples of the world to have greater access to the kind of information that will help them to have more say in the running of their lives. Mr Annan was speaking at UN headquarters on 10th December. This is the start of his speech.
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| | The News | |
| | | Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, listeners around the world. Long before the Internet, BBC radio connected the world. The merchant with his goods; the farmer with her crops; the office-worker in his tower; and the refugee on the run. Over the years, these and many others had something in common, something beyond the basic human longing for progress and peace: a love of good radio. The latest cricket scores, a story, a song; much more than that, of course: uncensored news, often cutting through the veil of tyranny; impartial analysis; new ideas, delivered free of political interference; broadcasts in dozens of languages, a true celebration of diversity. In other words, a required listening: programmes to schedule your day around, if you are lucky enough to enjoy that kind of freedom. For many, the BBC World Service has been a lifeline - to learning, to enlightenment, and to hope itself.
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| | The Words
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| | | connected
joined
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| | | merchant
trader
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| | | farmer
agricultural worker
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| | | refugee
someone who has been forced to leave their country
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| | | uncensored news
unedited information
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| | | the veil of tyranny
something that hides cruel or unjust rule.
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| | | impartial analysis
fair consideration and explanation
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| | | political interference
negative government involvement
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| | | celebration of diversity
appreciation of differences
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| | | a lifeline
a method of saving someone’s life, such as a rope you might throw to a drowning person
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