Dutch sailor girl Laura Dekker
Kate and Dima are talking about dreams and aspirations vs. reality as they discuss the decision of Dutch authorities to stop a 13-year-old from sailing solo around the world. Just how much say should parents - and society - have about teenagers' risky adventures?
This week's question: Some ambitious parents encourage their children to become the youngest to accomplish a gruelling (in other words, extremely exhausting) feat. Which phrase do you think she uses to describe this? Is it
a) a rat race to become a 'superchild';
b) a mousetrap for child competitors, or
c) a three-legged race?
Listen out for the answer in the programme!
Listen to the programme
Dutch girl's sailing dream dashed
Listen to the key vocabulary
This is your opportunity to revise some key words and phrases from the programme - with explanations
Vocabulary from the programme
- legal battle
here, refers to the intention of social workers to strip Laura's parents, who supported their daughter's plans, of their legal parental rights through a court's decision
- a raging debate
a very intense, heated public discussion
- to spark / to fuel
here, both of these verbs mean to be the cause of, or the reason for something, to encourage something
- a rat race to become a 'superchild'
when children are encouraged to compete to become the youngest to do something very demanding
- final arbiters
people who have the official, as well as moral right to take a decision in a dispute
