Advanced Reading Lesson | Advanced Vocabulary and Grammar with the News (FREE LESSON PDF)

Welcome back to JForrest English. I'm  Jennifer. And today I have an advanced  

reading lesson for you. We're going to  read a news article together so you can  

learn Advanced vocabulary, Advanced  grammar, and corrects pronunciation.  

Let's get started. First, I'll read  the headline Ben roberts-smith, how

decorated

soldiers, defamation case has rocked Australia.  So this man is Ben roberts-smith. Notice this, his

His name ends in an S Roberts,  

but the second part of his last name  starts in an S. So in this case you only

pronounce

1s Robert Smith, Robert Smith  if it were just Roberts,  

you would pronounce the s or just Smith, of

course,

s. But together roberts-smith  Ben roberts-smith. This man  

is Ben roberts-smith notice these metals on?

His suit jacket. This is what it means by  decorated soldier. If you say that a soldier is

decorated,

it means that they have been  awarded medals for various reasons,  

so that's what decorated means. It's really

used

in a military context. Now, what is a defamation  case? We're talking about a legal case.

Ace defamation is the action of  damaging someone's reputation,  

and that's done by either writing or saying, bad

things about that person, but the important thing  is that those things are not true. So apparently,  

the media said bad things about Ben roberts-smith  

and they ruined his reputation so  he suing them. So someone said that

Things about Ben roberts-smith that damaged  his reputation but those things are not true.  

So he is suing them. I'm suing you for  defamation. So if you said Jennifer is  

the worst teacher in the entire world and  that ruined my reputation. I could sue you  

for defamation. So don't say that. Hopefully  you don't think that now how this defamation

Encase has rocked Australia.  

What does it mean to Rock Australia?  When something rocks, someone or a group,  

such as the population of Australia, it means it  shocks them. So, this defamation case has shocked  

Australia. Let's continue on and find out why  this case has rocked Australia for months on end.

Australia's most decorated living  Soldier. So remember I said,  

decorated represents these Metals, so he has  the most metals of any living Soldier. So,  

he sat stoic lie in a Sydney courtroom, let's  stop here because there are a few things

I

want to review. Let's take a look at  this for months. On end, for months. Now,  

we could just say four months and  it would be completely correct.

When you add on and it simply stresses, the  continuation. So to emphasize or to stress.  

Continuation, emphasize continuation. So,  let's say, I've been having issues with  

my computer. I could say, my computer has been  freezing for months on end, when I add on end,  

it just lets, you know, it didn't just happen  once or twice. It's been happening continuously

SLI. So you can add that for months  for days, for weeks, for hours,  

whatever time reference you would like. And  notice because we have four and then our time  

reference, this is a keyword for the present.  Perfect, or the present, perfect. Continuous  

for months. On end Australia's, most  decorated living Soldier, sat stoic lie, this

Is a great adverb and it means  without showing your feelings,  

especially when something bad happens to  you. So let's say that someone delivers,  

some terrible news to me and as they  delivered the news, I just okay.

Thank you for sharing. I understand that would  be a stoic reaction. I reacted stoic lie,

but

if I went know what, why, why why? And  I reacted very emotionally. That's the  

opposite of stoically. So he sat  stoically in a Sydney courtroom as  

dozens of witnesses accused him  of war crimes. Bullying peers.

And assaulting his mistress, okay, so  different people dozens of. So, of course,  

one dozen is 12 12. I hope you know that one  doesn't equals 12, it's a very common measurement  

because things like eggs, come in, a dozen,  a dozen eggs, 12 eggs, a dozen buns, 12 buns.

So it's a common quantity, a dozen. So  this is dozens of, so it would be 24 or  

36 just more than 12. So, a lot of people,  a lot of people accused him. This decorated  

soldier of these terrible things, war crimes,  bullying, peers, and assaulting his mistress

But Ben roberts-smith was not the one on  trial, so he was not officially accused of  

these crimes because remember, in the headline,  he this man was actually suing someone else for

defamation

but instead now people are accusing him of all  of these crimes. Hmm. And that probably explains

Lane's why this case has rocked Australia?  Now, you can download the lesson PDF that  

summarizes. All the notes from this lesson.  Just look in the description below or in the  

comment section for the link to download it. Let's  continue. The 44 year old had brought the case,  

so notice the past perfect. He had  brought the case before he was.

Accused of war crimes. So remember,  the past perfect is used for a past  

action before another past action, past  action, before another past action.  

