Today's Headlines:

Obama to visit Hiroshima but no apology

Canada wildfire aftermath

NASA discovers new planets

Transcript:

The White House is saying President Obama will not apologise for the American atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima when he visits later this month. It will be highly symbolic – the first time a serving American president has been to the Japanese city since it was obliterated in August 1945.

Nearly a week after a massive wildfire first took hold in the Canadian province of Alberta, officials have had their first look at the damage inflicted on the city of Fort McMurray. Thousands of homes were burnt to the ground but authorities say the damage is far less than first feared. They're now working on producing a re-entry plan within two weeks.

NASA has discovered nearly 1300 new planets outside the Solar System. The exoplanets were found with the Kepler space telescope. NASA says the discovery increases the chance of finding at least one other planet like Earth that might support life.

Words and phrases and definitions:

highly symbolic     
showing or representing something that is extremely important

obliterated
completely destroyed

inflicted
something unpleasant or harmful forced on someone or something

exoplanets
planets outside the Earth's solar system

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases from Lingohack to complete each of these sentences. Note that you may have to change the form of a word or phrase to complete the sentence correctly.

highly symbolic / obliterated / inflicted / exoplanets

1. He lost control of the car, hit a house and almost ________ the front of the building.

2. Be careful – these wasps are capable of ________ a painful sting.

3. The peace negotiations were seen as ________ because the leaders had never spoken face-to-face before.

4. An international team of astronomers has discovered a new ________, which is thought to be the largest known planet orbiting another star.

Answers:

1. He lost control of the car, hit a house and almost obliterated the front of the building.

2. Be careful – these wasps are capable of inflicting a painful sting.

3. The peace negotiations were seen as highly symbolic because the leaders had never spoken face-to-face before.

4. An international team of astronomers has discovered a new exoplanet, which is thought to be the largest known planet orbiting another star.