Four Stories BIG NEWS FirstNews Titanic Tours You can now take a trip to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to explore the wreck of the Titanic if you ve got enough cash. The Titanic has to be one of the most famous ships ever built. It sank after hitting an iceberg on 15 April 1912. The luxury liner was only four days into its maiden (very first) voyage, from Southampton to New York. It sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, killing more than 1,500 people. People who are fascinated by the story of the Titanic now have a chance to see the wreck in person. A travel company called Blue Marble Private is going to start offering tours of the wreck. Passengers will have to travel four kilometres down to the seabed, in a submarine, in order to explore the wreck. But the eight-day experience won t come cheap. It s said the trip will cost passengers 86,000 each when tours begin next year! Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017
Four Stories FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 BIG NEWS - TITANIC TOURS 1) What very unusual trip is going to be available next year? 5) How will passengers get to the wreck? a trip on a boat called the Titanic liner submarine scuba diving a tour of the Titanic wreck a tour of the deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean 6) More than 1,500 died in this tragedy. Do you think it s OK to offer tourists trips to see the wreckage? 7) How much will this experience cost? 2) Describe exactly where the wreck of the Titanic can be found. 8) Why do you think people are still so fascinated by the story of the Titanic more than 100 years after it sank? 3) Find two facts about the Titanic. 1. 2. 4) Which two words mean the first trip made by a new boat?
Four Stories ANIMAL NEWS Mink FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 March 27th - April 2nd is Invasive Species Week in the UK. But what does it mean? Invasive species are types of animals or plants which aren t from this country, but which now live here and have a bad effect on our own wildlife (our native species). The RSPB wildlife charity is doing lots of work to stop these animals and plants from causing too much damage. Here are some of the top invasive species which they are tackling. The Invaders MINK SIGNAL CRAYFISH Signal crayfish were brought over from North America in the 1960s and 70s to be farmed for food, but they escaped into our rivers. Why are they a problem? They are much bigger than our native crayfish, they grow faster, and breed (have babies) faster than our own whiteclawed crayfish. Our native crayfish just can t compete. What can be done? These animals are very difficult and expensive to get rid of. If you spot them, tell your local Wildlife Trust. brown rat American Mink were brought here to be farmed for their fur. They escaped, and were deliberately released, from the farms and quickly spread across Britain. Why are they a problem? Mink hunt many of our native animals, such as water voles, sea birds and fish. What can be done? Mink are bad news for water voles, which have disappeared from many parts of the country. The RSPB is catching and removing mink from places where water voles are making a comeback. Rats are thought to have arrived in this country in the 1700s. They were originally from parts of Asia and Russia. Why are they a problem? Rats are now found everywhere. They spread diseases and can be a particular problem on small islands where they eat the eggs and chicks of seabirds which nest on the ground. What can be done? The RSPB is working to remove rats from small islands around the UK where the entire colony of birds is at risk. The rest of us will have to put up with them!
Four Stories FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 ANIMAL NEWS - THE INVADERS 1) What are invasive species? 2) Which of these are invasive species and which are native to Britain (have always lived here)? Mink White-clawed crayfish Water voles Signal crayfish Brown rats Invasive? 3) How is the RSPB helping water voles? Native? 5) Why were these animals brought here? Mink: Signal crayfish: 6) Why can t our own crayfish compete with the signal crayfish? 7) Why are brown rats a problem? 8) Why do you think it s so hard to control animals and plants once they get out into the wild? 4) Which country do mink and signal crayfish come from?
FirstNews Four Stories Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 WORLD NEWS sweden Read, write, code! Swedish kids will soon be learning basic coding (the instructions which make computers work) from their first year of school. If you re thinking that sounds a bit hard don t worry, kids in Sweden don t have to start school until they are seven! The country s government wants to make sure Sweden is a world-leader in technology. china Electric taxis China has announced that it is going to replace all of its taxis in Beijing with brand new electric cars. There are 67,000 taxis in the capital city. At the moment they all run on fuels like petrol which cause pollution. It s an exciting idea, but a very expensive one: the plan is likely to cost about 1 billion. Air pollution is a very big problem in Chinese cities. NEW ZEALAND Oh, beehive! Criminals are stealing bees across New Zealand, so that they can sell their own Manuka honey. This special honey is made from the nectar of the Manuka tree. It is thought to be very good for you some even say it helps to heal wounds and so sells for a high price. One beekeeper noticed that two of his 3,000 hives were being stolen every week!
Four Stories FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 WORLD NEWS 1) Which country has a story about a crime? education? cars and pollution SWEDEN CHINA NEW ZEALAND Look at the news from China. 2) How are taxis about to change in Beijing? 3) Which two adjectives have been used to describe this idea? 1. 2. Look at the news from Sweden. 5) Swedish children are going to learn coding as soon as they start school. What does the writer guess you may think about this? 6) Why does the government want to do this? Look at the news from New Zealand. 7) Why has the writer chosen the headline Oh, beehive!? The words sound a bit like oh behave! The writer is worried about the beehives. The words rhyme and make a nice pattern. 8) Can you explain why criminals want to steal the beehives? 4) How will this plan help to tackle air pollution?
Four Stories SCIENCE SPIDER SNACKS FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 The next time you see a spider crawling around your house, don t be scared, be thankful. It s probably got rid of a whole heap of bugs for you! Scientists have estimated that the world s spiders eat about 400-800 million tonnes of insects every single year! To compare that to us, humans eat around 400 million tonnes of meat and fish a year. To work out this astonishing fact, experts looked at the data (numbers) from 65 different studies on the world s spiders. If you don t like the eight-legged beasties, you might not be pleased to hear that the world s spiders weigh around 25 million tonnes altogether! Spiders are found almost everywhere: in the hottest deserts, on sea shores, on top of mountains, deep down in caves, even in the Arctic. There are about 45,000 different kinds of spiders! Many of the insects they eat carry disease or harm crops, so spiders do us a pretty big favour. It s thought that around 95% of the insects are killed in forests and grasslands, where most spiders are found. And of course the spiders also provide tasty snacks for larger creatures which prey on them!
Four Stories FirstNews Issue 562 24th - 30th March 2017 SCIENCE - SPIDER SNACKS 1) Fill in the gaps. When you see a spider crawling around your house, the writer says you might feel but instead you should feel. 5) What three-word description does the writer use for spiders? 6) Find three places where spiders can live. 1. 2. 3. 2) How many tonnes of insects do spiders eat every year? tonnes 3) How did experts work this out? 7) Why do spiders do us a pretty big favour? Can you find two reasons? 8) Spiders can be a bit spooky when they scuttle across the bedroom floor, but what would a world be like without spiders? (Think about what you ve learned in this news report.) 4) Find another astonishing fact about spiders in this story.