NEWS · B2 Level - Part 4

Wildfire Struggles In South Korea

A piece of history burned to the ground. This was the scene at South Korea's Gounsa Temple.

Level: B2 · 23 sentences

Transcript

  1. A piece of history burned to the ground.
  2. This was the scene at South Korea's Gounsa Temple.
  3. A place of worship for 1300 years, destroyed by wildfires.
  4. Flames surrounded the Buddhist temple complex as wildfires spread across the south of the country over the past week.
  5. What now remains are mounds of ash and rubble.
  6. Our Buddhist followers are very proud of our temple.
  7. Because this is such an old temple, it is so regrettable and heartbreaking that it has been burned down.
  8. Some of the artifacts like this stone Buddha, which has been designated a treasure by the state,
  9. were spared as they were moved to other temples ahead of the fires.
  10. The blazes first broke out last weekend.
  11. Several people have been injured and killed so far.
  12. Including civil servants dispatched to fight the fires, according to the Interior Safety Ministry.
  13. And for those who have escaped unharmed.
  14. There are still losses to bear.
  15. Things that remind me of my youth disappeared without a trace.
  16. Photos of my children when they were young that sometimes I look at to reminisce about the past are all gone.
  17. And for my children there's no place to share memories with them.
  18. I lost my memory of youth.
  19. South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo called these wildfires "South Korea's worst ever".
  20. He said that they are being fueled by gale force winds. And he added that...
  21. all available resources nationwide are being deployed.
  22. Authorities are continuing to work around the clock to contain the fires
  23. before more of South Korea's history is gone forever.