Learning English

Eight months' rain in four days

Thousands of people are being told to leave their homes in Sydney, Australia, after parts of the city had had eight months’ rain in just four days.

Neil and Beth look at the vocabulary used in the headlines about this story.

Watch the video and complete the activity

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The story 

There has been eight months’ rain in just four days, in parts of Sydney. Thousands of people are being told to leave their homes in the Australian city. It’s the third time this year floods have hit.

Experts say they’re caused by the La Nina weather pattern – made worse by climate change.

Key words and phrases

deluge
heavy and sudden fall of rain; large number of tasks at the same time

• The storms brought a deluge.
• After my holiday, I have a deluge of emails.

new normal
new way of doing things that is different from the old way

• Working from home became the new normal because of Covid.
• Extreme weather is the new normal.

far from
not at all

• Home schooling during Covid was far from ideal.
• The film was far from perfect but still entertaining.

To do

Try our quiz to test yourself on today's language!

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