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BBC Learning English

Video Words in the News 

21 August 2013

Garden in the clouds

Transcript:

When there's no space for a garden, the only way is up.

One Chinese doctor has built a rocky retreat on top of this Beijing block of flats. 

But his villa is now being dismantled after neighbours complained it was noisy and dangerous.

Authorities say it was built illegally and have ordered its demolition.

Vocabulary:

retreat

a private, safe place to get away from everyday life

block of flats

tall building divided into separate homes

villa

large house with a garden in the countryside or by the sea

dismantled

taken apart piece by piece

demolition

destruction (of a building)

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.

retreat / block of flats / villa / dismantled / demolition

1.  Two multi-storey ____________ in Hull dating back to the 1960s have been demolished as part of planned improvements to a city estate.

2.  I noted that London had suffered a similar disregard for many of its architectural landmarks after the war. Covent Garden Market and the gothic magnificence of St Pancras Station were earmarked for ____________ and only saved by a small band of passionate protestors.

3.  His appearance on Monday followed a two-month period of convalescence.

He will now join the Queen at their summer ____________ of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.

4.  But while he is gloomy about the future he is also a dreamer, and the centrepiece of his dream is a small ____________ in the seaside suburb of La Goulette.

5.  The temporary Neolithic huts were completed and open to the public during the two May bank holidays.

But last week the volunteers who built them began to ____________ the reconstructed buildings.

Answers:

1.  Two multi-storey blocks of flats in Hull dating back to the 1960s have been demolished as part of planned improvements to a city estate.

Source: Hull Orchard Park tower blocks demolished  

2.  I noted that London had suffered a similar disregard for many of its architectural landmarks after the war. Covent Garden Market and the gothic magnificence of St Pancras Station were earmarked for demolition and only saved by a small band of passionate protestors.

Source: Exploring Los Angeles' forgotten stairways to the stars

3.  His appearance on Monday followed a two-month period of convalescence.

He will now join the Queen at their summer retreat of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.

Source: Prince Philip appears in public for first time since surgery

4.  But while he is gloomy about the future he is also a dreamer, and the centrepiece of his dream is a small villa in the seaside suburb of La Goulette.

Source: Tunisia Jews: A tiny community hanging on - and cooking

5.  The temporary Neolithic huts were completed and open to the public during the two May bank holidays.

But last week the volunteers who built them began to dismantle the reconstructed buildings.

Source: Archaeologists demolish Neolithic houses built at Old Sarum