Irreversible, items, substitutes, supplement, text, via

After a major earthquake, hurricane, or flood, national and international relief agencies first search for injured or stranded people and rescue as many as they can. New technologies have enabled better communication with the hardest hit areas. (After major flooding in the Philippines, the government informed people of roads that were still passable and areas to avoid _________ Twitter. Cell phones and maybe even _________ messages can help families and rescuers locate missing people and keep in touch.)

Relief agencies deliver food, water, water treatment supplies, and first aid __________ to ____________ the affected region’s supplies. They try to maintain sanitation and improve the conditions in refugee camps that may be long-term (though inadequate) ____________ for home to many displaced people. Such humanitarian relief can prevent illnesses, deaths, and ___________ damage to children’s brains when local food and other resources are used up.

excessive, input, minimize

However, it is also important to take steps to prevent ___________losses from such emergencies in the future. Disaster planning needs to include local participation and the __________ of the people most likely to be affected. If everyone in an area will work together to prepare, they can take steps to __________ some of the damage a drought, flood, or earthquake could cause. Human compassion will remain important, as we need to “expect the unexpected” when dealing with the forces of nature and the weather.

SPEAKING

1. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. If necessary – correct them. Begin with:

I’m afraid that’s wrong; you are not quite right; that’s not quite so; I think you are mistaken;

as far as I know; on the contrary; I don’t think so; according to the text.

1. Fire companies ready to respond to an alarm are said to be “out of service .” When responding to or actively engaged in fire duties they are "in service”

2. Uninformed persons believe that ventilation causes needless damage, but skilled fire fighters know that it saves a building in nearly all cases.

3. The chief officer in command first determines whether any lives are endangered.

4. Rescue is usually undertaken by the personnel of a ladder company and rescue company when the engine companies have stretched hose lines to the scene and hooked up their pumpers to the water supply.

5. What fire fighters call "back draft" can cause explosions in unventilated or improperly ventilated buildings.

2. Make up the standard plan of action on a fire scene. Use the prompts:

• confine the fire to the area it flames

• find the precise location of the fire

• rescue any endangered occupants of the building

• search out and extinguish all hidden flames

• declare the fire out

• attack and extinguish the fires

afraid / scared / frightened

 There are differences in use and I shall try to illustrate these. But all these adjectives express roughly the same degree of worry or fear and can therefore be used interchangeably to some extent. Frightenedsuggests more sudden fear:

 All small children are afraid of / scared of / frightened of school bullies.

 Don’t be scared / afraid / frightened. I’m not going to hurt you.

 All three can be followed by of + -ing clause. Frightened cannot always be followed by of + pronoun or noun:

 He’s afraid of / scared of / frightened of flying in small planes.

 He’s a strict teacher. Everyone seems to be afraid of / scared of him.

 All three can be followed by the to + infinitive pattern:

 She seemed too scared to swim where there were such big waves.

 After such an experience she’s afraid to go anywhere near the sea.

 I was too frightened to jump in at the deep end of the pool.

 We can be scared by or frightened by something. We cannot useafraid in this way:

 She was scared by the hooting of the owl.

 They were frightened / terrified by the gunfire and the breaking of glass.

Note that terrified expresses a stronger degree of fear.

 She’s terrified of / by large dogs and won’t go near them.

 afraid / scared / frightened - position in clause

 Note that afraid is one of those adjectives that cannot normally be used before a noun, but instead is used after a verb. Scared andfrightened can be used in both positions:

 He seemed afraid. He appeared frightened.

 He was, without doubt, a frightened man.

 I’m afraid… is also used in another way, meaning: I regret that I have to tell you that…. It is used to introduce bad news in a gentle or polite way:

 I’m afraid there’s been an accident at the crossroads. Your son’s been knocked over on his bike.

 I’m afraid we shan’t be able to come on the skiing trip with you. John’s got to work.

 He’s done very little work, I’m afraid. He’ll have to repeat the course.

 We can use these forms as short answers to confirm bad news:

 Will I really have to repeat the course next year? ~ I’m afraid so.

 

Can’t you really come on the skiing trip with us? ~ I’m afraid not.

 frightened / frightening

 As a general rule, adjectives ending in -ed are used to describe how people feel. Adjectives ending in -ing describe the things or situations that give rise to these feelings. So, remember, frightened describes how you feel. Frightening describes the things that make you feel frightened:

 She looked very frightened when I told her she would lose her job.

 It was one of the most frightening films I had ever seen.

 It’s frightening to think that they are capable of producing nuclear weapons.

 terrified / terrifying

 Similarly, terrified describes you feel. Terrifying describes thethings that make you feel terrified. Terrified and terrifying express ahigher degree of anxiety or worry than frightened and frightening:

 I was so much in debt. I was terrified I would lose my job when the restructuring was announced.

 It was a terrifying experience. I doubt he will ever recover from it.

 scared / scary

 Scary is the adjective relating to things or situations; scared the adjective relating to how people feel. Scary and frighteningexpress similar levels of fear or worry:

 Being alone in a cave with five thousand bats was scary.

 I felt scared when night fell and I was nowhere near human habitation.