Newspaper reading activity

(........ = article - A/An/The or X = no article, ______ = number or preposition)

Rio de Janeiro gun battle sees toddler and photographer among casualties

Violence that has left at least 49 dead within a week is focused on headquarters of city's oldest drug faction

........ two-year-old girl and ........ Reuters photographer were wounded and ______ least ........ seven people killed yesterday during ........ third day of gunbattles ______ Rio de Janeiro.

The unprecedented violence, which has so far left ______ least 49 people dead, is focused ______ the Complexo do Alemão, ........ labyrinth of red-brick houses that is the headquarters of Rio's oldest drug faction, the Red Command.

Last night local drug traffickers fired at ........police helicopters as hundreds of police and army operatives surrounded the giant favela, home to some ______ impoverished Brazilians.

Giovana Isabela da Penha, aged ______, was rushed to hospital after being shot inside her home in the Nova Brasilia shantytown, part of the Complexo do Alemão.

Paulo Whitaker, ........ experienced Brazilian-born photographer, was shot ______ the left shoulder while covering explosive gunfights between police and heavily armed drug traffickers. According to one report Whitaker told doctors he had removed ........ bullet from his shoulder.

A police source told the Guardian that traffickers had targeted........ journalists and citizens ______ the outskirts of the slum, although a statement from Reuters said Whitaker had been caught in crossfire.

In ........ live interview with Brazilian TV last night, Rio's security secretary José Mariano Beltrame vowed to press on with operations. "We cannot back down. We must carry ______. We have to occupy territory, take control of territory and advance," said ........ visibly exhausted Beltrame.

Among those killed yesterday was ........ suspected drug trafficker named by police as ______-year-old Thiago Ferreira Faria. Faria, who was shot through ........ chest, was better-known by ........his nickname G3, ........ reference to the assault rifle of ........ same name.

Throughout the day ........ stream of gun-shot wound victims, including ........ ______-year-old woman, were taken to Getúlio Vargas hospital, which reputedly treats ........ highest number of gunshot wounds in ........ Latin America each year.

Beltrame said slum pacification projects, which have so far taken control of ______ favelas, would help free Rio's poor from armed gangs by ______, when Brazil hosts ........ World Cup. "I am sure that through our actions over ........ last two years we have helped many people gain ........ most important thing for human dignity: hope. By 2014 this will be brought to all of Rio's citizens," he vowed.

In ........ statement, Amnesty International urged "authorities to act proportionately and within ........ law ______ their response to the wave of criminal gang violence that has swept ........ Rio de Janeiro".

"This violence is totally unacceptable but ........ police response has put communities at risk. The authorities must ensure that ........ security and wellbeing of the broader population comes first and foremost ______ any operation carried out ______ residential areas," said ........Patrick Wilcken, the group's Brazil researcher.

· guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Intermediate exercise by Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)

1. In the spaces marked '______' put these numbers and prepositions:

61 two 2014 13 24 70,000 in (x5) on (x3) at (2)

2. In the spaces marked '........' put 'A' (11), 'An' (1), 'the' (10) or 'X' (no article - 7)

Vocabulary - translate these words and expressions into your language:

gun battle = __________________________________________

toddler = __________________________________________

among casualties = __________________________________________

two-year-old girl = __________________________________________

Reuters photographer = __________________________________________

seven people = __________________________________________

labyrinth = __________________________________________

impoverished = __________________________________________

aged = __________________________________________

experienced = __________________________________________

Brazilian-born = __________________________________________

photographer = __________________________________________

bullet = __________________________________________

shoulder = __________________________________________

journalists = __________________________________________

live interview = __________________________________________

said = __________________________________________

visibly exhausted = __________________________________________

suspected drug trafficker = __________________________________________

40-year-old = __________________________________________

his nickname = __________________________________________

reference = __________________________________________

stream of = __________________________________________

gun-shot wound victims = __________________________________________

armed gangs = __________________________________________

by 2016 = __________________________________________

statement = __________________________________________

You can use a dictionary to help you do this exercise.