Italy Poison Mystery: Investigators Search for How Ricin Spread
Listen to the story
There is a poison mystery in Pietracatella, a town in Italy. People died after they had ricin in their bodies. Ricin is a very strong poison.
At first, people thought the poison was in food. Now police think there may be another way the poison entered the body. Police call this the vector.
A vector means the thing that carries the poison to a person. Police are now looking at water and drinks, not just food.
Doctors and police are working together. They want to know how the poison moved from one place to a person's body.
This is a difficult job. Ricin is very dangerous. It can make a person very sick or cause death.
Police have not given a final answer yet. They are still checking water and drinks from the area.
People in Pietracatella are worried. They want to know what happened and how to stay safe.
Vocabulary15 words
- poison
- something that can make you very sick or cause death
- ricin
- a very strong and dangerous poison
- vector
- the thing that carries something, like poison, to a person
- mystery
- something people do not understand yet
- investigate
- to try to find facts about something
- victim
- a person who is hurt or dies from something bad
- dangerous
- able to hurt or kill you
- police
- people whose job is to stop crime and keep order
- town
- a small place where people live
- sick
- not feeling well; ill
- death
- when a person's life ends
- check
- to look at something carefully
- safe
- not in danger
- final
- last; at the end
- area
- a place or part of a town
Quiz
Answer key
1. Ricin 2. Water and drinks 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
There is a poison mystery in _____, a town in Italy. People died after they had _____ in their bodies. Ricin is a very strong _____.
At first, people thought the poison was in _____. Now police think there may be another way the poison entered the body. Police call this the _____.
A vector means the thing that _____ the poison to a person. Police are now looking at _____ and drinks, not just food.
Doctors and police are working _____. They want to know how the poison moved from one place to a person's body.
Police have not given a final _____ yet. They are still checking water and drinks from the _____.