1. Do you know what these words mean? Match them with the pictures in the Power Point presentation.

earthquake tornado explosion flood cyclone
hurricane fire volcanic eruption road accidents
war oil spills avalanche drought tsunami

Which are natural disasters? Which are manmade?

2. Look at the title of the text. What do you know about the Great Fire of London? What else would you like to know about it? Write three questions. Read the text. Can you answer your questions?

The Great Fire of London

In 1665 London experienced the Great Plague. Twelve months later while the Londoners were getting over the disaster of the plague, they had to save their houses again, this time because of a fire that broke out at Thomas Farrinor's bakery. John Evelyn gives us his account of the fire in London.

September 2nd 1666
This fatal night, about ten: the terrible fire began on Pudding Lane, in London.

September 3rd
The fire continues. After dinner I took a coach with my wife and son and went to the bankside in Southwark, where we watched that dismal spectacle, the whole city in dreadful flames near the waterside. The fire continued all this night (if I may call it a night which was light as day for 10 miles around). The people are so astonished .... there was nothing heard or seen but crying out, running about like distracted creatures, without at all attempting to save even their goods. ... the Thames was covered with floating goods, all the boats carrying what some had time and courage to save, as on the other side; people were erecting tents to shelter both people and what goods they could get away. Oh! The mysterious and calamitous spectacle.

September 4th
The fire still rages. ... the Eastern wind is still driving the flames forward.

September 5th
They decided that pulling down the houses with engines wasn't going to stop the fire and there was no other way to stop it than make a gap by blowing up the houses. (...) This, as well as the courage of the people slowed down the fire.

September 7th
... the church of St Paul’s is now a sad ruin and so are one hundred more; the fountains are dried up and ruined, the waters are boiling, dark clouds of smoke are everywhere. The people who walked about the ruins, appeared like men in some gloomy desert or in some great city laid waste by a cruel enemy.

September 10th
I went again to the ruins, for now it is no longer a city.



3. Watch the tour introduction from the Museum of London, read the text and complete the sentences.

1. The fire started at a ..........
2. The fire broke out late ............
3. It lasted .............. .
4. People used boats ............... .
5. The wind helped .................. .
6. The fire destroyed ............. of the city .
7. After the fire London was ................ .

4. Answer the questions.

1. How do you think John Evelyn felt witnessing this disaster?
2. What did London look like after the fire? Which sentence best describes it?
3. Why do you think the fire lasted for so long? Watch the film and find out.

5. Match the words and phrases in bold in the text to their meanings.

• awful ................
• faced ................
• disastrous ................
• puzzled .................
• story ..............
• protect ..........
• had no water ...........
• continue with forcce ...........
• exploding ..........
• became less active .......
• destroyed ........
6. Homework.
Imagine you lived in London when the fire broke out . Answer the questions and use your answers to write a short letter to a friend of yours describing the experience.

1. Where were you when the fire started?
2. How did you escape the fire?
3. How did you find shelter?
4. What happened to your house?
5. How did you feel?

Additional task: prepare a presentation about theGreat Plague in London in 1664-1665

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