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Words and Phrases in Context
Text Structure
Academic Vocabulary
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100
What cycle ended in 1994 (paragraph 19)? Why does this mean that "more monster storms loom ahead?"
"A cycle of fewer and lower-intensity storms ended in 1994." Since a cycle of "lower-intensity storms" has ended, "more monster storms loom ahead."
100
Define "stretch" as it used in paragraph 18. What words or phrases did the authors use to support you in determining the meaning?
Stretch means "a period of time." The authors use "a few decades" and "cycle" to describe a stretch.
100
Explain what the colon (:) signals in the last sentence in paragraph 15.
The colon signals that an explanation follows. The information after the colon explains what the bad news is.
100
Do you think that the authors adequately support the claim that the flooding in New Orleans "was pretty much inevitable"? (See paragraph 9.)
Yes, the authors adequately support their claim. They mention in the article that "scientists were not surprised" by the flooding and that "researchers had warned of exactly this type of disaster."
100
Why do some people suggest in paragraph 21 "quitting the fight against nature and moving the city to a different spot"?
Some people think it would be easier to move the city to another location.
200
Based on the introductory text (pg. 143), what are two effects of natural disasters caused by forces of nature?
Natural disasters "take countless lives and cost billions of dollars."
200
Define the phrase "paled in comparison" as it is used in paragraph 2. What words or phrases do the authors use to support you in determining the meaning?
Paled in comparison means "was not as great as." The authors mention "other disasters" and state that "2,500 people were dead" compared to "12,000 lifeless bodies" (paragraph 3).
200
Why did the authors ask the question "Why?" in paragraph 11? Describe the effect.
The authors ask the rhetorical question "Why?" to signal that they are about to explain something--why the city has sunk. Asking the question "Why?" gets the reader thinking and curious to find an answer in the text.
200
What was the other "strike against" New Orleans? How did it make the city more vulnerable to a hurricane? (See paragraph 14.)
The "other strike" against New Orleans was the wearing away of the marshes and barrier islands. The wearing away of the marshes and barrier islands made them less able to absorb the storm surges and less able to protect the city during the hurricane.
200
Based on details in paragraph 8, what caused the flooding? What were the effects of the flooding?
The flooding was caused by the storm, the rising water, and the levees breaking. The effects of the flooding included that "most of the city was underwater."
300
Why does Willoughby describe the Mississippi Delta as "basically a pile of mud in the gulf of Mexico" in paragraph 12?
The author uses something familiar, mud, to help the reader understand why the ground on which New Orleans was built is spreading and sinking.
300
A "Connotation" is the feeling or emotion associated with a word. Determine the connotation of the "Words to Know" on pg. 143 (braced, devastated, toppled, rubble).
All of these words can be associated with feelings of fear and/or despair.
300
A "subheading" is a short phrase used as a title for a small part within a longer piece of writing. Describe what the subheading "Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans" signals about how the authors have structured this text (pg. 144).
This subheading indicates that the authors have organized the information in their text by disaster in the same order that they introduced them in their introduction--by level of destruction, not by date.
300
According to paragraph 6, what was the "human toll" of Hurricane Katrina? Why were so many people "displaced."
The human toll of Hurricane Katrina was the deaths of 1,800 people, hundreds of missing people, and people over one million people being displaced. A large number of people were displaced because their homes had been destroyed in the flooding that took place after the levees broke.
300
What is the effect of comparing the location of New Orleans to a bowl? (See page 145.)
The image of a bowl helps the reader visualize the landscape of the area--"80 percent" of the city is in between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, or the sides of the bowl, and the city dips down, like the bottom of a bowl, more than 8 feet below sea level.
400
A "claim" is an arguable statement or position (opinion). Do you think that the authors adequately support the claim that "the most catastrophic event...occurred in 2004 (See paragraph 4.)?
Yes, the authors adequately support their claim. They mention that more than 200,000 people died in the tsunami. This number is greater than the number of people who died in Hurricane Katrina (2,500) and the earthquake in China (12,000) combined.
400
Review "The Storm Hits" (pgs. 144-145) and "Disappearing Defenses" (pg. 147). Summarize the effects the levees had on the city of New Orleans.
The levees were meant to prevent flooding, but they caused sediment to build up in the lake and river, raised the water levels, and caused the city to sink. They also prevented sediment from being deposited in the marshes and on the barrier islands, causing them to wear away. As a result of all of this, the effect was terrible flooding.
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