The flooding of Lake Eyre – exercise A – answers
Vocabulary and notes
The TV announcer on Sunday Night, an Australian TV current affairs programme, begins: As if to emphasise the extremes of this harsh continent big areas of north-east and east New South Wales……. This has the sense that it seems as if….
As if – Eg I was telling Helen about how often I get interrupted by the phone ringing. As if to prove my point, it rang 6 times during our conversation.
1 Inundated – an area has been inundated by flood waters that have left many towns and villages isolated.
inundated =1) flooded 2) overwhelmed with things to be dealt with – eg He’s been inundated with telephone calls.
2 Paul Lockyer’s filming expedition to Lake Eyre has produced spectacular dividends.
dividends – benefits from what someone has done, decided or invested in
3 This rare outback event.
The outback – a remote or sparsely populated inland area, especially in Australia. Notice that the word outback can be a noun – the outback – or used (as here) adjectivally or adverbally – eg An outback farmer / these outback cattle stations (= in the outback).
4 Massive – it is ‘beauty on a massive scale‘.
5 He is a ranger.
A ranger – 1) a keeper of a park, forest, area of countryside, such as a natural park, national or game reserve ; 2) a member of a body of armed men
6 Drawcard – Lake Eyre is the big drawcard.
7 Disorientated.
8 Rejuvenated.
9 Fuel dumps.
10 Challenging.
11 You count your blessings.
12 Perils.
13 A flood or two.
Paul Lockyer says of Charlie Rayment, an 83-year old retired stockman, that he’s seen a flood or two but many more droughts. Here a flood or two may actually be true – but often a…. or two is an understatement meaning you have seen a great deal of something. Eg She’s cooked a meal or two in her time = she’s cooked a lot of meals in her life.
14 It is beyond me.
Where they (= the birds) migrate from is beyond me. Eg It is beyond us why she’s moved there.
15 Astounded.
16 Creeks.
17 Arid – (in arid areas untouched by the flood the camels run wild across the dunes).
18 For years and years.
19 An airstrip.
20 Fix – because the pub is so close to the airstrip you can ‘fix your thirst pretty quick’.