Episode #6 News Review from January 19 to 25, 2020

News of the week of January 19 to 25, 2020

• Coronavirus: what developments? [spp-timestamp time=”00:00:37″]
• 80 prisoners escape in Paraguay [spp-timestamp time=”00:01:52″]
• Donald Trump displays his anti-abortion views [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:37″]
• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle renounce their royal titles [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:15″]
  
• Vocabulary of the week explained [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:22″]

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Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to the Hello French news review, the podcast that immerses you in the week's news to help you improve your French.

Headlines for this week of January 19 to 25, 2020

1. Coronavirus. 54 deaths and nearly 1,300 cases. The Chinese [tooltips keyword=”métropole” content=”metropolis”] of Wuhan [tooltips keyword=”mise en quarantaine” content=”quarantine”].
2. In Paraguay, nearly 80 prisoners [tooltips keyword=”s'évadent” content=”to escape”] through a tunnel.
3. Donald Trump. First American president to participate in an [tooltips keyword=”anti-avortement” content=”anti-abortion“] march.
4. Great Britain. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle renounce their royal titles.

Coronavirus epidemic in China. No more planes or trains are now leaving the city of Wuhan. The Chinese metropolis was placed in quarantine before the 11 million inhabitants could even organize their [tooltips keyword=”éventuel” content=”potential”] departure. A decision made by authorities this Thursday, January 23, as the epidemic begins to [tooltips keyword=”se répandre” content=”to disperse”] across the rest of the world. Several cases have indeed been detected [tooltips keyword=”hors de” content=”out of”] China, including 3 cases in France, 5 cases in Thailand, 4 cases in Australia, 3 cases in Japan, 3 cases in Malaysia, 3 cases in Singapore, 3 cases in Taiwan, 2 cases in the United States, 2 cases in South Korea, 2 cases in Vietnam, and 1 case in Nepal. Residents could still leave the city by car on Thursday morning. However, police officers were stopping vehicles to [tooltips keyword=”prendre la température” content=”measure temperature”] of passengers. Wearing masks was also mandated by the city government to prevent the spread of the virus within the metropolis. The virus has already caused the death of 54 people. 1,300 cases have been [tooltips keyword=”décelés ” content=”detected”], including 237 critical cases. A very sad Chinese New Year this year and cancelled festivities in the city of Wuhan.

An escape worthy of an action movie. In Paraguay, 80 [tooltips keyword=”détenus ” content=”inmate”] escaped Sunday from a prison through a tunnel. Most of these prisoners belong to the largest Brazilian gang of drug and weapons [tooltips keyword=”trafiquants” content=”dealers, trafficker”]. [tooltips keyword=”Creusé” content=”to dig, dug”] with the help of a complicit [tooltips keyword=”gardien de prison” content=”prison guard”], the tunnel is 25 meters long and was [tooltips keyword=”aménagé ” content=”equiped”] with [tooltips keyword=”éclairages” content=”lighting”]. The tunnel, whose [tooltips keyword=”construction” content=”build”] certainly took several weeks, leads directly from the prison's [tooltips keyword=”sanitaires” content=”sanitary facilities”] to the guard's shelter. Authorities [tooltips keyword=”destitué” content=”removed”] the prison director from his position and arrested dozens of guards. The fugitives have still not been [tooltips keyword=”repérés” content=”spotted”]. 5 [tooltips keyword=”camionnettes” content=”vans”], in which some fugitives were transported, were found [tooltips keyword=”incendiées” content=”to burn, burned”] past the Brazilian [tooltips keyword=”frontière” content=”border”]. Brazil has reinforced its security to capture them.

This Friday in the United States, Donald Trump became the first American president to oppose abortion by participating in the March for Life. A great honor according to the president. Yet 20 years ago, the [tooltips keyword=”homme d'affaires” content=”businessman”] positioned himself as "pro-choice." A few months before the American elections, the [tooltips keyword=”milliardaire” content=”billionaire”] makes a [tooltips keyword=”virage à 360 degrés” content=”U-turn”] to become the most anti-abortion president in the country's history. Meanwhile, the impeachment [tooltips keyword=”procès” content=”trial] of [tooltips keyword=”destitution” content=”impeachment”] trial of the president is still underway in the Senate. This follows the House of Representatives' vote in December on the impeachment of Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Just days before Brexit, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and little Archie renounce their royal titles. Earlier in the month, the couple had already announced that they were stepping back from their role within the royal family. Harry and Meghan are therefore deciding to take even more independence. The royal couple will stop receiving public funds and has committed to [tooltips keyword=”rembourser” content=”refund”] past expenses, particularly the renovation of a residence. A weighty decision for the duke and duchess who wanted to be able to live off their own work and [tooltips keyword=”résider” content=”live”] part of the year in Canada. While they are and will always be part of the family for Elizabeth II, the [tooltips keyword=”reine ” content=”queen”] of England, they are no longer considered active members of the royal family and are freed from their representational role. For Harry, this decision also means giving up his official military commitments, including his position as Captain General of the Royal Marines. A position held for 65 years by Harry's grandfather before [tooltips keyword=”passer le flambeau” content=”to pass the torch”] to him.

Vocabulary of the Week

Enrich your French vocabulary - download our list of key words for the week of January 19 to 25, 2020.

■ Le cas (the case): a fact, a situation. Here, we use "un cas" to designate situations of sick people who have been detected.

