World News for Students of English

03-03-2015 15:00

The UK could be plunged into darkness next month, as experts warn there could be the biggest solar eclipse since 1999. Nearly 90% of the sun’s rays are expected to be blocked out in parts of Europe on March 20th.

In London and the Southeast, 85% of the sun will be obscured by the moon, while in northern Scotland, more than 95% will be covered.

But the National Grid warns there could be a solar power outage as a result. Solar power isn’t widely used in the UK, but other parts of Europe that heavily rely on it could be out of electricity for a short while.

There’s no need to worry, though – the European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity have been planning for the event for months.

The eclipse will last for around two hours at 8:40 a.m. The next one will not be until 2026.

Difficult words: plunge (to bring something suddenly into a situation), solar eclipse (when the moon blocks the sun), ray (a thin beam of light), obscure (to block), National Grid (an electricity company in the UK), to rely heavily on something (to use and need to use something very much).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com