B1 – Lower Intermediate
Spain has experienced drought last year but at the beginning of this year there was a huge amount of snow fall which trapped thousands of people on the road for more than 13 hours.
Let us read the full story of the article from the link below and let’s start a discussion.
Snow in Spain traps thousands of people in cars overnight
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
- Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
- Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
8 replies on “Snow in Spain Traps Thousands”
1. What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
I believe the weather is changing a bit for the last few years. However, there are situations that have happened always, and before they weren’t publicly reported as they are nowadays.
2. Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
No, I have never experienced anything of that.
3. Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
Yes. Mainly, it could be avoided with useful information. The Government could have reported the situation, even blocking traffic for all the affected zones. On the other side, people should take information weather before travelling in some specific dates (like winter).
Many thanks for taking the time to answer the discussion questions from this lesson. Good job!
See how you can write the following sentences a bit better:
I believe the weather is changing a bit
forthe last few years.However, there are situations that have happened always, and before they weren’t publicly reported as they are nowadays.
What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
Well we all know that lately climate change is a big issue in our world. So, drastic changes of the weather are implemented to this. For instance, in Summer we are experiencing some bad weather days and more and more the average temperature degrees are increasing.
Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
I live in the north of Spain and I remember big snows were the school day was suspended due to people cannot reach the school. But this is changing and we are not having those bug snow days anymore.
Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
Yes, this is for sure a drastic change not expected and they have the issue that this day was just the day when all people come back from their christmas holidays. So, it was a catastrophic event where a lot of issues came together and the outcome was that a lot of people had to spend the night in their vehicles.
Good job writing your ideas down. Here is one sentence you can write a little better by revising it.
For instance, in Summer we are experiencing some bad weather days and more and more the average temperature degrees are increasing.
> For instance, in summer we are experiencing some bad weather days and more and more, the average temperature is increasing.
OR and more and more, the average temperature gets higher and higher.
Keep practicing your writing skills. You are seeing results now.
1. What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
Yes. The impact in the climate due to human actions is very dangerous. Pollution impacts in the drastic changes of the weather.
2. Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
No, I have never experienced being stranded in a place because of snow. Although, last year I have had problems in my city because of snow. I had problems. The streets were full of snow and the children could not go to school.
3. Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
In Spain (a hot country), Snow is not very common. That is why when it snows there are many problems like traffic jump …and many cities collapse and we don’t have an efficient infrastructure to deal with this type of incident. The cars do not have adequate tires.
Thank you for taking time in responding to these questions. Kindly check out the following and see how you can say them a bit better:
In Spain (a hot country), Snow is not very common.
> In Spain which is a hot country, heavy snow storms are not very common.
many problems like traffic jump
> many problems like traffic jam/congestion
The cars do not have adequate tires.
> The cars do not have appropriate/proper tires.
You did a good job.
1.- What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
Nowdays there is an intense discussion about the impact in the climate due to human actions. In my opinion there are enough evidences about the reality of the climate change, because most scientists think so.
Every year we have new records of heat in many countries, but in winter is even worst. The climate change isn’t only about to have higher temparature, but also about to have harder winters. The hotter the poles, the colder it will be in the rest of the world in winter.
2.- Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
Yes, I have. It was in Mallorca, when I was coming back after spend the day in north coast. You have to cross the mountain to be able to go from north to south in the island. It started to rain, but in the mountain it turned into snow.
3.- Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
I live in Spain, and I know this is a hot country, so we don’t have an efficient infraestructure to deal with this type of incident because it happens very rarely. The TV warned several times about the risk of driving during that day, so maybe it was difficult to avoid. The solution could be closing the most unsafe places.
What do you think of the drastic changes of the weather?
It is our fault, now we have to deal with it.
Have you ever experienced being stranded in a place because of snow?
No, I haven’t.
Do you think this incident could have been avoided? How?
No, it couldn’t.