BBC News Review Kumbh Mela：4亿人参加的世界最大节日

From BBC Learning English. This is learning English

from the news, our bookcast about the news headlines.

In this program, 400 million people to attend the world's largest religious gathering.

Coummela Hello. I'm Phil and I'm George.

In this program,

we look at one big new 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, bbc learning English dot com.

So let's hear more about this story.

The Coon Mala Festival, the largest religious gathering in the world, has begun in the northern Indian city of Praagrad.

400 million people are expected to attend throughout the 45 day period.

Authorities say the festival can be seen from space.

The Hindu festival is held once every twelve years, but this year is particularly significant because of a rare alignment between the sun, the moon and Jupiter, which happens only once every 144 years.

And their 1st headline is about this.

India's Mahar kum Mela festival gets underway for 1st time in 144 years.

And that's from The Guardian. OK, let's hear that again.

India s Mahaku Mela Festival gets underway for 1st time in 144 years.

And that's from The Guardian. We're looking at this phrase under way, which is a bit strange, isn't it?

Yes, we know the words under and way, but when we put them together, they have a whole new meaning.

Underway means that something begins or has begun, it's in progress.

The headline here says, the Festival Gets Underway.

If something has got under way, then it means it has started.

Yes. And another example this podcast episode is already underway, it's begun on the way.

Most commonly comes after the verbs B or get.

Think about it like this If something is underway, it's already happening.

But if we say something gets underway, we're talking about the start of the process, e.g., after weeks of delays, the construction project on my roof is finally underway.

It's happening. We've had underway in progress.

E.G. the wedding ceremony will get underway as soon as all the guests have arrived.

This is learning English from the news.

Our podcast about the news headlines.

Today, we're talking about the Maha Kummela festival in India.

The 1st day of the festival, 30 january, was foggy and the water was freezing cold.

But this didn't stop more than 15 million people from bathing in the sacred River Ganges.

The crowd included holy men and millions of Hindu pilgrims from India and all around the world.

Police struggled to manage the moving crowds at the festival on Tuesday, as thousands managed to come into an arena meant for the holy men.

Our next headline describes the scene on day one of the festival.

It's from writers, and it says, india's Maharcoon Festival sees 15 million people take holy dip on 1st day.

And that headline again. India's Maha Kum Festival sees 15 million people take holy dip on Thursday.

And that's from writers. And we're looking at the word dip.

People take a holy dip fill.

What can you tell us? Well, the most general use of dip is to lower something into liquid.

Quickly. Think about dipping bread in soup or dipping a biscuit in tea.

You don't leave it in their long or it'll break and disintegrate.

That's right. Or if you dip your toe into hot bath water.

So that's a verb, but in the headline we see it as a noun People Take a dip?

Yes. If you take a dip, you lower yourself into water briefly and then take yourself out.

It's often used for swimming in natural water, like a lake, a river or the sea.

Yes? So the Hindus take a diip in the river.

They go in quickly and come out, presumably because the water is cold and because there are so many people trying to get in.

We have taken a dip. But another common expression is, go for a dip.

E.g. it's so hot in the sun, I'm just going to go for a quick dip in the sea.

We ve had dip, a brief swim, e.g.

after hiking all day, a dip in the lake.

Felt amazing. This is learning English from the news.

Our pookcast about the news headlines.

Today, we're talking about the millions of people who have gathered for the Kummela Festival.

The festival is based on a mythological story about a fight between the gods and demons over a container of nectar, which spelt into the river.

When Hindus bathe in the water, they believe it will cleanse them of sins and

purify their soul. There are six important dates to bathe during the 45 day festival,

based on the alignment of specific planets and constellations.

And our next headline is about This is from the Indian Express.

Coo Mela explained its mythology history, astrology and why millions flock to it.

About headline again, coum Mayla explained its mythology history, astrology, and why millions flock to it.

And that's from the Indian Express.

This time we're looking at the word flogg Now, when I hear flock, I imagine a flock of sheep or a flock of birds.

It's one of those nouns for groups of animals, yes, but here it's used as a verb.

Millions of people flock to the festival.

It means to move or gather as a group.

And flock is often followed by two and then a place.

Some more examples. The fans flocked to the stadium.

The shoppers flocked to the shop for the big sale.

That's right. It's usually about a large group moving to something attractive or important, isn't it?

Exactly? Now, I know an idiom that uses this verb flock filled.

Do you know it? Um, no, I don't think I do.

The idiom is birds of a feather flock together.

It means people with similar interests or characteristics tend to stick together.

We ve been looking at flock move as a group, e.g., all the university students flock to the library before exams.

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

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

If you've enjoyed this program, why not test what you've learned using the worksheet on our website, bbc learning english dot com.

Remember, you can also find us on the social media.

Just search for BBC Learning English.

扫码查看听力音频