Experts: El Niño Could Be the Strongest on Record

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

condition

Noun

kənˈdɪʃən

a state of being; conditions (plural) – existing circumstances

He was seriously wounded, but his condition is improving.

This old car is in great condition.

severe

Adjective

sɪˈviːr

extremely bad or serious

The toothache is causing her severe pain.

There is a severe water shortage here.

The earthquake caused severe damage to most of the buildings around here.

The penalty for disobeying the new curfew is very severe.

He has severe injuries.

His injuries were severe, but he survived.

coast

Noun

koʊst

the land beside or near the sea or ocean

This small city is located by the coast.

We spent the afternoon driving along the coast.

I used to live on the east coast.

There are many hotels along the coast.

expand

Verb

ɪkˈspænd

to become or make something greater in size, number or importance

Our company is now expanding into the printer business.

Many Western firms want to expand into Asia.

We plan to expand our company's operations.

Economic development in China is expanding rapidly.

We're preparing a plan to expand our product lines.

The company will expand its business to the global market within five years.

Because our business is expanding, we need to hire more people.

We will expand the area where we plan to pick up the garbage because there are now more people to help us.

Our company plans to expand to foreign markets.

meteorologist

Noun

ˌmiːtiəˈrɑːlədʒɪst

a scientist who studies weather conditions

Meteorologists are often completely wrong about the weather.

He has been working as a meteorologist for this TV station for over ten years.

The meteorologist issued an ice storm warning for the entire region.

When I was a child, I wanted to become a meteorologist.

on record

Phrase

ɔːn ˈrekərd

stated in a public document; publicly known

This is the hottest day on record.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Experts: El Niño Could Be the Strongest on Record

Weather experts say this year could be one of the strongest El Niño events in recorded history.

Experts say El Niño could cause severe weather conditions in many parts of the world.

El Niño is Spanish for “the child.” It usually begins in December.

El Niño develops when winds off the west coast of South America weaken. This permits warm water in the western Pacific to expand toward the east. At the same time, clouds and rain over the warm water move east, too.

El Niño conditions normally appear only about two times every 10 years. Usually, El Niño conditions continue for about 12 to 18 months. They bring warm weather to some areas. These areas become wetter than normal, while others become drier.

Weather changes caused by El Niño depend on the strength of the condition.

Tom Di Leberto is a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. He says this year could be the third strongest El Niño on record.

Exercise 3

Questions

What do experts say El Niño could cause?

What does El Niño mean in Spanish?

How often does El Niño happen?

Exercise 4

Discussion

Have you heard of El Niño before?

What kind of weather is normal in your country?

What kind of weather do you like?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by Voice of America.