News for the week of April 5-11, 2020:
- An update on the condition of Boris Johnson, Britain's 1st Prime Minister, suffering from covid-19. [spp-timestamp time="00:00:48″]
- Social network Tik Tok to donate $230 million to help fight coronavirus. [spp-timestamp time="00:01:31″]
- In Colombia, police give Zumba lessons to the confined population. [spp-timestamp time="00:02:41″]
- In the United States, Bernie Sanders withdraws from the election. [spp-timestamp time="00:03:10″]
- Life is slowly returning to Wuhan. [spp-timestamp time="00:03:47″]
- Explanation of the week's vocabulary [spp-timestamp time="00:04:21″]
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Transcription
Hello,
Welcome to HelloFrench's press review, the podcast that immerses you in the news of the week, to help you improve your French.
On the front page for this week of April 5-11, 2020:
- Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, [tooltips keyword="infecté " content="To be infected "] by covid-19, leaves intensive care but remains [tooltips keyword="hospitalisé " content="To be hospitalized "].
- The social network Tik Tok will donate 230 million to help the fight against the coronavirus.
- In Colombia, the police [tooltips keyword= "donne des cours " content= "To give lessons "] of Zumba to [tooltips keyword= "divertir " content= "to entertain "] the confined population.
- In the United States, Bernie Sanders [tooltips keyword="s'est retiré " content="To withdraw from "]. Democrat Joe Biden will face Donald Trump in November.
- Life is slowly returning to Wuhan, [tooltips keyword="foyer de " content="the centerl"] the Covid-19 epidemic.
This week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's condition deteriorated. Suffering from Covid-19, he entered intensive care on Monday. After three days, the 55-year-old leader was discharged from intensive care on Thursday evening. He is still being treated in hospital. He will remain [tooltips keyword="sous étroite surveillance" content="Close monitoring"] during the [tooltips keyword="guérison" content="recovery"] phase. Today, Boris Johnson remains the only state leader to have [tooltips keyword= "être contaminé " content= "To be infected "] by the coronavirus. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, has taken over the role of Prime Minister [tooltips keyword="par intérim" content="acting, interim"]. A complex task in a country hard hit by the crisis.
Tik Tok, the social network that makes the world dance in video, is set to donate 230 million euros to help caregivers, teachers and professionals affected by the virus. This application, which has been a great success since the beginning of the containment, was [tooltips keyword="téléchargerée " content="To downloadl "] 65 million times in March. The company plans to donate 130 million euros directly to healthcare workers in the countries hardest hit by the disease, for the purchase of masks and protective equipment. It has also set up a fund to support healthcare heroes, which will be paid to large organizations such as the Red Cross, which will then be in charge of redistributing the donations. But Tik Tok doesn't stop there, as the company also intends to help professionals who represent the communities used by the application, such as artists, for example, who have lost all [tooltips keyword= "source de revenu " content= "the income"] with the closure of concert halls and theaters. Tik Tok is not the only social network to have shown [tooltips keyword="solidaire " content="supportive"] in the face of the disease. The founder of Twitter has donated 920 million euros to the fight against covid-19.
It's possible to carry on partying in confinement. In Colombia, police are giving Zumba classes from the [tooltips keyword="trottoirs" content="sidewalks"] to entertain the confined population. Wearing uniforms and masks, the Bogotá police meet up with the city's residents three times a day. Residents are invited to participate from their [tooltips keyword="balcony" content="balcony"] or [tooltips keyword="window" content="window"]. For the government, this activity helps to maintain the physical and mental health of Colombians.
This week, Bernie Sanders withdrew his candidacy for the US presidential election. He thus makes way for his [tooltips keyword="concurrent " content="competitor"] in the current Democratic primary: Joe Biden. In 2016, Bernie Sanders, already [tooltips keyword="candidat " content="candidate"], had lost in the Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton. In these 2020 primaries, he was already well [tooltips keyword="à la traîne " content="To lag behind"] against his rival. However, Bernie Sanders assured us that he would work [tooltips keyword="hand in hand" content="together, side by side"] with Joe Biden to move towards a more progressive America. In 2016, the Democrat will face Republican Donald Trump on November 3.
Life returns to Wuhan, hotbed of the Covid-19 epidemic. On January 23, the Chinese authorities placed the region's 11 million inhabitants under quarantine, forcing them to confine themselves to their homes. 75 days later, life is gradually returning to normal. The region's quarantine has been lifted, transport is moving again, shops are reopening and residents are taking to the streets. For the first time in two months, China has not recorded any new [tooltips keyword="deaths" content="death"] linked to the coronavirus.
Vocabulary of the week
Enrich your French vocabulary, download our list of key words for the week of April 5-11, 2020.
| Being infected, being contaminated | To be afflicted by a disease, to have contracted a disease. |
| Being hospitalized | To be in a hospital, to be in a facility where you receive care. |
| Teaching courses | Being a teacher, giving lessons. |
| Withdraw from the race | Stop a competition, leave a contest or an election, no longer participate. |
| The home of... | The place of origin, the place where it all began, the place where everything started. |
| Under close surveillance | When we are watched very closely, watching what we do or our condition. |
| The healing | When you have been ill and are in the process of eliminating the disease or are no longer ill. |
| On an interim basis | As a replacement, for a short time. We replace someone for a short period of time, for a temporary period. |
| Containment | The fact of staying locked up at home, of not going out, of staying inside. |
| Download | Take a document, software or application from the internet and put it on your phone or computer. |
| The source of income | It is the money that we earn. This can be by working, through investments or through renting out a house, for example. |
| Supportive (adjective) | Who wants to help others. |
| The sidewalk | This is the area next to the road where pedestrians walk. |
| The balcony | It is an outdoor space, in height, in a house or an apartment. |
| The window | It is an opening in the wall of an apartment or house that allows you to see the outside, thanks to a glass. A window can be opened. |
| The competitor | This is our opponent, a person we are pitted against, usually in a fight or competition. |
| The candidate | Someone who applies for a position, a function or a job. For example, I am applying for the position of communications officer. |
| The rival | It is our opponent, a person to whom we are opposed, our competitor. |
| Falling behind | Being late, being behind someone. |
| Working hand in hand | Working together, collaboratively. |
| Quarantine/being quarantined | People are separated from other people, prevented from going to other places. Generally, it is to prevent a disease from spreading. |
| The death | The death of a person. |
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