KEY TO EXERCISES: SOUTHERN SPAIN 'DUST BOWL' THREAT

KEY TO EXERCISES: SOUTHERN SPAIN 'DUST BOWL' THREAT

1. Gap filling
1. in
2. on
3. could, can may, will, might
4. plant
5. already, also
6. getting, much
7. at
8. on
9. for
10. by
11. have
12. could
13. may, might, could
14. as
15. ago
16. why
17. in
18. longer
19. rather
20. away
21. heat
22. many
23. in, across
24. on
25. rather
26. off
27. on
28. used
29. global
30. about
31. like

2. Find a word in the text
1. thud
2. skirt
3.hang on to
4. on the trail
5. dust bowl
6. stark
7. nod
8. sparse
9. mortgage
10. heat wave

THE ENVIRONMENT: SOUTHERN SPAIN 'DUST BOWL' THREAT

SOUTHERN SPAIN 'DUST BOWL' THREAT

By Kate Forbes

BBC, Marbella

1. Fill in the gaps with ONE suitable word:

........

Thud! The car pops out of one pothole, crashing down into the next. We skirt sheer drops on the road up to a farm in the Andalucian hills, hang on to our lunches and head towards the fields of aloe vera plants that welcome you to Roberto Viega´s farm.

We are ________ (1) southern Spain ________ (2) the trail of climate change - something climatologist Dr David Viner thinks ________ (3) cause resorts like Marbella, and the surrounding farmland, to turn to dust bowls. Mr Viega cuts open an aloe vera ________ (4) he is growing, the thick wet jelly inside a stark contrast to the dusty ground. Here we find the start of the trail - he is ________ (5) experiencing climate change, he says, throwing his arms wide to express alarm as he talks.

"I can say that the summers are definitely ________ (6) longer and dryer," he says, kicking ________ (7) the soil with his boot.

"The rains, when they come, they are heavier and shorter - it´s a disaster as erosion is very, very bad." Where´s the harm?

Dr Viner nods as Roberto explains. His predictions are based ________ (8) a model for the future climate of southern Europe prepared ________ (9) a Nato conference on climate change. It shows that ________ (10) 2020, temperatures could ________ (11) increased by 2.5C. And by 2050, the increase ________ (12) be nearly 5C, with a quarter of the already sparse rainfall they have now.

So sunny Spain ________ (13) get sunnier. Where is the harm in that? ________ (14) we heard, farmland will be affected. But many people sold their land long ________ (15) - it is now tourists that are farmed here. Real estate banners advertising "a place in the sun" line 60 km of motorway between Malaga airport and Marbella.

Dr Viner explained ________ (16) for some people investing ________ (17) southern Spain, their last mortgage payment may come at a time when they can no ________ (18) use their holiday homes in the hottest summer months.

"the close heat here, ________ (19) than what attracts tourists, may well become something that drives them ________ (20)."

"The 2.5C increase by 2020 may not sound much, but remember it was only a three degree increase last year in the ________ (21) wave that killed ________ (22) thousands of people ________ (23) Europe.

Acclimatise.

Although Dr Viner´s predictions are just that - predictions based ________ (24) a climatic model, it is ________ (25) alarming. But will it put people ________ (26)?

We spoke to interior designer Sharon Shonn, on holiday here hunting for a house ________ (27) the coast. She does not seem convinced.

"To be honest, I´m sceptical," she says.

"Spain is beautiful, and so popular - if the heat does increase, we´ll just get ________ (28) to it. I´m not worried, and ________ (29) warming is not something that will make me think twice ________ (30) changing my life. There is no summer in Britain - how noticeable is a couple of degrees going to be? Would you rather be in rainy Manchester or sunny Spain?"

So it is people ________ (31) Sharon that this kind of research needs to convince, before the British colony on the Costa starts taking any threat of climate change seriously.

