Unit 3 El Nino? La Nina?
Part Ⅰ Getting ready
Wherever you go, one of the things that you care most about is the weather. Do you need an umbrella or should you wear an overcoat? You may, of course, read the newspaper for the information. Most of the time, however, you get a weather report by listening to the radio or just dialing a phone number.
A The following words and phrase will appear in this unit. Listen carefully and study the definitions.
1. alleviate: make something less
2. almanac: a publication containing statistical information, meteorological data, and other useful facts
3. devastate: destroy completely
4. cyclic: happening in cycles
5. oceanographer: a person who studies the body of science dealing with the ocean
6. depletive: reducing the amount of something that is available to be used
7. ripple: little waves on the surface of water caused by the wind or an object dropping into the water
8. the coastguard: a body of men employed to keep watch on coasts
9. lens: a curved piece of transparent substance, usually glass, used in optical devices
10. microfilm: a film bearing a miniature photographic copy of printed or graphic matter
B Listen to the weather report. Fill in the information.
Places Weather conditions Temperatures
Berlin Mostly cloudy ____________
Brussels __________________ __________________
London Mostly cloudy __________________
Paris __________________ __________________
Rome Periods of clouds __________________
and sunshine __________________
Vienna Cloudy __________________
Athens __________________ __________________
Belgrade Mostly cloudy __________________
Istanbul Partly sunny __________________
Kiev __________________ __________________
Moscow Snowy __________________
Prague Snow flurries __________________
Washington D.C. Expecting snow __________________
C Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the report.
As we are going towards the end of the 1990s, people are looking forward to the new century. Will there be any changes? Maybe you are interested in some of the issues that we'll be facing.
D Listen to the following news report. Complete the chart. Trend to be watched next century
When we listen to the weather forecasts, we often come across some terms related with the weather. For example, what is a cyclone? What is a hurricane? Are they the same? Here is the explanation.
E Listen to the explanation. Complete the information in the chart.
Name Place Time
Ocean storm Northern part of world; Late summer or autumn
near equator
Cyclone _______________________ -
___ in the Indian Ocean
___________ Western Pacific Ocean or -
China Sea
Hurricane ___________ and Atlantic -
Ocean
Part Ⅱ El Nino
El Nino was originally recognized by fishermen off the coast of South America as the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean occurring near the beginmng of the year. El Nino means The Little Boy or Christ Child in Spanish. This name was used for the tendency of the phenomenon to arrive around Christmas.
A Listen to the report. Complete the outline of El Nino.
Outline
Ⅰ. General information on El Nino
A. nature
a cyclic ______________ that affects the ___________
B. frequency and length
1. normally showing up about __________, in four year cycles
2. lasting about ______________
C. evidence
1. bringing ______________ to parts of the earth
2. some regions becoming ______________; others _____________
D. time
beginning with ______________ pulling cold water away from south America's west coast to around the equator
Ⅱ. Impacts around the world
A. impacts on the weather
1. ____________________________
2. flooding
B. hard on fishing industry
Ⅲ. Difficulty of prediction
B Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the report. Write a summary about El Nino. Use the outline you have completed as cues.
El Nino is __________ that affects the global climate. It normally shows up ______________________________ and it lasts about 12 to 18 months. As it brings warmer weather to parts of the earth, some regions become ________ than usual while others __________.
El Nino usually begins with the decline of winds pulling ____________________ to around the equator. This allows warm water in the western Pacific Ocean to ___________. At the same time, the clouds and the rain over the warm water ___________.
El Nino's can change __________________. It can cause ___________ as well as ___________. They are also hard ____________, causing fish stocks ___________.
However, El Nino is hard to predict because ________________________ depends on how winds affect the "Calvin wave" that has moved across the Pacific.
Part Ⅲ Lick Observatory
An observatory is a place or building, especially a domed structure, equipped and used for making observations of astronomical or other natural phenomena. Have you ever been to such kind of place? In California, U.S.A., there is a very famous one.
A Listen to the material. Guess the meaning of following words and phrases. Match column A with column B.
