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  • The UK has its third prime minister in seven weeks.

  • This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

  • I'm Sian. And I'm Beth.

  • Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.

  • And remember, subscribe to our channel, like this video

  • and try the quiz on our website.

  • Now, today's story.

  • Rishi Sunak has taken over from Liz Truss

  • after she spent just 45 days in office.

  • Truss resigned after being heavily criticised

  • for her economic plan which saw the value of the pound drop significantly.

  • Rishi Sunak, the UK's first

  • British Asian prime minister, will have urgent issues to deal with,

  • including the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

  • Opposition parties are calling for a general election.

  • OK. So Beth, you've been looking at the headlines.

  • What's the vocabulary?

  • We have 'bruising', 'Rishinomics' and 'steep learning curve'.

  • This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

  • OK, let's have a look at our first headline.

  • This one is from The Times.

  • OK. So, a bit of context.

  • Liz Truss beat Rishi Sunak earlier in a leadership contest this summer.

  • Now, the headline says he's bounced back.

  • So he's returned quickly.

  • He's now Prime Minister.

  • But The Times described that defeat as 'bruising'.

  • So, a bruise is something you get when you hurt yourself. Right?

  • Exactly. So, a 'bruise' as a noun

  • is that kind of dark

  • area of skin when you walk into a table

  • or something like that. And if you touch it, it's quite painful.

  • So, the headline is saying that this was a bruising,

  • meaning a painful defeat for Rishi Sunak.

  • Yes. And here it also means that it damages his... or damaged

  • his reputation or confidence. So, the loss damaged his reputation.

  • So, like a bruise damages your skin. That's right.

  • Yeah, and we can hear this adjective 'bruising' in other news headlines,

  • particularly when it comes to sports. Now Sian, yesterday,

  • my football team lost, five-nil!

  • That's a bruising loss, but are there any other words

  • we could use instead of 'bruising'?

  • Well, bruising isn't that common,

  • it's not really heard in everyday conversation.

  • So, you might describe a defeat or a loss as 'painful', 'bitter'

  • or sometimes 'sore' as well.

  • OK, let's have a look at that again.

  • OK, let's have our next headline.

  • This one is from The Telegraph.

  • OK. So, the headline writer

  • thinks that more pain is coming,

  • and specifically that Rishinomics will cause this pain.

  • But, 'Rishinomics', what is that?

  • It doesn't even sound like a word.

  • Well, 'Rishinomics' is a playful way of combining his name, Rishi,

  • with the suffix '-nomics' that comes from economics.

  • So, literally, 'Rishinomics'

  • means the economics of Rishi.

  • OK. So, is it normal to combine a name with the suffix '-nomics'?

  • Well, it is if you're talking about a politician and their economic policies.

  • Now, recently, a lot of people have been criticising

  • -Trussonomics - that's the economic policies of Liz Truss.

  • And you also might have heard of Reaganomics from the 1980s in the USA.

  • OK. So, can I start talking about Sianonomics?

  • Not really, no.

  • I mean, if you get into government,

  • and you become in charge of all of finance, then, yes.

  • Let's hope that never happens.

  • Let's look at all of that again.

  • OK, next headline please, Beth

  • This one is from the Financial Times.

  • OK. So, the headline says that the new prime minister will need

  • to face issues on a world stage.

  • So, that means the whole world will be watching how he does his job. Now,

  • I know what a curve is, this is a curve,

  • but what is a 'steep learning curve'?

  • Well, if you picture a graph,

  • like this, when he starts his job,

  • he doesn't have a lot of experience being a prime minister,

  • but he has to learn a lot

  • right at the beginning. OK. So, the headline

  • says or means that at the start of the job

  • he will learn a lot.

  • Yes, definitely.

  • He'll learn a lot quickly, and this learning curve is described as steep.

  • Now, if you think about a steep hill,

  • it means it's really difficult

  • to climb it. It's not like this, easy,

  • it's steep. So, it's also a difficult job.

  • Yeah. So, steep really emphasises how quickly

  • he will need to learn. And can we use this in other situations?

  • Yes, we can. So, when you start a new job, then

  • definitely, it can be a steep learning curve.

  • Also, when you leave home for the first time,

  • there is a lot to learn very quickly.

  • How do you cook for yourself?

  • Do the laundry? All this stuff.

  • Yeah. If you move to a new country,

  • and also have to learn a new language, that can be a very steep learning curve.

  • Definitely. But, if you're in that situation,

  • don't worry, we're here to help.

  • So, let's look at that again.

  • OK. So, we've had 'bruising',

  • it's painful.

  • 'Rishinomics', the economics of Rishi Sunak.

  • And 'steep learning curve', learning a lot

  • very quickly.

  • Don't forget, there is a quiz on our website,

  • bbclearningenglish.com Thank you for joining us, goodbye. Bye.

The UK has its third prime minister in seven weeks.

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