Emergencies

“When you deal with emergencies, it is very important to introduce some control
into the situation in order to be able to provide assistance to every person on the
scene. You need to have a plan and to ensure that everything goes according to
that plan. We believe that a nuclear attack is not likely, so we have focused our
attention on chemical and biological attacks. The diseases and chemicals used by
terrorist groups could cause significant damage and this is why it is important to
prepare for acts of bioterrorism. If we can predict that someone is planning an
attack and what that attack might look like, we can make a plan on how to
respond to it immediately or prevent it from occurring in the first place. I’d like to
reassure the public that we are doing just that and that we are improving this
response on a daily basis.”

“As bad weather sweeps across the South West of England, the Red
Cross emergency response volunteers have been stepping up their
support to vulnerable people. Over the past two weeks, thousands of
people have been dealing with flooding and power outages. The British
Red Cross has been responding since the crisis started, helping
communities evacuate residents from flooded homes, transport patients
to hospitals and deliver and distribute supplies to villages that have been
entirely cut off by floodwater. We’re mobilizing all our resources to
ensure that we’ll be here to help for as long as we’re needed. We want to
assure you that we’re in it for the long haul and that you can depend on
Red Cross volunteers and staff to offer support.”

“Emergency – an exciting new game! Riots in Paris after a severe storm, a heatwave
in Berlin, massive fires in Athens: the world as we know it has spiraled out of control.
As the head of rescue operations, it’s your job to ensure the safety of the population
and respond to a variety of emergency situations. Take on natural disasters, terror
attacks and more as you battle to restore order and bring the world back from the
brink of destruction. The world is counting on you but can you handle the pressure?
Play alone to complete the given mission objectives and take charge of your own
emergency team! Master complicated catastrophes in cooperation with other
players, and work closely together to minimize the damage and uphold peace and
security in large areas.”

Adapted from: http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotechnology/henderson.html,

http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/about/speeches/2010/sp20100923.html, http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-
us/News/2014/February/Volunteers-step-up-their-response-in-flooded-South-West and
http://e2012.deepsilver.com/en/emergency-2012/emergency-2012/index.html

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READING

I Read the extracts on page 1 and answer these questions.

1. What are emergencies? What kind of emergencies are the extracts concerned with?
What makes emergencies different from other types of situations such as e.g. crises?

2. What emergencies are mentioned in the three passages?

 Passage 1: ________________________________________________________

 Passage 2: ________________________________________________________

 Passage 3: ________________________________________________________

3. Who do you think could be the author of each passage and who might be the target
audience?

 Passage 1: ________________________________________________________

 Passage 2: ________________________________________________________

 Passage 3: ________________________________________________________

4. What words/expressions related to emergencies do the three authors use?

Which of these words or expressions occur in all three passages?

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VOCABULARY

II What HAZARDS do the pictures below portray?

3
III Complete each gap with the right form of one of the hazards pictured above.

1. Two days ago, torrential rains triggered a massive ____________. Rescue workers
are still searching through rubble for survivors.
2. The shooting of 23-year-old Reba Smith sparked off ____________ in Chicago.
3. A magnitude 9 ____________ off the coast of Japan triggered a ____________ in
March 2011.
4. In the past several months, the region has seen tornadoes, flash ____________ and
massive power outages.
5. The EU is contributing to the international effort to mitigate the threat and risks
associated with ____________, ____________, ____________ and ____________
(CBRN) hazards.
6. Thunderstorms may increase the risk of ____________.
7. Water shortages from Yemen to Arizona are making ____________ a growing threat.
8. Government officials called the attack an act of ____________.
9. Rescue crews pulled out four survivors from a hotel buried by an ____________.

IV Some hazards have a figurative/metaphorical meaning. Complete the sentences

with some of the hazards from previous exercises.

1. The artists let their imagination run ____________ in creating these characters.
2. The actor’s comments prompted an ____________ of reaction on social media.
3. Emmanuel Macron won the presidential election by a ____________.
4. America is a melting pot because it has experienced a ____________ of immigration
from every corner of the globe.
5. According to a conservation biologist, we are in the middle of a ____________ of
extinction.
6. Fake political news stories often go viral, spreading like ____________ among
internet users.
7. The team hadn’t scored a goal since June but ended the ____________ in a spectacular
way.
8. Pinochet’s arrest struck Chile like a political ____________ – one whose aftershocks
reverberated for decades to come.