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Transcript
It’s the end of the affair.
Attaching a ‘love lock’ to the Pont des Arts before throwing the key into the River Seine in Paris has become a tourist tradition.
But the romantic gesture has turned into an eyesore and also a hazard. The bridge is weighed down with nearly 50 tonnes of metal.
Last year, one section of the railings gave way.
The bridge has been closed as workers remove the locks.
Vocabulary
tradition
(here) a way of acting and behaving which continues for a long time
eyesore
ugly sight in a public place
hazard
dangerous thing
weighed down
(here) carried too much weight, felt heavy
gave way
collapsed
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.
tradition / eyesore / hazard / weighed down / gave way
1. “We have two reservoirs which are deep and cold and at night they would represent a __________ to people messing about.”
2. At least eight people have died after a cement factory partially collapsed in Bangladesh, police say.
About 70 people were in the building in the port town of Mongla, 200km (125 miles) south-west of the capital Dhaka, when the roof __________. The factory had been under construction.
3. Her kitchen roof consists of sheets of corrugated iron __________ with stones.
Her family is especially hard-hit by rising costs and on some days they don’t get to eat a full meal.
4. Mr Reeks said a “minimal” amount of fish were caught using the technique and stocks had “not deteriorated much” in the last few years.
Another fisherman, Malcolm Cameron, said: “It’s a huge __________ that’s been going on for hundreds of years for generations.”
5. “Anyone passing by might think these buildings are __________ but it’s about familiarity,” says Thomas Lane, editor of Building Design magazine, which gives out the annual Carbuncle Cup to the ugliest building in the UK.
Answers
1. “We have two reservoirs which are deep and cold and at night they would represent a hazard to people messing about.”
2. At least eight people have died after a cement factory partially collapsed in Bangladesh, police say.
About 70 people were in the building in the port town of Mongla, 200km (125 miles) south-west of the capital Dhaka, when the roof gave way. The factory had been under construction.
3. Her kitchen roof consists of sheets of corrugated iron weighed down with stones.
Her family is especially hard-hit by rising costs and on some days they don’t get to eat a full meal.
4. Mr Reeks said a “minimal” amount of fish were caught using the technique and stocks had “not deteriorated much” in the last few years.
Another fisherman, Malcolm Cameron, said: “It’s a huge tradition that’s been going on for hundreds of years for generations.”
5. “Anyone passing by might think these buildings are eyesores but it’s about familiarity,” says Thomas Lane, editor of Building Design magazine, which gives out the annual Carbuncle Cup to the ugliest building in the UK.