World News for Students of English

12-08-2014 15:00

A sniffer dog has exhausted itself in the relief work in the earthquake-hit Ludian County of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

The dog, named Piggy, is five and a half years old and had received professional training. Piggy, who’s participated in 12 rescue operations, arrived at the epicentre of Longtushan town on Monday, along with the Red Cross mountain team.

The dog’s arrival has helped to speed up the team’s relief work and find several buried villagers in the earthquake ruins.

But the high intensity of the work has exhausted Piggy and swelled its paws. Piggy has now finished the search task in Ludian and will return to Sichuan with its team. The rescue team will send Piggy to the vet’s to cure its paws and sense of smell. After treatment, they’ll bring it home to rest for a good few weeks.

Difficult words: sniffer dog (dog trained to find things by smell), exhaust (to feel very tired), relief work (work which helps people), epicentre (place on land that is right above the point where an earthquake begins inside the Earth), relief work (when people help after something bad happens), ruins (destroyed buildings), intensity (difficulty), swell (become larger), paw (an animal’s foot).

Source: www.itn.co.uk