On the brighter side, the Kea Parrot of New Zealand is alive and well and is probably the rudest bird on earth! It is not afraid of humans, and nibbles at car’s tires or windshield wipers, or even people's fingers, if it gets close enough.
IV. Ask as many questions as possible to this text.
V. Tell what information have you known from this text.
Additional Tasks
What Do You Know About New Zealand?
Find Out
1. New Zealanders are often called Kiwis. Search the Internet and find out why.
2. Today, Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud) is the Maori name usually used for New Zealand. The Māori also referred to the North Island as Te Ika a Māui ("the fish of Māui") and the South Island as Te Waka a Maui (the canoe of Maui). The South island can also be called Te Wai Pounamu ("the waters of greenstone") or Te Waka o Aoraki ("the canoe of Aoraki"). Search the Internet and find the story behind one of these names.
Tourist Advertisement
Make a brochure or advertisement for New Zealand to lure tourists to these beautiful islands. Watch New Zealand a Dream. Base your information on what you can see in this video, or find your own information.
Writing
Watch the YouTube video in the introduction once more, and write a letter back home or an entry in a travel blog based on what this guy experiences. Find a suitable title and time span.
Lesson 9 Australia / Австралия
I. Read and translate the following words:
hemisphere
inhabitant
explorer
indigenous
claim
convict
prison
immigrant
population
colony
establish
Commonwealth
II. Find the sentences with the words from the vocabulary and ask questions to them.
III. Read and translate the following text:
Geography
Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere. It is made up of the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania and many other smaller islands in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
History
In 1606, Dutch explorers were the first Europeans who discovered Australia, but they did not settle there. Before this, for thousands of years, Australia was inhabited by the Aborigines. In 1770, the British claimed the eastern part of Australia. It was a useful place to send British convicts, instead of keeping them in prison in England. Gradually, other immigrants moved to Australia and the population grew. New South Wales was the first colony and five others were established in the 19th century. The six colonies joined together on January 1st 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia Today
The population today is just over 21.7 million. The nation's capital city is Canberra. The other main cities are: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. 60% of the population live in and around these cities. Australia has a democratic political system and a high technology industry.
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IV. Ask as many questions as possible to this text.
V. Tell what information have you known from this text.
Additional Tasks and Activities
Comprehension
Make 5 questions to this text then sit in pairs and take turns questioning and answering.
Australia - True or False Quiz
1. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901.
2. Australia is still a Commonwealth country today.
3. The population of Australia is approximately 7.5 million.
4. European settlement began in the 1700s (18th century).
5. The capital city of Australia is Sydney.
6. International comparisons show that Australia is an attractive country to live in.
7. Australia is the world's smallest continent.
8. New Zealand is found to the north-east of Australia.
9. Australia has a democratic political system.
10. Australia is not considered a multicultural country. The population mainly consists of descendants of British criminals.
Geography
Use the map of Australia to find the names of the 6 states or territories.
Can you find the main cities on the map? Which state are they in?
This geography quiz is difficult but give it a try Australia - Map Game
Describe Australia’s flag (its colour and the objects in it)
Here are some verbs. Can you find the nouns in the text which match them?
(e.g. verb: explore, noun: explorers)
Verbs: inhabit, convict, imprison, immigrate, populate, colonise
Discuss
Look at the two maps. They are both maps of Australia, but they are very different. Describe what they show you. Which one do you like best? Why?
Presentation
Choose one of the cities. Find pictures on the internet and make a short presentation of the city.
Lesson 10 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
I. Read the words:
industrialized
environmental
protection
conservation
domestic
foreign
preservation
rational
resource
supervision
utilization
urban
pollution
elaboration
allowable
observance
legislation
measures
framework
consequence
damage
destroy
suffer
disaster
threat
II. Master the active vocabulary:
environmental protection - защита окружающей среды
environment - окружающая среда
nature conservation - сохранение природы
preservation - сохранение, сохраность
rational use - рациональное использование
natural resources - природные ресурсы
utilization - использование
pollution - загрязнение
pollutant - загрязнитель
elaboration - разработка, развитие
relevant - уместный, относящийся к делу
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to protect - защищать, предохранять
to renew - обновдять, восстановлять
framework - структура, рамки
a consequence - последствие чего-либо
water shortage - нехватка воды
abuse of arable lands - неправильное использование
пахотных земель
to destroy - разрушать
damage - вред, повреждение, ущерб
to suffer an environmental problem - сталкиваться с пробле-
мой окружающей среды
cotton growing - хлопководство
to be under threat - быть под угрозой
III. Read and translate the text:
Protection of Nature.