So I'll write out that full sentence,  he had, he had brought the case,  

when you bring a case to the criminal  justice system, it just means you start or

It's a legal process. He had brought  the case. The defamation case,  

before he was accused of war crimes. So  remember we have the past, perfect past,  

perfect. And then, this is the older action. And  then we have the past simple for the newer action,  

but they are both past actions.  The 44 year old had brought the

Case suing three Australian newspapers, over a  series of articles in 2018, which he says defamed  

him. So, this is the verb form, remember  before we had defamation, which is a noun,  

but here to defame someone that's the verb  form. So the verb form is to defame, someone to  

defame. So the media to

Named him you defamed me when you said I was the  world's worst teacher so I'm suing you don't worry  

I won't do that. He argues they ruined his life  by painting him as a callous man so you can paint  

someone as something and that's just another way  of saying to describe someone as she described me.

As the world's best teacher. Oh why thank you  so much. She painted me as the world's best  

teacher. So when you paint someone as you  don't just say Jennifer's the world's best  

teacher. You usually give examples, you tell  a story just like when you paint a picture,  

you don't just put one blob. You put a  lot of detail on that picture. So you

I details informations examples. A story to  describe someone, so the media painted him as a

callous

man, what is this adjectives  callous? He's very callous.  

When someone is callous. It means  they are unkind cruel and they don't  

have any sympathy or feelings for others. So  it's a negative adjectives. So let's say, aye,

Share some very bad news with you. I told  you that a family member died and you said,  

let's get some pizza. I might say, well, that was  very callous, that was very unkind. You didn't  

even offer any sympathy to this. You just wanted  pizza. So, that was very callous. He's so callous.  

So the media painted him as  a callous man who had broken.

In the moral and legal rules of War, notice  our past perfect. Again, a past action,  

before another pass action. So maybe this is the  older past action. So, the newer past action could  

have been, he had broken, the legal rules of War  before he met Queen Elizabeth because up here,

Here, they have him with Queen Elizabeth.  So this is a past action, it's already in  

the past, but we're talking about a past  action before this, this past action.  

So he had all right, that again for you.  So you can practice, he had broken, the

moral

rules of War before he met Queen  Elizabeth. So remember this is the only

Those are action. And this is the newer action.  But they are both past actions disgracing,  

his country in the process. Let's take a look at  disgrace. This is a verb, and this is when you  

make people stopped respecting, you or your family  team, your company by doing something very bad.

Or wrong. So remember before  this case, he was a beloved  

decorated soldier in Australia but then it came to  light that he had done all these terrible things.  

So now he has embarrassed his country, he's  disgraced his country disgracing, his country  

in the process before we move on. I just want to  see if you're enjoying this lesson, and if you

Enjoy learning Advanced vocabulary and  grammar in this very natural way. If you do,  

then I want to tell you about the finally fluent  Academy, this is my premium training program,  

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Personal coach. So you can look in the description  below for information on how to join. Now,  

let's continue but the media Outlets  say, they reported the truth and have  

set out to prove it. Let's take a look  at this to set out to do something in  

this case to prove it. What's the it?  Remember that it is that this decorated

Sure did commit all these things that they said  so there is no defamation because it's true.  

That's what they want to set out to prove and  this simply means that they're going to start  

trying to do that specific thing. So in this  case they're going to start trying to prove  

that he committed those crimes. So  you might say, I've set out I've

I've set out to improve my English speaking  skills. Does this describe you? Are you going  

to start trying to improve your English speaking  skills? If this describes, you put it in the  

comments, I've set out to improve my English  speaking skills and notice to set out this is  

in the present. Perfect, let's continue on. It  is the first time in history, any court has been

Past with assessing allegations of war  crimes by Australian forces. An allegation

is a claim that someone has done something wrong  without evidence. Okay, without evidence. So at  

this point is just a claim a claim that someone  has done something wrong like the war hero.

The soldier who committed war crimes.  But at this point is just an allegation  

without without evidence or proof.

So, the media wants to explain that. There is  evidence, there is proof. So it's not in fact,  

an allegation, it's the truth. So again,  it's not defamation and notice this  

sentence structure to be tasked with  something, and then not something is  

either a noun or a verb and ing. So let  me give you an example. I've been tasked

Is helping my students improve their  speaking skills. So, of course,  

a task is something that you need to do, but if  I've been tasked with it, it sounds like someone  

else is giving me the task. So, maybe it's  just my students who constantly say Jennifer,  

can you help me improve my speaking spill  skills? So, I can say, I've been tasked with

And then notice the verb with  ing, let's continue lasting 110

days and costing up to an estimated 25 million  Australian dollars. Now in this context,  

that a strat stands for Australian simply because  this article is for a worldwide audience, and when  

you see the dollar sign you assume, it's American  dollars. So they put the a to represent Australia.

