Opción B - 4 · Inglés PAU Castilla y León Extraordinaria (Fase Mejora de Nota) 2021

OPTION B

AUSTRALIA'S DEADLY WILDFIRES ARE SHOWING NO SIGNS OF STOPPING

Australia is being ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in decades, with large swaths of the country

devastated since the fire season began in late July.

At least 28 people have died nationwide, and in the state of New South Wales (NSW) alone, more

than 3,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. State and federal authorities are struggling to contain

5 the massive blazes, even with firefighting assistance from other countries, including the United States. All

this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought, and many point to climate change as a factor

making natural disasters go from bad to worse.

There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales has been hardest hit. Blazes

have torn through bushland, wooded areas, and national parks like the Blue Mountains. Some of Australia’s

10 largest cities have also been affected, including Melbourne and Sydney -- where fires have damaged homes

in the outer suburbs and thick plumes of smoke have blanketed the urban center. Earlier in December, the

smoke was so bad in Sydney that air quality measured 11 times the hazardous level.

The fires range in area from small blazes -- isolated buildings or part of a neighborhood -- to massive

infernos that occupy entire hectares of land. Some start and are contained in a matter of days, but the biggest

15 blazes have been burning for months. In NSW alone, more than 100 fires are still burning.

WHAT IS CAUSING THE FIRES?

Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy

for blazes to start and spread.

Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. Dry

20 lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria’s East Gippsland region in late

December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in just five hours. Humans can also

be to blame. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires, and have

taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related offenses since November, according to a police

statement. (Fragment adapted from CNN News.)

4) VOCABULARY (2 POINTS).

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