Speaking

Discussion

Are you a pessimist or an optimist?

Answer these questions for yourself and discuss them with your students.

About you

Do you think…

1 Your life will be similar in the future to what it has been up to now?

Yes

No. It will change a lot.

No. It will change a little.

2 Your standard of living will

get better?

get worse?

stay the same?

3 you will

stay in the same job?

find the job that really satisfies you?

live to work or work to live?

4 your children will have a

better

easier

more comfortable

more dangerous childhood than you did?

About the world

Do you think…

1 that as we learn more, we are becoming more tolerant of people of different

nationalities?

religions?

colours?

2 many species of animals will become extinct? Which?

3 we will find new sources of energy that are

efficient?

cheap?

safe?

4 we are becoming

wiser?

more selfish?

more materialistic?

more nationalistic?

WRITING

Sentence combination

Re-write these sentences to produce a coherent paragraph.

Example

Bert Langley is a fireman.

He is 38.

He lives in Dover.

He had a shock yesterday.

Bert Langley, a 38-year-old fireman from Dover, had a shock yesterday.

David Attenborough is a naturalist.

David Attenborough has been traveling the world for seven years.

David Attenborough has produced a lot of television documentaries.

The television documentaries have been shown in37 countries.

David Attenborough is very worried about the world.

He is depressed by what human beings are doing to our world.

Human beings are cutting down too many trees.

Human beings need firewood to cook.

Human beings need firewood to keep themselves warm.

Trees are being cut down all over the world.

Areas of forests the size of Scotland disappear every year.

Trees are like umbrellas.

Trees protect good soil.

Rain washes away good soil.

Good soil becomes desert.

People cannot grow crops.

David Attenborough believes people in the West are short-sighted.

Governments are spending some money on conservation.

This money is not enough.

David Attenborough believes all people will suffer from the lack of trees.

The trees and forests can never be replaced. David Attenborough

Translate the text orally: Ecological Solutions to Flooding and Water Supply Problems in Woodlands

What do Woodlands, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts have in common, besides the distinguishing accents of their people? The answer is common sense. Both regions have made important decisions in land-use planning that will save millions of dollars by reducing flood damage.

Boston boasts a fine city park system that stretches from the center of the city into the outlying suburbs. But few realize that the park system with its meandering stream was built, in large part, to help control flooding. When the rains come, excess water flows into this 12-hectare (30-acre) basin where it is released to the sea, reducing property damage in the whole damage.

In recent years, the city purchased 3,400 hectares of wetlands in outlying areas to reduce flooding. Not only will it help reduce flooding the natural way, but it will also provide valuable habitat for fish and wildlife. The project cost one-tenth as much as a dam to control flooding.

Many housing developments in the United States are built with little concern for wildlife or for the developments’ effects on flooding. In Texas, developer George Mitchell decided to build a new town called Woodlands on an 8000-hectare forested tract north of Houston. He envisioned a city in harmony with the forces of nature and set out to build it. Mitchell and his staff of planners first analyzed the region they wanted to build on and found that they could leave the natural drainage system as open space. That step alone saved $14 million in construction costs. Roads were built on high ground and buildings were not allowed on aquifer recharge zones, helping to protect an aquifer that supplies water for neighboring Houston. In 1996, rain waters drenched the site. The streams swelled by 55%. In neighboring towns built with little regard for nature, water flows increased 180%. The towns suffered considerable flood damage while Woodlands managed fine.

Woodlands is an attractive community. Most of its trees still stand. The floodplains which were set aside for natural drainage and aquifer recharge harbor numerous birds and mammals, including bobcats and white-tailed deer.

Designing with nature requires wisdom and foresight. It’s an approach to development that permits nature to direct the design of human settlement. It helps people live in harmony with nature, an important step in building a sustainable society.

Learn the vocabulary by heart: