Unit3Listening Practice 11、W: Did you read the paper today? There was an earthquake in Brazil. M: Yes, but it only measured 3.5 on the Richter scale. I dont think there were any casualties. Q: What is the result of the earthquake of 3.5 on the Richter scale according to the man? 2、W: Im a bit worried about Suzie traveling to southern India. Its the rainy season there, and theremay be landslides. M: Suzie can take care of herself; she wont go anywhere too risky. Besides, you can always e-mail her if it makes you feel better. Q: What is Suzie doing? 3、M: Hi, I thought you were on holiday in Asia! Back already? W: We never got there! Our travel agent cancelled our arrangements because the whole region is flooded. We were so disappointed; we wont get another chance to go this year. Q: What is the woman doing? 4、M: Our flight to Tokyo was delayed by twelve hours. Can you believe it? A typhoon hit the east coast and it was chaos. W: I saw it on the news. The flooding and damage were terrible. I dont think anyone was hurt though. Q: What is the consequence of the typhoon5、W: Did you see that program last night about volcanoes? It was fascinating! M: Yes, the weird thing is the molten lava looks so beautiful, yet its so destructive. And I couldnt believe how far the ash can travel. Im glad we dont have any volcanoes here! Q: What does the man think the volcano is?Listening In task1Son: Hi, mom, what are we having for dinner tonight? Mom: I havent started yet. Why, have you any requests? Son: How about tsunami for a change - I dont know what it is, but I heard some Japanese people using the word on the bus the other day. Sounds like a food. Maybe its similar to sushi. Mom: Nonsense. Tsunami comes from Japanese words meaning harbor and wave. If we had a tsunami, it would be the other way around, young man. Son: Why? What is it? Mom: I mean it could swallow you up. A tsunami is an enormous series of very powerful waves. Son: Could you surf on them? That could be cool! Mom: Theyre not cool: they are very destructive. When they pound the shores of populated areas, they cause tremendous damage. They destroy everything in their path. Son: What causes them? Mom: I think they are caused by some sort of shock, like an earthquake, volcano, or landslide, that starts a chain reaction in the ocean. Son: Do the waves get so big that they crush buildings? Mom: Easily. They can be dozens of meters high. They toss cars and houses around as though they were childrens toys. Son: Can you see them coming? Mom: You can see them at quite a distance. But theres not much you can do. In the open ocean they move at up to 800 km per hour, but when it reaches the shore, the system slows down and the waves get bigger. Son: How big? Mom: They can reach 30 meters. Big enough to finish you off in one gulpTask2The death toll continues to climb from last weeks flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The U.S. Agency for International Development reports that at least 1,068 people are dead, 1,600 are missing, and 25,000 are in need of emergency food and other forms of assistance. In the Dominican Republic, 414 are dead and 274 are missing, all from the town of Jimani. A key factor in the widespread destruction is the extensive deforestation and the presence of settlements along the floodplains of rivers. The flooding was driven by intense rainfall. A low-pressure system originating in Central America brought exceptionally heavy rain and thunderstorms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from May 18 to 25. Rainfall exceeded 500 mm (or 19.7 inches) along the border areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic during that period. At the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, 250 mm (or 10 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours, causing the Solie River to overflow its banks from May 24 to 25. The heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding and extensive debris flowed over the entire region. Swollen rivers and debris cut off many of the roads traversing the area along the base of the mountains. This made it difficult for humanitarian relief workers to rescue stranded people and deliver badly needed food, medicine and supplies to residents. The storm and flood also caused landslides in a few places. Now people want to know: How often do floods and related landmass movements that cause casualties occur in Haiti? Analysis of the past data shows that major floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti are now a near-annual event. Since 1986, twelve lethal events have occurred on the islandTask3A blizzard is a severe weather condition characterized by low temperatures and strong winds, greater than 35 miles per hour, bearing a great amount of snow. Because the factors for classifying winter storms are complex, there are many different definitions of what a blizzard truly is. But it is generally agreed that in order to be classified as a blizzard, as opposed to merely