English for Biology Teachers
Bring It to Mind .
Answer the questions below
In the past decades, there have been many natural disasters occur in either outside or inside our country. Did you have any experience
in suffering from such disasters? How did you feel at the time? In your opinion, what are things which potentially cause the disasters?
Let’s Start .
1. Read the following text carefully to do the next exercises
Floridas Coast: Whats at Stake
Posted: 29-May-2007; Updated: 05-Sep-2007 If you live in Florida, you live near the ocean — no
point in the state is more than 80 miles away from either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.
More than three quarters of the states population — over 13 million people — live in coastal counties.
Coastal communities have grown by nearly 6.3 percent since 1999 and nearly 32 percent since 1990,
one of the highest rates of growth in the country. Floridians are acutely aware of the threats tropical
storms and hurricanes pose.
Most of the states major economic centers — Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa-St. Petersburg — lie on the coast. The Florida Keys, the Dry Tortugas and the Everglades are a handful of
the many natural resources important to the states tourist industry. Beach tourism brought in 41.6 billion in 2000 and supported 442,000 jobs. For example, the
coral reefs of the Keys generate over 1 billion in tourism dollars each year. Activities such as reef diving are at risk, since coral reefs are vulnerable to both damage from storms and
excessively warm water caused by global warming. The most hurricane-battered coast
As an arm of land separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida receives more than its share of severe weather. Since the 1970s, Florida has been hit by more tropical
storms and hurricanes than any other state. Since 1990, Florida has been hit directly by 22 tropical storms and hurricanes.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit Dade County with Category 4 force, generating 17-foot storm surges. The storm system killed 23 people. Property damage in the state of Florida from
Andrew was estimated at 25.5 billion, and the marine ecosystem, including the natural reefs of the upper Keys and along the eastern coast, was also heavily damaged.
English for Biology Teachers
The year 2004 was particularly active for storms and hurricanes in Florida. Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricanes Charley, Frances,
Ivan and Jeanne all struck the Florida coast between August and September of that year. In total, 45 people were killed and
estimated damages across the southeastern United States totaled over 21.1 billion.
More destructive storms are projected because of global warming
Recent studies show that hurricanes are becoming more powerful—for example, there are twice as many Category 4 and 5 hurricanes today than there were 35 years ago. This trend is
expected to continue as global warming gets worse. For coastal residents, another alarming consequence of global warming is sea level rise, which will affect storm surges. These
powerful, fast-moving walls of water often accompany tropical storms and hurricanes, and can devastate coastal communities, taking lives and destroying property. Higher sea levels
will mean higher storm surges that reach further inland. Many Floridians are still rebuilding their homes and lives after past years storms. The
devastation of more intense tropical storms and hurricanes on Florida could be tremendous.
Source: http:www.edf.org
2. Answer these following questions based on the text above in pair
Present your results in front of the class 1. Is there a point in the state of Florida that is 90 miles away from Gulf of Mexico?
2. How high is the growth of population in Florida? 3. What is the role of Miami and Tampa in Florida?
4. How many tropical storms and hurricanes are there that have been hit Florida
since 1990? 5. Describe Hurricane Andrew that hit Dade County in 1992
6. How many tropical storms and hurricanes are there stated in the text? What are they?
7. What do the recent studies show related to the storms and hurricanes? 8. Do you agree with the result of the study? Why?
9. “Many Floridians are still rebuilding their homes…”
What does ‘their’ refer to? 10. What is the purpose of the text?
3. Challenge yourself
Answer the questions below What will you do if such natural disasters happen in your country? Write your own
experience in giving a hand to the victims of natural disasters, if any
4. Match the words in column A with the meanings in column B Discuss
the answers with your friends A
B …
… …
… …
… …
… …
… 1. at stake
2. storm 3. coast
4. hurricane 5. vulnerable
6. gulf 7. severe
8. weather 9. surges
10. tremendous a. a sudden powerful forward or upward
movement b. intense, very great of something bad
c. at risk d. a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with
strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning, or snow
e. exposed to being attacked or harmed f. a storm with a violent wind
g. the part of the land adjoining or near the sea h. very great in amount, scale or intensity
i. the state of the atmosphere at a place and
time as regards temperature, wind, rain, etc. j. a deep bay of the sea almost surrounded by
land
Grammar Battle .
1. Pay attention to the sentence below
More than three quarters of the states population live in coastal counties. S
V Adv.
The above sentence uses simple present tense. We use simple present tense when we talk about habit, general truth, and something
happened in present moment. The rule is:
S + V ses + …
English for Biology Teachers PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
