Car under land

 

There's another security camera video of a landslide in China. A car is being swept away. It has been raining a lot in China and situations like this one are becoming common.

A different accident, which happened recently, looked even worse. Four people were driving in a car on a small mountain road when they were suddenly under something like a muddy river. It quickly appeared and it lasted for nearly one minute.

Two men escaped immediately and the third man ran away later. With the help of the others, the last man was also soon rescued.

Difficult words: sweep away (carry away), rescue (save).

 

Big demolition in Scotland

 

Scotland's tallest building exists no more. The 236 metre-high chimney was demolished.

The charges were placed halfway up the chimney and also at its base. The ones halfway up exploded first. The chimney contained more then 1.4 million bricks and 20,000 tons of concrete.

Before the demolition, the police had to know that no one was in the dangerous area. They used a helicopter to check.

The demolition went well but it was quite hard to prepare for it. It took the demolition team two years.

Difficult words: demolish (destroy an old building), charge (bomb), halfway up (in the middle), concrete (grey building material).

 

Rubik's Cube in 7 seconds

 

This year's Rubik's Cube World Challenge has a winner. It is a young Australian. He solved the Rubik's Cube in 7.36 seconds.

The average time for solving a cube at the competition is 8.18. That's pretty good, but it still doesn't get you the prize of $3,000, a championship trophy and some Rubik's Cube goodies.

The event was in Las Vegas. There were 15 classic and non-traditional cubing events. The classic one, for example, is solving the 3X3 Rubik's cube.

Difficult words: solve (do something that is hard), average (not good, not bad, the normal), goodies (nice little things which are about something).

 

People go to Malta

 

A ship with more than a hundred migrants had problems. It started to sink and it needed help. It happened off of the coast of Malta.

The Maltese army launched an operation and saved the 88 men, 20 women and four children. Many of the people were dehydrated and confused. But they still had enough energy to smile when they got to Malta.

Malta is between North Africa and Italy. That is why it is good for African migrants who want to get to the EU. Malta is only a short stop for them. Then they continue to mainland Europe.

Difficult words: launch (start), dehydrated (when the body doesn't have enough water), mainland (part which is not an island but a continent).

 

One player against forty

 

The International Chess Day was celebrated. In Kiev, Ukraine amateur chess players could play against the country's best player.

Chess is a wonderful sport. It can help develop people's intelligence and confidence. If children like chess, they will be able to use these skills later on in their lives. It is good if they start early. The youngest child at the event was just eight years old.

The game of chess is the oldest and most popular mental sport in the world.

Difficult words: develop (grow), confidence (when you trust yourself).

 

Bus with no roof

 

Six people were injured after a double-decker bus in England hit a bridge. It was going under it, but there wasn't enough space.

The roof of the bus was ripped off. There were 10 passengers on the bus at the time of the accident. One of them was trapped but was rescued soon.

All of this happened on Saturday.

Difficult words: rip off (remove quickly).

 

Tornado in Milan

 

Last Monday, a moderately strong tornado was filmed in Milan, Italy.

The mobile phone footage showed how debris flew in the air. It looked quite serious but luckily, no one was killed. Some buildings and vehicles were destroyed and twelve people were injured.

Difficult words: moderately (strong but not extreme), debris (rubbish).

 

Pope has many fans in Brazil

 

Pope Francis was on his first trip abroad. He went to Brazil. He is very popular there and everybody wanted to see him.

The fans surrounded his car and called his name. But when there were too many people and the situation got too chaotic, the Pope's bodyguards had to step in. They kept the people back and the Pope was moved to the Popemobile.

From it, he could shake people's hands or bless a baby by giving it a kiss.

Difficult words: step in (do something), bless (wish luck).

 

North Korea has a celebration

 

North Korea's Mass Games might be strange but they are definitely impressive. There are hundreds of thousands of performers and dancers.

The games firstly began in 2002 and have continued every year since. They were cancelled only in 2006 because of serious flooding.

The biggest show in the world serves a simple purpose. It celebrates North Korea's leaders and the end of the Korean War. Some battles were even re-enacted.

Difficult words: flooding (big water), purpose (reason), re-enact (show something important from the past by acting).

 

Pigs on the road

 

There was an accident on a Chinese motorway. A truck, which was carrying piglets, turned over and then the animals escaped.

The motorway had to be closed because of the pigs. The police had to catch them first. It wasn't easy because the pigs were pretty fast. But thankfully for the police, the weather was hot and so were the pigs. They hid under the truck to cool down. Then the police caught them easily.

Difficult words: piglet (young pig), thankfully (good for the police).