As a highly industrialized state Russia cannot ignore the problem of environmental protection. Nature conservation has always been an important part of its domestic and foreign policy. More than a hundred documents related to the preservation and rational use of natural resources were signed.
The state system of environmental supervision and control is responsible for regulating the utilization of urban and industrial air basins and control over the sources of their pollution, and for the elaboration of the levels of maximum allowable discharge of pollutants into the atmosphere. Our state supervises the observance of the relevant legislation, and publicizes the need to protect the environment and to rationally use and renew natural resources.
We cannot talk about our state’s environmental protection measures without mentioning its extensive international efforts in the field, as environmental protection today has gone beyond the national framework to become an important international issue.
There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Another one is water shortage resulting from abuse of arable lands in agriculture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth problem is damage to water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: numerous species of animals and plants can disappear. Lastly, the most serious danger arising from damaging the environment is the result of the above- mentioned consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.
The territories of the former Soviet Union are suffering many environmental problems. Apart from the effect of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst problem is probably in the area around the Aral Sea. Cotton growing in the region has used huge quantities of water, and the sea level has fallen by 14 yards. This destroyed fishing industry and led to a damage to soils, crops and wildlife. Many forests in the North of European Russia and the Far East are under threat a system of dams on the Volga has caused damage to fish.
If we are unable to learn how to use the environment carefully and protect it from damage caused by man’s activities, very soon we’ll have no world to live in.
IV. Answer the question:
1. Why cannot Russia ignore the problem of environmental protection?
2. What part of its policy has nature conservation always been?
3. How many documents related to this problem were signed?
4. The state system of environmental supervision and control is
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responsible for regulating the utilization of urban and industrial air
basins, isn’t it?
5. What measures does our state undertake in order to protect the
environment and renew natural resources?
6. Why cannot we mention the extensive international efforts in the field
environmental protection?
7. What are the general consequences of damaging environment?
8. Which of them, to your personal opinion, is the most dangerous?
9. What territories of the former Soviet Union can be found suffering many
environmental problems?
10. Why is cotton growing considered to be the main damage factor in the
area around the Aral Sea?
11. Are there forests in Russia under threat?
12. What has caused damage to fish in the Volga?
13. Why is it so important to learn how to use the environment carefully and
protect it from damage?
14. Do you consider the problem of environmental protection to be an urgent
one?
V. Give Russian equivalents to these words and word combinations:
industrialized state, environmental protection, nature conservation, preservation, rational use, natural resources, control, supervision, utilization, urban, pollution, discharge of pollutants, observance, to protect, environment, environmental protection measures, extensive efforts, national framework, international issue, consequences of damaging, acid rain, water shortage, abuse of arable lands, agriculture, destroying the ozone layer, damage to water and soils, damage to wildlife, disappear, danger, to suffer, disaster, threat, man’s activities.
VI. Find the English equivalents for these words and word combinations:
проблема защиты окружающей среды, сохранение природы, внешняя и внутренняя политика, сохранение и рациональное использование природных ресурсов, регулирование использования, источники загрязнения, максимально допустимый, загрязнители, соблюдение законодательства, необходимость защищать окружающую среду, рациональное использование, государственные меры по охране окружающей среды, сфера, национальные рамки, международный вопрос, последствия ущерба окружающей среде, кислотный дождь, нехватка воды, неправильное использование пахотных земель, разрушение озонового слоя атмосферы, вред воде и почве, вред дикой природе, серьезная опасность сталкиваться с многими проблемами, разрушать, повреждение, находится под угрозой, человеческая деятельность.
VI. Read the sentences and translate them into Russian.
Comment on the use of Tenses and Voices:
1. About two hundred years ago man lived in harmony with nature, because industry was not much developed.
2. Today the contradictions between man and nature are dramatic.
3. Every year world industry throws out into atmosphere about 1,000million tons of dust and other harmful substances.
4. The pollution of the air, oceans, seas rivers and lakes, and the destruction of the ozone layer could lead our planet to a global catastrophe.
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5. The Earth is our home, that is why we must take care of it, for ourselves and for the next generations.
6. More than twenty years ago a pulp-and-paper factory was built on the shore of Lake Baikal.
7. As a result, because of the water pollution, more than 50 per cent of the world’s purest water have been ruined.
8. The whole ecological system of the lake has changed greatly.
9. Some organisms that can be found only in Lake Baikal are disappearing, trees are dying from the dust and gas blow-outs of the factory.
10. Lake Baikal and its shores have been declared a specially protected zone of the country.
11. There is a hope that one of the most beautiful and the deepest Lakes of the world will never die.
VIII. Read and retell the story
