Exercise 1:

Australia possesses an 1.________________ as it hasn't had a recession in nearly three decades.

But the deadly wildfires raging through large parts of the country are threatening key parts of the
country's economy.

The 2.________________ run by Fiona Austin is usually full in January, but tourists were
ordered to evacuate, and only a few people remain.

Things are becoming so volatile and people are still unsure as to whether they could
3.________________ again.

Australia calls itself the 4.________________, a nation so fortunate in geography and natural
resources that the economy has been growing steadily since 1991.

The wildfires have destroyed both residences and 5.________________. Besides, ferry service in
the city's world-famous harbor has sometimes been canceled because of 6.________________.

The Australian Open and the Tour Down Under 7.________________ are mentioned as major
events that may be rescheduled.

Housing prices, which have been 8.________________ in recent years, have fallen to a deep
low.
1. enviable economic record

enviable: causing envy

Collocation: enviable reputation/position/record/ability

Ex: Wellington College is one of the world’s leading co-educational boarding and day schools
and has an enviable reputation for excellence and innovation.

Japan is in the enviable position of having a budget surplus.

Matt Haig is a writer of admirable versatility (children's books, nonfiction, adult novels) and an
enviable ability to produce bestsellers.

Edinburgh boast the enviable record of being the only unbeaten team in Europe after five
rounds of the Heineken Cup.

2. campground

3. flare up : suddenly start again (disaster, disease, fire and anger)

The bushfire emergency in central Queensland flared up on Sunday evening with residents in
the path of the massive Deepwater blaze told to leave immediately.

4. lucky country

5. prime farmland

6. poor visibility

7. bike race

8. skyrocketing: to rise quickly to a very high level (prices, bills, costs and wages)

The industry's development costs will skyrocket. The time of cheap energy resources, cheap gas
is surely coming to an end.

Transcript

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Australia has gone nearly three decades without a recession. It's an enviable economic record.
But as NPR's Jim Zarroli reports, the Australian wildfires are threatening key parts of the
country's economy.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: Normally, the campground run by Fiona Austin near the Australian
city of Shoalhaven is full in January, but tourists have been ordered to evacuate the area. And
with the fires still raging, she doesn't expect them to be back anytime soon.
FIONA AUSTIN: There is a lot of fear because they're being so changing and volatile. You
know, people are still unsure as to whether they could flare up again.

ZARROLI: As planes carrying water to the wildfires buzz overhead, Austin tells NPR her
campground is empty right now except for a few permanent residents.

AUSTIN: We're on 15 acres so - yeah. To only have a couple of tents here - here comes another
plane - is very unusual for us.

ZARROLI: Australians call themselves the lucky country. The economy has been growing
steadily since 1991, a remarkable run. Economist Justin Wolfers of the University of Michigan
says that's partly because the population has grown a lot. But, he says, the country's been
fortunate in some other ways, too.

JUSTIN WOLFERS: Not only did we start the last few decades a relatively rich country and in
the club of the first-world industrialized countries; we're also parked right next to Asia, which is
where much of the world's growth has come from over the past few years.

ZARROLI: As China has grown, it's been hungry for the kinds of commodities Australia has a
lot of, like coal, natural gas, wheat and wool. China sends more tourists to Australia than any
other country. But the rampaging fires are dealing a blow to the economy.

Martin North heads the research firm Digital Finance Analytics.

MARTIN NORTH: Just the area of Australia that's now impacted is unheard of. So we are in
uncertain territory.

ZARROLI: The fires have destroyed more than 1,800 homes, as well as enormous amounts of
prime farmland. Even in places far from the fires, work life is being disrupted. People with
respiratory problems are staying home. Hospital visits are up. And construction crews can't
work. In Sydney, ferries aren't running because of poor visibility in the harbor, says Katrina Ell
of Moody's Analytics.

KATRINA ELL: There was a few days late December when fire alarms were actually going off
in very large buildings within the city center just because of the poor air quality.

ZARROLI: As word of these conditions spreads around the world, tourism is taking a big hit.
There's even been talk of rescheduling some of the big events that draw in millions of visitors
each year, like the Australian Open and the Tour Down Under bike race. Martin North says this
is happening at a time when the Australian economy was already softening a bit.

NORTH: We were already looking, I think, pretty shaky. And that was before all the bushfires.

ZARROLI: China's economy has slowed lately, and Australia has felt some pain. Unemployment
ticked up last year. House prices, which have been skyrocketing for a long time, have taken a
hit. Katrina Ell of Moody's Analytics doesn't think Australia is headed for a recession, but it's
hard to know for sure.

ELL: What's really concerning to us is that this is still relatively early in our typical bushfire
season. So there's concern about how much longer this bushfire season will run for.

ZARROLI: The longer the fires last, the more damage they will do. And that means that after
almost 30 years of steady growth, the lucky country could finally see its luck run out.

Jim Zarroli, NPR News.