Unit 4 World News.docx
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Unit 4 World News.docx
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Unit4WorldNews
Unit4WorldNews:
EarthandEnvironment
PartIWarmingup
1.WhatisthepreciseheightofMountEverestaccordingtoNationalGeographicSociety’slatestmeasuring?
29,035feet,sevenfeettallerthanwasthoughtwhenitwaslastmeasuredinthe1950s.
2.Whatisthelikelyimpactofclimatechangeaccordingtothenewresearch?
Damagetocropsinlow-lyingcoastalregionscouldbeworsethanpreviouslythought.
3.WhatisthetitleoftheconferenceinnorthernBrazil?
ThethirdUnitedNationsConferenceonDesertification.
4.Whatdoesanewstudysayaboutreptiles?
Reptilespeciesareingreatertroublethanamphibianspecies.
5.WhatdidthegovernorsfromColumbiacallfor?
Anewapproachinthefightagainsttheillegaldrugstrade
6.WhatarecrewsdoingoffthecoastofMexico,about50milessouthofSanDiego?
Theyareworkingtocleanupahugeoilspill.
7.Whatistheseriousthreatforplants?
Oneineveryeightspeciesofplantsisthreatenedwithextinction.
8.HowseriouswerethewildfiresinFlorida?
Theylastedfornearlyaweekand65thousandhectaresinthesouthernpartofthestatewereconsumed.
9.Whatisnowavailable?
Anewlocaldirectoryfortheenvironmentally-aware,calledthe“BoulderCountyGreenPages”
10.WhatdoesaU.S.SpaceAgencystudyrecentlyfind?
Greenlandismeltingaroundtheedges,morethan50cubickilometersperyear.
Tapescript:
1. TheNationalGeographicSocietyjustfinishedmeasuringMountEverestanditissevenfeettallerthanwasthoughtwhenitwaslastmeasuredinthe1950s.Inthiscase,aglobalpositioningsatelliteputthepreciseheightoftheworld’stallestmountainat29,035feet.
2. Newresearchonthelikelyimpactofclimatechangesuggeststhatdamagetocropsinlow-lyingcoastalregionscouldbeworsethanpreviouslythought.Adraftreportbyleadingclimatologistspredictshugeproblemsasaresultofafallingcropyieldintropicalandsubtropicalzones,andmorefloodsanddroughtintemperateandhumidregions.
3. Morethan2,000delegatesfromaroundtheworldhavegatheredinnorthernBrazilforthethirdUnitedNationsConferenceonDesertification.Accordingtoexpertsalmostone-thirdoftheworld’sdrylandiseitherdesertorrunstheriskofbecomingso.Morethan200millionpeoplearedirectlyaffected.
4. Thedisappearanceanddeformityofamphibianssuchasfrogsandsalamandersfromrainforestsandmountainlakesworldwidehasattractedwide-spreadscientificattentionoverthelastdecade.Nowanewstudysaysreptilespeciesincludingturtles,snakes,andalligatorsareinevengreatertrouble.Twiceasmanyreptilesasamphibians,orsome100species,arecurrentlylistedasendangeredbytheWorldConservationUnion.Thestudysayshabitatlossanddegradation,pollution,disease,climatechange,andover-collectionforfood,petsanddrugsarethemajorthreattoreptiles.
5. FourregionalgovernorsfromColumbia,onavisittoWashington,havesharplycriticizedanAmerican-backedaerialoffensivetoeradicatethousandsofhectaresofillegalcokeandpoppyplantations.Atanewsconferencethegovernorscalledforadifferentapproachinthefightagainsttheillegaldrugstrade,sayingthattheherbicidescurrentlybeingusedwereharmfultopublichealthandtheenvironment.
6. CrewsareworkingtocleanupahugeoilspilloffthecoastofMexico,about50milessouthofSanDiego.ThecoastGuardsaysabout110thousandgallonsspiltThursdayduringafueltransferbetweenatankerandanon-shorefacility.
7. Muchattentionhasbeendevotedtothethreatenedanimalspecies.Butwhataboutplantswhicharethefundamentalbasesoflife?
Oneineveryeightspeciesofplantsisthreatenedwithextinction.Sinceallfoodchainsbegininthesphereofplantlife,thisisbadnewsfortheanimalstoo,includinghumanswhodependonplantsnotonlyforfoodbutalsoformedicines,buildingmaterials,andothervitalpurposes.
8. WildfiresintheFloridaEvergladeshavebeencontainedafternearlyaweekofblazesthatconsumed65thousandhectaresinthesouthernpartofthestate.ThefireshadspreadtoalargelyunpopulatedareaoutsideEvergladesNationalPark,avastsawgrassprairieteamingwithwildlifeandvegetation.AdroughtinfluencedbytheE1Ninoweatherpatternistoblame.
9. Anewlocaldirectoryfortheenvironmentally-awareisnowavailable,calledthe“BoulderCountyGreenPages.”TheRotaryClubsinBoulderCountygottogetherwithlocalrecyclingandenvironmentalspecialiststoputtogetherthisfirsteverdirectory.Itincludesquickreferencetogreenproductsandservicesforrecycling,xeriscaping,energyconservation,andmore.The$5costhelpsraisefundsforthesponsoringgroups.
