Just a few months away from the most important football event in the world, the Russian government has admitted concern over a possible locust attack on the World Cup stadiums. According to the head of the Crop Farming Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Pyotr Chekmarev, the Russians have pest control but are worried that the insects will fly to the fields.

“The whole world is coming here. The football fields are green. Locusts love it where there is lots of green. How would they not come to the place where football is being played?”, he said at the end of January at an event in Moscow. According to Chekmarev, the stadium that the Russians are most concerned about is the one in the city of Volgograd. The stadium can hold 45 thousand people, and will host four games: Tunisia x England, Nigeria x Iceland, Saudi Arabia x Egypt, and Japan x Poland.

Locusts often descend on crops in the southern Russia. Over a million hectars in the south are completely infested, according to the head of the department. There is a chance this could spread to other host cities, like Rostov-on-Don, where Brazil will play, and Samara.

Questions – level II

What is the Russian government worried about?
a. That the locust attack will get in the way of the World Cup matches.
b. That insects will cause a world scandal and jeopardize the country’s image.
c. That the locusts will eat up all the grass.
d.. That the Russians win the World Cup.

According to the text, is there currently a locust infestation in Russia?