IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0

Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH

LISTENING 1. A PODCAST ABOUT STRANGE WEATHER

A. MEANING FROM CONTEXT

Exercise A. Read tha magazine article. Choose the correct word in bold. Then listen and check your
answer.
Water from the Sky: Too Much or Not Enough?
"How much rain did we get?" It's a question we often hear, and it's an important one because all life
on Earth depends on (1) (storms / rainfall). As long as our part of the world gets the usual (2)
(forecast / amount) of rain, we're happy.
The problems come when we get too much rainfall or not enough. In southern China, for example,
June of 2016 was a month of (3) (storms / temperature) that brought far too much rain. The rain
caused (4) (drought / flooding) in much of the area. Three hundred people were killed, and 700,000
acres of farmland were underwater.
That same spring, very little rain fell in parts of India. That caused a (5) (drought / flooding) in the
state of Telangana. The terrible conditions (6) (destroyed / measured) food crops, which couldn't
grow without water. Drinking water supplies dried up as well. More than a quarter of India's
population was affected.
The problems are different when the (7) (temperature / amount) is cold. Then it's the amount of
snowfall that matters. In February of 2016, a huge snowstorm hit the resort island of Jeju in South
Korea. It was the biggest snowfall there in several decades.
Because rainfall is so important to us, scientists called meteorologists try to (8) (destroy / predict) the
amount of rainfall different parts of the world will receive. To do this, they (9) (measure / flood) air
and ocean temperatures. They also watch weather conditions around the world to see how the air is
moving.
Meteorologists then make weather (10) (storms / forecasts) to let us know how much rain to expect.
They're not always exactly right, but they do know when we'll probably have large amounts of rain or
not enough.
Exercise B. Fill each blank with a word in bold from Exercise A. Use each word only once.
1. I remember the ___________________ of 1987. There was no rain from May through September.
2. Storms with very strong winds can ___________________ houses. They can be very dangerous.
3. I listened to the weather ___________________ this morning. The meteorologist said it's going to
snow this afternoon.
4. There was a very small ___________________ of rain yesterday. It wasn't enough to ruin our day
at the beach.
5. During the ___________________, Mike stayed inside the house because he is afraid of
lightning.
6. There was a lot of ___________________ that year – up to 90 inches (229 centimeters) in some
parts of the country. It caused a lot of ___________________, and hundreds of homes and
businesses were underwater.

1
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH
7. The ___________________ on Friday was 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). It was too
hot for me.
8. It's difficult to ___________________ the weather, so meteorologists are not always correct.
9. Meteorologists use special instruments to ___________________ changes in the weather.
Exercise C. Match each word with a statement about the weather.

1. flooding ________ a. It will be sunny on Wednesday.

2. forecast ________ b. It rained for five days. There was water everywhere!

3. storm ________ c. It's cold-only 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 degrees Celsius).

4. drought ________ d. I'm not going outside! I'm afraid of lightning.

5. temperature ________ e. After three years of little rain, it's too dry for plants or animals.

B. LISTENING 1

Exercise A. Read the sentences. Then listen and choose the correct word or phrase to complete the
main ideas.
1. The podcast is mostly about _______________ weather.
a. ordinary
b. unusual
c. dangerous
2. The definitions of two weather situations in the podcast involve wind whirling, or spinning
around very quickly. They are:
a. waterspouts and fire tornadoes
b. fire tornadoes and ball lightning
c. snow rollers and ice flowers
3. The speaker wants to _______________.
a. make listeners laugh
b. sell a product
c. inform listeners

Exercise B. Listen to the lecture again. Fill in each blank with a suitable word from the lecture.

