Earth and Environment

1
Unit 4

• Earth and Environment

2

• Part I Warming Up
• Training focus Select information What, who,
  how in news items.
• News Item 1
• Pre-listening questions
• The Mount Everest A mountain of the central
  Himalaya Mountains on the border of Xizang
  (Tibet) and Nepal. The highest elevation in the
  world.
• Does any one know how high the Mount Everest is?
• 8844 meters high.

3

• The National Geographic Society was founded in
  the USA on 1888, by 33 men interested in
  "organizing a society for the increase and
  diffusion of geographical knowledge."
• Its purpose is to advance the general knowledge
  of geography and the world among the general
  public. To this end, it sponsors exploration, and
  publishes a monthly magazine, National
  Geographic.

4

• What is the precise height of Mount Everest
  according to National Geographic Societys latest
  measuring?
• 29, 035 feet, seven feet taller than was thought
  when it was last measured in the 1950.

5

• Item 2
• climatologist a scientist who deals with climate
  and their phenomena
• ????
• tropical????????
• subtropical????
• temperate???
• crop yield ?????

6

• What is the likely impact of climate change
  according to the new research?
• Damage to crops in low-lying coastal regions
  could be worse than previously thought.

7

• Item 3.
• desertification the process of becoming desert
  (as from land mismanagement or climate change)
• ???
• What is the title of the conference in northern
  Brazil?
• The 3rd United Nations conference on
  Desertification

8

• Item 4.
• deformity when a part of the body has not
  developed in the normal way or with the normal
  shape
• ??(???)???C
• a deformity of the hand ????

9

• salamander??

• alligator
• (????????)???

10

• amphibian an animal, such as a frog, which lives
  both on land and in water but must lay its eggs
  in water????
• reptile speciesan animal that crawls or moves on
  its belly (as a snake) or on small short legs (as
  a lizard)
• ???????

11

• World Conservation Union
• international organization founded in 1948 to
  encourage the preservation of wildlife, natural
  environments, and living resources.

12

• What does a new study say about reptiles?
• Reptile species are in greater trouble than
  amphibian species.

13

• eradicate to get rid of completely or destroy
  something bad
• herbicide a chemical which is used to destroy
  plants, especially weeds
• ???
• coke (slang) cocaine
• poppy???????

14

• What did the governors from Columbia call for?
• A new approach in the fight against the illegal
  drugs trade.

15

• Item 6
• oil spill????
• Oil spill is an environmental disaster which
  kills fish and birds as well as pollutes the sea.
• ????????,?????,????????
• What are crews doing off the coast of Mexico,
  about 50 miles south of San Diego?
• They are working to clean up a huge oil spill.

16

• Item 7
• extinction
• the process of becoming extinct
• extinction of a species
• What is the serious threat for plants?
• 1 in every 8 species of plant is threatened with
  extinction.

17

• Item 8
• The Florida Everglades is
• a subtropical marshland
• located in the southern portion of the U.S state
  of Florida.

An Anhinga perched on the boardwalk railing
18

• blaze
• ????????
• Several houses had been burnt to the ground when
  the blaze was put out.
• ?????,???????????
• sawgrass Sedge
• ??

19

• How serious were the wildfires in Florida?
• They lasted for nearly a week and 65,000 hectares
  in the southern part of the state were consumed.

20

• Item 9.
• xeriscaping a word coined by combining xeros
  (Greek for "dry") with landscaping, is a
  water-conservative approach to landscaping.
• Plants whose cultural requirements are
  appropriate to the local climate are emphasized,
• and care is taken to avoid wasting water to
  evaporation and run-off. Xeriscape is a trademark
  created by the Denver Water Board
• Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. of
  Colorado

21

• What is now available?
• A new local directory for the environmentally-awar
  e, called the Boulder County Green Pages

22

• Item 10.
• Greenland
• An island of Denmark in the northern Atlantic
  Ocean off northeast Canada.
• It is the largest island in the world and lies
  mostly within the Arctic Circle.
• Inhabited by Inuit peoples as early as 3000 B.C.,
  it was discovered by the Norwegian navigator Eric
  the Red in the tenth century A.D., became a
  Danish colony in 1815, and was granted home rule
  in 1979.

