UNIT 9.

NATURAL DISASTERS
A. PHONETICS
II. Chose the word that has different stress pattern.
1. A. rural B. local C. canal D. final
2. A. obvious B. humorous C. numerous D. enormous
3. A. typical B. survival C. annual D. animal
4. A. glorious B. hazardous C. disastrous D. populous
5. A. arrival B. capital C. chemical D. medical

B. VOCABULARY
I. Match the disasters with the descriptions
1. tsunami a. a sudden, violent shaking of the earth’s surface
2. earthquake b. a mountain with a large opening at the top through which gases and hot
liquid rock are forced out into the air
3. drought c. a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain
4. typhoon d. a large amount of soil or mud sliding down a mountain
5. flood e. an extremely large wave caused by a violent movement of the earth under
the sea
6. tornado f. a strong, dangerous wind that forms itself into an upside-down spinning
cone and is able to destroy buildings as it moves across the ground
7. landslide g. a long period of time when there is little or no rain
8. volcanic h. a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry
eruption
9. wildfire i. a very big fire that spreads quickly and burns natural areas like woods,
forests and grassland
10. avalanche j. a violent tropical storm with very strong winds
Answer:

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 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- 10-
II. Complete the sentences with the words in the box.
warning predict property damage emergency kit
rescue workers victims whistle eruption violently
1. The sound of a(n) ______________ will attract rescue personnel to your location.
2. An earthquake occurs when the land ______________ moves or shakes.
3. A volcanic ______________ is when gas and lava are released from a volcano.
4. As defined by UN, a disaster is a sudden event resulting in huge loss of life and ______________.
5. A(n) ______________ is a collection of basic items you may need in the event of an emergency.
6. The earthquake in Turkey on February 6th 2023 killed at least 41,000 people and caused immediate
______________ estimated at $33 billion.
7. Among the ______________, there were thousands of students who were killed when their
dangerously built schools collapsed.
8. Early ______________ system is an integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and
prediction.
9. Scientific and technological advances have improved the capability to ______________ most
natural hazards.
10. ______________ may include construction workers, police officers, firefighters, and emergency
medical service technicians.
III. Choose the best answer to complete the sentences.
1. The forest fire ______________ for twelve hours and thousands of wild animals died.
A. raged B. struck C. took D. put out
2. How can we know when an active volcano will ______________ again?
A. erupt B. destroy C. damage D. affect
3. Measured 9.5 on the Richter scale, the world’s largest ______________ occurred on May 22, 1960
in southern Chile.
A. mudslide B. avalanche C. flood D. earthquake
4. Despite modern technologies available to us, we’re still ______________ against natural disasters.
A. homeless B. harmless C. helpless D. hopeless
5. The reporter said that ten people died and thirty were ______________ injured in the flood.
A. completely B. greatly C. powerfully D. seriously

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6. A ______________ that is just a few centimetres high from the sea can rear up to heights of 30 to
50 meters as it hits the shore.
A. typhoon B. tsunami C. tornado D. thunderstorm
7. Survivors of the flood were ______________ by helicopter.
A. collapsed B. buried C. shaken D. rescued
8. Many people are working to save species from extinction, animals from cruelty, natural
______________ from destruction.
A. disasters B. phenomena C. environment D. hazards
9. Most people had moved to the safe areas before the typhoon struck, so there were only a few
minor ______________.
A. loss B. injuries C. impacts D. destruction
10. Aid agencies provided drinking water and food ______________ to the isolated residents.
A. guidelines B. aid C. supplies D. emergency

C. GRAMMAR
I. Supply the correct form of the verbs in the past continuous.
1. I _______________ (not listen) when you gave the presentation.
2. The young teenager _______________ (surf) when a shark attacked her.
3. Where _______________ (you, go) at 7.30 last night?
4. People appreciated what we _______________ (suffer) at that time.
5. While the workers _______________ (save) others, they also had to consider their own lives.
6. You didn’t know what _______________ (happen) with us this time last week.
7. As Jimmy _______________ (sleep) in his tent at the base camp, a loud bang woke him up.
8. What _______________ (they, do) when the fire broke out?
9. While we _______________ (help) the victims, the ground started to tremble again.
10. The children were making a snowman while it _______________ (snow) outside.
II. Supply the correct form of the verbs in the past continuous or simple past.
1. Anna called for Simpson but he _______________ (hear) nothing.
2. When we _______________ (arrive) at the forest, it _______________ (get) dark.
3. As we _______________ (clean) up the lawn, I suddenly heard a little yelp.
4. Sarah _______________ (lie) in her bed listening to music when the bell(ring).

