Omicron: New strain, new restrictions – BBC News Review reviews

April 25, 2022



Several countries have moved to restrict travel with Southern Africa after a new Covid-19 variant was discovered. The variant has been called Omicron and The World Health Organization (WHO) have classed it as a variant of concern due to early signs that it may have a higher chance of reinfection.

Roy and Neil discuss this news story and teach you some related vocabulary so you can talk about it too.

Related stories:
Countries try to change UN climate report – News Review https://youtu.be/2hHgfkH04x8
New UK travel restrictions – News Review https://youtu.be/i5iR4K4avPw

Video chapters:
0:00​​​​​​​​​​ – Introduction
0:35 – Story
1:52 – Headline 1: European countries clamp down on Omicron variant
4:50 – Headline 2: China could double down on its zero-Covid approach amid concerns about omicron, analysts say
7:15 – Headline 3: Blessing in disguise: Omicron variant may be ‘very positive’ news for the world if new Covid mutation kills off more lethal Delta coronavirus
10:36 – Language summary

Key words and phrases:
clamp down
act officially to prevent something from happening

* The government decided to clamp down on benefit fraud after a sharp rise in the number of cases.
* The manager clamped down on lateness after a number of employees consistently didn’t arrive on time.

double down
do something in a stronger way than before

* The local council has announced it will double down on illegal parking.
* The school has doubled down on smoking. Any child with cigarettes will be suspended.

blessing in disguise
something which at first looks bad, but in the end is good

* Rob eating all the biscuits was a blessing in disguise for my diet.
* I was annoyed when I missed the bus, but I realised it was a blessing in disguise after finding out it was in an accident!

To download the audio and a transcript and test your understanding, go to our website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-21/session-222

[Cover: Getty Images]

#bbclearningenglish #newsreview #covid #Omicron #pandemic #news

Click to rate this post!
[Total: 0 Average: 0]
21 Comments
  1. I am so glad I found your channel. Thank you!

  2. Thank you very much 🥰

  3. Reply
    Ngọc Thạch Trương April 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    I clamp down my phone addiction by giving it to my mom. The total amount of time that I spend on using social media is now up to 10 hours a day and It's uncontrollable now.

  4. Reply
    Ngọc Thạch Trương April 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    I'm doubling down on my effort to study English so as to prepare for the IELTS exam. By the end of this year, I will have finised my Academic and graduated from University. So my goals is to achieve an 8.0 on the exam to put my resumes together.

  5. Can it be clamp down against???

  6. Great channel

  7. Tank you. For all efforts you are making to improve our English language learning

  8. Can we replace double down with brush up

  9. Authorities are clamping down on the protester

  10. He is a blessing in disguise for us.

  11. Thanks BBC

  12. Thank you so much for such excellent video

  13. Thank you so much, I'm here cause this is my class for tomorrow!

  14. Reply
    ирина чудина April 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    Sorry, I hate to say that but do you think this phrase is really strange. It looks like one or two words are absent:
    'The school has doubled down on smoking. Any child with cigarettes will be suspended"
    Perhaps it will be better: The school has doubled down on STOPING smoking(???)

  15. What does strain means when you say due to the rise of the omicron strain. What dose (strain) means ?

  16. Nicely explained

  17. Good team

  18. 1. clamp down:
    European countries clamp down on Omicron variant.
    The Government has clamped down on the illegal wildlife trade.

    2. double down
    China could double down on its zero-Covid-19 approach amid concerns about omicron, analysts say
    The school decides to double down on school violence

    3.blessing in disguise

    Blessing in disguise : Omicron variant may be a "very positive" news for the world if new Covid mutation kills off more lethal Delta coronavirus.
    She felt upset when her friend had passed away, but she realised it was a blessing in disguise when she thought he won't be in pain anymore.

  19. Reply
    Carolina Vasconcelos April 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    In fact it first appeared in The Netherlands….

  20. Don't spell every new word, please. We can see them. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Chitra chitra Cancel reply

Reviews We Trust
Logo
Register New Account
Reset Password