[ENVIRONMENT ★★]
PERU EXPERIENCES WORST WEATHER IN DECADES
(P1) The heaviest rains and hottest TEMPERATURES in two decades have BATTERED Peru over the past week as weather linked to EL NINO caused FLOODING and LANDSLIDES that blocked the country’s central highway and forced many people from their homes.
(P2) At least five people have died in weather-related accidents.
(P3) Peru’s weather agency, Senamhi, warned about the possibility of even more INTENSE rains during the rest of the week, after DOWNPOURS OVERWHELMED towns along the northern coast and in the central Andes and Amazon areas.
(P4) “We haven’t seen this much rain since 1997” during the last strong El Nino PHENOMENON, AGRICULTURE Minister Juan Manuel Benites said.
(P5) El Nino is a warming of sea temperatures in the Pacific that can cause extreme weather.
(P6) Temperatures in several seaside and JUNGLE towns have also reached 20-year highs.
(P7) This season’s El Nino has already left 5,000 homeless and impacted an additional 80,000 people.
(P8) Trucks bringing potatoes, bananas, and other PERISHABLE goods to Lima remained STRANDED in the Andes for the fourth day, as authorities struggled to clear Peru’s central highway of DEBRIS following a series of landslides and floods.
(P9) Defense Minister Jakke Valakivi urged drivers to make use of ALTERNATE routes, and said that military planes were being used to transport people with urgent needs.
(P10) Peru will lose about $6 million in exports for every day the central highway remained blocked, according to Peru’s export association Adex.
(P11) “We’ve been working hard … to re-establish transit through the central highway as soon as possible,” said Valakivi. “Unfortunately, so far it hasn’t been possible.”
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SOURCE: http://www.voanews.com/content/heaviest-rains-hottest-temperatures-two-decades-peru/3217490.html
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Has there ever been any flooding in your city?
- What was the worst rainstorm that you ever experienced?
- Have you ever driven a car in terrible weather and driving conditions?
- Peru is affected by weather on the Pacific Ocean. What is the closest ocean to your country?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- El Nino
