Vocabulary:

Oak - дуб

Resume - возобновлять

Height - высота

Barren – бесплодная, неплодородная

Lavender - лаванда

Rod - прут

Length - длина

Drop – капля

Acorn – желудь

Exercise1. Read the text more carefully and answer the questions.

1. The story takes place in France. Which part of France do you think it is? Why? 2. What is the countryside like?

3. What do you think Elzeard’s ambition is?

4. What is his vision of the future?

5. Why is the writer speechless?

6. What thoughts about human behavior does he have in the last sentence?

Exercise2. What do you think?

Do you think ….

… the story about Elzeard is true?

… Elzeard was ever married?

Give reasons for your opinions.

Topical vocabulary:

Important Issues: acid rain, aerosol, animal welfare, carbon monoxide, climate, conservation, endangered species, energy, nuclear energy, solar energy, exhaust fumes, fertilizers, forest fires, global warming, greenhouse effect, (non)-renewable resources, nuclear, nuclear fallout, nuclear reactor, oil-slick, ozone layer, pesticide, pollution, protected animal, rain forest, unleaded petrol, waste, nuclear waste, radio-active waste, wildlife, atmosphere, chemicals, dumping, pollutant deforestation, industrial waste, rubbish, sewage, smog, toxic gases, traffic, unleaded petrol

Natural Disasters: drought, earthquake, flood, tidal wave, typhoon, volcanic eruption

Politics: environmental group, green issues, pressure group

Environment – verbs: to cut down, to destroy, to dispose (of), to dump, to protect, to pollute, to recycle, to save, to throw away, to use up, to poison.

Vocabulary exercises:

Exercise1. Translate and transcribe the vocabulary.

Exercise2. Define what of these calamities are happened by human factor or natural way? Tell other reasons cause them.

Windstorm, hurricane, landslide, flood, earthquake, avalanche, cyclone, drought, forest fire, volcanic eruption, pollution.

Exercise3. Fill the gaps to form a compound noun or phrase from essential vocabulary. Choose one topic and write news coverage. All sentences must be in Passive Voice.

a) the … layer

b) … rain

c) … waste

d) … warming

e) … fumes

f) … rainforest

Exercise4. Complete these word-building tables. If necessary, use a dictionary to help you.

Noun	Verb	Noun	Adjective
Waste …….. …….. pollution damage	…… protect destroy ……… ………	Damage Environment Harm Danger ……..	……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. Safe

Exercise5. Complete the definitions:

a. Conservation is the protection of natural things, e.g. …… and… .

b. Acid rain is rain that contains dangerous chemicals. It is caused by … … .

c. The ozone layer is a layer of gases that stop dangerous radiation from the sun reaching … …. .

d. Global warming is an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in ……. .

Exercise6. Fact finding Choose a number from the box to complete these sentences about natural disasters.

	500                   26.5                  10                 1500

1) There are over  _____ active volcanoes around the world. 2) Tsunamis can travel at up to _____ miles per hour. 3) Hurricanes only form when water temperature reaches _____ ºC. 4) ____ % of the world’s population live within danger range of volcanoes.

Exercise7. Recycling race Work in teams and think of things to put in the recycling columns. The words must all begin with the letter you’re given in the first column.

	Paper/ Wood	Plastic	Metal	Glass	Organic
B	Book	Bin	Bicycle	Bulb	Banana
D
C
F
G
N
M
S
T

FOCUS

Global Warming

A message board on a weather website asked its readers to write in with their views on global warming and climate change. Here’s a selection of their messages. Read them and answer the questions.

Gonzalo – I’m all in favour of global warming. I grow tropical plants so for me the warmer the weather is the better! Tanya – In 20 years time the traditional British weather will be a thing of the past. We’ll have a climate like the south of France. People will be healthier as they’ll spend more time outdoors. Just think, dining al fresco in the summer months. It’ll be great! Luis – no one can tell me that global warming isn’t happening. We’ve just had the hottest year on record! My sister lives in the north of Spain and she said that it is beach weather there and it’s October. I mean it’s not normal is it? Kevin – When I was a boy we used to have heavy snow most years. Since the early 90s all we’ve had is a light dusting of snow. It must be due to global warming. Ruth – You only have to switch on the news to see the crazy things the weather is doing. There are so many floods, hurricanes and droughts. It’s the extreme weather conditions caused by global warming. Oliver – There’s no such thing as global warming. It’s all media hype to brainwash people. If they told us the moon was made of cheese often enough people would believe it!   Mark – The world will never be the same again, but that’s how it has always been. It changes constantly and nature and man can adapt to these changes. If we couldn’t, human life on the planet would have finished years ago.

• Who do you agree with most?

• Who do you disagree with?

What do you know about global warming? Write the reason you think of global warming. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Natural Disaster

Exercise1. Match the words and the definitions

1. Avalanche	A violent storm with a strong fast circular wind in the western Atlantic ocean.
2. Cyclone	Dry weather when there is not enough water.
3. Drought	A great overflow of water.
4. Earthquake	A sudden fall of earth or rocks down a hill, cliff.
5. Flood	A weather condition of strong wind, with little or no rain.
6. Landslide	A large mass of snow and ice crashing down the side of a mountain.
7. Hurricane	A sudden shaking of the earth’s surface, which may be violent enough to cause great damage.
Windstorms	A very violent tropical wind or storm moving very rapidly in a circle round a calm central area.