Million dollars. Of course, if  this is a newspaper in Australia,  

they wouldn't put that because for  them that is the currency. This is  

just for an international audience. So  we understand its Australian dollars,  

the trial has heard extraordinary and  at times bizarre evidence about every  

facet of mr. Robert Smith's life bizarre is an  adjective. That means very strange, and unusual.

So at times, strange and unusual evidence. Hmm,  now, I'm curious. What is this bizarre evidence?

You could use this because as an  adjective, you could say her behavior  

was very bizarre. It was very strange  and unusual bizarre. Her behavior was  

very bizarre or the movie was very  bizarre. You could use that as well.

The movie was very bizarre. It was  strange. It was unusual. It was bizarre.  

Every facet of faceted is a way to say every  part of every element of every piece of,  

I'll write that out for you. So every part  element aspect piece, these are all synonyms.

Seems that you can use piece of. So  of course he has different parts of  

his life. He has his his family life. His  friends, his Hobbies, his Sports, his work,  

his community. Those are the facets of his  life that aspects the pieces of his life.  

So this evidence is about every  facet of. So not just his work or his

Family, also how he acts in the community or  the Hobbies, he enjoys every facet of his life,  

it sparked a media frenzy. So this verb to spark  it, simply means that it created the media frenzy  

was created because of this trial, so it created.  So the frenzy wouldn't have existed without

This, it created Created. Now, what is Frenzy?

Frenzied simply means uncontrolled or really  excited uncontrolled excited. So if you say  

there was a media frenzy When Brad Pitt arrived,  so Brad Pitt arrived and there are tons and tons  

of different people. Taking pictures asking  questions. Nobody is controlled. Nobody is  

respecting, Brad Pitt's, personal space.  Oh, Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. They're putting

Microphone a camera in his face and everyone  is very excited. That would be a frenzy  

captured national attention,  and has made mr. Robert Smith,  

the public face of accusations of Australian war  crimes in Afghanistan. After sifting, through,  

when you sift through something, it means you  go through something or review. Something in a

A lot of detail. So if I have all these  different pages in a notebook and I read  

each and every page, very, very carefully.  I sifted through the notebook. So let  

me write that for you. So, to review  information, very carefully to review  

information carefully and you're doing not so  you can determine what's useful or what's not

Useful, after sifting, through volumes  of evidence this week, a judge is due  

to hand down a decision. When you hand down a  decision, it simply means that you make your  

decision public. But it's used with authorities  because the judge once the judge decides that  

is legally binding decision. Yes, he can appeal  the decision but until he appeals the decision.

Asian that decision is legally binding. So  if your boss hands down a decision because  

your boss has authority to make decisions. If  you don't like the decision, unfortunately,  

there probably isn't a lot, you can do.  So, we use hand down a decision when it's  

someone in a position of authority who makes a  decision. So, when the judge is due to hand down,

Decision. So, I'll just write that note for you  

to make a decision. So the judge is  due to make a decision, and I'll just,  

no only used when the decision is made by someone  with authority. So, when that person shares,  

the decision that decision is final, but remember,  every decision can be appealed or there are

Our official processes that you can follow.  If you don't agree with a decision, even if  

it is made by someone with authority,  even if that decision is handed down,

the judge is due to hand down a  decision in the historic case. So soon,  

we will find out this week. We will  find out what that decision is.  

Now, that's the end of the story. So what  I'll do now is, I'll go to the top and I'll  

read the article from start to finish. And  this time, you can focus on my pronunciation,  

Ben roberts-smith, how decorated soldiers,  defamation case has rocked Australia

For months, on end Australia's, most decorated,  living soldiers, sat stoic, lie in a Sydney  

courtroom as dozens of witnesses accused him of  war crimes, bullying peers, and assaulting his  

mistress, but Ben roberts-smith was not the one  on trial. The 44 year old had brought the case,  

suing three Australian newspapers, over  his series of articles in 2018, which

he says defamed him. He argues they ruined  his life by painting him as a callous man who  

had broken the moral and legal rules of War  disgracing. His country in the process but  

the media Outlets say they reported the truth and  have set out to prove it. It is the first time in  

history, any court has been tasked with assessing  allegations of war crimes by Australian forces.

Lasting 110 days and costing up to an estimated  25 million Australian dollars. The trial has  

heard extraordinary and add X bizarre evidence  about every facet of mr. Robert Smith's life,  

it sparked. A media frenzy captured  national attention, and has made mr.  

Robert Smith. The public face of accusations  of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan after

After sifting, through  volumes of evidence this week,  

a judge is due to hand down a  decision in the historic case.  

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