World News for Students of English

08-07-2016 07:00

Parts of a mutilated body have been washed up on the sands of Copacabana Beach just metres from where beach volleyball athletes will compete in the upcoming Rio Olympics.

The discovery is the latest incident to unnerve the city as it grapples with rising crime and an economic recession, which is throwing shade on what should be a celebration of the Olympics being held for the first time ever in South America. The details behind the mutilated body are not yet known, but it’s thought that it’s part of a right leg and foot which lies beneath the makeshift cover.

Concealed by a tarpaulin and corded off with sticks stuck in the sand, the body parts lay at the scene after the discovery was made.

This beach vendor and witness says, “I was here on Copacabana Beach. A woman and a young guy passed by walking, they said up there in front towards Lemme Beach. There was part of a leg, just some remains of the belly, and I just didn’t believe it, so I went there to see it with my own eyes. I got up closer to there and it was real.”

The Olympics, which start on the 5th of August, come at a time of political uncertainty and economic instability in Brazil, which makes incidents like this all the more unsettling.

Difficult words: mutilated (cut, damaged), unnerve (upset), grapple (fight), shade (bad news), makeshift (temporary, improvised), concealed (hidden), tarpaulin (a heavy-duty waterproof cloth), corded off (fenced off), unsettling (disturbing, making you feel nervous, bad).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com