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LESSON 2: NATURAL WONDERS
Lesson 1 Lesson 2
UNIT 4
NATURAL WONDERS
– Look at the list below. What do these places have in common?
– Which do you think is the greatest one and which could be unreal?
⃝ The Great Pyramid of Giza ⃝ The Hanging Gardens of Babylon ⃝ The Colossus of Rhodes ⃝ The Statue of Zeus at Olympia ⃝ The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus ⃝ The Lighthouse of Alexandria ⃝ The Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
LISTENING
1. Listen to the recording and tick the places from the list above that the speaker mentions in the recording. What are the three types of world wonders mentioned in the recording? How do they differ? How were they created, by nature or by man? Can you name the new seven wonders?
READING
2. Read the text and put the sentences into the appropriate places. Fill in the blanks on the map of wonders with the correct names.
7 WONDERS OF NATURE
a) As our slogan says, “If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!” b) The initiative attracted 100 million votes from around the world before the voting finished on November 11, 2011. c) Other organizations created lists of the marvels of Mother Nature, but here we present the original list put together by CNN. d) Our planet is full of amazing and wonderful sights that make it more than worth trying to save.
New 7 Wonders of Nature (2007–2011) was an initiative started in 2007 to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. 1) _________ .
So, in the list of the most amazing creations of nature put together there are:
The Grand Canyon, which is found in the US in the state of Arizona. Created over 6 million years ago by the Colorado River the canyon is over 277 miles long, ranges from 4-18 miles in width and has a depth of 6000 ft.
The Great Barrier Reef, stretching over 1,600 miles covering an area of 133,000 sq miles, which is the largest coral reef on earth, located in the coral sea of the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia. The reef contains 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands and in 1981 was aknowledged as a World Heritage Site.
The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro. “The Marvelous City" holds the 3rd natural wonder; the harbour of Rio de Janeiro is a fascinating natural landscape where the ocean meets the shore, also with Sugarloaf mountain and the giant statue of Christ named Christ the Redeemer atop mount Corcovado.
Mount Everest, at 8,480 m Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Making up the Himalaya's in Asia the mountain boarders between Nepal and Tibet. Everest has claimed the lives of 210 people, including the lives of eight who passed away during a storm in 1996.
Aurora Borealis, also known as the northern lights, is a display of natural lights in the sky, typically occurring the in the ionosphere and better noticeable at night. Occurring only in places in the northern hemisphere, and its southern counterpart in South America, Antarctica and Australasia.
Paricutin Volcano, in Mexico began its life as a fissure in a cornfield on February 20, 1943, after a year it has grown to 336 m, and now stands at 424 tall. After its last eruption in 1952, now mono-genetic it will never erupt again.
Victoria Falls found in southern Africa, between Zambia and Zimbabwe is one of the largest falls in the world, also on the World Heritage List this waterfall is 108 m in height and 1,708 m in width, making it the largest sheet of falling water in the world.
The New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign has significantly raised awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature around us. 2) _________. While some people might dispute certain items on the list, there is no doubt that all of them are astounding examples of ecological wonders. 3) _________. This is something that is very important because more awareness and more tourism income means that these natural treasures can be better preserved for future generations.
The Seven Natural Wonders of the world are only a few of what can be considered the most beautiful and amazing natural wonders in today's world. 4) _________ .
3. Decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
Underline the evidence sentences in the text for each.
1) Not all people agreed with the list. 2) CNN was the only organization to have a list of natural wonders. 3) The Natural Wonders were selected to raise money for the countries. 4) CNN presented the first list at the end of the millennium. 5) People from all over the world took part in the poll about Natural Wonders. 6) Many of the natural wonders are left unmentioned in the list.
4. Match the pictures to the wonderful places mentioned in the text. Did you know about all of them?
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Lesson 1 Lesson 2
UNIT 4
Lesson 1 Lesson 2
UNIT 4
GRAMMAR
GRAMMAR BANK
ARTICLES WITH GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES IN ENGLISH
We use “zero article” with: – Lakes: We visited Lake Geneva. – Mountains: I saw Mount Fuji from the aeroplane. – Continents: She loves living in Asia. – Most countries: She travelled to Chile last year. – Counties, states, provinces, regions: They live in Liverpool. – Cities, towns, villages: He stayed in Paris for a week last year. – Islands: Bali is popular with Australian tourists. We use “the” with:
Countries in plural or modified by an adjective or an of-construction, groups of islands: the Chech Republic, the Netherlands, the Canary Islands
Bodies of water: the Amazon, the English Channel, the Atlantic ocean, the Red Sea
Deserts: the Sahara desert
Mountain ranges: the Alps, the Appalachians
Special regions or locations: the North, the South Pole, the northwest/the southeast
