LINGUAWIRE
A Maryland family uses grandparent help because child care is very expensive. In Montreal, Remco Evenepoel wins another world time trial title, and Marlen Reu
A current English news story adapted for language learners at A1, with audio, transcript, vocabulary and comprehension work.
Welcome to LinguaWire English A1.
Today we have two stories: childcare in Maryland and racing in Montreal.
Everything we say today is written out for you.
Childcare in the United States is very expensive.
More grandparents are helping.
Now we go to Grace. She is our LinguaWire correspondent for society.
Thanks, Daniel. One family says the cost was a big problem.
Stacia Bourne lives in Maryland.
She and her husband talked about having a second child.
They worried about money.
Their first child went to daycare when he was two.
Bourne said childcare cost about the same as their mortgage.
That is a huge bill each month.
So what changed for them?
Bourne's mother made an offer.
Mary Jo Galusha said she would retire.
She would also move from Idaho to the East Coast.
She wanted to help with childcare.
A few months later, the phone rang.
Galusha said she heard that Stacia was expecting.
She said she had better start planning to retire.
And she really did retire?
Did she leave her school job?
Yes, she left her school job.
She packed her things.
Then she drove across the country.
Now she lives in Newark, Delaware.
She uses an SUV now.
The car needs space for two car seats.
That detail says a lot.
How much does she help now?
Robin, the younger child, stays with Galusha.
It is about 30 hours each week.
Bourne and her husband work during that time.
Galusha says she loves it.
She said it is like magic to watch children grow.
So this is not just one family.
It sounds like a wider problem.
Yes, and that is the big news.
More families are leaning on grandparents.
The reason is simple.
Childcare costs are very high.
A group called Child Care Aware of America gives a number.
The average yearly cost was 13,184 dollars in 2025.
For some families, that is near rent or college.
That is hard to picture.
But it is very clear.
What happens when parents cannot pay?
Some parents cannot find a daycare seat.
Some cannot shoulder the cost.
So older family members help.
A care group says grandparents are filling the gaps.
They are doing the work the service system leaves behind.
Thank you, Grace.
A Belgian rider has won the world time trial title again.
Now we go to Ethan. He is our LinguaWire correspondent for sport.
Thanks, Daniel. This race had a clear winner.
Remco Evenepoel won in Montreal.
He took his fourth straight world title in the time trial.
That makes history.
He was the big favorite before the race.
Then he showed why.
He really did not waste time.
How strong was he?
Very strong.
By the second check, he led by over 30 seconds.
That was just over halfway on the route.
The race was 39.2 kilometers long.
At the finish line, he was almost a minute ahead.
He was ahead of Filippo Ganna.
Ganna took second place.
A minute in a time trial is huge.
Who else was near the front?
Paul Seixas from France finished third.
He was 15 seconds behind Ganna.
Ganna started slowly.
He was only 10th at the first check.
Later he moved up to second.
But he could not close the gap.
So Evenepoel kept pushing the whole way.
Was he already having a strong season?
Yes, he has had a very good year.
He has won several big races.
He also finished second at the Tour de France this year.
And this win gives him another big mark in the sport.
He is now the first man to win this title four times in a row.
That is a serious record.
And there was also a women's race?
Yes, Marlen Reusser kept her title.
She won her second world championship title.
The race was not easy for her.
Zoe Backstedt was fastest at the first two checks.
But Reusser moved away in the second half.
She beat Backstedt by 40 seconds.
Reusser also had a birthday on race day.
A birthday win is a nice one.
Thank you, Ethan.
Let's look at three words from the childcare piece.
care
It means help for a child.
In the piece: “help with childcare.”
My sister needs care after school.
grandparents
It means a child's grandmother and grandfather.
In the piece: “More families are leaning on grandparents.”
My grandparents visit on Sunday.
mortgage
It means money you pay for a home over time.
In the piece: “the same as their mortgage.”
Their mortgage is very high this month.
Let's look at a simple pattern from the story.
about the same as
We use this pattern to compare two very close things.
The first example is: “the childcare cost was about the same as their mortgage.”
The second example is: “that is near the cost of rent or college.”
Repeat after me: about the same as
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