News in levels Flashcards
Woman Poisons 27 People
Someone forces a woman from Pakistan to marry a man. After the wedding, she plans to kill her husband.
She wants to kill him with poison. She puts the poison in milk. However, her husband does not drink it.
Twenty-seven other people drink it. Seventeen people die. Ten people are still in hospital.
Difficult words: force (make somebody do something that he or she does not want to do), wedding (an event when man and woman become husband and wife), poison (something which can kill you or make you sick).
Someone forced a woman from Pakistan to marry a man. Soon after the wedding, she and her lover conspired to kill her husband with poison.
The murder, however, did not go as they planned. The husband did not drink the poisoned milk, but around 27 family members did. Seventeen people died and ten more are still in hospital.
Difficult words: force (make somebody do something that he or she does not want to do), conspire (plan to do something without others knowing), poison (something which can kill you or make you sick).
Police arrested a newly-married woman in Pakistan on murder charges after a botched attempt to kill her husband with poison.
She allegedly conspired with her lover to poison her husband after a forced arranged marriage, but 27 family members instead shared the poisoned milk. Seventeen people died and ten more are still being treated in hospital.
Difficult words: botched (carried out badly), attempt (a try), allegedly (reportedly; it may or may not be true), conspire (plan to do something without anyone knowing).
Police arrested a newly-married woman in Pakistan on murder charges after a botched attempt to kill her husband with poison.
She allegedly conspired with her lover to poison her husband after a forced arranged marriage, but 27 family members instead shared the poisoned milk. Seventeen people died and ten more are still being treated in hospital.
Difficult words: botched (carried out badly), attempt (a try), allegedly (reportedly; it may or may not be true), conspire (plan to do something without anyone knowing).
Dog Is Saved in Italy – level 1
A dog is under a house. The house is in Italy. People want to save this dog. They use another dog to find this dog.
They are very careful when they try to free the dog. When they free the dog, they give him water. Then they call for a veterinary doctor.
The dog is under the house for one day. This is because a big earthquake hits Italy on Sunday. Fortunately nobody dies, but 15,000 people lose their homes because many buildings are destroyed.
Difficult words: veterinary doctor (a doctor who helps animals), fortunately (thanks to good luck), destroyed (broken into tiny pieces).
The rubble of Italy’s strongest earthquake in decades buried alive a dog. Thankfully, rescue workers saved him who were guided by their own dog.
They dug carefully to free the animal. Then they gave him water and asked for a veterinary doctor to be called.
After the big earthquake hit Italy on Sunday morning, the dog was trapped for around a day.
Fortunately, no one is believed to have died, but at least 15,000 people have been left homeless and countless buildings were destroyed.
Difficult words: rubble (parts of a destroyed building), decade (ten years), countless (too many to be counted).
The rubble of Italy’s strongest earthquake in decades buried alive a dog. Thankfully, rescue workers saved him, guided by their own sniffer dog. They carefully dug to free the animal, then they gave him water and asked for a vet to be called.
The dog had been trapped for around a day after a 6.6 magnitude quake struck Italy on Sunday morning.
Fortunately, no one is believed to have died, but at least 15,000 people have been left homeless and countless buildings were destroyed.
Difficult words: rubble (parts of a destroyed building), sniffer dog (a dog that is trained to smell something), truck (hit).
The rubble of Italy’s strongest earthquake in decades buried alive a dog. Thankfully, rescue workers saved him, guided by their own sniffer dog. They carefully dug to free the animal, then they gave him water and asked for a vet to be called.
The dog had been trapped for around a day after a 6.6 magnitude quake struck Italy on Sunday morning.
Fortunately, no one is believed to have died, but at least 15,000 people have been left homeless and countless buildings were destroyed.
Difficult words: rubble (parts of a destroyed building), sniffer dog (a dog that is trained to smell something), truck (hit).
Octopuses in Wales – level 1
Something unusual happens in Wales. Many octopuses come out of the ocean. We do not know why. Experts only speculate.
Some of the octopuses later die.
Difficult words: speculate (think about something and talk about it).
People in Wales witnessed something quite unusual. Dozens of octopuses crawled out of the ocean onto a beach.
We do not known why the octopuses did it, but experts think that two recent storms may have had something to do with it.
Later, people found some of the octopuses dead.
Difficult words: witness (see), dozens (many), crawl (move).
People could see dozens of octopuses emerging from the ocean and crawling along New Quay beach in Ceredigion in Wales.
