World News for Students of English

02-11-2016 07:00

Fifty years ago, in the small Welsh village of Aberfan, an entire generation was almost wiped out. An avalanche of coal swept down the mountainside, engulfing some homes, a local farm, and a school. There were 240 students at the school.

Immediately, 2,000 people came to help, including fire-fighters, miners, parents, and others. They formed a human conveyor belt to clear the rubble and after hours, they saved some survivors. One hundred and forty-four people died altogether.

A week later, a joint funeral happened for all of the victims and the Queen of England came to visit the following day. The people of Aberfan held a tribunal to find out what had happened; after that, they passed new legislation to prevent this from happening again.

Difficult words: wipe out (kill or destroy), avalanche (material that comes quickly off a mountain), engulf (cover), conveyor belt (a thing that moves objects from one place to another), rubble (waste, the material), tribunal (a law court), legislation (a law or group of laws).

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