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This news is from Istanbul. Around 24 inches (61 centimetres) of snow fall there. This causes trouble. Around 800 traffic accidents happen. More than 300 planes cannot fly.
The Bosphorus Strait is in Istanbul. It is very important. Many ships sail through it. The snow causes the strait to close. The ships must wait.
Source: newsinlevels.com
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1) Cover-verb /ˈkʌv.ɚ /- to put or spread something over something, or to lie on the surface of something:
-The light was so bright that I had to cover my eyes.
-Snow covered the hillsides.
-She covered him (up) with a blanket.
-Cover the meat with a layer of cheese.
-The bandages were covered with/in blood.
-How much of the earth’s surface is covered by/with water?
C-an’t you just cover the mark with a dab of paint?
-Tropical rain forests used to cover 10% of the earth’s surface.
-She was wearing a rather daring skirt that only just covered her bottom.
-She covered every wall in her bedroom with posters of her favourite pop star.
-The new chairs were covered in protective plastic wrappings.
2) Snow-noun /snoʊ/ – the small, soft, white pieces of ice that sometimes fall from the sky when it is cold, or the white layer on the ground and other surfaces that it forms:
-Outside the snow began to fall.
-Let’s go and play in the snow!
-A blanket of snow lay on the ground.
-Her hair was jet-black, her lips ruby-red and her skin as white as snow.
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3) Around-preposition, adverb /əˈraʊnd/- in a position or direction surrounding, or in a direction going along the edge of or from one part to another (of):
-We sat around the table.
-He put his arm around her.
-A crowd had gathered around the scene of the accident.
-She had a scarf around her neck.
-The moon goes around the earth.
-I walked around the side of the building.
-As the bus left, she turned around (= so that she was facing in the opposite direction) and waved goodbye to us.
-He put the wheel on the right/wrong way around (= facing the right/wrong way).
-The children were dancing around the room.
-I spent a year travelling around Africa and Asia.
-The museum’s collection includes works of art from all around the world.
-She passed a plate of biscuits around (= from one person to another).
-This virus has been going around (= from one person to another).
-The snake coiled itself tightly around the deer.
-People clustered around the noticeboard to read the exam results.
-She drew her coat tightly around her shoulders.
-She flung her arms around his neck.
-The cathedral dominates the landscape for miles around.
3) Fall-verb /fɑːl/ – to suddenly go down onto the ground or towards the ground without intending to or by accident:
-The path’s very steep, so be careful you don’t fall.
-He fell badly and broke his leg.
-Athletes have to learn how to fall without hurting themselves.
-The horse fell at the first fence.
-I fell down the stairs and injured my back.
-The object appeared to have fallen from a great height.
-The water’s deep here, so don’t fall in!
-She slipped and fell on the ice.
-He fell into the river and had to be rescued.
-I fell off my bike and scraped my knee.
-He was leaning out of the window and almost fell out.
-She fell under a bus and was killed instantly.
-She fell five metres to the bottom of the ravine.
-He fell to his death climbing the Matterhorn.
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4) Cause-noun /kɑːz/- the reason why something, especially something bad, happens:
-The police are still trying to establish the cause of the fire.
-She had died of natural causes.
-I wouldn’t tell you without (good) cause (= if there was not a (good) reason).
-I believe we have/there is just cause (= a fair reason) for taking this action.
5) Trouble-noun /ˈtrʌb.əl/- problems or difficulties:
-The tax forms were complicated and I had a lot of trouble with them.
-Their problems seem to be over for the moment, but there could be more trouble ahead.
-The trouble started/began when my father came to live with us.
-Parents often have trouble finding good carers for their children.
-We started holding meetings by phone, as travelling in and out of the city became too much trouble.
-I should get it finished over the weekend without too much trouble.
-You’ll only be storing up trouble for the future if you don’t go to the dentist now.
-She thought her troubles would be over once she’d got divorced.
-His birthday is the least of my troubles at the moment – I don’t even have enough money to pay the rent.
-Most of the current troubles stem from (= are caused by) our new computer system.
