ENGLISH 8 UNIT 9: NATURAL DISASTERS

A. PHONETICS
I. Mark the stress on the correct syllable for the following words.
1. additional 2. generous 3. humorous 4. natural
5. practical 6. typical 7. dangerous 8. numerous
9. tremendous 10. animal 11. poisonous 12. national
13. musical 14. disastrous 15. arrival 16. festival
17. marvellous 18. mountainous 19. personal 20. usual
II. Circle the word with a different stress pattern from the others.
1. a. volcanic b. disaster c. destroy d. local
2. a. natural b. property c. ambitious d. violent
3. a. tsunami b. cautious c. tornado d. eruption
4. a. predict b. effect c. tremendous d. cultural
5. a. additional b. practical c. dangerous d. mountainous
B. VOCABULARY and GRAMMAR
I. Choose the correct answers.
1. The waves of the __________ were so huge that it destroyed everything on the beach.
a. tornado b. hurricane c. tsunami d. earthquake
2. Five skiers are missing after the __________ in the Alps.
a. drought b. landslide c. flood d. avalanche
3. After the __________ all the houses were left under water.
a. flood b. tornado c. typhoon d. mudslide
4. It took firefighters five days to put out the __________.
a. hurricane b. forest fire c. tsunami d. drought
5. A period of 3 - 4 months without rain will cause a severe __________.
a. typhoon b. earthquake c. drought d. flood
6. The __________ picked up the car and threw it 100 meters into the air. That’s an incredibly strong
wind!
a. tornado b. volcanic eruption c. landslide d. typhoon
7. The __________ shook parts of the region around Tokyo on Saturday. It was 5 on the Richter Scale.
a. hurricane b. flood c. earthquake d. tornado
8. __________ occur when a large amount of water causes the rapid erosion of soil on a steep slope.
a. Tsunamis b. Tornados c. Avalanches d. Mudslides
9. A big storm in the Pacific is known as a __________.
a. avalanche b. typhoon c. tsunami d. tornado

10. Mount Merapi in Indonesia is a famous __________.

disasters property emergency kit rescue workers flood

1. The ________________ was overwhelming and the city was soon drowned.
2. It is forbidden to start an open fire in a forest when the local authorities give a forest fire __________.
3. Temporary housing can be provided to victims when natural ________________ strike.
4. The storm caused severe ________________ in the garden, uprooting trees and blowing a fence
down.
5. ________________ can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create deadly flying debris.
6. Four people were reported killed when a ________________ buried their house.
7. Your ________________ includes items you may need in the event of a natural disaster.
8. ________________ arrived immediately right after the typhoon.
9. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage ________________.
10. The government is sending aid to flood ________________.
IV. Complete the sentences with the correct tense or form of the verbs in the box.
bury destroy erupt put out cause
shake warn rage predict rescue
1. Scientists believe the volcano may ________________ any day now.
2. The storm ________________ outside while we were partying inside.
3. Firefighters are still trying ________________ wildfires that have already burned more than 1.6
million acres of tropical forest.
4. It’s impossible ________________ exactly when or where big earthquakes will happen.
5. The landslide took place on Friday morning and ________________ several houses.
6. Typically, lightning strikes ________________ half of all wildfires in Canada each year.
7. Do you think that an earthquake ________________ Japan in a few years?
8. The well-trained team ________________ everyone after the avalanche last night.
9. Right now, the building ________________ so violently I can’t even stand up.
10. With strong storm on the way, the government ________________ public to prepare for flood risk.
V. Choose the best response for each sentence.
1. ‘I saw a roof flying in the storm yesterday afternoon.’ - ‘________________’
a. Exactly. b. That’s horrible! c. That’s a relief. d. So do I.
2. ‘The weather forecast says it’s going to rain tomorrow.’ - ‘________________ What a pity.’
a. Looks great! b. Not at all. c. Sounds good! d. Oh no!
3. ‘The whole village was submerged in the flood.’ - ‘________________’
a. That’s surprising! b. My fault. c. Already. d. That’s awful!
4. ‘Have you heard the news? A powerful earthquake and following tsunami hit the island of Sulawesi,
Indonesia.’ - ‘________________’
a. How beautiful! b. Awesome! c. How terrible! d. No problem.
5. ‘Rescue workers saved a girl trapped in a collapsed school building.’ - ‘________________’
a. That’s great! b. Good luck. c. How convenient! d. Oh dear!
6. ‘Forecasters say that the storm won’t move toward the land.’ - ‘________________’
a. What a pity! b. Never mind. c. That’s a relief! d. It’s OK.
