Learning English - Words in the News - Tourism amongst the tanks

Last updated at 17:28 BST, Wednesday, 09 May 2012

Tourism amongst the tanks

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Report and vocabulary

Transcript: The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified border on earth.

But the south is planning to open a new eco-tourism site along its frontier with North Korea.

The buffer zone has been tightly restricted for more than 50 years creating an untouched nature reserve.

They hope to rebrand the area as a place of peace, not war.
demilitarized zone: a place where no military activity is permitted
fortified: strengthened
eco-tourism: holiday industry in which care for the environment is promoted
buffer zone: an area intended to separate two fighting armies
rebrand: launch with a new identity

Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from 大象传媒 news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

demilitarized zone / fortified / eco-tourism / buffer zone / rebrand

1. The presidential palace is a heavily ____________ compound where the most senior government officials, including the president, have their offices.

2. President Assad is facing growing pressure from Turkey for some kind of action, perhaps involving a protected ____________ or corridor, inside Syria.

3. July 1953: the two sides negotiate a ceasefire and thousands of prisoners from each side cross the newly drawn ____________ on the border.

4. In trying to ____________ himself as a formidable national leader and trying to get an image makeover, Mr Modi, many analysts believe, is walking a tightrope.

5. In Penghu, Taiwan, residents are developing ____________ - taking advantage of the area's scenic beauty. Because of this, more young people are moving back to open small businesses such as bed and breakfast hotels, or to work as tour guides.