Pegasus: Activists 'spied on': BBC News Review

Pegasus spyware, designed to monitor terrorists, is being used to spy

on journalists and activists, according to a new investigation.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil and joining me today is Roy. Hi Roy.

Hello Neil and hello everybody.

Yeah, if our wonderful viewers want to test themselves on the vocabulary

around this story, all they need to do is head to our website

bbclearningenglish.com for a quiz.

But now, let's listen to a BBC News report about this story:

So, the story is a military-grade piece of spyware known as Pegasus,

which was designed to monitor the

activities of terrorists and criminals around the world,

is now apparently being used to spy on journalists and activists.

That is according to some investigative journalism.

You've been scanning the world's media for this story,

haven't you Roy? You've picked out three really useful words.

What have you got?

Yes. We have: 'targets', 'hack' and 'rogue'.

'Targets', 'hack' and 'rogue'.

So, let's have a look at your first headline please.

Our first headline comes from right here,

back at home, from the BBC and it reads:

'Targets' – chooses something to attack or pay attention to.

Yeah. So, this word is spelt T-A-R-G-E-T-S

and it's being used as a verb in the headline.

Yeah. So, 'targets' – I know what 'targets' are. There's that game

where you throw little arrows towards a board that is a 'target'.

What's the connection between this and this story.

Well, that game is called darts and I am absolutely terrible at it.

I get this little dart and I try and throw it at the 'target'; I try and

hit the 'target'. That, in that case, is a noun – 'target' there.

I'm terrible at it: I always hit the wall, people need to duck.

But the idea there is I'm trying to hit the 'target' – hit the board

– and in the verb form, we say that 'we are targeting something':

trying to hit it or we're paying attention to it.

OK. So, that's a very literal definition we just gave there,

with somebody actually physically throwing something at a object

called a 'target', but we use it more figuratively, don't we?

We do. So, as I said, when you want to pay attention to something,

to monitor something, you can 'target' someone or

something and that's what it's being used as in the headline.

They're not trying to literally hit the journalists or activists,

but they are paying attention to them.

They have selected them as their focus, if you like.

Yeah. Now, this is a word that we see often in connection to advertising.

We do. We do. So, quite commonly adverts will identify

a 'target market'. So, quite commonly we see these adverts for toys,

which target children: you know, they're very vibrant, there's a happy

child playing with the toy, and they're used to 'target' children,

or to 'target' the parents to give them an idea of what to buy.

So, it's... there's a lot of, kind of, psychology behind it.

People are selecting a 'target' audience or market, thinking

about what people want to see and when they will be watching it.

Yes, also a word used often in the media: a 'target audience'.

We have a 'target audience', don't we Roy?

We do, yeah. We want to... our 'target audience' are

people around the world who want to learn English.

We also see this word used a lot in the world of business, don't we Roy?

We do. And it's quite commonly used as a noun or a verb as well.

And it's when they have an objective, if you like.

So, a business may 'target an increase in profits' or 'the business

target is to increase their profits'.

Absolutely. OK. Let's get a summary:

Now, talking about 'targets', we have a 'target' that the UK government

had to reduce obesity. Where can our viewers find that story?

All our wonderful viewers need to do is click the link in the description.

Time now for your next headline, please.

Yes, our second headline comes from CNN and it reads:

'Hack' – get unauthorised access into a system or computer.

Yes. So, this is a very, very small word and it's spelt: H-A-C-K.

Now Neil, are you scared of – like, you see these stories

all the time in the media about people who get access to your

computer and steal your information – are you scared about this?

Yes, I don't want to have my computer 'hacked'

or any sort of virus installed on it.

So, we use things like internet security and anti-virus and it's

good that you're aware of that. So,

that's to prevent people or things 'hacking' our computer: stealing

information like credit card details and other sensitive information.

And this is the meaning in the headline. People are 'hacking',

or somebody 'hacks', somebody's phone to get sensitive information.

Yeah, and you've used the word in several different forms there,

as a verb like in the headline – 'to hack' – and we also talk about

the person who does it – a 'hacker' – and the activity – 'hacking'.

