The Pandora papers:
thousands of documents have been released,
which reveal the financial details of some of the richest
and most famous people in the world.
I'm Neil and this is News Review from BBC Learning English.
Joining me today is Roy. Hello Roy.
Hi Neil and hello everybody.
If you would like to test yourself on the vocabulary around this story,
all you need to do is head to our website
bbclearningenglish.com to take a quiz.
But now, let's hear more about this story from this BBC News report:
So, a large number of documents have been obtained
by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
140 news agencies around the world are working on these documents,
including the BBC and the Guardian in the UK.
These documents expose the financial lives and money dealings
of many politicians and rich people around the world.
These documents have been called the Pandora papers.
And you've been looking around the various news websites
and picking out interesting vocabulary
we can use to talk about this story and...
and beyond the story. What have you got?
We have: 'leak', 'caught up in' and 'tsunami'.
'Leak', 'caught up in' and 'tsunami'.
OK. Let's start then with your first headline please, Roy.
So, our first headline comes from the UK,
from the Guardian, and it reads:
'Leak' – release of secret or private information.
OK. So, 'leak' is spelt L-E-A-K
and it can be used as both a verb and a noun:
'a leak' or 'to leak'.
Yeah. Now, it might be useful to think of this word
in its more, kind of, literal sense.
So, for example, the other day I noticed there was a big damp patch
on the ceiling in my house.
What could that be? I called the plumber.
The plumber came along and said that my pipe had a 'leak'.
It had a 'leak': it meant that liquid was escaping from this pipe.
And it's useful to think about this in the same way, isn't it?
Absolutely. So, when water travels through a pipe,
it's usually contained in the pipe.
It's the same for gas.
Now, when the pipe is compromised – maybe there's a crack in the pipe –
water starts to come out of the pipe.
It's no longer contained and this word we use – we say 'leak'.
Water is 'leaking' from the pipe
or 'leaking out' of the pipe – same with gas as well.
And it's the same idea in the headline.
Now, this information that we're talking about should be private or secret,
but it is 'leaking out'.
It has 'leaked' into the press.
Yeah, and it's not accidental, is it?
Somebody has decided to reveal this information,
but we don't often know who the person is
who decided to reveal the information.
It's often... often done by politicians who want –
maybe they want to get some criticism aimed at a colleague
and they get this information released somehow
that makes somebody else look bad.
Absolutely, yeah. More... more often than not, it's intentional.
Now, obviously it can be an accidental 'leak',
but as you say it's more often something intentional.
Somebody wants to expose somebody or some information.
There is another thing we need to talk about as well.
Now, you may be aware there is a vegetable,
also called a 'leek'. It's the same pronunciation,
but this is spelt L-E-E-K
and it's a long white vegetable with green at the top,
and I believe it comes from the onion family.
Yeah. Tastes a bit like an onion, doesn't it?
But it's, kind of, long instead.
It does. It does.
And it's commonly used in soup: leek and potato soup.
But it has no... no kind of link to the word 'leak'
that we're talking about – the L-E-A-K –
unless there's a crack in the bowl of soup
and then your 'leek soup' is 'leaking'...!
OK. That's... that's definitely time now to get a summary:
OK. Well, talking about water,
we have a story about slippery toilets,
which can help save millions of litres of water.
What do our viewers have to do to watch that, Roy?
All you need to do is click the link in the description.
OK. Let's have a look at your next headline.
OK. So, our next headline comes from the UK,
from the Daily Mail, and it reads:
'Caught up in' – involved in a bad situation unexpectedly.
Yes. So, the expression here is 'caught up in'
and this expression is commonly used with the verb 'be' or the verb 'get'.
So, you can 'be caught up in' something or 'get caught up in' something.
And it's commonly used when we're trapped in a situation that we are...
that is unexpected and it's a bad or annoying or awkward situation.
Yeah, I think there's a key, isn't there,
in the first word there – 'caught', which is the past tense of 'catch'?
And when you 'catch' something,
there's a sense of it being trapped, isn't there?
Yeah. So, for example, you throw me a ball –
I 'catch' it in my hands and it is trapped.
