Vocabulary

FAMINE AND FLOOD

• Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage.

drought	famine	starve	starvation	cut off
helicopters	drop	flood	drown

If a country has no rain for a long time, this dry period is called a (a) ____________. In countries dependent on their agriculture, this can lead to a period of (b) ___________, when there is not enough food and people actually (c) __________ (die of hunger). They die of (d) __________. When it rains very heavily and the land is under water, this is called a (e) __________. In this situation people and animals can (f) __________. Sometimes (g) _________ have to (h) _________ food supplies to people in areas which are (i) ___________.

EARTHQUAKE AND EPIDEMIC

• Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage.

medical teams	trapped	epidemic	toll	outbreak
rescue teams	rubble	casualties	collapse	earthquake

In some parts of the world, the ground shakes from time to time. This is called an (a) ___________ and if it’s a bad one, the number of (b) ____________ (dead and injured people) is sometimes large. Buildings often (c) ___________ and (d) ____________ have to search for people who are (e) ____________ under the (f) ___________. Sometimes water supplies are affected and there is an (g) ____________ of disease, called an (h) ___________. (i) ___________ are sent by the government to help the sick. The death (j) ___________ can reach hundreds or even thousands.

FIRE

• Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage.

on fire	fire engine	under control	fireman
put out	fire brigade	overcome	arson

During the night it was reported that a house was (a) ___________. Someone phoned the (b) _____________ and a (c) ____________ was sent to the house. One (d) _________ was (e) _____________ by smoke and taken to hospital, but in half an hour the fire was (f) ___________ and after another half hour it was finally (g) ___________. At first the police thought it was an accident, but later they found matches and a petrol can and began to suspect (h) ___________.

• Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.

for

in

of

to

from

off

under

by

1. Many people died ______ starvation.

2. There are earthquakes in Japan _______ time ________ time.

3. Food supplies are dropped _______ people whose homes are cut _______.

4. Rescue teams searched ________ injured people.

5. There was a drought ________ ten months ________ Central Africa.

6. Many people were trapped ________ the rubble of the building which had collapsed.

7. Medical teams were sent _______ the government.

W hat are the different ways of obtaining the water we need?

Why do we have to pay for water? How is it paid for?

In what ways is water wasted? How could we be more economical in the use of water?

• Read the article about water. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap (1 – 7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE – or is there?

More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and a further 10% of the land is covered with ice. More than two-thirds of the human body is water and we cannot survive for more than four days without drinking water although we can survive without food for many weeks (the record for survival without food is 382 days). (1) ………….. Water is used in many manufacturing processes involving cooling and diluting, for transport and to extinguish fires. Water plays a part in many religious rituals. It also shapes the landscape by creating valleys and eroding coastlines. There is also a wide range of water sports that people enjoy such as swimming, diving, surfing, water polo, water skiing, canoeing and sailing.

Not everyone has access to a convenient and plentiful supply of fresh, clean water. It is estimated that two-thirds of households worldwide use a water source outside the home. In some parts of the world, water has to be carried by hand from a distant water source. (2) …………. Water is heavy and a woman cannot carry more than about fifteen litres but one person needs at least five litres per day for drinking and cooking and a further twenty-five litres to keep clean. Consequently, women in some countries spend several hours a day in the backbreaking task of carrying water. (3) …………… Even in advanced industrial countries, however, water is a cause for concern. Many people will not drink water from the tap but buy bottled water instead. They are concerned that tap water has not been adequately treated after leaving the reservoir and before being piped into their houses. (4) …………. In agricultural areas, people are worried about the amount of chemical fertilizers that farmers spread on their fields. They believe that the rain washes these chemicals into the water supply. (5) ………….

Water falls freely from the sky, as part of an endless cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation, but it has to be stored, treated and distributed and these processes cost money and have to be paid for. (6) ………… In some parts of the world, countries are in dispute over the use of water from rivers and lakes that cross national boundaries. Some of these disputes could lead to war. The building of dams is particularly controversial because a large dam built to produce hydroelectric power may have effects outside the country where it has been built. Dams can have harmful social effects within a country because of the amount of agricultural land which is flooded and the number of people that have to move their homes.

(7) …………. Floods lead to loss of life and environmental damage. Acid rain strips the leaves off the trees and can destroy whole forests. Polluted water can kill fish and wildlife and cause fishermen to lose their livelihood. Perhaps worst of all is drought, when crops wither and die in arid fields, animals die of thirst, and people, unable to produce food, must move elsewhere or die. We are fortunate indeed if we can rely on a guaranteed, economical, unlimited supply of fresh, clean water.

1. It is mostly women who have the job of carrying water.

2. As well as being essential for our survival, water is also needed to wash our bodies and our clothes, for irrigating crops and for cooking.

3. Compared with this, just turning on a tap in your house is sheer luxury, but a luxury we often take for granted.

4. Water can be very destructive.

5. Although it can cause damage, water is essential to life.

6. Sometimes people are advised not to use water from wells because the water has been contaminated even at great depth.

7. In many countries there are controversies about the private or public ownership of water and the amount of money that the consumer pays for it.

8. They are worried that it is still polluted by chemicals that factories discharge into rivers.

* Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink quote a slightly changed phrase from the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

* survival without food – Angus Barbieri survived without food for 382 days in Dundee Hospital from June 1965 to July 1966. He lived on tea, coffee and vitamins. His weight went down from 214 kg to 80 kg.

• Study the vocabulary dealing with water; find Russian equivalents to the phrases:

a supply of fresh, clean water (a plentiful, convenient, economical, unlimited supply)

fresh water – пресная вода

drinking water – питьевая вода

water source, water from rivers and lakes

water from the tap/ tap water, bottled water

water from wells, artificial/natural reservoir

pipe water into a house, wash chemicals into the water supply

to pollute water, polluted water, to contaminate water

water sports: water polo, water skiing

• Pay attention to the subject-verb agreement and the use of the indefinite article in the following cases:

70% of the surface is covered

50% of the passengers were injured

two-thirds of the human body is water

a further 10% of the land is covered

a further 25 litres

• Answer the questions to the text:

1. What is the Earth’s surface covered by?

2. Why is water essential to man’s life? How long can man survive without food and water?

3. In what spheres is water used by people in everyday life?

4. What are different ways of getting access to water?

5. What amount of water per day do we need for drinking, cooking and keeping clean?

6. Why is water a cause for concern all over the world?

7. What is an endless water cycle?

8. What economic and political problems can water cause?

9. In what way can water be destructive and cause damage?

10. Comment on the title of the article.

• Find English equivalents to the following words and phrases:

1. включая, затрагивая

1. большой выбор, разнообразие

2. доступ к удобно расположенному неиссякаемому источнику чистой пресной воды

3. непосильное задание, каторжный труд

4. повод, основание для беспокойства

5. химические удобрения

6. очищать воду реагентами

7. у государств существуют разногласия по поводу

8. пересекать государственные границы

9. иметь пагубные последствия

10. потерять источник дохода

• Summarize the text.

• Retell the text.