Dialogue «California Forests»

I: I know that California forests are in fire. Could you comment on the situation?

Exp: You are right. People say they haven’t had these fires for 40 years. Some time ago the scenery was marvelous; the trees, the nature – everything was beautiful. But now this fire element destroyed the beauty.

I: Many people are being evacuated. 400 firemen try to stop the fire. Do you know the reason?

Exp: Well, to my mind, it’s all because of terrible heat. The temperature is about 40 C. It’s a record. It may well be that the fire will move to Los Angeles, and then it will be a national disaster. This heat is really a big disaster. It does a lot of damage, ruins a lot of houses and kills a large number of people. What do we know about such natural disaster? Completely nothing. People are powerless and couldn’t be prepared for them. But one thing we can do – we should learn how to behave and what to do in such situation. Read more and be aware.

I: Thank you.

Exercise 2. Answer the questions:

1. What nature disasters do you know?

2. How do you think are they terrible for people? Why?

3. What are in fire according to the text?

4. What is this natural disaster?

5. What is the reason of such terrible heat?

6. What is the temperature of common heat?

7. Why is the heat a big disaster?

8. What should we do to be prepared for any natural disasters?

Exercise 3. Match the words.

1) An earthquake, 2) a hurricane, 3) a tornado, 4) a volcano, 5) a flood, 6) a drought

… is a large amount of water which covers a place that is usually dry land.

… is a sudden shaking of the ground.

… is a very violent wind or storm.

… is a very violent wind in the form of a funnel or air that spins at great speed.

… is a mountain with a hole called a crater in the top. Sometimes lava and gases

are thrown from the crater.

… is long period of dry weather when there is not enough water.

Exercise 4. Read and translate:

The Yungay Earthquake

I was in school. On the blackboard, in big white letters was the date - May 31st 1970. The letters started to dance in front of my eyes. I looked out of the window. There was a noise, like a big lorry in the street. But outside there were only a few empty cars.

What made the noise? The groundwas shaking. Suddenly the window broke. I was afraid. I ran out of school and into the street. The ground was moving under my feet.I knew that it was an earthquake. I couldn't believe my eyes. Nearly all buildings were on the ground. In front of me, the earth was moving up and down like a sea.I ran away and swam across the river. On the other side, I started to run again. A great wind carried me along. The earthquake broke off a large piece of the mountain.

50 000 died and another 100 000 people were hurt. Nearly a million lost their homes — that is one out of 13 people in Peru. I think it was the worst earthquake ever.

Exercise 5. Answer the questions:

1.What is an earthquake ?

2.When did the Yungay earthquake take place?

3. How did it begin?

4.What did Juan hear and see?

5. Was the Yungay earthquake the most terrible?

6. How could you behave, what do you do in such situation?

7. What other nature disasters do you know?

Exercise 6. Read and translate the text: