Part III Earthquakes

A. You are going to hear a news item about an earthquake. Write down every word sa a dictation. It will be read three times. First reading, read from beginning to end. Second reading, read with pauses. Third reading, read at normal speed again.

Tapescript:

    Another earthquake, the fifth in three days, hit Japan last night. Hundreds of homes have now been destroyed or badly damaged, and thousands have been made homeless since the earthquakes started. Many of the homeless have begun to make themselves makeshift shelters from the rubble. Electricity, gas and water supplies have also been seriously disrupted. Experts believe that the country will be hit by more quakes during the next 48 hours.

B. Listen to a news item carefully. While listening to it, write down some key words in the notes column.

C. Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the news item and fill in the missing information.

Tapescript:

It’s eight o’clock on Monday the 24^th of November. At least 400 people are feared to have died in a major earthquake which shook large areas of southern Italy last night. As rescue work continues in wide areas of southern Italy it is becoming increasingly more likely that the present toll of 400 dead will rise much higher. The tremors were felt all over Italy, from the French border to Sicily, but the worst damage appears to be in small towns and villages, many of them very isolated, outside Naples. Naples itself has also been badly affected. In a little village about sixity miles east of the city scores of people are thought to have died as the earthquake hit a village hospital and a local church as well as many private homes. It appears that there was an evening service going on in the church at the time.

In Naples it was the old part of the city which was worst affected --- many buildings of eight or nine stories broke apart and collapsed as the earthquake hit at around 8 p.m. last night. A large proportion of inhabitants spent the night in the open in the streets or squares and as smaller tremors continue, more chaos has ensued as townspeople rush for the countryside, blocking roads and causing traffic jams. Telephone lines have been broken and electricity and water supplies are failing --- the fog and cold conditions are making rescue operations very difficult in some of the remoter parts of the south particularly where road conditions are not very good.

Our own correspondent has been to the disaster area and sends us this report…