英语听力精选进阶版 14134（在线收听）

BBC Learning English 

Words in the News  

22 August 2012 

Retiring elephants 

Transcript: 

They’re not the healthiest specimens of the ten thousand that live in Burma.  

But thanks to the opening of this elephant retirement home, these animals do at least have a safe refuge. 

The owners have brought in healthy elephants to boost funding for food and medicine through tourism. 

They say visitors should see them in their natural habitat and not as creatures of entertainment. 

Vocabulary: 

specimens  

typical examples 

retirement home 

place where old people go to live 

refuge 

a sheltered or safe place 

to boost 

to improve or increase 

natural habitat 

place where an animal lives in the wild 

Watch the video online: Retiring elephants 

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. 

specimens / retirement home / refuge/ to boost/ natural habitat 

1. A charity that runs __________ for victims of domestic violence has warned it will have to close every one of its centres, and that women will die, because of planned changes to benefit rules. 

2. The main aim is __________ lending to non-financial businesses in what the Bank has called "the real economy". 

3. The __________ are of a face and two jawbones with teeth. 

4. "We're very hopeful that in around 12 months we'll be able to release Noah back into his __________." 

5. A blue plaque is to be unveiled at the __________ in Deganwy, Conwy, of Titanic hero Commander Harold Lowe. 

Answers: 

1. A charity that runs refuges for victims of domestic violence has warned it will have to close every one of its centres, and that women will die, because of planned changes to benefit rules. 

Source: Refuges 'under threat' from shake-up of benefit rules

2. The main aim is to boost lending to non-financial businesses in what the Bank has called "the real economy". 

Source: Mortgage lending rebounded in July, lenders say 

3. The specimens are of a face and two jawbones with teeth. 

Source: New human species identified from Kenya fossils 

4. "We're very hopeful that in around 12 months we'll be able to release Noah back into his natural habitat." 

Source:   Kirtle Water orphaned otter recovering well 

5. A blue plaque is to be unveiled at the retirement home in Deganwy, Conwy, of Titanic hero Commander Harold Lowe. 

Source: Titanic hero Harold Lowe: Grandson tells of pride as plaque unveiled