NATURE’S FURY  7

THINK AND DISCUSS

Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards, floods, volcanic eruptions

2. I think that the tsunami is the most dangerous because it can affect a very large area.

EXPLORE THE THEME

A 1. natural causes: lightning, tornadoes human activity: wildfires

2. Thunderstorms can trigger tornadoes. (Note: The phrase are born from means that something starts from this source.) Also, lightning can start a wildfire. Wildfires can create their own weather system.

B occur; strike; violent

Reading 1

PREPARING TO READ

A 1. Data (Note: Data is a plural noun. The singular, datum, is rarely used.)

2. collide

3. Climate

4. coast

5. condition

6. on record (Note: Record can be a verb or a noun. You record information in order to have a record of it; this helps you to remember the information.)

7. extends

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. hot and humid in the summer, cold in the winter

2. blizzards and hurricanes

3. wildfires in California; caused by a cigarette thrown out the window

C Answers will vary. Possible answers: houses are destroyed; animals and people are killed; trees fall on roads

D April 25–28, 2011; Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee,

and Georgia

b

UNDERSTANDING THE READING

A 1. d; 2. a; 3. c; 4. b

B 1. global warming

2. Gulf of Mexico

3. United States

4. fires in Central America

5. smoke

6. temperature

C 1. tornado expert and storm chaser Tim Samaras; Russell Schneider, director of the U.S. Storm Prediction Center; Pablo Saide, a scientist at the University of Iowa. The second description is the most specific.

2. Answers will vary. Possible answers: I find all of them credible. Saide is from a big university, and Schneider holds a senior position at the Center.

Even though the description of Samaras is quite general, I’ve heard that he was a famous storm chaser, so I believe him, too.

D Answers will vary. Possible answers: South America, Europe, Himalaya, southern tip of Africa, east coast of Australia

DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

A 1. air

2. spin

3. Warm

4. cold

5. air

6. ground

B Answers will vary. Possible answer: There are a number of steps that lead to the formation of a twister. First, winds of warm and cold air collide and begin to spin. Next, warm air rises and cold air moves downward, forming a vertical column. Finally, the spinning column of air forms a funnel cloud, which becomes a tornado when it reaches

the ground.

Video

BEFORE VIEWING

A Answers will vary. Correct answers:

1. T

2. F (50 to 100 times a second)

3. F (Most lightning strikes occur in Central Africa, the Himalayas, and South America.)

4. T

B 1. It can melt and become a fulgurite (a tubeshaped rock).

2. Answers will vary. Possible answer: because it’s in the summer and a lot of people are outdoors; because fireworks are loud, they might not notice lightning and thunder until it’s too late.

C 1. expand

2. volt

3. particle (The word matter refers to any physical substance.)

4. charge

WHILE VIEWING

A 1, 2, 4

B 1. South America

2. positively; negatively

3. expanding air

4. getting in a car

AFTER VIEWING

A See answers in Before Viewing, exercise A. Answers will vary. Possible answer: I was surprised that so many people die after being struck by lightning!

B 1. the Himalayas and South America

2. Answers will vary. Possible answers: Southeast Asia, central and western parts of Australia, Antarctica

Reading 2

PREPARING TO READ

A 1. Frequent; threaten

2. particularly

3. on purpose

4. appropriate

5. block

6. fuel; significant (Note: In this context, consuming

means destroying.)

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. Unfortunately, fires occur quite frequently in my community. This is because there are a lot of trees and wooded areas near where I live, and

they catch fire quite easily, especially during the summer.

2. remain calm; look for the exits; leave quickly; help others; alert others; check whether the door is hot before opening it

C b (Explanation: The illustration shows people trying to put out a wildfire. Both options a and c are mentioned in the passage, but the main idea is option b.)

UNDERSTANDING THE READING

A 1. c

2. a

3. d

4. b

B Factor: weather; type of fuel

Examples: fire moves faster uphill, southern slopes are sunnier and drier; strong winds and changes in wind direction (See Paragraph C.)

C 1. T

2. F (They drop fire retardant on the fire.)

3. T

4. F (They backbum the area between the fire line and the fire.)

D 1. Jack Cohen is a fire researcher. He has studied wildfires for more than two decades and is an expert on how houses catch fire.

2. that people who live in areas where wildfires frequently occur should build fire-resistant homes

3. Answers will vary. Possible answers: I’d give him a rating of 3 because he has studied wildfires for a very long time (more than 20 years).

4. his educational background, where he works

E Answers will vary. Possible answers:

I would include an experienced pilot of a firefighting plane because this person may be able to provide additional information for the Fighting Fire section; I would include a scientist who has studied fire ecology for 30 years because this person has studied the topic widely and may be able to contribute valuable and useful information on the subject.

Writing

EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

A 1. raises

2. heats; turns

3. rises

4. rises; gets; turns; form

5. get; falls

6. continues simple present tense

LANGUAGE FOR WRITING

B 1. is; freezes; turns

2. collide; stick; form

3. starts; grows

4. become; fall

5. falls; melts; stays

C Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. Wildfires begin with a heat source.

2. Humans cause most wildfires.

3. Tornadoes occur when warm, wet air collides with cold, dry air.

WRITING SKILL

D Underlined words: Next; First; Finally; second; Once 

3, 1, 5, 2, 4

E When a wildfire starts, it goes through several different stages of growth. To begin with, an ember lands close to a fuel source, such as dry

grass or leaves. As the ember reacts with oxygen, it increases in heat and strength. The combination of heat, oxygen, and fuel increases the likelihood of the fire growing to the next stage. This is when the fire begins to spread to the surrounding areas. After that, as the flames get bigger and spread farther, the fire reaches its hottest stage. At this point, the fire is fully developed. As soon as all the fuel has been consumed, the fire begins to die out. However, any introduction of new fuel sources or an increase in oxygen can cause the fire to flare up again. Eventually, the fire is reduced to embers and ash. It often takes weeks to fully extinguish all embers from a large fire.

WRITING TASK

A Answers will vary. Possible answers:

How a caterpillar becomes a butterfly; how a tsunami is formed

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

Topic: Tsunamis

Topic Sentence: Tsunamis—immense sea

waves—often form after an earthquake occurs on the sea floor.

Steps or Events: 1. Earthquake displaces water;

2. Sea levels fall; 3. Sea levels rise; 4. These surges repeat many times.

Details: An earthquake can occur hours before the tsunami/People report that unusually low sea levels occur 5 minutes before a tsunami/When sea levels rise, it sounds like a freight train.

REVISING PRACTICE

c, b, a, b, d

EDITING PRACTICE

1. Tornadoes occur when warm, wet air collides with cold, dry air.

2. The rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt causes the sound of thunder.

3. When lightning hits a tree, the moisture inside the tree turns into gas and causes the tree to expand and blow up.

4. A wildfire needs three conditions: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source.

5. Water takes three forms: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (vapor).

6. When tiny ice crystals in a cloud collide, they form snowflakes.