Learning English

Migrant rescue

About six and a half thousand migrants have been rescued from small, wooden boats off the coast of Libya.  

Language challenge

If someone asks you for 'a ballpark figure' they want you to give them:

a) an exact number
b) an estimated number

You'll hear the answer in the programme.

Watch the video and complete the activity

The story

The Italian coastguard says it coordinated the rescue of six and a half thousand migrants from the Mediterranean on Monday.

It made more than 40 separate sorties across the day, making it one of the busiest days in years for the multi national rescue effort.

Tim Allman - BBC News

Around 20 rickety wooden boats, packed full with men, women and children, mostly from Eritrea and Somalia. Some cheered when help arrived, throwing themselves into the water and swimming to the rescue vessels.

They were found off the northern coast of Libya, a country that's become a hub for people trafficking. The migrants are now likely to be sent to the Italian mainland or Sicily.

Key words and phrases

flee
to quickly leave a place, normally because it is dangerous or unpleasant

some
used here as an adverb before a number to mean 'approximately'

hub
a place which is the the centre of a particular activity

sorties
short missions

rickety
not stable; likely to break

To do

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Downloads

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Language challenge - answer

If someone asks you for 'a ballpark figure' they want you to give them: b) an estimated number

End of Session 2

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