World News for Students of English

09-02-2022 15:00

Jeff Bezos’s new superyacht is so big that the Dutch city of Rotterdam had to take apart a historic bridge to ship it to him.

Workers in Oceanco are building the 127-meter-long sailing yacht. The company is a custom yacht builder owned by an Omani billionaire. However, for the boat to reach the ocean, it will have to pass through Rotterdam and then go under a historic steel bridge known as De Hef.

It’s possible to raise the bridge’s central span more than 40 meters into the air; however, it’s still not enough to make room for the yacht’s three giant masts. The estimated worth of the ship is 430 million dollars, and it will be the largest sailing yacht in the world.

The decision sparked problems since the city council promised not to touch this historic place after its rebuild in 2017. The bridge is a historic place, an uncommon part in the city that suffered significant damage in World War II.

Difficult words: span (a part of a bridge between two supports), make room (to make space), mast (a tall pole on a boat or ship that supports its sails).

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