21_B2_U09A

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21st Century College English Book 2
Unit 9 Text A
Get Ready for Some Wild Weather
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Unit Nine Text A

• Lead-in Activities
• Text Organization
• Reading and Writing Skills
• Language Points
• Guided Practice
• Assignment

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Lead-in Activities
Warm-up Questions

• How much do you know about wild weather? Have you
  ever experienced wretched weather?
• How do natural disasters relate to weather?
• Can we human being reduce the damage caused by
  weather?

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Text Organization

para. 1-3
para. 4-6
para. 7-8
para. 9-10
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Reading Writing Skills
Reading Skill Scanning for specific information
in reading materials. When you know what
kind of information youre looking for in a
reading textfor example when youre researching
a paper ( or answering comprehension
questions!)scanning the text first can help you
in three ways a) by letting you know whether
the text contains any of the sort of information
youre seeking. b) by giving you an impression
of the authors aims, and c) by giving you an
idea of where in the text youll find the
information thats relevant to you. All three of
these advantages of scanning can make you a more
effective and faster reader.
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Reading Writing Skills
Writing Skill Develop passages beginning with
general observations and supported with a series
of specific inter-related details, making a
reference to the following sample paragraph
From a geological point of view, the modern era
is just a brief mild phase in the middle of one
of the most devastating periods in the history of
the Earth. In the last few million years the
Earth has experienced several Ice Ages, and
theres no reason to expect that theyre over.
Between Ice Ages , there have been periods of
global warming, turning the world into one big
tropical rain forest. At the same time, the
oceans and lakes have periodically changed size,
flooding vast regions and then drying up again.
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Intensive Study

• Intensive Study
• Difficult sentences
• Key words, phrases usages
• Comprehension exercises

