V
ocabulary
Weather phenomena
1
In three minutes, complete the word map
with as many words as you can. Compare
with your partner.
3
Listen and say. Have you
heard of any of these phenomena? Which
can you see in the pictures?
ñ raining animals ñ giant hailstones ñ pink snow
ñ red rain ñ a never-ending lightning storm
ñ ball lightning ñ a fire tornado ñ blue moon
ñ a moonbow (lunar rainbow)
R
eading & Listening
4
Read the title of the text and the subtitles.
Which of the weather phenomena are they
about?
Listen and read to find out.
5
a) Read again and mark the sentences
T
(true),
F
(false) or
DS
(doesn’t say).
Justify your answers.
1
It rains a lot in Catatumbo, Venezuela.
......
2
It’s possible that the Catatumbo
lightning is helping the Earth.
......
3
Ball lightning appears for longer
than normal lightning.
......
4
Fire tornados can happen when
a fire is very hot and it’s windy.
......
5
They don’t happen very often.
......
6
The rain of fish is a new phenomenon.
......
7
Strong winds probably cause it.
......
sunny
tornado
Most of us are interested in the weather forecast; do we need
to wrap up warm today or take an umbrella or our sunglasses
when we go out? But imagine if you heard that a never-ending
lightning storm was on its way, or a shower
of animals! This might sound crazy
but, believe it or not, these kinds
of weird weather phenomena
actually happen …
shower
blow
2
Close your eyes and listen to
the music and sounds. What is the weather
like? What can you hear, see, feel, smell?
Tell the class.
Think!
T
WEATHER
nouns
verbs
adjectives
extreme
conditions
A
e
1
14
Weird weather
b) Match the highlighted words with their
meanings:
continuously
,
turn quickly
,
caused
,
repair
,
happens
,
surprised
,
wonder
,
destructive
.
Heavy weather
Some people
are used to extreme
weather conditions.
This is the case for those who live in the area where the
Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo and has dark
clouds covering it most of the year. For centuries, these
clouds constantly crash into each other and cause violent
lightning storms that can last up to ten hours and occur
between 140 and 160 nights a year. They call it ‘the never-
ending lightning storm’. However, every cloud has a silver
lining; this lightning activity produces nitrogen oxide which
probably helps to restore the ozone layer. Another kind of
rare lightning is ball lightning. This is a ball of brightly
coloured light which usually occurs during thunderstorms
but lasts longer than a lightning bolt. Sometimes the ball
even explodes and leaves behind a smell, but the true
cause of this phenomenon is a mystery. One sighting hit
the news in 1984 when ball lightning entered a Russian
aircraft, flew above the shocked passengers, travelled
through the aircraft and passed silently out again
leaving two holes in the plane.
6
Complete the sentences using words from the
box in the correct form.
1
According to the ..............................................
it will rain this evening.
2
If you are out in a ............................................,
never take shelter under big trees.
3
The devastating tsunami in Japan made ..........
..........................., shocking people everywhere.
4
Most tornadoes in the northern hemisphere
..........................................................................
in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock.
5
A ................................... broke out causing the
whole area to flood.
6
Scientists are working hard to .........................
the ozone layer before it is too late.
Check these words
1...,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83 85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,...128