Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth

Level 1 Elementary
1 Warmer
Define the following words.
1. A meteorite is …
2. A crater is …
3. An asteroid is …

2 Key words
Write the key words from the article next to the definitions below. Then find the words in the article to read
them in context. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.

atmosphere explosion panic craters vapour trail

1. when something bursts with a lot of force and a loud noise ________________ (para 1)
2. the long white line seen in the sky behind a plane, for example ________________ (para 1)
3. the air round the Earth ________________ (para 4)
4. a sudden strong feeling of fear or worry that makes you unable to think clearly or calmly ________________
(para 5)
5. large round holes on the surface of a planet caused by a meteorite hitting the surface ________________
(para 7)

damage impact military rumours vulnerable

6. harm done to something so that it breaks ________________ (para 10)

7. unofficial information that may or may not be true ________________ (para 12)
8. armies or armed forces ________________ (para 12)
9. the force with which one objects hits another ________________ (para 14)
10. easy to attack or damage ________________ (para 15)

3 Find the information

Scan the article to find the information.
1. Where did the meteorite hit?
2. What did Galina Zaglumyonova first think it was?
3. How many people were injured?
4. What did a Russian ultra-nationalist politician say the ‘meteorite’ was?
5. How did some people make money out of the meteorite?
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NEWS LESSONS / Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth / Elementary

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Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth
Level 1 Elementary
Hundreds hurt in Russia after 10 More than 100,000 square metres of glass
meteorite falls to Earth were broken and 3,000 buildings were hit.
The total cost of the damage in the city is
Howard Amos in Moscow
probably more than one billion roubles
15 February, 2013 (£20 million).
1 Galina Zaglumyonova was woken in her 11 The meteorite arrived a day before asteroid
flat in central Chelyabinsk by a very big 2012 DA14 passed Earth very closely (about
explosion that broke the balcony windows 17,510 miles). But experts said the two
and broke pots containing her houseplants. events were not connected.
When she jumped out of bed she could see 12 There were lots of rumours in the first
a huge vapour trail in the morning sky and few hours after the incident. Reports on
hear car alarms from the street below. Russian state television and in local media
2 “I didn’t understand what was going on,” said suggested that the Russian military blew
Zaglumyonova. “There was a big explosion apart the meteorite.
and then lots of little explosions. My first 13 The ultra-nationalist leader of Russia’s
thought was that it was a plane crash.” In Liberal Democrat party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky,
fact, it was a ten-tonne meteorite that fell to said it was not a meteorite. He said it was a
Earth in lots of pieces. weapons test by the United States.
3 Almost 1,200 people were injured. More 14 Some people were selling pieces of
than 40 people were taken to hospital – meteorite through internet sites within a few
most of them were hurt by flying glass. hours of the impact.
There were no deaths.
15 Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that it
4 The meteorite entered the atmosphere at a shows us that the whole planet is vulnerable.
speed of at least 33,000 miles per hour and
© Guardian News and Media 2013
broke into pieces between 18 and 32 miles
First published in The Guardian, 15/02/13
above the ground.
5 The event caused panic in Chelyabinsk, a
city of more than one million people to the
south of Russia’s Ural mountains. People
could see the vapour trail for hundreds of
miles, even from neighbouring Kazakhstan.
6 Tatyana Bets was at work in the reception
area of a hospital clinic in the centre of the
city when the meteorite hit. “First we noticed
the wind, and then the room was filled with a
very bright light and we could see smoke in
the sky,” she said. Then, after a few minutes,
the explosions came.
7 At least three craters were found. One crater
was more than six metres wide. Another
piece of meteorite broke through the thick
ice of a lake.
8 In Chelyabinsk, schools and universities
were closed and people were told to go
home early. About 200 children were injured.
9 Many people, mostly with cuts from flying
glass, came into the clinic where Bets works.
She said many of the students at a nearby
college came to the hospital. “There were a
lot of girls in shock”, she said.
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NEWS LESSONS / Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth / Elementary

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Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth
Level 1 Elementary
4 What happened?
Put a tick (p) next to the things that happened and a cross (x) next to the things that didn’t happen when
the meteorite fell to Earth.
1. car alarms went off 2. windows broke
3. birds fell out of the sky 4. there was a bright light
5. there was a big explosion 6. 40 people died
7. people could not see 8. craters were made
9. a plane crashed 10. the wind stopped
11. people were cut by glass 12. the Russian military shot down the meteorite

5 Discussion
Imagine a meteorite lands near you. What would you think it was? What do you think you would do?

6 Webquest
Go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/feb/15/meteor-shards-russia-explosion-video and watch
the video.

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NEWS LESSONS / Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth / Elementary

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Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth
Level 1 Elementary

KEY

1 Warmer

Teacher’s note: First get students to discuss these

words and come up with their own definitions.
Then get them to check their definitions against
dictionary definitions.
The definitions below are taken from http://www.
macmillandictionary.com.
1. A meteorite is a piece of rock that has fallen from
space and landed on the ground.
2. A crater is a large round hole on the surface of a
planet caused by a meteorite hitting the surface.
3. An asteroid is a mass of rock that moves around
in space.

2 Key words

1. explosion
2. vapour trail
3. atmosphere
4. panic
5. craters
6. damage
7. rumours
8. military
9. impact
10. vulnerable

3 Find the information

1. Chelyabinsk, Russia
2. a plane crash
3. almost 1,200
4. a weapons test by the US
5. They started selling pieces of meteorite on
the internet.

4 What happened?

– 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11
x – 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12
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NEWS LESSONS / Hundreds hurt after meteorite falls to Earth / Elementary

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