Lessons 2-3

D. Look, listen and read.

Cyclone Aila

Babul and his family live on the island of Dublar Char. Life is good for the family

 now, but that wasn't true after Cyclone Aila. Babul doesn't remember Cyclone 

Aila, but his parents often talk about that terrible night in 2009.

Babul's father had a grocery shop and his mother worked in a fish farm. They 

had a small house that they shared with Babul's grandparents. Babul was just 

a baby, but his sister Nipa was six years old.

Babul's father told him what happened that day. There was light rain in the 

morning on 25 May. In the afternoon, the wind started to blow and

people began to run for their homes. 

Babul's father closed his shop and his mother came home. His grandparents 

checked the family's emergency kit. Their torch was working and they had 

extra batteries. They put the torch, batteries and first aid kit in plastic box.

By the evening, the river was rising. The winds of Cyclone Aila shook the walls 

of the house as if there was an earthquake. Everyone was afraid. Nipa began 

to cry. Suddenly, there was an awful noise and the family's roof blew away! 

The sky was dark, but the family could see trees flying over their heads. 

Grandmother still says she saw fish flying through the sky.

Lessons 4-5

The next day was awful. Babul's family couldn't stop crying. Nipa and grandfather were missing. 

Babul's father went out to look for them. He found Nipa in a field. She was holding onto a 

tree and she was covered in mud. She could not remember anything. He took Nipa at home 

and began

 looking for his father. He looked in the fields, the buildings and in the trees. Many people in 

Bangladesh were missing after Cyclone Aila, and Babul's grandfather was one of them. 

The family never found him.

After Cyclone Aila, people worked together. Nipa's school became the shelter for the 

survivors. Babul and his family went to live in the school. The government of Bangladesh 

and workers from NGOs came to help, but things were very hard. There wasn't enough 

safe drinking water or food, so many people became ill. In time, people repaired their 

homes and rebuilt their villages and bridges. They planted new trees and new crops 

in their fields. Babul feels happy when he looks at the trees and his sister Nipa, but he 

feels sad about his grandfather. His grandmother says, "Don't be sad, Babul. 

Grandfather wanted us to live for the future."

Lessons 6-7

E. Read about Cyclone Aila again. Complete the sentences.

1 Cyclone Aila happened in ...

a. March 2008.       c. March 2009.

b. May 2008.          d. May 2009.

2 Babul's mother worked ... 

a. at home.             c. in a grocery shop.

b. in a fish farm.    d. in a school.

3 ... checked the family's emergency kit.

a. Babul                                   b. Nipa

c. Babul's grandparents        c. Babul's parents

4 The river began to rise ... 

a. in the morning        c. in the afternoon

b. at noon.                   d. in the evening

5 Father found ... in a field.

a. Nipa                    b. Babul 

c. grandfather       d. grandmother

6 was never found.

a. Nipa                     b. Babul

c. Grandfather       d. Grandmother

7 The survivors of Cyclone Aila stayed ... 

a. at home.                    b. in a fish farm.

c. in a grocery shop.    d. in a school.

8 People became ill because ...

a. they didn't have safe drinking water or food.       

b. they weren't living in their homes.

c. the fish farm was closed.                                        

d. the doctors couldn't help them.