Going under

Level 3 Advanced

1 Pre-reading A: Predicting the content

Read the headline and the sub-heading. What do you think the article is going to be about?

Going under
Britain is world-renowned for its depressingly damp climate. We are used
to suffering week upon week of rain. So why have a few heavy showers
caused such devastation around the country this summer?
Aida Edemariam reports
July 24, 2007

2 Pre-reading B: Key words

Match these keywords from the text with the definitions below.

trapped run-off drainage sewers flush

ploughs absorb crop paving freak

1. ____________ removing liquids from something

2. ____________ covering the ground with tiles, stones, concrete, etc.

3. ____________ digs up the land in lines, using machines

4. ____________ excess water that cannot sink onto the ground

5. ____________ kept in one place and stopped from moving away

6. ____________ a system of pipes underground to carry waste water away

7. ____________ take in liquid a little at a time

8. ____________ very unusual

9. ____________ plants grown for food

10. ____________ to wash away

Now read the article, check the words in context, and see if your prediction was correct.
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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

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Going under
Level 3 Advanced
Going under 4 In fact, the answer lies partly in how quickly it all
happened. Brize Norton in Oxfordshire received
Britain is world-renowned for its depressingly
121.2mm of rain between midnight Thursday and 5pm
damp climate. We are used to suffering week
Friday – a sixth of what it would expect for the whole
upon week of rain. So why have a few heavy
year. South Yorkshire got a month’s worth of rain on
showers caused such devastation around the
June 25. And it has been raining for weeks now, “and
country this summer?
the ground is very wet, so immediately you get rainfall,
Aida Edemariam reports
you get runoff”, explains professor Adrian Saul, of
July 24, 2007
Sheffield University.

1 Anyone attempting to take a train to or from the It isn’t just a case of the ground not being able to
5
southwest of England this weekend could be forgiven
absorb so much so fast – drainage systems can’t
for wondering if they had accidentally strayed on to
either, and have simply been overwhelmed. “When
the set of a disaster movie. Trains appeared on boards
you design a system you have to take a level of risk,
and then simply vanished. Announcers on the London
and generally the level of risk is sufficient to protect
Underground announced lists of lines progressively
our communities,” says Saul. “But once that level has
going out of service. As for those who had to watch
been passed, the defences are overwhelmed. It’s
their homes and businesses surrender to the rising
very fortunate that the Victorians built the systems as
tide, among them there was a general sense of
big as they did. In London in particular, [they] had the
disbelief. Disbelief that a downpour so short should
foresight to see that there would be change, and it’s
wreak such havoc, disbelief that such scenes should
protected London ever since.” Which is, of course,
be occurring at all.
impressive, and true, but it is also true that they were
built when London’s population was a quarter of what it
2 The disbelief is justified. This, after all, is a country is now – and last Friday, they simply didn’t hold up.
famed for its wetness. Rain is our national weather.
Snow – well, we all know what happens when Britain is
6 “Our sewers are not designed to deal with that
dusted with a few millimetres of snow. Excessive heat,
capacity of water flowing through them,” says Nicola
like last summer’s, causes difficulties, too – but rain?
Savage, a spokeswoman for Thames Water. They are
Given our extensive experience, surely we should lead
also not designed for the way we currently treat them.
the world in rain management.
We each, personally, use far more water than ever
before. There is also “a tendency for the public to use
3 Alas, it seems not. Thousands had to be evacuated the sewers as a litter bin,” Savage adds. “People flush
over the weekend, thousands more are trapped
nappies down toilets, sanitary products, and tights.
in their homes. That’s thousands to add to those
In particular, we need to encourage people not to be
still unable to go home after floods in the north of
pouring stuff down the sink – for example, fat, oil and
England last month, which killed eight people – and
grease. The sewers were never designed to cope with
countless millions to add to a national insurance bill
this sort of material.”
eventually expected to top £2.5 billion. Evesham,
in Worcestershire, the worst-hit town this weekend,
7 Thames Water says that it is spending £323 million
experienced floods of up to five metres. And it
improving its sewers, but until recently, Ofwat [the
isn’t over yet: at the time of going to press there
economic regulator for the water and sewerage
were warnings that flood waters weren’t expected
industry in England and Wales] has been reluctant
to peak until tonight, and Oxford and Bedford and
to allow very much investment by water companies,
Gloucestershire were preparing themselves to be the
because they wanted to keep water bills down.
next major areas hit. All are entitled to ask how such
relatively short bursts of rain – just one hour in London,
8 Saul is also involved in a £5.6 million project called
somewhat longer in places such as Oxfordshire
the Flood Risk Management Research Consortium,
– could have such devastating results.
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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

