20060506, Article, Picture
發表於 : 週三 5月 03, 2006 9:08 amHappy English Club 電子報 本報由EVP Team編審
網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論
Time：第54次例會，2006年5月6日（週六）下午3~5點
Place： viewtopic.php?t=15
15:00~16:00 gossiping and chatting
16:00~17:00 topic discussion
Host : Tom Wang
Assistant Host: Angel
Topic：Floods and Storms
( Source: BBC Science and Nature )
Floods
Floods can be deadly - particularly when they arrive without warning. Since 1998, more than 30 people have died as a direct result of flooding in Britain alone. Actually, it takes less rain than you'd think to cloud your day.
A mere four inches of water will ruin your carpet. Six inches of fast flowing water can knock you off your feet, and two feet of flood water will float your car. But where does it all come from?
Though Britain is no stranger to bad weather at any time of the year, autumn is the classic time for storms.
This is the time of the year when the two factors that influence our weather are most likely to clash. Warm ocean currents drift up from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold air is coming down from the Arctic. When these opposing temperatures converge, it can create enormous problems.
Stormy weather
Low pressure develops on the boundary of warm and cold air - this is known to meteorologists as a 'weather front'. The air here has a natural tendency to rise, and as air rises, it cools. Any water vapour present in the air condenses to form clouds. Consequently, low pressure is generally associated with wet and windy weather.
Low pressure systems have a habit of queuing up over the north Atlantic. Like buses, sometimes one doesn't appear for ages, and then three or more come at once. That happened relentlessly in the UK between September and November 2000.
How floods happen
When rain starts to fall, it drains down from the hillsides into streams, along rivers and out into the sea. That's under normal circumstances anyway. But when rain pours for weeks at a time, the land becomes saturated and Britain's natural drainage system is likely to fail.
The upper reaches of rivers quickly fill and force the excess water downstream. In the lower reaches, water flows slower. Here, the river swells and begins to break its banks. This is entirely normal - flood plains are part of the river's natural defence mechanism.
These low-lying, wide flat areas in the lower reaches of a river provide relief and take up the excess water. It's best not to build on them, though sometimes people do.
All kinds of debris gets caught up in a flood - dead cattle, sheep, trees, gravel. If any of this flotsam gets lodged under a bridge, it creates a dam and backs up the whole system. Once that happens, there are no more chances... unless local residents are insured.
Vocabulary:
1. boundary:分界線 2. clash:衝突 3. Warm ocean currents: 溫暖的洋流
4.drift:漂流 5. vapour: vapor 6. gravel:砂礫,碎石
Questions:
1. Have you ever experienced any horrible natural disasters?
2. Talking of cases in Taiwan, Typhoons cause enormous problems including floods and storms every years. If there were no typhoon in Taiwan, what things would be different?
3. According to a number of reports, natural disasters these days are also caused by climate change, which is mainly due to the global worming. Being humans, what can we take action to it?
4. In October 2003, the Scottish Executive awarded SEPA funding to develop internet flood maps for Scotland. The maps will help people living, working and travelling in areas prone to flooding to check where flood risks are. To what extent do you agree that building up a warning scheme in Taiwan is necessary?
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/ ... orms.shtml
例會須知
參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章並帶至現場，圖示如下：
請將社團網站，加入我的最愛
http://www.happyforum.org/
台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論
Time：第54次例會，2006年5月6日（週六）下午3~5點
Place： viewtopic.php?t=15
15:00~16:00 gossiping and chatting
16:00~17:00 topic discussion
Host : Tom Wang
Assistant Host: Angel
Topic：Floods and Storms
( Source: BBC Science and Nature )
Floods
Floods can be deadly - particularly when they arrive without warning. Since 1998, more than 30 people have died as a direct result of flooding in Britain alone. Actually, it takes less rain than you'd think to cloud your day.
A mere four inches of water will ruin your carpet. Six inches of fast flowing water can knock you off your feet, and two feet of flood water will float your car. But where does it all come from?
Though Britain is no stranger to bad weather at any time of the year, autumn is the classic time for storms.
This is the time of the year when the two factors that influence our weather are most likely to clash. Warm ocean currents drift up from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold air is coming down from the Arctic. When these opposing temperatures converge, it can create enormous problems.
Stormy weather
Low pressure develops on the boundary of warm and cold air - this is known to meteorologists as a 'weather front'. The air here has a natural tendency to rise, and as air rises, it cools. Any water vapour present in the air condenses to form clouds. Consequently, low pressure is generally associated with wet and windy weather.
Low pressure systems have a habit of queuing up over the north Atlantic. Like buses, sometimes one doesn't appear for ages, and then three or more come at once. That happened relentlessly in the UK between September and November 2000.
How floods happen
When rain starts to fall, it drains down from the hillsides into streams, along rivers and out into the sea. That's under normal circumstances anyway. But when rain pours for weeks at a time, the land becomes saturated and Britain's natural drainage system is likely to fail.
The upper reaches of rivers quickly fill and force the excess water downstream. In the lower reaches, water flows slower. Here, the river swells and begins to break its banks. This is entirely normal - flood plains are part of the river's natural defence mechanism.
These low-lying, wide flat areas in the lower reaches of a river provide relief and take up the excess water. It's best not to build on them, though sometimes people do.
All kinds of debris gets caught up in a flood - dead cattle, sheep, trees, gravel. If any of this flotsam gets lodged under a bridge, it creates a dam and backs up the whole system. Once that happens, there are no more chances... unless local residents are insured.
Vocabulary:
1. boundary:分界線 2. clash:衝突 3. Warm ocean currents: 溫暖的洋流
4.drift:漂流 5. vapour: vapor 6. gravel:砂礫,碎石
Questions:
1. Have you ever experienced any horrible natural disasters?
2. Talking of cases in Taiwan, Typhoons cause enormous problems including floods and storms every years. If there were no typhoon in Taiwan, what things would be different?
3. According to a number of reports, natural disasters these days are also caused by climate change, which is mainly due to the global worming. Being humans, what can we take action to it?
4. In October 2003, the Scottish Executive awarded SEPA funding to develop internet flood maps for Scotland. The maps will help people living, working and travelling in areas prone to flooding to check where flood risks are. To what extent do you agree that building up a warning scheme in Taiwan is necessary?
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/ ... orms.shtml
例會須知 參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章並帶至現場，圖示如下：
請將社團網站，加入我的最愛 http://www.happyforum.org/
台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15