News story | Words | Meanings |
Several hundred activists in . . . Georgia extended protests into a third day on Monday, calling for the country's Western-backed President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign. Around 300 protesters maintained an overnight vigil outside the Georgian public television studios in the capital Tbilisi, many armed with sticks after brief clashes on Sunday when police used rubber bullets and tear gas against demonstrators who attacked cars. They said they wanted to defend the protest venue against any possible crackdown. The opposition accuses Saakashvili of becoming increasingly authoritarian, failing to tackle widespread poverty and losing large parts of Georgian territory during the country's disastrous war with Russia in 2008. Opposition leader Nino Burjanadze has said that a "revolution" has started in Georgia, but turnout at the protests has been relatively small, with around 6,000 attending rallies on Saturday and fewer on Sunday. The authorities say protests will be allowed to continue unhindered as long as they remain peaceful. | activists | people who work to achieve political or social change; protesters |
calling for | publicly asking for | |
vigil | watch; a period of time when people stay awake in order to protest, watch a sick person, say prayers, etc | |
armed with | carrying | |
venue | place where an activity or event happens | |
crackdown | strong official action taken to punish people; severe measures | |
authoritarian | strict and demanding obedience; dictatorial; heavy-handed | |
tackle | deal with | |
widespread | common; existing over a large area or among many people | |
turnout | attendance; the number of people who attend a particular event | |
relatively | comparatively; somewhat | |
unhindered | not hindered; unopposed |
Model sentences and idiomatic expressions with “tackle”:
• There is more than one way to tackle the problem.
• Firefighters tackled a blaze in a garage last night.
• I think I'll tackle the repairs next weekend.
• Successive governments have failed to tackle the question of homelessness.
• I'll tackle this difficult task.
• Have you tackled them about paying for it?
• a new initiative to tackle the shortage of teachers
Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the following words:
1. venue 2. vigil 3. tackle 4. armed with 5. turnout
1. His parents kept a round-the-clock . . . . . at his bedside.
2. He was . . . . . a rifle.
3. Please note the change of . . . . . for this event.
4. The government is determined to . . . . . inflation.
5. This year's festival attracted a record . . . . . .
Answer key: 1. vigil 2. armed with 3. venue 4. tackle 5. turnout
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