Learning English

Transcript

Now here's something worth making a song and dance about…

At 13 metres long, this is the world's biggest playable guitar.

It's taking centre stage in an exhibition in the US about the instrument.

Who can resist strumming it? 

This model's got eight necks. You'd have to be an octopus to make full use of it, though the exhibition's curator makes a good effort.

And like all true rockers, the exhibition is on the road – travelling the world for all guitar fans to see.

Vocabulary

making a song and dance (about something)
making something sound very important  

taking centre stage
being the centre of attention

strumming
playing by running fingers along strings  

curator
person who takes care of an exhibition

on the road
travelling to perform in different locations over a period of time

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.

making a song and dance / taking centre stage / strumming / curator / on the road

1.     A new exhibition at the British Library in London looks at the changing taste for the Gothic in British writing. Exhibits range from a wooden box containing vampire-killing equipment (possibly not 100% authentic) to an animated Were-Rabbit. The show's __________ says amid the gore and the chills, Gothic writing has always had a streak of irony and humour.

2.     Even __________, the band has been writing new material — “While we were up in Sudbury, we took a little mini-vacation where we rented a cottage for two days,” says Armes — while Party For Your Life still has life at radio, following the singles One in a Million, Chills and the title track.

3.     Trade deals don't usually __________ at summits among world leaders. But the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is at the forefront of US President Barack Obama's first state visit to Japan.

4.     When he's not in the lab, Dr Stables can often be found __________ a guitar or twiddling knobs on a mixing desk. "I was always interested in making music - I've done it all my life and it was something I had this qualitative knowledge about… but I wanted to make it objective and usable to other people without going through the same kind of training."

5.   I believe your business and your life will be better aligned if you have a greater purpose. I love meeting people who have achieved this in their lives. They have an aura around them. They know they are contributing and making a difference. Do whatever you are comfortable with. Don't feel you have to compete with anybody else or __________ about being a philanthropist.

Answers

1. A new exhibition at the British Library in London looks at the changing taste for the Gothic in British writing. Exhibits range from a wooden box containing vampire-killing equipment (possibly not 100% authentic) to an animated Were-Rabbit. The show's curator says amid the gore and the chills, Gothic writing has always had a streak of irony and humour.

See story     

2. Even on the road, the band has been writing new material — “While we were up in Sudbury, we took a little mini-vacation where we rented a cottage for two days,” says Armes — while Party For Your Life still has life at radio, following the singles One in a Million, Chills and the title track.

See story

(The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

3. Trade deals don't usually take centre stage at summits among world leaders. But the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is at the forefront of US President Barack Obama's first state visit to Japan.   

See story

4. When he's not in the lab, Dr Stables can often be found strumming a guitar or twiddling knobs on a mixing desk. "I was always interested in making music - I've done it all my life and it was something I had this qualitative knowledge about… but I wanted to make it objective and usable to other people without going through the same kind of training."

See story

5. I believe your business and your life will be better aligned if you have a greater purpose. I love meeting people who have achieved this in their lives. They have an aura around them. They know they are contributing and making a difference.  Do whatever you are comfortable with. Don't feel you have to compete with anybody else or make a song and dance about being a philanthropist. 

See story 

(The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)

From the archives

All Words in the News programmes pre-September 2014 can be found here.