Unit 1: News Review
How to use the language from the latest news stories
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Session 1
Storm Filomena has covered parts of Spain in heavy snow, with half of the country on red alert for more across the weekend. Catherine and Neil have the vocabulary you need to talk about this story.
Activity 1
News Review
Record-breaking snow storm hits Spain
Spain is in a race against time to clear roads covered by heavy snow, and get Covid vaccines and food supplies to areas affected by Storm Filomena.
Up to 50cm of snow fell on the capital Madrid, one of the worst hit areas, between Friday and Saturday.
At least four people died and thousands of travellers were left stranded. Catherine and Neil have the vocabulary you need to talk about this story.
Watch the video and complete the activity
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The story
That came as a welcome sound to the thousand or so drivers rescued in their vehicles overnight – snow being cleared from the roads. More than 400 trunk roads are blocked. Bus services in and around the capital have been suspended for the day.
The mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, has asked for the army to send in more soldiers to help. But he’s also appealed to people to stay home. It could be that snow proves the great enforcer – movement restrictions are being imposed on 23 more zones around Madrid from Monday to combat coronavirus.
Key words and phrases
blankets
covers completely with a layer of something
- Volcanoes blanket the ground with ash.
- A blanket of snow covered the entire city.
wreaks havoc
causes chaos or damage
- Trump’s supporters wreaked havoc in the Capitol.
- The children’s party wreaked havoc on the restaurant.
swathes
large areas
- Swathes of rainforest are in danger of being lost forever.
- Swathes of Europe are under coronavirus lockdown.
To do
Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.
News Review quiz
3 Questions
Now you've watched the video, try to answer these questions about the language in the news.
Help
Activity
Now you've watched the video, try to answer these questions about the language in the news.
Hint
Which expression means 'cover completely with a layer of something'?Question 1 of 3
Help
Activity
Now you've watched the video, try to answer these questions about the language in the news.
Hint
Which expression means 'causes chaos or damage'?Question 2 of 3
Help
Activity
Now you've watched the video, try to answer these questions about the language in the news.
Hint
Which word means 'large areas '?Question 3 of 3
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
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