🎧 Listen to today’s story
📚 Key Words
| Word | Meaning | 中文 |
|---|---|---|
| subsidence | When the ground moves down to a lower level. | 地面沉降 |
| deep | Going a long way down from the top or surface. | 深的 |
| sponge | A soft object that can hold a lot of water. | 海绵 |
| weak | Not strong; easy to break or move. | 虚弱的 / 不坚固的 |
| heavy | Something that weighs a lot and is hard to lift. | 重的 |
| problem | Something that is difficult or causes trouble. | 问题 |
| flood | When a lot of water covers land that is usually dry. | 洪水 |
| planet | A large round object in space, like the Earth. | 行星 |
📖 Read the story
Today we are talking about why the ground sometimes sinks. This is called subsidence. Why does it happen? Imagine the ground is like a big, wet sponge. It stays strong when it has water inside. But often, people take water from deep under the earth. When the water goes away, the ground becomes weak. Then, the land on top falls down. This also happens in big cities like New York and Shanghai. The buildings in these cities are very heavy. They push the ground down slowly every year. Sinking land is a big problem. It can cause floods when it rains because the land is lower. We must learn to use less water to keep the ground strong. It is important to look after our planet and our cities. If we are careful, the ground will stay safe for everyone.
✏️ Answer the questions
1. What is the main idea of this story?
- A.How to build tall towers
- B.Why the ground sinks
- C.How to clean a sponge
- D.The history of New York
2. The story says the ground is like a…
- A.heavy brick
- B.wet sponge
- C.cold ice
- D.small ball
3. What happens when people take water out of the ground?
- A.The ground becomes weak
- B.The ground gets stronger
- C.It starts to rain
- D.The ground gets very hot
4. Why does the land sink in big cities like Shanghai?
- A.There is too much wind
- B.The buildings are very heavy
- C.People do not like the ground
- D.The water is too deep
5. What is one problem caused by sinking land?
- A.It makes cities look new
- B.It can cause floods
- C.It makes buildings light
- D.It gives us more water