Lesson 3

Natural Disasters(SKILLS FOCUS)

寿县安丰高中高二英语教研组

Teaching objectives

In this lesson, we will:

1. practise reading strategies to complete texts with sentence gaps.

2. talk about disasters with the help of the learnt vocabulary about/concerning natural disasters.

Step 1: Lead in: (Lead in the topic & prepare active vocabulary for learning the passage)

Today it is May X, around this time last year, an earthquake attacked Wenchuan. It was on a grand scale. Thousands of people lost their wives, children… The separation from their families made them live a rough (or hard) time. During the quake, houses fell down. In the mountainous area stones, bricks slip and slide downhill in the landslides. People lived in shabby houses or tents. However Sichuanese are very strong. With the help of the whole nation, they constructed their homes soon. Now a new Wenchuan stands in front of us.

1.grand adj big and very impressive 巨大的2.scale n the size or level of sth 规模，大小3.separation n the condition of being separated 分离，分开 .4.rough adj unpleasant or difficult 艰难的5.mountainous adj having many mountains 多山的6.slip v fall off 滑落7.slide v to move smoothly over a surface 滑行 8.landslide n sudden fall of a lot of earth or rocks down a hill, cliff 滑坡，山崩 9.shabby adj old and in bad condition 破烂的10.construct v build 建造

1.grand adj 2.scale n 3.separation n 4.rough adj 5.mountainous adj

6.slip v 7.slide v 8.landslide n 9.shabby adj 10.construct v

Do you still remember them?

Step 2: Task : Learn more about Natural Disasters and their causes Besides earthquake, there are many natural disasters, can you name some?

earthquake

1. Brainstorming1. Brainstorming

tsunami

What kind of disaster is it?

Flood

volcanic eruption

Hurricane

forest fire

typhoon

Landslide

Vocabulary about natural disasters

• tsunami 海啸• typhoon 台风• volcanic eruption 火山喷发• flood 洪水• landslide 滑坡，山崩• hurricane 飓风 , 狂风 Read aloud and memorize them

What do you think causes the

disasters, people or nature?

2: Further Exploration: 2: Further Exploration:

Read the article and check your answer --

What causes the disasters?

3: Check your prediction 3: Check your prediction

Both people and nature

Step 2: Task : Learn to use Reading Strategies: Completing texts with sentence gaps

(In lesson 3, P38, Unit 21, Module 7, we have learn the reading strategies:

Sequencing of information,

which are quite similar to strategies learnt in this lesson.)

(Today let’s study lesson 3 “ NATURE IS TURNING ON US.” and do more

research into the natural disasters)

1st Reading1st Reading

Reading strategy 1 → skimming→ skimming Read the text to get general idea. (2m’) (When you encounter new vocabulary, skip it.)

Natural disasters are getting worse

because of human activities.

Reading strategy 2 →skimming→skimming Read a paragraph with a sentence gap and identify the topic, e.g disasters .

Para 1:

Para 2:

Para 3:

Para 4:

Para 5:

An example of volcanic eruption & earthquake show their threat to our world.

Causes of natural disasters—Urbanization & industrialization

Overpopulation in cities makes more people in the danger of natural disasters

Experts predict that natural disasters willget worse

Examples show natural disasters become common

3g

2f

2nd reading

Reading strategy 3 →→ Read the sentences before and after the gap and look for clues about the missing sentence , e.g. is it an example of what is mentioned before?

Reading strategy 4 →→ Certain words may help you: time references (then), pronoun references (it , that ), linking words (however).

namely, Scanning:

Look for clues/reference words

+

1. Tsunamis, flooding underwater B 2. Irrigation canals, water the Yellow

River F

4.This has been caused by carbon dioxide & destruction of forest. Global warming E5. 难（排除法）… studies volcanoes, the worst

eruption there was a much greater eruption. A

References

3. Population, growing at the disturbing rate overpopulation G

Reading strategy 5 →→ Decide which sentence

goes in the gap. Check that it fits the

sentences before and after it.

(Are all paragraphs coherent?)

(Ex 3 P10): Use the Strategies to complete the gaps in the text (1-5) with these sentences (a-g). There are two extra sentences you do not need .

a) But evidence shows that 73,000 years ago there was a much greater eruption.

b) Even Europe has suffered and large areas have been under water.

c) That is probably not the most important factor either .

d) Third , the other bits of land you might have been able to farm are now useless.

e) On top of that add global warming.f) For example , the Yellow River, once famous for

flooding, failed to reach the sea at all for 226 days in 1997.

g) One answer is overpopulation. Keys : 1.—b 2.– f 3.—g 4.—e 5.—a

Step 3: Scanning (Ex 4 P11)

Read the text again and answer these questions.

1. What is the attitude of the journalist

towards the future ?

Pessimistic.

2. Who are most likely to be the victims

of natural disasters?

Poor people.

3. Why are there now more hurricanes, floods and droughts ?

Overpopulation and industrialization.4. Why are volcanoes and earthquakes more

dangerous now ? A big population in cities (or urbanization)

5. What could be the biggest threat to the planet in the future?

A volcanic eruption. 6. What effects might this threat have? Low temperature (A freezing weather).

Step 4: Text summary

Fill in the blanks about the text.In the last ___ years , there are more and

more disasters such as _____ , ________,

thunderstorms, earthquakes, ________,

volcanic _________and _____ fires all

over the world. Why are so many

disasters ? One of the reasons is over-

__________.

ten

floods tsunamistyphoons

eruptions forest

population

__ addition, ______ change and global

________ caused by factories, vehicles

and deforestation can lead ___ the

disasters or make them worse. At

present, volcanoes and earthquakes are

more _________ with the fast ______ of

people .

