An archaeological dig in central London unearths thousands of artifacts dating from Roman times, leading some to call the city ''The Pompeii of the North.'' Elly Park reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: These are just a few of some 8,000 Roman artifacts found in the heart of London - a hair comb and a tiny statue that sat in the ground for nearly 2,000 years. A dig has revealed a site so well preserved, that experts have nicknamed the city "The Pompeii of the North", after the ill-fated Roman city buried in volcanic ash in 79 AD. Archeologist Angela Wardle says that the project has been a great success so far. ANGELA WARDLE: "The excavation is scheduled to end this month but we've had amazing cooperation from developers who are very interested in the objects themselves and interested in the whole site, and I think things have been going very smoothly." REPORTER: The excavation has also reportedly uncovered wooden structures dating back to around 40 AD, and after these finds some say the project London's most important archaeological site ever.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: For the first time in 40 years, Brits can admire the remnants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, without having to travel to Italy. The British Museum in London has put together an exhibit of 450 objects from the cities famously buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius when it erupted in 79 AD. It includes items such as pots, murals and even bread, showing aspects of everyday life in ancient Rome, says curator Paul Roberts. DR. PAUL ROBERTS, CURATOR: "When we look at Pompeii and Herculaneum what we see are real people, ordinary cities. They weren't Rome, they weren't Alexandria, that's why they're so important to us." REPORTER: Because of their geographical locations around Mount Vesuvius, both cities were buried differently leading to artifacts being preserved in different ways. DR. PAUL ROBERTS: "Herculaneum was buried under a phenomenally hot avalanche of volcanic material, 400 degrees Centigrade - four times the heat of a boiling kettle - and what that did was to carbonise wood, so wooden furniture and even food was turned into charcoal, turned into carbon, and we just don't get that in Pompeii." REPORTER: What did get preserved in Pompeii are humans, buried alive in the moments of their deaths. "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" runs at the British Museum until the end of September.
The cartoon shows a group of forensic experts examining the King Richard's bones in the lab. The skull speaks saying, "A hearse, a hearse - my kingdom for a hearse." Which causes one of the experts to comment, "They are Richard III's bones ..."
EXPLANATION To understand this joke, you have to know your Shakespeare. In Shakespeare's play Richard III, at the climax of the battle of Bosworth Field, Richard is unhorsed, and cries out, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" (one of the bard's best-known lines). Using a play on words, the cartoonist has changed "horse" to "hearse", because a hearse is a large car used to carry a dead body in a coffin at a funeral. Richard is telling us that he wants to be laid to rest, rather than laid out on a table in a lab.
NOTE In spoken English, Richard III is "Richard the third".
Researchers say a skeleton buried under a parking lot belongs to King Richard III, solving a 500-year-old mystery about his final resting place. Deborah Gembara reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: It's a mystery that has has confounded historians for centuries --- where did the remains of King Richard III, the last British monarch to die in battle, end up? LEICESTER UNIVERSITY DEPUTY REGISTRAR, RICHARD TAYLOR: "Today we bear witness to history, we peer 500 years into medieval times and literally reach into a grave." REPORTER: In their quest for answers, researchers at the Leicester University exhumed a skeleton buried below a parking lot. Project Geneticist, Turi King ... PROJECT GENETICIST, TURI KING: "There is a DNA match between the maternal DNA from the descendants of the family of Richard III and the skeletal remains that we found at the Grey Friars dig. In short, the DNA evidence points to these being the remains of Richard III." REPORTER: While the mystery of the legendary King's remains has been solved, salvaging his reputation may be harder. William Shakespeare depicted him as a monstrous tyrant who murdered two princes. Philippa Langley of the Richard III society ... MEMBER OF RICHARD III SOCIETY, PHILIPPA LANGLEY: "But I think what's going to come out is a real man, the real Richard III, he was a medieval man and a medieval king, but he just wasn't the monster of Tudor legend." REPORTER: His remains now identified, researchers say they are already working on plans for King Richard to be laid to rest at Leicester Cathedral next year.