Write your answers here.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8

Exercise2. Read the message board and then answer the following questions in small groups.

We asked our readers to send in their views on these two questions:

• Do you think there are more natural disasters than in the past?

• Do you think we are prepared to deal with the disasters?

Natural disasters message board

Sarah - “I think it’s really scary that there are so many natural disasters these days. There are far more than in the past. Every time you switch on the news you see places that are flooded or countries in drought. I’m sure it’s all connected to climate change and global warming.”

James - “We so many natural disasters on the news these days that you become immune to them. I don’t mean that in a horrible way, but it always seems so far away and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to help the poor people who are there. ”

Cindy - “The hurricanes and earthquakes that have happened in the past month just prove how unprepared we are for natural disasters. It’s crazy that with all the technology and information available to us nowadays natural disasters still kill so many people. They should spend more money on research to develop warning systems for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.”

Roger – “You can’t prepare for natural disasters as nobody knows when or where they are going to happen. It’s nature’s way of reminding us that she is in charge and we should respect her a lot more than we do.“

Your opinion -

• Who do you agree with?

• Who do you disagree with?

• How would you answer the two questions? Write your message to the message board here:

• Now compare your message with your classmates. Do you all share the same opinion?

Listening focus:

Exercise1. Listen to the text, fill the gaps.

The Aral Sea

The Aral Sea is one of the most ancient lakes on earth, with a history of … years. It was also the … largest lake in the world until the late … . It is dying now. The sea has dropped by … metres and the water has become too salty. There are now … … hectares of land which were once covered by water. The climate has been affected and changed this land into desert. The ecological catastrophe led to the growth of sickness rate, dangerous demographic situation, unemployment and poverty of the people living in this area.

The Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers feed the Aral Sea. They travel through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

In the … new irrigation technologies were introduced and larger – scale cotton cultivation was begun. Water from the rivers was diverted for agricultural and population needs. Since the … the Aral Sea has lost almost 75 per cent of volume, and has shrunk to … per cent of its size. In some dry years in the … no water flowed into the sea at all. The water has become over – salty and lost more most of its natural plant and animal life.

In … a special Kazakhstan commission composed the most prominent scientists was set up.

National geographical summed up the situation best by saying: “It has never happened within the time frame of a single generation, the disappearance of such a large body of water.”

Exercise2. Answer the questions:

1. What are the main reasons of changes in lake size?

2. Which rivers flow into the Aral Sea?

3. Why are the some species of flora and fauna on the brink of extinction?

4. Is there a measure to prevent the furthest decrease of water in it?

5. What do the following numbers mean: 3.500 years, 16 metres, three million hectares, 1920s, 1960s, 75 per cent?

Conversation practice:

Opinions. Agreement and Disagreement.

1. How to ask for an opinion:

What do you think of/about

What’s your opinion of British television?

How do you find

2. How to give an opinion:

I think

I believe there is too much violence on the screen today.

In my opinion

3. How to agree with an opinion:

I (quite) agree (with you).

You are (quite) right.

(Yes), he does (did, was, will, etc.)

(No), he doesn’t ( isn’t, didn’t, etc.)

I think so too.

4. How to disagree with an opinion:

I don’t (quite) agree (with you).

I disagree.

I don’t think so.

No, I don’t (didn’t, wasn`t,etc.)

That’s not my opinion.

That’s your opinion, not mine.

Exercise1. Role-play

Using the phrases from the table above take an interview. Theme: “Steps taken by our generation to solve ecological problems”

Student 1. A representative of Ecology Protection Organisation.

Student 2: A young journalist.

Conversation

Peter: Jack, you’ve seen “Star Wars”, haven’t you?

Jack: Yes, that’s right.

Peter: What do you think of it?

Jack: Well, I was a bit disappointed, really. I didn’t think it was a particularly good film at all.

Peter: Oh, I disagree, Jack. I thought it was great. It’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Jack: I think it was pretty boring.

Peter: I really can’t agree with you there, Jack. I don’t see how you can say it was boring. It was full of excitement.

Jack: In my opinion, it wasn’t. I was bored … mainly because I was expecting so much more to happen, I suppose.

Peter: Oh, come on! A lot happened! It’s really exciting. You are the first person I’ve met who hasn’t enjoyed the film.

Jack: Tastes differ, you know.

I. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions:

What are the boys talking about? What does Peter think of the film “Star Wars”? What is Jack’s opinion?

II. Listen to the conversation again. Imitate the phrases expressing opinions, agreement and disagreement

III. Find in the text appropriate English phrases for the following:

Я полагаю, о вкусах не спорят. Я не согласен. Я полагаю, он очнь скучный. Я скучал (мне было скучно). По моему мнению… Что ты думаешь об этом фильме? Я был немного разочарован. Это один из лучших фильмов, которые я когда-либо видел. Потому что я ожидал большего. Фильм действительно захватывающий.

VI. Role-play the conversation.