All of these very negative things, but the word 'hack',

I'm pleased to say, can be used positively,

especially in combination with the word 'life'.

Absolutely. So, what are my favourite 'life hacks' is if somebody's fridge

is smelling, I put coffee grounds in a bowl and put it into the fridge,

and it is a natural deodoriser – it removes the smell.

This is what we call a 'life hack':

a tip or a trick to make your life a little bit easier.

Yeah. Doesn't it just make your fridge smell like coffee?

I love coffee and I don't know if it actually works,

but it seems to work so I'm a winner.

OK. So, a perfect example of a 'life hack', and that's a really

positive use of the word 'hack', which is normally really negative.

Now, to look at another meaning of the word 'hack' – Roy, you were in

your garden, having a really bad time this weekend, weren't you?

Oh yeah, it was... it was terrible.

I hadn't cut my grass for a few weeks and it was so high!

It was so high and I had to get a big, long knife and really 'hack' at it:

cut imprecise cuts just like... over and over again,

'hacking' at the grass and 'hacking' at the plants to cut them down. And

that is another meaning of the word 'hack' and it's a verb in that case.

Absolutely. OK. Let's get a summary:

Well, we're looking at the word 'hack' and the word

'hack' appears in the name of one of our series: Lingohack.

We've got a great story about the Loch Ness Monster, haven't we Roy?

We do. And all our wonderful viewers need to do is click

the link in the description below.

OK. Let's have a look at your next headline.

So, our next headline comes from Mail Online and it reads:

'Rogue' – describes behaviour that's unexpected or damaging.

Yeah. So, in this headline it's being used as an adjective

and it is spelt: R-O-G-U-E.

Now, you know that I love animals, right Neil?

Absolutely, yes. You love your dog, amongst other animals.

I do. And quite commonly you see animals in the wild in a group,

sometimes referred to as a herd, and this is a normal way that

animals will travel, but occasionally an animal will split off:

one animal was separate from the herd and go into a town and village and

cause damage and disruption and we call this animal a 'rogue animal'.

Right. OK. Not used only to describe animals, is it?

I've seen this word as an adjective used to describe countries or states.

Yeah. Quite commonly you hear of a 'rogue country' or a 'rogue state'

and it refers to a country that's not behaving in an expected way,

potentially that is dangerous or damaging to other

countries around the world.

Yeah. And you see this word applied very often to North Korea, for example.

You do, especially when there's things

like missile tests and things like that.

So, we've got... we've got animals,

we've got states; can you use this to talk about people?

Absolutely. You can say that a person, who's

maybe behaving again in an unexpected or dangerous way, is a 'rogue'.

Now, notice there that I used it as a noun.

We don't say a 'rogue person'; usually we say a 'rogue'. It's...

Yeah. It's quite old fashioned though, isn't it?

It is. It's not as common now as it was.

You'll quite commonly see it in literature: older books, something

maybe by Oscar Wilde, or something like that. A person is a 'rogue'.

Yeah. OK. But we can also use it to talk about someone in a positive way.

So, we've said that they were a bit unexpected or do, sort of,

bad things but we can... they can be a lovable person: a 'loveable rogue'.

A 'loveable rogue', yeah. So, this is maybe a person that you know,

maybe a friend who's very charming and you absolutely love him, but

he's a bit cheeky and he does things that maybe are a bit unexpected.

Yeah. You don't want to trust this person.

No.

OK. One final thing to say about the word 'rogue' –

we saw the spelling there with the '-ue' at the end.

We don't pronounce that. We just end with that 'guh' sound: 'rogue'.

Yeah, it's not 'ro-gyu'...

No, it's not 'ro-gwa'. No, it's...  

It's just 'rogue'. OK. Let's get a summary:

Time now then, Roy, for a recap of our vocabulary please.

We had 'targets' – chooses something to attack or pay attention to.

We had 'hack' – gets unauthorised access into a system or computer.

And we had 'rogue' – describes behaviour that is unexpected or damaging.

If you want to test yourself on the vocabulary, there's a quiz on our

website at bbclearningenglish.com and we're all over social media.

Take care and see you next time. Goodbye.

Bye.