Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated in the Best Actor category at this year's Oscar for his role in the film 'Blood Diamond'. In the programme we'll hear part of an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio as he describes how he prepared for the role. We also we take a close look at the language he uses. But first a little bit about the background to the film 'Blood Diamond.'

You can download the script and audio for this programme from the 'Extras' section below.

Listen
	Leonardo DiCaprio

Vocabulary

Conflict diamonds (also known as war diamonds and blood diamonds)
diamonds which have been sold to raise money for groups fighting in a number of civil wars in Africa

a mercenary / a soldier of fortune
a soldier for hire, one who doesn't fight for a country but for someone who pays

to take (something) on
to accept a job or a responsibility

Example
When my wife was pregnant I had to take on a second job to help pay the bills

to be foreign to someone
to be strange, unusual or different for someone

Example
Eating with chopsticks is really foreign to me, I just can't get used to it so I always ask for a knife and fork.

to get to do something
to have the opportunity to do something enjoyable or interesting

Example
When I was on holiday I got to go on a helicopter trip over a volano, it was fantastic!

a first-hand account
information about something that has happened told by someone who was actually there and experienced it

to immerse yourself in something
to be very involved with something, to live it and breathe it

Example
If you really want to learn a language you have to immerse yourself in the cuture of the country.

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Extras
Programme script (pdf - 21 k)
Download this programme (mp3 - 2 MB)
Leonardo Di Caprio official site*

*The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites