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  • he's a review from BBC Learning English Hello and welcome to News Review The program where we show you how to use the language from the latest news stories in your every day.

  • English Hi, I'm Neil.

  • Joining me today is Katherine.

  • Hello, Hello, Near What's our story?

  • Today's story Neil is a mental health story.

  • Okay, A mental health story More about that from this news report from BBC Radio four.

  • The Duke of Cambridge has said the traditional British stiff upper lip should not be allowed to endanger people's health.

  • Prince William made the comment in an interview with the charity Com, which is dedicated to combating male suicide.

  • Yesterday it emerged that his brother, Prince Harry, had sought counseling to come to terms of their mother's death.

  • So as you probably remember, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash many years ago.

  • Now Prince William, her son, has said that the traditional British value of not showing your feelings should not be allowed to cause problems with people's mental health in particular.

  • On did.

  • In fact, Prince William's brother, Prince Harry, yesterday said that he'd have counseling because he spent 20 years not talking about his mother's death.

  • So both princes, they're talking about the importance off talking about your feelings.

  • Okay, Well, you've been looking at this story across the news websites on you've picked out three words and expressions that people need to understand and to be able to talk about this story.

  • What are they?

  • Okay, so we have stiff upper lip, opens up.

  • Andi went off the rails, stiff upper lip, opens up and went off the rails.

  • So the 1st 1 there stiff upper lip.

  • How's that appearing in the headlines?

  • Okay, so let's go to BBC news website on.

  • We have the headline.

  • Prince William says keeping a stiff upper lip can't damage health.

  • So stiff upper lip.

  • A quality of not showing feelings in a difficult situation.

  • Yes, on Prince William is saying here that too short to not show your feelings is not good for you.

  • Now, when you show your feelings, especially when you're upset about something, often this shows on your face.

  • And if you're gonna cry, if you're about to cry often your lips start more.

  • Vania mouth starts trembling and quivering.

  • Um, so but if you stop your mouth from moving, you literally keep your top lip your upper lip stiff, straight, strong without moving.

  • You can't cry.

  • You can't cry very easily without moving your face.

  • So it's a set phrase.

  • It's a fixed expression, stiff upper lip or to keep a stiff upper lip means don't cry.

  • Don't get upset.

  • Don't show.

  • Even if you're upset, don't show it.

  • And it's a kind of stereotypical British characteristic, isn't it?

  • Is a bit old fashioned these days, I think, you know, And this is reflected in the story of Prince William and Harry's saying, Talk about your feelings because it's not healthy to keep them secret.

  • So the stiff upper lip they're saying, this British don't talk about your feelings.

  • Value is not always the best for people.

  • Yeah, so and stiff upper lip is an old fashioned saying.

  • I think it comes from the army or possibly wartime when it was, keep calm and carry on.

  • Don't get upset, just go through it.

  • Those values are still there today.

  • To an extent, I think I saw them and you're very good self.

  • Yeah, well, I was I was I was going to get really upset that program, that program that I made it so hard Work very hard.

  • A about a week, didn't there?

  • I put a lot into that.

  • It was a wonderful program.

  • Yeah, it was great.

  • Thank you.

  • I loved it.

  • I loved Well, I loved it until the day that you publishing day.

  • Yeah.

  • Unfortunately, no one's ever going to see or hear This program you lost is I lost it.

  • Holding on when I found out he was so upset my face Like I knew I don't tell because I looked at your face and I thought, He's gonna cry And you said Stiff upper lip neck.

  • Neil, Come on.

  • Stiff upper lip.

  • You did, and I managed to keep control of my emotions.

  • And now we don't talk about it anymore except in this program.

  • Okay, let's have our next headline.

  • Okay, let's go to the Metro.

  • And our headline is Prince William follows Harry's lead on.

  • Opens up about mental health, opens up, starts to talk about feelings.

  • Yep.

  • And this one is Fraser verb.

