Objective Proficiency p 24. Is Our Weather Getting Worse? Extra Listening

'19.''00
Fill in the gaps

Why has our weather been so 1____________? Seven miles high in the atmosphere, four 2____________ of wind, called jet streams, race west to east at 200 miles an hour around the planet. The northernmost jet stream is responsible for 3_____________ weather to Britain, and its position varies according to our seasons.
We are all used to storms 4_____________ in from the southwest, and it's really the jet stream that drives that.
In spring 2012, the jet stream moved north of the UK, which brought us unsusually high temperatures and 5______________ .
In the summer the jet stream seemed to be 6______________ a little bit further south than it normally does and it 7_____________ there for a very long period, which meant that we had continuous storms coming over the UK.

On September 25th, a severe storm 8____________  plankton in the North Sea like a washing machine, 9____________ the Scottish town of Footdee in a thick layer of strange 10________. And on October 11th in the Devonshire town of Clovelly, this 11___________ was triggered when two 12_______________ of rain fell in just 90 minutes. Was 2012 just a 13___________ year? Or are these events part of a much 14________________________?

The question really is, are the conditions we have experienced in 2012 a 15___________? No, they are not. In the last two or three years, we've seen heavy 16_____________  during winter, we've seen very cold 17______________. It has become an all too familiar story to see extreme weather. On 28th July 2005 one of the most severe British weather events took place. At lunchtime a series of severe thunderstorms was 18____________ towards Birmingham. When Sanjeen Duggal got to the end of this road turned to the right but the van 19_____________
On Ladypool Road the 20________________ winds nearly lifted one of Sajjad's customers 21__________________.
He was like a 22_________________, trying to get in, his legs were up in the air. However, they managed to pull him in.
The tornado 23______________  a path 7.5 miles long through Birmingham's eastern suburbs. The devastation was shocking. 
One man thought that 24______________ day was there.
Locals couldn't understand why a tornado 25____________ the heart of England.
Tornadoes are 26_______________ from giant thunderstorm clouds called super-cells. Most famously, they 27__________________ across America's Great Plains- a region known as Tornado Alley.
Tornadoes form where warm, 28_____________ air 29______________ with cold air from the north, forcing the warm air to rise. This creates giant thunderclouds which rise, rotate and 30____________ tornadoes.
KEY

1. erratic /ɪˈrætɪk/ not happening at regular times; not following any plan or regular pattern; that you cannot rely on. Unpredictable. E.g. Irrigation measures will be necessary in areas of erratic rainfall. She had learnt to live with his sudden changes of mood and erratic behaviour.



2. ribbons 



3. delivering 



4. barrelling
barrel to move very fast in a particular direction, especially in a way that you cannot control. E.g. He came barreling down the hill and smashed into a phone booth. 



5. drought 



6. lying 



7. lay 



8. churned up
churn: /tʃɜːn/ if water, mud, etc.churns, or if something churns it (up), it moves or is moved around violently. E.g. the seas churned.  A hurricane was churning up the bay.



9. swamping 
swamp: /swɒmp/ to fill or cover something with a lot of water. E.g. The little boat was swamped by the waves.



10. foam 



11. flash flood (a sudden flood of water caused by heavy rain) 



12. weeks' worth
a week's, month's, etc. worth of something an amount of something that lasts a week, etc. 



13. freak (very unusual and unexpected. E.g. a freak accident/storm/occurrence. Freak weather conditions) 



14. bigger picture 
the big picture: the situation as a whole. E.g. Right now forget the details and take a look at the big picture. He’s so involved in the minutiae (/maɪˈnjuːʃiiː/ very small details) that he often overlooks the big picture.



15. one-off ( made or happening only once and not regularly. E.g. a one-off payment)



16.  snowfalls
snowfall: an occasion when snow falls; the amount of snow that falls in a particular place in a period of time. E.g. a heavy/light snowfall. An area of low snowfall. What is the average annual snowfall for this state?



17. patches
patch: a small area of something, especially one which is different from the area around it. E.g. a black dog with a white patch on its back. A bald patch on the top of his head. Damp patches on the wall. Patches of dense fog. We sat in a patch of shade under a tree.



18. tracking
Track: follow a particular course: the storm was tracking across the ground at 30 mph 



19. was going left 



20. ferocious 



21. off the ground 



22. rag doll (a soft doll made from pieces of cloth. E.g. Shaking her like a rag doll, Janine began to shout.)



23. carved
carve: to make objects, patterns, etc. by cutting away material from wood or stone. E.g. The statue was carved out of a single piece of stone. The wood had been carved into the shape of a flower.(Figurative) Over the centuries, melting snow had carved valleys in the landscape. 



24. judgement 



25. had struck 



26. spawned
spawn: /spɔːn/ to cause something to develop or be produced. E.g. The band's album spawned a string of hit singles.  



