E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

a long period with not enough water
disease 
illness
;
 sickness
avalanche
a large amount of snow, ice, and rocks falling down a 
mountainside
blizzard 
a heavy snowstorm
mudslide 
a large amount of mud (wet dirt) sliding down a mountain
lood 
a large amount of water in an area that should be dry
B.
Identify the problem
Write the correct word from Exercise A next to each description.
1.
He walked slowly toward the house, which he could barely see through the 
swirling snow. ___________________________
2.
The earth got hard, the plants dried up, the lakes disappeared, and the 
landscape turned yellow and brown. ___________________________
3.
They spent the whole day piling up sandbags to protect their home from 
the rising river, but in the end the water illed the lower level of the house. 
___________________________
4.
She lay in the hospital bed, thin and pale except for the red blotches 
covering most of her body. ___________________________

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14
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Better Reading English
5.
The skiers heard the distant rumble of the mountainside crashing down 
and felt immense relief that they were so far away. 
___________________________
6.
After a month of rain, the hillside gave way, illing the yards and in some 
cases the living rooms of the houses below with brown mud. 
___________________________
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: 
it + takes
A.
Read about expressing length of time with
 it 
+
 takes
We express length of time using 
it + takes
+ an ininitive verb.
It took
 more than three thousand years for the oldest Sequoias 
to grow.
In the present tense:
South Rim to North Rim of the Grand Canyon—5.5-hour drive
It takes 
five and a half hours 
to drive
 from the South Rim to the North Rim 
of the Grand Canyon.
We can express the same idea two ways in the past tense.
The loggers cut down the giant tree in three hours.
It took
 the loggers three hours 
to cut down
 the giant tree.
B.
Use the grammar
Read the tour guide facts, and write sentences to express the lengths of time.
1.
Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon—ive-hour drive
2.
South Rim to North Rim—25-mile hike
3.
Through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River—17-day raft
4.
Muir and others stopped the logging in Sequoia, a national park—nine 
years
5.
Reinhold Metzger backpacked the 211-mile John Muir trail—six days
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Answer the questions.
1.
Muir uses the word 
fool
twice. Who is he talking about?

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Nature in the United States
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15
2. Muir uses poetic language to talk about the trees: 
grand aboriginal 
giants…standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the 
mighty forests
…Why does he use this kind of language to describe the 
trees?
AN OUTDOOR SURVIVAL SCHOOL
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
This excerpt is from an article in the 
New York Times
about a class at an 
“outdoor survival school.” People take the class to learn how to survive if 
something goes wrong when they are camping or hiking. They spend two days 
in the wilderness with only a knife, a parachute cord, a ire sparker, and a water 
bottle. They are not allowed to bring a tent or anything to sleep on. Mr. Posner 
is one of the students in the class. Mr. Nestor is the teacher.
B.
Words to know before you read