Module 1. Types of Natural Disasters

Task 1. Do the quiz (taken from www.bbc.uk/science/hottopics/naturaldisasters/).

1.How many active volcanoes are there around the world?

a) 923

b) 1.511

c) 15.007

2.Tsunamis travel …..(how fast)

a) 50mph

b) 150mph

c) 500 mph

3.Hurricanes only form

a) at full moon

b) when water temperature reaches 26.5C

c) at the equator

4.Which is the most tornado-prone country in the world?

a) UK

b) USA

c) Ukraine

5.What percentage of the world’s population lives in the ‘danger’?

a) 2%

b) 50%

c) 10%

6.Why are serious droughts bad for land?

a) It becomes dusty and you can’t build on it.

b) There’s no nourishment and you can’t grow anything.

c) Property process drop and land becomes worthless.

 

For answers see p. 103.

 

Task 2. Study the information below and complete the sentences with the appropriate forms.

disaster /di’za:stə/

-ous – disaster- ous /di’za:strəs/

-ously – disaster- ous-ly / di’za:strəsli/

1. His _________ decision was the reason for many accidents.
2. As a teacher, he is a _________.
3. Thousands died in a _________.
4. It can be _________ for him.

Task 3. Match the notion with its definition.

 

Hurricane /’harikən/ - ураган	A time when there is very little food in a region
Tornado /to:’neidəu/ - торнадо	A violet tropical storm in the Western Pacific
Typhoon /tai’fu:n/ - тайфун	A sudden violent movement of the earth’s surface
Drought /draut/ - засуха	A violent storm with strong winds esp. in the Western Atlantic Ocean
Famine /’fæmin/ - голод	A violent storm in which strong winds move over the ground in a circle
Earthquake /’з:Өkweik/ - землетрясение	A large quantity of water covering an area that is usually dry
Cyclone /’saikləun/ - циклон	A period of continuous dry weather esp. when there is not enough water for people’s needs
Flood /flad/ - наводнение	A violent storm with strong wind circular winds over a small area

 

Task 4. Read and learn the new words/phrases by heart.

Erupt	/i’rapt/	Извергаться
Collapse	/kə’laps/	Разрушаться, падать
Landslide	/lends’laid/	Оползень
Occur	/ə’kə:/	Происходить, случаться
Homeless	/’houmles/	Бездомный
Fertile	/’fə:tail/	Плодородный
Suffer from	/’safə from/	Страдать от
Destructive	/dist’ractiv/	Разрушительный
Destroy	/dist’roi/	Разрушать
Destruction	/dist’rak∫n/	Разрушение
Explosion	/eks’plouzn/	Взрыв, удар
Casualties	/’kæzualtiz/	Жертвы
Surface	/’səfeis/	Поверхность
Intensity	/in’tensiti/	Интенсивность, сила
Damage	/’dæmiz/	Повреждать
Catastrophe	/kə’tæstrəfi/	Катастрофа
Shelter	/’ ∫eltə/	Убежище
County	/’kaunti/	Графство

 

Task5. Match the Russian words with their English equivalents.

Разрушение Оползень разрушаться, падать поверхность разрушительный интенсивность бездомный взрыв повреждать извергаться разрушать плодородный страдать от происходить, случаться жертвы

Homeless Occur Collapse Destroy Fertile Destruction Landslide Suffer from Destructive Erupt Explosion Intensity Casualties Damage Surface

 

Task 6. Complete the sentences with the words from the previous tasks.

 

1. The hurricane power is very ___________ so it can destroy a lot of buildings.
2. A volcano ________ every five years.
3. Due to the earthquake many people became __________. They have nowhere to live.
4. After the explosion there were many ____________.
5. The ____ of the earth has been changed because of several volcano eruptions.
6. The land in South Africa is not very _________ that’s why the vegetation is very poor there.
7. The _________ of the earthquake is considered to be 6 points on Richter’s scale.
8. A lot of disasters ________ in the world every year.

 

Task7. Say what natural disasters the people are talking about and prove your point of view.

1. “Here I am standing on top of a pile of rubble. Yesterday it was a school. It seems that over 2000 people have been found so far. Many hundreds more have still to be traced. The volcano erupted just as everyone in this sleepy little town was having breakfast. Some were killed by the blast and the heat. Some were killed when their houses collapsed – they were buried alive in the rubble. Children were killed as they were being driven to school by their parents. Most of the people who died had been born here, and had lived all their lives in this village. The blast was felt 50 miles away.” - ___________________
2. “Flooding and landslides have killed up to 200 people and made about 2 million homeless in north-east and north Bangladesh, and monsoon rains are continuing to lash the region, officials said yesterday. In the eastern part of West Bengal state, at least 70 people have been killed by landslides and 350,000 made homeless.” - ______________________________
3. This problem is of special concern for the African countries, because these countries are characterized by the lack of developed industry, of natural resources. The land there is not fertile. The rain is not very often there. So taking all these factors into account a lot of people suffer from ___________.

 

Task8. Decide what plan is the most appropriate one and why.

PLAN 1	PLAN 2
a) place of catastrophe b) number of casualties c) what were happening when the catastrophe occurred d) scale of destruction	a) place of catastrophe b) when the catastrophe occurred c) scale of destruction d) what were happening when the catastrophe occur

“Here I am standing on top of a pile of rubble. Yesterday it was a school. It seems that over 2000 people have been found so far. Many hundreds more have still to be traced. The volcano erupted just as everyone in this sleepy little town was having breakfast. Some were killed by the blast and the heat. Some were killed when their houses collapsed – they were buried alive in the rubble. Children were killed as they were being driven to school by their parents. Most of the people who died had been born here, and had lived all their lives in this village. The blast was felt 50 miles away.”

 

Task 9. Use the plan from the previous task and characterize a natural disaster.

 

Task 10. Nowadays some people are afraid of traveling because different natural disasters have taken place. Use the information below about Great Britain and persuade people to visit this country because it is safe. The suggested phrases will help you.

There is nothing to be afraid of, because….

The trip to Britain is absolutely safe, because…

You can visit this country, because….

You shouldn’t worry about the trip, because….

Although……, you can visit some other places.