• Vocabulary

Short words save space, and so they are very common in newspaper headlines. Some of the short words in headlines are unusual in ordinary language, and some are used in special senses that they do not often have in ordinary language. Other words are chosen not because they are short, but because they sound dramatic. The following is a list of common headline vocabulary.

Aid Alert Allege Axe Back Ban Bar Bid Blast Blaze Block Bolster Boom Boost Brink Call for Cash Charge Claim Clamp down on Clash Clear Crackdown Crash Curb Cut Cutback Deadlock Deal Dole Drama Drive Drop Edge Envoy Face Feud Firm Flak Foil Fraud Freeze Gag Gems Go Go-ahead Grab Grip Hail Halt Haul Head Head for Hit Hitch Hold In (the) red Key Landslide Lash Launch Leak Life Loom Mission Mob Move Nail Net Oust Out to Pact Pay claim Peg Peril Pit Plea Pledge Poll Press (for) Probe Pull out Push (for) Quit Quiz Raid Rap Reshuffle Riddle Rig Rock Row Rule out Sack Scare Scrap Seek Set to Shed Slam Slash Slump Soar Aplit Storm Stun Swap Swoop Threat Toll Top Troops Urge Vow Walk out

military or financial help; to help alarm, warning make an accusation appear in court, accused of a crime support forbid, refuse to allow something; prohibition refuse/ refusal to allow entry attempt explosion; criticize violently fire stop, delay give support/ encouragement to big increase; prosperous period encourage(ment); to increase; an increase edge (of disaster) demand/ appeal for money accusation (by police) (make) a statement that smth is true deal firmly with (usually smth illegal) quarrel, fight (n, v) find innocent firm application of the law financial failure restrict, restriction reduce, reduction reduction (usually financial) disagreement that cannot be solved agreement, bargain unemployment pay dramatic event; tense situation united effort give up, get rid of; fall (noun) move gradually ambassador be threatened by long-lasting quarrel, dispute determined not to change heavy criticism prevent somebody from succeeding swindle, deceit keep(ing) prices etc at their present level; block(ing) a bank account censor(ship), prevent(ion) from speaking jewels resign; be lost, disappear approval take violently control; hold tightly welcome, praise stop amount stolen in robbery; or seized by police or customs lead; leader move towards affect badly problem that causes delay arrest; keep under arrest in debt; making a financial loss important, vital victory by large majority in election criticize violently send (satellite etc) into space; begin (campaign etc); put sth on market unofficial publication of secret information imprisonment ‘for life’ threaten to happen delegation (official group sent to conference etc) angry crowd; organized crime/ mafia (US) step towards a particular result (often political) force somebody to admit the truth win, capture drive out, replace intending to agreement demand for higher wages hold (prices etc) at present level danger coal mine call for help promise election; public opinion survey urge, encourage, ask for urgently investigation; investigate withdraw; withdrawal ask for; encourage resign, leave to question; questioning by police enter and search; attack (n, v); rob, robbery criticize rearrange, rearrangement (of senior jobs) mystery falsify shock, shake noisy disagreement, quarrel reject the possibility of dismiss(al) from job public alarm, alarming rumour throw out (as useless) look for ready to, about to get rid of criticize violently cut, reduce drastically fall (economic) rise dramatically disagreement angry public disagreement surprise, shock exchange to raid; a police raid danger number killed senior, most important soldiers encourage promise leave in protest

Practice

Exercise 1

Express each of the following headlines as it would appear in an ordinary news announcement. Translate them into English

1. Minister to quit government

2. Police quiz millionaire supermarket boss

3. Minister pressed to act on housing

4. New row over pension cuts

5. Mob leaders held

6. Woman alleges unfair treatment

7. China bans US imports

8. America backs British peace moves

9. Teachers’ pay claim rejected

10. Doctor cleared of drugs charge

11. Spending boom over, says minister

12. Six die in hotel blaze

13. PM blasts EC

14. Government plan to boost exports

15. Police to clamp down on speeding

16. Students clash with police

17. Government promises crackdown on drug dealers

18. Teachers slam school cutbacks

19. Dole queues lengthen

20. Deadlock in peace talks

21. World edges towards war

22. Strikers face sack

23. Twelve-year-old foils bank raisers

24. PM to go?

25. Car plant to halt production

26. British steel in red

27. Landslide for Scottish nationalists

28. Vat on food: new row looms

29. Schools push for more cash

30. MP nails minister on pit closure plans

31. Banks peg interest rates

32. Tories ahead in polls

33. Bank sex scandal rocks city

34. City fears new slump

35. Imports soar for third month

36. Heart swap boy better

37. More troops for boarder area

38. US urged to pull out of arms deal

39. Exiled President vows to return

40. Car workers walk out over wage freeze

Exercise 2

Complete the following headlines. Translate them into English

1. PRIVATE HEALTH PRICE FIXERS FACING …

Fees charged for private medical treatment are to be investigated by monopoly watchdogs.

2. MAN FACES … ON WIFE DEATH.

Detectives were waiting by the hospital bedside of a man to question him about the death of his wife.