Such behaviour is unusual, and the reason behind it remains unknown, though some experts suggested that two recent storms may have affected their habitat.
People later found some of the sea creatures dead.
Difficult words: dozens (many), emerge (come out), habitat (the environment where an animal lives), creature (an animal).
People could see dozens of octopuses emerging from the ocean and crawling along New Quay beach in Ceredigion in Wales.
Such behaviour is unusual, and the reason behind it remains unknown, though some experts suggested that two recent storms may have affected their habitat.
People later found some of the sea creatures dead.
Difficult words: dozens (many), emerge (come out), habitat (the environment where an animal lives), creature (an animal).
LGBT Groups Take Up Weapons – level 1
In the USA, some LGBT groups learn to shoot. This is because the extreme right is getting stronger. This scares them.
A woman says that LGBT people need to be armed. A man says that people think that LGBT people are not strong. Now they are strong.
However, one man does not like this. He says that it is a problem. It is a problem when so many people have weapons.
Difficult words: LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual people), extreme right (people who want everyone to be the same), armed (have and know how to use weapons).
In the USA, some LGBT groups have taken up weapons as a reaction to the growth of the extreme right. People say that their groups are about making them feel stronger, able to protect themselves, and help one another.
One woman said that the groups are about teaching people to be armed. A man said that people think of queer people as weak and this is a way to fight that idea.
However, one man said that learning how to fight with weapons creates more problems when so many people have weapons.
Difficult words: LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual people), extreme right (people who want everyone to be the same), queer (a word that describes lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual people).
The burning of rainbow flags after the election of Donald Trump in the USA and attacks on people at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, have moved some LGBT groups to take up arms.
People formed the Trigger Warning Queer and Trans Gun Club in reaction to the rise of the extreme right. Trigger Warning members say that the group is about empowerment, self-defence, and supporting the community.
One woman said that the groups are ‘acknowledging our fear of a world in which conservatives are the only ones who are armed’. A man said that people think of queer people as weak and defenceless, and this movement pushes back against that idea.
Some activists are wary of creating gun clubs, though. A director of a LGBT group said that arms races cause ‘harm and hurt can come when so many people have arms and weapons’.
Difficult words: rainbow flag (a flag that shows support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual people), arms (weapons), empowerment (becoming a strong individual), queer (another word to identify a person as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual), wary (think that something can be dangerous).
South Koreans Start to Like Cheese – level 1
This news is about cheese. In Asia, Japan is the biggest consumer of cheese.
South Koreans are starting to like cheese, too. They buy more and more of it.
They are starting to like Western dishes. They like pizza, for example. They also put cheese into traditional Korean dishes.
Every South Korean eats around 2.4 kilograms of cheese. A Frenchman eats 10 times more.
Difficult words: consumer (somebody who consumes – eats), dish (food cooked in a specific way), traditional (typical of a country/area).
Japan is the biggest consumer of cheese in Asia, but South Korea is one of the fastest growing markets.
This is because South Koreans are starting to like Western dishes like pizza, but they also like to incorporate cheese into their traditional dishes. They say that cheese takes away the heat from spicy dishes.
Per person, South Koreans eat 2.4 kilograms of cheese. It may seem like a lot, but it is only a tenth of the cheese that people eat in France.
Difficult words: market (a national or international selling and buying of things), dish (food prepared in a specific way as a meal), incorporate (to include).
South Koreans traditionally eat most meals with a generous dollop of the fiery local side dish kimchi, but they are also growing taste for another fermented food – cheese.
While Japan is by far the biggest consumer of cheese in Asia, South Korea is one of the fastest growing markets. The USA exported fifty-three per cent of cheese to South Korea in 2015’s first nine months. New Zealand exported 13%, and the rest came from Germany, France and others.
Cheese demand has been increased, thanks to exposure to Western dishes such as pizza, but South Koreans also incorporate cheese into local dishes like noodle soup and kimchi stir-fried rice. A possible explanation is that cheese helps to take away the heat from spicy dishes.
Cheese consumption is on the rise in the Asian country, but 2.4 kilograms per person per year is still nothing compared to France where people consume ten more times the cheese.
Difficult words: dollop (a large amount), fiery (spicy), kimchi (cabbage that has been stored with vinegar), fermented (to last longer after it is changed by bacteria, yeast, or other microorganisms), exposure to (experience with).
