3.2.3 WEATHERING TOMORROW: CLOUDS, CLIMATE AND CHANGE
1. Warm up
- What do you understand by the expression environmentally friendly?
- Can you think of any synonyms?
- On a scale of 1-10, how environmentally friendly do you think?
a) your friends and family are?
b) people in your town are?
2.Questionnaire
Do the following questionnaire and work out your score. Then compare with a partner. Give examples to explain your answers.
Are you really as environmentally friendly as you think you are?
A Your ‘values’
Choose the statement (1-5) that best describes your habits. Write the number in the ‘your values’ score box.
- I don’t do anything environmentally friendly.
- I do one or two things that are environmentally friendly.
- I do quite a few things that are environmentally friendly.
- Most things I do are environmentally friendly.
- Everything I do is environmentally friendly.
B. Your ‘actions’
How often do you do each of the following?
Your overall score
First work out your ‘actions’ score. Take the average of section B (add up and divide by 10) and write the number in the box. Subtract your ‘value’ score A from your action score B. Then read the ‘Your Score’ box (click on the ‘?’).
3A. Predictions – Reading
Read the following article (click on the ‘+’ sign). What predictions do you agree/disagree with, and why (not)?
How will we be living in 20 years’ time?
ENERGY Fossil fuels, like coal and gas, will be very expensive. Most people will have installed solar panels or wind turbines on their houses or blocks of flats to generate their electricity. |
WASTE People will be recycling nearly 100% of their waste (and those who don’t will have to pay a fine). All shops and cafés will have stopped using plastic bags and single-use containers, like takeaway coffee cups. |
TRANSPORT Governments will have invested a lot of money in public transport. Everyone will be cycling, walking or using the bus and train more. Low-cost airlines will have disappeared, and flights will be much more expensive. |
FOOD AND WATER Farmers will have stopped producing meat commercially and many kinds of fish will have died out. Fresh water will be running out in many parts of the world, and we will be getting much of our water from the sea (through desalination plants). |
THE WEATHER We will be having more extreme weather and heatwaves, hurricanes, floods, etc. will be frequent occurrences. Many ski resorts will have closed because of a lack of winter snow, and some low-lying beaches and holiday resorts will have disappeared completely. |
3B. Predictions – Practice
4A. Vocabulary: The Weather
Look at the photos. What kind of weather events can you see? When did you last see them where you live?
4B. What’s the weather like?
Put the words or phrases in the correct place in the chart.
Now do the same with these:
4C. Complete the sentences with fog, mist, and smog.
Have you ever experienced temperatures below zero? How did it affect your daily life?
What activities are better when the weather is warm?
Which do you prefer: a cool summer day or a chilly winter day?
What kind of clothes do you wear in mild weather?
How does a breeze change how hot or cold a day feels?
Is humid weather more uncomfortable than dry heat? Why or why not?
How does rain usually change your mood?
What’s the worst experience you’ve had when it was pouring with rain?
Which type of weather from this list best matches your personality?
If you could live in one type of weather forever, which would you choose?
4E. Extreme weather
4F. Questions
Which of these weather events is the most dangerous? Why?
Which ones can happen where you live? Which ones cannot?
Have you ever experienced any of these? What was it like?
How do these weather events affect people’s daily lives?
5A. Listening
You’re going to listen to Mike Bench, a meteorologist, talking about his job.
5B. Listen to the interview once. Did you guess the answers to correctly?
5C. Listen again.
5D. Do you think Mike enjoys his job? Why?
6. Speaking
To download the pdf for this topic, click on the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GFgKCg-GTmSWUjGTIm_ZysZHRlTBBvM6/view?usp=sharing