All 4 Graded Readings
France wildfires: City of Bordeaux faces evacuation
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Wildfires - Level 0
Europe is seeing record-breaking heatwaves. Deadly wildfires are out of control. The most serious one is 8 km from Bordeaux. Thousands of firefighters are fighting it. Thousands of people were evacuated from the city. A news website said the city looked worryingly like "the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic".
A firefighting boss said the kind of wildfire near Bordeaux has never been seen before in France. The extreme heat has created "fire clouds". These make their own winds. The boss said the wildfire "is shifting non-stop". He added: "We cannot fight it directly." He said his firefighters were in a David-versus-Goliath situation.
SPEED READING
MORE
Online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Wildfires - Level 1
Europe is experiencing record-breaking temperatures and heatwaves. Deadly wildfires are out of control. The most serious of these is near the city of Bordeaux. The huge wildfire is just 8 km from the city. Thousands of firefighters are fighting it. On Monday, 17,000 residents were evacuated from the city. Tens of thousands more might have to leave. A news site said the city looked worryingly like "the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic".
A firefighting boss said the kind of wildfire near Bordeaux has never been seen in France before. He said the extreme heat has created "fire clouds". These make their own winds, which make the fires suddenly spread. The boss said the fire-cloud wildfire was very hard to put out. He said: "It is shifting non-stop. We cannot fight it directly." He said his firefighters were in a David-versus-Goliath situation. Bordeaux locals are worrying about their future.
SPEED READING
MORE
Online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Wildfires - Level 2
Slowest
Extreme heat and wildfires are becoming more common. Europe is experiencing record-breaking temperatures and heatwaves. Deadly wildfires are burning out of control. The biggest and most serious of these is near the French city of Bordeaux. The huge fire is just 8 km from the city's outer limits. More than 2,500 firefighters are trying to fight the fire. On Monday, 17,000 residents were evacuated from the city. Tens of thousands more might have to leave. A news site said the city looked worryingly like "the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic" with people wearing masks.
A French firefighting boss said the kind of wildfire outside of Bordeaux has never been seen in France before. He said the intense heat has created "fire clouds". NASA called these the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds". They make their own winds, which make the fires suddenly spread. The firefighters' boss said the fire-cloud wildfire was almost impossible to put out. He said: "It is shifting non-stop. We cannot fight it directly." He said his firefighters were in a David-versus-Goliath situation. Bordeaux locals are now worrying about the future of their city.
SPEED READING
MORE
Online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Wildfires - Level 3
Extreme heat and wildfires are becoming common across the globe. Europe is experiencing record-breaking temperatures and heatwaves. Many deadly wildfires are currently burning out of control across France and Spain. The biggest and most serious of these is getting close to the southern French city of Bordeaux. The enormous fire is just 8 km from the city's outer limits. More than 2,500 firefighters are battling to keep the fires under control. On Monday, 17,000 residents were evacuated from the city. There are fears that tens of thousands more might have to leave. The "France 24" news site said the city had an "unsettling resemblance to the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic" with people wearing masks.
France's National Firefighters Federation said the kind of wildfire outside of Bordeaux has never been seen in France before. A spokesperson said the intense heat has created "fire clouds". NASA dubbed these the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds". They create their own winds, which means the fires suddenly spread in different directions. The firefighters' spokesperson said the fires created by the clouds were almost impossible to put out. He said: "We don't know how the blaze will spread. It is shifting non-stop. We cannot fight it directly." He said his firefighters were in "a David-versus-Goliath scenario". Bordeaux locals are now worrying about the future of their city.
SPEED READING
MORE
MY e-BOOK
See a sample
This useful resource has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for …
and a whole lot more.