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Going under
Level 3 Advanced

which is investigating how farmers can control the essence, anything that runs off the house should be
flow of water off land. Farmers can decrease runoff stored locally,” says Saul. Instead of going straight
if they plough across hills, rather than down them, into the sewerage system, rainwater can be collected
and strategically placed trees can help retain water. – in storage tanks under driveways, for example – and
And the more animals there are on a piece of land, used to flush toilets or run washing machines. Small
the more they pack the ground down, and the less it trenches called soakaways can be dug in gardens and
can absorb water. This leads to crop damage, which filled with stones, to trap the water and release it into
will soon be evident in our shops. And if intensively the ground a bit more slowly. Every little helps.
farmed animals get no drinking water for 48 hours,
thousands will die, which will also affect the price 10 For although what Britain has experienced over the
of food. past month is, as experts explain, a series of freak
weather events, our changing climate means that
9 The consortium is also investigating how individuals there may soon be more of them, more frequently.
can help reduce a problem that, in fact, they have Today Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire are having
helped create: by extending their houses, paving to get out the sandbags and evacuate the citizens.
driveways, building car parks – all decreasing the Tomorrow, next month, next year – who knows?
amount of soft ground to absorb water, and increasing
© Guardian News & Media 2007
the amount of runoff into drains and rivers. “In
First published in The Guardian, 24/07/07

3 Comprehension check

Re-read the text more carefully, and decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).

1. The flooding in Britain this summer is no worse than usual.

2. Insurance costs will be very high.
3. One reason for the floods was that a huge amount of rain fell in a very short time.
4. Victorian engineers fully anticipated the extent of population growth.
5. The public have been putting the wrong kind of material down the toilet.
6. Farmers could help prevent flooding if they ploughed their land up and down hill.
7. The price of food is likely to rise.
8. The more we build, the more likely we are to see floods in the future.
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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

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Going under
Level 3 Advanced

4 Vocabulary development 1

Find words in the text that mean the following. Paragraph numbers are given to help you.

1. famous everywhere (sub-heading)

2. enormous destruction (sub-heading)
3. wandered by accident (para 1)
4. sudden period of heavy rainfall (para 1)
5. cause so much damage (para 1)
6. covered with very small quantities (para 2)
7. when this article was printed (para 3)
8. completely defeated (para 5)
9. ability to think ahead and anticipate future problems (para 5)
10. carefully and thoughtfully (para 8)

5 Vocabulary development 2: Expressions of quantity

The expressions of quantity on the left have all been taken from the text. See if you can match them with
the nouns they modified on the right.

1. week upon week of a. lines

2. lists of b. rain
3. up to c. what it is now
4. a sixth of d. soft ground
5. a month’s worth of e. freak weather events
6. a quarter of f. water
7. that capacity of g. five meters
8. the amount of h. what it would expect
9. a bit more i. rain
10. a series of j. slowly

Now scan the text to see how many you got right.
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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

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Going under
Level 3 Advanced

6 Skills development: Referring expressions

What do each of these words refer to? Paragraph numbers are given to help you.

no. para word context refers to...

1. 1 those As for those who had to watch...
2. 1 them ... among them there was...
3. 3 thousands Thousands had to be evacuated...
4. 3 millions ... countless millions to add...
5. 3 all All are entitled to ask...
6. 5 they ... as big as they did...
7. 5 they ... they were built...
8. 8 thousands ... thousands will die...

7 Recognizing irony

The writer of this article, Aida Edemariam, sometimes uses irony for dramatic effect.

1. Find 5 examples of irony in the subheading and the first 2 paragraphs.

2. Why do you think the use of irony is concentrated only at the beginning of the article?

8 Discussion

1. Has your country experienced unusual amounts of flooding recently?

2. Has it experienced other changes in the weather?
3. Do you think such changes are probably due to global warming?
4. What measures is your government taking to help prevent global warming?
5. What measures do you think it should take?
6. What measures do you think individuals in your country should take?
7. In what ways have you changed your own behaviour to help reduce the risks?
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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

CA O
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Going under
Level 3 Advanced

KEY
2 Pre-reading B: Key words 5 Vocabulary development 2: Expressions
of quantity
1. drainage
2. paving 1. b
3. ploughs 2. a
4. runoff 3. g
5. trapped 4. h
6. sewers 5. i
7. absorb 6. c
8. freak 7. f
9. crop 8. d
10. flush 9. j
10. e
3 Comprehension check
6 Skills development:
1. False. It is much worse than usual. Referring expressions
2. True
3. True
no. word refers to...
4. False. They anticipated a lot of growth,
but not enough. 1. those people (whose houses had
5. True been flooded)
6. False. They could help if they ploughed 2. them as above
their land across the hill. 3. thousands thousands of people
7. True 4. millions millions of pounds
8. True
5. all everyone in the UK
6. they the Victorians (who built
4 Vocabulary development 1 the sewers)
7. they the sewers
1. world-renowned
8. thousands thousands of animals
2. devastation
3. strayed
4. downpour 7 Recognizing irony
5. wreak such havoc
6. dusted 1. Britain is world-renowned for its depressingly
7. at the time of going to press damp climate.
8. overwhelmed This, after all, is a country famed for its wetness.
9. foresight Rain is our national weather.
10. strategically Snow – well, we all know what happens when Britain
is dusted with a few millimetres of snow.
Given our extensive experience, surely we should
lead the world in rain management.

2. Because after that, the content is too serious for irony.

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NEWS LESSONS / Going under / Advanced

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