[00:10.00]A:Are there any typhoons in the area where you live?
[00:14.86]B:There are,sometimes but not very many.
[00:19.83]A:Are you afraid of them?
[00:23.20]B:Yes,I remember one that happened last summer.
[00:29.26]It was a bit scary.but I wasn't really afraid.
[00:34.72]I saw the tops of trees moving in circles,
[00:39.68]and sand piece of wood were swept up into the air.
[00:45.32]What about you?Have you ever experienced one?
[00:50.08]A:No,but I know about a friend whose parents lived in Guangdong.
[00:56.63]One day a real typhoon hit their village.
[01:01.60]It was very frightening and destroyed most of the houses.
[01:07.34]My friend said he was scared to death.
[01:12.07]Some people got into a total panic,
[01:16.93]when the typhoon pulled the roofs off their houses and cars went up in the air.
[01:23.91]B:How terrible!
[01:26.96]A:Yeah,man.NOw that kind of thing would really frighten me.
[01:33.02]Reading Under the volcano
[01:40.28]My dear Tacitus,
[01:43.84]You asked me to write you something about the death of my uncle Pliny,
[01:49.40]who died in an unforgettable disaster.
[01:53.55]I will tell you all I remember and real in my uncle's notes.
[01:59.72]I hope you can use it for the history book that you are writing.
[02:05.18]We lived in southern Italy.
[02:09.12]On the 24th of August in 79 AD,between two and three in the afternoon
[02:17.46]my mother drew my uncle's attention to a cloud of unusual size and shape.
[02:24.61]We watched it rising from a mountain at such a distance
[02:30.57]we couldn't tell which one,
[02:34.23]but we later learnt that it was Mount Vesuvius.
[02:39.27]Some of the cloud was white;
[02:42.72]in other parts there were dark spots of dirt and ash.
[02:48.78]The sight of it awoke the scientist in my uncle to go and see it from closer at hand.
[02:55.75]he ordered a boat to be prepared.
[02:59.80]As he was leaving the house,
[03:03.77]he was brought a letter from His friend's wife rectina,
[03:08.92]who was frightened by the danger.
[03:12.47]Her house lay at the foot of Vesuvius,
[03:17.43]and there was no way out except by boat.
[03:22.29]She begged him to save her.He changed his Plans.
[03:28.25]What started out as a trip for knowledge now called for courage.
[03:34.52]he hurried to a place from which others were fleeing,
[03:40.08]and held his course directly into danger.
[03:44.63]Was he afraid?
[03:47.79]I don't think so,because he wrote a report about all the observed during his trip.
[03:55.02]Ash and bits of rock that were burnt black were falling onto the ship now,
[04:01.66]darker and more,the closer they went.
[04:05.89]he paused for a moment wondering whether to turn back as the captain urged him.
[04:12.42]But after rescuing Rectina he wanted to rescue his friend Pompy.
[04:18.69]On the other side of the bay
[04:22.22]Pompy had made his ships ready even before the danger arrived.
[04:28.38]He had to wait for a good wind,
[04:32.51]blowing the other way than the one that carried my uncle right in.
[04:38.15]upon arrival,my uncle hugged Pompy and tried to give him courage.
[04:45.52]In order the help the other calm down,he asked to be taken to the baths.
[04:52.60]he bathed and had dinner,
[04:56.36]giving everyone the impression that there was no danger at all.
[05:01.51]After dinner my uncle said he wanted to sleep,
[05:06.76]and it seemed as if he really did so.
[05:11.20]Flames lighted up many parts of Vesuvius;their light scared people
[05:17.65]but my uncle told them that the flames came from the homes of farmers
[05:23.29]who had left in a panic with the kitchen fires still on.
[05:28.12]Of course this was not true.
[05:31.57]They discussed what to do:to stay in the house or to try the open air.
[05:39.15]There were earthquakes and a rain of burning rocks was coming down.
[05:44.79]They decided to go outside.
[05:49.05]They tied pillows on top of their heads as protection against the shower of rocks.
[05:55.60]It was daylight now in other parts of the world
[06:00.05]but there the darkness was darker and thicker than any night.
[06:05.61]They carried to torches.My uncle drank some cold water.
[06:11.88]They came a smell of sulphur,and then flames.
[06:16.63]helped by two slaves he stood up,and immediately fell down dead.
[06:23.69]When daylight came again two days after he died,his body was found.
