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  • Iran's President Killed in a Helicopter Crashthis is News Review from BBC Learning English, where we help you understand news headlines in English.

  • I'm Beth.

  • And I'm Phil.

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

  • And don't forget to subscribe to our channel to learn more English from the headlines.

  • Now, today's story.

  • The funeral of the President of Iran, Ibrahim Raisi, is taking place after he was killed in a helicopter crash.

  • The accident happened in bad weather in a mountainous region in the northwest of the country.

  • Thousands have mourned him in the streets, but his death has also been celebrated by his critics on social media.

  • Raisi's record on human rights has been heavily criticised.

  • Looking at the headlines, what's the vocabulary that people need to understand this news story in English?

  • We have furtive, reverberate and condolences.

  • This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

  • Let's have our first headline.

  • This is from Reuters.

  • So, this headline says that Iran is divided.

  • On the one hand, there is mourning.

  • Mourning is a period of sadness after someone dies, and mourning here is being described as muted, which means not so noticeable.

  • And then on the other side, we have the celebrations that are described as furtive.

  • Phil, what can you tell us about furtive?

  • OK, well, furtive is an adjective and it means secret or hidden.

  • So, if we describe someone as behaving in a furtive way, that means that they're being secretive or maybe dishonest or suspicious.

  • So, in the headline, those who are celebrating are doing it in a furtive way.

  • They are doing it in a hidden or a secretive way.

  • They don't want people to know necessarily that they are celebrating.

  • Another way that we often use the word furtive is with words that talk about ways of looking at things.

  • So, you might hear about a furtive glance, a furtive look, a furtive glimpse.

  • And that's where someone is trying to look at something or someone else, but not be spotted doing it.

  • Yes, that's right.

  • And we also have the adverb furtively.

  • If someone acts furtively, then they act suspiciously.

  • OK, let's look at that again.

  • Let's have a look at our next headline.

  • This is from The Times of India.

  • This headline asks about the impact that Raisi's death will have.

  • We're looking at the word reverberate.

  • This makes me think of sound.

  • Well, it can be about sound.

  • It isn't here, but it can be.

  • Think about sound as vibration.

  • Vibration spread across an area.

  • That's how sound can reverberate across an area.

  • Here, it's metaphorical and we're talking about impact.

  • The impact of something can spread across an area.

  • Maybe think about a pond.

  • If you throw a stone into the middle, then the ripples will spread across the pond and something reverberating spreads in a similar way.

  • Exactly.

  • So, this headline is asking about the reverberations, the impact across the Middle East.

  • And reverberation is a noun.

  • It means consequence.

  • Can you give us some examples of reverberation?

  • OK, well, any significant event can have reverberations.

  • So, maybe think about a decision to close a factory.

  • That could have strong reverberations on the local community.

  • And some of those consequences might be things that we didn't expect.

  • You can have unintended consequences.

  • OK, let's look at that again.

  • Let's have our next headline.

  • This is from The Times of Israel.

  • US offers condolences over Iran chopper crash blasts Raisi's human rights record.

  • So, there are two things happening in this headline.

  • One is that the US government has blasted, that means strongly criticised Raisi's human rights record.

  • And on the other side, the US have offered their condolences.

  • And condolences is what we are looking at.

  • Yeah, so condolences are an expression of sympathy towards someone when someone has died.

  • So, the US government has offered sympathy towards the Iranian people, but they have also criticised Raisi heavily.

  • Now, when someone dies, you might use the expression my condolences, which is quite formal, but it works here.

  • We also often talk about sincere or heartfelt condolences, and that just makes them even stronger.

  • Now, there is a verb condole, but we probably more often use verbs like offer, as we have in the headline here.

  • Or you can express condolences or extend your condolences to someone.

  • Yes.

  • Okay, let's look at that again.

  • We've had furtive, secretive, reverberate, have a wide impact, and condolences, sympathy.

  • You can find more episodes of News Review by clicking here.

  • And remember to click here to subscribe to our channel, so you never miss another episode.

  • Thanks for joining us.

  • Bye.

  • Bye.

Iran's President Killed in a Helicopter Crashthis is News Review from BBC Learning English, where we help you understand news headlines in English.

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