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LEVEL C1

Shadowing the newsreader

Listen to the newsreader read out each line and then practise saying it. Record your own voice line by line and submit your voiceover.

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Massive sinkholes are creating havoc for farmers as they multiply and spread over the arid plains of Turkey's premier grain region.

Potato farmer, Tahsin Gundogdu, doesn't just blame the drought.

Scarcity of rain in the area, along with diminishing levels of water in reservoirs, lakes and rivers, have caused severe water shortages in the plains of south-west Turkey.

As a consequence, local farmers, many already living hand to mouth, are being forced to act against government advice, and drain groundwater reserves to irrigate their harvests, exacerbating the problems caused by drought.

Exploiting a natural resource in such a way is desiccating the ground far below the surface and causing the formation of massive cavities that, as they grow, are not able to support the bulky ground above.

Eventually, the ground and anything on its surface caves in .

Head of Konya province's chamber of agricultural engineers Murat Akbulut, considers the devastating impact of changing weather patterns on local water sources.

In a summit on the water crisis Turkey's leader Erdogan, responding to mounting pressure, has pledged to "renew and improve the agricultural irrigation systems".

Convinced of the necessity of direct action, many have applauded the president's pledge as a welcome alternative to the usual narrative of putting crises down to climate change.

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