Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
In October 2012, a terrible storm formed in the Caribbean. The storm became a hurricane, and it devastated parts of the Caribbean and the eastern United States. In the US, Hurricane Sandy brought particular damage to New York and New Jersey. Sandy destroyed homes, beaches, and lives, and left many without electricity for weeks.
Many see a terrible storm like this as a product of climate change. And some hope that one positive effect of the catastrophe will be to get people to start taking climate change more seriously. Hear Marni and Greta’s thoughts in this English lesson about weather.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Marni: Greta, do you have family on the east coast that was affected by Hurricane Sandy?
Greta: I don’t have family, but I have a lot of friends. I lived in New York for eight years, and a great deal of my friends are still in New York.
Marni: And is everybody OK, as far as you know?
Greta: Everybody’s OK…
Marni: Good.
Greta: Some people are without power, but everybody made it through the storm OK.
Marni: I’m glad to hear that. It clearly caused mass destruction, and, you know, ravaged the coastline, and when I see photographs and see it on the news, it’s really devastating. Just to think of New York City, just the subway system alone, it’s just kind of unfathomable to think about the damage that it caused.
Greta: It really is. I think that one good thing maybe, is that the response to the destruction was faster and better than it was the last time the United States suffered a big catastrophe like this, with Hurricane Katrina.
Marni: Yes, absolutely. And I think in some ways it was really interesting because it gave Obama, I think…people came out and said he’s the only one of the candidates talking about climate change. And clearly, I think, there’s something going on there. It seems like it’s undeniable at this point. Storms are getting vaster and more powerful, and there’s gotta be something to that. So maybe that’s the good that will come out of it, is people will really be forced to look at this issue and address it.
Greta: I think so.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Passive Voice" from this lesson 
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Discussion
Marni asks Greta if she has any family on the east coast of the United States, who might have encountered Hurricane Sandy. Greta replies that she doesn’t have family there, but she has many friends in New York. Luckily, they’re all OK.
Marni’s glad to hear the good news. She describes how intense it was to see the photos of all the damage, and to think about a city like New York suffering so much.
Greta also thinks that at least the government responded more quickly this time than it did during Hurricane Katrina. And Marni thinks that, perhaps, the storm will get people to take climate change seriously. Greta agrees.
What did you think when you heard about Hurricane Sandy? Have you ever experienced a big storm like that? Do you think that the storm was caused by climate change?
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