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Intensive Study
Get Ready for Some Wild Weather Per Ola Emily
D'aulaire     1 In March of 1997, Stephen Zebiak
stared at his computer screen in alarm. The
veteran climate researcher saw indications of a
worldwide weather event that, over the years, has
been blamed for droughts and floods, famine,
fires and thousands of deaths. Called El Niño, it
is the most disruptive climatic phenomenon on the
planet.
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Intensive Study
2 Zebiak and Mark Cane, research scientists at
Columbia University, had developed a computerized
forecast model that correctly predicted El Niño's
occurrences in 1982, 86 and 91, and it had
pointed to a recurrence in 98. But the data
appearing on Zebiaks screen from satellite and
sea-surface monitors across the Pacific were
unmistakable El Niño was already beginning. A
huge pool of warm water larger than the United
States and some 600 feet deep was moving slowly
but surely eastward toward South America.
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Intensive Study
3 In June the equatorial trade winds reversed
direction from westward to eastward. By
September, waters off Northern California were
roughly 17 degrees warmer than normal. Off the
Washington coast, stunned fishermen caught
tropical fish that seldom stray that far north.
Storms were flooding central Chile, and
heavier-than-normal snowfalls in the Andes
trapped hundreds in the bitter cold. And all of
this only foretold of even more devastating
weather for the fall and winter.
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Intensive Study
4 El Niño means little boy in Spanish when
capitalized, it refers to the Christ child. This
innocent-sounding name originated in the 19th
century, when Peruvian sailors noticed that every
few years around Christmastime, waters near the
coasts warmed up and the current shifted
southward. But this little boy plays havoc
around the globe.
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Intensive Study
5 El Niño occurs when weather patterns in the
tropical Pacific shift violently. Normally,
strong westward-blowing trade winds off South
America push surface water toward Asia. Just as
blowing on hot coffee pushes the liquid up
against the opposite side of the cup, the trade
winds pile warm water against the coastlines of
Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Above
the warm water, moist air rises, lowering
atmospheric pressure and triggering the tropical
showers that nourish the rain forests of Asia.
Meanwhile high-altitude winds travel back toward
South America. There, the cooled air sinks,
raising atmospheric pressure and suppressing rain
along most of the Pacific coast, making it one of
the driest regions in the world.
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Intensive Study
6 But with El Niño, the pattern reverses.
Atmospheric pressure in the Western Pacific
rises, setting the stage for drought from
Australia to India. The trade winds decrease, or
in extreme years reverse to blow eastward. As a
result, a huge mass of warm water flows back
toward South America, causing storms from Chile
to California. Meanwhile, over the Pacific,
ten-mile-high storm clouds further heat the
atmosphere, fueling a stronger-than-normal jet
stream, which often splits in two. One branch
moves north, warming the Pacific Northwest,
central Canada and Alaska. Another branch surges
south, producing heavy rains in the U.S. Gulf
States and Southwest.
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Intensive Study
7 El Niño's vast impact on humans has often been
catastrophic. The El Niño of 1982-83 inflicted
13 billion in damage and claimed some 2,000
lives. In Australia day turned to night when a
dust storm blanketed Melbourne brush fires raged
in its wake. In place of its normal monsoon,
Southern India got dried-up crops and the threat
of mass starvation. At the same time, violent
rainstorms devastated the Western Hemisphere
Perus fishing industry once one of the richest
in the world was wiped out, and seaside towns
were washed into the Pacific.
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Intensive Study
8 Is there a good side to El Niño? There can be.
Zebiak notes that the number of tropical
hurricanes in the Atlantic is reduced during an
El Niño year. One theory is that winds created by
El Niño shear off the tops of Atlantic
hurricanes, aborting them before they reach full
force. And a team of scientists in Israel who
study tree rings and satellite cloud pictures
concluded that El Niño may bring precious
moisture to the thirsty Middle East. It is
perhaps fitting that El Niño the Christ child
should have a link to the Holy Land, notes
scientist Dan Yakir.
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Intensive Study
9 This year, scientists around the world are
keeping a sharp eye on El Niño. They know that
the greater the temperature rise in Pacific
waters off South America, the more powerful the
El Niño. And this years waters have heated up
unusually fast. Climate-change researcher Michael
Ghil of UCLA expects the impact to be
substantial. Ants Leetmaa, director of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Climate Prediction Center in Maryland, agrees
This El Niño is shaping up as one of the most
powerful ever.
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Intensive Study
10 According to forecasters, hardest hit in this
country will likely be California, where heavy
rains can send houses sliding down muddy slopes
onto washed-out coastal highways. The nations
southern states from California to Florida
can expect cooler and wetter weather than normal
this winter and spring, with extensive storms in
some areas. The Northwest should be warmer and
drier than normal.
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Intensive Study
11 Wetter-than-normal conditions are expected in
much of South America. The Asian monsoon rains
could fail, resulting in food shortages in India.
In Australia, where El Niño typically means
drought, strict water conservation is already
under way. 12 El Niños effects wont just be
climatic, of course the global economy is sure
to suffer as well. Drought in Brazil and flooding
in Colombia may result in higher prices for
coffee and other crops. And fishing industries
from Ecuador to California are already being
hurt.
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Intensive Study
13 Clearly, the more accurately scientists can
forecast El Niño, the more people everywhere can
prepare. Insurance companies, farmers, power and
irrigation companies, public-safety agencies and
even tourist boards could benefit from knowing in
advance when El Niño will strike. 14 Reliable
forecasting is still in its infancy, states Mark
Cane. Someday, perhaps, scientists will be able
to predict exactly how El Niño will behave. But
for now, batten down the hatches and get ready
for some wild weather! (985 words)
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point to/ towards indicate that (sth.) exists
or is likely to exist in the future give signs
of

• e.g.
• His questions point to a desire to know some
  important truth.
• All indications point to an early spring.

Translate The evidence all pointed to Simpson as
the murderer.
Key ???????????????
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Text-related information
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waters off Northern California
waters n. (pl.) an area of sea, esp. one that
is near a country and is regarded as belonging
to that country

• e.g.
• the coastal waters of Alaska
• the territorial waters of neutral

More to learn
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waters off Northern California
off prep. in or on the sea and quite close to
the coast of

• e.g.
• Taiwan and Hainan are the two islands off the
  mainland of China.
• The new oil field is located two miles off shore.

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that far north as far north as that so far
north
that ad. to that degree so

• e.g
• The book was about that thick.
• I was that annoyed I could have screamed.

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when capitalized, it refers to the Christ child
The conj. V-ed structure (here when
capitalized) is grammatically known as
abbreviated clause, the omitted parts being
normally a form of the verb be and a pronoun
subject having the same reference as the noun or
pronoun subject in the main clause of the
sentence. Abbreviated ed clauses may follow
after, before, since, when, while, until, though,
as if, if, unless, etc.

• e.g.
• Unless/Even if (I am) invited, I wont go.
• Once (it was) published, the book became a
  bestseller.

More to do
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Exercises Structure
X. Complete each of the following sentence, using
a conj. V-ed clause.
???? II Ex. X, p. 259
1. Michael used to look hurt and surprised
_____(?????). 2. _____ (??????), the experiment
will be successful.