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5. She _______________ (go) to check who it was, but there _______________ (be) no one.
6. Some kids _______________ (play) in the streets making noise at that time.
7. She _______________ (close) the door behind her and _______________ (go) back to her room.
8. What _______________ (they, do) at 9pm last night? It was really noisy.
9. As they _______________ (go) down a mountain ridge, a landslide _______________ (happen).
10. The accident occurred while they _______________ (climb) up the mountain.
III. Choose the best answer to complete the sentences.
1. He _______________ on an airplane when he _______________ a fire from the window.
A. was sitting - saw B. was sitting - was seeing
C. was sitting - was seeing D. sat – saw
2. While the other passengers _______________ to the exits, Brian _______________ out of the
window.
A. ran - climbed B. run - was climbing
C. ran - was climbed D. were running – climbed
3. When it _______________ raining, we _______________ a nice hotel down the road to the town.
A. started - were finding B. was starting – found
C. started - found D. was starting - were finding
4. They ___________ close to the bottom of the mountain when Simpson suddenly ______________.
A. got - was slipping B. were getting – slipped
C. were getting - was slipping D. got – slipped
5. While Steven and Rachel _______________ around the Canary Islands, their boat
_______________.
A. were sailing - sank B. sailed - was sinking
C. sailed - sank D. were sailing - was sinking
6. The sun _______________ when Hamilton _______________ at the beach in Da Nang on a
beautiful morning.
A. shone - arrived B. was shining - was arriving
C. was shining - arrived D. shone - was arriving
7. While some rescue teams _______________ in Pakistan, others _______________ to a natural
disaster in Central America.
A. were helping - responded B. helped – responded

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C. helped - were responding D. were helping - were responding
8. When we __________ out in the morning, we _________ surprised by what we ____________.
A. finally came - are - see B. were finally coming - were – saw
C. finally came - were - saw D. finally come - were - were seeing
9. It _______________ and windy when the ship, carrying about 200 passengers, _______________ a
rock.
A. was snowing - was hitting B. was snowing – hit
C. snowed - was hitting D. snowed – hit
10. The sirens of the emergency services _______________ while people _______________ up the
mess in their gardens.
A. were wailing - were clearing B. wailed – cleared
C. were wailing - cleared D. wailed - were clearing
IV. Choose the underlined part that needs correcting.
1. As the flight was taking off, passengers were seeing a fire from the window.
A. As B. was taking off C. were seeing D. from
2. The plane's captain realized that one of the two engines weren't working.
A. The place’s B. realized C. the two D. weren’t
3. While passengers were running towards the front exits. Maria chose the exit next the wing.
A. While B. were running C. chose D. next
4. Because the weather was getting worse, so the two climbers didn't stay long in the mountain.
A. was getting B. so C. didn’t stay D. in
5. John fell and break his knee while he was climbing down the mountain with his friend.
A. fell and break B. while C. was climbing D. with
6. Eric shouted up to John, but the wind was blown loudly and John couldn't hear him.
A. shouted B. but C. was blown D. couldn’t hear
7. The rope were too heavy and it was pulling him down the mountain towards the cliff.
A. were B. heavy C. was pulling D. towards
8. When Eric realized John wasn’t coming, he decided to take a risk and searching for him.
A. When B. wasn’t coming C. decided D. searching
9. William was climbing a mountain alone while the storm began to strike.
A. was climbing B. a C. while D. began to trike

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10. Those who were not caught by the wave was running uphill to save themselves.
A. Those B. were not caught C. was D. themselves

D. SPEAKING
I. Put the expressions into the correct columns.
That’s awful! Good news! Oh no!
Sounds exciting! I’m sorry to hear that. Lucky you!
That’s great! How terrible! What a pity!
How fantastic! That’s a relief. That’s shocking!
What a shame! How wonderful! That’s awesome!

Negative Positive

F. WRITING
I. Rearrange the words to make meaningful sentences.
1. us / practical tips / This article / treating poisonous wastes / about / gave
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Were / started / your apartment / you / watching TV / the building / in / when / trembling?
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. The devastating tsunami / destruction / to / near the sea / brought / cities and towns
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. when / He / a / was / flowers / in / bright mysterious light / his garden / he / watering / saw
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. among / Hurricanes and tropical storms / most / powerful natural disasters / are / the
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. typhoons and hurricanes / tropical cyclones / Both I are / in / but differ / their locations
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. raise / It’s / to / before / awareness about natural disasters / they / important / happen
__________________________________________________________________________________

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8. are / there / On average, / the world / about 6,800 natural disasters / every year / in
__________________________________________________________________________________
II. Complete the second sentences so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
1. No one took care of the pets while we were in the eye of the storm.
 No one looked
2. The forest fire was so big that its smoke could be seen from space.
 It was such
3. It’s a good idea to read guidelines for evacuation carefully.
 You should
4. If James doesn’t bring a compass, he will get lost in the jungle.
 Unless James
5. How long is it since you last saw a storm?
 When
6. It was raining heavily but Kathy still decided to go to school.
 Although it
7. No other tsunami in the 20th century was as high as Lituya Bay megatsunami.
 Lituya Bay megatsunami was
8. Due to the heavy rains on the hills, water in the lake started to rise.
 As it