🏬🏣🏢🏪La métropole (the metropolis): a very large city, the main city of a region.

✋Mettre en quarantaine (expression) (to quarantine): people are separated from others, they are prevented from going to other places. Generally, this is to prevent a disease from spreading.

■ L'épidémie (the epidemic): a contagious disease, one that can be caught, that spreads among the population.

■ Éventuel(le) (adjective) (potential): something that may or may not happen. When we say "leur éventuel départ," maybe they want to leave, maybe not.

■ Se répandre (verb) (to spread): to diffuse, to propagate. The disease spreads, it propagates, it affects more people.

■ Détecter, déceler (verb) (to detect): to discover, to find. The disease has been detected in some people.

■ Hors de (expression) (outside of): outside, something happening outside a place or a framework. You can say "hors de" to mean "outside a country." For example, "J'habite hors de France" (I live outside France) or "Hors de ma vue !" (Out of my sight!) to say you don't want to see someone anymore.

🚗Le véhicule (the vehicle): a car, a truck, a scooter... Something used to transport us, a means of transportation.

🌡Prendre la température (to take the temperature): to check the heat or cold around us. You can take the temperature of a room or of someone, of their body.

■ Le passager (the passenger): a person who is transported by a means of transport but does not drive it. You can be a passenger in a car, a boat, or a plane.

■ Le masque (the mask): something you put on your face to disguise yourself, to hide it, or to protect yourself. You can wear a mask for carnival or a mask to protect yourself, to avoid catching or transmitting a disease.

■ Le virus (the virus): a disease that propagates and spreads.

■ S'évader (verb) (to escape): to flee, to leave, to break free. Generally, one runs away because one wants to avoid someone or a situation.

■ Le tunnel (the tunnel): a passage dug underground.

■ Le détenu (the inmate): a prisoner, the word used for someone who is in prison, in detention.

⛏ Creuser (verb) (to dig): to make a hole. You can dig into the ground to make a tunnel, dig a grave to bury someone, dig to make a cellar.

■ Le trafiquant de drogue (the drug trafficker): a person who traffics drugs, who sells illegally, against the law.

🔫L'arme (the weapon): a tool, an instrument used to injure or kill. It can be a firearm (a rifle, a revolver...) or a bladed weapon (a knife, a sword...).

■ Le gardien de prison (the prison guard): the person who watches over a prison, a penitentiary, who monitors the prisoners.

■ Aménager (verb) (to set up/equip): to arrange a place, to put things in place in a space. You can set up an apartment, for example.

■ L'éclairage (the lighting): what provides light.

🏗 La construction (the construction): the creation of a building. You can build a house, for example.

🚿🚽 Les sanitaires (sanitary facilities): this word is used to refer to both toilets and bathrooms (shower, bathtub...). These are the facilities for personal hygiene.

■ Le fugitif (the fugitive): a person on the run, who has escaped.

■ Repérer (verb) (to spot): to see, to find. For example: "J'ai repéré une jolie jupe en soldes" (I spotted a nice skirt on sale) or "Les fugitifs n'ont pas encore été repérés" (The fugitives have not yet been spotted).

🚐La camionnette (the van): a small truck. A vehicle between a car and a truck. You would use it for work or for moving, for example.

🔥Incendier (verb) (to set fire to): to set on fire.

■ La frontière (the border): the limit between two things, generally between two countries. The line that separates them.

■ Capturer (verb) (to capture): to take someone or an animal prisoner.

🤰🏽L'avortement (abortion): the act of terminating a pregnancy while pregnant. Abortion can be natural or induced. It is also referred to as IVG: voluntary termination of pregnancy.

⛔️Anti (anti-): when you are against something. "Je suis anticapitaliste, il est anti-avortement..." (I am anti-capitalist, he is anti-abortion...). You can put the word "anti" before things you are against.

📃L'élection (the election): a vote to elect someone, for a person to represent us.

🙋‍♂️L'homme d'affaires (the businessman): a businessman (this English word is also used in French), someone who earns money from their professional activity, a professional activity that remains somewhat vague.

💰Le milliardaire (the billionaire): someone very, very rich, who possesses billions.

■ Opérer un virage à 360 degrés (expression) (to make a U-turn): to completely change one's opinion.

👨🏼‍🎓Le procès (the trial): when one goes to court and a judge will render a decision, a judgment.

■ La destitution (impeachment): a sanction that consists of stripping someone of their position (king, president, director...).

■ Destituer (verb) (to remove from office): the act of stripping someone of their position (king, president, director...).

■ Renoncer (verb) (to renounce): to voluntarily give up a right, to choose to abandon something.

■ Prendre son indépendance (to become independent): to become more autonomous in relation to someone or something. To be able to manage on one's own. For example: "J'ai pris mon indépendance dès mes 18 ans. J'ai trouvé un travail et je paie le loyer de mon appartement." (I became independent at 18. I found a job and I pay the rent for my apartment.)

💸Rembourser (verb) (to reimburse): to return money owed to someone, to a bank, or to the state.

👑Le duc et la duchesse (the duke and duchess): these are titles of nobility. Dukes and duchesses rank just below princes and princesses.

🏠Résider (verb) (to reside): to live, to dwell. For example: "Je réside au Japon." (I reside in Japan.)

👑La reine (the queen): a sovereign of royalty, the woman who rules a kingdom.

🔥Passer le flambeau (expression) (to pass the torch): to hand over one's role to someone, to entrust the continuation of a task to someone else.