Hello and welcome back to another story from Practicing English.
And today you're going to learn a lot about tsunamis.
Tsunami, that giant wave caused by an earthquake under the sea.
I will ask you some questions about tsunamis in one moment for you to listen out for in the story.
And there is also an interesting language point. which will be interesting for B1 and B2 level students.
So here we go. Hello and welcome to Practicing English.
My name is Mike Bilbre and these are podcasts. for students of English at B1 or B2 levels and if you are a B1 level student trying to reach B2 level then I recommend my book The Tudor Conspiracy Come over to practicingenglish.com and you'll see a picture of the front cover.
Click on that and it will take you to the page where you can buy the book.
So let's start with the language point. Now, this is a comparative sentence.
We put two comparatives together. In this way, Now, before I start, the story will include a beach.
And so here the examples are about beaches.
So for example, when we go to the beach for a swim, when we're on holiday, We could say, the warmer the water, the more I like swimming.
The warmer the water, the more I like swimming.
So it means that I like swimming more when the water is warmer.
Notice the structure, it has the direct article the, the warmer, the water comma, the more or any other comparative plus the rest of the sentence. the more I like swimming.
Here is another example. The quieter the beach, the easier it is to relax.
The quieter the beach, the easier it is to relax.
Notice the two definite articles that we always must use.
The quieter the beach, the easier it is.
And my third example is The more sun cream I put on, The longer I can stay on the beach.
The more sun cream I put on, the longer I can stay on the beach.
So I invite you to listen to the story, part one of the story, and there are some examples. of this comparative use in the story for you to listen for they actually talk about tsunamis So that will help you also with my next question, which is about tsunamis.
And my questions are the following. Do tsunamis travel faster in deep water or in shallow water?
So, deep then means many, many meters down, and shallow means maybe just two or three meters.
So it's the opposite of deep. Shallow. So that's the first question.
And the second question is, when is a tsunami higher?
And the two options are in deep water or in shallow water.
In deep water or in shallow water? When is a tsunami higher?
And the third question is, are tsunamis dangerous to big ships?
Yeah, what happens when there's a tsunami and there's a big ship out there in the sea?
Are they affected by tsunamis? Listen to the story and it will answer those questions for you.
I'm going to include the audio script in this story.
Now to find it, I'll put a link in the show notes and the link will take you to my website and the page where you can see the transcript or the audio script for the story.
So listen out for comparatives, the use of the comparatives with the direct articles and also the Information then about the tsunamis.
Can you answer those three questions? I'll give the answers at the end of this podcast.
Right, so I'm going to start the story now.
Here we go! Tsunami A Short Story by M. A. Bilbrough.
This recording is copyright, suitable for B1 and B2 level students.
Melville stood in his laboratory, mug of coffee in hand. and looked out at the smooth blue ocean in the distance.
Hardly a wave. On a clear morning like this morning, it was possible at this height to see perfectly where the straight line of the sea met the sky, the skyline.
The sea was just a little darker than the sky above.
Some people might say Melville had a lonely job, However, he didn't see it that way, and probably most islanders would have agreed with Melville.
Mbota Island had a population of just 421 people.
So being alone was something that few people suffered from, because they were used to being alone.
After all, Melville had the job he had always wished for.
After many years of university which involved studying geology and seismology in Athens, He had returned to his Greek island home and married his childhood love of his life, Daphne.
He no longer wanted to travel and see the world.
So he took the job he loved and lived. in an elegant home on the peaceful mountain island of Boda.
It was about a half an hour drive to his place of work in the laboratory, and Melville was the only person who worked there.
Although the job was very important, it could be carried out by one person.
In this part of the Mediterranean Sea, earthquakes were fairly common.
In fact, most were just earth tremors, which are smaller sized earthquakes.
Melville's work involved making seismic maps of the ocean around the island.
This work was supposed to help him and other scientists, located in various areas around the Mediterranean, to carry out research which could better predict when a large earthquake was going to strike.
However, with the limited data available due to little government financial support, predicting when a large earthquake would happen was not at all accurate.
Melville walked past the laboratory computer screens, watching them carefully.
There had been some seismic activity out there, deep under the sea for a few days now.
He knew this from the scientific instruments situated around the island, that could feel tiny vibrations and send back information to the laboratory via satellite.
He had written a report about this recent activity which said that a medium-sized earthquake could happen very soon.
The mobile phone rang. Melville's wife, Daphne.
Hi, honey, he answered. What are you up to?
Daphne ran their little hotel further down the mountain in the village of Bota, a village of white sugar cube houses which hung over the sea about a hundred meters up.
But it was winter now and there were hardly any tourists to be seen.
Daphne also ran her own private taxi service, which she offered to visitors. taking them backwards and forwards between the beach and the village, which were both on opposite sides of the island.
Guess what? We've got four new guests staying, she said happily.
A French couple and their two children. They arrived on this morning's ferry.
I've taken them to Palomini Beach. I said it was a bit cold for a swim, but they were keen to go.
They took a picnic. I'm going to pick them up at six.
This was one reason why Mota had never really been very popular with tourists. as the beach was on the far side of the island from the village.
The only way to get there was on foot, which was a long walk or by Daphne's taxi.
There was no bus service. With a population of 450 people who rarely went to the beach, it wasn't worth it.
Great, Melville replied. Hey Daphne, you know I'm staying here for lunch, don't you?
I need to watch these trends in seismic activity.
They're a little unusual, so I intend to let the other stations know about them.
I've got a couple of sandwiches and a beer.
I'll see you this evening. Sure, that's fine, Mel, said Daphne.