One of the grandest railway terminals in the world, built during the heyday of train travel, New York's Grand Central Terminal, gets set to hold its centennial celebration. Elly Park reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: New York's iconic Grand Central Terminal is turning 100. Behind its marble facade is a century worth of stories - starting in 1913 when the station debuted in the heydays of American cross-country train travel. With the rise of automobile travel in the years after World War II it lost its luster, and was saved from the wrecking ball by Jaqueline Kennedy in 1976, and got a new lease on life with a full facelift in 1996. Today it is one of America's greatest transportation hubs, as Dan Brucker of Grand Central Tours explains. DAN BRUCKER, MANAGER OF GRAND CENTRAL TOURS: "Every single day more than, a lot more than, 750,000 people come through Grand Central Terminal. That's the entire population of the entire state of Alaska walk through here everyday." REPORTER: We follow Brucker to the lower levels where a relic of the past quietly sits in the sub basement. DAN BRUCKER: "This is a 1906 generator that would produce power for our signal system." REPORTER: And high up on the terminal's south side -- still running with old gears is the famous stained-glass clock tower. Grand Central Terminal will hold a celebration on the eve of the anniversary on February 1.
In 1605 a group of English Catholics, angry because the King of England, James the first, was treating them badly, made a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament. An enormous explosion was planned for November 5th, the day that the King was due to open parliament. The plan is known as the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the group was a man called Guy Fawkes. On November 5th people remember the plot by celebrating ‘Bonfire Night’. All over Britain there are firework displays and bonfires with effigies of Guy Fawkes, which are burned on the fire. This video from The British Council's LearnEnglish site explores the origins of the festival and looks at how it's celebrated now.
You can find a transcript of the video and some comprehension tasks on the British Council website.
This animation from guardian.co.uk is a perfect potted history, should you need it, of the Olympic Games. From Ancient Greece's nude athletes – mercifully free of corporate stooges – to the present day's economy-bustingly expensive extravaganza of London 2012.
French leader Francois Hollande and his German counterpart Angela Merkel celebrate the 50th anniversary of their countries' reconciliation. Andrew Raven reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel stroll the historic French city of Reims. The French and German leaders are marking the 50th anniversary of the reconciliation between their two countries. It was here in 1962 that France and Germany officially buried the hatchet following World War Two. With Europe labouring through a debt crisis, Hollande said that spirit of co-operation shouldn't be forgotten. FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: "The European Union is going through trying times. It's not the first time, it won't be the last time. But it can be an occasion for a rebound, a jolt, a new start." REPORTER: Meanwhile, Merkel called for a closer monetary union for Europe. GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL: "Europe can get through this Herculean undertaking. Europe can emerge stronger out of this crisis that when it entered it." REPORTER: Still, France and Germany remain deeply divided about how to tackle the debt crisis, with Germany calling for austerity and France for spending. Critics say there is little evidence that chasm will be bridged anytime soon. Andrew Raven, Reuters.
IDIOM If two people, or groups of people, bury the hatchet, they become friendly again after a quarrel or disagreement. See The Phrase Finder for the origin of this expression.
SPELLING & PRONUNCIATION In French, Reims is spelt with an 'h': Rheims. The English pronunciation is /ˈriːmz/ (= reams), which is certainly not what the Reuters reporter said.
The Queen, once a prime target for the IRA, shook hands not once but twice with Martin McGuinness, a former commander of the terrorist group, in a gesture that meant every bit as much as the sovereign’s historic visit to Ireland last year.
Barely a decade ago, the idea of the monarch, the ultimate symbol of British rule in Ulster, even being in the same room as Mr McGuinness, arguably the most recognisable former member of the IRA, would have been unthinkable. Full story >>
THE CARTOON In the cartoon, we see the Queen reaching out to shake McGuinness's hand over the bombed-out wreck of a car—a clear reference to The Troubles, in which IRA terrorist attacks claimed the lives of hundreds of victims. Note the 'History' numberplate on the car, another reminder of past events.
VOCABULARY You shake hands with someone or give someone a handshake.
Falkland Islands commemorate 30th anniversary of the end of Falklands war, as dispute over the Islands continue. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
TRANSCRIPT The Falkland Islands commemorate the 30th anniversary of the end of the war with Argentina. British Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne and the Falklands' governor Nigel Haywood join islanders and war veterans for the service. Argentina invaded the islands on April 2, 1982 but were expelled by British forces after a 10-week war that killed around 650 Argentines and 255 British soldiers. Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez has launched a wide-ranging diplomatic offensive to assert her country's claims to the islands, known in Spanish as Las Malvinas. The 3,000 or so islanders have shown no signs of wanting Argentine rule, but announced they will hold a referendum vote next year. Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.
