[00:00.00]Unit 15 Bushfire
[00:04.49]1.Listen,read and practice.
[00:10.34]LiMeng,Xiaohong and the home-stay family are watching the news on TV.
[00:17.19]There's a big bushfire in the suburbs of Canberra.They are very worried.
[00:24.35]Mr.Davis:This bushfire is going out of control.
[00:29.20]Many more house might be hurned down.
[00:33.15]Mrs.Davis:Yeah.So many houses are already gone.This is terrible.
[00:39.39]LiMeng:I never knew a bushfire could be so bad.
[00:44.72]Mr.Davis:It has been worse.On Ash Wednesday in 1983,
[00:50.08]there was a big one in the Adelaide Hills and 28 people died.
[00:56.24]Xiaohong:My goodness.I feel so sorry for those people,Couldn't they run away?
[01:03.01]Daniel:You don't know how fast a bushfire spreads.
[01:07.45]It could be faster than your legs,believe me.
[01:12.70](There's a piece of news about a mother of three
[01:17.43]who died trying to save her family photo album.)
[01:22.00]Mrs.Davis:Oh,no.Poor woman!She really shouldn't have done that.That's crazy.
[01:28.56]Daniel:Yeah.She already knew the house was on fire,why did she go back in anyway?
[01:35.22]Xiaohong:Maybe she thought she could be quick enough.
[01:39.66]Mr.Davis:Kids,always remember to save yourself.That's the only thing that matters.
[01:45.90]Mrs.Davis:I suppose you haven't heard much about bushfires yet.
[01:51.15]They are very dangerous.
[01:54.81]Some people have died trying to save their houses
[01:59.67]or their pets or trying to get things out of the houses.
[02:04.84]LiMeng:I'll remember your advice.Where should we go?
[02:09.99]Suppose there's a big bushfire near here?
[02:14.56]Mr.Davis:Good question!
[02:17.20]There are evacuation centres we could go to if bushfire was already near our house.
[02:24.35]Now,Daniel,have you got the map?
[02:28.30]4.Listen,read and act.
[02:34.36]Have you ever wondered how a bushfire is started and how bad it can be?
[02:40.52]Fire is no fun.It destroys everything in its path.
[02:46.87]Let's see how the bushfire in canberra was started.
[02:52.02]Daniel:Here.These are some newspapers carrying news on the bushfire in Canberra.
[02:58.47]LiMeng:Thanks,Daniel.Oh,look here."...a moderate fire is started
[03:05.31]by lightning strikes in bushland..."So it is the lightning.
[03:11.16]Daniel:Well,sometimes people light them,but often it's lightning.
[03:16.44]You know hot weather and strong wind will often turn a small fire into a big one.
[03:22.50]Xiaohong:Listen to this,
[03:25.37]"...flames reach 60 metres into the air,3 times higher than the trees."
[03:32.14]LiMeng:I can't believe it---100 kilometres per hour wind.
[03:37.99]It could be faster than a car.
[03:41.75]Daniel:Yeah.It starts a firestorm.Look at this story."
[03:47.08]At 11 a.m.,the sky was blue,...by 1:30p.m.,it was orange and brown,
[03:54.92]and half an hour later the sky was black with dark smoke
[04:00.48]and we could not see 1 metre in front of us."
[04:04.92]Xiaohong:My goodness.This is frightening.
[04:09.18]How could the firefighters put out a bushire like this?
[04:14.46]Daniel:It's hard.That's why we should try to make sure fires don't start
[04:20.81]and also try to put out small fires before thry grow bigger.
[04:26.16]LiMeng:"Be our eyes and ears--police."Yes,we should all watch out.
[04:32.72]8.Listen,read and act.
[04:37.86]A big bushfire can burn down many houses and leave many people with nothing
[04:44.73]except for the clothes they're wearing! Where can they get help?
[04:50.30]LiMeng:Look at this photo.
[04:53.17]The house is gone and the man is only wearing shorts and slippers.
[04:59.42]He's got nothing else left.
[05:02.65]Xiaohong:I wonder where he sleeps now for the night.
[05:07.12]Daniel:I hope he's got relatives or friends to help him out.
[05:12.16]Some people will have to go to the help centre to pick up what they need.
[05:17.81]Xiaohong:What can they get there?
[05:20.86]Daniel:Well,thigs like clothing,nappies and vouchers they can use to buy things.
[05:28.44]The fire victims are also given some cash to buy things they need right away.
[05:35.10]LiMeng:I suppose the victims will need many more things than those.
[05:40.24]Can we donate things?
[05:43.61]Daniel:Yeah.People donate money and things to charity.
[05:48.76]A lot of money has to be raised for them.
[05:52.91]Xiaohong:That's what we should do too.Now,what have we got?
[05:58.27]11.Listen and read.
[06:02.81]Summer in Australia
[06:06.16]Everybody knows what hot weather is.
[06:10.70]But not many people know what a hot summer is like in Australia.
[06:16.14]But Australians have lived there for years
[06:20.19]and they have experienced the worst Australian heat waves.
[06:25.85]They have come up with many useful suggestions for coping with the situation.
[06:32.10]If this is your first time in Australia
[06:36.25]and you intend to spend your summer holiday there,
[06:41.01]the following suggestions may help you survive better during an Australian summer.
[06:47.85]When the temperature climbs to its greatest heights,
[06:52.60]the best parking place is determined by shade,instead of distance.
[06:59.06]In some places,hot water now comes out of both taps.
[07:04.62]You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a prtty good branding iron.
[07:10.47]You discover that you can get sunburnt through your car window.
[07:15.75]You develop a fear of metal car door handles.
[07:20.79]You break into a sweat,the instant you step outside at 7 a.m.
[07:26.67]The temperature drops below 35'C and you can feel a little chilly.
[07:34.22]Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is,
[07:38.27]"What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
[07:44.33]Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice
[07:49.08]to keep them from laying hard-boiled egggs.
[07:53.65]The cows are giving evaporated milk.
[07:57.91]The trees are whistling for the dogs.
[08:01.96]You discover that in February,it only takes2 fingers to steer your car.
[08:08.72]Well,it feels that hot in Australia sometimes anyway.
[08:13.77]On hearing those words,you might think of escaping from the heat.
[08:19.33]You can flock to the most popular beaches
[08:23.41]or add more ice to the portable drink cooler.
[08:28.26]But even that is not always enough.
[08:32.03]People have been advised to stay out of the sun
[08:36.57]and increase their intake of water as precautions against the heat.
[08:42.74]Meteorologically,the cause is generally due to troughs across the Australian mainland forcing hot air
[08:51.07]from the country's centre to the north and east.
[08:55.93]A lack of rain in the cooler months also adds to the dry,hot weather.
[09:01.88]However,no matter how hot the weather is,
[09:06.56]people can still take necessary precautions:
[09:11.60]drinking plenty of water,eating lots of fruits and vegetables,
[09:17.24]staying at home or in the shade and bringing enough ice
[09:22.81]when travelling are the basic things to do.
[09:27.07]If you do as you are told,a hot summer may still be"cool"in your eyes.
