#!/usr/bin/perl

my %text = map { $_ => 1 } ('&','”','&ldquo',''');

while($line = <DATA>){

$line =~ s/(&(\w+?;)*)(\w+)(&(\w+?;)*)/exists $text{$1} ? $1 : defined ($2)/eg;
print $3;
chomp;
}
__DATA__
&rdquo;
How big are &amp; the Brothers? &rdquo; &ldquo; One day hiere last week, not
knowing the cause, some floors of Rockefeller Center were evacuated
when the floor shaking and screams of the lads&apos; fans during a TV