The Earthquake

1. 2. 3. 4.

[Complete the sentences]

The earthquake hit Japan on . It registered a magnitude of . . That makes it the most powerful quake to hit Japan in at least . years. There were reports over the weekend that the quake moved the main island of Japan by .... feet. 5. Scientists in Japan say that there's a strong chance of another quake, one with a magnitude of .... or higher, hitting in the next few days.

The Tsunami [Answer the questions]

6. Which part of the country was most affected by the tsunami? .. 7. What is a tsunami? (according to the program) 8. How fast can a tsunami travel? . 9. How far away did the tsunami travel before it reached the California coast? .. 10. What effect did the tsunami have on the boats at Santa Cruz, California? ..

The Prime Ministers statement

11. What expression did Japans Prime Minister use to describe the impact of this earthquake? 12. How is the government planning to save electricity until the power plants are repaired? .. 13. According to the Prime Minister, what is Japans main goal right now? ..

The Fukushima nuclear plant

14. What is nuclear fission? 15. How many reactors were running in the nuclear plant when the quake hit? 16. What caused the failure of the back-up generators (according to experts)? 17. What could happen if too much radiation gets out of the reactor? .

The world is coming to Japans aid

18. How many countries have offered to help? 19. Name three international aid groups which are also getting involved. .
created by AretiGavalaki-Greece

Video and transcript links http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/education/2011/03/13/sn.0314.cnn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjmoaVnZbsY http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/studentnews/03/13/transcript.mon/index.html

Answer Key

The Earthquake
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The earthquake hit Japan on Friday. It registered a magnitude of 8.9. That makes it the most powerful quake to hit Japan in at least 100 years. There were reports over the weekend that the quake moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet. Scientists in Japan say that there's a strong chance of another quake, one with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher, hitting in the next few days.

The Tsunami
6. Which part of the country was most affected by the tsunami? The northeastern part of the country. 7. What is a tsunami? (according to the program) Its a wall of water that pushes onto the shore. 8. How fast can a tsunami travel? It can travel as fast as 500 miles per hour. 9. How far away did the tsunami travel before it reached the California coast? It travelled 5,000 miles from the earthquakes epicenter to the California coast. 10. What effect did the tsunami have on the boats at Santa Cruz, California? It tossed them like toys in the tub.

The Prime Ministers statement

11. What expression did Japans Prime Minister use to describe the impact of this earthquake? He called it the toughest and most difficult crisis for his country since the end of World war II. 12. How is the government planning to save electricity until the power plants are repaired? They are planning to run rolling electrical blackouts. 13. According to the Prime Minister, what is Japans main goal right now? Saving peoples lives.

The Fukushima nuclear plant

14. What is nuclear fission? The process when atoms of uranium are split apart. 15. How many reactors were running in the nuclear plant when the quake hit? Three out of six. 16. What caused the failure of the back-up generators (according to experts)? Flooding from the tsunami. 17. What could happen if too much radiation gets out of the reactor? It could contaminate air or water and lead to very serious health problems.

The world is coming to Japans aid

18. How many countries have offered to help? Nearly 70 countries. 19. Name three international aid groups which are also getting involved. The Red Cross, Save the Children and Doctors without Borders.
created by AretiGavalaki-Greece