Thinking in English 57. Is Democracy Dying?: Freedom House 2021 Report (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Is democracy dying? According to a recently released report, the answer might be ‘yes.’ Freedom House’s democracy rankings for 2020 were released last week, and the findings were shocking! In this episode we’ll talk about their conclusions, how Freedom House is able to assess democracy, and discuss why democracy might be struggling!
2021 Freedom in the World Report - https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege
What is Democracy? - http://thinkinginenglish.blog/2020/11/08/18-what-is-democracy-english-vocabulary-lesson/
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Vocabulary List
To collapse (v) - to suddenly fail, be unable to continue or work correctly
The Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s
Unprecedented (adj) - never having happened or existed in the past
Unemployment has reached an unprecedented level
Reliable (adj) - someone or something that is reliable can be trusted or believed because he, she or it works or behaves well in the way expected
Is your watch reliable? Or is it a little slow?
Unstable (adj) - not solid and firm and therefore not strong, safe, or likely to last
That chair looks really unstable!
Deterioration (n) - the fact or process of becoming worse
We’ve seen a deterioration in relations between the countries
Secretive (adj) - people or organisation who are secretive hide their feelings, thoughts, intentions and actions from other people
He’s being very secretive about his new girlfriend
Surveillance (n) - the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police or army, because of a crime that has happened or is expected to happen
More banks are now installing surveillance cameras
To enforce (v) - to make people obey a law
It isn’t always easy for the police to enforce speed limits
Bribery (n) - an attempt to make someone do something for you by giving the person money, presents, or something else that they wanted
Some cultures consider tipping waiters bribery, while in others it’s considered an insult if you don’t leave a tip
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