Big Earthquakes in Venezuela
委內瑞拉大地震
Introduction
On June 24, two big earthquakes hit Venezuela. Many people died and many buildings fell in La Guaira.
6月24日，委內瑞拉發生了兩次大地震。在拉瓜伊拉（La Guaira），許多人死亡，許多建築物倒塌。
Main Body
More than 4,100 people died and 16,700 people were hurt. 190 buildings fell down. 30,000 workers and 3,400 experts from other countries came to help. But the government was slow. They did not give permits quickly, so rescuers could not save everyone.
有超過 4,100 人死亡，16,700 人受傷。190 棟建築物倒塌。有 30,000 名工人與 3,400 名外國專家前來協助。但政府反應遲緩，沒有快速核發許可證，導致救援人員無法救出所有人。
President Delcy Rodríguez said the help was fast. The U.S. Embassy agreed with her. But most people in Venezuela disagree. They say the government did a bad job. Some rescuers say the government wanted them to make political videos instead of saving people.
總統 Delcy Rodríguez 表示救援速度很快。美國大使館也認同她的說法。但委內瑞拉大多數人並不認同，認為政府表現糟糕。部分救援人員表示，政府希望他們拍攝政治宣傳影片，而非優先救人。
Buildings fell because they were poor quality. Builders used bad materials like plastic foam. They did not use enough steel. Still, teams from the U.S., Chile, and Europe saved some people. One person lived for eight days under the ruins.
建築物之所以倒塌是因為品質低劣。建築商使用了如塑膠泡沫等劣質材料，且鋼材使用不足。儘管如此，來自美國、智利與歐洲的團隊仍救出部分民眾。其中一名倖存者在廢墟下生存了八天。
Conclusion
Now, workers are cleaning the city. Many people have no homes and they are angry with the government.
現在工人正在清理城市。許多人失去了家園，對政府感到憤怒。
Vocabulary Learning
⚡ The "Past Action" Pattern
Look at how the story tells us what happened. It uses a simple pattern: Person/Thing + Action Word (Past form).
Examples from the text:
- Buildings fell
- People died
- Experts came
🛠️ Building a Negative Sentence
To say something did NOT happen, we use: did not + action word (present form).
- Wrong: They did not gave permits.
- Right: They did not give permits.
Notice the difference:
📦 Word Grouping: Quantities
At A2 level, you need to describe "how many." The text uses these groups:
- Huge Numbers: "4,100 people," "16,700 people," "30,000 workers."
- General Amounts: "Many people," "Some rescuers."
Quick Tip: Use "Many" for things you can count (people, buildings) and "Some" when the exact number isn't important.