Rebels defeat Assad in Syria AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast Learning English from the News

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Episode: Rebels defeat Assad in Syria

Author: BBC Radio
Duration: 00:08:17

Episode Shownotes

Syrian rebels have taken control of the country after defeating Bashar al-Assad's forcesSUBTITLES AND WORKSHEET Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: ``https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish`/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2024/2411211FIND` BBC LEARNING ENGLISH HERE: Visit our website ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish Follow us ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followusLIKE PODCASTS? Try some of our other popular podcasts including: ✔️ 6

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Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_01
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

00:00:10 Speaker_03
In this programme, rebels defeat Assad in Syria.

00:00:17 Speaker_01
Hello, I'm Neil.

00:00:18 Speaker_03
And I'm Pippa.

00:00:19 Speaker_01
In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

00:00:26 Speaker_03
You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode as well as a worksheet on our website bbclearningenglish.com.

00:00:34 Speaker_01
So, let's hear more about this story.

00:00:41 Speaker_03
Syrian rebels have taken control of the country after defeating Bashar al-Assad and his forces.

00:00:47 Speaker_01
Assad, who ruled the country for 24 years, has fled Syria to live in Russia.

00:00:52 Speaker_03
Many Syrians are celebrating the end of Assad's rule, but the future of the country is uncertain.

00:00:59 Speaker_01
Let's have our first headline. After ousting Assad, Syrian rebels rush to impose order in Damascus. That's from the Wall Street Journal.

00:01:09 Speaker_03
And that headline again. After ousting Assad, Syrian rebels rush to impose order in Damascus. And that's from the Wall Street Journal.

00:01:18 Speaker_01
So this headline is about the uncertain situation in Syria and the rebels who want to impose order. That means restore calm and organisation.

00:01:28 Speaker_03
But we're interested in this word, ousting. So, oust is the verb. What does it mean to oust someone, Neil?

00:01:35 Speaker_01
Well, if you oust someone, it means you force them to leave their job or position. And you can also be ousted and that means you've been forced to leave your job or position.

00:01:48 Speaker_03
OK, so Bashar al-Assad, he was the president of Syria and now he's been ousted. He's been forced to leave his job.

00:01:55 Speaker_01
That's right. So we often use oust when we're talking about positions of power. For example, a CEO might be ousted from the company or a local council might decide to oust the mayor.

00:02:09 Speaker_03
And we can also use oust to talk about sports and competitions. For example, I hope my team don't get ousted from the playoffs this year.

00:02:18 Speaker_01
But just note that oust is quite formal, so we see it a lot in stories about power and politics rather than personal everyday situations.

00:02:28 Speaker_03
We've had oust – force someone to leave their job or position.

00:02:33 Speaker_01
For example, the headteacher has been ousted by the school governors. He was corrupt.

00:02:41 Speaker_03
This is Learning English on the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about recent events in Syria where rebel forces have taken control of the country from the Assad government.

00:02:54 Speaker_01
So, Bashar al-Assad has left Syria to live in Russia. Before the attack by the rebels, he had controlled Syria for 24 years.

00:03:03 Speaker_03
The conflict began in 2011 when the violent response to anti-government protests led to a civil war.

00:03:11 Speaker_01
Since then, more than half a million people have been killed and around half of Syria's population has been displaced, forced to move because of the war.

00:03:20 Speaker_03
In the end, Assad's defeat was quick and surprised people around the world. Let's have another headline. This one is from AP News. How it happened. Two seismic weeks that toppled Syria's government.

00:03:35 Speaker_01
And that headline again, how it happened, two seismic weeks that toppled Syria's government. That headline is from AP News.

00:03:44 Speaker_03
This headline gives a timeline of the events of the last two weeks.

00:03:48 Speaker_01
And the headline describes the two weeks as seismic. Now seismic, I think I've heard this used to talk about earthquakes. Is that right, Pippa?

00:03:57 Speaker_03
Yes, that's right. Seismic is usually used to describe something related to or caused by an earthquake. For example, we might talk about seismic activity and this means the movement of the earth because of an earthquake.

