World News for Students of English

27-08-2015 07:00

This footage captures the spectacular eruption of Ecuador’s highest active volcano. The massive Cotopaxi Volcano spewed ash and smoke up to 2 kilometres over its crater on Friday, with the Geophysical Institute reporting that it entered an active state of eruption after a 5:30 a.m. tremor.

For almost three hours from noon until 3 p.m. local time, the volcano continuously emitted smoke and ash that covered nearby towns with a thick coat of soot. Authorities said that later in the evening, the emissions died down, containing primarily vapour and some ash.

The town of San Rafael lies 45 kilometres north of the volcano and some residents here gathered outside to watch the impressive sight.

The volcano is located around 31 miles (50 kilometres) south of Quito. Its snow-topped symmetrical cone which rises to nearly 6,000 meters is visible from the capital on a clear day.

Authorities haven’t ordered mandatory evacuations but have declared a state of emergency and are monitoring the situation closely. The last recorded eruption of this volcano was 75 years ago in 1940.

Difficult words: spectacular (amazing), spew (to let out with a lot of force), tremor (an earthquake – when the ground moves), soot (black dust from a fire), vapour (gas), gather (to come together), mandatory (you must do things which are mandatory).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com