This document discusses natural disasters and provides vocabulary, grammar exercises, and discussion questions about various natural disasters. It begins with an outline about natural disasters, their causes and effects. Vocabulary terms related to natural disasters are defined, such as tornado, hurricane, and landslide. Grammar rules for verb conjugation around "take precautions" and "seek shelter" are demonstrated. The document concludes with exercises where students practice filling in blanks, answering true/false questions, and discussing ways to prevent wildfires and what types of locations would be safest or best to observe natural disasters.

1. www.lingoda.com 1
ENG_B2.1404S
www.lingoda.com
Speaking & Discussion
Natural Disasters
Level A1
ENG_B2.1404S
The Environment

2. www.lingoda.com 2
ENG_B2.1404S
Natural Disasters - Outline
Content
Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, etc are natural diasters that cause devastating
effects on our environment and livelihood. What areas are more prone to natural
diasters?
Learning Outcomes
• Learn and review vocabulary related to natural disasters.
• Discuss the causes and effects of natural disasters.
• Review grammar related to the discussion.

3. www.lingoda.com 3
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Which natural disasters are you familiar with?
List as many as you can.

4. www.lingoda.com 4
ENG_B2.1404S
Vocabulary
earthquake
hurricane
tsunami
volcanic
eruption tornado
flood
avalanche
hailstorm
drought
blizzard
wildfire

5. www.lingoda.com 5
ENG_B2.1404S
Vocabulary
1) debris
2) funnel
3) twister
4) thunder
5) lightning
6) wilderness
7) basement
8) storm cellar
9) shelter
10) cigarette butts
11) (to seek) shelter
12) (to take) shelter
13) (to take) precaution(s)

6. www.lingoda.com 6
ENG_B2.1404S
Grammar
Please note
Grammar rules in action (Present Tense)
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
take
take
takes
takes
takes
take
take
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
Example: If you live in an
area with earthquakes, you
should take certain
precautions, such as making
sure your house is sturdy.

7. www.lingoda.com 7
ENG_B2.1404S
Grammar
Please note
Grammar rules in action (Past Tense)
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
took
took
took
took
took
took
took
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
precautions
Example: We took many
precautions before the
hurricane in order to stay
safe, such as boarding up
the windows in our house.

8. www.lingoda.com 8
ENG_B2.1404S
Grammar
Please note
Grammar rules in action (Present Tense)
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
seek
seek
seeks
seeks
seeks
seek
seek
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
Example: We were advised
to seek shelter during the
eruption of the volcano .

9. www.lingoda.com 9
ENG_B2.1404S
Grammar
Please note
Grammar rules in action (Past Tense)
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
sought
sought
sought
sought
sought
sought
sought
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
shelter
Example: After hearing
the tornado warning, they
quickly sought shelter.

10. www.lingoda.com 10
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Discuss the following questions.
1) What are the causes of
natural disasters, such as
earthquakes, hurricanes,
tornados and floods?
2) What are the effects of
these natural disasters?
3) What precautions can be
taken to minimize damage
caused by natural disasters?

11. www.lingoda.com 11
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Writing
Match the sentences to form a complete
one.
1. The farmer's vegetables
dried out and died
2. The cow was sent flying
through the sky
3. The ancient Roman city of
Pompeii was destroyed
4. My basement was filled
with water
a. after the flood.
b. by the tornado.
c. because of the blizzard.
d. as a result of the
drought.
e. by a volcanic eruption.

12. www.lingoda.com 12
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Fill in the blanks.
thunderstorms - twisters - buildings - damage - funnel -
basement - tornado - debris
A _________ is a violent, spiraling _________ of air. They are
also known as _________. Tornadoes often develop from
__________. They are known to cause severe _________ to
_________ and other structures. Some tornadoes pick up
_________ from the ground as they advance. In the event of a
tornado, it is important to take shelter, preferably in a
_________ or storm cellar.

13. www.lingoda.com 13
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Fill in the blanks.
wilderness - debris – lightning – uncontrollably – dangerous -
volcanic eruption - drought - wildfire
A _________ is a fire that spreads quickly and _________
through an area of _________. They can be caused by anything
from _________ strikes to cigarette butts. Some are caused by
other natural disasters. For example, a _________ can create
dry conditions that lead to a fire and hot ash from a _________
can ignite a forest. Although wildfires are often _________,
they can also help to keep forests healthy by clearing out excess
growth and _________.

14. www.lingoda.com 14
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Fill in the blanks.
After learning about
natural disasters, you
decide to move to
somewhere safer. Where
in the world would you go
in order to reduce the risk
of experiencing a natural
disaster?
Situation 1 Situation 2
You are a “storm chaser”
hoping to capture video
footage of the most
dangerous natural
disasters! Where in the
world would you go in
order to film the most
extreme video?

15. www.lingoda.com 15
ENG_B2.1404S
Review
1. tornado a violent, spiraling funnel of air
2. wildfire a fire spreading uncontrollably through the wilderness
3. debris scattered material
4. precautions steps taken to prepare for problems in the future
Caused by both man and nature, natural disasters
can cause devastating effects to humans and the
environment.

16. www.lingoda.com 16
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Writing
Complete the sentences.
To stay safe during a blizzard,
one should take precautions,
such as...
The least dangerous natural
disasters are...
_________ are the scariest
natural disasters because...

17. www.lingoda.com 17
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Match the vocabulary to its meaning
1. debris
2. funnel
3. twister
4. to take shelter
5. to take precautions
a. to find a safe place (for
example, in the event of a
natural disaster)
b. to prepare ahead of time for
expected difficulties
c. a shape with a wide opening
on one end and a narrow
opening on the other
d. loose fragments of material
e. another term for 'tornado'

18. www.lingoda.com 18
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Writing
True or False
A blizzard is a cold storm with heavy snow.
a) True
b) False
Wildfires are always started by humans.
a) True
b) False
Tornadoes are often in the shape of a cylinder.
a) True
b) False

19. www.lingoda.com 19
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Writing
Express your opinion by completing the
following sentence.
I am (not) afraid of natural disasters because...

20. www.lingoda.com 20
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
What can individuals do to prevent the start of
wildfires?

21. www.lingoda.com 21
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Writing
Compare and contrast droughts and floods.
droughts floods

22. www.lingoda.com 22
ENG_B2.1404S
Exercises
Speaking
Select the correct conjugation of the verb.
1. he seeks / seek / sought shelter (present).
2. she seeks / seek / sought shelter (past).
3. we take / took / taken precautions (past).
4. she take / took / takes precautions (present).
5. I take / took / takes shelter (past).
6. he take / took / takes precautions (present).

23. www.lingoda.com 23
ENG_B2.1404S
Thank you
We would like to thank
the following sources for their content
Images Shutterstock – ID 104983976
Shutterstock – ID 156651230
Text Natural Disaster,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disas
ter, Retrieved at 8.12.2014, Creative
Commons license

24. www.lingoda.com 24
ENG_B2.1404S
Thank you
for choosing to learn
with