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6) Traffic-noun /ˈtræf.ɪk/- the number of vehicles moving along roads, or the amount of aircraft, trains, or ships moving along a route:
-There was heavy/a lot of traffic on the roads this morning.
-We got stuck in traffic for several hours.
-New measures have been introduced to try and ease traffic congestion in the city.
-Five people were injured in a traffic accident (= one involving vehicles).
-US I heard about the accident on the traffic report on the radio this morning.
-Air traffic has increased 30 percent in the last decade.
-Sorry I’m late, I got held up in traffic.
-There was a police officer directing the traffic.The council is to examine ways of reducing traffic in the city centre.
-The traffic was quite light so we got through London quickly.
-I don’t want a load of traffic going past my house all night, keeping me awake.
7) Accident-noun /ˈæk.sə.dənt/- something bad that happens that is not expected or intended and that often damages something or injures someone:
-Josh had an accident and spilled water all over his work.
She was injured in a car/road accident (= when one car hit another).
8) Happen-verb /ˈhæp.ən/- (of a situation or an event) to have existence or come into existence:
-No one knows exactly what happened but several people have been hurt.
-Anything could happen in the next half hour.
-A funny thing happened in the office today.
-I don’t want to think about what might have happened if he’d been driving any faster.
-It is frightening to think what might happen if she left him.
-I cannot predict what will happen next year.
-I could tell from her expression that something serious had happened.
-The police showed him a photo to try to jog his memory about what had happened on the night of the robbery.
-“Do you remember much about the accident?” “No, it all happened so suddenly.”
9) Plane-noun /pleɪn/- (UK also aeroplane); (US also airplane)
a vehicle designed for air travel, with wings and one or more engines:
-a fighter/transport/passenger plane
-We’ll be boarding the plane in about 20 minutes.
-He hates travelling by plane.
-a plane ticket
-We arrived at the airport just in time to catch the plane.
-As the plane touched the ground, there was a massive jolt and we were thrown forwards.
-She looked up as a plane roared overhead.
-The plane climbed quickly to a height of 30 000 feet.
-The plane circled for an hour before receiving permission to land.
10) Cannot-modal verb /ˈkæn.ɑːt/-the negative form of the verb “can”:
-I cannot predict what will happen next year.
-The government cannot be seen to give in to terrorists‘ demands.
-It feels terrible when your child is ill and you cannot help them.
-Obviously the school cannot function without teachers.
-These plants cannot survive in very cold conditions.
-Some sounds cannot be detected by the human ear.
11) Fly-verb /flaɪ/- to travel by aircraft, or to go somewhere or cross something in an aircraft:
We flew to Paris.
-We fly from/out from/out of La Guardia, but fly back (in)to JKF.
-She has to fly thousands of miles every year for her job.
-We are flying at a height of 36,000 feet.
-Who was the first person to fly (across) the Atlantic?
12) Strait-noun/streɪt/ – a narrow area of sea that connects two larger areas of sea:
-the Straits of Gibraltar
13) Important-adjective /ɪmˈpɔːr.tənt/- necessary or of great value:
-I think his career is more important to him than I am.
-It’s important for children to learn to get on with each other.
-The important thing is to keep the heat low or the sugar will burn.
-He’s not amazingly handsome, but he’s nice and that’s more important.
14) Ship-noun /ʃɪp/-
a large boat for travelling on water, especially across the sea:
-The crane lifted the container off the ship.
-We spent two months aboard ship .
-The ship sank slowly to the depths of the ocean.
-Hundreds of people turned up to see the ship dock at Southampton.
-The ship was flying the Spanish flag.
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15) Sail-verb /seɪl/ – When a boat or a ship sails, it travels on the water:
-The boat sailed along/down the coast.
-As the battleship sailed by/past, everyone on deck waved.
-The ship was sailing to China.
-If we sail in a southeastward direction we’ll reach land.
-I’d like to learn to sail, but I haven’t the time .
-The Kon-Tiki sailed across the Pacific Ocean propelled by wind power.
-We sailed slowly down the river.
-We sailed in a southwestward direction.
16) Through-preposition, adverb/θruː/- from one end or side of something to the other:
-They walked slowly through the woods.
-The boy waded through the water to reach his boat.