1. Find a word or expression in the text for the following definitions:

Paragraph 1:

1. a dull, heavy sound: _________

2. go round or past the edge of: ________

3. hold tightly: ________

Paragraph 2:

4. after a track: ________

5. area of land where vegetation has been lost and soil reduced to dust and eroded, especially as a consequence of drought or unsuitable farming practice: ________

6. unpleasantly or sharply clear: ________

Paragraph 3:

7. lower and raise one´s head slightly and briefly, especially greeting assent, or understanding, or to give someone a signal: ________

8. thinly dispersed, little: ________

Paragraph 4 (onwards)

9. the charging of real (or personal) property by a debtor to a creditor as security for a debt (especially one incurred by the purchase of the property): ________

10. a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather: ________

KEY TO THE READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

KEY TO THE READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. B (7-11)
2. B (14-15) 3. D (10)
4. A (21)
5. D (20)
6. C (19)
7. C (9)
8. A (14)
9. B (20)
10. C (15)
11. A (10)
12. D (3)
13. B (4-7)
14. A (6-7)
15. C (6-8)

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS FOR: HOW MUCH DOES THE ENVIRONMENT MATTER?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS FOR: HOW MUCH DOES THE ENVIRONMENT MATTER?

FOR QUESTIONS 1-15, ANSWER BY CHOOSING FROM THE SECTIONS OF THE ARTICLE (a-d). SOME OF THE CHOICES MAY BE REQUIRED MORE THAN ONCE.

NOTE: WHEN MORE THAN ONE ANSWER IS REQUIRED, THESE MAY BE GIVEN IN ANY ORDER.

In which section of these article are the following mentioned?

• the belief that some solutions are deliberately not being developed 1.......
• a belief that the individual can make a contribution 2...... 3.......
• concern that the scale of a problem may prevent action 4.......
• conservation of natural habitats 5.......
• faith in technological progress 6.......
• a belief that environmental problems are not as bad as they are made out to be 7.......
• the need for international co-operation 8.......
• inconsistent attitudes towards conservation 9.......
• the fallibility of experts 10.......
• a realisation that optimism was misplaced 11.......
• maintaining civilised standards of behaviour 12.......
• the power of vested interests 13.......
• legislation concerning certain substances 14.......
• the view that personal liberty ought to be respected 15.......

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Before discussing any topic, it´s important to reinforce the vocabulary on the topic and read a number of articles or texts on the topic. I think that the film HOME can also help us see things better as we can visualise what´s happening in different parts of our planet. Thus, let´s prepare ourselves.

READING COMPREHENSION

How much does the environment matter?

Four people give us their views on environmental issues

A. TERESA STANLEY, 47, HOUSEWIFE

I´ve always been keen on environmental matters, but in the seventies, when I was growing up, the subject wasn´t discussed as much as it is today. Perhaps the problem was just as bad then, but fewer people understood the implications of what was going on or realised something ought to be done about it. I remember being pleased when laws restricting the use of certain pesticides came in. They appeared to signal the start of a vast movement to improve the environment, an acknowledgement that all human beings had a right to clean air and water. With hindsight, I think we were naive. There is much greater public awareness of environmental issues these days, but I still don´t think enough is being done about the problem. And since it´s a global issue, individual countries can´t tackle it by themselves. Reducing damage to the environment really must be an international effort. In a paradoxical way, the more we discover about the extent of the problem, the less we do about it. This is because problems like global warming are so huge that ordinary individuals don´t feel they could possibly make any difference. I think that´s the real danger facing us today - that we´ll succumb to a feeling of helplessness instead of making a concerted effort to make our planet a safer and cleaner place for future generations.

