Death Toll Rises Above 2,500 in Nepal Earthquake

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

toll

Noun

toʊl

the amount of damage or the number of deaths and injuries that are caused in a particular war, disaster, etc.

The toll of casualties is increasing.

magnitude

Noun

ˈmæɡnɪtuːd

the size of an earthquake

The quake reached a magnitude of 3.

relatively

Adverb

ˈrelətɪvli

fairly large amount/degree, especially in comparison to something else

The company's performance was relatively strong at the end of the year.

Even though the car was in an accident, there was relatively little damage.

He's been doing a great job even though he's been with us a relatively short time.

Despite the rain this week, this has been a relatively dry spring.

structure

Noun

ˈstrəktʃər

a thing that is made of several parts, especially a building

This is our company's organizational structure.

The building has a beautiful structure.

The structure of this deal is more beneficial to the buyer than the seller.

We're not very happy with the structure of this deal.

The structure of the hospital building makes it able to withstand earthquakes.

Although it looks highly fragile, this glass dome is a very durable structure.

collapse

Verb

kəˈlæps

to fall down or fall in suddenly, often after breaking apart

The building collapsed during a storm.

Their marriage completely collapsed.

Financial scandals caused the company to collapse.

The bridge collapsed because of poor engineering.

The stock market crash caused the economy to collapse.

My house collapsed in the storm.

The building collapsed.

casualty

Noun

ˈkæʒuːəltiː

a person who is killed or injured in war or in an accident

The casualties of the disaster were rushed to the hospital.

The explosion occurred at night when the building was empty, and there were no casualties.

The large storm resulted in heavy casualties and thousands of dollars in damages.

We prayed for the casualties of the incident.

There was only one casualty in the accident.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Death Toll Rises Above 2,500 in Nepal Earthquake

A major earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, destroying parts of Katmandu, the capital city. The quake killed more than 2,500 people.

The 7.8-magnitude quake shook Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on Earth.

At least 34 people were also killed in India. Five deaths were reported from Tibet. Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Nepal-China border reported casualties.

The earthquake hit just before noon, local time. It was relatively close to the surface, centered at a spot 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu. Historic structures, including the iconic 19th century tower, the Dharara tower collapsed.

Television images showed many injured people crowded outside hospitals in Kathmandu trying to get help. The number of casualties is likely to rise.

Baral said officials feared that the old area of Kathmandu could have suffered the worst damage.

Exercise 3

Questions

What was the magnitude of the earthquake?

What happened to historic structures (including the Dharara)?

How many people were killed?

Exercise 4

Discussion

How can you describe these events? Think of different adjectives.

How can you help after a natural disaster?

Are there any earthquakes in your country?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by Voice of America.