Monday 4 November 2019

HOMEWORK

Read the texts and then answer the questions below.

TEXT 1: Water, Air and Soil Contamination

air pollutionPollution is an environmental concern for people throughout the world. One university study suggests that pollutants in the water, air, and soil cause up to 40% of the premature deaths in the world's population. The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries.

Water in many developing countries is contaminated with toxic chemicals, also known as toxins. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion people have little or no access to clean water. In many of these regions the water that is used for drinking, cooking, and washing is the same water that is used for dumping sewage and hazardous waste. Most developing countries cannot afford water treatment facilities. Approximately 80% of infectious diseases in the world are caused by contaminated water.

Air pollution is a growing problem throughout the world. Indoor air pollution is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. Families in developing countries use open stoves for cooking and heating their homes. These homes do not have proper ventilation. The smoke, which is full of chemicals and carcinogens, gets trapped inside where families eat and sleep. Outdoor pollution also causes disease and illness, especially in industrial cities such as Beijing, China, where cancer is the leading cause of death. China relies heavily on coal, which is considered the dirtiest source of energy. According to the European Union, only 1% of urban dwellers in China breathe clean air on an average day. Neighbouring countries including Japan and Korea receive much of China's pollution in the form of acid rain. This pollution results mainly from the coal powered factories, which produce inexpensive goods for North American and European consumers. Outdoor air pollution is also a concern in many wealthy countries. Those who live and work in urban centres such as Los Angeles or Toronto experience many warm days beneath a layer of smog.

Soil pollution is also a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries. Pollutants such as metals and pesticides seep into the earth's soil and contaminate the food supply. Soil pollution causes major health risks to entire ecosystems. This type of pollution reduces the amount of land suitable for agricultural production and contributes to global food shortages. Dumping of industrial and domestic waste products produces much of the world's soil pollution, though natural disasters can also add to the problem. In wealthy countries such as the US, protection agencies monitor the food supply. The public is generally warned before major disease outbreaks occur. Developing countries do not have this luxury. Farmers in poor nations grow food in contaminated soil both to earn a living and to avoid starvation.

As more people move to urban centres, premature deaths caused by pollution are expected to increase worldwide. Today, the developed nations who achieved their wealth at the expense of the environment will be held accountable for protecting the earth's resources for future generations.
                         
                                                                                                                          (Source Englishclub. com)

 Quiz

1. A university study suggests that up to 40% of the world's premature deaths are caused by
 developing countries
 disease outbreaks
 pollutants
2. In many developing countries people use _______ contaminated by hazardous waste and sewage.
 water
 air
 facilities
3. _______ regions are often contaminated with air pollution.
 Chemical
 Carcinogenic
 Industrial
4. What do open windows and fans that extract smoke provide?
 contamination
 ventilation
 indoor pollution
5. The article implies that most of China's air pollution is caused by
 Japan and Korea
 burning coal
 acid rain
6. According to the article, where is cancer the leading cause of death?
 Beijing
 Los Angeles
 the European Union
7. Which is NOT mentioned as a source of soil pollution?
 hazardous wastes
 use of pesticides
 smoke from factories
8. Soil pollution is a major concern in _______ countries.
 industrial
 developing
 industrial and developing
9. Industrial metals and pesticides seep into the earth's soil and contaminate our
 food supply
 food shortages
 disease outbreaks
10. Premature deaths caused by pollution are expected to increase as more people move to
 developed nations
 urban centres
 country towns

TEXT 2: Will there be Life after Oil ?

Answer: Yes. The twentieth century was the century of OIL; but the twenty-first will be the age of cleaner types of fuel. It will have to be.
       
Offshore oil
Oil will not last for ever; and extracting it will become much more expensive
     To start with, we cannot go on using oil for ever. We can do so for a few more decades - perhaps until 2070, then it will run out. There will be none left - or at least, there will be hardly any left.

    At present, there is still plenty of oil under the ground. There is oil under the North Sea and under the Atlantic Ocean. Engineers keep finding new sources of oil. But there are some realities which cannot be avoided.
    a) The quantity of oil under the ground and under the sea is not infinite. It will not last for ever.
    b) As oil becomes rarer, it will become harder to extract. It will also become more and more expensive. It will therefore become more expensive than other fuels.
    c) Oil will always cause pollution.
    Of course, there are also other truths:
    d) Scientists are making new forms of oil, using plants.
    e) Most of the oil that we eat comes from plants; and it is sometimes possible to make petrol from this oil. For instance, some types of diesel-fuel already contain sun-flower oil.
Sunflowers make oil
Sunflowers produce oil too; but most of this oil is needed for cooking.
    Sun-flower oil is cleaner than mineral oil, so it causes less pollution. But perhaps, in the long term, vegetable oils are not a good solution for the future;  in the future we may need all the land for producing food.
    In reality, the future will have to be a future without oil - or with very little oil.
    Scientists are already developing cars, houses and plastics that do not use oil. Electricity will be the energy of the third millennium, but it will have to be clean electricity.
    Today, electricity is produced in Britain in several different ways; some of it is produced using oil; but already oil-burning power-stations are being closed. Nuclear power-stations will be closed too, because they are very expensive and people do not want them.
    Tomorrow's electricity will be made from gas, and from "renewable sources".
    In the short term, gas will be an important source of energy. It is cleaner than oil, and easier to extract. There is also a lot more gas than oil under the ground! Gas can be used in cars and houses too.
    In the long term, all our energy will come from "renewable sources" -  including water! The sun, the wind, the rivers and the oceans will give us all the energy that we need! It will be clean energy - with no pollution - and it will last for ever.
    We are not there yet, however! The twenty-first century will be a century of change. People who are over 50 today are not going to see a world without oil. Those who are under twenty may perhaps do so...... if they live long enough.
SOURCE Linguapress 


