Earthquake in Colombia Tests New President in His First Week
Listen to the story
A big earthquake hit Colombia this week.
It happened in the first week of the new president. His name is Espriella.
Workers are still removing rubble from broken buildings. They do not have much hope of finding people alive.
President Espriella asked US President Trump for help. He wants Trump to stop tariffs on Colombia.
Tariffs are extra money that countries pay to sell goods to another country.
Espriella hopes this will help Colombia after the earthquake.
This event also showed people more about Espriella's ideology. His ideology is his set of political ideas.
People are watching how he leads the country during this hard time.
It is only his first week as president.
Vocabulary15 words
- earthquake
- a sudden shaking of the ground
- rubble
- broken pieces of buildings
- tariffs
- extra money paid to sell goods in another country
- ideology
- a set of political ideas
- president
- the top leader of a country
- survivors
- people who stay alive after a bad event
- disaster
- a very bad event that hurts many people
- suspend
- to stop something for a while
- term
- the time a leader is in power
- removing
- taking something away
- hope
- a good feeling about the future
- buildings
- places like houses or offices
- leader
- a person who guides others
- help
- to give support to someone
- country
- a nation with its own government
Quiz
Answer key
1. A big earthquake 2. Stop tariffs on Colombia 3. One week
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
A big _____ hit Colombia this week.
It happened in the first week of the new president. His name is _____.
Workers are still removing _____ from broken buildings.
They do not have much _____ of finding people alive.
President Espriella asked US President Trump for help. He wants Trump to stop _____ on Colombia.
Tariffs are extra money that countries pay to sell _____ to another country.
This event also showed people more about Espriella's _____.
His ideology is his set of political _____.
People are watching how he _____ the country during this hard time.
It is only his first week as _____.