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Lead-in

1a. Look at the pictures (1-5) and say as many words as you can related to each one. How is

b.Which of the problems in the pictures exist in your country? Use the prompts to make up sentences as in the example. You can use your own ideas.

There are more and more cars on the roads.

There are more and more people living in the cities.

2a. Look at the list of where we get our energy from today. Which of these are mostly used in your country? Which of these are renewable and which are non-renewable?

ñ wood ñ coal ñ water ñ gas ñ oil ñ wind ñ sun

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b. Listen and write S(for solar energy), W(for wind power) and H(for hydropower) next to each use. Then, make up sentences as in the example.

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Reading

3a. Which of the words below can you see in the picture on p. 53?

ñfossil fuels ñ generate power

ñwind power ñ wind farm

ñnuclear power stations

ñalternative form of energy

ñwind turbines ñ slim towers

ñrotor blades ñ unoccupied sites

ñmonitor wind direction

b.Read the article and fill in the sentences (A-H) which best fit each paragraph (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

AAt the moment there are only around sixty wind farms in Britain both on land and offshore.

BMore importantly, though, these methods of electricity generation are harmful to the environment.

CIn fact, the stronger winds generated at sea make offshore wind farms a practical alternative.

DIn fact, today it is the world’s fastest-growing source of energy.

EThis new alternative source of energy must also be practical, cheap to set up and maintain, highly productive and above all kind to our planet.

FWell, as people are increasingly coming to realise, the answer is all around us.

GWind power has been used for many years to pump water.

H This pole is connected to a generator, where the electricity is made.

c.Explain the words in bold, then give synonyms for the highlighted words. Where could you read such an article?

d.Find words similar in your language.

Follow-up

4Read the article again and underline the advantages of wind power. Can you think of any others? Is wind power used in your country?

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Britain is in the middle of a serious energy crisis! We are desperately in need of a new form of energy which will be capable of generating enough power to see the country’s homes, businesses and industries into the twenty-first century. But, that’s not all! 0 E This is certainly a tall order!

At the moment, more than 90% of Britain’s energy needs are met by burning fossil fuels or generated in nuclear power stations. Unfortunately, these are not renewable sources of energy, and once they have run out, that’s it. 1 They emit harmful greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and climate change.

How then can we produce enough energy to power an entire country without damaging the environment? What can we use as an alternative, reliable form of energy, which will generate as much power as fossil fuels

Wind power is an alternative energy source which has been used for

enough, even though it is one of the windiest countries in Europe, Britain has been slow to take advantage of wind power. The strong winds which blow around Britain’s coastline could easily be used to provide us with all our energy needs. All we need to do now is set up some wind farms.

Wind farms are actually arrays of electricity-generating wind turbines, which are tall, slim towers with two or three rotor blades at the top. The wind turns the blades, which spin a pole. 4 There can be as few as one and as many as thousands of wind turbines in a single array. Computers monitor the wind direction and speed, and can shut down the turbines if the wind becomes too strong.

What is more, wind turbines make hardly any noise and they are not unpleasant to look at, certainly not as ugly as

nuclear power stations! Although wind farms do take up a lot of space, they are often located on unoccupied sites or in areas that can also be used for farming. Building wind farms at sea is also possible. 5 Offshore wind farms also mean that much larger turbines can be built, without objections from the public.

A single wind turbine can produce enough electricity to power 375 homes and these wind farms are already making a small but significant difference. 6 As this number increases, we may well see wind power supplying as much

as 10% of world’s electricity demands and up to 20% of Britain’s total.

So, why delay? Wind power offers a solution to all our energy problems by being a renewable, clean and safe source of energy which is easy to live and work with. Isn’t it about time we started building more wind farms in Britain and protecting our environment for future generations?

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a.Match the problems to their effects and their solutions. Then in pairs discuss, as in the example.

Effects

1destruction of the rainforest

2many animals and fish wiped out

3change in world’s climate – ocean levels rising –

extreme weather conditions

4very poor air quality in cities – rivers and lakes full of industrial waste

Solutions

aHave stricter laws and harsher punishments for illegal hunting and fishing.

b Encourage countries to control the number of trees that are cut down.

cReduce gases emitted from factories. Use public transport instead of cars.

dReduce use of aerosols. Use alternative sources of energy.

A:What is the effect of global warming?

B:Global warming is causing a change in the world’s climate. Ocean levels are rising and we are seeing more extreme weather conditions. We need to do something before it’s too late.

A:What can we do?