10.AU.S.SpaceAgencystudyfindsthatGreenlandismeltingaroundtheedges.Thelosstotheworld’ssecondlargesticesheet—morethan50cubickilometersperyear—isenoughtoraiseglobalsealevelby0.13millimeters.NASAscientistBillKrabillsaysthedataindicatesaprocessofchangethatdoesnotimmediatelythreatencoastalregions.
PartIINewsreports
A.
Summary:
Thisnewsreportisaboutthesevereshortageofwaterinsomedevelopingnations.Itwillleadtocatastrophicconsequencesunlessglobalsolutionsarefoundsoon.
Answerstothequestions:
1.150
2.Monday
3.Onebillionpeoplecouldsufferfromascarcityofwater.
4.MiddleEast,partsofAfrica,westernAsia,northeasternChina,westernandsouthernIndia,largepartsofPakistanandMexico,partsofthePacificcoastoftheUnitedStatesandSouthAmerica
5.Totreatwaterasapreciousresource
6.5liters
7.50liters
8.500liters
Tapescript:
TheUNwaterexpertsarewarningthataseverewatershortagewillhavewhattheycallcatastrophicconsequencesinsomedevelopingnationsunlessglobalsolutionsarefoundsoon.OnehundredandfiftyexpertsaroundtheworldwilldiscussthewatersituationataconferencebeginningMondayinGeneva.
AtopofficialfromtheWorldMeteorologicalOrganizationArthurAskewsaysthatbytheyear2025,almost1billionpeoplecouldbelivinginareassufferingfromascarcityofwater.Hesaysthenumbercoulddoublebythemiddleofthenextcentury.MrAskewsaysoneareawithseriouswaterproblemsistheMiddleEast.Buthesaysofficialsintheareaarealreadyworkingonwaystodealwiththesituation.
ExpertssaywatershortageproblemsalsocoulddevelopinpartsofAfricaandwesternAsiaaswellasnortheasternChina,westernandsouthernIndia,largepartsofPakistanandMexico,andpartsofthePacificcoastoftheUnitedStatesandSouthAmerica.MrAskewsaysthere’samoralobligationtotreatwaterasapreciousresourceandaneedtorealizethatlargeamountsofwaterareusedoftenwastefullyinfoodproductionandmanufacturing.
“Allcommoditieshaveusedwaterintheirproductionandyoumustbeawarethereforethatifyou’reimportingfoodfromonecountrytoanotheryouareinfactimportingpartofthewaterresourcesofthatcountry.”
MrAskewalsosayswatershortagesleadtoaconflictbetweenruralandurbandemands.
“Inmanyregionsoftheworld,thewatercrisisisnotcomingbecauseofhumanconsumptiondirectlyforpotablewater,fordrinking,orforsanitarypurposes,it’scomingforagriculture.Andingeneralabout80percentofthewater,whichisconsumed,i.e.,isextractedfromtheriversorfromundergroundresourcesandisnotreturned,isforagriculture.Andthere’sconsiderablepressurenowontheagriculturalsectorstoseeiftheycannotusethatwateroreefficiently.
MrAskewsaysit’sestimatedthatapersonneedsabout5litersofwateradaytosurvive,andapersonneedsabout5litersofwateradaytosurvive,andapersonlivescomfortablywithabout50litersaday.Buthesayspeopleinmanycountriesareusing500litersofwatereachday.Hesayswaysmustbefoundtoreducesuchoverusebeforeit’stoolate.
Questions:
1.HowmanyexpertswillattendtheconferenceinGeneva?
2.Whenwilltheconferencebegin?
3.Whatwouldthesituationbelikeintheyear2025accordingtoArthurAskew?
4.Inwhichareascouldwatershortageproblemsmostprobablydevelop?
5.WhatisthemoralobligationputforwardbyArthurAskew?
6.Howmuchwaterdoesapersonneedadaytosurvive?
7.Howmuchwaterdoesapersonneedadaytolivecomfortably?
8.Howmuchwaterarepeopleinmanycountriesnowusingeachday?
B
Listentothesecondnewsreport.Supplythemissingwordswhilelistening.
AnannualstudybytheWorldwatchInstitutehereinWashingtonsayswiththeboomintheinformationeconomy,Americanshavelostsightofthedeterioratinghealthoftheplanet.Thefastgrowinginformationeconomyisaffectingeveryaspectoflife,fromcommunication,commerceandwork,toeducationandentertainment.TheWorldwatchInstitutegivestheearthanannualphysicalexam.Accordingtothisyear’sresult,almostallthosevitalsignsofthehealthoftheearth,includingthenumberofspecies,thestabilityofclimate,thehealthofcoralreefs,showdeterioration.Otherwarningsignsarerisingtemperatures,fallingwatertables,meltingglaciers,shrinkingforestsandcollapsingfisheries.Themajorenvironmentalchallengesinthe21stcenturywillbetostabilizebothclimateandworldpopulationgrowth.
Tapescript:
AnannualstudybytheWorldwatchInstitutehereinWashingtonsayswiththeboomintheinformationeconomy,Americanshavelostsightofthedeterioratinghealthoftheplanet.
StateoftheWorld2000saysthefastgrowinginformationeconomyisaffectingeveryaspectoflife,fromcommunication,commerceandwork,toeducationandentertainment.
Leadau
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