News feed：A sea of gratitude

[2020.05.20] 發表

【明報專訊】CAPTAIN Tom Moore (imaged), a UK war veteran who celebrated his 100th birthday on April 30, was known for successfully raising almost ￡33 million (about HK$317 million) for his country's National Health Service (NHS), which is under great strain amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He received more than 125,000 birthday cards, which filled up a school's hall! They formed a sea of gratitude to Captain Tom. (photo.1)

UFO videos released

THREE videos taken by navy fighter pilots showing ''unexplained aerial phenomena'', one in 2004, the other two, 2015, were released by the US Department of Defense, which is known as the Pentagon. The 2004 one shows one round object flying at high speeds over the Pacific Ocean. The other two in 2015 show an object rotating in the sky. The Pentagon released them because it wanted to dispel speculation about UFOs, which stand for ''unidentified flying objects''. (photo.2)

A malicious poem

A mainland educational newspaper was criticised for publishing a malicious poem. However, the publisher denied the allegations, claiming that the poem had been unlawfully attributed to the newspaper. The poem was written in the first person, talking about the COVID-19 virus, who wants to go back to America. It regrets coming to China because the Chinese government imposed stringent measures including lockdowns against it and medical workers risked their lives to save people. People criticised the poem for instilling hatred into students.

■Gear up

According to the passages on this page, circle the correct answers.

(1) Captain Tom has raised about HK$33 million for the NHS. ( True / False )

(2) The three UFO videos were filmed by ( A. the FBI / B. the Pentagon / C. some navy fighter pilots ).

(3) The publisher mentioned in one passage ( A. admitted that it had published a malicious poem / B. claimed that someone had circulated a malicious poem by using its name / C. was praised by many Chinese people ).

(Answers on next text)

■Glossary

strain (n) 壓力

fighter (n) 戰鬥機

malicious (adj) 惡意的

attribute sth to sb (v phr) 歸於某人名下

[Smarties' Power English 第280期]