Column A
1. eucalypus
2. seismographic station
3. dome
4. in motion
5. real estate
6. celestial
7. nostalgia
8. trade-off
Column B
___ the exchange of one thing for another
___ an affectionate and slightly sad feeling that one has for the past
___ connecting with heaven
___ proper in the from of building and land
___ a round roof
___ happening already
___ a place where instruments are used to measure and record the vibration of earthquakes
___ a kind of evergreen tree
B Listen again. Supply the missing inform telescope in it.
Lick Observatory
Location ______________________ from the outskirts
of San Jose, California at the _______ of
Mount Hamilton
Origin of Getting its name from ___________________
the name
Number of ________________________________________
telescopes held
The largest telescope held by Lick Observatory
Size _____________ reflecting lens; the
____ largest telescope of its kind
Time when it was completed __________________________________
Present function Used for some______; mostly used as
_________ for teachers and visitors
C Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the material. Complete the chart by comparing the 19th century telescope with the modern ones. Then answer the questions.
19th century telescope Telescopes connected
to electronic
imaging devices
Way of observation Direct viewing with _____ Viewing celestial
____________; sitting out objects on_______
_________________________ _________________
Gains and losses _____________ ; going out Nice; __________;
every now and then; keep- divorced ________
ing track of ____________ from ____________
Questions:
1. Why does the speaker say that those telescopes are overlooking the world of computer age manufacturing?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
2. Why is Lick Observatory a memorial to the businessman from whom it got its name?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
3. What does Mr. Stone mean by saying "It's a trade-off?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Part Ⅳ More about the topic: The National Climatic Data Center
Climate is a global phenomenon. To support man's insatiable quest to understand the entire climate system, data on a global scale must be archived, analyzed, and made available. The National Climatic Data Center, or NCDC, is the world's largest active archive of weather data.
A Complete the outline according to what you hear about the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in U.S.A.
Outline
Ⅰ. General information about NCDC
A. establishment
formed in ________, as a record center for America's Department of Commerce
B. ____________________
in the southern city of Asheville, North Carolina
C. equipment used to learn about the weather
________________________________________
Ⅱ. Functions
A. collecting weather records gathered by a number of weather observers and U.S. government agencies
B. _________________________________________
C. assisting in production of written records, weather maps and pictures
D. producing _______________________________
E. receiving
B Now listen again. Focus on some specific information and answer the questions.
1. Could you mention some of the weather observers and government agencies that provide weather records for the NCDC?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
2. Why do we say that some of the information held by the NCDC is very old?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
3. How can you get the written records, weather maps and pictures apart from asking the NCDC?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
4. Could you mention some of the publications produced by the NCDC?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
5. How many requests did the NCDC receive last year?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Part Ⅴ Do you know ...?
La Nina is sometimes called El Viejo, anti-El Nino, or simply "a cold event" or "a cold episode". Global climate La Nina impacts tend to be opposite those of El Nino impacts.
Listen to the science report. Fill in the missing information.
La Nina
Meaning of the language ___________________________
Time when it develops Winds near ________________
______ strengthen; cold air
forms near _____________ of
Peru & Ecuador
Time when it is strongest During ___________ in the
Northern part of the world
Duration Lasting ____________ years
Evidence Low water temperatures in__
___________________________
Impacts As severe as _____________:
making some places ________
than normal and others ____
Part Ⅵ Reminder of key points in this unit
Verb & Verb Phrase Noun & Noun Phrase Other
Part Ⅰ take its grip snow flurry tremendous
alleviate almanac potentially
climate zone
cyclone
hurricane
Part Ⅱ devastate oceanographer cyclic
radar in a row
ripple unseasonably
depletive
Part Ⅲ divorce from observatory in motion celestial
Silicon Valley
eucalyptus tree
seismographic station
dome
real estate
lens
nostalgia
trade-off
Part Ⅳ assist data climatic
headquarters
coastguard
weather observer
observation
microfilm
observation station atmospheric
Part Ⅴ Peru
Ecuador