-He struggled through the crowd till he reached the front.
-How long the journey takes will depend on how long it takes to get through the traffic.
-Her words kept running through my mind/head (= I kept hearing her words in my imagination).
We drove through the tunnel.
-I saw him drive through a red light (= he did not stop at the red traffic light).
-I’ll put you through (= connect you by phone) (to the sales department).
-The teacher drew a diagram showing how the blood flows through the heart.
-She walked through the city centre with its drab, grey buildings and felt depressed.
-She heard the eerie noise of the wind howling through the trees.
-Our new sofa doesn’t fit through the door.
-Some poisonous gases can enter the body by absorption through the skin.
17) Close-verb /kloʊz/- to (cause something to) change from being open to not being open:
-Could you close the door/window please?
-Close your eyes – I’ve got a surprise for you.
18) Must-modal verb /mʌst/ – used to show that it is necessary or very important that something happens in the present or future:
Meat must be cooked thoroughly.
I must get some sleep.
You mustn’t show this letter to anyone else.
Luggage must not be left unattended (= it is against the rules).
Must you leave so soon?
“Must I sign this?” “Yes, you must.”
19) Wait-verb /weɪt/- to allow time to go by, especially while staying in one place without doing very much, until someone comes, until something that you are expecting happens or until you can do something:
I waited for her outside while she went in to see the doctor.
The dentist kept me waiting for ages.
There were a lot of people waiting to use the phone.
Istanbul Covered in Snow – level 2
The Bosphorus Strait divides Istanbul into its Asian and European parts. It is also an important shipping channel. Around 115 million tons of petroleum products go through there every year.
People often close the strait in winter months because of bad weather. Around 24 inches (61 centimetres) of snow fell in two days recently – more than thirteen ships had to wait.
The snow also caused around 800 traffic accidents in Istanbul. People cancelled more than 300 flights.
Source: newsinlevels.com
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Dictionary
1) Divide-verb /dɪˈvaɪd/ – to (cause to) separate into parts or groups:
At the end of the lecture, I’d like all the students to divide into small discussion groups.
After the Second World War Germany was divided into two separate countries.
2) Petroleum-noun /pəˈtroʊ.li.əm/- a dark, thick oil obtained from under the ground, from which various substances including petrol, paraffin, and diesel oil are produced
Petrol and diesel are produced from petroleum.
Products which are petroleum-based are highly inflammable.
Petroleum is used to produce fuel for vehicles.
‘Vaseline‘ is the commercial name for petroleum jelly.
Petroleum jelly can be used to soothe and prevent nappy rash.
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3) Recent-adjective /ˈriː.sənt/ – happening or starting from a short time ago:
Is that a recent photo?
Have you been following recent political events?
In recent times/years/months, etc. there has been an increase in the amount of violence on television.
In recent years I’ve been cursed with worsening eyesight.
The party’s ambitions have been deflated by the two recent by-election defeats.
They’ve updated a lot of the entries in the most recent edition of the encyclopaedia.
He dismissed recent rumours about his private life as fictitious.
House prices have plummeted in recent months.
4) Accident-noun /ˈæk.sə.dənt/- something bad that happens that is not expected or intended and that often damages something or injures someone:
Josh had an accident and spilled water all over his work.
She was injured in a car/road accident (= when one car hit another).
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5) Cancel-verb /ˈkæn.səl/- to decide that an organized event will not happen, or to stop an order for goods or services that you no longer want:
They had to cancel tomorrow’s game because of the bad weather.
The 7.10 train to Budapest has been cancelled.
6) Flight-noun /flaɪt/- a journey in an aircraft:
I’ll never forget my first flight.
How was your flight?
All flights to New York today are delayed because of bad weather.
My flight was cancelled.Passengers are requested to check in two hours before the flight.
If the flight is late, we’ll miss our connection.
Welcome aboard flight BA345 to Tokyo.
I wonder if you could help me – I’d like some information about flights to New Zealand.
Have you had any luck with booking your flight?
