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Date: Mar 21, 2007
THE ARTICLEWorld’s mightiest rivers on “at risk” listA report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that the current rate of climate change is putting many of world’s great rivers at risk of drying up. The report, “WWF's Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, was released to coincide with World Water Day (March 22nd). It is a worrying read. Among the endangered rivers are the Rio Grande, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border; the Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers in Asia; the Danube in Europe; and Africa’s mighty River Nile. The WWF says these waterways, which provide fresh water to millions of people, are “facing widespread degradation”. Carter Roberts, president of the WWF, issued a dire warning: "The world's freshwater ecosystems are under siege, and the rivers in this report are the front lines," he says. The Rio Grande makes the list, says the report, “because the river is severely threatened by water diversions,” coming from a “widespread alteration of the floodplain”. Dams and pollution are also to blame for putting the river in danger. A combination of drought and people taking too much water out of the river is draining it dry. This is endangering a unique desert river ecosystem, which might damage the economic growth of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. The WWF is working to improve matters to conserve fish stocks. It also hopes farmers can maintain a sustainable supply of water and live in harmony with the rivers. Another WWF initiative is the establishment of more protected areas along stretches of the rivers most important for wildlife. WARM-UPS1. I’M A RIVER: You are a river. Decide which one. Walk around the class and talk to the other “rivers” in the classroom. Ask them about their life. What do they think of the humans who use / pollute them? Sit with a new partner and share your life-as-a-river stories. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 3. WORLD RIVERS: With your partner(s), talk about these rivers. What is your image of them? What do you know of them? Change partners and share your findings.
4. EARTH REPORTS: Imagine the following reports are released in the next few weeks. Talk about each of them. Do you think they could come true?
5. QUICK DEBATE: Have this fun quick debate with your partner(s). Students A think people worry too much about climate change; students B think people don’t take climate change seriously enough. Change partners and topics every two minutes. 6. WATER: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with water. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text. World’s mightiest rivers on “at risk” list
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A report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that the ________ rate of climate change is putting many of world’s great rivers at ________ of drying up. The report, “WWF's Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, was released to ________ with World Water Day (March 22nd). It is a worrying ________. Among the endangered rivers are the Rio Grande, which ________ along the U.S.-Mexico border; the Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers in Asia; the Danube in Europe; and Africa’s ________ River Nile. The WWF says these waterways, which provide fresh water to millions of people, are “________ widespread degradation”. Carter Roberts, president of the WWF, issued a ________ warning: "The world's freshwater ecosystems are under siege, and the rivers in this report are the front lines," he says.
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coincide |
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The Rio Grande ________ the list, says the report, “because the river is severely threatened by water diversions,” coming from a “widespread ________ of the floodplain”. Dams and pollution are also to ________ for putting the river in danger. A combination of drought and people taking too much water out of the river is ________ it dry. This is endangering a unique desert river ecosystem, which might damage the economic growth of communities along the U.S.-Mexico ________. The WWF is working to improve matters to ________ fish stocks. It also hopes farmers can maintain a sustainable supply of water and live in harmony with the rivers. Another WWF ________ is the establishment of more protected areas along ________ of the rivers most important for wildlife. |
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draining |
Listen and fill in the spaces.
A report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that the current rate of climate change is putting many of world’s great _________________ drying up. The report, “WWF's Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, was _________________ World Water Day (March 22nd). It is _________________. Among the endangered rivers are the Rio Grande, _________________ U.S.-Mexico border; the Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers in Asia; the Danube in Europe; and Africa’s mighty River Nile. The WWF says these waterways, which provide fresh water to millions of people, are “facing _________________”. Carter Roberts, president of the WWF, issued a dire warning: "The world's freshwater ecosystems _____________, and the rivers in this report are the front lines," he says.
The Rio Grande makes the list, says the report, “because _______________ threatened by water diversions,” coming from a “widespread alteration of the floodplain”. Dams and pollution _________________ putting the river in danger. A combination of drought and people taking too much water out of the river is _________________. This is endangering a unique desert river ecosystem, which might damage the economic growth of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. The WWF is working _________________ conserve fish stocks. It also hopes farmers can maintain a sustainable supply of water and live in harmony with the rivers. Another _________________ establishment of more protected areas _________________ rivers most important for wildlife.
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘fresh’ and ‘water’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. STUDENT “RIVERS” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about rivers, drought, dams and climate change.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
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STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
MOVIE SCRIPT:
With your partner(s), plan the script/story for a major new catastrophe story about the word’s rivers drying up. Use the table to help you:
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Your ideas |
Notes |
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Movie title |
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Location |
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Actors |
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Opening scene |
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Biggest action scene |
|
|
Turning point |
|
|
Message |
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The End |
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After you finish, compare stories with other groups. Suggest improvements. Vote on the best story.
CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.
