Unit 5: DISASTERS

Activity 1.

Listen. You will hear a woman talking about what happened on the night a serious storm struck Britain. Fill in the missing information. Only one word is necessary to fill each gap.

word study:
- tremble (v): shake
- rattle (v): make a series of short and loud noise when hitting something hard
- collapse (v): to fall down, often after breaking apart
- plaster (n): a substance made of lime, water and sand that is put on walls and ceiling to give them a smooth hard surface

Mrs Joan Hetherington who lived in (1) in Sussex had a lucky escape when her (2) collapsed and fell into the (3) .      Mrs Hetherington whose husband has only recently (4) was having a cup of tea when the (5) struck and had just got up to look out of the window. Then she felt the house (6) and all of a sudden the (7) began to bulge. The chair she had been sitting in was on its (8) and the room was filled with (9) and bricks. Sadly for Mrs Hetherington, she lost some of her most treasured possessions including (10) of her family. Now like many others, she must start to pick up the pieces.

Answer Key:

Activity 2.

Listen. Write in the information needed below.

NEWS REPORT 1. Serious fire on train which left Bristol at (1) . 2. Both drivers (2) . 3. Trains still (3) . 4. Storms overnight on (4) coast. 5. Crops damaged and (5) drowned. 6. International Road Race begins at (6) o’clock. 7. At least (7) people have entered.

Answer Key:

Activity 3.

Read the following sentences and try to guess the meaning of the words in italics.
1. The heavy rains in Bangladesh caused a disaster: Over 50,000 people died. In addition, homes, animals, and crops were lost.
2. The townspeople recovered slowly from the storm; day by day their lives returned to normal.
3. The police couldn’t control the angry students. The students kept throwing rocks and shouting no matter what the police did.
4. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, it threw a lot of ash into the air.
5. It’s a fire hazard to have curtains near a stove. They can catch fire when you cook.
6. A big fire swept through the mountains. It moved so quickly that thousands of trees were burned in only a few hours.
7. My friend has a lot of property: She owns two houses, three cars, and many, many other things.
8. The strong wind broke windows, lifted trees, and hit houses and bridges. The destruction was terrible.
9. Cooperation is important. People need to learn how to work together.
10. There are good schools in our community. The people who live here think education is important.
Now fill in the blanks in the sentences below. Use the correct form of the words from above.
1. Earthquakes are a (1) in many parts of Japan.
2. It took a lot of time and money for the town to (2) from the hurricane.
3. Mount Vesuvius (3) in A.D. 79.
4. The fire fighters made a road to (4) the fire, but they couldn’t stop it.
5. Spring flooding caused a (5) for the towns near the river. Many houses and business were destroyed.
6. Heavy winds from the hurricane (6) through the town breaking many windows.
7. We need the (7) of all students to get the room ready for the party.
8. My brother’s car is the only (8) he owns.
9. About 100,000 people live in our (9) .
10. The (10) from the earthquake cost the country millions of dollars.

Answer Key:

BEFORE YOU LISTEN

You are going to hear a lecture about planning for natural hazards such as earthquakes. What should a good plan include? List three things.
1.
2.
3.

Answer Key:

FIRST LISTENING: MAIN IDEAS

Listen to each part of the lecture to find out the main ideas. Decide which of choices A, B or C is the correct answer.
PART 1

1. According to the speaker, we can keep natural hazards from becoming disasters by
controlling them.
moving away from them.
planning for them.

2. The speaker’s main point about Nevado del Ruiz is:
Towns were lost and many, many people were killed.
Scientists and governments need to work together.
The scientists marked areas of danger in advance.

PART 2

1. Having a general plan requires first
gathering general scientific information.
deciding where the money will come from.
making a strong emergency plan.

2. A good general plan should include
only detailed emergency routes for the country.
what to do before, during, and after a hazard occurs.
only specific scientific information for that place.

Answer Key:

SECOND LISTENING: FACTS AND DETAILS

Listen to each part of the lecture again. This time listen to learn more facts and details. Write T (true) or F (false) in front of each sentence.
PART 1
1. Hurricanes, droughts, and flooding are given as examples of natural disasters.
2. According to the speaker, natural disasters can be avoided.
3. Nevado del Ruiz erupted in 1895.
4. Volcanic ice flows caused 25,000 people to die.
PART 2
1. If Colombian scientists study the past, they may be better able to understand what might happen in the future.
2. The main goal of land-use planning discussed here is to have people use as little land as possible for their businesses.
3. The Colombian government didn’t know where it was dangerous to live.
4. The speaker says scientists agree that Colombia needed to improve its emergency plan.

Answer Key: