Breaking News English

There is [badly / bad] news for banana lovers. The most common banana in the world is in [danger / endanger] of becoming extinct. It is called the Cavendish banana people eat it all [under / over] the world. A fungus called Tropical Race 4 (TP4) [is / are] killing millions of banana plants. The fungus blocks small tubes inside the plant that [absorbs / absorb] water. This means the plant cannot get the water it [need / needs] and so it dies. Scientists first [discovery / discovered] TP4 in Malaysia in 1990. It quickly spread to [other / another] parts of South-East Asia and then to Australia and Africa. TP4 is spread in [dirt / dirty] that is carried by the wind, water, cars and even people's boots. A tiny amount of TP4 can spread across large areas very quickly. Some scientists [belief / believe] TP4 could kill the banana industry.

This is not the first time that a [various / variety] of banana has become extinct. Before we started eating the Cavendish banana, we ate a [variety / vary] called the Gros Michel. Fifty years ago, the Gros Michel banana was the [main / mainly] banana grown around the world. However, it was hit [at / by] a fungus called Panama Disease. The Gros Michel banana became [distinct / extinct] in 1965 and banana growers [exited / switched] to the Cavendish banana. The problem for the banana industry is that [even / ever] if they burn all their banana plants, the fungus stays in the soil. This [meaning / means] new plants cannot be [grown / growing] . Scientists say one option is genetically modified bananas that are resistant [to / at] diseases like TP4 and Panama Disease.