A report (1) ____ by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that the current rate of climate change is putting many of world’s great rivers at risk of drying up. The report, “WWF's Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, was released to (2) ____ with World Water Day (March 22nd). It is a worrying (3) ____. Among the endangered rivers are the Rio Grande, which (4) ____ along the U.S.-Mexico border; the Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers in Asia; the Danube in Europe; and Africa’s (5) ____ River Nile. The WWF says these waterways, which provide fresh water to millions of people, are “facing widespread degradation”. Carter Roberts, president of the WWF, issued a (6) ____ warning: "The world's freshwater ecosystems are under siege, and the rivers in this report are the front lines," he says.
The Rio Grande (7) ____ the list, says the report, “because the river is severely threatened by water diversions,” coming from a “widespread alteration of the floodplain”. Dams and pollution are also (8) ____ blame for putting the river in danger. A combination of drought and people taking too much water out of the river is draining it (9) ____. This is endangering a
(10) ____ desert river ecosystem, which might damage the economic growth of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. The WWF is working to improve matters to conserve fish stocks. It also hopes farmers can maintain a sustainable supply of water and live (11) ____ harmony with the rivers. Another WWF initiative is the establishment of more protected areas along (12) ____ of the rivers most important for wildlife.
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1. |
(a) |
releasing |
(b) |
release |
(c) |
released |
(d) |
releases |
|
2. |
(a) |
coincide |
(b) |
coincidence |
(c) |
coincidental |
(d) |
coin |
|
3. |
(a) |
reads |
(b) |
read |
(c) |
reed |
(d) |
reading |
|
4. |
(a) |
bows |
(b) |
kneels |
(c) |
walks |
(d) |
runs |
|
5. |
(a) |
mite |
(b) |
mightier |
(c) |
mighty |
(d) |
might |
|
6. |
(a) |
fire |
(b) |
dire |
(c) |
hire |
(d) |
wire |
|
7. |
(a) |
makes |
(b) |
takes |
(c) |
lakes |
(d) |
fakes |
|
8. |
(a) |
of |
(b) |
with |
(c) |
for |
(d) |
to |
|
9. |
(a) |
dry |
(b) |
wet |
(c) |
moist |
(d) |
as |
|
10. |
(a) |
unlikely |
(b) |
uniqueness |
(c) |
unique |
(d) |
uniquely |
|
11. |
(a) |
big |
(b) |
with |
(c) |
on |
(d) |
in |
|
12. |
(a) |
stretched |
(b) |
stitches |
(c) |
stretches |
(d) |
stretchers |
1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about the WWF report. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. RIVERS POSTER: Make a poster about different rivers around the world. How are they different? Show your poster to your class in the next lesson. Vote on the best one(s).
4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the consequences of the world’s rivers drying up. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?
5. LETTER: Write a letter to the leader of your country. Tell him/her what he/she has to do to save the rivers in your country. Ask him/her three questions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
TRUE / FALSE:
|
a. T |
b. F |
c. F |
d. F |
e. T |
f. F |
g. F |
h. F |
SYNONYM MATCH:
|
a. |
released |
issued |
|
b. |
drying up |
dwindling |
|
c. |
coincide |
occur simultaneously |
|
d. |
degradation |
deterioration |
|
e. |
dire |
appalling |
|
f. |
severely |
seriously |
|
g. |
alteration |
modification |
|
h. |
endangering |
threatening |
|
i. |
sustainable |
maintainable |
|
j. |
stretches |
areas |
PHRASE MATCH:
|
a. |
the current rate |
of climate change |
|
b. |
released to coincide |
with World Water Day |
|
c. |
It is a worrying |
read |
|
d. |
facing widespread |
degradation |
|
e. |
ecosystems are under |
siege |
|
f. |
The Rio Grande makes |
the list |
|
g. |
A combination of drought |
and people taking too much water |
|
h. |
improve matters to conserve |
fish stocks |
|
i. |
maintain a sustainable |
supply of water |
|
j. |
protected areas along stretches |
of the rivers |
GAP FILL:
A report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that the current rate of climate change is putting many of world’s great rivers at risk of drying up. The report, “WWF's Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, was released to coincide with World Water Day (March 22nd). It is a worrying read. Among the endangered rivers are the Rio Grande, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border; the Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers in Asia; the Danube in Europe; and Africa’s mighty River Nile. The WWF says these waterways, which provide fresh water to millions of people, are “facing widespread degradation”. Carter Roberts, president of the WWF, issued a dire warning: "The world's freshwater ecosystems are under siege, and the rivers in this report are the front lines," he says.
The Rio Grande makes the list, says the report, “because the river is severely threatened by water diversions,” coming from a “widespread alteration of the floodplain”. Dams and pollution are also to blame for putting the river in danger. A combination of drought and people taking too much water out of the river is draining it dry. This is endangering a unique desert river ecosystem, which might damage the economic growth of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. The WWF is working to improve matters to conserve fish stocks. It also hopes farmers can maintain a sustainable supply of water and live in harmony with the rivers. Another WWF initiative is the establishment of more protected areas along stretches of the rivers most important for wildlife.
LANGUAGE WORK
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1 - c |
2 - a |
3 - b |
4 -d |
5 - c |
6 -b |
7 - a |
8 -d |
9 -a |
10 - c |
11 -d |
12 - c |
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