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BBC Learning English

Video Words in the News 

18 September 2013

A lucky escape

Transcript:

Clinging on for dear life. 

Ninety-two-year-old Colombian Roberto Blanco was taking a nap by a flooded river when he was washed into the torrent.

He grabbed a cable hanging under a bridge and held tight as passers by and police carried out a precarious rescue operation.

Back on dry land, Roberto took time to speak to reporters, looking none the worse for his ordeal.

Vocabulary:

for dear life

using all your strength or effort to avoid danger or serious trouble

taking a nap

having a short sleep

passers by

people going by a particular place

precarious

dangerous – because not firmly fixed or likely to fall

none the worse

not damaged or harmed (by something)

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.

for dear life / taking a nap / passers by / precarious / none the worse

1.  Firefighters said once the pony was out of the pool it was quickly dried off and led back to his paddock, cold and wet but _________ for his escapade.

2.  "I wasn't keen on getting on the back of a motorbike, whizzing down the road, hanging on _________. No, there's nothing like a scooter."

3.  On the subsequent flight, his co-pilot asked if he could _________, which the pilot approved. But then the pilot fell asleep too - for about 10 minutes.

4.  "They had to be winched off the rocks by the helicopter. It was a _________ and dangerous rescue."

5.  A group of residents from the Isle of Wight have begun a campaign for a permanent memorial to a well known cat.

Smudge spent much of his life at the bus stop outside his home in Shanklin and became a favourite with commuters, schoolchildren and _________.

Answers:

1.  Firefighters said once the pony was out of the pool it was quickly dried off and led back to his paddock, cold and wet but none the worse for his escapade.

Source: Jersey firefighters rescure pony from swimming pool

2.  "I wasn't keen on getting on the back of a motorbike, whizzing down the road, hanging on for dear life. No, there's nothing like a scooter."

Source: Maureen Lear: Essex grandmother fuels scooter passion

3.  On the subsequent flight, his co-pilot asked if he could take a nap, which the pilot approved. But then the pilot fell asleep too - for about 10 minutes.

Source: One in five pilots 'suffers cockpit fatigue'

4.  "They had to be winched off the rocks by the helicopter. It was a precarious and dangerous rescue."

Source: Seven rescued as boat hits rocks 

5.  A group of residents from the Isle of Wight have begun a campaign for a permanent memorial to a well known cat. 

Smudge spent much of his life at the bus stop outside his home in Shanklin and became a favourite with commuters, schoolchildren and passers by.

Source: Memorial plan for Shanklin 'bus stop cat'