[06:29.85]He looked more asleep than dead.I will stop here.
[06:35.60]I have written down everything that I saw and heard
[06:39.86]while memor-ies are still fresh.
[06:43.62]You can pick out the important bits,
[06:47.46]for it is one thing to write a letter,another to write history,
[06:53.31]one thing to write to a friend,another to write for the public.
[06:59.87]Farewell.Pliny,the Younger.
[07:06.81]Integrating skills reading TYPHOON
[07:12.98]The Nan shan was on her way from the south to Fuzhou,
[07:18.83]with Chinese workers on board,
[07:22.31]returning to their home villages in the province of Fujian.
[07:27.87]The morning had been fine, for there was no wind.The heat was close.
[07:34.24]Observing the fall of the barometer,
[07:38.29]Captain MacWhirr thought,"There's some dirty weather knocking about."
[07:44.22]He lifted his eyes to the sky.
[07:48.19]"What's up?" Jukes,the engineer,asked.
[07:53.05]"It looks as if a typhoon is coming on," said the Captain.
[07:59.11]"Whatever there might be," said Jukes,
[08:03.55]"we are moving straight into it."
[08:07.39]"A storm is a storm, Mr Jukes," answered the Captain,
[08:13.43]"and a full-powered steamship has got to face it."I must have been asleep.
[08:20.79]What was that loud noise?
[08:24.14]Wind?Why had I not been called?
[08:29.20]"Came on like this," shouted Jukes,
[08:33.46]"five minutes ago...all of a sudden."
[08:37.83]The storm grew stronger and huge waves swept over the ship.
[08:44.07]It was unbelievable how much water came down on the ship.
[08:49.42]Something told Captain Mac Whirr that the Nanshan was lost.
[08:55.90]"She's done for," he said to himself.
[09:01.05]This weather was simply impossible.
[09:06.01]They were all on the bridge when the full force of the hurricane struck the ship.
[09:12.57]"Will she live through this?.
[09:16.54]Ship ..may ...through this..all fight yet," the Captain shouted.
[09:23.59]"Do you think she may?"Jukes screamed.
[09:28.56]But the wind swallowed the reply,
[09:32.79]and Jukes heard only one word,spoken with great energy "..Always .."
[09:40.34]This was their work
[09:43.50]to move the ship over the high sea and into the very eye of the wind.
[09:49.66]Captain MacWhirr saw a white tower of water,
[09:54.21]so high that he couldn't believe his eyes,advancing towards them.
[10:00.16]It raced to meet the ship.The Nanshan jumped.
[10:05.73]With a tearing crash,tons of water fell upon the deck,
[10:10.69]as though the ship passed under a waterfall.
[10:15.26]"Another one like this,and that's the last of her," cried the Captain.
[10:21.19]"Seems as if the wind had dropped,Sir." There was no wind, not a breath.
[10:28.74]The unexpected silence made Jukes feel uncomfortable.
[10:33.78]"We have done it,Sir," he whispered.
[10:38.35]"Wind fell all at once."
[10:42.40]"The trouble's not over yet," said Captain MacWhirr,half aloud.
[10:49.77]He went to the bridge.There was no light there;he struck a match,
[10:56.72]and held out the little flame towards the barometer.
[11:01.47]It stood very low--incredibly low. There was no mistake.
[11:07.35]It was the lowest reading he had ever seen in his life.
[11:14.51]The worst was to come yet!
[11:18.35]He listened for the first sounds of returning wind.
[11:22.89]Not yet. "It will come very sudden," said Captain MacWhirr,
[11:30.26]"and from over there, I think." A minute passed.
[11:35.82]"What's that?A puff of wind." The roar of the winds drew near fast.
[11:43.09]The hurricane,with its power to sink ships and to destroy strong walls,
[11:49.54]had found this little ship in its path.
[11:53.59]Before the second storm fell on his ship Captain MacWhirr swore,
[11:59.65]"I wouldn't like to lose her." ...
[12:03.12]Work book Unit 10 Talking
[12:09.00]1 X:Are you looking forward to your holiday in Beihai this summer?
[12:15.45]D:Yes and no.I think it will be great to spend three months in the south.
[12:23.21]but the fact that South China is often hit by typhoons worries me.
[12:29.58]X:Are you serious?
[12:32.82]D:Yes.I even thought of cancelling my trip when I heard about it.
