News Exercise #143

As the item is short and spoken slowly and clearly today, I have decided to make it a full dictation.

The Iraqi ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. In ____ ____ ____, it’s ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Falluja. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____; now ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. IS ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. And ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ there is ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ — reminders ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.
____ ____ ____ ____ Falluja’s people ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, where ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ — ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.
“The IS ____ ____ ____ ____ but ____ ____ ____. We ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. There was ____ ____, ____ ____ ____ ____ ____. What there was ____ ____, ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.”
Now ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ , and that is ____ ____ ____ ____ in this ____, ____ ____.
Just ____ ____ ____ from ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, the ____ ____ ____ ____. The feeling ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ that ____ ____, ____ ____ ____, the ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____.
Alan Johnston, BBC News.

Answers:
The Iraqi army has been driving forward hard. In a major offensive it’s thrust into the major city of Falluja. Islamic State fighters used to own these streets; now they belong to the government’s forces. IS is holding out in some neighbourhoods, sending out suicide bombers and snipers. And all around on this battleground there is the wreckage of homes and shops and offices — reminders of ordinary lives ruined by the war.
Tens of thousands of Falluja’s people have come to camps like this, where there’s not enough of anything — food or water or shelter.
“The IS militia promised us food but there was nothing. we wanted to flee but they hemmed us in. There was no gas and the schools were closed. What there was were rockets, air force jets and tanks.”
Now the aid agencies must care for this mass of people, and that is posing a major challenge in this desperate, desolate place.
Just an hour’s drive from the misery of the refugee camps, the mood is very different. The feeling among these people in the capital is that very slowly, and very painfully, the war against the militants is being won.
Alan Johnston, BBC News.