23

• What does a U.S Space Agency study recently find?
• Greenland is melting around the edges, more than
  50 cubic kilometers per per.

24

• El Nino A warming of the ocean surface off the
  western coast of South America that occurs every
  4 to 12 years when upwelling of cold,
  nutrient-rich water does not occur. It causes
  die-offs of plankton and fish and affects Pacific
  jet stream winds, altering storm tracks and
  creating unusual weather patterns in various
  parts of the world.

25

• Part II News Report
• Training focus
• News summary
• Report A.
• catastrophe a sudden event that causes very
  great trouble or destruction
• catastrophic
• ??????

26

• Geneva???
• World Meteorological Organization
• specialized agency of the United Nations
  established in 1951 with headquarters at Geneva.
• WMO aims at promoting international cooperation
  between the world's meteorological stations,
• standardizing meteorological observations,
• encouraging research and training,
• and extending the use of meteorological findings
  to different fields.

27

• WMO operates through the World Meteorological
  Congress (which meets at least every four years)
  with delegates from its entire membership, an
  executive committee, a technical commission, a
  secretariat, and six regional meteorological
  associations in Africa, Asia, South America,
  North and Central America, SW Pacific, and
  Europe. It has 185 members.

28

• scarcity when something is not easy to find or
  obtain lack
• the scarcity of water water shortage
• commodity a substance or product that can be
  traded, bought or sold
• the international commodities market
• obligation a condition or influence that makes
  it necessary for someone to do something duty
• sanitary clean and not dangerous for the health
• portable light and small enough to be easily
  carried or moveda portable radio/telephone/compu
  ter

29

• Listen to the report and complete the news
  summary.
• This news report is about ________________________
  ___________. It will lead to catastrophic
  consequences unless ______________________________
  __.

The severe shortage of water in some developing
nations
global solutions are found soon
30

• Listen again and answer the questions
• 1. How many experts will attend the conference in
  Geneva?
• 150.
• 2. When will the conference begin?
• Monday.
• 3. What would the situation be like in the year
  2025 according to Arthur Askew?
• 1 billion people could suffer from a scarcity of
  water.

31

• 4. In which areas could water shortage problems
  most probably develop?
• Middle East, parts of Africa, western Asia,
  northeastern China, western and southern India,
  large parts or Pakistan and Mexico, parts of the
  Pacific coast of the Unite States and South
  America.
• 5. What is the moral obligation put forward by
  Arthur Askew?
• To treat water as a precious resource.

32

• 6. How much water does a person need a day to
  survive?
• 5 liters.
• 7. How much water does a person need a day to
  live comfortably?
• 50 liters.
• 8. How much water are people in many countries
  now using each day?
• 500 liters.

33
Report B

• vibrancy
• ??,??
• I like the vibrancy of her character.
• ??????????

coral reef ???

• glacier??

34

• Daimler-Chrysler is a prominent automobile and
  truck manufacturer, formed in 1998 by the buyout
  of the Chrysler Corporation (USA) by Daimler Benz
  (Germany).
• Shell Oil Shell Oil Company is one of America's
  leading oil and natural gas producers, natural
  gas marketers, gasoline marketers and
  petrochemical manufacturers, and the leading oil
  and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

35

• Listen to the second news report. Supply the
  missing words while listening.
• Washington
• the information economy
• deteriorating health of the planet
• information economy
• education and entertainment
• physical exam
• vital signs

36

• species
• climate
• temperatures
• water tables
• glaciers
• forests
• fisheries
• to stabilize both climate and world population
  growth

37
Report C The Impact of Golf Course on the
Environment
38

• be at odds to disagree
• They're at odds over the funding of the project.
• Her version of events was at odds with the police
  report.
• ( very different from)
• reconcile
• to find a way in which two situations or beliefs
  that are opposed to each other can agree and
  exist together
• It is sometimes difficult to reconcile science
  and religion.