[12:39.07]X:Oh.You don't need to worry about that.
[12:43.14]Most typhoons aren't much stronger than a storm,
[12:48.18]just like we sometimes have here.
[12:52.15]And in case of stronger typhoons,you can be prepared for them.
[12:58.32]D:You don't know what you are talking about
[13:02.39]Typhoons can destroy houses and carry cars or even people over miles before they are dropped to the ground.
[13:10.94]X:True,but you should not make yourself afraid by thinking about the worst.
[13:17.78]When you know a typhoon is going to hit,
[13:21.85]all it takes is a few simple safety measures and some common sense.
[13:28.10]You will be fine.Don't worry.
[13:32.36]D:Well,thanks.I feel a bit better now.
[13:37.71]Integrating skills Reading
[13:42.28]Using the key words natural disaster,volcano and hurricane on the computer,
[13:50.22]you have found the following book descriptions for an essay
[13:55.47]that your teacher wants you to write.
[13:59.42]1.Here is an exciting guide to the eruptions and quakes that shape our planet.
[14:06.97]Look at the beautiful colour photographs of volcanoes.
[14:12.01]Learn about the earliest instruments to study earthquakes,
[14:17.57]rocks that float in water,and the great eruption of Vesuvius.
[14:24.34]Find out how animals can sense earthquakes before people,
[14:29.80]where to hide during an earthquake,and much, much more!
[14:35.68]2.It is an amazing novel and some of the best writing I have ever read.
[14:43.43]The novel is about a single day in the life of a British official who drinks too much.
[14:51.09]The whole book is set in 1938,in a town at the foot of two volcanoes.
[14:59.74]I am amazed by the beautiful writing.
[15:04.59]Stay with this book..,it will stay with you.
[15:09.56]3.Hawaii remains as popular as ever,
[15:15.30]and this guide shows how to discover its least crowded island.
[15:21.23]The book invites readers to experience popular attractions
[15:27.11]such as diving coral reefs and climbing active volcanoes
[15:33.17]but also to go further by exploring hidden spots other guides do not mention.
[15:41.03]Each title in the Hidden series
[15:45.61]offers readers the comfort of detailed maps for hiking and diving tours.
[15:52.06]4.On the morning of April 18,1906,a terrible earthquake hit San Francisco,
[16:03.53]destroying almost the whole city and causing a fire that lasted for three days.
[16:11.89]The author writes about the human drama.
[16:16.74]Following more than 100 different characters over several days,
[16:23.22]he shows some of the extreme courage in those days,
[16:28.26]such as the tired firefighters who fought the fires.
[16:34.51]This new book,appearing exactly 95 years after the disaster,
[16:41.74]should be very popular with people who like reading about disasters,
[16:47.67]particularly those who enjoy the thrill of reading about danger
[16:54.23]from the safety of their favourite reading chair.
[16:59.69]5.Big hurricanes are not often seen in the north of the USA,
[17:06.66]but on September 21,1938 just as many summer tourists were on the beach,
[17:15.02]closing up their seaside cottages,a disaster hit.
[17:20.48]Walls of water, 50 feet high, swept homes and whole families out to sea.
[17:27.54]According to the author, no one could have been prepared for the 1938 storm.
[17:34.41]Only the captain of a ship 150 miles north of Florida might have given warning.
[17:42.06]He did use his radio to tell the coast guard
[17:46.63]that his barometer showed one of the lowest readings ever in the North Atlantic.
[17:52.88]Although other books have been written about this terrible disaster
[17:58.75]and the destruction it caused
[18:02.59]this book has interviews with hurricane survivors,their families and friends.
[18:10.17]6.The book is about a woman who lived her life,
[18:16.33]from earliest childhood,at the centre of the Vietnam War.
[18:22.39]This is her story of love and loss.
[18:26.55]It is the story of all women who have lived through a war,with only their love,
[18:33.91]hope and faith in God to give them the strength to go on living.
[18:39.56]A great biography of an amazing family!
[18:45.02]7.If you think the world's weather disaster shit us more often and with more power,you are right.
[18:53.87]Ten of the last eleven years have been the hottest in the past 150 years,
[19:00.82]filled with hurricanes,floods and droughts worse than ever.Why?
[19:07.66]The book explains the extreme weather that we experience today,
[19:13.02]as the result of human history and environmental pollution.
[19:19.08]The book reads as a terrifying forecast for the twenty-first century |