Listening Comprehension Text “Continental drift”

Part A. Pre-listening activities

Task 1. Make sure that you know the following words and word phrases.

float v – плавать (на поверхности)

hard a – твердый

involve v – вовлекать

plate tectonics – тектоника

rigid a – жесткий

occur v – происходить

consequence n – последствие

stiff a – тугой, жесткий

flow n – течение

outermost a – наиболее удаленный от центра

shell n – скорлупа, оболочка, раковина

soft a – мягкий

distinguish v – различать

speed n – скорость

apply v – применять

respond v – реагировать

Task 2. Before listening answer the following questions?

1. What were Pangaea and Panthalassa?

2. What explanation was the accepted one before Wegener’s theory?

3. What evidence did Wegener have for this theory?

4. Into what did Pangaea begin to break apart later?

5. Was continental drift taking place even before Panagea was formed?

6. Which supercontinent did your country once belong to?

Part B. Listening Activities

Task 1. As you listen to the tape make brief notes to help you answer the following questions.

1. What questions will be looked at in this lecture?

2. What for is the term continental drift used?

3. Why didn’t most people believe Wegener was right until the nineteen sixties?

4. What idea does the lecturer consider to be absolutely central?

5. What do we call lithosphere?

Task 2. Listen to the tape once more and

1. Fill in the gaps.

1. Wegener thought the continents… freely over the mantle.

2. The ocean floors are actually extremely… .

3. Plate tectonics sees the continents as passengers on a number of… … … .

4. These rigid rock plates continually … … the face of the earth.

5. The crust the earth is a completely … structure.

2. Note down the terms used by the lecturer.

3. Note down the thickness of the asthenosphere.

Part C. After listening Activities

Task 1. Discuss in pairs.

1. What is the asthenosphere?

2. What is the lithosphere distinguished from the asthenosphere in?

Task 2. Summarize the information about continental drift (in writing).

Revision

Ex. 1. Fill in the text with the appropriate word from the box.

difference, relief, divided, continental mass and ocean basins, interior, average, mean, edges, edge, elevation, continents, chains, consist of, floor, bottom, difference, mountains, land, basins.

Relief form of the earth

The irregularities of the earth’s surface, or its (1) _____ , are divided into major and minor groups. The former are the (2) _____ ; the minor groups consist of (3) _____ as opposed to (4) _____ valleys and basins on the (5) _____ . The (6) _____ height of all the lands above sea level is about 727 m; the (7) _____ depth of the sea – about 3,940 m. The highest (8) _____ of the land, Mt. Everest in the Himalayas, is 8,800 m, the lowest known point in the ocean, in the Pacific, is 9,394 m deep. This makes the greatest (9) _____ in relief – 18,194 m.

The features of the land are (10) _____ into plains, plateaus and mountains. It is of interest that the continents have a tendency to (11) _____ interior basins with mountain (12) _____ as coastal rims, while the ocean (13) _____ , on the contrary, often have deeps near the (14) _____ and submarine ridges or up-swells of the (15) _____ in mid ocean. Often the highest ranges on the (16) _____ of a continent border the important deeps in the ocean (17) _____ . It does not mean, however, that mountains are found only at the continental (18) _____ , since they may extend in a wide zone far into the (19) _____ .

Ex. 2. Translate the text into Russian (in writing).