– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme,

Taliban cuts off internet in Afghanistan.

Hello, I'm Beth.

And I'm Phil.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet, on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

OK, Phil, let's hear about this story.

The Taliban government has cut the internet and many telephone services

across Afghanistan.

This follows services being cut in some provinces

earlier this month. Authorities said that this was to 'prevent immorality'.

After women and girls over 12 were barred from schools, universities

and many types of jobs,

many of them used the internet to study online or to sell products abroad.

This shutdown has stopped them from being able to do this.

Afghans living outside the country

have reported being unable to contact their relatives inside Afghanistan.

Foreign media organisations have reported being unable

to contact their offices in Kabul, and flights have also been disrupted.

Let's have our first headline.

This comes from CNN:

Total internet blackout in Afghanistan sparks panic

after Taliban vowed to stamp out immoral activities.

That headline again from CNN:

Total internet blackout in Afghanistan sparks panic

after Taliban vowed to stamp out immoral activities.

OK, there are a few things to look at in this headline.

Let's start with 'blackout', which means

that something like power, telephone services or, in this case,

internet connections are completely unavailable.

If something is said to be 'immoral', it is something society thinks is wrong.

What's considered immoral changes from culture to culture.

For example, in some cultures, being in debt is seen as immoral,

in others it's not.

The Taliban government sees education for women as immoral,

and this blackout has prevented online education for girls.

Girls had already been excluded from schools and universities.

We're going to learn the expression 'stamp out'.

Now, the literal meaning of stamp out means to put out a fire with your feet

to stop it burning.

Stamping on something is stepping on something violently with a lot of force.

From this we get a metaphor.

Stamping something out is to forcefully stop something happening.

In the headline, the Taliban have promised to stamp out,

to stop, what they consider to be immoral.

Politicians and people in authority often talk about stamping out things

that they want to get rid of, like crime, discrimination, corruption

or unacceptable behaviour.

We had: stamp out – take strong action to stop something.

For example, the new manager promised to stamp out sexism in the office.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

We're talking about internet and telephone services being cut off

in Afghanistan.

The move has been criticised by human rights organisations,

one of which is quoted in our next headline.

Yes, this is from The Independent.

Taliban cut internet for whole country

as Afghanistan 'dragged into abyss'.

And that headline again from The Independent in the UK:

Taliban cut internet for whole country as Afghanistan 'dragged into abyss'.

The headline includes a quote from an organisation called Afghan Peace Watch,

who have said that the country is being dragged into an abyss.

'Abyss' is the next word we're going to learn.

There is a literal meaning which we don't use that often.

An abyss is a very big, deep, dark hole,

particularly one where we can't tell where the bottom is.

But abyss is much more commonly used as a metaphor

to mean a very bad situation that is difficult or impossible to get out of.

The headline writer is saying

that the Taliban government is taking Afghanistan into a bad situation,

and that the country is being cut off from sources of help.

'Abyss' can be used to describe situations full of suffering,

like a war-torn country,

and it can be used to describe dark feelings like depression.

It's also used to talk about money.

If a company is facing a financial abyss,

then they have very serious money problems.

We've had: abyss –

a very negative situation that is difficult to escape from.

For example,

without immediate humanitarian aid, the country could slide into the abyss.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we've been talking about Afghanistan's internet blackout.

Here's a headline talking about the impact of this measure.

Yes, this comes from BBC News:

Afghan women lose their 'last hope' as Taliban shuts down internet.

That headline again from BBC News:

Afghan women lose their 'last hope' as Taliban shuts down internet.

OK, so we're going to learn the expression 'last hope'.

If something is your last hope, then it's the last

or final chance that you have for something to be successful.

And we often use it to say that there's no alternative. Here,

it's reporting the words of an Afghan woman who was studying

at an online university, which she saw as her last hope

after restrictions on work and study were imposed by the Taliban.

We use 'last hope' to describe lots of types of things.

We often use it for serious life or death matters, like medical treatment

or rescue missions, which could be someone's last hope.

But it can also be used more generally for less serious things.

So, a free kick at the end of a football match could be

a team's last hope to win the game.

We had: last hope – the last opportunity for success.

For example, the new wildlife reserve could be the last hope

for keeping this species of rhino alive.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you want to practise what you've learnt,

go to our website to see more example sentences and try our free worksheet.

And also, don't forget to follow us on social media. Search

for BBC Learning English on your favourite social media platform.

Bye for now. Goodbye.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
blackout /ˈblæk.aʊt/ B2	noun - a total loss of electricity or internet service
immoral /ɪˈmɔːrəl/ B2	adjective - contrary to moral principles; unethical
stamp /stæmp/ B2	verb - to press a stamp onto something verb - to eliminate or eradicate (figuratively)
abyss /əˈbɪs/ C1	noun - a deep, seemingly bottomless chasm; a dreadful situation
hope /hoʊp/ B1	noun - a desire for a certain positive outcome
cut /kʌt/ A2	verb - to sever or divide with a sharp instrument verb - to reduce or remove partially or completely
shutdown /ˈʃʌt.daʊn/ B2	noun - a temporary closure of a service or operation
prevent /prɪˈvɛnt/ B1	verb - to keep something from happening
disrupt /dɪˈsʌrp(t)/ B2	verb - to cause disorder or interruption
authority /ɔːˈθɒrɪti/ B2	noun - a person or organization with power or control
media /ˈmiː.di.ə/ B1	noun - means of communication, such as television, radio and newspapers
education /ˌɛdjʊˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ B1	noun - the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction
humanitarian /hjuːˌmænɪˈtɛəriən/ C1	adjective - concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare
financial /faɪˈnænʃəl/ B2	adjective - relating to money or the management of funds
discrimination /dɪsˌkrɪmɪˈneɪʃən/ C1	noun - unfair treatment of a person or group based on characteristics
corruption /kəˈrʌpʃ(ə)n/ B2	noun - dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power
sexism /ˈsɛksɪzəm/ C1	noun - prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender
impossible /ɪmˈpɒsɪb(ə)l/ B2	adjective - not able to be done or achieved
depression /dɪˈprɛʃən/ B2	noun - a mental health condition marked by persistent sadness and loss of interest
opportunity /ˌɒpərˈtjuːnəti/ B2	noun - a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something