英语听力精选进阶版 14224（在线收听）

BBC Learning English 

Video Words in the News  

22 May 2013 

A delicate job for hard men 

Transcript: 

An unusual sight in a tough environment. 

Inmates in a Brazilian prison have been learning how to knit. 

The scheme, which sees prisoners working on intricate woollen designs, 

is a collaboration between prison authorities and a fashion designer. 

Prisoners are paid 75 percent of the local minimum wage and also earn 

days off their sentence. 

Vocabulary: 

tough 

strong and difficult 

inmates 

people in prison 

to knit 

to make woollen clothes by creating knots with needles 

intricate 

complex 

minimum wage 

the least amount of money to be legally paid for work done 

Exercise: 

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

news reports.  

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

correctly. 

tough / inmates / to knit / intricate / minimum wage 

1.  Each doll takes at least a month to make because of the __________detail 

and design, and thousands of brush strokes are used to create and layer the 

colour of each doll to make them as life-like as possible.  

2.  The 136-year-old jail was one of seven prisons shut by the Ministry of 

Justice (MoJ) to cut costs. The last __________were transferred to other 

prisons at the end of February. 

3.  Bangladesh's __________ for garment workers is currently $38 (￡25) a 

month, the lowest in the world. 

4.  The parrot had plucked out most of its feathers was said to resemble an 

oven-ready chicken.  A vet said it should be put down but Rebecca Blagg, 

the charity's coordinator, __________ jumpers to keep it warm.  

5.  The cave environment is a __________ place in which to make a living, 

limited in food and essential nutrients, forcing microorganisms to fight over 

limited resources.  

Answers: 

1.  Each doll takes at least a month to make because of the intricate detail and 

design, and thousands of brush strokes are used to create and layer the 

colour of each doll to make them as life-like as possible.  

2.  The 136-year-old jail was one of seven prisons shut by the Ministry of Justice 

(MoJ) to cut costs. The last inmates were transferred to other prisons at the 

end of February.  

Source: Shrewsbury Prison closure 'was poorly planned' 

http://bbc.in/12IACjc 

3.  Bangladesh's minimum wage for garment workers is currently $38 (￡25) a 

month, the lowest in the world. 

4.  The parrot had plucked out most of its feathers was said to resemble an 

oven-ready chicken.    A vet said it should be put down but Rebecca Blagg, 

the charity's coordinator, knitted jumpers to keep it warm. 

5.  The cave environment is a tough place in which to make a living, limited in 

food and essential nutrients, forcing microorganisms to fight over limited 

resources.