Transcript
It’s an impressive haul.
Four tonnes of ivory, with a market value of $6m. Customs officials in Thailand say it’s the biggest seizure in the country’s history.
The elephant tusks were tracked from the Democratic Republic of Congo for two months.
Officials say they were being transported to Laos, from where they believed the ivory would be sold to customers across Asia.
Vocabulary
haul
an amount of stolen or illegal items
market value
potential price of an item if it is sold
seizure
(here) act of capturing something using force
tusks
long and pointy teeth coming out of an elephant’s mouth
transported
taken from one place to another
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.
haul / market value / seizure / tusks / transported
1. A shark has been __________ more than 120 miles across England in a bid to encourage him to breed.
Albi, a two metre-long (6ft) nurse shark, was taken from the National Sea Life Centre Blackpool to the attraction’s sister site in Birmingham.
2. The five-year covert investigation called Operation Yonside has been one of North Wales Police’s biggest probes. It led to the __________ of almost £200,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis.
3. Many Asian elephants, smaller in stature than their African cousins, fail to grow __________ at all.
4. The rent they currently pay is between £150 and £200 per week, which Mr Gooding said was “about 40-45% below the _________, so even if some people had to pay more they would still be paying rent below the market rate”.
5. The estimated value of the stolen jewels is unknown.
Reports have valued the __________ at anything from £30m to £200m – but this is speculation, no more, at this stage.
Answers
1. A shark has been transported more than 120 miles across England in a bid to encourage him to breed.
Albi, a two metre-long (6ft) nurse shark, was taken from the National Sea Life Centre Blackpool to the attraction’s sister site in Birmingham”.
2. The five-year covert investigation called Operation Yonside has been one of North Wales Police’s biggest probes. It led to the seizure of almost £200,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis.
3. Many Asian elephants, smaller in stature than their African cousins, fail to grow tusks at all.
4. The rent they currently pay is between £150 and £200 per week, which Mr Gooding said was “about 40-45% below the market value, so even if some people had to pay more they would still be paying rent below the market rate”.
5. The estimated value of the stolen jewels is unknown.
Reports have valued the haul at anything from £30m to £200m – but this is speculation, no more, at this stage.