BBC Learning English

Video Words in the News

10 September 2014
Snail farming



Video Words in the News British Broadcasting Corporation 2014
Page 1 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com




Transcript:
Slimy and squishy, they might not be to everyone's taste.

But snails are growing in popularity as a delicacy, according to British snail farmer
Helen Howard.

She started breeding them in her spare room seven years ago, and feeds them a
special meal of cereals, powdered chalk and dried milk.

Global travel has made people more adventurous in what they eat, says Helen.

Though it might be some time before these slow creatures become fast food.




Vocabulary:
squishy
soft and easy to crush
delicacy
food that is rare or expensive
breeding
keeping animals for the purpose of mating and producing more animals
powdered
made into powder (a soft substance like sand)
adventurous
keen to try new things


Watch the video online: Snail farming http://bbc.in/1rVYS10


Video Words in the News British Broadcasting Corporation 2014
Page 2 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com



Exercise:
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from
BBC stories.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence
correctly.
squishy / delicacy / breeding / powdered / adventurous

1. A 90-year-old grandmother from Alabama showed it is never too late to be
__________ by celebrating her birthday with a skydive.

2. Dr Chalker-Scott says that research she carried out in Seattle with newly
transplanted trees showed that wood chip mulching was just as effective as
adding __________ materials and gels to the soil. And it was significantly
cheaper.

3. "This leads us to believe that our animal was probably eating soft,
__________ things like calamari. It was probably eating squid or its
relatives that were swimming in the ocean at the time."

4. It may not be as famous as an oyster, but across Asia, and especially in
China, the humble abalone is a popular __________ - with a hefty price tag
to match.

5. Now he is not only __________ and training ponies for profit, he is also
winning trophies.







Video Words in the News British Broadcasting Corporation 2014
Page 3 of 3
bbclearningenglish.com



Answers:

1. A 90-year-old grandmother from Alabama showed it is never too late to be
adventurous by celebrating her birthday with a skydive.

Source: Heaven can wait: Granny marks 90
th
birthday with skydive
http://bbc.in/1xD7Kvg

2. Dr Chalker-Scott says that research she carried out in Seattle with newly
transplanted trees showed that wood chip mulching was just as effective as
adding powdered materials and gels to the soil. And it was significantly cheaper.

Source: Can 'powdered rain' make drought a thing of the past?
http://bbc.in/1pL9wAj


3. "This leads us to believe that our animal was probably eating soft, squishy
things like calamari. It was probably eating squid or its relatives that were
swimming in the ocean at the time."

Source: Spiral-toothed fossil mystery solved
http://bbc.in/WLKNoL


4. It may not be as famous as an oyster, but across Asia, and especially in China,
the humble abalone is a popular delicacy - with a hefty price tag to match.

Source: Abalone: New Zealand's 'black gold'
http://bbc.in/1onK987



5. Now he is not only breeding and training ponies for profit, he is also winning
trophies.

Source: Polo goes back to basics in Jamaica
http://bbc.in/1uH4Akl