Video 1
Watch the report The Country and the City Food from the Hood (North Star). Answer the questions that follow:
What is so unusual about the teenagers?
What was the main task/ idea of the experiment?
How big is involvement of the teenagers?
When and how did the garden begin?
How well did the experiment work?
What kind of teaching does Tammy Bird believe in? Do you agree with her?
When do children work?
What is the attitude of the community and city officials to the project?
What do the teens do with the products they grow?
What skills do teens learn?
Video 2
Watch the report The Village (Headway Pre-Intermediate Video). Answer the following questions:
Why is there a feeling that life hasn’t change in the heart of English countryside?
Why going to the country is called an escape?
Where is King’s Sutton situated?
How old is the village?
Describe the central square and the surroundings.
Have there been any changes? When did they happen?
What kind of community did King’s Sutton use to be?
What is the history of the local bakery?
Why have almost all local shops closed?
Explain, what self-sufficient community means?
Why do people like living in King’s Sutton?
How does the closest motorway affect the village life?
Is the life in King’s Sutton better today than it was in the past?
Writing
Write the summary of the text “A City That’s Doing Something Right”.
Choose one of the following topics. Write one or two paragraphs. Use some of the vocabulary of the unit.
Write about a day that you spent in nature. Where did you go? What did you do? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not?
Do you prefer to live in an urban, a suburban, or a rural area? Why? What are the benefits of the area you prefer?
Write about an area you know that you remember as open land but that became part of a suburb or town. What was it like before? What is it like now? Do you think it was a good idea to build on that land? Why or why not?
Two of the three items following each phrase correctly completes the sentence. Cross out the item that does not make sense.
1) Most of the income Norman gets from his farm is from
a. selling milk.
b. renting land to other farmers.
c. buying new equipment.
2) My favorite place to go camping is
a. Los Angeles.
b. Mount Shasta.
c. Yellowstone National Park.
3) Builders try to convince towns to let them build more buildings by saying
a. ‘The open land here is beautiful.’
b. ‘We will pay you a lot of money for the land.’
c. ‘You need more houses in this area.’
4) In deserts, you can usually find
a. sunshine.
b. trees.
c. snakes.
5) Bill and his brother, Jay, live in the separate places because
a. Bill prefers the city, while Jay prefers the suburbs.
b. they love to see each other every day.
c. they had a big fight and don’t talk to each other any more.
6) One of the benefits of living in a city is
a. it’s noisy.
b. you can’t usually live close to shops.
c. you don’t need a car because there is a lot of public transport.
7) Robert is a member of
a. my friends.
b. The Open Space Trust Organization.
c. a bicycling club.
8) Redwood City just bought 40 acres of
a. land.
b. forest.
c. roads.
Complete the following sentences with the words below.
acres benefits camping convince disappear greenbelt includes members open land separate suburbs urban
Pauline lives in the (1) _______. ‘You can’t (2) ________ me that the city is better than the suburbs!’ she says. ‘There are a lot of (3) ________ to living in the suburbs. For example, it is much quieter than the city, and I can have a bigger house here, so the children can all have (4) _________ bedrooms. My family and I are all (5) __________ of the swim and tennis club, so there is lots to do on the weekends.’
Mark is a farmer near the San Francisco Bay Area. His farm is in the (6) __________. ‘I am really glad that we have a greenbelt because my farm (7) ________ only 200 (8) __________ of land,’ Mark says. ‘With the greenbelt, I know that the forest around my farm won’t (9) _______. It would be different it there were cities all around my farm. I wouldn’t like it, and I don’t think my cows would like it either!’
Warren and Diana live in San Francisco with their two children. They like living in a(n) (10) __________ area. ‘We have a car but we almost never have to drive,’ Diana says. ‘We can walk to the shops, and we take buses to get to work. Sure, it gets noisy and crowded here sometimes. That’s why we go (11) _________ and walking a lot on the weekends. There are great trails and campgrounds in the (12) _________ only half an hour away from here.’
Match the words on the left with the definition on the right. Then fill in the blanks in the conversation with the words from the left column.
community garden |
putting green areas in a city; parks and gardens |
empty lot |
not work, have free time to rest |
get together |
a garden on top of a building |
grow up |
a garden many people grow together |
hang around |
stay in one place not doing anything |
roof garden |
an area with no buildings on it |
urban greening |
become an adult; get older |
relax |
meet with people |
A: Good afternoon. This is Radio Call In on WNYZ. How can I help you today?
B: Well, my neighborhood really needs something to make it more beautiful and green.
A: Hmm. So you are looking for idea about (1) ______________?
B: Yes. Do you have any?
A: Well, there are many things you can do. First of all, you should try to meet with your neighbors.
B: Ok. I’ll try to (2)___________ ___________ with everyone. That’s a good idea.
A: Then you can discuss ideas. For example, you can plant gardens on top of the apartment buildings.
B: Ok, maybe a (3) ____________ ____________. That’s a good idea.
A: Yes, and people can go there after work to just sit and rest.
B: Yes, that would be a nice place to (4) _____________.
A: Or if there is an area with no buildings on it, you could plant a community garden.
B: Yes, we have an (5) ________ _________. And now, a lot of people stand there doing nothing.
A: Yes, people will (6) _________ ________ empty lots.
B: There are good ideas. Thanks. You know, when I was a child, I lived in the country and we had a lot of green areas. Then, when I became an adult, I moved to the city. Things sure are different here!
A: Yes, things change when we (7) ___________ _________. Well, I hope you use some urban greening in your neighborhood.
B: Ok, I will. Thanks. Bye-bye.
Translate the following sentences into English using the vocabulary of the unit.
1) Когда у нас будут дети, мы скорее всего переедем загород.
2) Пригородная зона многих крупных городов растет, сливаясь с небольшими городками.
3) В большом современном городе довольно сложно найти и акр незастроенной земли, где бы еще не красовался жилой дом, торговый центр или офисное здание.
4) Новый спортивный центр будет очень выгоден для этого района.
5) Цена включает в себя стоимость проживания, завтрак и ужин.
6) Примите это лекарство, и симптомы исчезнут через пару часов.
7) Члены экологического общества выступают за увеличение зеленой зоны вокруг городов для улучшения экологической обстановки в городе.
8) Кемпинг снова становится популярным видом отдыха для городских жителей.
9) Вам не придется меня убеждать в том, что вы именно тот человек, которого мы ищем.
10) Заторы на дорогах мегаполисов с каждым годом становятся все страшнее и страшнее. Горожане проводят в пробках более шести часов в день, направляясь на работу и обратно домой.
11) Новый вид общественного транспорта поможет сократить использование автомобилей и автобусов в одном из наиболее густонаселенных городов мира.
12) Многие писатели-фантасты (science-fiction writers) предсказывают, что стремление людей к созданию общества изобилия неизбежно приведет к загрязнению окружающей среды и неспособности перерабатывающих заводов справиться с огромным количеством отбросов.
13) Благодаря правильно расставленным приоритетам и творческому решению ряда проблем стало возможным создание данной библиотеки.
14) Здесь мы выращиваем различные травы (herbs), наша продукция пользуется большим спросом.
Discussion
Fieldwork
Find out how the area you live in now (your neighborhood or your town or city) has changed over the years. Write a description of your area during the earlier time. Describe the changes. Give your account of the changes and probably your suppositions on how to change the area for the better.