A Volcanic Eruption

in Iceland

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

tempt	eruption	follow (2)
region	attract	see/saw/seen
tiny	volcano	false move
trip	standard	make/made/made (2)
lava	stable (2)	earthquake
flow	deadly	come/came/come
bit (2)	exciting	bit/bite/bitten
basic	analyze	formation
create	fry/fried	formation
crowd	so far (2)	experiment
crater	team (2)	remarkably
enjoy	hazard	coordinator
tent	rescue	unpredictable
lost	activity	get/got/gotten
vent	collapse	spectacle
edge	wonder	say/said/said
access	pose (2)	monitor (2)
route

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

It is a spectacle of the natural world that is both beautiful and deadly.

But this volcanic eruption at Gelding Gadala has attracted big crowds. It’s a tiny volcano by Icelandic standards, but close enough to Reykjavik to tempt hundreds to make a day trip to see for themselves the lava flow.

The eruption follows fifty-three thousand (53,000) earthquakes in the region in the past month.

Some have come to study it.

Professor Joel Ruch, University of Geneva: “This is very exciting for us because we have been here since a bit more than two weeks. So we came really to analyze the formation here.”

While others are conducting more basic experiments. Yes, the lava is hot enough for a fry up. But one false move and breakfast is canceled.

Remarkably, bad weather has posed the greatest danger to the public so far, with rescue teams helping lost visitors back to their cars.

Sara Barsotti, Volcanic Hazards Coordinator, Icelandic Met Office: “It is true that people have been camping there with their tent just to enjoy the view during the night. They are getting very close to the lava fronts or they got very close to the crater vent where indeed we know the activity could be really unpredictable.

And the edge of these of cones are quite unstable; they might collapse.”

Scientists are closely monitoring the eruption but say the lava could continue to flow for days or weeks. And Icelandic authorities are working to create an access route that’ll let visitors enjoy this wonder of nature.

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Questions

Mountain. The volcanic eruption is dull and boring. True or false?

Hill. When the volcano started erupting, did everyone panic, scream and run away?

Land . Is the volcano gigantic, big, medium-sized, small or tiny?

Ocean. Iceland has only experienced a volcanic eruption. Is this right or wrong?

Sea. Do only tourists come to observe the volcano?

River . Is the molten lava extremely hot, hot, warm, cool, cold or freezing cold?

Stream. What did some people try to do with the lava? Did they succeed?

Lake. Some visitors are very brave (or foolhardy or stupid). Is this correct or incorrect? Was what they did safe or dangerous?

 

Pond. My country has volcanoes. Yes or no? Are they popular tourist destinations?

Island. Have you or your friends visited a volcano or seen a volcanic eruption?

Valley. Are there myths and legends surrounding volcanoes?

Plains. Have you seen movies or TV shows featuring volcanoes?

Beach. What might happen in the future?

Peninsula. Could volcanoes be harnessed for energy?