NYC's sinking - 19th June 2023

New York City’s a big place. 8.4 million people live there. It has many tall buildings. They are skyscrapers. New York’s first skyscraper was the Tower Building. People built it in 1889. Now, the city has 274 skyscrapers.

Every year, the city sinks by two millimetres. The heavy buildings move the ground. The ground under New York City isn’t hard rock. It’s clay. This type of soil is soft. It moves a lot. Soil normally moves when we take minerals or oil from the earth. But in New York, it's the heavy buildings and skyscrapers.

The ocean will flood many parts of the city. New York City may look like Venice in Italy.

Many cities around the world are facing the same problem. In the future, 70 percent of people will live in cities. We need to plan cities carefully.

Interactive Games

tried

What's the word you hear?

Complete the sentences. Listen and write the missing word. There are up to 10 questions.

Listening
play game
tried

Sentence muddle

Read the sentences. Put them in the same order as the news report. There are 4 sentences.

Reading
play game
tried

Prepositions

Complete the sentences. Select the correct preposition. There are up to 4 questions.

Vocabulary and Grammar
play game
tried

Construct sentences

Make sentences. Select each word in the correct order. There are up to 3 questions.

Writing
play game
tried

What's the phrase you hear?

Complete the sentences. Listen and write the missing phrase. There are up to 5 questions.

Listening
play game
tried

Verbs

Complete the sentences. Select the correct verb. There are 5 questions.

Vocabulary and Grammar
play game
tried

No spaces in text

Read the sentences. Find the spaces between the words. There are up to 5 questions.

Reading
play game
tried

No capital letters

Read the sentences. Find the missing capital letters. There are 5 sentences.

Vocabulary and Grammar
play game
tried

Put the sentence back together

Put the sentence parts in the correct order. Each sentence is in 4 pieces. There are up to 5 questions.

Reading
play game
tried

Comprehension

Answer questions about the news report. Select the correct answer from 4 options. There are 5 questions.

Reading
play game
tried

Spelling jumble

The letters of one word are in the wrong order. Read the sentence. Spell the word correctly. There are up to 10 questions.

Vocabulary and Grammar
play game
tried

Missing vowels

Complete the sentences. Select the correct vowel for each space. There are up to 5 sentences.

Vocabulary and Grammar
play game
tried

Missing words

Complete the sentences. Select the correct word. There are up to 5 questions.

Writing
play game

Study Tools