George Clooney is engaged

Reports that George Clooney is to wed his girlfriend, lawyer Amal Alamuddin, have been confirmed by her law firm. "The barristers and staff of Doughty Street Chambers offer their best wishes and congratulations… on their engagement to be married," the London firm said in a statement. The 52-year-old actor and his 36-year-old fiancée have been dating since last October, according to reports. Clooney was previously married to Talia Balsam, whom he divorced in 1993. Since then, the Oscar-winning star has been seen as one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors.

Alamuddin was educated at Oxford and New York University and was recruited by her current firm in 2010. The British human rights lawyer has represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and advised United Nations former secretary-general Kofi Annan on the Syrian crisis.

A fluent French and Arabic speaker, Alamuddin is said to have spent time with the Ocean’s Eleven star in New York, Tanzania and the Seychelles. Speculation that Clooney was planning to remarry escalated over the weekend after his girlfriend was seen wearing a ring on her wedding finger at a Los Angeles restaurant. The actor has been linked to a number of women in recent years, among them model and DJ Lisa Snowdon, Italian model Elisabetta Canalis and former professional wrestler Stacy Keibler.

source: BBC

to wed – házasodni
lawyer – ügyvéd
law firm – ügyvédi iroda
barrister – védőügyvéd (Egyesült Királyság)
engagement – eljegyzés
fiancée – menyasszony
to date someone – járni valakivel
to divorce – elválni
bachelor – agglegény
human rights – emberi jogok
to represent – képviselni
to advise – tanácsot adni
fluent speaker – folyékonyan beszél valamilyen nyelvet
speculation – találgatás
to escalate – fokozódni, növekedni
professional wrestler – profi birkózó

Match the synonyms.

answers: 1-c 2-d 3-a 4-e 5-b

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false
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false

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X-NONE

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The 75-year-old Silence Of The Lambs star parked up in the street outside the semi-detached home in the small village of Margram, Port Talbot during a trip down memory lane with his Columbian-born wife Stella. But the current owner Chris Trainor spotted the showbiz couple in their chauffeur-driven car and invited them in for a cup of tea. Anthony was given a guided tour and posed for pictures during his 30-minute stay. He then asked if Chris would be interested in selling the £180,000 semi. The call centre worker was even more surprised when Anthony invited him and his family to visit him at his luxury home in Malibu, California. Father-of-one Chris, who has a two-year-old daughter called Poppy, said: “It is not every day you get a Hollywood A-list actor turn up on your doorstep.

“He was with his wife, niece and two security guards. They were looking at the house from outside so I told them to come in and made them a cup of tea. Sir Anthony went around the whole house and said he was born in my daughter’s bedroom. He said he would send us a postcard with the details of his place in LA. He said we could visit. He was really thrilled to have a quick look around our place – he said it made his New Year.”

Anthony spent the first 12 years of his life in the pre-war semi at Wern Road, Port Talbot, which stands just a mile from one of Britain’s biggest and ugliest steelworks. The couple says they would love to have a trip around Anthony’s multi-million pound mansion in sunny Malibu, California. And they say they would consider selling their home to the movie star and his wife if they made a serious offer.

semi-detached – ikerház
a trip down memory lane – nosztalgia utazás
current – jelenlegi
to spot – megpillantani
chauffeur – sofőr
guided tour – idegenvezetés
to pose – pózolni
stay – tartózkodás
to turn up – felbukkanni
niece – unokahug
detail – részlet
to be thrilled – elragadtatva lenni
steelworks – acélművek
mansion – kúria/kastály
to consider – megfontolni
offer – ajánlat

Use the glossary and fill in the gaps –  you don’t need to use all the words.

1) My friend has inherited a huge ………. in the countryside.
2) I am ………. to meet you finally.
3) It was easy to ………. him because he was wearing a bright red hat.
4) My host was very kind and caring so my ………. was very pleasant.
5) My daughter loves to dress up and  ………. in front of the mirror.
6) He said he might not ………. until later, so don’t wait for him.
7) We weren’t satisfied with his ………. so we didn’t sell him our car.
8) I spend a lot of time babysitting my ………. .
9) My ………. job is much more interesting than my earlier one.
10) We took ……….. with my grandfather and he showed me where he used to play.

Answers: 1)mansion, 2)thrilled, 3)spot, 4)stay, 5)pose, 6)turn up, 7)offer, 8)niece, 9)current, 10)a trip down memory lane