Biden out, Harris in: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme:

Biden out, Harris in - the latest twist in the US presidential race.

Hello, I'm Neil.

And I'm Georgie.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet, on our website: BBCLearningEnglish.com.

So, let's hear more about this story.

US President Joe Biden has ended his campaign to become president again,

saying "it is in the best interest of my party and the country".

President Biden was under intense pressure

from other politicians in his party - that's the Democrats -

to quit after poor performances

at recent events, such as a debate against Donald Trump in June.

Biden's vice-president, Kamala Harris,

now has support from senior politicians to become

the Democrat Party's official candidate for president.

So, we have a headline here that describes the first part

of this story about Joe Biden quitting the presidential race.

It comes from the UK-based newspaper, the Daily Mail,

and the headline is: Joe Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race

after debate disaster.

OK, let's hear that again.

This is from the Daily Mail,

and it says: Joe Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race

after debate disaster.

OK, so this headline suggests that Joe Biden left the presidential race

because of this so-called debate disaster.

Now, Joe Biden drops out of the race. We're looking at 'drops out'.

What does it mean, Georgie, to drop out of something?

Well, drop out means you stop doing something you were going to do.

Joe Biden intended to run for president again,

but after a lot of pressure from other Democrats,

he decided to drop out of the race -

he decided to stop his campaign.

So drop out is useful for other contexts as well,

like sports or hobbies.

And it's often when you've agreed or committed to do something

and then you can't do it anymore.

Yeah, so for example, my dad was actually going to run a marathon,

but he dropped out because he injured his knee.

And another common use is in education.

If you drop out of school or university,

it means you stop going to school or university,

you stop doing the course that you were studying.

Yes, and also in this educational context, we can use a noun, a dropout,

which means someone who left school or university before finishing,

and this has quite negative connotations.

If you call someone a school dropout,

it implies they don't have much commitment or ambition.

That was drop out -

stop doing something that you were going to do.

For example, She had a main part in the school play,

but she dropped out last minute.

This is Learning English from the News, our

podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about Joe Biden dropping

out of the US presidential race.

Yes, so after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race,

he announced his support for Vice-President Kamala Harris

as the Democratic Party's nominee.

The majority of Democrat politicians have said they will support Harris,

and she's received lots of financial donations for her campaign already.

And this means she is very likely to be the Democratic candidate for president,

but this will have to be confirmed at the party convention in August.

I've got a headline here about what happens next now

that Joe Biden has dropped out.

Biden drops out of 2024 race after disastrous debate inflamed

age concerns. VP Harris gets his nod.

That's from the Associated Press.

OK, let's hear that again.

Biden drops out of 2024 race after disastrous debate

inflamed age concerns. VP Harris gets his nod.

And that's from the Associated Press.

So we see this phrasal verb again -

Biden 'drops out',

but this time we're interested in VP - that's vice-president -

Harris gets his nod,

specifically, the phrase 'gets his nod'.

Georgie, what can you tell us about this expression?

Well, a nod as a verb is a movement you do with your head –

you move it up and down.

And in many countries, including the US and the UK,

if you nod your head, it means 'yes'.

Yes, and in the headline it's a noun, so Kamala Harris gets Biden's nod.

Is Biden physically giving Harris a real nod with his head?

Is his head going up and down?

No, like with many of these phrases, it's more of a metaphorical meaning,

and it means she gets his approval -

Harris gets Biden's nod.

And it's common to hear give someone or something a nod,

to give someone approval or give them permission to do something.

We can also say we've got the nod to do something,

and that just means we have approval more generally.

Yes, so the headline is suggesting Biden wants his supporters

  to support Harris instead, now that he is no longer running for president.

Another example, if you want to start a new project at work,

you have to get the nod from your boss before you can get started.

We had get someone's nod - receive their approval.

For example, I want to paint the walls in my room,

so I need to get the nod from my landlord.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about Kamala Harris, who is now likely to face Donald Trump

in the US presidential election.

So, Kamala Harris might secure the Democratic presidential nomination

next month, but that could be the easy part for her.

Yes, she'll then face Republican nominee Donald Trump in November

in the presidential election.

And according to the recent opinion polls,

Harris is slightly behind Trump, a similar position to the one

Mr. Biden was in before he dropped out of the race.

I've got a headline here about Harris's chances of beating Donald Trump

and becoming the US president,

and it's from the UK-based Sky News:

Betting data shows Harris's chances are on the up

but Trump is still leading.

That headline again from Sky News: Betting data

shows Harris's chances are on the up

but Trump is still leading.

And this headline is talking about betting data,

that's information showing what people are betting or gambling on,

when it comes to the election result.

So according to this data, Harris's chances of beating Trump are on the up.

And we're looking at this phrase 'on the up'.

We know the words 'up' and 'down' -

the sky is up, Georgie,

the floor is down.

But what is this phrase 'on the up'?

Well, if something is on the up, it means it's improving

or moving in a positive direction.

So, even though Trump seems to be ahead of Harris,

betting data shows her chances are improving –

they're on the up.

Can you think of another example?

Yes. So my favourite football team, Georgie,

they were terrible last season,

but I've seen them getting ready for the next season,

they're much better –

they're definitely on the up.

They're going to win loads of games next year - you wait!

Well, I've got my fingers crossed for you.

You can also use on the up in a health context,

so instead of saying someone's health is improving,

you can say their health is on the up.

On the up is usually used for positive situations,

so if Harris's chances are improving, that's a positive thing,

from her perspective.

Yes, and we have a similar-sounding phrase which is 'on the rise',

but it has a slightly different meaning.

It means increasing and it isn't always positive,

so during the pandemic, we often heard that Covid cases were on the rise.

Yes, we wouldn't say they were on the up in that case.

We've had on the up, which means improving.

For example, now that he has a new job, his financial situation is on the up.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

Remember, there are loads more programmes to help you with your English

on our website. Try Office English, our series about business English.

Visit BBCLearningEnglish.com.

And you can find us on social media –

look for BBC Learning English.

Goodbye for now. Bye.