Reusing information :

Complete this summary of the article, putting appropriate words in the blanks
    Oil is one of the most important __________ of  ___________ in today's world; but unless we ____________ finding more and more, it will not ___________ for ____________. In less than a century, it will ______ ______.
    Most of the oil we _____ comes from the ground, but some comes from _______ . But plants cannot produce all the oil we ________.
    In tomorrow's world, we will use ______ oil and more ____________, but most of this will have to come from _______________ ___________.
    In the _______ _______ we will use a lot of ___________, but later we will have to get our _____________ from natural forces.

Answers in CLASS!!


Environment Vocabulary


Sunday 3 November 2019

Carbon footprint



Have you ever heard about  'Ecological footprints'?
.
Do you know what yours is?
.
How many planets would we need if everyone lived like you?
.
 An ecological footprint measures the total amount of land and resources used, It includes your carbon footprint but it goes further. 


  • Find out what your ecological footprint is by answering questions about your lifestyle. See how your choices affect the environment and whether you are living beyond the capacity of the planet!

.
> Go and FIND OUT HERE! <


Source >  Bestfootforward 

E

Wednesday 30 October 2019

Advantages and disadvantages Essays


In class this morning you were asked to write an essay on The advantages and disadvantages of Slow Fashion.

Please,  READ CAREFULLY:

An advantages and disadvantages essay can also be called, pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks, good and bad aspects...
Basically, in all advantages and disadvantages essays your task is to describe the positive and negative sides of a given topic + give your opinion.
  • Before you start writing your essay, you should always spend a few minutes on producing ideas for your answer. This way, you’ll know what to write about and your answer will be more coherent and well-structured. You need to think of 2-3 advantages and 2-3 disadvantages of the given issue.
Here is a widely accepted standard when it comes to writing an advantages and disadvantages essay:
  • Introduction: Paraphrase the question/topic and briefly mention some of the advantages and disadvantages you will discuss in the paper.
  • Body Paragraph One: Introduce the main (dis)advantage. Give supporting details and examples.Write another advantage and give example /supporting idea.
  • Body Paragraph Two: Introduce the main (dis)advantage. Give supporting details and examples.Write another advantage and give example /supporting idea.
  • Conclusion: Re-iterate the topic question. Summarize the main points and if applicable, say whether you think there are more advantages or disadvantages, (and give your opinion).
 TIP 1>>Remember to write in a formal tone, this is an academic essay, therefore your writing should be formal. 
This is one possible way to structure your essay;

TIP 2 >> If you believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, you should start by writing about those disadvantages in the  1st body paragraph and state it somehow also in the introduction.


TIP  3 >> If the question asks you to write 
about advantages/disadvantages and give your opinion, then you need to add an extra paragraph that clearly states your opinion.

AN EXAMPLE

Advantages and disadvantages of developed tourism

Nowadays tourism generates a significant portion of national income for many countries, but it has certain drawbacks too. This essay examines the advantages and disadvantages of tourism and provides a logical conclusion.

On the one hand, one of the main advantages of the developed tourism industry is that it brings a lot of benefits to the contry and a large number of new jobs for the local people. Tourists spend money on a wide range of services, including hotels, amusements, transportation, food and medical services. This way, tourism yields an additional income, greatly supporting the country’s economy. In addition, tourism increases the level of employment by bringing new jobs. For instance, the influx of tourists results in a larger demand in restaurant workers, tour guides, hotel staff and employees of retail services.

On the other hand, tourism also has some major disadvantages, like the destruction of popular tourist destinations and the development of illegal economic activities. Ancient buildings, temples and monuments struggle to cope with a vast amount of visitor’s traffic and could get damaged. Also, the large number of tourists can cause environmental problems. For instance, when places of interest are overcrowded, natural resources often become overexploited. What’s more, the presence of a considerable number of tourists with a lot of money to spend may increase the attraction for criminals and bring with it activities like robbery and drug dealing.

