Learning English

'The Beast from the East'

Nicknamed 'The Beast from the East', a band of extreme cold and snow has hit parts of Europe and the UK. This is causing some travel disruption because most parts of the UK rarely experience heavy snow.

Language challenge

"Commuters have been warned to expect major disruption this morning as snow and arctic temperatures sweep across the UK". Which word from this extract from today’s BBC Radio 4 News can complete these three popular idioms?

a) ______ someone off their feet
b) ______ something under the carpet
c) Make a clean ______

Watch the video and complete the activity

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The story

Commuters have been warned to expect major disruption this morning as snow and arctic temperatures sweep across the UK. The Met Office has issued amber warnings for large parts of eastern England with up to 15 cm of snow predicted in some places. Some rail companies have issued revised time tables.

Vocabulary

braces
prepares for something unpleasant

relentless
never stopping

engulfs
covers completely

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.

Downloads

You can download the audio and PDF document for this episode here. 

Language challenge - answer

a) Sweep someone off their feet = Completely overwhelm someone (often romantically)
b) Sweep something under the carpet = Avoid dealing with an issue
c) Make a clean sweep = Completely change something

More

We hope you enjoyed this episode of News Review. You can find more episodes here.