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Words
in the News
Monday 19 November 2001
Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find
explanations of difficult words below.
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Toilet Summit in Singapore
Summary: Delegates from all over the world will be attending a three day toilet conference in Singapore. This report from Clive Myrie.
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The
News 
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It may sound ridiculous. As the rest of the world wrestles with international terrorism, so much time and effort here in Singapore will be spend discussing public toilets. But for the delegates who have travelled here from all over the world this is a very important issue. China, for example, keen to dispel its unsavoury image among tourists of having poor restroom facilities, is sending twenty delegates. The Chinese don’t want the 2008 Olympics to be remembered more for events away from the sporting field.
In all, around two-hundred representatives from fifteen countries as far afield as Finland, Britain, the US and across Asia will take part in seminars focussing on state-of-the-art restroom designs and planning, ventilation and sanitation. Conservation will also be an important topic of discussion, about how best to provide a good service to the public in parts of the world where water might be scarce. Singapore is the perfect host for such a conference. A country known the world over of being squeaky clean, the authorities regularly fine people who don’t flush public loos. The government has said clean public toilets are the hallmark of a gracious society.
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The
Words
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wrestles
struggles, fights
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toilets
lavatories
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delegates
representatives
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unsavoury
unpleasant
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restroom facilities
North American term for toilets
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state-of-the-art
modern, most advanced or sophisticated
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squeaky clean
very clean
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flush
the flow of water which cleans the toilet bowl
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loos
informal British English for toilets
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hallmark
symbol or standard
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Read
more about this story |
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