World News for Students of English

07-05-2024 07:00

It was very hot in the northern Philippines recently, which caused a dam in the Nueva Ecija region to shrink.

Workers built the dam in the 1970s, but they had to move a town and people who lived in it. As the dam dried up, ruins of the town emerged. This new sight is very popular not only with local people but many tourists come to see it, too. They can see parts of an old church and other old buildings. The area depends on rice farming, and local people welcome the chance to make extra money. Some people, like fisherman Nelson Dellera, make money by taking tourists to the ruins.

The dam provides water for the whole area and farmers depend on it. But big heat in the Philippines and neighboring countries is causing problems. Farmers have little water, officials cancel school classes and they ask people to stay indoors.

Difficult words: dam (a high wall across a river which collects water), shrink (to become smaller), emerge (to become visible).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.