Saving water with slippery toilets: BBC News Review reviews

March 26, 2023



A new spray that makes toilets slippery could save billions of litres of water every day. Neil and Georgina teach you the language the world’s media is using to discuss this story.

The story:
Researchers in the United States say they have produced an ultra-slippery coating for toilets that could help to save vast quantities of water around the world.

They say the spray-on coating significantly reduces the amount of water needed to flush a toilet effectively.

Key words and phrases:

*unsightly
unpleasant to look at
Examples:
There is some unsightly graffiti on the bus stop.
The neighbours left an unsightly pile of rubbish outside their house.

*state of the art
the most technologically advanced
Examples:
My new car is state of the art – it’s solar powered.
I bought a state-of-the-art robot vacuum cleaner – it really works!

*shed
get rid of/dispose of
Examples:
A snake sheds its skin a few times a year.
Rob gave up eating chocolate biscuits and shed weight.

Language challenge:
Which word means ‘toilet’ in British slang?
a) zoo
b) loo
c) poo

You’ll find the answer on our website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-11/session-117

Learning English is easy! Improve your English with our free English videos and lessons on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and English exams.

Please use English when you comment.

For more free English lessons and videos visit our website: http://www.bbclearningenglish.coment.

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38 Comments
  1. Reply
    BBC Learning English March 26, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    We offer you many videos about the environment including this episode of 6 Minute English: ‘How can I help the environment?’
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-190829

  2. 🐎 The operation left an unsightly mark in her leg.
    🐎 My new laptop is state of the art _ it's solar powered.
    🐎 Children shed their milky teeth with permanent teeth at the age of 9.

  3. They look Gorgeous

  4. state-of-the-art = sophisticated

  5. Thanks

  6. Thanks

  7. Joegena ……she always looks like so shy and brightly! Awesome

  8. This typ of vedios will helph us alot in learning english thank you

  9. thank you alot

  10. Thanks you guys , personally I have learned many things from this platform.

  11. Very nice I am so happy to join you.

  12. Hello,
    are the word ''cutting-edge'' and ''state-of-the-art'' synonyms?

  13. Thanks BBC from Ecuador

  14. thank u for this video. It helps me a lot to improve my English

  15. I didn't understand the meaning of the words coating and slippery in the report. Could you help me? Thanks!

  16. Thank U for useful lessons

  17. i got a state – of-art bike running on solar energy but i don t like it unsightly side mirrors so i will shed out the side mirrors to give it nice decent look ….

  18. Sir plz mention subtitles or make caption because some words are hard to understand me

  19. looking at myself at 4 am is very unsightly ..
    we can't afford to buy state of the art toilet bowl..
    I shed a little belly fatty when I did the exercise

  20. I have a bit difficulty listening to Georgina's pronounciation.

  21. Reply
    عبدالله محمد March 26, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    Thank you

  22. Can we use cutting-edge or bleeding-edge instead of state of art?What is the distinct feature of it in a sentence ?

  23. OMG silly questions, everyone care about water usage, because the bill has to be paid ( it cost more)

  24. Reply
    Laura Elena Muneratti March 26, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    Today my hair is unsightly
    Is ok?

  25. Thank you BBC.

  26. Georgia’s voice is very charming. Thanks all. Useful video as always. Keep up your work

  27. Unsightly stain

  28. Georgina says, "to find a solution to save water," at 1:23. Shouldn't it be: "to find a solution to saving water?"

  29. Thank you so much

  30. I went out to buy a state-of-the-art mobile but I later found it's like every another device there was nothing state of the art

  31. They have put an unsightly mannequin on display i can't stand that

  32. I really love your British accent 😍😍😍

  33. I love listening BBC

  34. thanks this helps me so very much to improve my english…

  35. Wheres Catherine

  36. Hi there!

    What does Georgina ask at 4:13?

  37. Dear teacher Georgina you've laughted from the beginning to the end of the lesson. 😅
    You made me laugh as well. 😁

  38. Give up meat . Then we dont have to push animals to mate to be eaten and we dont have to use extra water to grow greens for them to get fat to be eaten .

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