B. STAN BINGLEY, 20, STUDENT

I must say I´m pessimistic about the extent to which we can make a real difference to the conservation of our environment. Take the problem of air pollution, for instance. So much of the waste is produced by big industry, which has tremendous financial clout and a lobby that can put pressure on governments to pass laws in its favour. I´ve read somewhere that it would be a relatively easy matter to mass-produce cars that run on non-polluting fuels like hydrogen or natural gas, but the oil companies are so strong they block any real progress in that direction. And in the meantime, factories and power stations add to the problem by continuing to spew out tons of poisonous gases into the atmosphere.

I know many people are under the impression that they are helping in their own little way; recycling glass, plastic and paper in the household and so on. But then you often see the same people driving huge cars that guzzle petrol. They also think nothing of flying around the world for a holiday, polluting the atmosphere with the exhaust emissions from commercial planes. They don´t seem to realise that you can recycle waste paper for years to save trees being cut down, but your good deeds can be cancelled out by a single plane flight!

C. MEG DARCY, 32, SENIOR EXECUTIVE

I think people get worked up unnecessarily about these things, to be perfectly honest. Naturally, I´m all in favour of preserving the environment, but you have to take a balanced view of the situation. You can´t simply pass laws to discourage people driving large vehicles and force them to change to tiny fuel-economical cars. People have to be allowed to make choices of their own - responsible choices, of course - on such matters. And I suspect the scientists who keep preaching doom and gloom are probably exaggerating. The other day I saw a documentary about trains, and it seems that at the dawn of the railway age, scientists confidently stated that human beings could not possibly survive a journey on one of the new steam engines: they would not be able to breathe if they travelled at such unnatural speeds! They were wrong about that, so why should we assume they are right about globalwarming and the rest of the doomsday scenarios? As for the so-called energy crisis, I cannot take that very seriously, either. In the next few decades scientists are bound to find viable alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels. After all, we are already using inventions like solar panels to generate 'clean' electricity. One has to be optimistic about these things.

D. SYD BAYLE, 56, DENTIST

Environmental issues are important, but I don´t agree with people who become aggressive about the subject. No matter how right your ideas are, there´s no justification for becoming rude or violent. You have to take the long view and persuade people by reasoned argument and by setting a good example. Besides, attitudes have changed over the years. Not so long ago people thought you were eccentric if you recycled your household waste, but these days it´s common practice. I also feel that if everyone were responsible and organised about relatively little things like that, it would make a huge difference in the end. That´s how we have to approach the problem, by being very conscientious and painstaking.

Of course, we also need accurate information about the real situation, and this is where voluntary groups can make a valuable contribution - by monitoring the amount of pollution all over the country. A lot of people feel they can´t really trust government figures to be accurate, so it´s important to be able to double-check information against an independent source. I think this applies in particular to places like moors, forests and heathland - isolated regions where wildlife is under threat. People often forget about the rare birds and other species that suffer because of the way we humans are affecting the environment, which is a great pity.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS SUMMER

THIS SUMMER DON´T FORGET TO CONTINUE PRACTISING YOUR ENGLISH.

EVERY NOW AND THEN (I RECOMMEND EVERY TWO OR THREE DAYS) HAVE A LOOK AT THE LINKS IN THE BLOG:
- INTERESTING LINKS
- LINKS TO WORK WITH GRAMMAR
- LINKS TO WORK WITH VOCABULARY
- LINKS FOR LISTENING
- LINKS FOR SPEAKING
- LINKS FOR WRITING

ALSO, DON´T FORGET TO CHECK THE BLOG FROM TIME TO TIME, JUST IN CASE I ADD SOMETHING FOR YOU TO WORK ON.

A FILM ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT: 'HOME'

'HOME'

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible.

EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

Home is a documentary with a purpose. It is created to make us think about what we are doing, about our future and about our children´s future. It´s also a beautiful film with impressive images.

See it in English with subtitles in English. You can activate the subtitles in the right corner of the screen.

Glenn Close is the narrator, some say her beautiful voice adds a certain magic to the film. Some others say this would be a sensational film without the narration.

Read some of the comments in you tube and write what you think.

Hope you enjoy it!