Hi, I’m Sen, and this is Today in History.

You’re going to hear a set of historical events twice. On this first listen, don’t worry about understanding everything. You should just feel the rhythm of the speech, and let the sounds fill your head.

Are you ready? Then let’s begin. Here’s what happened today in history.

On July 20, 1810, protests against Spanish rule began in the streets of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. This marked the start of a movement which led to the country’s independence 9 years later. Colombia now celebrates today as their Independence Day.

On the same day in 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. The moment was televised to around 650 million people. The Apollo 11 crew stayed on the moon for 21 hours before returning to Earth.

On July 20, 2005, Canada legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. This made it the fourth country to do so. The Netherlands was the first in 2001, Belgium the second in 2003, and Spain the third also in July 2005.

How was that? Now for a second listen. Remember, see if you can make sense of some individual words and phrases this time. I’ll explain some of the more difficult ones afterwards. Or you can even find them in the episode notes.

On July 20, 1810, protests against Spanish rule began in the streets of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. This marked the start of a movement which led to the country’s independence 9 years later. Colombia now celebrates today as their Independence Day.

On the same day in 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. The moment was televised to around 650 million people. The Apollo 11 crew stayed on the moon for 21 hours before returning to Earth

On July 20, 2005, Canada legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. This made it the fourth country to do so. The Netherlands was the first in 2001, Belgium the second in 2003, and Spain the third also in July 2005.

Did any words catch your attention? You might have guessed what ‘televised’ means. ‘To televise’ is another way of saying ‘to show’ or ‘broadcast’ something on T.V. What about ‘legalize’? Well, this means to make something legal. For example, here Canada made it legal for people of the same sex to get married. And, lastly, the word ‘nationwide’ refers to something which affects the whole country.

So, that’s all for today! But be sure to join me on tomorrow’s episode of Today in History.

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Episode notes:
 
to televise: to broadcast / to show something on T.V. 
to legalize: to make something legal 
nationwide: across the whole country