Study the Wordlist:
Emergency – критическое положение, авария
Significant – значительный, важный, существенный, знаменательный
Earthquake – землетрясение
Hurricane – ураган
Flood – наводнение, потоп
Flat land – равнина
Drought – засуха
Wildfire – пожар
Tsunami – цунами
Volcanic eruption – извержение вулкана
Prone – склонный, предрасположенный
Devastating – опустошительный, разрушительный
To subside – опускаться, падать, понижаться, убывать
Tornado sighting – наблюдение за торнадо
Tornado warning – оповещение о смерчах
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. – Легче предупредить ошибку, чем исправлять ее последствия.
Recipe for disaster – верный путь к беде
Out of the frying pan and into the fire – из огня да в полымя
A rough patch – полоса неудач
Exercise 1. Fill the gaps using the wordlist →
1. __________ – a sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage or loss of life.
2. __________ – a storm with a violent wind, in particular a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean.
3. __________ – land with no hills, valleys, or mountain.
4. __________ – a large, destructive forest- or brush-fire that spreads quickly.
5. __________ – a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall; a shortage of water resulting from this.
6. Doors are provided both for regular use and as __________ exits.
7. It was __________ to note that the story did not appear in the newspapers.
8. A severe __________ struck the area.
9. The __________ subsides.
10. The wind had already __________.
Ex.2. Watch the videos:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Pe2SwugiY&feature=player_embedded
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=g7Pe2SwugiY
Exercise 3. Fill in the missing words →
Hello. This is Cari. I’m a teacher with the online english school, EnglishDom.com. Today, we’re going to talk about natural disasters. A natural disaster is ________ (1) situation that results from a natural cause and poses significant danger to life or property. Some examples are earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods or droughts, wildfires, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
Have you ever been in ________ (2)? When I was a very young child, we lived in Iowa which is flatland (a lot of fields and farming areas) and it was very prone to ________ (3). And I remember many times, my parents waking the children up in the middle of the night and sending us down to the basement to sleep because we had to take cover (because there was a tornado warning).
Now, a tornado sighting means that someone has actually seen the ________ (4). A tornado warning means that the conditions are perfect for a tornado but maybe, one has not been seen yet. So, people are often asked to take cover during a tornado warning and you may or may not actually have a tornado.
However, I do remember one time that, after we woke up in the morning, we went driving around town and there was a lot of ________ (5) (trees that had fallen on cars or houses) so there had been a tornado touch down.
We also had a lot of tornado warning when I lived in Michigan. It’s very common in the schools to practice tornado drills and fire drills; which means we practice what to do in those emergency situations. Out in California, which is prone to earthquakes, in the schools, they practice ________ (6).
Would you ever live in an area that was prone to natural disasters? (Um) if you live in an area like that now, would you want to move? Or would you stay because you have roots there or your family there?
(Um) I’m going to share with you some phrases and idioms that are related to natural disasters. They’ve come from that idea. And, nowadays, natural disasters are becoming more and more common, unfortunately, but these idioms have become part of our vocabulary.
Number one is the calm before the storm. Especially in a tornado situation, the weather often gets very calm and quiet before the ________ (7) hits. And we use this expression to relate to our lives or some problem in general. If everything is going smoothly and calmly in your life, (uh) sometimes you want to be on the lookout, there might be a "storm" coming your way (some kind of tragedy or a problem).
Number two is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This means that it’s better to try to prevent something with a little bit of effort instead of "curing" or fixing the problem later with a lot of effort.
Number three is a recipe for disaster. This relates to people or a situation that has a lot of potential for being a problem. And the comments often are, "Oh, that couple? That’s a recipe for ________ (8)!"
Number four… out of the frying pan and into the fire. That’s when your problems go from bad to worse! You jump from the frying pan (where you’re being cooked) into the fire (where you have no chance of escape).
And, number five is the phrase "a rough patch". This is used to describe when someone is going through a difficult time in their lives. You might ask a colleague, "So, how’s the business coming?" "Well, we’re going through a rough ________ (9) right now," they might say. (Uh) Maybe the problems aren’t that serious (or possibly they are) but the idea is that it’s ________ (10).
So, there’s a little bit of information related to natural disasters. Please join us in our (uh) one of our discussion clubs or on the forum (in) on our Facebook page. We would love to hear your stories or your experiences or you can even discuss movies that you’ve seen about natural disasters. We’d love to hear from you so, please join us soon. Feel English and feel free. Bye for now.
Curiosity
Fact
Disasters never come alone.
Quotation
A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster and a moment of impatience can ruin a whole life.
Proverb
Trouble is the beginning of disaster.
Joke
Chuck Norris lost both his legs in a car accident, but he still managed to walk it off.
List of questions for discussion:
1. What is a disaster?
2. Have you ever been in a disaster?
3. Do you know anyone who has been in a natural disaster?
4. How do you think you would react in a disaster?
5. What are some different kinds of disasters?
6. What kind of disasters are common in your country?
7. Are there ways we can prepare ourselves in advance to cope with disasters?
8. How are businesses affected by disasters?
9. How are families affected by disasters?
10. How are the problems solved after a disaster?
11. Does government help to cope with disasters?
12. If you had the power to stop a natural disaster that has happened in the past, which would you choose? Why?
13. What is the difference between natural disasters and manmade disasters?
14. What are examples of manmade disasters?
15. What would you do if you knew there would soon be a serious natural disaster and this could be your last day on earth?
