Gateway B2 Unit 8 Vocabulary

While some parts of the world haven’t seen any rain for several months, causing prolonged (1) ……………………… in many countries, other places have been badly affected by the opposite problem – floods.

• burst

• damage

• droughts

• hurricanes

Too much rain has caused rivers across Europe to (2) ……………………… their banks

• burst

• collapse

• damage

• torrential

Barriers set up to protect residents from the rising waters have proved inadequate, leaving many people to complain that not enough money has been (4) ……………………… on flood defences, despite many warnings

• collapse

• damage

• spent

• bought

And worse is yet to come, with weather forecasters predicting more (5) ……………………… rain over the next few days

• burst

• damage

• hurricanes

• torrential

Some parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. The so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean is a string of volcanoes and an area of intense seismic activity where almost 90 percent of the world’s (1) earthquakes/hurricanes occur.

• earthquakes

• hurricanes

When this happens under the sea, one side of the ocean suddenly drops resulting in a (2) tsunami/avalanche.

• tsunami

• avalanche

A rush of water away from the coastline may be a sign that the (3) wave/mud is coming, but many of these natural disasters occur without warning. So why live in such places? Some countries, such as Iceland and New Zealand, use such geothermal activity to generate electricity.

• wave

• mud

Volcanoes also attract millions of tourists and many people (4) wait for/depend on the jobs and income that tourism provides.

• wait for

• depend on

And (5) lava/tremor contains valuable minerals which can be mined once it cools down.

• lava

• tremor

Following the unexpected (1) ……………………… (erupt) of the Pacific island volcano last Tuesday, more people living close by have been forced to move