B:We could reduce the use of aerosols. We could also use alternative sources of energy. etc

Writing

b.Use ideas from Ex. 7a as well as information from other sources to write a short article about global warming. State the problem, then write what has caused it. Finally, write what we can do about it.

EPopulation will rise

b.Which of these problems do you think is the most worrying? Who do you think is responsible for solving these problems?

c.Find headlines from newspapers related to

8Match the columns to form compound nouns and explain them. Finally make up sentences using them.

rubbishdump: a place where rubbish is left The rubbish dump on the outskirts of town is an eyesore.

9Answer the questionnaire to see if you are environmentally aware.

1When you leave a room, do you

a turn off all the lights? b leave one light on?

c never bother to turn off the lights?

2Do you

a take short showers (less than 10 minutes)? b have baths?

c take long showers (more than 10 minutes)?

3Do you

a walk or ride a bike for short journeys? b take public transport when you can? c travel everywhere by car?

4Do you

a separate all your rubbish and recycle what you can?

b recycle some of your rubbish? c never recycle anything?

5Do you

a only use heating and air conditioning when you really need them?

b use heating and air conditioning now and again? c have the heating on all winter and the air

conditioning on all summer?

6When you are outside, do you

a always put your litter in a rubbish bin? b usually try and find a bin for your litter?

c throw your litter away on the ground wherever you are?

What your answers mean:

Mostly a’s Well done! It sounds like you are doing all you can to help our planet. Keep up the good work.

Mostly b’s It seems like you know about the problems that are facing our environment and try to do what you can. There are still some more things that you could do though.

Mostly c’s There is a lot more you could do to help the environment. Why don’t you read through the a and b answers and see if you could do any of the things mentioned here? Every little bit can help make our world a better place for everyone.

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Conservation

10 a. There are many things we can do to conserve our non-renewable resources. Match the following suggestions (1-6) to the correct headings below. Then make up sentences, as in the example.

1 switch off the lights when we leave a room 2 wear warmer clothes in the winter

3ride a bicycle

4insulate our houses

cTo use less coal, gas, petrol and electricity

to heat our homes we can: ................

To use less petrol for transportation we can ride a bicycle.

b.Can you think of any other ways to reduce consumption of our non-renewable resources?

11 In pairs think of two ways that we can: saveon water; createlesslitter; reduceairpollution. Then, ask and answer, as in the example.

Making Suggestions

Why don’t we ...

We can ... / could also ...

It would be a good idea to ...

If ..., then ...

A:What can we do to save on water?

B:A good idea would be to take shorter showers.

A: That’s true, we could also ... etc

Writing

12 Use ideas from Ex. 10 as well as information from other sources to write your own set of rules on how to save on water. Write at least five rules and pin them up on your class noticeboard.

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Comparisons

Grammar Reference

13 Underline the comparative and superlative forms in the sentences. How are more and most used?

1Jenny is taller than Kate.

2The exam was easier than we expected.

3This restaurant is more expensive than the one we

went to last night.

4The train was going faster and faster.

5The roads in the city are becoming more and more crowded.

6He thinks that the richer he becomes, the happier he will be.

7 The African elephant is the biggest land mammal.

8London is the busiest city in the UK.

9 She is the most beautiful woman I know.

10 Tony is more capable than Billy.

14 Make up as many sentences as possible, as in the example.

A bicycle is not very fast. A car is faster than a bicycle. A train is the fastest of all. A car is quite fast. A train is very fast.

15 Complete the sentences using the correct forms of the comparative or superlative.

2Some scientists think that global warming is

5Venice is ...............................................................

(beautiful) city I have ever visited.

16 In pairs, use the pictures and the prompts to compare life now and in the past. Think about: life; people; dwelling; transportation; work; cities; streets.

ñ hard/easy ñ work short/long hours ñ noisy/quiet ñ healthy/unhealthy ñ slow/fast ñ exciting/boring ñ inconvenient/convenient ñ safe/dangerous

People used to ... ;

These days ...

Most people in the

past/nowadays ... ;

(The) ... used to be ...

but now ...

A:Life used to be harder in the past than it is now.

B:I agree. These days life seems to be quite easy.

17 In pairs use the prompts to ask and answer questions about the animals listed, as in the example.

ñelephant ñ lizard ñ mouse ñ cobra ñ centipede ñ tiger

ñmany legs ñ large ñ tall ñ small ñ fast ñ slow

ñloud ñ poisonous

A: Which animal has got the most legs?

B: I think it’s the centipede. Which animal ...

Too / Enough

Grammar Reference

18 Complete the sentences using either tooor enough.

8The hole in the ozone layer means that parts of