1. a whirling cloud like a tornado that forms over water ________ a. snow roller
2. a tight whirling cloud of fire ________ b. water spout
3. a round shape in sky; can be red, orange, or blue ________ c. ice flower
4. an event that can occur when wind moves over ________ d. ball lightning
5. loose sticky snow, causing it to move ________ e. fire tornado

2
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH

C. TAPESCRIPT

Host: It’s Friday again, so welcome to another episode of our podcast, Weather or Not, about all things
meteorological. Today we’re going to talk about weird weather, or not your usual rain, sun, and snow.
Generally, weather forecasts are fairly routine. They tell us about various types of precipitation, which may
include rain, snow, sleet, or hail, depending on the season and your location. We use (1)________________ to
check the temperature so we know what to wear, and if the meteorologist (2)________________ rain, well, we
know to bring an umbrella.
But recently, weather reports have been getting weirder and weirder. There have been wildfires in snowy Alaska
as well as sunny-day flooding in Miami. And some weather is even harder to prepare for.
Take water spouts for example. A water spout is a whirling cloud like a tornado that forms over water. This
cloud is circling so fast that it can (3)________________ fish and frogs from the water. When the cloud moves
over land and loses power, it drops the animals. One of the most famous examples of this was on June 28, 1957
in Alabama. On that day, a nearby storm caused thousands of small fish, frogs, and crayfish to fall from the sky.
Some were still (4)________________. More recently, on February 11, 2013 there were reports of crabs falling
from the sky in Florida. Now that’s a new use for your umbrella.
Another strange weather situation is one that can happen after a drought. Wildfires are very common when there
hasn’t been any rainfall for a long period of time. Everything dries out and can catch fire easily. Sometimes a
(5)________________ gets so hot that it forms a fire tornado, or a tight whirling cloud of fire. One of the most
dramatic examples of a fire tornado was one that destroyed the entire town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin in 1871.
I’m sure you’ve seen lightning before. It often happens during a thunderstorm. But have you ever seen ball
lightning? Most lightning looks like a white line in the sky, but ball lightning gets its name from its
(6)________________, and it can be red, orange, or even blue. It makes a hissing noise and has a strange smell.
Ball lighting moves fast and doesn’t last long, so it’s hard to study. Scientists still don’t know a lot about it.
I like to ski, so I enjoy winter weather stories. Have you ever heard of a snow roller? A snow roller is a rare
weather event that can occur when wind moves over sticky loose snow. The wind (7)________________ a
small amount of snow to roll. As it rolls, it forms a snowball of sorts that looks kind of like a tire cutting a path
through the snow.
Really cold weather can create ice flowers, or beautiful (8)________________ that are formed by very low
temperatures and dry air moving over water. Scientists have measured some crystals that are several inches
high.
So there you have it – the weird world of weather, full of fire and ice, raining frogs, and rolling snow. Next
week, we’ll be talking about different kinds of clouds.

3
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH

4
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH
LISTENING 2. A CONVERSATION ABOUT GREENLAND

D. MEANING FROM CONTEXT

Exercise A. Read and listen to the information. Notice each word in blue and think about its meaning.
Climate Change
While the weather changes from day to day, the word climate refers to a common weather pattern
over a long time. Let's look at how the earth's climate is changing.
Higher Average Temperatures
Although some days are warm and some are cool, the earth's average temperature is higher now than
in the past. This heat means some plants can now grow in places that used to be too cold, but the
higher temperatures have negative effects as well.
Melting Ice
Much of the world's water is in the form of ice-polar ice at the north and south poles and glaciers in
high mountain areas. With higher average temperatures, much of that ice is melting. Where there
used to be glaciers, we now see bare ground high in the mountains instead.
Stronger Storms
The world's oceans are also slightly warmer than in the past. This means that the right conditions
exist for stronger storms, especially hurricanes and typhoons.
Rising Sea Levels
When polar ice and glaciers melt, more water enters the world's oceans and sea levels rise. This
means that islands and areas of low land along a country's coast may soon be underwater.
Exercise B. Write each word in blue from exercise A next to its definition.

