Laboratory work Reading

(Intermediate level)

The Natural world

Read the article and decide whether the statements below are True (T) or False (F). 1 People in Britain were not surprised by the floods. 2 Insurance costs will be very high. 3 One reason for the floods was that a huge amount of rain fell in a very short time. 4 The sewers in London were built by Victorian engineers. 5 The public have been putting the wrong kinds of things down the toilet. 6 Farmers could help prevent flooding if they ploughed their land up and down hill. 7 If people keep covering more land with buildings and concrete, we may see more floods in the future. Going under Everyone knows that it often rains in Britain. We often have week upon week of rain. So why have a few heavy showers caused so much damage here this summer? People trying to take a train to or from the southwest of England this weekend could think they had accidentally walked into a disaster movie. Some trains never arrived, and the people who had to watch their homes and businesses go under water couldnt believe that such a short rainstorm could cause so much damage. I can understand their surprise, because this country is famous for its wetness. Rain is our national weather. Snow can cause us problems, yes, and very hot weather, like last summer, causes difficulties, too but rain? With our wide experience, surely we should lead the world in rain management. Unfortunately not. Thousands of people had to leave their homes over the weekend, and thousands more are still trapped inside their houses. Some towns in the south had floods of up to five metres. In the north of England, some people still cant go home after last months floods, which killed 8 people. Everyone is asking how such short rainstorms just one hour in London, slightly longer in other places could have such terrible results. In fact, the answer is partly because it all happened so quickly. Brize Norton in Oxfordshire had 121.2mm of rain between midnight Thursday and 5pm Friday a sixth of what it would expect for the whole year. South Yorkshire got a months worth of rain on June 25. It has been raining for weeks now, and the ground is very wet, so immediately you get rainfall, you get runoff, explains professor Adrian Saul, of Sheffield University. It isnt just that the ground cannot absorb so much so fast drainage systems get too full, too. When you design a system you have to plan for possible dangers, and generally the plans are good enough to protect our communities, says Saul. Its very lucky that the Victorians built the systems as big as they did. Especially in London, they thought the city would get bigger, and that has protected London until now. But Londons population is now four times as big and last Friday, the sewers couldnt handle so much water. Our sewers are not designed to have so much water flowing through them, says Nicola Savage, a spokeswoman for Thames Water. And they are not designed for the way we use them nowadays. We each, personally, use much more water than ever before. Also, the public often use the sewers as a rubbish bin, Savage adds. People put things like babies nappies down the toilet. And also, we need to encourage people not to pour fat and oil down the sink. The sewers were never designed to handle this kind of thing. Saul is also investigating how farmers can control the flow of water off land. If Farmers plough across hills, not down them, there will be less runoff. And carefully placed trees can help stop flooding. Also, the more animals walk over a piece of land, the harder the ground becomes, and the less water it can absorb. Then, plants cant grow well, and there wont be enough food.

And if farm animals get no drinking water for 48 hours, thousands will die, and meat will cost more. Scientists are also investigating how each of us can help reduce a problem that, in fact, we have helped create: by extending our houses, paving driveways, and building car parks. All this takes away soft ground that could absorb water, and adds to the runoff into drains and rivers. And we should collect any water that runs off the house instead of letting it go into the sewerage system. We can use rainwater to flush toilets or run washing machines. Every little helps. For although this months weather in Britain has been very unusual, that may happen more, and more often, as our climate changes. Today people in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire are having to leave their houses. Tomorrow, next month, next year who knows?

Vocabulary practice Match these words with the meanings below. disaster drainage floods sewers run-off absorb

8 ____________ removing liquids from something 9 ____________ water from rivers filling the land 10 ____________ a very bad accident or serious damage 11 ____________ a system of pipes underground to carry waste water away 12 ____________ take in liquid a little at a time 13 ____________ too much water that cannot go down into the ground

Word formation Fill in the blanks in the passage below using a suitable derivative of the words given on the right. Its no exaggeration to say that the world has become a global village. Modern methods of communication have made the world much smaller and the problems we face such as (14) _____ are not restricted to one country. The (15) _____ of the rainforests in Brazil is everyones problem and the (16) _____ which is common in many African countries is a challenge for Europe too. The (17) _____ of rare species is a tragedy for the planet as a whole and the (18) ______ of oil supplies will shake the foundations of the worlds economy. The (19) _____ of the environment is the responsibility of all nations, rich and poor. However, uncontrolled economic competition between strong and weak nations leads to the (20) _____ of greater inequality between the rich and poor nations of the world.

POLLUTE DESTROY STARVE EXTINCT EXHAUST PROTECT CREATE

Grammar 21 I love running. It's a great way ______ fit. a) keep b) to keep c) keeping 22 I've always enjoyed ______ but I didn't use to like running. a) walk b) to walk c) walking 23 I've tried ______ weight, but I can't. (lose) a) lose b) to lose c) losing 24 He suggested ______ by bus to save money. a) go b) to go c) going 25 My brother offered ______ me move house. a) help b) to help c) helping 26 You could try ______ it off and on again, that might help. a) switch b) to switch c) switching 27 I forgot ______ the milk when I was at the shops. a) get b) to get c) getting 28 Your football boots need ______ before the match tomorrow. a) clean b) to clean c) cleaning 29 We're not allowed ______ in the library. a) eat b) to eat c) eating 30 My mother will let me ______ to the party if I promise to be back by 10.30. a) go b) to go c) going