• When scolded

• If carefully done

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Exercises Structure
X. Complete each of the following sentence, using
a conj. V-ed clause.
3. Leave the chicken in the oven _____
(????). 4. _____ (?????????), the tree will
grow very quickly.

• until thoroughly cooked

• If planted in rich soil

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Exercises Structure
X. Complete each of the following sentence, using
a conj. V-ed clause.
5. _____ (?????????), Tom was annoyed about the
accident. 6. I wont go _____ (??????).

• Although covered by insurance

• unless invited

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triggering the tropical showers that nourish the
rain forests of Asia
trigger (off) vt. make (sth.) happen every
quickly (esp. a series of violent events) set
(an action or process) in motion

• e.g.
• The riots were triggered (off) by a series of
  police arrests.
• The smoke triggered off the alarm.

Translate Even the smallest diplomatic incident
can trigger a major international conflict.
Key ??????????????????????
More to learn
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triggering the tropical showers that nourish the
rain forests of Asia
causing the fall of tropical heavy rains that
provide sufficient water for the growth of the
Asian rain forests
Drill in V-ing phrases Complete the following
sentences with V-ing phrases from the words in
parentheses. 1. At night long he lay awake
_____. (worry/ his financial problems 2. One
politician went even further, _____. (imply/ the
Princess lacked the intelligence/ understand/
complex issue)
worrying about his financial problems
implying the Princess lacked the intelligence to
understand such a complex issue.
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set the stage for (sth.) prepare the conditions
for (sth.) make (sth.) possible

• e.g.
• We have set the stage for a completely new
  society.
• The presidents recent death set the stage for a
  military coup.

Fill in the blank The talks between the two
leaders _____ (????? ???????).
have set the stage for a peace agreement to be
reached
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fuel vt. make (sth. already difficult or
unpleasant) worse make (sb.s) feeling stronger

• e.g.
• Big wage increases have fueled inflation.
• Rumors of street fighting were fueled by the
  press.

Translate The attempts to stop the strike only
fueled the workers resentment.
Key ????????????????????????
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Text-related information
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Text-related information
the Gulf States The Gulf States are the U.S.
states that border the Gulf of Mexico. They are
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and
Texas.
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The El Niño of 1982-83 inflicted 13 billion in
damage and claimed some 2,000 lives.
inflict sth. (on sb.) cause sth. to be suffered
by (sb.)

• e.g.
• The judge inflicted the severest possible
  penalty.
• The bombing inflicted great suffering on the
  local residents.

More to learn
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The El Niño of 1982-83 inflicted 13 billion in
damage and claimed some 2,000 lives.
claim vt. (of a disaster, an accident, etc.)
cause the loss or death of (sb.)

• e.g.
• The earthquake claimed thousands of lives.
• The war claimed the lives of thousands of
  civilians.

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in sth.s wake/ in the wake of sth. coming
behind or after sth. right after usu. as a
result of sth.

• e.g.
• The car left clouds of dust in its wake.
• Enrichment of human knowledge comes in the wake
  of discoveries and inventions.

Fill in the blank Famine came _____ (?????).
in the wake of disastrous flood
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Text-related information
More to learn
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In place of its normal monsoon, Southern India
got dried-up crops and the threat of mass
starvation.
in place of instead of

• e.g.
• In place of our advertised program, we will be
  showing a film.
• This task is carried out by robots in place of
  human workers.

More to learn
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In place of its normal monsoon, Southern India
got dried-up crops and the threat of mass
starvation.
Instead of having the normal wet season,
Southern India had bad crops because of the
drought, and a large number of people were
likely to be starved.
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devastate vt. destroy terribly cause great
damage to

• e.g.
• The bomb devastated the city center.
• The fire swept through the theatre, devastating
  the entire building.
• Many scientists think that within a century the
  increase of CO2 in the atmosphere would devastate
  the world.

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wipe out removedestroy completely

• e.g.
• Doctors are searching for a cure that will wipe
  out cancer.
• As time went on, those unpleasant events were
  gradually wiped out of his memory.

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shear off the tops of Atlantic hurricanes,
aborting them before they reach full force
When used before a number, force is a measure
of the speed and strength of the wind.

• e.g.
• a force 9 gale
• The ship had an engine failure in a Force Ten.

