Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SEVERE WEATHER
Text I
SKIMMING
1 The newspaper article opposite comes from the London Evening Standard.
Read through the main article quickly to find out what the chief effects of the
severe weather were. When you've finished reading, work with a partner and
see how much you can recall.
SCANNING
Now scan the article to find answers to these questions as quickly as possible.
Look for names and numbers.
1 BR is mentioned in the headline. What does it stand for?
2 How many rail travellers were unable to travel?
3 Four counties outside London were affected by the weather. Which ones?
4 How many buses were running north of the river Thames?
5 Which two Underground lines had near normal service?
6 Which railway station was completely closed?
Read the short reports in the 'In brief' section to find answers to the following
questions.
1 Where did rescuers have to be rescued?
2 Where were winter sports events cancelled, and why?
3 Where did winter conditions give someone's game away?
4 Where was the temperature especially newsworthy?
5 Where was there a warm welcome for the elderly?
6 Where was warm water a life-saver, and why?
7 Where was hot water potentially dangerous, and why?
8 Who or what might have benefited from some frozen water?
9 Who found two legs better than four wheels?
GUESSING UNKNOWN
VOCABULARY
Find words or phrases in the two reports which mean the same as:
Main article
First paragraph
Left-hand column
Right-hand column
In brief
STYLE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
a Look at these extracts from the text. Notice the words in italics. What are
these words usually associated with? Why have the writers used them?
The weather has beaten us.
The chilling admission of defeat ...
... the greatest threat so far to commerce and industry
24
SEVERE WEATHER
b The writers deliberately use a number of other words and expressions for
dramatic effect. Add some more examples to these lists:
Reproduced by permission of the Evening
Standard Company Ltd.
In brief section Times Newspapers
limited and the Evening Standard
Company Ltd.
c How appropriate is this language to the topic? How serious do you think
the writers are?
TODAY IS
CANCELLED!
by Colin Adamson and Patrick
McGowan
BLINDING BLIZZARDS
brought London to a virtual
standstill today and British
Rail told 700,000 commuters:
'Forget it. There's no way we
can get you to work.'
As Arctic conditions spread eastwards from
snowbound Essex and Kent into Sussex and
Surrey, rail chiefs extended their 'stay at home'
plea to the whole of the Southern and Eastern
regions.
The chilling admission of defeat was the
greatest threat so far to commerce and industry
in the capital. Weather men warned there could
be worse to come.
The nightmare was no better on the roads.
Millions of commuters forced to take to their
cars faced the worst conditions since the big
freeze began.
Heavy overnight snowfalls, driven into huge
drifts by fierce winds, brought chaos to every
major route into London and reduced traffic to
a crawl.
Even in the heart of London, where snow
rarely settles, the heavy falls gave roads the
IN BRIEF
MOTORISTS stranded in snow
and traffic yesterday were
overtaken by a man on a pair of
skis on the Al2 in Essex.
HOVE's swimming pool complex,
which is kept at a steamy 80 degrees
F, is to open its doors free to
pensioners today so they can keep
warm.
A FIRE crew was called in to help
dig out five ambulances snowed in
at Chelmsford Ambulance Station
in Essex overnight.
A POLICEMAN who went to pull a
stricken schoolboy from a frozen lake
in Dagenham had to be rescued
himself ... when he fell in.
In LINCOLNSHIRE, an outdoor
skating championship at Baston
Fen, near Spalding, was cancelled
because there was too much snow
on the ice.
At LONDON ZOO, lion keepers kept
the animals indoors to prevent them
escaping when the moats surrounding
their enclosures froze. Elephants were
given warm baths to stave. off
hypothermia.
In BLYTH, Northumberland, the
snow trapped burglars who had
raided a supermarket.
Their
footprints led police to their
hideout.
In SWITZERLAND, the village of La
Brevine recorded a record low
temperature for the country of
-41.8C. The village lies on an
exposed plain known as the Siberia of
Switzerland, more than 3,000 ft above
sea level near the French border.
Parts of NORWAY were colder
than the North Pole yesterday. The
Norwegian
ice
skating
championships at Hamar were
cancelled
because
officials
considered temperatures of - 30C
too dangerous to the contestants.
Doctors there warned people
against
taking
hot
drinks
immediately after coming in from
the extreme cold, to avoid cracking
tooth enamel.
SEVEREWEATHER
Text 2
1 This article describes how the Swiss deal with problems of severe weather.
Read it and underline the differences between the British and the Swiss response
to severe winter conditions. Why do you think there is this difference?
AS SNOW
and ice
bring chaos to Britain,
life in Switzerland
experiencing
a record
minus 41.8C - runs as
smoothly as an expert
skier.
'The latest any train has been
this week was 20 minutes,' said a
railway spokesman.