Activist’s Body Found – level 1
n Argentina, an activist disappears. This happens in August. It happens during a protest. The protest supports a native leader. The protesters also want the native lands back.
Last Tuesday, people find the activist’s body. Some people think that the police are hiding what happened. They say that the government does not care. The police say that they did nothing.
Difficult words: activist (a person who does what they think or say), disappear (when you disappear, nobody knows where you are and if you are OK), support (show that you believe in something), native (a person who is from a place; in Argentina, this is a person from South America and not from Europe).
An activist disappeared in August in Argentina during a protest. The people were protesting for a native leader. They wanted him to be let out of jail, and they also wanted a clothing company to give back land to the native people.
Last Tuesday, the activist’s family said that someone found his body. Some people think that the police are hiding what happened to him and that the government is not saying anything. The police say that they never arrested him or did anything wrong.
There were many disappearances by Argentina’s government in recent years. People still remember this.
Difficult words: activist (a person who says what they think), disappear (if you disappear, nobody knows where you are and if you are alive), native (a person who is originally from a place; in Argentina, this is a person from South America and not from Europe), government (the ‘bosses’ of a country).
In Argentina, an activist named Santiago Maldonado disappeared on August 1, 2017, during a protest to release the indigenous leader of Mapuche from jail and to ask the clothing company Benneton to relinquish land to the Mapuche. Last Tuesday, Santiago’s family reported that someone had found his body.
Some rights groups think that there was a police cover-up on what happened to Santiago. One woman said that the border police killed him to make him go away and that the government is not taking responsibility. The police say that they never arrested him and deny any wrongdoing.
Argentina has a history of forced disappearances during the time of the military junta and it still casts a shadow.
Difficult words: indigenous (native; in Argentina, this is not originally from Europe), relinquish (give up), forced disappearance (when the military government of Argentina kidnaps a person who spoke out against it), military junta (a military government, a dictatorship), shadow (a dark reminder).
Rare Rhino Is Born – level 1
This news is from a zoo in the Czech Republic. An eastern black rhino is born there. The rhino is healthy.
Eastern black rhinos are an endangered species. There are only hundreds of them in the wild. A new rhino is a very good thing.
The little rhino must stay with her mum for at least two years. Then, she can go to Africa.
Difficult words: endangered species (a type of animal which may die out soon), in the wild (free – not in a zoo).
An eastern black rhino calf was born at a zoo in the Czech Republic. The zoo says that the calf is lively and healthy.
There are only a few hundred eastern black rhinos in the wild, as they are under threat from poaching. Another calf is very important for the future of this species.
The little calf will need help from her mother for at least two years. After that, people may move her to Africa.
Difficult words: calf (a young rhino), under threat (in danger), poach (illegally hunt or catch), species (an animal kind).
An eastern black rhino calf has been born at a zoo in the Czech Republic. The zoo, which boasts the most rhinos in Europe, says that the calf is lively and healthy.
Only a few hundred eastern black rhinos remain in the wild, where they are under threat from poaching, so baby’s arrival marks an important step in protecting the species from extinction.
Her mum will need to care for the little calf for at least two years before she can join others from the zoo who will return to Africa.
Difficult words: boast (say how proud you are of something), poach (illegally hunt or catch).
An eastern black rhino calf has been born at a zoo in the Czech Republic. The zoo, which boasts the most rhinos in Europe, says that the calf is lively and healthy.
Only a few hundred eastern black rhinos remain in the wild, where they are under threat from poaching, so baby’s arrival marks an important step in protecting the species from extinction.
Her mum will need to care for the little calf for at least two years before she can join others from the zoo who will return to Africa.
Difficult words: boast (say how proud you are of something), poach (illegally hunt or catch).
President Xi Jinping – level 1
Xi Jinping is the Chinese President. He has an ideology. It is about China’s economy and politics.
The Chinese Congress votes for the ideology. Everybody votes ‘yes’. People put the ideology into China’s constitution. Xi Jinping is the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao. Mao was very powerful.
Difficult words: ideology (a system of ideas especially in economics and politics), constitution (the most important rules of a country), since (after).
The Chinese President Xi Jinping became the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao, who was very powerful. China’s Congress voted unanimously to extend Xi’s power.
The Communist Party of China included his ideology in the country’s constitution. The ideology is ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era’.
Difficult words: unanimously (everyone says yes), extend (make larger), ideology (a system of ideas especially in economics and politics).