It won't drop from there and it's exactly the same idea:
these people are trapped in this situation.
They are involved in the situation.
So, when they're 'caught up in' it, they're...
they are trapped or involved in this situation.
Now, it's important to mention it's often unexpected or unintentional.
Now, these people could have been doing something wrong
and therefore they didn't expect to be exposed,
or it could have been completely unintentional
and they've got 'caught up in' this situation.
Yeah, when you say that you're... someone is 'caught up in' a situation,
it doesn't necessarily mean that they are ultimately guilty.
Yeah, that's true.
And it's normally very negative.
Yeah It's normally negative...
we don't... for example, you say:
'Caught up in a difficult or bad situation – caught up in a scandal.'
We don't... we wouldn't use it for a positive situation
that you were involved in: you wouldn't say,
'I'm caught up in a lottery victory,' or something like that.
No. No, you would not, although I would love
to be 'caught up in' a lottery win.
There is another meaning of 'to be caught up in' something
and this is when you're so involved in something
that you don't realise that something else is happening.
So, maybe you're reading a really, really good book
and you're so 'caught up in' the book,
but your mum or your partner – they're calling you and you don't hear them.
You don't realise that they're calling you
because you're so involved in the book.
Yeah, this happens to me on the...
on the Underground, going to work – I'll be so 'caught up in' my book,
I'll miss the stop and I have to get off and change train and be late for work.
Maybe it's... maybe it's time to set the alarm on your... on your watch
so you know when to get off, or stop reading!
OK. Let's get a summary:
Now, 6 Minute English has got so many fascinating topics,
it's impossible not to get 'caught up in' them
and we've got one about language,
which is just really interesting, isn't it, Roy?
Yes, it is. All you need to do to see that
is click the link in the description.
OK. Let's have a look at our next headline please.
OK. So, our next headline comes from the ICIJ,
or the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,
and it reads:
'Tsunami' – arrival of something in huge amounts.
Yes. So, this word is spelt: T-S-U-N-A-M-I.
Now, in English, with native speakers,
you will commonly hear it without the pronunciation of the 't',
so they say 'tsunami': the 't' is silent.
But it's important to recognise that this is
a loan word that comes from Japanese,
and I believe in Japanese the 't' is pronounced:
so, it's 'tsunami'.
But it's very difficult for a lot of English native speakers to say that,
so we just say 'tsunami'.
Yeah. So, a tsunami is a... is an enormous wave, isn't it?
So, why are we talking about huge waves when we're talking also
about data and financial information?
Well, yeah, you're absolutely right.
It can relate to that huge wave that washes everything away,
but we also use it to talk about an arrival of a huge amount of something.
So, for example, information or data or even people:
there could be a 'tsunami' of visitors to your...
to your city or something.
So, it's about an arrival of a large amount of something, which is...
it kind of makes sense when you're thinking about
the large amount of water that is arriving.
We also... we have other expressions
connected to water that have a similar meaning, don't we?
For example, 'deluge':
if you say there is a 'deluge' of something –
'deluge' is a very heavy downpour of rain that washes things away –
we can talk about a 'deluge' in the same way,
about something that has a large impact.
Yes. And we can also say
a 'flood' of information, linking back to that water idea,
or a 'tidal wave' of data.
So, we use these water expressions
to talk about a huge amount of information
or data arriving at the same time,
and it's very important to say we commonly use this word,
like 'tsunami', to exaggerate the amount of something.
So, for example, I might say:
'I've just had a tsunami of emails arrive in my inbox!'
And there might be only three or four,
but I'm just being a little bit dramatic and exaggerated.
Yeah. OK. Well, let's get a summary:
Time now, Roy, then for a recap of the vocabulary we've heard today.
Yes, we had: 'leak' – release of secret or private information.
We had: 'caught up in' – involved in a bad situation unexpectedly.
And we had: 'tsunami' – the arrival of something in huge amounts.
If you want to test yourself on the vocabulary,
there's a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com
and you can also find us all over social media.
Thanks for joining us and see you next time.
Goodbye. Bye.