7. ‘A tornado blew several cars in front of me off the road and into the trees.’ - ‘________________’
a. That’s shocking! b. How cute! c. That’s great! d. Maybe.
8. ‘Did you know the Amazon rainforest fires have already been controlled.’ ‘No, I didn’t. ________’
a. What a bad day! b. How wonderful!
c. How thoughtful it is! d. Well done.
VI. Complete the sentences with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
1. Luckily, it ________________ (not rain) when I went out this morning.
2. ________ the rescue workers ________ (help) the victims at 9 o’clock yesterday?
3. The people ________________ (rebuild) their damaged homes when we visited the village.
4. _______ they still _________ (install) an earthquake warning system at the time the earthquake
happened?
5. A buffalo ________________ (eat) on the field when a lightning strike hit it.
6. I was outside at 8 p.m. I ________________ (not watch) the news about the hurricane at that time.
7. Some tourists ________________ (swim) in the ocean when the tsunami occurred.
8. What Josh ________________ (do) when you called him about the landslide?
9. My father ________________ (repair) the fences while my mom was fixing the windows.
10. The victim ________________ (look) for his emergency kit when the volcano erupted again.
VII. Underline the correct answer.
1. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook / was shaking Southern California on Friday.
2. At that time, they provided / were providing food and water to earthquake victims.
3. Rescue teams saved I were saving hundreds of people from floods in Metro Manila.
4. Last year, about 20 typhoons hit / were hitting the northern regions of the country.
5. A massive landslide buried / was burying dozens of homes near a central Philippine mountain.
6. They repaired / were repairing roads and bridges damaged by the hurricane when we came.
7. At 7 a.m., people cleared / were clearing storm debris across the northwest Florida coast.
8. Everyone was running while the tsunami approached / was approaching the shores.
9. A submarine volcanic eruption caused / was causing tsunamis last month.
10. The firefighters put out / were putting out the fire when they noticed a baby koala.
VIII. Make sentences from the cues given. Use the past simple or past continuous.
1. Unfortunately/ the blaze/ damage/ a total/10 houses/ the area.
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. On the way/ the US Northeast/ Hurricane Sandy/ kill/ 72 people/ the Caribbean.
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. 8 o’clock yesterday/ the tornado/ move/ across/ the Pacific Ocean/ high speed.
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. the residents/ leave/ their homes/ when/ the volcano/ erupt?
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. While/ the storm/ rage/ outside/ we/ sleep/ soundly/ inside our house.
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. How many/ people/ hike/ through the forest/ when/ the landslide/ occur?
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. Life/ be/ difficult/ when/ a drought/ hit/ Mekong Delta/ last year.
_________________________________________________________________________________
8. A lot of people/ work/ inside/ that building/ when/ an earthquake/ shake/ the ground.
_______________________________________________________________________________
9. All of us/ return/ home/ very late/ last night/ because/ the heavy rain.
_________________________________________________________________________________
10. The villagers/ run/ out/ their houses/ quickly/ and/ move/ higher places.
_________________________________________________________________________________
IX. Underline the correct form.
On 26 December 2004, Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old British schoolgirl (1) walked / was walking on
the beach with her family. Suddenly Tilly (2) felt / was feeling that something was wrong. She could see
that the water (3) rose / was rising and waves (4) came / were coming up the beach. The beach (5) got /
was getting smaller and smaller. She (6) didn’t know / wasn’t knowing that there had been an earthquake
in Sumatra that morning, but she suddenly (7) remembered / was remembering a geography lesson she
had had at school just two weeks before. She (8) told / was telling her mother what she had learned about
earthquake and giant waves. Tilly (9) started / was starting screaming at her parents to get off the beach.
They (10) took/were taking Tilly back to their hotel and (11) raised / raising the alarm. Thanks to Tilly,
everybody from that beach (12) survived / was surviving that terrible day.
X. Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple, present continuous, past simple, past
continuous or future simple.
1. Look! The fire _______________ (burn) over 50 hectares of pine forests.
2. If they don’t run now, flames _______________ (trap) them inside that smoke-filled apartment.
3. _______ the tornado ________ (touch) down last night?
4. At that time, they _______________ (not know) where to shelter from the storm.
5. Tornadoes _______________ (come) from the energy released in a thunderstorm.
6. We _______________ (not drive) outside in the storm at 9 o’clock yesterday morning.
7. Oh no! We’re afraid that the heavy rain _______________ (flood) the whole city.
8. The volcano _______________ (erupt) and _______________ (cause) a tsunami last week.
9. Some tourists _____________ (put out) the fire when the fire engines ____________ (arrive) at the
cottage.