To conclude, although tourism can have certain negative effects like a destructive impact and the growth of crime rate, it has an extremely positive influence on a country’s economy and it provides a large number of new jobs for the local people. In my opinion, these benefits of tourism outweigh its drawbacks.

Now...YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THIS PAGE and THIS ONE TOO! And, last but not least ,VISIT Cristina Cabal's blog

Happy Halloween and weekend!


Tuesday 29 October 2019

Improve your pronunciation




Finally, improve your pronunciation with Steve Martin :-)

Monday 7 October 2019

Some revision on Sickness


'Doctor, I don't feel well'




Watch the video and asnwer the questions (in the video)



Explaining your problem

Look at these two forms we can use to talk about our health problems:
'I have been coughing a lot these days / recently / for the last few days / since yesterday.' (PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS)'I have a cough.' (PRESENT SIMPLE)


'I have been sneezing.'
'My head has been hurting.'
'I have been having headaches.'
'I have been feeling tired.'
'I haven't been sleeping well.'

I have + noun

'I have a bad back'
'I have a sore throat.'
'I have a fever/ a temperature.'

I feel + adjective

'I feel dizzy.'
'I feel under the weather.'
'I feel rundown.'


Types of illness

Allergy

(adjective Allergic) To have a bad reaction to animals, dust, foods or plants. The symptoms are red eyes, runny nose and sneezing.

Cough

(verb to Cough) Pronounced 'coff'. To force air out of the lungs making a loud and uncomfortable noise:
'Smoking makes me cough.'

Dizziness

(adjective Dizzy). To have the feeling that everything around you is spinning.
'I felt dizzy after standing up too quickly when I was in the bath.'

Fever / Temperature

A rise in body temperature. To feel hot.

The Flu

(also called Influenza) A very strong cold caused by a virus. Symptoms include: fever, headache, runny nose and sneezing.

 Hay Fever

An allergy to plants and the pollen from flowers. The symptoms are red eyes, a runny nose and sneezing.

Insomnia

Not being able to sleep at night.

Rash

Uncomfortable, itchy, red spots on the skin. A skin condition.
'She got a rash on her hand after touching a strange plant.'

Rundown / Under the Weather

(idioms) Both of these mean a general feeling of sickness. Rundown usually comes from living an unhealthy lifestyle. Under the weather means to not feel your usual, healthy self.

Runny Nose

Mucus coming from the nose. The need to blow your nose a lot.

Sneeze

(verb to Sneeze) An uncontrollable movement of air from the nose and mouth.
'The strong smell of flowers makes me sneeze.'

Sunburn

Red and painful skin that comes from being in the sun too long.


- ache / sore -

These three forms are usually used to talk about general problems. These are the common collocations:

+ ache

headache
backache
stomachache
muscle ache

sore +

sore throat
sore eyes
sore feet


Monday 16 September 2019

Listening & Reading: Globalization



Listen to the conversation and take notes on what you can/ cannot understand.

Then listen with the script and check.


___________________________________________________________________________


Defining Globalization


   Globalization is the process that makes economies and societies from all around the world become more and more connected. This means that people, ideas, technology, money, services, and many other things are moving between countries and changing the way people think and act.

Good or Bad?

   Not everyone thinks the same way about globalization. Some people think it is good, some people think it is bad. Some believe that globalization helps rich people get richer and makes poor people poorer. These people say that globalization helps big companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald's destroy local businesses. The people who think globalization is a good thing argue that globalization helps poorer people to become richer. They also think that it doesn't damage local cultures. These people also believe globalization helps prevent conflicts like wars. This is because countries that have economic connections will try hard to maintain good relationships with each other so their economies aren't damaged.

Effects


   Despite whether you think globalization is good or bad, it affects the world in two important areas: jobs and culture.

Globalization has had a very strong effect on employment and jobs throughout the world. For some workers, such as engineers, lawyers, and bankers, globalization has been a good development. These workers are able to successfully compete globally and have seen an increase in their salaries. But for those who work in factories or in the service industry (at hotels, shops and restaurants), it has not been good. These types of jobs have been exposed to increasing competition from workers from poorer countries. A worker from a poorer country will do the same job for less money. This decreases the salaries for that job, so people get paid less to do it.

Cultures have also been effected by globalization. Foods such as Japanese noodles, Indian curry and French cheeses have spread around the world. We can also see an increase in the use of Chinese characters in tattoos. Some people get these tattoos without actually knowing what the characters mean. Another area effected by globalization is the film industry. Most people have seen American movies. But due to globalization, Korean, Indian and Japanese movies have become more popular worldwide.
No one knows the future of globalization. Most experts agree that it will continue to grow and have an increasingly larger impact on people's lives in the future.


_______________________________________________

Saturday 14 September 2019

Listening Test Practice

Hello everyone!


Today I am giving you some extra practice for the listening tests.


For B2 level tests, click HERE.

For a bit more advanced (C1) level, click HERE.


Enjoy!!!