Transcript
A city of three million people, with only a handful of street names.
No wonder trying to deliver a letter here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But this is changing, as the city of Cotonou, in Benin, is starting to name its streets and paint numbers on each house.
Residents hope this will help the city become better connected to the world and provide a boost for local businesses.
Vocabulary
a handful of
a small number of
no wonder
it’s no surprise that
a needle in a haystack
something very hard to find
residents
people who live in a particular place
boost
an action that makes something better, happier or more successful
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 handful of / no wonder / a needle in a haystack / residents / boost
1. Sussex expect to announce they made a profit during the last financial year.
The news is a huge _________ to the club, which recorded a deficit of £630,000 for the financial year to October 2013 and significant losses for the previous two years as well.
2. There have been only _________ cases in humans since the infection was first described in 1954 by a researcher called Stefanski.
3. Mr Cameron said a migrant in work with two children was getting £700 a month on average in support from the state, twice the amount paid in Germany and three times as much as in France.
“__________ so many people want to come to Britain,” he said, adding that changes to in-work benefits could affect about 400,000 people.
4. With £524 billion worth of goods coming through UK ports each year in millions of containers, [finding illegal goods] can be like looking for __________.
5. _________ of a 3,300-home development in Oxfordshire claim they have been “cut off” after promised community facilities did not materialise.
Answers
1. Sussex expect to announce they made a profit during the last financial year.
The news is a huge boost to the club, which recorded a deficit of £630,000 for the financial year to October 2013 and significant losses for the previous two years as well.
2. There have been only a handful of cases in humans since the infection was first described in 1954 by a researcher called Stefanski.
3. Mr Cameron said a migrant in work with two children was getting £700 a month on average in support from the state, twice the amount paid in Germany and three times as much as in France.
“No wonder so many people want to come to Britain,” he said, adding that changes to in-work benefits could affect about 400,000 people.
4. With £524 billion worth of goods coming through UK ports each year in millions of containers, [finding illegal goods] can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
5. Residents of a 3,300-home development in Oxfordshire claim they have been “cut off” after promised community facilities did not materialise.