10. What _______ the students ________ (do)? ~ They(learn) about tsunami’s warning signs.
11. I _______________ (think) that we(run) out of food and water soon.
12. The rescue team __________ (find) the child while they _______________ (search) the collapsed
building.
XI. Choose the correct answers.
1. The drought happens because there ___________ no rain in this area at all.
a. are b. was c. is d. were
2. A flood ___________ when a large amount of water covers the land.
a. occurs b. occurred c. is occurring d. was occurring
3. Yesterday’s earthquake ___________ 8.0 on the Richter scale.
a. measures b. is measuring c. was measuring d. measured
4. Hurricane Dorian ___________ the Abaco Islands as a category 5 hurricane on September 1.
a. strike b. struck c. strikes d. was striking
5. We were frightened because the whole building ___________ violently.
a. trembled b. is trembling c. was trembling d. trembles
6. Look over there! A tornado ___________ the residential areas!
a. approaches b. approached c. is approaching d. will approach
7. Thanks to the help of technology, humans ___________ hurricanes and heavy rains now.
a. predict b. are predicting c. will predict d. can predict
8. A tornado watch is issued when there is a possibility that a tornado ___________.
a. will touch b. touches c. touched d. was touching
9. The fishermen ___________ to Hawaii when they witnessed a volcanic eruption.
a. is sailing b. are sailing c. were sailing d. was sailing
10. Cars can’t get through this area because people ___________ the damaged roads and bridges.
a. still repair b. still repaired c. will still repair d. are still repairing
11. We ___________ home when a hurricane hit the town two days ago. What a terrible experience!
a. are driving b. were driving c. drove d. drive
12. The earthquake ___________ their homes heavily, so they camped out in a city park.
a. damages b. is damaging c. damaged d. was damaging
XII. Use the correct form of the words in brackets.
1. Earthquakes cause the ground to move and shake ______________. (violent)
2. Rescue experts can identify ______________ victims with modern methods. (bury)
3. Mount Mayon volcano caused a major ______________ in the Philippines. (erupt)
4. Volcanic tremor is the rhythmic ground ______________. (shake)
5. Despite all the modern technology available to us, we’re still ____________ against earthquakes. ( help)
6. Scientists can understand how earthquakes occur, but they cannot make ___________ about them.
(predict)
7. Rescue workers are trying to find all the people in the ______________ area. (flood)
8. We assisted them with the ______________ of food and clothing. (provide)
9. Linda was the most ______________ typhoon to ever hit Southern Vietnam. (destroy)
10. Medical ______________ were sent to the earthquake victims yesterday. (supply)
C. SPEAKING
I. Make questions for the underlined words.
1. _________________________________________________________________________________
We should immediately find safe shelter if the tornado touches down tomorrow.
2. _________________________________________________________________________________
Earthquakes are becoming more frequent these days because of excess use of underground materials.
3. _________________________________________________________________________________
Bush fires in Australia badly affected more than 60,000 koalas.
4. _________________________________________________________________________________
Rescue crews helped people from flooded homes and cars.
5. _________________________________________________________________________________
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok on August 5.
6. _________________________________________________________________________________
Hurricane Dorian is currently hurtling towards Florida.
7. _________________________________________________________________________________
These volcanic eruptions can last from a few hours to 145 days.
8. _________________________________________________________________________________
Tornadoes generally travel at an average speed of 30 miles per hour.
9. _________________________________________________________________________________
The Amazon is on fire as a result of illegal forest clearing to make more farms.
10. ________________________________________________________________________________
When it rains for a long time, floods could happen.
D. READING
I. Complete the passage with the words from the box.
flooding mudslide avalanche twister
 result famine volcanic plates
Mother nature can be a bit scary at times. These days there seem to be more and more occurrences
of natural disasters happening around the world.
An (1) _______________ is the large movement of snow down the side of a mountain. They
occur when the snow becomes too loose and as it slides down it mixes with air and water to cause a
powerful and dangerous disaster.
A drought happens when there has been no rain in a place for a long time. A drought may result in
a (2) _______________; this is when there is not enough food to feed the people and they start to starve.
An earthquake occurs when the (3) _______________ of the earth start to move and the ground
begins to move and shake. The size of earthquakes is measured on the Richter scale.
A flood occurs when a large amount of water covers the land. Too much rain usually causes
floods. As sea levels continue to rise, the risk of (4) _______________ increases.