39

• grooming??
• fairways ?? (???????)????
• habitat (???)???(???)??
• I prefer to see animals in their natural habitat,
  rather than in zoos.
• ?????????????????????????
• killdeer ?????(??????)
• redtail hawks ???

40

• great horned owl
• a large North American owl

41

• blue heron

Any of several varieties of heron with blue or
blue-gray plumage??
42

• Bear Creek Lake
• Bear Creek Dam, the last of three dams built to
  protect the Denver region from floods
• This project is known for its diverse bird and
  waterfowl population and its striking scenic
  views.
• Wildlife is abundant and because Bear Creek is
  located at the base of the Rocky Mountain
  foothills, the scenery is striking.

43

• Listen to the news report and complete the news
  summary
• This news report is about ________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________________________

A golf course named Fox Hollow, which has won an
award for its relatively low impact on
environment and sustained wildlife.
44
Part III City Recycling

• Training focus
• landfill a place where rubbish is buried
• ?????????
• recyclable able to be recycled
• eligible having the necessary qualities or
  fulfilling the necessary conditions??????
• You might be eligible for a grant.
• curbside the area near where a road and the
  raised path next to it join

45

• bustle
• to do things in a hurried and busy way????
• I sat watching housewives bustle in and out of
  the supermarket.
• ????????????????????
• mound a large pile of something
• a mound of potatoes/papers
• commingle mix
• assort classify
• ?...???...??

46

• forklike
• ?????
• garbage rubbish
• spiral ??????
• convey belt ???
• sorter???
• bale ??,??
• beverage drink
• fuzz ????

47

• North Caroline????????
• A state of the southeast United States bordering
  on the Atlantic Ocean.
• a center of tobacco growing and processing.
• Raleigh is the capital and Charlotte the largest
  city.
• Population 8,540,000.

??????
48

• Listen to the report and number the following
  major points according to the order you hear
  them.
• ( )a. The work at the FCR processing center
• ( )b. The success of Charlottes recycling
  program.
• ( )c. What happens to the recyclables from FCR
• ( )d. Catherine Smiths recyclable garbage

2
4
3
1
49

• Listen again and pay special attention to the
  process of the sorting of the recyclable
  material.
• Put the listed steps in correct order
• ( ) a. People sort through the garbage
• ( ) b. The garbage is piled in a mound of
  assorted trash.
• ( ) c. Bottles and cans come to the sorting
  station.
• ( ) d. Bottles and cans are put on the
  conveyor belt.
• ( ) e. Twelve workers hand-sort the bottles
  and cans.
• ( ) f. Forklifts move the garbage.
• ( ) g. Bottles and cans are dropped down a
  chute into a container.

3
1
5
4
6
2
7
50

• Answer the questions
• 1. How many households are eligible to
  participate in the recycling program?
• 2. What are some of the items that Catherine
  Smith put into her red recycling bin?
• 3. What happens after Catherine puts out her bin?

130,000
80
Plastic glass tin cans newspapers
Recycle truck picks it up.
51

• 4. Where does the recyclable material go after it
  is picked up?
• 5. How often is the used material dropped off at
  the center operated by FCR?
• 6. What does Paula Hoffman do at the recycling
  center?
• 7. How much material is received each day and put
  into the commingle area?

• One of communitys recycling centers.

Each weekday.

• Conducts tours of the plant.

• 100 tons 200,000 pounds

52

• 8. Of all the material brought to the center, how
  much is newsprint?
• 9. What happens to the sorted and processed
  recyclables at FCR?

¾ compacted into bales

• 11 to 12 hundred pounds each.

Sold to other companies that make them into
different products.
53

• 10. What always happens to the used food and
  beverage containers?
• 11. How successful is Charlottes recycling
  program?

• Made into new containers.

One of the top five in the U.S.A.