COMMENT Was it really 30 years ago? I wouldn't say it seems like yesterday, but I well remember listening to live coverage on Radio 4 here in France. And to think none of my students were even born then ...
This cartoon by Martin Rowson from The Guardian uses the story of the Battle of Thermopylae to comment on Greece's politico-economic crisis. (Thermopylae is the ancient battle site where the Greeks, 300 Spartans and their allies, held off masses of invading Persians in 480 BC).
In Martin Rowson's version, the Spartans are defending their country against a Euro army of fat cats and greedy pigs led by Angela Merkel. The scene can be viewed as a metaphor for Merkel's attempts to impose austerity on the increasingly fractious Greeks. The title of the cartoon is a joke based on the fact that, despite several attempts, the leaders of Greece's political parties have so far failed to form a government a week after indecisive elections. Read more >>
TRIVIA NOTE 300, a 2007 American action film directed by Zack Synder, is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae.
You may not have noticed, but April 15th marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Lily Grimes reports.
TRANSCRIPT Sunday will mark 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic. The luxury cruise liner set sail from Belfast on April 10, 1912. But her maiden voyage was to be her last. Four days in, she struck an iceberg. Over two thousand people were on board, many emigrating to America. In less than three hours the supposedly "unsinkable" vessel broke in two and sank. RMS Carpathia was the first ship to arrive on the scene, picking up some 700 survivors and taking them to New York. In 1985 advances in deep-sea technology led to the discovery of the wreck. Thousands of Titanic artefacts have been recovered during numerous expeditions and memorabilia attracts keen interest at auction. The story has inspired several movies, including James Cameron's blockbuster "Titanic". A 3D version has been released to commemorate the anniversary. Lily Grimes, Reuters.
COMMENT You can find all of Reuters' 'Titanic' videos here, but make sure you check out the hilarious spoof trailer Titanic Super 3D, which, among other things, imagines the result if George Lucas, JJ Abrams and Michael Bay had loaned Cameron a hand in the 3D conversion ...
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's collision with that fateful iceberg just before midnight on April 14th 1912 (it actually sank about 3 hours later). This cartoon by Modern Toss from The Guardian reimagines the scene just before the Titanic went down. A passenger in a lifeboat comments, "woooah, imagine all this in 3D" (a reference to James Cameron's 3D reworking of his 1997 blockbuster). A fellow survivor replies, "yeah, bit of Céline Dion in the background" (Céline Dion sang the theme from the film).
COMMENT I must be one of the few people who's never seen the original 2D Titanic movie, but I certainly wasn't going to pay 12 euros plus to watch it in 3D (and dubbed in French) at the local Gaumont. However, I did manage to find the DVD at school and watched the first part last night. I stopped at the point where the lookout spots the iceberg ("Bugger me!"). It's extremely silly and totally unbelievable, and I'm glad I didn't have to sit through all 3 hours 7 minutes of it in the cinema. Hopefully, the second half with the sinking will be more dramatic ...
Here's a slideshow I created for use in class about the Titanic disaster. You'll find a mixture of images and cartoons. I found it useful for getting students to talk about the event.
Ever since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, it has been used as a metaphor for disaster. The latest edition of Cartoons from the Classroom (download here) features a cartoon by Dave Granlund in which the Titanic represents the US economy (although it could equally well apply to many other countries). People are jumping from the sinking ship and being picked up by lifeboats, but just as in the original disaster, there are not enough lifeboats for everyone. The parallel with the current economic crisis is obvious—there will be survivors and victims (and a disproportionate number of these will be from the lower classes).
TITANIC METAPHORS The sinking of the Titanic has given rise to a number of metaphors which are commonly used in the media to refer to current news events. For example, "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic" is a metaphor commonly used to describe futile, irrelevant actions taken in times of crisis. "And the band played on" refers to the fact that the band continued to play as the ship went down, supposedly to calm the passengers. As a metaphor it represents a denial of the reality for some, stoicism for others. More generally, the idea of the ship colliding with an iceberg or the sinking ship are commonly used as metaphors for disaster, the iceberg as a metaphor for the cause of a catastrophe, and the lifeboat as a metaphor for rescue.
