World News for Students of English

16-06-2016 15:00

As another football tournament kicks off it’s not the players that are garnering all the attention but rather a collection of animals hoping to prove their psychic powers. We all remember Paul the Octopus who rose to fame when he predicted the outcome of eight matches in the 2010 World Cup.

Now Oobi-Ooobi the koala and Astrid the sea lion are battling for title of the most reliable oracle for the month-long tournament played in France. The German zoo director said the animals were both picked due to their impartial nature to European football.

After a long moment of deliberation, Oobi-Ooobi picked neither the jar, predicting that Germany will draw with Ukraine. Astrid the sea lion, on the other hand, foresaw a win for Ukraine, presenting his German keepers with the bad news.

Difficult words: garner (collect, get), psychic (supernatural, magical), predict (say that something will happen), battle (a fight), oracle (somebody who can tell the future), due to (because of), impartial (neutral, non-biased), deliberation (thought), foresee (say that something will happen).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com