More to learn
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shear off the tops of Atlantic hurricanes,
aborting them before they reach full force
take away the sweeping force of the Atlantic
hurricanes, and stop them from becoming very
violent
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It is perhaps fitting that El Niño the Christ
child should have a link to the Holy Land
(Devastating to most posts of the world, El
Niño is good for the Middle East by bringing
precious moisture to the parched land so) we
may properly assume that there should be some
connection between the two El Niño, which
means the Christ child and the Middle East,
where the Holy Land Palestine is located.
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shape up develop or progress in a certain way

• e.g.
• Our plans are shaping up well.
• The campaign is shaping up as one of the most
  intensive sales campaigns ever.

Drill Make a sentence with shape up.
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hard hit (or hard-hit) severely stricken by
misfortune, grief, or disaster

• e.g.
• Scotland was hardest hit during the recession.
• The family was hard hit by the financial crisis
  in southeast Asia.

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fail vi. run out or be lacking while still
needed or expected

• e.g.
• The crops failed because of drought.
• At the last moment his courage failed. He walked
  away from her door without knocking.

Translate ???????????
Key She failed in her obligations to the family.
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under way happening in progress

• e.g.
• Preparations for the art festival are now well
  under way.
• Efforts to conserve the rain forest are under way.

Drill Make a sentence with under way.
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in advance beforehand ahead

• e.g.
• Write to me in advance if you decide to come.
• The landlord demanded that she should pay the
  rent six months in advance.

Fill in the blank You have to reserve your seat
_____ (?????? ??).
at least 3 weeks in advance
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be in ones infancy start to develop

• e.g.
• The science of cybernetics is still in its
  infancy.
• Space travel is in its infancy now.

Translate The educational reform is in its
infancy there is much room for improvement.
Key ??????????????????????
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someday ad. (also spelled some day) at a date
in the future, unknown or not yet fixed

• e.g.
• Some day my dream will come true.
• I hope that someday well have enough money to
  buy a house.

• Cf.
• the other day
• at a date in the recent past a few days ago
• e.g.
• I saw David the other day.
• Have you forgotten what happened the other day?

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batten down the hatches prepare for a period of
difficulty or trouble

• e.g.
• The tornado is coming, wed better batten down
  the hatches so as to minimize the losses.
• My sisters children were coming to stay so we
  had to batten down the hatches.

Drill Make a sentence with batten down the
hatches.
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Guided Practice

