Beyonce sets new world record: BBC News Review

Hello and welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Tom. Joining me today is Catherine. Hi Catherine.

Hi Tom. Hello everybody. Today we're looking at the Grammys

and in particular we'll be talking about the singer Beyoncé.

Don't forget – if you want to test yourself on the vocabulary you learn today,

we have a quiz at bbclearningenglish.com.

Now, let's hear more about this story from this BBC radio report:

So, the Grammys took place in Los Angeles on Sunday.

It was the 63rd Grammy Awards

and the singer Beyoncé has set a new record: she won her 28th award,

which means she's won more Grammys than any other female artist ever.

Ever! Well done Beyoncé! Catherine, you've been looking at the world's media

for three words and expressions we can use today. What are they?

We have: 'decorated', 'took centre stage' and 'opted'.

'Decorated', 'took centre stage' and 'opted'.

Catherine, can we have your first headline please?

We can. We are starting here in the UK with The Times – the headline:

'Decorated' – awarded.

Now, Catherine, the verb 'to decorate' –

this is something that you'd normally do in a house, right?

Yes, that's right, Tom. I'm sure you make your house

look absolutely amazing at Christmas, don't you?

Yeah, I 'decorate' my Christmas tree...

I could 'decorate' my walls when I paint them as well.

Yeah, all wonderful, blingy things – it looks all beautiful and colourful.

You add all these things – it looks amazing.

So, the verb 'to decorate': D-E-C-O-R-A-T-E.

If you add the 'D' to the end of that, you get the adjective 'decorated'.

Your house is beautifully 'decorated'.

Now Tom, one day you will receive an award

for your fabulous work, I'm sure – probably from the Queen.

You will go to Buckingham Palace and the Queen will pin a medal to you.

So, the Queen will 'decorate' me, right?

And I will become 'decorated' when she gives me this medal.

She will literally 'decorate' you by putting a piece of beautiful metal onto you

and that idea of giving somebody an award is...

we use the word 'decorate' to describe giving an award to somebody.

So, Beyoncé has been 'decorated' many times at the Grammys,

actually 28 times she's been decorated.

So, 'decorate' – 'decorated' is the adjective.

What's this 'most decorated' about?

Well, she's been 'decorated' more times than anybody else,

so we call her the 'most decorated':

the person who wins the most awards is the 'most decorated' person.

So, it's just a superlative form, right?

Exactly.

Excellent. OK. Thank you, Catherine. Let's take a look at our summary:

OK. Today we're talking about the Grammys

but we did look at another award ceremony in a recent episode, didn't we?

We did. We looked at the Golden Globes

and that's where they 'decorate' actors,

so to watch that programme, just click the link.

Click the link. Excellent.

OK – Catherine, can we have a look at headline number two please?

We can. We're going to Sky News now and the headline:

'Took centre stage' – received the most attention.

Catherine, what can you tell us about this piece of vocabulary?

Well, it's a three-word expression. The first word: 'took' – T-O-O-K.

Second word: 'centre' – C-E-N-T-R-E.

And this third word is 'stage' – S-T-A-G-E.

It's a verb phrase. Now Tom, you like going to the theatre, don't you?

And I know that you're quite fond of live music performances.

I mean, before lockdown yeah, I used to love that kind of stuff.

And you'd go to... yes, and one day you'll be doing it again, I'm sure!

And when you go to the theatre to watch these performances,

there's a lot going on onstage, isn't it, where you see all the performers?

Which part of the stage do you look at the most?

So, the part of the stage where my attention goes

is the middle of the stage or 'centre stage'.

Exactly. 'Center stage' is where most of the action happens in the theatre

and in particular in music concerts: the lead performer often stands

in the middle of the stage – the 'centre stage'.

When they walk onto the stage, they 'take centre stage'.

So, when you're receiving the most attention, you 'take centre stage'

but we've got the past form, 'took', here.

So, 'take' is the verb that, kind of, collocates with 'centre stage':

like 'take centre stage' – receives the most attention.

What's the headline saying here?

Well, it's saying that in – that Black Lives Matter was... took...

received a lot of attention, a lot of focus, at the Grammys.

The artists actually used Black Lives... used the Grammys as a platform

to make sure that Black Lives Matter got a lot of attention.

Excellent. OK. Let's take a look at our summary slide:

So, we're talking about the Grammys.

We're talking about Black Lives Matter.

Last year, we also had a News Review episode on Black Lives Matter, right Catherine?

We did. We looked at London protests

and if you want to see more about this story, just click the link.

Just click the link.

OK – Catherine, can we have your next headline please?

We can. We're in the UK again, with NME – the headline:

'Opted' – chose.

Catherine, what can you tell us about 'opted'?

'Opted' is the past tense of the verb 'to opt'.

We spell 'opted': O-P-T-E-D.

And 'opted' is related to the word 'option' and an 'option' is a choice.

'To opt' – to choose. 'Option' is a choice.

Why are we saying 'opt', not 'choose'?

Well, the words are fairly synonymous: an option is the same as a choice.

But the word 'opt' as a verb is a little bit – slightly more formal.

It's a bit more formal. It's got, like, a... we could say a higher register. Now...

You can put it like that, yeah.

I know these – well, this verb 'opt' – mostly from the phrasal verbs.

Can you tell us about the phrasal verbs that use 'opt'?

Phrasal verbs with 'opt', yes. You can 'opt in' or you can 'opt out'

and that means – if you 'opt in', you choose to participate in something.

You make a 'yes' choice and if you 'opt out' you choose not to do something.

OK. So, Neil asked me to do News Review today and I said yes,

so can I say 'I opted in' to do News Review?

If he gave you the choice – if there was another producer available,

then yes. Yes, you 'opted in'.

It was... it was a choice. Can you give us an example of 'opt out'?

Well, 'opt out' is a big...

I mean 'opting' in and out are quite in the news at the moment,

because here in the UK the coronavirus vaccination is optional:

you can 'opt in' to the vaccine programme – you'll have the vaccine –

or you can 'opt out', which means you choose not to have the vaccine.

Excellent example. I love how you use the word 'optional' as well.

OK. Great. Thanks Catherine. Let's take a look at our summary slide:

Great. So Catherine, can you please recap the vocabulary

for today's episode?

Of course. We had 'decorated', which means awarded.

'Took centre stage' – received the most attention.

And 'opted', which means chose.

And don't forget – you can test yourself on today's vocabulary

with our quiz on bbclearningenglish.com

and of course we are all over social media as well.

That's it from us today. Thanks for joining us and see you next time.

Goodbye. Bye!