Truck Drives into People: Advanced English for IELTS and TOEFL
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If you like learning about the current news and improving your English for your next English conversation, this English lesson is for you. While watching a news report about a horrible event on New Year's Day where a man drove a truck into a crowd of people killing at least 15, you will learn English phrasal verbs, English idioms,, and other advanced English vocabulary that can really stump English learners.

New Orleans Tragedy

1. Confirming: Checking to make sure something is true. • : Police are confirming how many people were hurt. • : She is confirming her plane ticket.
2. Mass casualty: An event where many people are hurt or killed. • : The crash is being called a mass casualty event. • : Hospitals train for mass casualty emergencies.
3. Etc.: Short for “and other similar things.” • Example: Bring your notebook, pencils, etc., to class.
4. Sources: People or places that give information. • : Sources say the police are still investigating. • : She used books as her sources for the project.
5. Plowed into: Crashed into something very hard. • : A car plowed into the crowd of people. • : The truck plowed into a wall.
6. Exchanging gunfire: Shooting at each other. • : The suspect and police were exchanging gunfire. • : The two groups started exchanging gunfire.
7. Self-inflicted: Done to oneself. • : The man’s injuries were self-inflicted. • : He went to the hospital for a self-inflicted cut.
8. New Orleans: A big city in Louisiana, USA. • : The crash happened in New Orleans. • : New Orleans is famous for its music and food.
9. Bourbon Street: A popular street in New Orleans, known for parties. • : The crash happened near Bourbon Street. • : Many tourists visit Bourbon Street.
10. The Sugar Bowl: A big football game played in New Orleans every year. • : The city is preparing for the Sugar Bowl soon. • : Fans are excited about the Sugar Bowl this year.
11. Perpetrator: A person who does something bad or illegal. • : Police arrested the perpetrator of the crash. • : The perpetrator of the robbery was caught.
12. Hell-bent on: Very determined to do something, no matter what. • : The driver seemed hell-bent on causing harm. • : She was hell-bent on finishing her homework.
13. Carnage: A lot of people hurt or killed. • : The crash caused terrible carnage. • : The battle left behind a lot of carnage.
14. All hands on deck: Everyone must help. • : After the crash, it was all hands on deck at the hospital. • : Before the event, it’s all hands on deck at the school.
15. The ball drop: The event where a ball falls to mark New Year’s. • : Many people watched the ball drop during New Year’s. • : I stayed up to watch the ball drop on TV.
16. Prep: Short for preparation; getting ready. • : The police were doing prep for New Year’s celebrations. • : She did a lot of prep before her test.
17. On the ground: At the location of the event. • : Police officers are on the ground helping people. • : Reporters are on the ground to cover the story.
18. A shootout: A fight where people shoot guns at each other. • : The police were in a shootout with the suspect. • : The shootout happened outside the bank.
19. Superintendent of police: The person in charge of all police in a city. • : The superintendent of police spoke about the crash. • : The superintendent of police visited the school to talk about safety.

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