BBC Learning English – Words in the News / Playing ‘Harry Potter’

Transcript

If you thought this was like a scene from the Harry Potter movies then you’d be right.

This castle in Poland has been transformed into a temporary college of wizardry.

Students from all over the world have flown in to do role play in this makeshift Hogwarts.

Now organisers want to cast a spell on potential investors. It’s so they can buy their own castle and make this a permanent attraction. 

Vocabulary

wizardry
the practice of magic; great skill in a particular area

role play
pretending to be another person in order to learn something

makeshift
improvised, pretend

cast a spell
say words which are supposed to have magical powers

investors
people who give money to commercial ventures in expectation of making a profit

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.

wizardry / role play / makeshift / cast a spell / investors

1. A man accused of plotting to kill the adoptive parents of a friend he met on the internet told a court it was just “__________“.

2. Dressed in his white witch robes, he will make a circle of stones and burn incense while __________ invoking earth, air, fire and water.

3. A shopkeeper in New Delhi is doing his bit to help raise children out of poverty by setting up a __________ school underneath a railway bridge.

4. The Dubai development is 15 minutes from a golf course and the sea and half an hour from the busiest international airport in the world.

In 2007 __________ put down tens of thousands of dollars but have so far received nothing.

5. Younger audiences are targeted with productions like The Magic Flute which combines opera and animation, and the superb National theatre of Scotland show Dragon which uses puppetry and other __________ to tell a universal tale.

Answers 

1. A man accused of plotting to kill the adoptive parents of a friend he met on the internet told a court it was just “role play“.

See story

2. Dressed in his white witch robes, he will make a circle of stones and burn incense while casting a spell invoking earth, air, fire and water.

See story

3. A shopkeeper in New Delhi is doing his bit to help raise children out of poverty by setting up a makeshift school underneath a railway bridge.

See story

4. The Dubai development is 15 minutes from a golf course and the sea and half an hour from the busiest international airport in the world.

In 2007 investors put down tens of thousands of dollars but have so far received nothing.

See story

5. Younger audiences are targeted with productions like The Magic Flute which combines opera and animation, and the superb National theatre of Scotland show Dragon which uses puppetry and other wizardry to tell a universal tale.

See story

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