In the News

Lately we have heard about many natural disasters, wars and fighting.  We wake up to hear about tsunamis that have destroyed towns, washing away people who could not flee.  It doesn't end there.  The tsunami is followed by an earthquake that causes even more damage to a population already suffering.  Not only was there a tsunami followed by an earthquake, next, there is a nuclear disaster.  The earthquake damaged nuclear power plants and radiation is being poured into the air.  You might hope it will end there, but it doesn't.  After a week or so, the newscasters stop following this disaster and begin to follow something else.  The other day it was a tornado in Alabama, that took the life of over 300 people, as well as leaving people without homes or any of their personal possessions.  Those who survived are just glad to be alive.  Tonight I heard about the situation now in Libya.  The war there started months ago.  Today it is in the news again because NATO killed one of the Libyan leader, Qadaffi's sons and three of his grandchildren.  The only good news I have heard in the past weeks on the news was the wedding of Prince William and Kate in England, but that is over now too.
It leaves me to wonder, why do we get so caught up in tragedies and then just move on to something else a few days or a week later.  I still wonder, what is the situation in Japan with the nuclear reactor?  Have they found a way to contain it? Are people still being affected by it?  However, that is all old news now.  No one talks about it anymore.  It has been cast aside for the news of the moment. We hang onto a piece of news for only a short time, a few days, a week at the most, and then it is forgotten.  But, do the people who are living those experiences get to forget them the way all of us who are safe just pass them on?  Or are they all living in the nightmare that we have all long forgotten.  We have become so desensitized to everything.  We hear about it, we think about it a short time, then, we move on and it is forgotten.  The worst part is, we don't do anything to help, and if we don't do anything to change things, all these things will simply pass away in our minds, it will be as if they had never occurred and those affected will be left without hope.  Even one person can make a difference.  Even one person can change the world, a little bit at a time.

Vocabulary
1.tsunamis: a giant wave that floods the land
2.destroyed: ruin
3.flee: run away from
4.earthquake: a shaking of the earth the breaks the land
5.population: a group of people in a certain place
6.disaster: damage,
7.tornados: funnel cloud, weather condition that brings wind, rain, hail and damage
8.possessions:belongings
9.survive: to stay alive, to live through
10.tragedies: bad events; harsh events
11. contain: keep inside
12.cast aside: push away, let go of
13. experiences: events
14. desensitized: unaffected

Activity
1.  To stay alive or live through is to _______________________.
2. The keep inside is to ____________________________.
3.  A giant wave that floods the land is a ________________________.
4. To be desensitized means to be _____________________________.
5.  To push away, or let go of means to ___________________________.
6.  To ruin means to ____________________________.
7.  A weather condition that causes a funnel cloud is called a _______________________.
8. Belongings are the same thing as __________________________.
9.  To run away from means to_________________________.
10.  Events are ____________________________.
11. To stay alive or live through means to _______________________.
12.  Bad events or harsh events are _________________________.
13. A shaking of the earth that breaks the land is called an __________________________.
14.  A group of people from a certain place are called a ___________________________.

Grammar Point
Throughout the passage I used conjunctions.  Conjunctions are words that combine two sentences.  The most common conjunctions are and, but, and or.  Commas are used before a conjunction.  Here is a video clip and song about conjunctions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkO87mkgcNo

Grammar Activity

Find five sentences in the paragraph that use conjunctions.  Write each sentence circling the conjunction.  Then write a paragraph about something in the news using each of the three most common conjunctions (and, but, and or).