1. __________________ (n) land near the ocean

2. __________________ (v) changing from ice to water

3. __________________ (adj) mathematically normal

4. __________________ (adv) a little

5. __________________ (v) to go up, become higher

6. __________________ (n) repeated way in which something happens

7. __________________ (n) a high temperature

8. __________________ (v) to develop, become larger

9. __________________ (adv) in place of

10. __________________ (v) to be present

5
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH
Exercise C. Fill in each blank with a word from the box. You will not use one. You may have to
choose between words with similar meanings.
coast growing heat instead
melting pattern rising
The whole world is getting warmer, but temperatures in some places are
(1)______________________ faster than in other places. Greenland is one example. In the past, the
weather (2)______________________ there was always about the same – cool in the summer and
very cold in the winter.
Now, however, the summers are a little longer and a little warmer. People in Greenland aren't buying
all their food from other countries. They're (3)______________________ more food
(4)______________________. Although ice still covers most of Greenland, some of the ice is
(5)______________________. That means there is now a little more land, and the land holds the
(6)______________________ from the sun, so even more ice is disappearing. Greenland's ice won't
go away completely anytime soon, but life is changing quickly for Greenland's people.

E. LISTENING 2

Exercise A. Listen to the conversation. Then answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TTHREE
WORDS for each answer.
1. What is Douglas's dinner specialty?
_________________________
2. What new plants are growing near Eric's house?
A few _________________________
3. What vegetables can now be grown in Greenland?
_________________________
4. How much would sea levels rise if all Greenland's ice melted?
_________________________
5. What environmental change is called "the greening of Greenland"?
_________________________

Exercise B. Listen again. Choose the correct answer to complete each sentence.

1. Average temperatures in Greenland are rising ____________ as fast as in other

places.
a. two times
b. three times
c. four times
2. If all of Greenland's ice melts, sea levels will rise ____________ feet.
a. 24
b. 34
c. 44
3. Greenland's minerals are under ____________.
a. land
b. cities
c. ice

6
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH

F. TAPESCRIPT

Douglas: We're so glad you could come for dinner, Eric.

Eric: Thanks for inviting me. I'm always happy to eat dinner with friends.
Lenora: Douglas is right, Eric. We know you're (1)__________________ when you come to Canada.
We're really happy to see you!
Eric: Thank you, Lenora. I smell something good. What are you cooking?
Douglas: It's my (2)__________________ --chicken with rice.
Lenora: And I made a salad to go with it. So, Eric, how is life in Greenland these days?
Eric: Oh, you know. Winters are long. I live on the (3)__________________, though, so I get to see
the ocean every day. That's always nice
Douglas: I heard that winters in Greenland are shorter than they used to be--global warming, I guess?
Eric: Yes, that's true. They're calling it "the (4)__________________ of Greenland".
Lenora: The "greening"? What does that mean?
Eric: Well, the average (5)__________________ in Greenland is rising twice as fast as in other
places. So, now I have a few trees near my house. Trees didn't use to exist in Greenland, you know!
Douglas: So that's good, right?
Eric: Yes, in some ways. People are growing some (6)__________________ now--cabbage,
potatoes, and things like that. And farmers can grow more grass for their animals.
Lenora: Well, Greenland usually has to buy food from other countries, right? Now you can grow
your own food instead.
Eric: Yeah, that's true. But the ice is (7)__________________, and as it does, it leaves behind more
land. The land holds the heat from the sun. so as more land opens up, even more ice melts. It's a
dangerous pattern.
Douglas: And is the pattern the same in the ocean?
Eric: Actually, it is. The ocean holds heat, too- just like the land. But here's the problem: If all of
Greenland's ice melts, sea levels will rise (8)__________________ feet!
Douglas: Twenty-four feet? We'll all be underwater!
Eric: A lot of us, anyway. But, well ... the other thing is, under the sea ice we have
(9)__________________. So people in Greenland think they're going to make a lot of money from
these resources.
Lenora: Wow ... then global warming might be good for Greenland.
Douglas: I'm not sure I agree. Mining can cause environmental problems. Also, the summers are
(10)__________________ and ___________________, but we have less rain. Greenland's cities are
all near the coast. Peoole don't want sea levels to rise and flood their cities.
Eric: Douglas is right, Lenora. There are a lot of things to worry about.
Lenora: Well, let's not worry about them tonight, OK? Who's ready for dinner?
Eric: Dinner sounds great. I'm getting hungry.

7
 IE-UWE - Sem 2 Level 0
Lecturer: HA NHAT LINH