| | | Words
in the News |
|
INTRO | |
MPs
in India demanded that the United Kingdom hand over the renowned Kohinoor
diamond. The
Kohinoor is an Indian diamond weighing 106 carats, which has been
part of the British Crown Jewels for almost 150 years. The MPs claim
that the Kohinoor was taken away illegally, which is why they want
it back. |
| IN
FULL | |
 |
Listen
to Indian
MP Kuldip Nayar |
 |  |
4th
May 2000
Indian MPs demand Kohinoor's return
|
|
| NEWS
1 | | |
Listen
to the first extract |
| | | The
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has appointed a parliamentary committee to place
the looted antiques from the Empire and I thought this was the best
opportunity The response is muted because it has not yet been played
up in India. Once it comes before parliament, then you will see some
kind of campaign will build up. |
|
WORDS | |
looted:
stolen Empire:
an empire
is a group of countries controlled by one country - here referring to the former
British Empire
muted:
not very
strong to
play up: to
emphasize a fact or feature and try to make people think that it is more important
than it really is
come before:
considered or approved by a group in power - in this instance parliament
build up: get
bigger - the campaign will get bigger and gain support
|
|
| NEWS
2 | | |
Listen
to the second extract |
| | | There
are so many things of India which are either lying in the basement of the
Victoria and Albert Museum or in the India Office Library. My purpose is
that those things, which are really connected with our history, should come back
here or at least should be given on loan.
|
| WORDS | |
basement: the
basement of a building is a floor built partly or wholly below ground level
Victoria and Albert Museum: the world's largest museum of decorative
arts named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
at least: here
used to mean the minimum which should be done in the circumstances
given
on loan: lent |
|
| | |
Read
about the background in BBC News Online |
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