Starting off

Discuss the questions below in a small group.

1. What kind of weather do you like best/least? Why?

2. What problems have you experienced because of the weather?

3. Can you remember any very severe winters in your country? How were you affected?

Before you read

You are going to read a text about the extreme weather in the UK this winter. Before you read, look at the numbers below and try to match them with the correct facts.

18		… how many calls to the London Ambulance service there were in one night
six million		… how many people were forced to stay at home by the snow
over 2000		… how long the traffic jam on the M25 motorway around London was (kilometres)
650		… how many years since this much snow fell in the UK
51		… how many schools were closed because of the weather

First reading

Read the text quickly to check your answers.

Second reading

Below are the headings for each paragraph in the text. Read them carefully before you look at the text:

THE AUTHORITIES STRUGGLE TO COPE...

SO THIS IS GLOBAL WARMING

WINTER IN THE AUTUMN

RED CHEEKS AND HAPPY FACES

RECORDS TUMBLE AS WINTER BITES

...BUT BRITONS MANAGE WITH A SMILE

Read the text quickly and match each heading to the correct paragraph (1-6).

Vocabulary 1

Find words in each paragraph (1-6) to match the definitions below.

PARAGRAPH 2

1. Fall down quickly and suddenly. (VERB)

2. Unable to move from the place where something is. (ADJECTIVE)

3. Existing or happening in many places or situations, or among many people. (ADJECTIVE)

PARAGRAPH 3

4. The size or level of something, or the amount that something is happening. (NOUN)

5. To take the necessary action, especially in order to solve a problem. (VERB)

PARAGRAPH 4

6. All of a group, period of time, amount etc. (ADJECTIVE)

PARAGRAPH 5

7. The soft round part of your face below each of your eyes. (NOUN)

8. Very pleased and happy (ADJECTIVE)

PARAGRAPH 6

9. A situation in which something is prevented from continuing in its usual way (NOUN)

Vocabulary 2
Now use one of the words above to complete each sentence. Be careful - one of the words are used twice…

1. It is a ________________ problem, affecting thousands of people across the country.

2. The ________________ country stopped to watch the match, praying that their team would win.

3. The rain caused flooding in the village. Many people ________________ in their houses for days.

4. Nobody could believe the ________________ of the disaster. It was bigger than anyone had expected.

5. As I was coming down the stair I slipped and ________________ down. It was a nasty accident.

6. The children had been playing in the snow. The eyes were bright, their ________________ red and their smiles broad.

7. “You can't eat an ________________ watermelon by yourself! You'll be sick!” she warned him.

8. “Absolutely ________________ to meet you,” he said, with a warm shake of my hand.

9. When the cable broke all internet traffic was stopped. I caused huge ________________ to businesses.

10. “However bad the situation may be,” the Prime Minister said yesterday, “we will find a way to ________________ it”.

Reading 3

Read the text once again and find the answers to the questions below.

1. This is the first time in a decade that airports have been closed because of the weather. True or false, according to the text?

2. The snow covers only a few parts of the country. True or false, according to the text?

3. Why is it not a surprise that the authorities were not ready for the snow?

4. Where does the M25 go to and from?

5. What positive aspect to the disruption is mentioned in the text?

6. Does the very cold winter prove global warming to be a myth? Why/Why not?

Discussion

Work in a group of three or four to discuss the statements below. Do you agree with them? Disagree with them?
Would you change any of them?

1. The world would be a better place without any winter at all.

2. Winter should be wintery: very cold and very snowy.

3. Hard times bring out the best in people.

4. The best place to go in the winter is a warm country far from the snow.

5. Global warming is already affecting my country.

6. There is nothing we as individuals can do about global warming.

A Monthly Newsletter for Teachers of English

February 2009

© Pearson Education Polska 2009 PHOTOCOPIABLE

A C T I V I T I E S S H E E T

February 2009

1. ________________________ This winter has already been an extremely cold one for Britain. As far back as October - not even winter, of course - there were heavy snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures in much of Britain, closing airports at times. This was the first time in a decade snow had fallen in any large amounts so early. 2. ________________________ The situation is even worse now that winter has properly arrived. At the beginning of this month over six million people were forced to stay at home because of transport problems. Thousands of passengers were stranded at airports as snow blocked runways and flights were delayed or cancelled. Large swathes of the country were under several feet of snow - the most widespread snowfalls for 18 years. 3. ________________________ Heavy snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures are hardly common in the

UK and it is, perhaps, understandable that the authorities were less than fully prepared. However, the scale of the disruption was spectacular. Over 2000 schools were closed by the extreme weather. The London Ambulance service announced that it would only deal with life-threatening emergencies after dealing with over 650 calls in seven hours overnight. Roads were closed, railways blocked and one traffic jam on the M25 motorway around London stretched for over 32 miles (51.5km). Even the Old Bailey - the main criminal court in London - was closed by the weather. 4. ________________________ The British authorities may have found the weather too much for them, but the British people coped far better. As London's entire fleet of buses stayed in its garages and all but one Tube lines were affected by the weather, some Londoners brought out their skis and skied to work. Those with off-road

vehicles helped their neighbours. As is so often the case, the bad weather brought people together. 5. ________________________ Not everyone found the bad weather a problem. With schools closed and the chance for the first time in years to build snowmen and have real snowball fights, British children were delighted. 6. ________________________ The first thought, of course, is no-more global cooling than warming. But, of course, climate change means a lot more than a steady rise in temperatures everywhere. Global warming really means global climate disruption and the extreme winter weather in the UK is, unfortunately, a very good example of what we can expect in the future. Not a very positive thought.

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