New thing in your pocket
Every day, over 1,700 of us have something taken from our bags or our pockets. This is partly because a lot of people carry phones and tablets these days.
There are traditional ways to fight pickpocketing with posters and leaflets, but they are not very effective. An organisation came up with something much more personal.
The organisation turned pickpockets to “putpockets”. They put leaflets, which look like a wallet or a smartphone, right into people’s bags and pockets. The people have no idea about the extra thing, and they are pretty shocked when they discover it is in their pocket or their bag. Because if you can put something in, you can take something out as well.
Difficult words: these days (right now), pickpocket (person who steals from people’s pockets), leaflet (piece of paper which gives you information about something), come up with (think of something new or produce something), pretty (very).
Plane crash in Iceland
A dramatic video filmed in August last year emerged. It shows the moment a plane crashed in Iceland.
The plane burst into flames on impact. Staff rushed to the plane to put out the flames and to try to save the people.
There were three people on the plane. One of them was lucky and survived.
Difficult words: burst into flames (to start burning suddenly and strongly), on impact (at the moment when something hits the ground), rush (move quickly).
Ride on a bridge
There is a new bridge in Texas. It has only just opened, but it already made the news thanks to a video released this week.
It shows a BMX rider performing an amazing stunt. The professional rider rode over the arches of the bridge on his BMX bike. His performance was captured by some cameramen as well as by a camera which was on his helmet.
People who saw the stunt live must have been pretty surprised!
Difficult words: BMX (strong and small bicycle for doing special movements), stunt (dangerous action), arch (upper part of the bridge).
Tiger kills a farmer
A tiger attacked a farmer and his father in India while they worked in a sugar cane field. The father was injured. The son was killed.
Wildlife experts say that the tiger moved into the area because it was looking for food. The attack happened in January, but tigers have often been seen in the same village recently. Local officials began to search for the big cat shortly after the attack. Sugar cane fields provide the animals with good cover though, so they haven’t had any success.
There were around 40,000 tigers in India a century ago but in recent years the tiger population has fallen because people are afraid of the tigers and kill them.
Difficult words: sugar cane (tropical grass from which sugar is extracted), officials (local government), cover (protection).
Dead snakes in California
A disgusting smell led animal service officers to a property in Southern California.
The house, which looks nice from the outside, is now called the “house of horrors.” Just in one room alone, there were 56 dead snakes and 12 alive.
Among the dead reptiles, there were rats and mice in the rooms. The freezer was packed with dead ones. They served as food for the snakes.
Police have called this a case of animal hoarding. A teacher, who lived in the house, has been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty. The surviving snakes were given to an organisation which will take care of them.
Difficult words: reptile (cold-blooded animal like a snake or a turtle), animal hoarding (keeping a lot of animals and not being able to care for them), suspicion (the police have evidence that he might be guilty).
Baby is saved in Syria
A Syrian family’s house was completely destroyed after an air strike. The mother and seven daughters were there.
When the father walked into the house, three of his daughters had been found already. They started looking for the mother and the other four children. They found two of them in hospital.
One two-year-old girl was very lucky. She was found and pulled from rubble alive. She survived the attack without any major injuries.
The mother and one girl are still missing. People cannot find them. The situation is also complicated, as people there don’t have any bulldozers.
Difficult words: rubble (broken parts of a building), major (serious), bulldozer (big vehicle used for moving earth and rocks).
Camera on a bird
A great video, which was taken in Belgium in 2011, emerged. It was taken by a camera which was fixed on a falcon’s back.
Scientists used the video to study falcons. The scientists were interested in the physics of flight while the birds hunt. The video revealed to scientists that the birds use a kind of “motion camouflaging”, as they fly to catch their dinners.
The birds also use their wide field of vision to keep their eyes fixed on their prey.
Difficult words: falcon (big bird which catches smaller birds), camouflage (hide), prey (animal which is killed and eaten by another animal).
Girl at a cash machine
Police released a security camera video. An 18-year-old girl was using a cash machine when a masked man burst in.
He was armed with a large kitchen knife. He demanded she withdraw £100. The teenage girl was terrified and complied with his demand. She was told to wait for two minutes before leaving as the robber ran away.
The man is described as white, in his early 20s, 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall and with dark brown hair. The girl was shocked but not hurt. Police are asking for people’s help.
Difficult words: burst in (enter quickly), armed (to hold a weapon), withdraw (get money from the cash machine), comply (do what you are asked to do).
Lucky grandmother and grandson
Two cars in Brazil collided and one of them hit a white parked car. The parked car moved towards a grandmother and her five-year-old grandson.
They tried to get out of the way, but there was no time. The pair were run over by the white car. All of this was captured by a security camera. The two victims were immediately taken to hospital. They were lucky. They were not injured seriously.
Both motorists involved in the accident blamed the lack of traffic lights.
Difficult words: collide (hit), run over (hit somebody with a vehicle and drive over them), lack (when there is nothing).
Building is demolished
A 44-year-old building in South Carolina was demolished on Sunday morning.
Experts used 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of dynamite. It took just seconds for the 14-storey building to collapse. Only a huge dust cloud and a pile of rubble were left behind. The local fire department will use the site for disaster simulations.
The building was once the largest building housing project in the city. It was closed early last year after it was found it needed to be repaired. It will be replaced by a new housing project for seniors and families. The project will take five years to complete.
Difficult words: storey (number of floors to tell the height of a building), rubble (broken pieces of the building), housing project (housing built with government money for poor families).