At the slightest hint of snow,
engines fitted with ploughs and
blowers are out clearing the
tracks.
Roads: jobless
sweep up the
snow
Pavements:
residents must
keep them dear
and
all
the day.
cJ
6
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,
0
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Britain
1 Snow and ice bring chaos .
2 Motorists get stranded when it snows.
3 Slippery pavements are a hazard.
4
JNo'ri-
WALKr
Switzerland
Life continues to run smoothly.
Most cars have snow tyres or chains..
Householders have to clear the
pavement outside their house.
Food for cattle is flown in by
helicopter.
Examples:
While snow and ice bring chaos to Britain, life continues to run smoothly in
Switzerland.
Snow and ice bring chaos in Britain. In Switzerland, by contrast, life
continues to run smoothly.
b Use the information in the two articles to make more, similar sentences
contrasting the following in London and Switzerland:
rail travel
26
roads
use of cars
SEVERE
.'.=-!.--= -
Contrast links
.... while ...
..., whereas ...
CUSSION POINTS
..., but
... yet
A/though ...,
As a group, discuss the effects that climate has on lifestyle. Think of things like
housing, clothes, food, entertainment, holiday destinations. Compare your
country with Britain, or another country you know. What differences or
similarities can you think of between them that might be related to climate?
Paper 5. Part I
SEVEREWEATHER
Climate Change
oeus on Listening I
Paper 4, Part I
1 What do you know about 'global warming'? What do you think could be the
connection between global warming and the severe weather conditions
described in this unit?
You will hear part of a radio science programme in which an expert on climate
and environmental issues talks about the link between climate change and
global warming. You have to complete the notes below with up to three words.
You will hear the recording twice.
STRATEGY
Before you listen, read through the notes, which summarise the information
in the recording. Think about what kind of information could fill the gaps it could be a name, a number, a date or a key phrase.
As you listen the first time, fill in the missing information in no more than
three words. Remember that these are notes, rather than complete
sentences. Write only key words.
Climate Chaf/qe8
British Isles: large part of
---'[T]
now classified as
semi-arid.
Northern
~DO
~[3J'_3___'
a_n_d
more frequently
North America:
in spring
(jlobal warmli1q
Rise in temperature
has increased by
moisture affe~ts
___'0
________________
~cn
-------'[8]
-----'[!]
29
SEVEREWEATHER
Focus on Grammar
I
I
Review
of the
Passive I
b Complete
is formed.
It appears that
Nothing
3
No
4
Unfortunately
Verb:
Goods
File
on the
these
Example:
While the meeting was going on, some rotten person
stole my overcoat from the cloakroornl
During the meeting, my overcoat was stolen from the
cloakroom.
30
to be + past
used as an alternative
Get is sometimes
2 a Complete
three words:
beat up
steal
chase
sweep
fine
pay
catch
Just my luck! I
in the rain and arrived for the
interview dripping wet!
2
We
SEVEREWEATHER
Focus on Listening 2
Paper 4, Part 2
You will hear a doctor talking about how the weather affects us. As you listen,
fill in the missing information for questions 1-8. You will need to write
between one and three words for each answer.
In the examination, the recording
important information is repeated
chance of catching it. For practice,
during the first hearing, but listen
EHect
Weather
Advice
Low pressure
Slow reflexes
[!]
I
Warm winds
'[2]
Low pressure
IT]
exercise
[IJ
II]
Don't do complicated
work
Irritability, edginess
Increased proneness to
IT] L_
[!]
I~
Focus on Vocabulary
1
Weather Idioms
The phrase a chilling admission of defeat in the article 'Today is cancelled' is a
metaphor. The literal meaning of chill is 'make colder' but here the word
suggests that it was an admission which made people feel worried or alarmed.
Words to do with weather are often used metaphorically.
Put the words on the right into the.gaps in A and B to make some common
phrases. Then say what you think they mean.
A
1 a
2 a
3 a
4 a
5 a
relationship
look
smile
manner
remark
sunny
biting
breezy
stormy
frosty
31
SEVEREWEATHER
1
2
3
4
S
a storm of
.
to shower (someone) with
a hail of
.
gales of
.
to be in floods of
.
tears
gifts
laughter
protest
bullets
1 'You're not ill, are you?' 'Not really, I'm just feeling a bit
at the moment.'
2 'Why don't you join us for lunch?' 'I'd like to, but I'm completely
with
work.'
3 'What was all the arguing about?' 'Don't worry, it was only
'
4 'How do you work this photocopying machine?' 'Sorry, I haven't
'
S 'Didn't anyone help you wash up?' 'No, when the meal was over, they were
all off
'
6 'Is Henry in favour of the idea?' 'I don't really know, he keeps
'
7 'What's Jane looking so happy about?' 'Oh, she's been
ever since she got
engaged.'