Learning English

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Transcript

Hadiqa Bashir is a 14 year old with a cause - she wants to end child marriage in her community.

After school, she goes to other neighbourhoods in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley to raise awareness.

Such marriages are considered the norm for keeping land in the family or settling disputes.

It could take a long time for customs to change, but Hadiqa hopes that at least some of the girls can have a better future.

Vocabulary

a cause
a principle people believe in and fight for

neighbourhoods
adjoined areas

to raise awareness
to make people know more about something

the norm
a behaviour considered acceptable in a situation

settling
resolving a dispute with a compromise

To do

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.

a cause / neighbourhoods / to raise awareness / the norm / settling

1. Cycling and walking should be __________ for all short journeys, experts say, to lower the risk of ill health.

2. Julianne Moore has said the most rewarding part of her role in Still Alice has been helping __________ about Alzheimer's.

3. Five companies have now registered claims for damages against the ECJ because of the delays in __________ cases.

They include businesses in the Netherlands and France found guilty and fined for running cartels. If successful, compensation payouts could total £20m.

4. Mud, rocks and tree trunks destroyed many houses in poor __________ close to the river.

Resident Jorge Quintero described his ordeal when the landslide hit the village: "When I felt my house shaking we got out, my family and me. When we got out, we were stuck in the middle of the landslide, it was coming from both sides and we were in the middle".

5. The survey of 2,094 adults, conducted by YouGov, also found that 94% of adults felt that biodiversity conservation was important, yet only 15% actively helped _________.

Answers

1. Cycling and walking should be the norm for all short journeys, experts say, to lower the risk of ill health.

See story

2. Julianne Moore has said the most rewarding part of her role in Still Alice has been helping to raise awareness about Alzheimer's.

See story

3. Five companies have now registered claims for damages against the ECJ because of the delays in settling cases.

They include businesses in the Netherlands and France found guilty and fined for running cartels. If successful, compensation payouts could total £20m.

See story

4. Mud, rocks and tree trunks destroyed many houses in poor neighbourhoods close to the river.

See story

5. The survey of 2,094 adults, conducted by YouGov, also found that 94% of adults felt that biodiversity conservation was important, yet only 15% actively helped a cause.

See story

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