5. Find the examples of the article usage in the text from Ex. 2. 6. Choose the or zero article.
1) _____ Danube runs through many European cities. 2) Wild horses live in _____ Gobi Desert. 3) _____ Pacific Ocean has many different types of fish 4) _____ Appalachians are among the oldest mountains on _____Earth. 5) We spent our holiday on the shore of ______ Lake Windermere. 6)____northwest United States, generally including _____Washington, _____Oregon, and _____Idaho. 7) He has always wanted to visit _____ Rome. 8) She lived in _____ Europe for several years 9) ____Belgium,_____Luxembourg, and ____Netherlands are collectively known as ______ “Benelux’ countries. 10) I think ______ Cornwall is a very beautiful part of England.
VOCABULARY
7. Complete the sentences with the following words. Put an article where necessary.
volcano / desert / waterfall / island / ocean / canyon / cliffs / mountain / reef / bay
1) _____ Everest is the highest _____ in the world. 2) _____ Sicily is an _____ in _____ Mediterranean sea. 3) _____ Niagra is the most famous _____ in the world. 4) _____ Pacific is the largest _____ in the world. 5) _____ Vesuvius is a _____, best known for its eruption in AD 79 which destroyed _____ Roman cities of ____ Pompeii and ___ Herculaneum, rises above ____ ____ of Naples. 6) _____ Sahara is the world's largest hot _____ and covers most of _____northern African continent. 7) _____ White _____ of Dover is the name given to the region of English coastline facing _____ Strait of Dover and ____ France. 8) _____ Florida _____ is the only living coral barrier reef in _____ continental United States. 9) _____ Fish River _____ in Namibia is the largest canyon in _____Africa.
8. Match the word to the correct definition.
1) wildfire 2) drought 3) hurricane 4) tsunami 5) flood 6) avalanche 7) landslide 8) eruption 9) epidemics 10) earthquake 11) famine 12) disaster a) a huge amount of stones, mud, soil slides down and destroys everything underneath b) an explosion of lava and hot rocks pour down the mountain, ash rises in the air c) a sudden strong shaking of the ground d) a violent wind with a lot of rain which moves quickly, sometimes in a circle e) a long period of months or years when a region doesn’t have any rain. f) rivers overflow the banks and cover the area that is usually dry with water g) snow, ice, rocks slide down the mountain and buries everything underneath h) diseases affecting a lot of people (plague, AIDS, cholera, malaria) i) uncontrolled fire that happens in a wilderness (forest, bush) j) high wave that hits the coast, destroy houses, kill people k) a widespread scarcity of food caused by several factors including crop failure, population imbalance, or government policies l) a terrible event, causing harm and even death
9. Use the words from the previous exercise to complete the sentences. There are four extra words.
1) Last night a volcano on Maui _____ and as there are two villages located at the foot of the volcano, the local population was evacuated. 2) The devastation caused by ____ Sandy, particularly in New York and New Jersey, is tragic. 3) After the harshest winter in decades, the Balkans region in the southeast of Europe is now facing its hottest summer and the worst _____ across the area in nearly 40 years. 4) A powerful _____ off the coast of Indonesia sparked a three-metre-high _____ that killed at least 113 people. 5) A landslide caused by rains in southern China left 21 people missing today, adding to a growing death toll from China's worst _____ season in a decade. 6) This summer a dozen _____, which are more common in the US, have hit Europe. The twister which swept through Poland yesterday flattened more than 400 hectares of woodland in the area. 7) The US navy has been deployed to help prevent a looming environmental _____ in the Gulf of
Mexico. 8) 200 years ago there was a great _____ in Ireland, – many people died because of the potato crop failure.
SPEAKING
10. Ask and answer the questions below and discuss them in pairs.
1) Are there any natural disasters usual or frequent in your country? 2) What is the landscape of your country? 3) What are the seven natural wonders of your country?
WRITING
11. Surf the Internet and find information about any recent disaster that happened in the world and describe it. Write about.
– the cause – the harm – the consequences – describe how it was remediated
