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in the News |
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INTRO | |
World
leaders attended a ceremony marking the transfer of control of the
Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. BBC
correspondent Peter Greste reported. |
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IN
FULL | |
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Listen
to the report in full |
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16
December 1999
US hands over Panama Canal
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| NEWS
1 | |
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Listen
to the first part of the report |
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It
was a poignant reminder of the tremendous cost of building
the Panama Canal. The official delegation including Jimmy Carter,
the Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso and King Juan Carlos of Spain
visited two cemeteries to offer floral wreaths
to the tens of thousands who died carving the canal across the Central
American isthmus. More than four hundred perished for
every one of the canal’s fifty miles. Most died between 1880, when
the French first tried and failed to push the waterway through, and
1914, when the Americans finally completed the colossal engineering
project. By
BBC correspondent, Peter Greste. |
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WORDS | |
poignant:
something which is poignant affects you deeply and makes you
very sad
cost: here, not the money but the loss of lives
delegation:
a group chosen to represent other people
cemeteries:
a place where dead people are buried
floral
wreaths: rings of flowers left on graves in memory of dead people
isthmus:
a narrow area of land connecting two larger areas (North and South
America)
perished:
died
colossal:
very large
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| NEWS
2 | |
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Listen
to the second part of the report |
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But
if Panamanians are delighted to reclaim their territory, many in the
US are not. Many republicans equate the loss of their bases
in the zone with a major breach in national security. Now Mr
Carter is the most senior American in the delegation. President Clinton,
Vice-President Al Gore and the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright,
have all declined invitations to come - a point that has riled
Panama which senses that Washington is still only grudgingly
giving up its southern territory.
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| WORDS | |
equate:
if you equate one thing with another you believe that the two are
the same: Republicans believe that if they lose the bases this will
mean national security will be threatened
breach:
here, breach means the breaking of national security
bases:
a military base is a place from which part of an army, navy or airforce
works
riled:
if something riles you it makes you angry
senses: feels or thinks
grudgingly:
reluctantly
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Read
about the background in BBC News Online |
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