A hurricane originally means ‘big wind’. Hurricanes are caused by low air pressure and
thunderstorms and (5) _______________ in strong winds and heavy rain. When they happen in the
Atlantic Ocean we call them Hurricanes; however, they are called Typhoons when they happen in the
Pacific Ocean.
A landslide happens on a slope like a mountain or a hill. The rocks and earth become loose and
fall down the slope. When soil on the slope is wet, a (6) _______________ may occur.
A tornado, which is casually known as a (7) _______________, is a very large column of wind
that spins around very quickly. The power of a Tornado can cause the winds to destroy houses and pick
up and throw heavy items.
(8) _______________ eruptions are caused by the plates of the earth moving and the pressure
makes magma push up through the cracks in the earth.
II. Read the text carefully, then do the tasks.
Vietnam usually has a dozen storms every year from June through the end of November, and most
of which occur in the central and northern provinces. November 2 nd, 1997, however, was an unexpected
day when the major storm Linda raged in the south. Linda was the worst typhoon in southern Vietnam
over 100 years. Formed in the sea of the Philippines, Linda strengthened as it moved westward. Later, it
struck extreme southern Vietnam with winds of 100 kilometres an hour. Over 3000 people were reported
lost and died. Ca Mau province, suffered a direct hit by the storm, had the most damage. Gusts and heavy
rainfalls caused flooding, destroyed crops, damaged about 200,000 houses and left about 383,000 people
homeless. Linda later struck Thailand, causing flash flooding and at least 164 deaths. The storm also
affected Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia to a lesser degree.
Today, residents in Mekong Delta still remember Linda after 20 years. The duration of the time is enough
for a kid to grow up from an unforgettable event. The memory of a particular typhoon improves
everyone’s awareness of natural disasters.
A. Decide whether the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1. ____ The tropical storm Linda hit northern Vietnam on November 2nd, 1997.
2. ____ Linda was the worst typhoon in Vietnam for the last 100 years.
3. ____ From the Philippines, the storm moved west and struck southern Vietnam with winds of 100
km/h.
4. ____ Approximately 3,000 people were killed during the disaster.
5. ____ Ca Mau province was directly affected by the typhoon.
6. ____ Typhoon Linda caused extensive damage to both property and human.
7. ____ Typhoon Linda only struck Vietnam and Thailand.
8. ____ The storm gradually weakened as it passed over Myanmar.
B. Answer the questions.
1. When is the typhoon season in Vietnam?
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. Where in Vietnam did Typhoon Linda strike?
___________________________________________________________________________________

3. What was the wind speed of Typhoon Linda when it hit southern Vietnam?
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many homes did Typhoon Linda destroyed?
___________________________________________________________________________________
E. WRITING
I. Reorder the words to make full sentences.
1. the/ dangerous/ Flood/ disasters/ in/ most/ world/ of/ the/ is/ one
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. shelters/ the villagers/ yesterday/ moving/ 8 o’clock/ Were/ the mountains/ to/ in/ at?
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. They/ with/ people/ homeless/ will/ temporary/ provide/ accommodation
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. A/ Friday/ 6.9/ Indonesia/ magnitude/ earthquake/ powerful/ on/ struck
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. field/ tornado/ working/ Many/ touched/ were/ when/ farmers/ down/ the/ on the
___________________________________________________________________________________
6. natural/ typhoons and floods/ the/ in/ most/ Are/ frequent/ Vietnam/ disasters?
___________________________________________________________________________________
7. escape/ putting out/ The employees/ were/ while/ the fire/ trying/ the fire crews/ to/ were
___________________________________________________________________________________
8. property/ people’s/ disasters/ devastate/ and destroy/ their/ lives/ Natural
___________________________________________________________________________________
II. Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning to the first one.
1. The volunteers were distributing rice when the second earthquake occurred.
While _______________________________________________________________________________
2. Some firefighters were injured because the building collapsed.
The building __________________________________________________________________________
3. It was such a strong typhoon that all trees were uprooted.
The typhoon was ______________________________________________________________________
4. If the scientists don’t propose another solution for drought, the farmers may lose their crops.
Unless _______________________________________________________________________________
5. The storm was raging outside during our sleep.
While we were ________________________________________________________________________
6. We’re grateful that you sent US food and fresh water.
Thank you
____________________________________________________________________________
7. The fishing village is still lively even though it has to endure hurricanes every year.
The fishing village _____________________________________________________________________
8. The rescue workers came to the forest and saw many people helping the injured panda.
Many people were _____________________________________________________________________
9. It’s a good idea to find safe shelter right away when there is a tornado warning.
You _________________________________________________________________________________
10. We could look for the information about natural disasters on the Internet.
How ________________________________________________________________________________