II. Reading.

Read the article through quickly. Try not to use a dictionary.

The Times. Monday May 2l 2001

Siberian Floods Worsen after Jets Bomb Ice Dam. From Gilea Whittell in Moscow

Surging water levels increased by the aerial bombing of ice on one of Russia's longest rivers were threatening the city of Yakutsk last night as Siberia struggles to cope with its worst spring flooding for a century.

Four hundred homes were under water and blocks of flats housing most of Yakutsk's 200,000 inhabitants were at risk as the River Lena exceeded its "critical" depth, swollen with melt water from a vast swath of Russia that is only now emerging from its coldest winter in memory.

The Russian Air Force was called in last week to destroy a big ice plug that raised the river's depth to 60ft in places and inundated the town of Lensk, 600 miles upstream of Yakutsk. Four Sukhoi 24 bombers accomplished that mission, but they were back in action yesterday trying to control the waters that they had unleashed.

A 6ft wave of water and broken ice advancing down the Lena towards Yakutsk could reach the city today, Emergencies Ministry hydrologists have said. With some outskirts flooded, officials ordered the preemptive bombing of another blockage west of Yakutsk. This increa­sed the danger, however, with water levels rising by several inches an hour.

Vasili Vlasov, the head of the local administration, accused the military of doing too little too late. As a last resort, bulldozers were ordered to breach a causeway north of the city, deliberately flooding a large area of low lying land to ease pressure on flood barriers defending Yakutsk's most heavily populated districts.

There were signs of a last-minute reprieve, with water levels holding steady late last night for the first time in a week. But the experience of Yakutsk and dozens of smaller settlements along the Lena has been a lesson to the Kremlin on the shabby state of Russia's flood defenses, the obstacles to providing emergency help in remote locations, and the risks of using aerial bombardment to clear ice blockages.

Lensk is now clear of floodwaters, the Interfax news agency repor­ted yesterday, but more than 3,000 buildings have been destroyed and 13,000 people have had to be moved to safety. Mr. Vlasov said that the whole town may have to be rebuilt higher up the river bank.

Across Siberia 5,000 homes in 32 towns are still under water, according to the Emergencies Ministry, which is supervising 12,000 rescue workers.

Surprisingly there has been only one casualty. A 70-year-old wo­man from Lensk drowned while trying to escape with her husband in a boat. Thousands more have survived despite refusing to be removed for fear of looters. One woman was given no choice, however. NTV re­ported that she chained herself to her bed and was airlifted to safety still attached to it.

The Lena winds for 2,730 miles from the mountains north of Lake Baikal to the Laptev Sea in the Arctic, and is 20 miles wide in places. It drains an area ten times the size of Britain, all of it covered in permafrost. If global warming melts the Siberian tundra, as some experts have forecast, this year's floods will be seen as having been mild.

2. General comprehension.

Read the article through and choose one sentence from the ones given below which represents a true account of the content:

1. The worst spring flooding hits the city of Yakutsk.

2. The Russian Air Force was no help in destroying a big ice plug.

3. The experience of Yakutsk was a lesson to the Emergencies Ministry.

4. Global warming may cause even stronger floods.

3. Detailed comprehension.

Read the article through a second time for detailed comprehen­sion and answer the questions:

1. What was it that caused the highest ever level of flood water on the Lena?

2. What measures are used in an attempt to control the waters?

3. Why was there taken a decision to break a causeway north of Yakutsk?

4. Has the flooding caused a lot of casualties?

5. Do the scientists connect this year's flooding in Siberia with global warming?

III. Vocabulary exercises.

1. Work as a class to explain the meanings of the following words. Avoid using a dictionary:

1. a dam;

2. a plug;

3. Emergencies Ministry;

4. Hydrologists;

5. Floodwaters;

6. rescue operations;

7. looters.

2. Find English equivalents from the text to the following Russian collocations:

1. ледовый затор;

2. талые воды;

3. дамба;

4. противопаводковые заграждения;

5. бомбардировки с воздуха;

6. перевезти в безопасное место;

7. вечная мерзлота.

3. Give Russian equivalents to the following English phrases:

1. surging water levels;

2. spring flooding;

3. to inundate the town;

4. to ease pressure on flood barriers;

5. rescue workers;

6. from fear of looters;

7. to drain an area

4. Fill in the blanks with the right words in the correct forms:

to hit, rescue operations, casualties, spring flooding, pre-emptive bombing

1. Every year this big city on the Volga is threatened with ... ... .

2. Hydrologists advised ...... this spring.

3. A big tidal wave ... some villages along the western coast of In­dia.

4. To avoid numerous ... from the earthquake many thousands of people were moved to safety.

5. Emergencies Ministry started ... ... right after the massive landslide.