英语听力精选进阶版 13883（在线收听）

BBC Learning English 

Words in the N ews   

8 Au gust 2012  

Hong Kong's clean - up operation  

Transcript: 

The clean -up operation begins.   

Millions of pellets which are used to make plastic have been washed up on Hong 

Kong' s beaches, following the worst typhoon in 13 years. 

Environmentalists are concerned that the pellets will absorb dangerous  toxins, 

which could enter the food chain .   

Several hundred volunteers turned up to try and remove the translucent  pellets, 

but the beaches could still take months to clean 

Vocabulary: 

clean -up operation 

a project to tidy up an area    

washed up  

appeared on a beach    

toxins   

dangerous chemicals 

food chain  

a group of organisms that feed off one another  

translucent   

semi- transparent  

Exercise: 

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from 

BBC news reports.   

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence 

correctly.  

clean -up  / washed up / toxins / food chain / translucent  

1. A dead humpback   whale has been __________ in a Australian ocean 

swimming pool, surprising morning swimmers and causing a major problem for 

authorities who must remove it. 

2. Cigarette butts become trapped between paving stones and are then washed 

into drains and can cause blockages which in  turn can lead to flooding issues. 

They also leak __________  that contaminate water and can harm marine life. 

3. A new inflatable and __________  bubble- shaped hotel has appeared on the 

shores of the Baltic sea, some 150 kilometres south of the Estonian capital 

Tallinn.  

4. A __________  is continuing in the Borders town of Jedburgh after flooding 

caused by heavy rain. The town was struck by flash flooding on Sunday after the 

main streets turned into a river during a two hour downpour. 

5. Two major retailers in South Korea announced on Wednesday that they were 

suspending US beef sales. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk has urged 

Indonesia to lift the ban, saying that there is no evidence that the US 

__________  has been tainted.  

Answers: 

1. A dead humpback  whale has been washed up in an Australian ocean swimming 

pool, surprising morning swimmers and causing a major problem for authorities who 

must remove it. 

Source: Humpback whale washes up in Sydn ey pool  

2. Cigarette butts become trapped between paving stones and are then washed into 

drains and can cause blockages which in turn can lead to flooding issues. They also 

leak  toxins that contaminate water and can harm marine life.   

Source: 'Rise' in smoking-related litter on Highland streets 

3. A new inflatable and translucent bubble-shaped hotel has appeared on the 

shores of the Baltic sea, some 150 kilometres south of the Estonian capital Tallinn.  

Source: Inside Estonia's see -through inflatable bubble hotel  

4. A clean -up is continuing in the Borders town of Jedburgh after flooding caused by 

heavy rain. The town was struck by flash flooding o n Sunday after the main streets 

turned into a river during a two hour downpour. 

Source: Jedburgh tries to get back to business after the floods 

5. Two major retailers in South Korea announced on Wednesday that they were 

suspending US beef sales. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk has urged Indonesia to 

lift the ban, saying that there is no evidence that the US  food chain  has been 

tainted.  

Source:  Indonesia bans some US beef imports after mad cow case