00:04:10 Speaker_01
But there's no real earthquake in the headline, is there?

00:04:14 Speaker_03
No, seismic is being used metaphorically in the headline to show that the change in Syria is big and powerful, like an earthquake would be.

00:04:22 Speaker_01
And we often use seismic to describe situations that are shocking and could have a big impact on lots of people – changes in government, big events in wars, shocking news stories.

00:04:33 Speaker_03
And similarly, you might hear earthquake used metaphorically too. A surprising election might be called a political earthquake, for example, as it has a large and powerful impact on a country.

00:04:48 Speaker_01
So we've had seismic describes a large and powerful impact, like an earthquake.

00:04:54 Speaker_03
For example, the new law is a seismic change for human rights in the country.

00:05:01 Speaker_01
This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English. We're talking about the change of power in Syria after President Assad was defeated at the weekend.

00:05:13 Speaker_03
Around the world, lots of people have been surprised by the fast change in the war and the rebels' victory over Assad.

00:05:20 Speaker_01
There's also uncertainty over what will happen now in Syria. There are lots of different groups who are fighting in the war and some of them continue to fight each other for control.

00:05:31 Speaker_03
The Israeli military has also been taking action in Syria since the defeat of Assad. Israel says this is to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of Islamic extremists, but other countries, such as Turkey, have criticised the military action.

00:05:46 Speaker_03
Let's have another headline. This one's from Foreign Policy magazine. How the world got Syria wrong.

00:05:54 Speaker_01
That headline again from Foreign Policy magazine. How the world got Syria wrong.

00:06:00 Speaker_03
This headline is from an article about the international reaction to the situation in Syria.

00:06:06 Speaker_01
Yes, we're interested in the phrase got Syria wrong. Can you explain, Pippa?

00:06:12 Speaker_03
Yes, we know the word wrong. It means incorrect or not right. If you literally get something wrong, like a maths problem, for example, you don't get the right answer.

00:06:22 Speaker_01
Yes, of course, but in the headline the phrase is got Syria wrong. Now, Syria isn't a maths problem.

00:06:30 Speaker_03
No, if we get something or someone wrong in this way, it means that we misunderstand that thing or person.

00:06:36 Speaker_01
So in the headline, the world got Syria wrong, it means the world misunderstood the Syrian war, by thinking that President Assad couldn't be defeated by the rebels. Remember, this headline is the opinion of the author.

00:06:49 Speaker_03
And we can use get something wrong in another interesting way. We can use the expression with me. So we could say, don't get me wrong. And that means don't misunderstand me.

00:07:00 Speaker_03
We use this if we're saying something that might be controversial or that might upset someone and we want to be clear.

00:07:06 Speaker_01
Yes, for example, you asked me, Pippa, for my feedback on a work project and don't get me wrong, I think you've done a great job, but you could strengthen your conclusion.

00:07:18 Speaker_03
We've had get something or someone wrong, misunderstand something or someone.

00:07:23 Speaker_01
For example, I got the new CEO wrong. She cares a lot about her employees.

00:07:29 Speaker_03
That's it for this episode of Learning English on the News. We'll be back next week with another news story.

00:07:35 Speaker_01
If you've enjoyed this programme, try our Learning English for Work series. To learn more complicated English phrases and work jargon, visit bbclearningenglish.com.

00:07:46 Speaker_03
And don't forget to follow us on social media. Search BBC Learning English.

00:07:50 Speaker_01
Bye for now.

00:07:51 Speaker_03
Bye.

00:07:55 Speaker_00
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00:08:12 Speaker_00
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00:08:26 Speaker_02
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00:08:40 Speaker_04
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00:08:47 Speaker_02
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00:09:00 Speaker_04
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00:09:11 Speaker_02
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00:09:27 Speaker_02
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00:09:31 Speaker_04
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00:09:45 Speaker_04
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00:09:59 Speaker_04
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00:10:21 Speaker_04
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00:10:32 Speaker_02
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