27. wreak havoc
wreak: /riːk/ to do great damage or harm to somebody/something. E.g. Their policies would wreak havoc on the economy. He swore to wreak vengeance on those who had betrayed him.  
havoc: /ˈhævək/a situation in which there is a lot of damage, destruction or confusion. E.g. The floods caused havoc throughout the area. Continuing strikes are beginning to play havoc with the national economy. These insects can wreak havoc on crops. Torrential rainstorms wreaked havoc yesterday



28. moist



29. collides 



30. spawn  
spawn: /spɔːn/ to cause something to develop or be produced. E.g. The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 
 

 



Transcript

Why has our weather been so erratic? The answer lies high in the atmosphere, where the British weather is controlled by the jet stream. Seven miles high, four ribbons of wind, called jet streams, race west to east at 200 miles an hour around the planet. The northernmost jet stream is responsible for delivering weather to Britain, and its position varies according to our seasons.
So the jet stream is really what drives a lot of our weather over the UK. We are all very familiar with these storms barrelling in from the southwest, and it's really the jet stream that drives that.
In spring 2012, the jet stream moved north of the UK- a position it usually takes in midsummer. This early move north brought us unsusually high temperatures and drought. And then in summer, something very different happened.
If we hink about the summer we have just had, actually the jet stream seemed to be lying a little bit further south than it normally does and it lay there for a very long period, which meant that we had continuous storms coming over the UK.
In the summer, the jet stream switched south- a position it usually takes during winter and brought cold, stormy weather to the British Isles. Even now, the behaviour of the jet stream remains a mystery.
On September 25th, a severe storm churned up plankton in the North Sea like a washing machine, swamping the Scottish town of Footdee in a thick layer of strange foam. And on October 11th in the Devonshire town of Clovelly, this flash flood was triggered when two weeks' worth of rain fell in just 90 minutes. Was 2012 just a freak year? Or are these events part of a much bigger picture? A sign that our weather is getting worse?
In 2012, fluctuations in the jet stream caused some extraordinary weather conditions. But is the evidence from one year enough to be sure that our weather is changing? Doctor Simon Boxall of  Southampton University studies variations in our climate.
The question really is, are the conditions we have experienced in 2012 a one-off? No, they are not, actually. If you go back the last two or three years, we've seen heavy snowfalls during winter, we've seen very cold patches. Over the last 15 years, we've seen eight of the warmest years on record. We've also seen some of the wettest years on record, as well. Over the last decade, there has been plenty to worry about. It has become an all too familiar story to see extreme weather- wetter, drier, hotter or colder than at any time since records began. And one of the most severe British weather events of the last decade was so unexpected, it caused everyone to wonder what on earth was happening to our great British weather.
28th July 2005, at lunchtime a series of severe thunderstorms was tracking towards Birmingham. Shortly before 2.30pm, community worker Sanjeen Duggal was travelling through the Balsall Heath area of the city.
I was driving down this road here on that day and I got halfway down and it got a bit dark, a bit warm and windy. And I thought, "that's something different. I haven't seen that before. All of a sudden, I could see something going round and round, dark. So I got to the end of this road, turned to the right but the van was going left. I'm thinking, "what's going on?"
What Sanjeen didn't know at the time, is that a tornado touched down in this Birmingham suburb.
Sajjad Boston runs a mini-supermarket on Ladypool Road. The ferocious winds nearly lifted one of his customers off the ground.
He was like a rag doll, trying to get in. He had his hands here on this part here, we had our hands here and there was another chap here who was pushing this part here, and with our feet. Next thing we knew, his legs were up in the air. So, we managed to deal with that. There were about two of us who pulled this back, this door, and then one of them grabbed his hand, or his arm, and just about pulled him in.
The tornado carved  a path 7.5 miles long through Birmingham's eastern suburbs. In just four minutes, it caused £ 40 million worth of damage. And then disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The devastation was shocking. 
I got onto the stairs. I looked up and the roof's gone. I've just seen daylight. I just fell all the air rushing out of the house.
One of our chaps who was here, he literally said to us that judgement day is here, that he felt that it was judgement day and at the time we believed, believe us or not, we thought that it was because of the way this whole thing had happened. It was the first time we saw something like this.
The wind speeds inside the Birmingham tornado were later estimated to have been up to 130 miles per hour. What locals couldn't understand was why a tornado had struck the heart of England.
Tornadoes are spawned from giant thunderstorm clouds called super-cells. Most famously, they wreak havoc across America's Great Plains- a region known as Tornado Alley.
Tornadoes form where warm, moist air, full of energy from the south, collides with cold air from the north, forcing the warm air to rise. This creates giant thunderclouds which rise, rotate and spawn tornadoes.