Although it's a shame you have to work on a Sunday.
Sorry about that, Melville apologised, but I think I should be here due to all this seismic stuff going on.
I understand, honey, said Daphne, and hung up.
One reason Melville loved working in this mountain top laboratory was that the light was so spectacular.
The laboratory had large windows from where you could see the mountain landscape and the sea.
It was easy for Melville to stop concentrating and look away from his screens to the brilliant winter sunshine on the sparkling sea below.
He was doing exactly that now. wondering whether he should plant some flowers this spring in the soft ground just in front of the laboratory.
He could put a table and chairs outside too, where he could enjoy his lunch.
A sudden whirring sound from the computer.
An alarm. Melville turned his head back to the screens.
Powerful seismic activity. What was this?
Melville ran to the seismograph. Its pen was drawing mad lines across the paper from one side to the other.
An earthquake. And a big one. But where?
He ran back to the screens and began typing into the computer.
Data soon came in with the information he needed to do his calculations.
Epicenter. Pharmac Reef. 100 miles. Melville ran to the shelves and pulled out some maps.
He preferred paper maps to get a better picture of the huge areas of the ocean floor.
After a few moments of anxiety, he sat down a little more relaxed.
The epicenter was in the middle of the Mediterranean, about 300 miles from the North African coast and about the same from Crete.
If there was one populated area at risk, it would be Botha.
Melville fed all the information he had available into the computer. depth of the ocean, water temperatures, ocean tides and currents, This data was able to produce a forecast of a possible tsunami as a result of the earthquake.
Melville knew that a tsunami could travel at speeds of up to 800 kilometers an hour.
So a local tsunami like this one could reach the coast in minutes.
It all depended One interesting fact about tsunamis is that the deeper the water, the faster the wave travels.
Greater depth, Faster Tsunami Speed A second interesting and extremely important fact was that the shallower the water, the higher the tsunami wave.
Shallower water, greater height. Melville moved his eyes over the screen. translating the data into what the effects of this earthquake could be for Botha.
Earthquake size? 6.3 on the Richter scale.
Tsunami created? Definitely. Wave height on arrival, 25 meters.
Estimated time of arrival, 13 minutes. Melville made a general announcement via email of all this information to the seismology stations on the coast of the nearby countries, Italy, Malta, Greece, Libya, Tunisia.
This he did with just one click of a keyboard button. but they'd be all right.
The tsunami would probably not even reach those countries.
They were too far away. Ships at sea are usually safe from tsunamis.
That is because in very deep water the wave is fairly small.
It only grows in size in water shallower than about 60 meters.
Anybody on a cruise liner for instance will hardly notice the wave pass underneath.
The problem was the population of the enormous rock that Melville, at this moment, was sitting on top of.
Boater. Thirteen minutes! Melville ran to the window.
There was the skyline, just the same as always.
No change yet. Daphne! Melville was now on his mobile phone.
Tsunami! He breathed. A big one! Coming in from the southwest!
Are you sure? I'm 99% sure. How big? About 25 metres high on the first wave.
The following waves should be smaller. Thank God it's Sunday.
Melville's mind didn't click at first, then he realised what she meant.
Of course, the fishermen don't take their boats out on Sundays.
That's good. Small boats in shallow water could be seriously damaged by a big tsunami.
But the harbour. I need you to check if there's anybody in the harbour and get everybody up to the village.
The village will be safe. It's high up. How much time do we have?
Melville looked at his watch. 11 minutes.
Fortunately, the harbor and the village are on opposite sides of the island.
The water will rise. But they won't take a direct hit.
I'm onto it, honey. I use the harbour speaker.
The harbour speaker was a very useful system of communicating with anybody and everybody in the harbour.
It had been installed years ago so that anybody in the village could contact the harbour using a loud speaker.
It had been the subject of jokes because angry wives would announce for everybody in the harbour to hear that their husband was late for lunch and to come home immediately.
Then when the mobile phone arrived, this system of communication was used less often.
But it still worked, and of course, it would always be useful for emergencies, such as a tsunami.
If Daphne called down to the harbour now, the whole area could be cleared within minutes.
But Daphne didn't hang up. There was a pause.
Mel! What? The tourists! The French tourists!
She almost screamed these words. They're on the beach!
The beach was on the south side of the island.
They'll take a direct hit, said Melville.
I won't get there in time, said Daphne. It takes 20 minutes by car.
Anyway, you've got to warn the people in the harbour.
I'll go. said Melville. It'll take me five minutes in my jeep.
I'll bring them back up to the laboratory.
Melville realised what going down to that beach actually meant. and he felt fear in his heart.
"'Mel!' shouted Daphne down the phone, but she knew there was no other way.
How could they leave those people down there to die?
Meanwhile, the seconds were ticking by. Go, honey, go!
She screamed, but Melville had already hung up.
And be careful. Please be careful, Mel. She added to nobody in particular. or perhaps to the cruel gods on Mount Olympus, who had so much power but preferred to look down and enjoy the fun. of watching humans suffer.
Okay, so that's the end of part one. I'll bring you part two of Tsunami next week. also the answers to the questions about the tsunami.
The deeper the water, the faster the wave travels.
So if the water is very deep, the wave travels more quickly.
And the other one was, when is a tsunami higher in deep water or in shallow water?
The shallower the water, the higher the tsunami wave.
And the third question, are tsunamis dangerous to big ships?
Well, as the text explained, that large ships like cruise liners are fairly safe as long as they are in deep water. and you probably wouldn't even notice a tsunami wave pass underneath.
Okay, that's all for this week. Come back next week to hear part two of Tsunami.
Goodbye for now.
