BBC Learning English
Words in the News
17th August 2011
Underwater volcano
Transcript
Shimmering hot water seen coming out of an undersea volcano off the coast of Oregon.
During a routine visit to the area last month, researchers found lava coming out of a vent that
was formed on the seafloor.
Scientists who have been studying it for over a decade predicted that it would erupt before
the year 2014.
According to them it's the first successful forecast of an underwater eruption.
Vocabulary
shimmering
gently moving with a soft light
lava:
hot liquid rock that comes out of volcanoes
a vent:
a hole in the seafloor from which hot gasses and other material is released
erupt:
what a volcano does when it is active and burning rocks and lava are thrown into the air, or, as
in this case, released from the seabed. The noun from this verb is an eruption.
forecast:
predict, work out what is going to happen in the future based on analysis of what has happened
in the past
Watch this video online: Underwater volcano http://bbc.in/rezcsC
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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Exercise
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC news
report. Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence
correctly.
shimmering / lava / a vent / erupt / forecast
1.
What are believed to be the world's deepest undersea volcanic ____________ have been
discovered in the Caribbean.
The ____________, known as black smokers, were located 5,000m (3.1 miles) down in the
Cayman Trough.
2.
Mr Osborne's speech came a day after the Bank of England cut its growth ____________ for
the UK for 2011 from 1.8% to 1.5%, warning that "the headwinds are growing stronger by the
day".
3.
The southern white rhinos here, at first appearing like boulders on the ____________ horizon
of the African bush, were until recently a conservation success story.
4.
A chain of volcanoes has ____________ in southern Chile, sending a column of smoke and ash
high into the air.
5.
Europe's biggest active volcano, Mount Etna, is putting on a spectacular show as it continues to
spew ____________.
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Answers
1.
What are believed to be the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents have been discovered in
the Caribbean.
The vents, known as black smokers, were located 5,000m (3.1 miles) down in the Cayman
Trough.
Source: World's deepest undersea vents discovered in Caribbean http://bbc.in/at8syk
2.
Mr Osborne's speech came a day after the Bank of England cut its growth forecast for the UK
for 2011 from 1.8% to 1.5%, warning that "the headwinds are growing stronger by the day".
Source: George Osborne: UK faces 'long hard recovery' http://bbc.in/oDcRpX
3.
The southern white rhinos here, at first appearing like boulders on the shimmering horizon
of the African bush, were until recently a conservation success story.
Source: Clone zone: Bringing extinct animals back from the dead http://bbc.in/cvwLgt
4.
A chain of volcanoes has erupted in southern Chile, sending a column of smoke and ash high
into the air.
Source: Thousands flee homes as Chile volcanoes erupt http://bbc.in/mOE2Mr
5.
Europe's biggest active volcano, Mount Etna, is putting on a spectacular show as it continues to
spew lava.
Source: Mount Etna eruption creates spectacular show http://bbc.in/n26wmx
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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