Heatwave kills seven in Argentina

31 December 2013

A heatwave affecting Argentina has left at least seven people dead - most of them elderly - in the
past week, officials say.

The heat has been compounded by power cuts, which have prevented many people from using air
conditioning.

In Santiago del Estero and other northern provinces temperatures have soared to over 45C (113F).

Meteorologists say it (1) has been the worst heatwave in the region since records began in 1906.

The victims (2) of the extreme weather (3) lived in Santiago del Estero, located 1,100km (680
miles) north of Buenos Aires.

Hundreds of people in the province have required medical help and doctors have warned people
to stay indoors during the hottest hours.

Tyres on fire

Argentina's ageing power grid has been struggling to keep up with increased demand for air-
conditioning.

Ice cream parlours and other businesses have lost their stocks due to the power cuts

Authorities are blaming the energy shortages on the hot weather. But the opposition accuses the
government of mismanaging the crisis.

Many people are protesting about the lack of services (4), says the BBC's Irene Caselli in Buenos
Aires. Some parts of the city have been without power for two weeks.

Residents have set fire to rubbish bags and tyres on the roads, causing traffic jams as many (5) left
the capital for the new year festivities.

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a former ally of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, said
private energy suppliers could not take all the blame.

"The main responsibility is with the federal government,"(7) he said. "The government must make
sure there is an investment programme, which (6) has not happened in the last decade."

Type: news article

Field: energy crisis due to the heatwave.

Function: to inform, to explain

Genre: ????

Mode: written
Tenor: there’s a strong feeling of impersonalization because this article tends to be objective. On
the other hand, the audience expected by the author is one that finds this information relevant.
The relationship between the participants is detached.

Cohesive devices: 1- it, cataphoric.

2- Victims: Substitution to avoid repetition (7 people dead)

3_ extreme weather: substitution to avoid repetition (heatwave)

4- lack of services: substitution (power cuts)

5- many: ellipsis. Omission of the word residents

6- reference, which: investment program.

7-Intertextuality direct quotation-+