新综合教程 第一册 教学课件 熊选琴 刘重霄Unit 4 1 U4.pptVIP

Unit 4 Text A: Girl，10，Used Geographical Knowledge to Save Lives How important is geography? If you asked any of the 100 tourists saved by the ten-year-old Tilly Smith, they would not hesitate a moment to say “Definitely, very important.” Tilly Smith, a British girl, was holidaying at the beach in Phuket, Thailand, with her parents and her seven-year-old sister. All the tourists watched in amazement as the tide rushed out, signifying that a major sea disturbance was approaching the coast. The sea began to bubble, and the water suddenly retreated while the boats on the horizon started to bob up and down violently. Two weeks earlier, Tilly had learnt about tsunamis in a geography class, and she quickly realized it was the early warning sign of a tsunami. As she saw the tide rush out, she knew it indicated an earthquake-driven tidal wave was only minutes away and everyone was in great danger. She told her mother that it could be a tsunami and they had to get off the beach immediately and warn the other travelers. She explained she had just completed a school project on the huge waves caused by earthquakes and said what they were seeing was a sign of a tsunami. Her parents alerted the other holidaymakers as well as the staff at their hotel. Fortunately, people were swiftly cleared from the area as the huge waves crashed onto the beach a few minutes later. The beach resort, where Tilly and her family were staying, was one of the few on Phuket where no one was killed or seriously injured. Thanks to Tallys smart and brave act and her geography teachers practical lesson, people were forewarned of the disastrous tsunami and more than 100 lives were saved. Compared to the severe destruction and loss of life caused by tsunami in other nearby coastal areas, this was really lucky. The damage caused by the tsunami that demolished Indonesias coastal environment was later assessed by the government of Indonesia and the international donor community