3. NIGEL’S …

World champion Nigel Mansell took a lingering look across the Portuguese Grand Prix track which has caused him both heartache and joy yesterday before declaring: ‘I will never come back here again. I’m finished with Formula One’.

4. OLIMPIC BOSS BRIBE …

The head of the Olympics is threatening legal action over a TV documentary alleging his officials are corrupt.

5. SRI LANKA PEACE …

A Sri Lanka government negotiator is expected to try to reopen talks with the Tamil Tigers today in an attempt to end the outbreak of fighting between Tigers and the Army.

Exercise 3

Match the two parts of each headline. Translate them into English

A. DICTATOR OUSTED: KIDNAP BID FOILED: DEAD ENVOY RIDDLE: CABINET LEAК: M-WAY CRASH:

B. CALL FOR PROBE YARD BAFFLED DEATH TOLL RISES PLEA FOR CALM 3 QUIZZED, 2 FLEE

Exercise 4

Look at the incomplete news headlines below. Fill in the gaps with the multi-word verbs. Translate the headlines

THIEVES … AT THE ROYAL GALLERY SHIP … AT SEA NEAR THE SUSSEX COAST THREE MEN … OF BRIXTON PRISON PLANE … IN JUNGLE CHEMICAL FACTORY … SEVERE WEATHER … TOWNS IN THE NORTH DAMAGED PLANE … SAFELY

blows up cuts off break in goes down touches down break out comes down

Exercise 5

Nouns and adjectives that derive from multi-word verbs are sometimes used in newspaper headlines. Complete the ones below

1. Someone broke in and stole several paintings from the Royal Gallery last night.

………..AT ROYAL GALLERY

2. Many cars were held up for over three hours on the M25 motorway.

THREE HOUR … ON M25

3. Three prisoners have broken out of Brixton Prison.

…AT BRIXTON PRISON

4. The government wants to cut back on the amount it spends on defence.

DEFENCE … ANNOUNCED

5. Someone has invented a new switch which makes dangerous machines cut out if they become too hot. The invention will save many lives.

NEW …SWITCH WILL SAVE LIVES

Revision

Exercise 6

Make brief headlines from the following news stories and translate them

1. Strong appeals have been made to the Prime Minister to make changes in his ministers.

2. Members of the new Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly who also sit in Westminster will be able to draw two salaries, under plans which infuriated English MPs.

3. In an unprecedented move by the Government, foreign football hooligans will be stopped from entering Great Britain for European championship.

4. A British businesswoman who died in the Indonesian plane crash should not have been on the doomed flight. She was due to travel to Jakarta on an earlier flight, but it was cancelled because of thick smog.

5. Allegations have been made that election results were falsified.

6. Police raided a house today and took possession of jewelry stolen in a recent robbery.

Exercise 7

Paraphrase the following, using headline vocabulary and translate them into Russian

1. HEAD RESIGNS OVER ‘FALSIFIED’ EXAM RESULTS

2. EDITORS URGE END TO PRESS CENSORSHIP

3. NEW MOVES TO STOP BORDER FIGHTING

4. GOVT SUPPORTS ARMS PROHIBITION TO WOO LEFT

5. EEC SPLIT OVER LIFTING OF TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

6. POLICE ARREST TERROR SUSPECT

7. BISHOP CRITICIZES VIOLENTLY DEFENCE POLICY

8. GOVT TO REDUCE DRASTICALLY HEALTH EXPENDITURE

9. INTEREST RATES ABOUT TO RISE

10. PM REJECTS THE POSSIBILITY OF AUTUMN ELECTION

Exercise 8

Look at the headlines below, work out the meaning of the multi-word verbs, translate the headlines into Russian

1. PM IS NOT UP TO THE JOB, SAYS OPPOSITION

2. MINISTER TRIED TO COVER UP ILLEGAL DEALS

3. GOVERNMENT TO BRING IN NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

4. CHANCELLOR FACES UP TO PROBLEMS OF THE ECONOMY

5. SCANDAL WILL SOON BLOW OVER

6. GOVERNMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON TAX EVASION

7. NEW CAMPAIGN TO WIN OVER FLOATING VOTERS

8. COMMITTEE PUTS FORWARD NEW ENERGY PROPOSALS

9. MINISTER TO STAND DOWN AFTER CORRUPTION ROW

10. GOVERNMENT GOES BACK ON ELECTION PROMISES

Exercise 9

Rewrite the following sentences so that they have similar meaning, using the multi-word verbs from ex.8

1. A new law on smoking in public places has been introduced.

2. The government tried to hide its involvement in the gun-running scandal.

3. It is rumoured that the Prime Minister will resign before the next election.

4. Everybody is talking about the seriousness of the problem, but I think it will soon be forgotten.

5. The police are beginning to get tough with young criminals.

6. That’s an excellent plan. Are you submitting it to the Committee?

7. The government seems unable to accept or deal with the problems created by its own policies.

8. The new man is well-qualified, but he isn’t able to do the job properly.

9. The new government promised not to raise taxes, but it did.

10. Election campaigns are designed to persuade more people to vote for a particular party.