Pronunciation ChallengeCNN10: Barbados Becomes a Republic / Deaf Football Team Makes it to the Finals

[Transcript]

Barbados Becomes a Republic

Folks, it’s near the end of 2021, and just as you thought nothing new could hit the news, get ready to meet the latest and the newest republic country in the world, Barbados. If you look at the map you’ll see that Barbados is the easternmost island in the Caribbean sea. Until last week, its government was a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, and that monarch was Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, but no more. In removing Britain's queen as its head of state while electing their first President, Barbados officially became a republic on Nov 30, 2021.

As the island prepared to become a republic, Barbados's leaders said the time had come for it to fully leave its colonial past behind by removing the Queen's symbolic status. But Barbadian critics say the public should have had more of a voice in the process, possibly through a vote, instead of having it handled completely by the Barbadian government.

Now, you’ve probably never heard of Barbados and have no idea where it is, but the name Rihanna should definitely ring a bell. That’s right, she’s the artist who sang “Umbrella”, “Love the way you lie” and “Diamonds”, etc. Rihanna was born and raised in Barbados which makes her a Barbadian, she was also declared a national hero for her contributions during the national ceremony.

Deaf Football Team Makes it to the Finals

Meet the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR) football team. The entire team is deaf including their coach, but they've been able to use that to call plays without huddling and reportedly read the other team's body language better. The Cubs football team of CSDR have never ever, not even once made it to the championship game throughout their 68-year history and here they are, hungry for the win. Tickets for this blockbuster game sold out in 45 minutes; and they even had to move it to a nearby high school with bigger bleachers for the growing fan base.

According to the players, the Cubs were what you’ll call a losers team in the past, which was almost a laughing stock. But things have changed drastically starting this season. First game, the Cubs won a stunning 68-to-zip victory, and a seasonal 12-0 run, which means they’ve won continuously for 12 games this season so far. To go from laughing stock to media darlings, the Cubs now even have TV producers, movie producers reaching out to them, everything changed. Although the Cubs unfortunately did not win the championship game, they’ve certainly shocked everyone with the underdog story.

[Sentence of the day]

This Caribbean island was uninhabited before Britain established a settlement there in 1627.

[Vocabulary words]

1. Caribbean
belonging to or relating to Caribbean islands and countries, or their people

E.g. Have you ever tried Caribbean food before?

2. uninhabited
To inhabit means to live in a place. So uninhabited simply means that no one is living there.

E.g. An island that is inhabited can also be called a desert island.

3. settlement
a place where people come to live or the process of settling in such a place

E.g. Many Native Americans were killed during the settlement of the American West by Europeans in the 19th century.


Alright, that’s all we have time for today.
Before this episode did you know about Barbados?
I first heard about this place while watching Friends.
They went there for a vacation and it was hilarious.
Are there any places or countries in the world you’d like to visit?
Let me know in the comment section down below.

Folks, have a wonderful week and we’ll meet again next time!

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