• Vocabulary
• Cloze
• Translation
• Structure Writing

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Vocabulary
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Vocabulary
III. Fill in the blanks with some of the words
given below. Change the form where necessary.
???? II Ex. III, p. 254
1. Storms cause ______ damage to seaside towns
every year.
? extensive
2. This kind of football _____ at the Rugby
School in England, which is why its called rugby
football.
? originated
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Vocabulary
III. Fill in the blanks with some of the words
given below. Change the form where necessary.
3. I know auto_____ is expensive, but if you have
an accident, youll be glad you invested in it.
? insurance
4. In overcrowded cities like Hong Kong and
Shanghai, every small piece of land is _____.
? precious
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Vocabulary
III. Fill in the blanks with some of the words
given below. Change the form where necessary.
5. To ease the energy shortage, we should
concentrate both on the _____ of natural
resources and on research into new sources of
energy.
? conservation
6. Scientists exploring the _____ between animal
behavior and natural disasters have actually
predicted the _____ of earthquakes by observing
horses.
? link
? occurrence
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Vocabulary
III. Fill in the blanks with some of the words
given below. Change the form where necessary.
7. He was called Baby Face because he looked
so ____ that people never suspected he was a ____
criminal.
? innocent
? violent
8. It was reported that the accident was caused
by a cow that had ______ into the road.
? strayed
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Vocabulary
III. Fill in the blanks with some of the words
given below. Change the form where necessary.
9. Their study found many _____ that the economy
is slowly recovering.
? indications
10. Most plants are _____ by water drawn up
through their root.
? nourished
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Cloze
XIII. Fill each black in the passage below with
the correct form of a word or phrase from the
following list.
???? II Ex. XIII, p. 260
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Exercises Cloze
extensive
I wonder why people are so fascinated by natural
disasters. Why do _____, earthquakes and floods
always get such _____ attention from the press
and other media? While a disaster is actually
_____, frequent and detailed news reports are
_____ vital to peoples safety and certainly the
_____ effects that such disasters have on _____
are worthy of attention. But why are films and TV
shows about natural disasters that _____ years
ago so popular? What is it that attracts us about
the _____ side of nature?
hurricanes
of course
under way
devastating
victims
occurred
violent
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Exercises Cloze
represents
Psychologists say that a raging storm or fire
_____ emotions that we normally _____, and it
just feels good to see them free and active and
_____ control. That sounds _____ but I have a
theory of my own too. I think our fascination
with natural disasters is _____ with how helpless
we are to control or stop such _____. Humans are
so accustomed to feeling powerful that the few
things we cant control or predict seem almost
_____, like miracles. Come to think of it, that
would explain our fascination with love stories
_____.
suppress
out of
probable
linked
occurrences
holy
as well
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Translation
XIV. Translate the following sentences into
English.
???? II Ex. XII, p. 259
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Translation
1. ???,???????????????????? ???????????????
droughts, floods, famine, wildfires
be blamed for
Over the years, El Niño has been blamed for
droughts and floods, famine, wildfires and
thousands of human deaths.
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Translation
2. ????????????????????,??, ?????????????????????
a good side
thirsty Middle East
precious moisture
Some scientists believe that there is a good side
to El Niño. For example, it may bring precious
moisture to the thirsty Middle East.
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Translation
3. ???????????????????1985??? ???????????????????,
???? ??4,000?????
inflict in damage
vast impact on
claim lives
Earthquakes vast impact on humans has often been
catastrophic. The Mexico City earthquake of 1985,
for example, inflicted an estimated several
billion dollars in damage and claimed at least
4,6000 lives.
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Translation
4. ???????????,???????,???? ?????????
come in ones wake
blanket
downpour
Day turned to night when dark clouds blanketed
the whole city and a downpour came in their wake.
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Translation
5. ??,???????????????,????? ?????
forecast
clearly
better prepared
Clearly, the more accurately scientists can
forecast El Niño, the better prepared people will
be.
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Translation
6. ????????????????????????, ???????????????
keep a sharp eye on
violent shifts
weather patterns of the tropical Pacific
Keeping a sharp eye on the violent shifts in
weather patterns of the tropical Pacific, the
scientists concluded that El Niño was starting
early that year.
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Translation
7. ???????????????,???????, ????????.
above the warm water
lower
trigger
Above the warm water, moist air rises, lowering
atmospheric pressure and triggering tropical
downpours.
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Translation
8. ???????????????????????? ?,?????????????,??????
,? ?????????
someday
get ready for
batten down the hatches
Someday, perhaps, scientists will be able to
exactly predict the occurrence of El Niño, but
for now, we can only batten down the hatches and
get ready for some wild weather.
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Structured Writing
Look at the outline and sample of another
general-to-specific paragraph.
General observation geological point of view/
modern era/ just a brief mild phase/ middle/ one/
most devastating periods/ history Earth
From a geological point of view, the modern era
is just a brief mild phase in the middle of one
of the most devastating periods in the history of
the Earth.
In the last few million years the Earth has
experienced several Ice Ages, and theres no
reason to expect that theyre over. Between Ice
Ages, there have been periods of global warming,
turning the world into one big tropical rain
forest. At the same time, the oceans and lakes
have periodically changed size, flooding vast
regions and then drying up again.
Details 1) last few million years/ Earth/
several Ice Ages/ no reason/ expect/
over 2) Between Ice Ages/ periods/ global
warming/ turning the world/ one big tropical/
rain forest 3) same time/ oceans and lakes/
periodically changed size/ flooding vast regions/
then drying/ again
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Structured Writing
Now write your own paragraph giving inter-related
details to support one of the general
observations suggested below.
???? II Ex. XV, p. 263
75
Structured Writing

• General observations
• Difficult weather conditions have been a major
  factor in promoting creative thinking.
• There are many reasons why English has become an
  international language.
• The use of computers can have a negative effect
  on creativity.
• In any classroom in any country, part of whats
  going on is the teaching of culture.

Details
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Structured Writing

• General observation
• Difficult weather conditions have been a major
  factor in promoting creative thinking.
• Details
• 1) Archaeologists point/ during/ Ice Age/ humans
  invented tools/ setting/ stage/ construction/
  cities
• 2) same time/ decrease/ temperature led/
  discovery/ clothing fashion raged/ wake
• 3) Meanwhile/ cold weather caused/ shortage/
  fresh vegetables/ motivating development/ frozen
  foods

77
Assignment

• Revision of Text A
• Translation Ex. XI XII p.259
• Cloze Ex. XIII p.260
• Preview of Text B