Unit 9. Deserts

WELCOME TO OUR LESSON !
UNIT 9: DESERT
LISTENING
Monday, November 30th 2009
Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions
1. What is a desert?
2. How is a desert formed?
3. Can human beings make a desert? Why/ Why not?
BEFORE YOU LISTEN
BEFORE YOU LISTEN
Frightening speed
Australia
Sahara
Firework
Petroleum
Mauritania
cool (v) [ku:l] làm mát, làm nguội, trở mát, nguội đi
Canal [kə`næl] (n): kênh, sông đào
needle (n) [`ni:dl] lá kim (lá thông, lá tùng)
Colony (n) [`kɔləni] thuộc địa
Firewood (n) [`faiəwud] củi
Edge (n) [edʒ] rìa, lề (rừng, cuốn sách...)
Petroleum (n) [pə`trouliəm] dầu mỏ; dầu hoả (thô)
VOCABULARY
In a desert, everything is hard.
Only trees with hard needles can grow in desert.
Space seems to have no limit in the desert.
Nature causes the change in the size and location of the world’s desert.
Rabbits are one of the agents that help make deserts in Australia.
Task1. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
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



T
F
1. What central theme does the talk examine?
A. It examines deserts, what they are and how they are formed.
B. It examines plants and animals.
C. It examines sand in deserts.
D. B & C are correct.
2. What is a desert?
A. It is a hot, dry, sandy place.
B. It is also a beautiful land of silence and space.
C. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless.
D. A, B, and C are correct.
3. What causes the growing of the world’s deserts?
A. Sand
B. Nature.
C. Nature and humans.
D. Humans.
4. In what way do rabbits contribute to the growing of deserts in Australia?
A. They contribute by cutting every plant they can find.
B. They contribute by eating every plant they can find. This makes the land become desert.
C. They contribute by planting every plant they can find.
D. They destroy every plant they can find
Task 2: Listen again and answer the following questions
In the developing countries, (1) ……………….. of the people use wood for cooking and heat. They cut down trees for firewood. But trees are important. They cool the land under them and keep the sun off (2) …………………… When leaves fall from a tree, they make the land richer. When trees are gone, the small plants die and the land becomes desert.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also (3)…. …………… their growth. Algeria planted a green wall of trees across the edge of the Sahara to stop the desert and sand from (4) ……………… .Mauritania planted a similar wall around its (5) ………… . Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum on sandy areas and plant trees. Other countries build long (6) …………… to bring water to the desert areas.
90 percent
smaller plants
prevent
spreading
capital
canals
Task3: Listen again and fill in each blank with one of the words in the box below:
Protect Larger plants 90 percent 19 percent
Canals Bridge Spreading Capital Smaller plants
Work in groups. Summarize the main ideas of the expert’s talk. Use the following suggestions:
What is a desert?
What causes the growth of a desert?
What should humans do to prevent the growth of deserts?