2 . Newspapers often write about natural disasters. Read the newspaper extracts and match a disaster with the description below

Floods, Droughts & Extreme Heat, Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, & Typhoons, Winter Weather, Thunderstorms

A. Precipitation is necessary to sustain life, but prolonged periods of rain, or rains that come too hard and fast can overwhelm the ground's ability to absorb water, creating a life-threatening situation…

B. Heat waves and drought often go hand-in-hand. And unlike other events, their effects (which can include heat illnesses, crop failure, and food shortages) are felt more widely and for longer periods of time (on a timescale of months to years). It's no wonder, then, that they're considered among the costliest severe weather events to occur in the United States--both in terms of dollars and loss of life...

C. Learn about these monster storms that threaten U.S. soil every June to November…

D. Ice, snow, and cold are beautiful, but also deadly. Raise your winter weather awareness with these articles…

E. A number of severe storm types are associated with the most basic of nature's storms. A transient, sometimes violent storm of thunder and lightning, often accompanied by rain and sometimes hail is any-time-of-the-year storms in our country…

3. Make up 5 Ukrainian sentences using the words from exercise 2-3. One by one students read the sentences out for the neighbor to translate them into English.

Example: Кілька днів тому сильний шторм захопив сусіднє місто. Він спричинив значні збитки, проте, на щастя, ніхто з людей не постраждав.

Talking point

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1. The problem of natural disasters is widely discussed throughout the world as well as in the Internet forums. Read the questions for the forum issue of the day. What do you think about it?

Do you think there are more

natural disasters now than in the past?

Do you think we are prepared to deal with the disasters?

Read the ideas below. Who do you agree with?

Sarah - “I think it’s really scary that there are so many natural disasters these days. There are far more than in the past. Every time you switch on the news you see places that are flooded or countries in drought. I’m sure it’s all connected to climate change and global warming.”

James - “ We have so many natural disasters on the news these days that you become immune to them. I don’t mean that in a horrible way, but it always seems so far away and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to help the poor people who are there. ”

Cindy - “The hurricanes and earthquakes that have happened in the past month just prove how unprepared we are for natural disasters. It’s crazy that with all the technology and information available to us nowadays natural disasters still kill so many people. They should spend more money on research to develop warning systems for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.”

Roger – “You can’t prepare for natural disasters as nobody knows when or where they are going to happen. It’s nature’s way of reminding us that she is in charge and we should respect her a lot more than we do.“