Learn English with BBC Podcasts

• ☐ ☐ ☐ insight [n] - understanding
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an accusation [n] - blame
• ☐ ☐ ☐ forbidden [adj] - prohibited / not allowed
• ☐ ☐ ☐ anonymous [adj] - nameless
• ☐ ☐ ☐ severe [adj] - strong
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a pen name [n] - a fake name used by the author of a book
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a firefly [n] - an insect that glows
• ☐ ☐ ☐ falling foul [exp] - get in trouble with
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a regime [n] - a government
• ☐ ☐ ☐ Karl Marx [n] - the writer of the Communist Manifesto
• ☐ ☐ ☐ Booker Prize [n] - a famous prize for English literature
• ☐ ☐ ☐ nuanced [adj] - accurate in subtle/specific ways
• ☐ ☐ ☐ credible [adj] - believable
• ☐ ☐ ☐ smuggle [v] - sneak (something) out of or into a country
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a defector [n] - someone who escapes a country
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an activist [n] - someone who fights for a belief
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an abductee [n] - someone kidnapped, stolen from their family
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a heavy heart [n] - sadness
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a yoke [n] - oppression
• ☐ ☐ ☐ drenched [adj] - very wet
• ☐ ☐ ☐ shabby [adj] - messy, not neat
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an invalid [n] - someone who can't take care of themself
• ☐ ☐ ☐ primitive [adj] - not modern
• ☐ ☐ ☐ append [v] - add something to the end of a book

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression

1. What is the book about?
   the government of North Korea
   the North Korean language
   ordinary life in North Korea
   
   
2. How did the book get out of North Korea?
   It was sold to a South Korean company.
   It was smuggled out of North Korea.
   It was written by someone in China.
   
   
3. Who wrote the book?
   an anonymous North Korean author
   a North Korean government official
   an English writer
   
   
4. What has the book been turned into in South Korea?
   a famous movie
   a popular TV show
   an award winning radio drama
   
   
5. What is the pen name of the author?
   Deborah Smith
   Bandi
   Booker
   
   
6. What does his pen name mean?
   short stories
   firefly
   falling foul
   
   
7. In one of the stories, why does a baby start crying?
   It is hungry.
   Someone bumps into it.
   It sees a picture of Karl Marx.
   
   
8. Who is Dohee Yoon?
   someone who knows Bandi
   a character in the book
   the publisher of the book
   
   
9. What do we know about Bandi?
   his real name
   his sex
   his age
   his job
   his general location
   his exact location
   
   
10. Why is Bandi's life in danger?
    The book is internationally known.
    He wants to free people.
    He is in the military.
    
    
11. Who wants the book to be known internationally?
    Bandi
    Dohee Yoon
    the North Korean government
    
    
12. Which words are missing from the poem?
    
    50 years in this northern land
    living as a 1)_____ that speaks
    living as a human under a yoke
    written not with pen and ink
    but with 2)_____ drenched with blood and tears
    is this writing of mine.
    Though they be dry as 3)_____
    and rough as a grassland,
    shabby as an invalid
    and 4) _____ as stone tools
    Reader, I beg you to read my words.
    
    1) machine 2) bones 3) desert 4) primitive
    
    

1. What do you know about North Korea?
2. Why did Bandi want his book published despite the danger to his life?
3. A baby starts crying at a picture of Karl Marx. Why would this cause problems for a North Korean family?
4. What unique hardships and troubles do you think North Korean citizens face?
5. What hardships and troubles do North Korean citizens face that are similar to those in your country?
6. Why has South Korea been more successful than North Korea? In your opinion, what are the two most important factors?
7. If North and South Korea reunited, what would be the advantages and disadvantages for South Koreans? Try to think of at least two of each?
8. If North and South Korea reunited, what would be the advantages and disadvantages for North Koreans? Try to think of at least two of each?
9. Why do you think the majority of North Koreans do not challenge or try to overthrow the government?