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Ready for an Emergency

Modal Verbs

Date: Jun 10 2011

Themes: News

Grammar: Modal Verbs

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Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Between the record-breaking earthquake and threat of nuclear meltdown in Japan, and the tornadoes and floods that have been wreaking havoc across the US, it’s starting to feel like a disaster can, and will, strike at any moment.

We all hope that we won’t have to face an emergency like a major earthquake, flood, hurricane, or fire. But many people feel that it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s why they’re storing things like food, water, and gasoline. They’re also making plans about where to go and how to reach their families in case a disaster makes it impossible for them to get home. Find out if Dale and Ella are prepared for an emergency.

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.

Ella

Dale

Ella: Are you ready if an emergency were to occur, if some type of disaster were to happen? ‘Cause I am.

Dale: I am, too.

Ella: Are you? Good.

Dale: Absolutely. After the tsunami, after the tornadoes, we know to go to one spot. That’s our number one preparation.

Ella: I mean, do you think there’s ever a point of people being too prepared, or too paranoid? Or just like, constantly concerned? I mean, I always have a first aid kit or something in my car, but…

Dale: So fill me in, how can somebody be over-prepared?

Ella: I don’t know, have you seen people like stockpile gallons and gallons of food and gasoline for this possible disaster that’s gonna happen, though we don’t know when it’s gonna strike?

Dale: They’re telling us that we should prepare for three days, and that’s minimal.

Ella: I mean, what’s realistic? What do you got planned in case of a disaster?

Dale: Just three days worth of stuff, some food, first aid kit. And an evacuation plan, basically going to a central location where your family can all meet. Things do happen. So in my mind, it’s better safe than sorry.

Grammar Point

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Ella asks Dale if he is prepared for an emergency. He says that his family’s top priority was coming up with a place where they would all meet in case they became separated during a disaster. He thinks the most important thing is for them to all be together.

Dale also has enough food and water stored to last for three days. He thinks that this is the minimum that people should do. But Ella thinks it’s possible to go overboard with emergency preparations. She says that some people are too paranoid about the possibility of a disaster.

Is your family prepared for an emergency? What do you think people should do to prepare for a possible disaster?

Comments

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21 through 33 of 33
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oroba

Yemen

but if the disaster continue for 4 month like here in yemen ,what should we do ?there is nothing to keep ,no electricity,no water no fuel no gas to cook.looooooooooool

no one can solve this problem

tamago

Japan

mother nature makes us live.
it is just only it.
that is the truth .
just simple.
human-being just have no power under the nature.
that is what I felt it in Japan.

jalalkar2010

Morocco

hello all

ruben777

Mexico

hello

Miss.Seba

Yemen

unfortunately NO, because disasters rarely strike in yemen :p

LLGnatuk

Russian Federation

@ Karem-tn : No, I bought the cartoons and popcorn. :)

hema2010

Egypt

True love means life

Rockyy01

Pakistan

Prayers from the bottom of the hearts of all of us are with Yemen… :)

Omar alsaqqaf

Yemen

Well…actully we are in Yemen now having an emergency …we are facing a war bitween our tribesmen and the gavernment…So my family I can say perapared for this before it happened …they started storing in our home some food Gasoline and some other stuff …and after that all they evacuated from the home hhhhhhhhhhhh….I think its a nice plan ^_*

nelson27

Colombia

in the present year has happended different natural disaster , so many people lost their lives in these ones, so we have better make a plan to be safe and sound , and do not be injure by any disaster, well , first we have to keep present that we can’t get trough a situation like this without God’s help . don’t forget we can’t get trough alone in asituation like this,