Today's Headlines:

Rising knife crime in UK

Giraffes facing 'silent extinction'

Meet one of Spain's four female bullfighters 

Transcript:

Knife crime has increased by nine percent across England and Wales. In London it's risen by sixteen per cent over the last two years. Several years ago it was predominantly a gang problem. Now the police think seventy-five per cent of those who carry have no associations with gangs – they're just doing it because everyone else is.

Highly recognisable – but while Chester Zoo's giraffes are loved by the visitors, in their natural African habitat, the animals are suffering what has been called a devastating decline. Illegal hunting, expanding agriculture and civil unrest have all been cited as factors pushing the long-necked mammals towards extinction.

Twenty-five-year-old Conchi Rios is one of only four female matadors in the world of Spanish bullfighting. She said it took a few years to get a job as a bullfighter in Spain, but that it was worth fighting to do the job she loves. Bullfighting is controversial in Spain, but Conchi says those who are against it don't necessarily understand it.

Words and phrases and definitions:

predominantly
mainly; mostly

devastating
very harmful; damaging

cited
mentioned as evidence or proof

controversial
something people disagree about

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases from Lingohack to complete each of these sentences. Note that you may have to change the form of a word or phrase to complete the sentence correctly.

predominately / devastating / cited / controversial

1. A ______ plan to demolish a Reading nightclub and replace it with luxury flats has been turned down.

2. Thousands of people have been made homeless after ______ floods caused by the heaviest rainfall the city has seen in a century.

3. The pop star ______ personal reasons for deciding to cancel his world tour. Naturally, his fans are very upset.

4. The rise in global sea levels since the 1970s has been ______ driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests.

Answers:

1. A controversial plan to demolish a Reading nightclub and replace it with luxury flats has been turned down.

2. Thousands of people have been made homeless after devastating floods caused by the heaviest rainfall the city has seen in a century.

3. The pop star cited personal reasons for deciding to cancel his world tour. Naturally, his fans are very upset.

4. The rise in global sea levels since the 1970s has been predominantly driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests.