Can you name some disasters? 
 Can you describe it? 
tornado 
flood 
hurricane 
lightning 
thunderstorm 
sandstorm 
Volcanic eruption 
1. Have you experienced 
 a thunderstorm? 
 a flood? 
 a hurricane? 
 a tornado? 
2. Have you ever read a news story about one of the events? Can you describe it? 
Discuss the questions with your partner: 
Speaking 
flood 
hurricane 
lightning 
thunderstorm 
sandstorm 
tornado 
earthquake 
volcanic eruption 
洪水 
飓风 
闪电 
雷暴 
沙尘暴 
龙卷风 
地震 
火山喷发 
Disasters of Nature 
Create word webs for the following two 
terms and find all the words that are 
related to them. 
disaster 
strike 
break out 
occur 
take place 
When/where/what 
last 
 hit 
happen 
damage 
injure /hurt /kill 
cause/ affect 
bury 
block/cut off 
be trapped in / be caught in get into trouble 
lose one’s life 
burn 
destroy /damage / ruin 
More useful descriptive words and vivid expressions 
terrible terrifying serious awful violent strong worse worst huge dangerous heavy severe(剧烈的,严重的) 
tropical storm 
survivor 
be reduced to ashes(化为灰烬) 
disease spread 
lack of food clean water medicine 
suffer a great loss 
1 .The worst earthquake_________ (发生在)the United 
States in 1906,_______(导致)the worst natural disaster 
in the nation’s history. 
2.The Wenchuan earthquakes__________________(破坏 
整个城市),_____________________________(8万多人 
死亡),with thirty thousand people injured,and making 
five million people homeless. 
3.The hurricane _______________________(持续了3 
天),which________________________(真是可怕). 
happened in 
occurred in /hit /struck 
causing 
resulting in 
destroyed the whole city 
killing more than eighty thousand people 
with more than eighty thousand people dying 
lasted /continued for three days 
was terrifying/terrible/awful 
Complete the following sentences 
4 .The winds in _________________(最肆虐)tornado can reach up to more then 400 kilometers per hour. 
5.The worst tornado of all time occurred in 
 1925,________________________(影响了美国三个州). 
6.Hurricanes are strong ____________(热带风暴). 
7.When the lava reached the sea ,there was the possibility of a huge tidal wave ,which___________________(能淹没半个岛) 
8.Tens of thousands of people ____________________(被困在)the earthquake stricken areas. 
9.People at home and abroad 
 
 _______________________________(伸出援助之手). 
the most violent 
affecting three American states 
tropical storms 
flooded half the island 
were trapped/stuck/ in 
offered their help/extended their hands 
Complete these sentences related to disasters with proper tense and voice 
1.By the time it ended ,more than700 people_ _________________(die/kill) and 2,700 people______________(injure) 
2.After the hurricane ,mary_____ (see) that the roof of the house_____________(disappear). 
3.She ________(return) home ,and _____(find) all the 
furniture ____________(ruin) by the flood. 
4.We _____(leave) the house,when the thunderstorm ___________(finish) 
 5.When she _________(weak up ),she_____(find) that her house ________________(destroy) by the thundersdorm. 
6.Arther was unhappy because some of his animals_____________________(kill/die). 
had died/had been killed 
had been injured 
had disappeared 
returned 
found 
had been ruined 
left 
had finished 
woke up 
found 
had been destroyed 
had been killed /had died 
saw 
Choose the words for transition(过渡词) to complete the sentences 
luckily unfortunately thankfully 
 hopefully sadly fortunately 
1 _________________, they left the house before it collapsed. 
2 ___________________, many people lost their lives. 
3____________, many people showed their love to the survivors. 
4 _________, it won’t be long before everything returns to normal. 
Luckily/Fortunately 
Sadly/Unfortunately 
Thankfully 
Hopefully 
How can we use the words and expressions we have just reviewed to form a passage on disasters? 
In the Face of Snow Disaster 
 Last winter, unexpectedly, heavy snowstorms hit/struck/happened in/occurred in more than ten provinces in China, which did great harm to the affected areas. The traffic was blocked and . the supply of water and electricity was cut off. Timely help was in great need. 
 Hearing the news, people throughout China showed their love in different ways. The government immediately made careful arrangements, and sent many skilled workers to help repair things that had been damaged. Some big companies sent a lot of goods to the disaster areas for free. People in other parts of China also donated a lot of money. 
 In the face of the severe /serious /terrible/terrifying snow disaster, the Chinese people were not afraid and united like a big family. Thanks to everyone’s hard work, everything is back to normal again. 
How to describe a natural disaster ? 
When 
Where 
Results: 
 buildings 
 roads 
 water 
 electricity 
 deaths 
 the injured 
response: 
 the government 
 organizations/companies 
 common people 
 foreign countries 
 
Homework: writing 
根据下面的提示写一篇120-150词的短文,可适当增添细节。 
2008年5月12日,一次特大地震袭击了汶川,数以万计的人员伤亡,更有许多人无家可归。震后,交通阻断,水电供应也中断了,灾区情况严峻。消息传出后,全国人民纷纷伸出援助之手,众多国际组织和外国政府实施紧急救援,帮助灾区人们渡过难关。 
Can you use the expressions in your writing? 
be in ruins 
in a flash 
as a result 
become homeless 
what’s worse 
lose one’s life 
take action 
donate money 
raise/collect money 
call on sb. to do 
share pains and sorrows with... 
in a short time 
make contributions to 
变成废墟 
顷刻间 
结果 
无家可归 
更糟糕的是 
丧生 
采取行动 
捐钱 
筹集资金 
号召某人做 
与…分担痛苦与伤悲 
在短时间里 
为…做出贡献 
some useful sentences for writing 
They call on people to do anything in their power to help those in need. 
Many people are doing their part to help poor people out. 
What we can do will make much difference to our society. 
I am firmly convinced that they will overcome their difficulty and build a new future with the help of us. 
Homework: writing 
根据下面的提示写一篇120-150词的短文,可适当增添细节。 
2008年5月12日,一次特大地震袭击了汶川,数以万计的人员伤亡,更有许多人无家可归。震后,交通阻断,水电供应也中断了,灾区情况严峻。消息传出后,全国人民纷纷伸出援助之手,众多国际组织和外国政府实施紧急救援,帮助灾区人们渡过难关。