Storms Cause Damage in France's Grésivaudan Valley
Listen to the story
Big storms hit the Isère area in France.
The storms hit a place called the Grésivaudan valley.
A mudslide happened in the valley. A mudslide is when wet mud moves fast down a hill.
The storms also broke power lines. Power lines carry electricity to homes.
A train track was also damaged. Trains could not use it.
In another part of Isère, it was very hot. This is called a heatwave.
But hail fell from the sky at the same time. Hail is small balls of ice.
People were surprised. It looked like snow, but it was hail.
In a different town called Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde, a big hangar fell down. A hangar is a large building for storing things.
People said it fell down like a house of cards. This means it fell very fast and easily.
They think a tornado caused this. A tornado is a strong, spinning wind.
Vocabulary15 words
- mudslide
- wet mud that moves fast down a hill
- power lines
- wires that carry electricity
- heatwave
- many days of very hot weather
- hail
- small balls of ice that fall from the sky
- hangar
- a big building used to store things
- house of cards
- something that falls down very easily
- tornado
- a strong, spinning wind
- storm
- very bad weather with wind and rain
- valley
- low land between hills
- damage
- harm done to something
- railway
- the track a train uses
- region
- a part of a country
- electricity
- power that makes lights and machines work
- collapse
- to fall down suddenly
- weather
- the condition of the sky, like rain or sun
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Quiz
Answer key
1. A mudslide and damage to power lines and a train track 2. Hail 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Big storms hit the _____ area in France.
The storms hit a place called the Grésivaudan _____.
A _____ happened in the valley.
The storms also broke power _____.
A train _____ was also damaged.
In another part of Isère, it was very _____.
But _____ fell from the sky at the same time.
A big _____ fell down in Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde.
People said it fell down like a house of _____.
They think a _____ caused this.
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