POLLUTION OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIT : By the end of this unit, you should be able to describe the effects of pollution, write a letter of complaint, write slogans. TIME NECESSARY : About 12 hours, that is 1 hour a day for 12 days. UNITS OR LESSONS TO BE REVIEWED : Describing - Narrating - Arguing - Reported speech - Past perfect. MATERIAL TO BE PREPARED : Slogans - Letters of complaint in English. REFERENCES : New Lines Unit 8and 9. Midlines. Unit 03. UNIT PLAN GETTING READY. - ACTIVITIES 8 TO 9. GETTING READY. - LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES 1 α 2. - KEY. DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS. ACTIVITIES 3 α 4. USE OF ENGLISH. GETTING READY. ACTIVITIES 5 TO 7. GETTING READY 31
.GETTING READY 32
GETTING READY 33
ACTIVITY 7.1. This is a B.B.C news bulletin. It is about a detailed report of the accident that happened at the Tchernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine on April 28 th 1986. Neighbouring countries and foreigners living in Kiev were directly concerned. Read the news and list the countries concerned. THE TCHERNOBYL ACCIDENT 1 3 7 10 12 14 15 19 In their latest statements on the accident of the Tchernobyl nuclear power station, the Soviet authorities announced two people had died. The Soviet statement said that 197 casualties had been taken to hospital, but 49 had been discharged after check up. Work was going on to clean polluted areas. A group of more than 80 Western students have been evacuated from the city of Kiev in the Ukraine after the accident. The students, most of them British, arrived in Moscow and showed varying levels of radio-activity, but all were given certificates to assert they were safe. They 'll undergo a second examination before being allowed to board the British Airways plane on their way home. The students said life in Kiev was normal. Meanwhile, the Finnish are trying to evacuate more than 200 of their nationals from the Kiev area. A Finnish building worker who's already returned from Kiev was taken to hospital after showing radiation levels which were described as alarming. At the United Nations, the Ukrainian Embassador said the air of Kiev was not causing concern and the quality of drinking water in rivers and reservoirs was satisfactory. A number of European countries including France, West Germany and Switzerland have recorded increased radiation but say it's not dangerously high, and in Poland the authorities say there has been a further fall In radiation levels However, precautions there are continuing, including a recommenthat children throughout Poland be given doses of iodine to protect them from the effects of possible contamination. 34
ACTIVITY 7.2. Read the text again and decide which of the following sentences are true and which ones are false. Justify the " true " ones and correct the " false " ones. 1. None of the casualties left hospital. 2. The western students underwent radiation examinations in Moscow. 3. The British students showed a dangerous level of radiation. 4. The British students will fly back home. 5. Only one Finnish national was evacuated from Kiev. 6. Drinking water in rivers and reservoirs in the area of Kiev was contaminated. 7. The Polish authorities have taken special measures to protect children. DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS Find words in the text that mean the same as : 1. victims. 2. made dirty. 3. illness caused by gamma rays or rays from radioactive dust. 4. catastrophy. 5. giving a warning or feeling of danger. 35
ACTIVITY 7.3. What do these words refer to? Study the following statements, Read the extract from the B.B.C news and find the words that the items underlined refer to. An example is given : 1. " In their latest statement on the " accident............... had died ". their = the Soviet authorities. 2. "......... where they underwent radiation examinations ". 3. " But all were given certificates to assert they were safe ". 4. "......... but say it's not dangerously high ". 5. "......... However, precautions there are continuing ". 6. "........ to protect them from the effects of possible contamination ". ACTIVITY 7. 4. These are facts about the Tchernobyl accident but they are scrambled. Could you order them without refering to the text? A. The Soviet autorities said that two people had died. B. An accident happened at the Tchernobyl nuclear power station on April 28 th 1986. C. They added that 197 casualties had been taken to hospital. C. A group of more than 80 foreign students had to leave the cit y of Kiev. D. They went to Moscow to undergo radiation examinations. F. These students said that life in Kiev was normal. 36
USE OF ENGLISH : - People who are from Finland are Finnish. - People who are from France are French. - People who are from Norway are Norwegians. - People who are from Sweden are Swedish. - People who are from Poland are Polish. - People who are from Switzerland are Swiss. - People who are from Germany are Germans. - People who are from Japan are Japanese. - Notice : Which form takes " s "? Which does not? GETTING READY : If we look in the dictionary the definition of the verb pollute, we find : Pollute : make dirty; destroy the purity or sanctity of rivers with filthy wastes from factories water : unfit to drink. In other words : pollution has a connotation of something bad, something against nature, it means that if there is pollution, the natural balance or equilibrium is disturbed. Nuclear pollution is one of the wide range. If the Tchernobyl disaster produced nuclear radiations which have tremendous effects on mankind, animals and nature, Bosphor catastrophy which was a gas leak has similar consequences. Study this headline and try to guess what the newspaper article is about : INDIAN GOV'T BACKS NEW PETITIONS AGAINST FIRM. 37
ACTIVITY 7. 5. Read the following article and pick out all the words or phrases that show that " Bophal affair " is a disaster. 38