  • It's quite literal Open.

  • If you open something, you can see what's inside or behind whatever was closing in.

  • So we use it in a very so idiomatic but very obvious sense toe.

  • Open up your personality.

  • Show your feelings.

  • Talk about them.

  • Yeah, Yeah.

  • Now, as he said opens up.

  • It's ah, phrase will verb.

  • Yep.

  • Some people don't like phrase, all verbs very much.

  • They think they're a bit too informal or not quite proper English or something like however, yeah, this is an example of where the phrase will verb really is the best way to say it.

  • Well, yes, and some Fraser verbs have non Fraser verbs equivalent, so you can find a non face of of equivalent that says exactly the same thing.

  • However, in the open up about your feelings, they're really there are some sort of equivalence.

  • I think you've bean.

  • You found a few divulge profess not quite right.

  • Not quite right.

  • No, that so don't worry about using open up in a fairly formal contacts because there is no better word.

  • Open up means talk about your feelings.

  • Don't hide your feelings.

  • Say how you feel.

  • You can open up about something or you can open up to someone about something So a couple of propositions there, but it really is the best word for the job.

  • Okay.

  • On our final headline.

  • Okay, And now the sun headline Wild Prince William turned to friends after Princess Diana's death.

  • Younger brother, hurry went off the rails, so went off the rails started to behave in a way that's not socially acceptable.

  • Yes, no, Neil.

  • A train expression for you there when I believe you quite like a train.

  • I do like crazy obsessed with them.

  • But I like the train travels along rails to battle truck that rails, rails, keep it going in the right direction.

  • Yep.

  • Smoothly and safely, smoothly and safely, Yes.

  • Oh, if you can imagine when the train comes off the rails, Yeah, it means that things are not going smoothly and not going in the right direction.

  • If a train literally comes off the rails, it would be a disaster.

  • Total disaster.

  • And so we use this expression to describe people who are having difficult times, Yes, when they're not behaving in a way that's healthy and good for them.

  • If you're on the rails, you're doing all the right things in your life to make your life goes smoothly and successfully.

  • If you go off the rails, you start doing things which are dangerous.

  • Stupid, not good for you, and we'll go back to the sun to look at the way they've explained it.

  • Regarding hit Prince Harry, 13 year old Prince Harry was stopped from drinking vodka while in Switzerland and angrily jumped on skis and headed down the unlit slopes.

  • So at the age of 13 trying to drink vodka and then skiing down a dark, dark mountain is probably not the best.

  • No thing to do is a very good example of going off the rack.

  • Absolutely, but I think he's turned out all right.

  • So before we recap today's vocabulary, we have, of course, our Facebook challenge.

  • We've been talking about the slightly old fashioned and stereotypical characteristic off having a a stiff upper lip for British people on DWI.

  • Ask the question.

  • What adjective could we use to describe such a person who has a stiff upper lip?

  • Is it a observed?

  • Be reserved or see preserved?

  • How was the response where almost everybody got the right answer this week?

  • You'll be pleased to hear that the correct answer is B reserved so well done to hero casual condo Manuel Gomez on Arezzo Julius Donny, who gave a nice explanation, saying reserved means shy, especially when someone feels shy to express their feelings with friends.

  • So well done, everybody who said Answer be reserved.

  • Yes, well done.

  • And now a recap off the vocab, please.

  • Okay, so we had a stiff upper lip.

  • The quality of not showing feelings in a difficult situation opens up.

  • Means starts to talk about feelings on went off the rails, starts to behave in a way that's not socially acceptable.

  • If you would like to test yourself on today's vocabulary, there's a quiz you can take on our website BBC Learning english dot com, where you can find all kinds of other videos and activities to help you improve your English.

  • Thanks for joining us and good bye bye, He's review from BBC Learning English.

he's a review from BBC Learning English Hello and welcome to News Review The program where we show you how to use the language from the latest news stories in your every day.

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