Cargo ship crashes into garden in Norway

Nick's ESL News Lessons

A printable worksheet for news-based English conversation classes.

Date: 2025/05/27

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Cargo ship crashes into garden in Norway

Vocabulary Match

cargo •• goods
ran aground •• leak
authorities •• stuck
spill •• officials
investigation •• happening
underway •• study

Vocabulary Answers

cargogoods
ran agroundstuck
authoritiesofficials
spillleak
investigationstudy
underwayhappening

Article

Johan Helberg was asleep when a 135-metre cargo ship ran aground just metres from his house in Trondheim, Norway. The ship crashed into his front garden early Thursday morning but missed his home. He didn't wake up during the crash. A neighbour rang his doorbell and said, "Have you not seen the ship?" Only then did Johan look outside.

Photos show how close the ship came to his house. Luckily, no one was hurt and there was no oil spill. Authorities plan to move the ship at high tide. Police say there's no sign of drugs or alcohol, but an investigation is now underway to find out what went wrong.

Quiz

  1. Where did the cargo ship run aground?
  2. What was Johan doing when the ship crashed?
  3. Who informed Johan about the ship?
  4. What do authorities plan to do with the ship?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. The cargo ship ran aground in Johan Helberg's garden in Trondheim, Norway.
  2. Johan was asleep when the ship crashed.
  3. A neighbour informed Johan about the ship.
  4. Authorities plan to move the ship at high tide.

Conversation

A:Johan, did you hear the crash last night?
B:No, I was asleep! What crash?
A:A huge cargo ship is in your garden!
B:What? How did I miss that?
A:I rang your doorbell ten times!
B:I thought it was my alarm... so I went back to sleep!

Discussion

  1. Do you usually wake up easily, or are you a deep sleeper?
  2. Have you ever had a noisy night where you couldn't sleep?
  3. Do you talk to your neighbours often? What about?
  4. Is your house in danger? What could happen?

Source Material

https://news.sky.com/story/seriously-deep-sleeper-not-woken-up-by-ship-crashing-in-his-garden-13373113

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