ACTIVITY 7. 6. Read the following passage completly then fill in each gap so that it makes sense. Today, we see the negative effects of industrial progress in the environment. Factories produce...... (1)...... and for too many years...... (2)...... waste has...... (3)...... dumped into rivers, lakes and...... (4)...... Now we are paying for this carelessness as valuable..... (5)...... resources become...... (6)...... by high toxic waste....... (7)...... rivers and lakes will never recover...... (8)...... this misuse and we are just beginning to discover...... (9)...... the effect on oceans has been. IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY IN THINKING OF THE VOCABULARY FOR A GAP FILLING EXERCISE LOOK AT T HE WORDS SURROUNDING THE GAP AND TRY TO WORK OUT WHAT PART OF SPEECH IS NEEDED. GETTING READY YOU AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT The remedy to pollution, as the antidote for a poison, could be ecology. Ecology is the branch of biology that deals with the habits of living creatures especially their relation to their surroundings. Therefore the quality of the environment should be everybody's concern.youths such as you can be involved in the effort to improve it. 39
ACTIVITY 7. 7. A. Suggest actions that can be undertaken to cut down pollution. The table below may help you. HOW TO SAY IT : We could........ we can............. What about.....? how about..........? People should.... we must............ B. Write slogans to support a cleaning or a re-afforestation ( planting trees ) campaigns. e. g : Green is beautiful. Keep your country clean... ACTIVITY 7. 8. Should we care about the effect man is having on the environment? Some people do worry about disturbing the balance of nature and others intend to generate a sense of responsibility for our environment. These people are called : " Friends of the Earth ". Try to find out what their aims and activities are. Read this and complete the table below. Friends of the Earth. What are our objectives? We intend to generate among all people a sense of personal responsibility for the environment in which we live. We intend to make the crucial environmental issues the subject of widespread and well informed public debate. We intend to campaign against specific projects which damage the environment or squander our resources, and fight for their correction with every legal means at our disposal. But above all we intend to campain for the universal adoption of sustainable and equitable life styles. How can we achieve them? By helping to build up a powerful environment lobby that is not aligned to any existing political party. By lobbying to change the law, and using existing laws to defend our environment and resources from abuse. By making people aware of their rights and how they can use them to defend the environment. By taking direct action to conserve and promote considerate use of the earth's natural resources. By creating channels through which the energies of committed people can be applied. By raising money from organisations and individuals to finance specific projects, central administrative costs and local group activities. 40
MAIN AIMS MAIN ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY 7. 9. A LETTER OF COMPLAINT Write a letter to a real or imaginary local factory to complain about the pollution it causes. The introduction and the conclusion have been provided. The body of the letter may include the following points : - The complaint itself. - The consequences on the residents' health. - Suggestions to the factory director. 41
ADDRESS DATE Dear Sir, We are a group of residents who live in the neighbourhood of the factory which you run. As we are very much concerned by the aesthetic and hygienic aspects of our environment, we are deeply worried by the pollution your factory causes. BODY OF THE LETTER We hope that our concern will receive your favourable attention and that appropriate measures will soon be taken to solve the problem. Yours faithfully Signature. 42
LEISURE TIME 43
K E Y ACTIVI TY PAG E SUGGESTED ANSWERS REFERENCES - OBSERVATIONS - RECOMMENDATIONS 2. 35 1. False ( 49 left hospital ). 2. True. 3.False (They showed varying levels of radioactivity). 4. True. 5. False ( more than 200 were evacuated ). 6. False ( The quality of drinking water was satisfactory ). 7. True. D.W.V.W. 35 1. casualties - 2. polluted - 3. radiation - 4. accident - 5. alarming. 3. 36 2. Moscow - 3. British students - 4. radiation - 5. in Poland - 6. Children. line 4. lines 8 to 12. lines 8 to 9. line 11. lines 13. 14. lines 18 to 19.. lines 24. 25. 4. 36 B. A. C. E. D. F Pay attention to reference words. 5. 38 victims - industrial disaster - gas leak that killed 3,298 people injured 20,000 others. Gas victims. 6. 39 1. smoke / pollution - 2. Dangerous / toxic - 3. been - 4. seas / oceans - 5. natural - 6. contaminated - 7. seas / oceans - 8. From - 9. what. 7A. 7 B. 39 40 Examples : - We could practise volunteering once a month. - What about cleaning and sweeping the streets in our neighbourhood........ - Keep off the grass. - Don't throw litter on the grounds. - Keep your country clean and tidy..... refer to the recommendation on the bottom of the page where the activity appears. 44
K E Y ACTIVI TY PAG E SUGGESTED ANSWERS REFERENCES - OBSERVATIONS - RECOMMENDATIONS 8. 41 MAIN AIMS : Read the text carefully. - to generate sense of personal responsibility. - to make the crucial environmental issues the subject of widespread and well informed public debate. - to campaign against specific projects which damage the environment and fight for their correction. MAIN ACTIVITIES : - building a powerful environment. - change the law to defend our environment. - make people aware of their rights. - conserve and promote the use of the Earth's resources. - creating channels. - raising money from organisations and individuals. 9. 41 LETTER WRITING. A. The complaint should be specific; The factory is situated in a very popular neighbourhood. - deposit of soot everywhere. - mounds of rubbish ( cardboard, papers, plastic... ) along the streets. B. Consequences on residents' health especially children playing outside. C. Suggestions to the factory manager - limit their production. - move to another place. - control should be strengthened. 45