Unit 15 Bushfire
1.Listen,read and practice.
LiMeng,Xiaohong and the home-stay family are watching the news on TV.
There's a big bushfire in the suburbs of Canberra.They are very worried.
Mr.Davis:This bushfire is going out of control.
Many more house might be hurned down.
Mrs.Davis:Yeah.So many houses are already gone.This is terrible.
LiMeng:I never knew a bushfire could be so bad.
Mr.Davis:It has been worse.On Ash Wednesday in 1983,
there was a big one in the Adelaide Hills and 28 people died.
Xiaohong:My goodness.I feel so sorry for those people,Couldn't they run away?
Daniel:You don't know how fast a bushfire spreads.
It could be faster than your legs,believe me.
(There's a piece of news about a mother of three
who died trying to save her family photo album.)
Mrs.Davis:Oh,no.Poor woman!She really shouldn't have done that.That's crazy.
Daniel:Yeah.She already knew the house was on fire,why did she go back in anyway?
Xiaohong:Maybe she thought she could be quick enough.
Mr.Davis:Kids,always remember to save yourself.That's the only thing that matters.
Mrs.Davis:I suppose you haven't heard much about bushfires yet.
They are very dangerous.
Some people have died trying to save their houses
or their pets or trying to get things out of the houses.
LiMeng:I'll remember your advice.Where should we go?
Suppose there's a big bushfire near here?
Mr.Davis:Good question!
There are evacuation centres we could go to if bushfire was already near our house.
Now,Daniel,have you got the map?
4.Listen,read and act.
Have you ever wondered how a bushfire is started and how bad it can be?
Fire is no fun.It destroys everything in its path.
Let's see how the bushfire in canberra was started.
Daniel:Here.These are some newspapers carrying news on the bushfire in Canberra.
LiMeng:Thanks,Daniel.Oh,look here."...a moderate fire is started
by lightning strikes in bushland..."So it is the lightning.
Daniel:Well,sometimes people light them,but often it's lightning.
You know hot weather and strong wind will often turn a small fire into a big one.
Xiaohong:Listen to this,
"...flames reach 60 metres into the air,3 times higher than the trees."
LiMeng:I can't believe it---100 kilometres per hour wind.
It could be faster than a car.
Daniel:Yeah.It starts a firestorm.Look at this story."
At 11 a.m.,the sky was blue,...by 1:30p.m.,it was orange and brown,
and half an hour later the sky was black with dark smoke
and we could not see 1 metre in front of us."
Xiaohong:My goodness.This is frightening.
How could the firefighters put out a bushire like this?
Daniel:It's hard.That's why we should try to make sure fires don't start
and also try to put out small fires before thry grow bigger.
LiMeng:"Be our eyes and ears--police."Yes,we should all watch out.
8.Listen,read and act.
A big bushfire can burn down many houses and leave many people with nothing
except for the clothes they're wearing! Where can they get help?
LiMeng:Look at this photo.
The house is gone and the man is only wearing shorts and slippers.
He's got nothing else left.
Xiaohong:I wonder where he sleeps now for the night.
Daniel:I hope he's got relatives or friends to help him out.
Some people will have to go to the help centre to pick up what they need.
Xiaohong:What can they get there?
Daniel:Well,thigs like clothing,nappies and vouchers they can use to buy things.
The fire victims are also given some cash to buy things they need right away.
LiMeng:I suppose the victims will need many more things than those.
Can we donate things?
Daniel:Yeah.People donate money and things to charity.
A lot of money has to be raised for them.
Xiaohong:That's what we should do too.Now,what have we got?
11.Listen and read.
Summer in Australia
Everybody knows what hot weather is.
But not many people know what a hot summer is like in Australia.
But Australians have lived there for years
and they have experienced the worst Australian heat waves
They have come up with many useful suggestions for coping with the situation.
If this is your first time in Australia
and you intend to spend your summer holiday there,
the following suggestions may help you survive better during an Australian summer.
When the temperature climbs to its greatest heights,
the best parking place is determined by shade,instead of distance.
In some places,hot water now comes out of both taps.
You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a prtty good branding iron.
You discover that you can get sunburnt through your car window.
You develop a fear of metal car door handles.
You break into a sweat,the instant you step outside at 7 a.m.
The temperature drops below 35'C and you can feel a little chilly.
Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is,
"What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice
to keep them from laying hard-boiled egggs.
The cows are giving evaporated milk.
The trees are whistling for the dogs.
You discover that in February,it only takes2 fingers to steer your car.
Well,it feels that hot in Australia sometimes anyway.
On hearing those words,you might think of escaping from the heat.
You can flock to the most popular beaches
or add more ice to the portable drink cooler.
But even that is not always enough.
People have been advised to stay out of the sun
and increase their intake of water as precautions against the heat.
Meteorologically,the cause is generally due to troughs across the Australian mainland forcing hot air
from the country's centre to the north and east.
A lack of rain in the cooler months also adds to the dry,hot weather.
However,no matter how hot the weather is,
people can still take necessary precautions:
drinking plenty of water,eating lots of fruits and vegetables,
staying at home or in the shade and bringing enough ice
when travelling are the basic things to do.
If you do as you are told,a hot summer may still be"cool"in your eyes.