BBC News Review 美-以伊战争的全球影响

2026-03-12 浏览(1)
From BBC Learning English,
this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
In this programme,
the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran around the world.
Hello, I'm Phil. And I'm Pippa.
In this podcast 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.
So let's hear more about this story.
The US-Israel war with Iran continues, causing deaths and injuries in Iran
and elsewhere in the region.
The conflict is also impacting commercial ships
in the Strait of Hormuz, which is the stretch of sea
near Iran that allows ships to reach the open ocean.
The US military says it has eliminated 16 Iranian mine-laying ships in the area.
Iran continues its strikes across the region,
including in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
People in Tehran have told BBC News Persian about heavy strikes
and power cuts. On Monday,
US President Donald Trump said the war was 'very far ahead of schedule'
and 'very complete, pretty much'.
Aside from the human cost,
the war has had an impact on the global price of oil
because of the difficulty shipping oil from the region
and the uncertainty over how long the war could last.
Our first headline is about this.
This is from The Washington Post, a US newspaper.
Oil prices seesaw as Trump sends mixed messages on what's next in Iran.
That headline, again from the Washington Post.
Oil prices seesaw as Trump sends mixed messages on what's next in Iran.
This headline says oil prices
seesaw. That means they've been going up and down sharply
in response to what President Trump has been saying.
We're interested in this phrase sends mixed messages.
What does it mean to send mixed messages?
Well, if you send someone mixed messages,
you do or say things that cause confusion about what you really mean.
Yes. So in this story, President Trump spoke to journalists.
He told CBS news, the war 'is very complete, pretty much'.
But when asked if military operations would end soon,
he replied, 'I don't know.
It depends'.
Right, and that could be described as sending mixed messages.
It's unclear what Trump is planning and whether the war will end soon.
We can use the phrase send mixed messages
in more everyday situations too.
For example, in relationships, if someone sends mixed messages,
you're not sure whether they like you or not.
There's a similar phrase send mixed signals and it means the same thing.
We've had send mixed messages,
do or say things that cause confusion about what you mean.
For example, my boss is sending me mixed messages about whether I'll be promoted.
Sometimes she praises me,
sometimes she criticises me.
This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.
We're talking about the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran.
As we've mentioned, oil prices have risen sharply since the war began,
though they fell slightly again after Trump spoke to reporters.
The war is likely to impact the economies of countries around the world.
Higher oil prices can make other things we buy more expensive,
such as food and clothes.
In the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said it is likely
the conflict will impact the UK economy.
Let's have another headline.
This is from BBC News. Chris Mason:
The cost of living is catapulted centre stage yet again.
That headline again, Chris Mason:
The cost of living is catapulted centre stage yet again.
And that's from BBC news.
This headline talks about the cost of living, which refers to
the recent price increases for basic things like food and energy in the UK.
Chris Mason is a political journalist at the BBC.
We're looking at this phrase centre stage.
Stage makes me think of the theatre.
But what does that have to do with price increases?
Well, you're right Phil.
Centre stage literally means the middle of a stage like you might see
at the theatre or a concert, but this phrase is metaphorical.
If something is centre stage, it's important and has a lot of attention.
Right. So in the headline, the cost of living is catapulted centre stage.
That means price increases have suddenly become the most important thing that everyone's talking about,
because of the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran.
This headline uses the phrase catapulted centre stage, which is very dramatic,
but we most commonly hear the phrase takes centre stage.
This just means that something becomes the most important thing
or starts to get everyone's attention.
Yes. So an example would be at the end of the school year,
exams usually take centre stage as pupils begin to revise.
We've had centre stage,
the most important thing or the thing that everyone is paying attention to.
For example, green energy will be centre stage again
at this year's climate conference.
This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.
We're talking about the impact of the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.
Whilst US-Israel strikes have continued against Iran,
Iran has continued to retaliate.
A new supreme leader of Iran has also been named after
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by strikes last week.
The new supreme leader is Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Some pro-establishment crowds have taken
to the streets to celebrate the appointment,
but other people in Iran do not support the leader
and believe he will continue his father's policies.
Iran's police chief said any Iranians thinking of protesting against
the government would be dealt with 'in the same way we deal with the enemy'.
Let's have another headline.
This is from Sky News, a British news organisation.
What we know about Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei -
and why his appointment doesn't bode well for peace.
That headline again from Sky News,
What we know about Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei -
and why his appointment doesn't bode well for peace.
This headline is about the new supreme leader in Iran.
We're interested in this phrase
doesn't bode well.
Yes, bode well means be a sign that good things will happen in the future.
In this headline bode well is used in the negative.
It says the appointment of the new leader doesn't bode well for peace.
This means it isn't a good sign,
that this decision does not make peace more likely.
Bode well is quite an old-fashioned phrase,
but we do use it in more everyday contexts
in English. For example,
good sales figures at the start of the year could bode well
for a company's profits.
You might also sometimes see the phrase bode ill.
This means something is a sign that bad things will happen in the future.
We've had bode well, be a sign that good things will happen in the future.
For example, she went to the doctors and they wanted to do lots of tests,
which doesn't bode well.
That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.
We'll be back next week with another news story.
Try the worksheet on our website to test what you've learned.
That's bbclearningenglish.com.
And you can also follow us on social media @bbclearningenglish.
Bye for now. Goodbye.
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