Istanbul Covered in Snow – level 3
A snowstorm in Istanbul has forced the closure of a key shipping channel. The Bosphorus Strait divides Istanbul into Asian and European districts, but around 24 inches (61 centimetres) of snow has fallen in two days, leaving at least 13 ships waiting to enter the strait at both ends. Some 10,000 tankers carry 115 million tons of petroleum products through the narrow, winding strait each year.
It’s not unusual for the strait to close – maritime authorities regularly shut it in winter months due to reduced visibility, raising cargo cost. The snow has also affected travel across the rest of the country with more than 300 scheduled flights grounded by Turkish Airlines.
Members of the Beşiktaş football team have also been stranded at the airport. The Istanbul side is scheduled to play Liverpool in England on Thursday.
And icy roads is said to have led to more than 800 traffic accidents since late on Tuesday.
Source: newsinlevels.com
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Next English short stories for Learning English
Dictionary
1) Forced-adjective /fɔːrst/- done against your wishes:
forced repatriation
2) Closure-noun /ˈkloʊ.ʒɚ/- the fact of a business, organization, etc. stopping operating:
Many elderly people will be affected by the library closures.
The city suffered another blow last month with the closure of the local car factory.
The newspaper article touched a raw nerve – people still resent the closure of the local school.
We, the undersigned, strongly object to the closure of St. Mary’s Hospital: Dr Jack James, Dr Philippa Curry, Hugh Edwards.
The closure of the company’s German subsidiary caused a sharp wobble in its profits.
The closure of the factory brought poverty to the town .
3) District-noun /ˈdɪs.trɪkt/- an area of a country or town that has fixed borders that are used for official purposes, or that has a particular feature that makes it different from surrounding areas:
the business district of New York
the Lake District/the Peak District
US the City of Malden School District
UK South Cambridgeshire District CouncilAn upsurge in violence in the district has been linked to increasedunemployment.
Vandals smashed windows and overturned cars in the downtown shopping district.
Now 5,000 new children will be attending the district’s already overburdened school system.
Wales will be divided into 21 unitary authorities instead of eight counties and 37 districts.
Villaverde is one of the high-rise districts that encircle Madrid.4) Narrow-adjective /ˈner.oʊ/ – having a smalldistance from one side to the other, especially in comparison with the length:
a narrow face
narrow feet
The Socialists won by a narrow/large majority.
The little village has very narrow streets.We drove up a narrow dirt track to their house.
They had a narrow escape when their car crashed.
The evening sun slanted through the narrow window.
The boats all have to pass through this narrow channel.
5) Winding-adjective /ˈwaɪn.dɪŋ/- A winding path, road, river, etc. repeatedly turns in different directions:
There’s a very long, winding path leading up to the house.
They struggled up the narrow winding stairs.
A winding lane led up towards the main gates.
With its winding river and views of the castle, the village is beautiful.
Winding paths lead into the surrounding woods.
Because it is so hilly and the roads are so winding, you don’t get a sense of how small and isolated the village is.
Investigators traced the winding path taken by the money from one account to another.
We’re still in the early stages of a long and winding bureaucratic obstacle course.
This is a big, ambitious book, a winding tale that takes its time.
6) Visibility-noun /ˌvɪz.əˈbɪl.ə.t̬i/- how clearly objects can be seen, or how far you can see clearly, usually because of the weather conditions:
Blowing snow made for poor visibility on the roads last night.
7) Maritime-adjective /ˈmer.ə.taɪm/- connected with human activity at sea:
Amalfi and Venice were important maritime powers.
Make sure you visit the maritime museum if you’re interested in anything to do with ships or seafaring.
8) Regularly-adverb-often:
She regularly appears on TV talk shows.
Accidents regularly occur on this street.
Experts say that the product, if eaten regularly, could be harmful.
Polishyourshoes regularly to protect the leather.
The airline regularly offers last-minute bookings at bargain prices.
Clean the seal around the fridge door regularly so that it remains airtight.
The working life of most vehicles can be increased if they are serviced regularly.
Which newspaper do you read regularly?
9) Shut-verb /ʃʌt/- to (cause to) close something:
Please shut the gate.
I’ve got a surprise for you! Shut your eyes tightly and hold out your hand.
Mary shut her book and put it down on the table.
This window won’t shut – it’s jammed.