Session 1 The Weather and the Environment Task 1 Which of these words do you (not) know? a storm thunder lightning a gale a hurricane a tornado a blizzard a flood a tsunami an earthquake a drought a landslide Go to an online collocation dictionary (https://www.freecollocation.com/) and look up useful adjectives / verbs / phrases that include the words from above. Task 2 Speaking A) Would you say the weather where you live has changed since you were a child? If so, how? B) Have there been any stories about bad/ extreme weather events or natural disasters in the news recently? If so, where? What happened? Task 3 Work in pairs. Each of you will go to one of the websites linked below. Study the texts and graphs on the page and prepare to report the main points to the partner. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate/climate-and-extreme-weather https://www.nationalgeographic.com/climate-change/how-to-live-with-it/weather.html Task 4 Listening: Controlling the weather? A) Listen to the start of a radio interview (6.4). Why are scientists researching ways to control the weather? B) Listen to the rest of the interview and answer the questions (6.5) - What is cloud seeding? - Why doesn´t cloud seeding work well in drought areas? - Why do people worry about using cloud seeding? - What solution have scientists in Geneva found? C) Explain the difference between past simple, present perfect simple and present perfect continuous. She wrote an article on climate change. She has written an article on climate change. She has been writing an article on climate change. D) Complete the summary of the listening with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. In recent years, there ……………….. (be) a noticeable increase in extreme weather events. Many scientists now agree that climate change …………….. (cause) this increase. The science correspondent in the programme …………. (just finish) researching ways in which scientists around the world …………. (try) to artificially control or change weather patterns. These scientists …………… (explore) various techniques, including cloud seeding, over the past few years. However, many people are worried about putting chemicals into the atmosphere. Recently one team of scientists in Geneva ………….. (discover) a way to use lasers to control the weather. Listen and check your answers (6.6). Task 4 Global problems – Vocabulary Choose the correct answer: 1. A volcano erodes/ erupts / erases. 2. An epidemic spreads / sprouts / sprays. 3. War can break up / break through / break out. 4. A hurricane can swerve / sweep / swipe across an area. 5. An earthquake can quake / rake / shake a city. 6. People who have no food may strive / starve / hunger to death. 7. It was a very bad accident. There were 150 causalities / casualties / casuals. 8. Thousands of refuses / refugees / rescuers are living in emergency camps. 9. This area has shown / struggled / seen many droughts this century. 10. Typhoid / Rabies / Measles is an infectious disease spread by bacteria, especially in water or food, causing fever and severe pain in the bowels. (adapted from McCarthy, M. & O´Dell, F. Test Your English Vocabulary in Use. CUP, 2001) Task 5 Talking about probability (Oral exam practice - speculating) A) What do you think will be the most pressing environmental issues in the future decades? littering and landfills water pollution natural disasters soil pollution natural resource depletion loss of biodiversity overpopulation deforestation public health issues air pollution ozone layer depletion B) Language We can use the modal verbs will, may and might to talk about how sure we are about something. We can also use the adverbs probably, possibly and definitely with will/might/may. The adverb generally goes after will/might/may and before won´t/ will not. E.g. Deforestation may possibly continue for another 100 years. The global population growth definitely won´t stop in the coming decades. Summary of degree of certainty Complete the table with the following expressions: is likely to definitely won´t might probably won´t will definitely will probably is unlikely to will possibly may Certain Possible Unlikely Impossible C) Put the words in the right order to make sentences: 1. likely / is / global warming / for several hundred years / continue / to …………………………………………………………………………………….. 2. will / in the future / probably / inside buildings / humans / most of their time / spend ……………………………………………………………………………………… 3. to be / ever live / won´t / humans / two hundred years / definitely / old / ………………………………………………………………………………………. 4. will / the planet Mars / one day / humans / colonise / possibly ……………………………………………………………………………………….. D) Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets. 1. Cities of the future are likely to have more green spaces. (probably) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 2. The ice caps probably won´t melt completely. (unlikely) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 3. We´ll probably be able to communicate with animals in the future. (might) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4. It´s probable that unemployment will continue rising. (likely) ……………………………………………………………………………………… Task 6 Word formation Complete the gaps with the correct form of the word in brackets. Scientists have high …………. (CONFIDENT) that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, …………… (LARGE) due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which includes more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. According to the IPCC, the extent of climate change effects on individual regions will vary over time and with the …………….. (ABLE) of different societal and …………………… (ENVIRONMENT) systems to mitigate or adapt to change. The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce ……………. (BENEFIT) impacts in some regions and …………….. (HARM) ones in others. Net annual costs will increase over time as global temperatures increase. "Taken as a whole," the IPCC states, "the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be ……………… (SIGNIFICANCE) and to increase over time." https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ Task 7 Vocabulary: Complete the gaps: 1. Gas, coal and oil are examples of f _ _ _ _ _ fuels. 2. We must accept that we have seriously depleted the ozone l _ _ _ _ in the last few decades . 3. What is the cause of r _ _ _ _ _ sea levels? 4. Irreparable damage to our environment is done by e _ _ _ _ _ _ fumes from millions of vehicles. 5. More people than ever are living below the p _ _ _ _ _ _ line. 6. The death t _ _ _ of the earthquake was massive. 7. Child l _ _ _ _ _ is a world-wide problem. 8. There has been a decrease in the fish s _ _ _ _ in the oceans. (adapted from McCarthy, M. & O´Dell, F. English Collocations in Use. CUP, 2005).