Vocabulary
- drought /drout/
- deficit /DEF-uh-sit/
- extreme /ik-STREEM/
- famine /FAM-in/
- respectively /ri-SPEK-tiv-lee/
[noun] – a long period when there is little or no rain
Many sheep died due to the drought that year.
[noun] – the amount by which something, especially an amount of money, is smaller than it should be
There is a significant food supply deficit in many nations.
[noun] – the greatest possible amount or degree of something
Exercise extreme caution whenever driving through fog.
[noun] – a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens
The population in this area has decreased as a result of famine and war.
[adverb] – in a way that relates or belongs to each of the separate people or things you have just mentioned
James and Christian are 10 and 13 years old, respectively.
Article reading
The UN has issued a warning that 22 million people may be in danger of famine due to drought conditions in eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Somalia. In general, “relative to 1970-79, the numbers of droughts and floods were nearly threefold and tenfold, respectively, by 2010-19,” based on a 2021 World Bank assessment. Due to years of drier and hotter weather, drought conditions in the western US have become the norm. In a report released in February, the American West has seen the most severe drought conditions in 1,200 years over the past two decades. And this summer’s hot, dry weather contributed to forest fires in a number of states and a decline in water storage levels.
Discussion Questions
- When is the dry season in your country? Have you experienced a drought?
- What was the highest temperature recorded in your country? Please tell me more about it.
- What would you do in preparation for a possible food shortage?
- Do you think there are any ways to increase rainfall in drought-ridden areas?
- In your opinion, how can extreme weather conditions affect the economy and social life in countries?
Summarization
Describe
- affect
- severe
- drainage
- the norm
- decline