Vocabulary and Listening – Discovery Channel: The Bermuda Triangle

Pre-viewing
Video

Pre-viewing

Before watching a short video which introduces the Bermuda Triangle, familiarize yourself with the following entries.

the Bermuda Triangle – the area between Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Christopher Columbus - an Italian explorer and navigator who discovered the American continents.
ancient – very old, existed for a very long time
curse - something that causes harm or evil

Video

Video ©Discovery Channel

Comprehension

Comprehension

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

Task A
Task B
Task C
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Vocabulary in context

Now watch the video to see how the following words/phrases in bold are used. Select the options that best explain what they mean in their specific contexts.

Using vocabulary

Complete the sentences below with the words/ phrases provided in the box.

1. barely
2. stretch
3. without a trace
4. dates back
5. enduring
6. out of nowhere
7. shed light on
8. met his end
9. curse
10. ancient

Hide answers.

Singular/ Plural

In the video, waters instead of water is used in

“Hundreds of boats met their end in these deadly waters”
The word water takes a plural form when it

means water from a particular source (different waters make for different beers);
refers to an area of sea near to and/or belonging to a particular country (by the waters of Babylon);
refers to the water contained in a particular lake, river, or of a particular part of the earth (In the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico);
describes a situation, usually one that is difficult, dangerous or not familiar (got into the murky waters of jealousy and relationships).

Many nouns which are more commonly seen as singular appear as plural in some specific contexts. However, certain nouns are always uncountable. For example, nouns that represent mass or abstract concepts such as air, information, physics. There are also nouns which are found exclusively or almost exclusively in the plural, such as scissors (there are some scissors.) In order to speak of those nouns as singular, we use quantity nouns, for instance, a pair of (there is a pair of scissors).

Complete the following sentences by selecting the appropriate forms of the words/nouns which fit the sentence contexts. Consult a dictionary when necessary.

Transcription

Transcription - Discovery Channel: The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the devil’s triangle, stretches between Puerto Rico, Miami and Bermuda, an area of 500,000 square miles. Barely a month goes by without a boat or an airplane vanishing without a trace. In the last hundred years, thousands of people have lost their lives here. And no one is really sure why. The mystery dates back over 500 years. Even Christopher Columbus reported strange lights and giant waves appearing out of nowhere. Hundreds of boats met their end in these deadly waters. Lost ancient cities, mysterious curses, even sea monsters are blamed. But is there a better explanation, can modern science finally shed light on this enduring mystery?