Hello, and welcome to News In Slow English, brought to you by Consulpes Academy. Check out consulpes.com/podcast to find transcripts and interactive questions about this episode, and start improving your English today.
It is the 25th of August. The Olympic games have finished, leaving the United States in first place, Great Britain in second, and China in third.
An earthquake took place in central Italy early on Wednesday morning. Survivors are still being rescued, but the number of dead is currently over 240.
Columbia is celebrating an historic agreement between the government and the left-wing rebel group FARC, who have agreed peace terms after more than 50 years of fighting.
The Airlander 10, whose maiden flight we reported in last week’s podcast, has been damaged after a crash landing following a 100-minute test flight. If you missed the original story, go to consulpes.com/podcast to hear all about it.
And finally, self-driving cars are getting closer to becoming a reality! Singapore is currently testing driverless taxis, and Uber are promising to do the same in Pittsburgh in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!
At 0320 Wednesday morning, an earthquake destroyed a big part of the Italian towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara de Tronto. The earthquake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale, and shocks were even felt in Rome, which is 100km away. 241 people have been reported dead, and dozens more are thought to be still buried under the rubble. Rescue services have advised people to leave the town of Amatrice, because secondary quakes, called “after-shocks” have made most of the buildings unsafe. The Appenine mountain range in Italy often suffers from earthquakes, due to the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. Following centuries of disasters,buildings are slowly being redesigned to resist the danger of earthquakes, however most traditional houses are still very fragile.
Hundreds of Columbians are celebrating the news that a peace deal has been agreed between the left-wing FARC rebels and the government. Inspired by the Cuban revolution in the 1950s, the FARC were originally farmers who protested against the massive inequality in Columbia, eventually becoming the armed wing of the Communist party in 1964. They have been fighting the government for 52 years, in a conflict which has killed around 220,000 (two hundred and twenty thousand) people, and made millions more homeless.
The peace agreement follows two years of secret talks and four years of negotiations, followed by a ceasefire in June to allow the deal to be made. The news was announced at Havana, where generals and guerrillas, who would have once been enemies, sang the Columbian national anthem together before announcing the end of the war. Ivan Marquez, the FARC negotiator, commented that the FARC and the government “had won the most beautiful battle of all time: the peace of Columbia”.
Under the terms of the agreement, the FARC will stop fighting and join the legal process, and both sides will work together to reduce social exclusion and build a stable future for the country. Before the deal is official, it has to be approved by the people of Columbia in a popular vote, which will take place on the 2nd of October.
Last week we reported that the Airlander, the world’s longest plane, had taken off from Bedfordshire, UK, on its first flight. Today, sadly, we have to announce that it crashed while landing after its second test flight, damaging its cockpit. The giant airship is 92 metres long, and cost £25m to build. Luckily, none of the crew were hurt in the crash. A spokesperson said that “the flight went really well and the only issue was when it landed”. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating the crash, although the company remains optimistic and hopes to build 10 of the aircraft by 2021.
Finally, in technology this week, Singapore has started testing self-driving taxis. A US-based software company called nuTonomy has installed cameras and software into six small Renault and Mitsubishi electric vehicles, which rely on a complex system of lasers to be aware of their surroundings. Many big companies, including Google and Volvo, are researching driverless cars in the hope that they will reduce road accidents and allow people who are unable to drive due to disabilities the opportunity to travel independently.
So just how good are these new taxis? Well, to start with, they’re free while the experiment is in progress, which is good for the citizens of Singapore. Because the technology is new, a driver will be in each car, ready to take control if the software has a problem, in order to ensure the safety of the passengers. The area where these cars are being tested is also small, at 4 square kilometres, and a long way from the busy roads of the city centre.
The car-sharing giant Uber is also going to test driverless cars, following a partnership with Volvo. Their smart vehicles will be tested in the town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under similar conditions. The US government has agreed to invest $4bn into making driverless cars a reality, starting by standardising the laws regarding the cars across all states, allowing car manufacturers to develop this technology with a clear knowledge of the law.
And onto the weather! London is experiencing another heatwave, although there will be some cloud and rain in the week ahead. Tomorrow, temperatures may reach 29’C, with a small chance of rain in the afternoon, followed by a sunny day on Friday. Saturday will be warm and wet with thunderstorms, and Sunday will be cloudy with highs of 23.
Thank you for listening to News In Slow English by Consulpes Academy. Tune in next week to hear more of the biggest news stories read slowly and clearly. Check out consulpes.com/podcast to find transcripts, interactive questions, and previous episodes.
Goodbye!