In climate

warming

to

dangerous growth

Earthquakes take the lives of 1.6 million

people in the last hundred years. What

is worse, the disaster experts predict

that the things will get _____.worse

Step 5:Retell the passage with the help of clues and vocabulary

Para 1:

Para 2:

Para 3:

Para 4:

Para 5:

Examples of volcanic eruption & earthquake show their threat to our world.

One cause of natural disasters—Urbanization & industrialization

Overpopulation in cities makes more people in the danger of natural disasters

Examples show natural disasters become common

Experts predict that natural disasters will get worse

1.grand adj big and very impressive 巨大的2.scale n the size or level of sth 规模，大小3.separation n the condition of being separated 分离，分开 .4.rough adj unpleasant or difficult 艰难的5.mountainous adj having many mountains 多山的6.slip v fall off 滑落7.slide v to move smoothly over a surface 滑行 8.landslide n sudden fall of a lot of earth or rocks down a hill, cliff 滑坡，山崩 9.shabby adj old and in bad condition 破烂的10.construct v build 建造 tsunami 海啸 volcanic eruption 火山喷发 typhoon 台风 flooding 洪水 landslides 滑坡，山崩 hurricane 飓风 , 狂风

Vocab

ulary

Homework

1. Read the passage at least twice.

2. Find and analyze the long and difficult sentences in the passage.

3. P58 & 59 Focus on Reading

4. Passage A & B on the handout.

Thank you!

See you next class!

2nd Period

Teaching objectives

In this lesson, we will:

1. Learn and practise vocabulary about natural disasters ， esp collocations.

2. Practise identifying nouns and verbs.

Step 1 Guessing the new vocabulary

1. Nature is turning on us.

turn on sb. : attack 攻击 , 变得与……敌对e.g. The dog turned on me and bit me in the leg.

Erlang turned on Lisa, who, he thought, had deceived

him.

2. A number of nations have already been in

armed conflict over water. (L8, Para 1)

armed conflict over water/land

因水 / 土地而引起的武装冲突

3.The tsunami killed 132,000 Indonesians and

another 100,000 people of other nationalities.

This catastrophe is still very fresh in the minds

of people worldwide who have not get over

their separation from loved ones lost in the

tsunami. (L7, Para 2)

catastrophe -- a great, often sudden disaster

4. …had to flee as they thought it was about

to erupt.

flee--to run away, as from trouble or danger

Step 2. Learn Collocations1. reduced rainfall 减少了的降雨量2. irrigation canals 灌溉渠道3. be in armed conflict over water 因水而引起的武装冲突4. volcanic eruption 火山爆发5. be a threat to sb/sth 对…构成威胁6. recover from a tsunami 从海啸（的灾难）中恢复过来7. be fresh in the minds of people 在人们的心目中记忆犹新

8. get over their separation from loved ones

lost in the tsunami 从与海啸中丧失亲人的打击中恢复过来

9. construct shabby homes 搭建破烂的房屋10. slip and slide downhill in the landslides

在山体滑坡时滑下山坡11.howling winds with speeds of 300 km/h

每小时 300 公里（咆哮）的大风12. live within the range of a volcanic eruptions

生活在火山喷发的范围内

13. occur at random times 不定时发生

14.to some degree 在某种程度上15.The earthquake claimed 1.6 million lives.

地震夺取了 160 万人的生命。16.Dust rolled across the skies. 灰尘席卷天空。17. It reduced temperatures by 6°C.

它使天气降低 6 摄氏度。

Step 3: Output

Task 1 Tell a natural disaster to your foreign

English teacher with the help of the given

collocations.

Topic 1: The 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake

Topic 2: The 1998 Flood in South China

Topic 3: An imaginary disaster in 20XX

Make your presentation

Step 4 Vocabulary learning strategy----enlarge your vocabulary via learning homograph [] 同形异义字

eg flood n 洪水 v 淹没 , 使泛滥 （ L1) fire n 火 v 开除 （ L2) arm n 胳膊 v 武装 （ L8) water n 水 v 浇水 （ L9) -----Can you find more just in the passage?

Practise identifying nouns and verbsEx5: Decide if the underlined words in the sentences below are nouns or verbs. Then write down their Chinese meanings.

1. a) She put her arms around me to

comfort me.

b) The soldiers were armed with

guns.

noun 手臂

verb 武装

2.a) Heavy rains resulted in floods.

b) His results were not as good as he

had hoped.

3. a) He means well but just gets it wrong

sometimes.

b) The telephone is a means of

communication.

verb 引起

noun 结果

verb 本意是…

noun 方法

4. a) The children had fun sliding down the

slide all afternoon.

b) Penguins slide downhill over ice on

their bellies.

5. a) Be careful! Don’t slip on the wet floor.

b) Write your number on this slip of

paper.

noun 滑梯

verb 滑动

verb 滑倒

noun 纸条

6. a) What would you like on your bread

roll for lunch?

b) He rolled the ball across the floor to

me.

noun 面包

verb 滚动

Ex 6: Complete the sentences with the

correct forms of the words above.

1. The ______ forces protected the city.

2. When will you get your exam ______?

3. Don broke his arm when he ______

and fell on the ice.

4. I ______ what I said.

5. What would be the best ______ of

advertising our product?

armed

results

slipped

meant

result

6. Would you like honey on your

______?

7. The house ______ down the mountain

side in the flood last year.

8. The match ________ in a draw. They

had 2 points each.

roll

resulted

slided

Homework

1. Write a short passage about a natural disaster. 5-8 sentences will be enough.

2. P56 EX 1—3

Ex 4, 5 are more challenging.

Thank you!