UNIT 4

THE EARTH A LIVING PLANET

Part One. General WARMING UP

A. Consider the following poem by Robert Frost: Fire and Ice Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. The hypothesis of a chilly future is counterbalanced by that of a hot future. Which of the two is more likely to prove realistic? Why? Brainstorming: Discuss other scenarios that may lead to the disappearance of life on our planet. B. The following is only one of the cases that require urgent action: Urgent Action Needed to save Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created in1981. Since then, human activity has been managed by protecting the area between the Queensland Coast and the reef. This area is less than 100 metres deep. This means that some activities close to the coast of Queensland can cause damage in this shallow sea. The main aim of the Marine Park managers is sustainability. To achieve this they are protecting the reef from pollution, overfishing and tourist damage. * Global warming is treatenening one of Australias great natural wonders. Each year tourists produce over 500 million of income but the rising temperature of the sea is killing off the coral. There wil be no new coral by 2030. Without the coral reef there will be no demand from tourists for diving and boat trips. Fewer people will visit Queensland. Damage to the environment will also affect the economy.

Note: Corals are small animals that need warm shallow seas and sunlight to survive. Most corals form reefs that support rich marine ecosystems. Many coral reefs are under threat from human activity.

C. Here is a list of predictions about the year 3000. Choose three of four of them and say whether or not you agree with them If you do, mention elements of the present that support any of these predictions. IN THE YEAR 3000 Everybody will speak the same language Books will no longer exist. There will be no religion. Most animals and birds will be extinct. People will be taller and stronger. People will live much longer tha now. Large parts of the earth will be uninhabitable. The world will be seriously overcrowded. Families will be limited to one child. There will be a world government. There will be no such thing as money. There will be no shops. Private houses will not exist. Nobody will work. Useful expressions and structures: BY THE YEAR 3000 War will have come to an end.. The worlds climate will have changed. Political systems will have become more democratic. We will have colonised other planets. The problem of world hunger will have been solved.

I dont think ... will ... I dont suppose ... will ... Im sure/certain that ... will (not) ... Its likely that ... will ... not very likely unlikely very probable quite probable possible

GRAMMAR: Get Your Tenses Right (IV) Today we will continue to discuss various expressions of future time and will be focusing on a few structures in which the future perfect is used to express an action that will finish before another action or before a certain future time. This future reference time is expressed in the present simple. The adverbial phrases of time are introduced by by, by the time, before. Here are a few examples: I will have written the essay by 5 oclock. I will have written the essay by the time he returns. Hell have spent all the money before the holidays over. FUTURE PERFECT ACTION COMPLETED BY/BEFORE A CERTAIN FUTURE TIME Read this: CELIA: When can we meet for a meal and a glass of wine? When will you have some free time? SUE: What about next Wednesday? Thatll give me three days to finish writing my essay. Im sure Ill have finished it by then.

CELIA: Fine, Ill have written my essay by then, too and whats more my father will have paid my next months allowance into the bank so Ill actually be able to afford a pizza! Notes: 1. The future perfect is replaced by the present perfect tense in clauses of time and condition (See below: When the algae have done their work, the atmosphere wil become cooler.) 2. The structure WHEN + Present Perfect expresses a future action that is prior to another future action. In this context WHEN is a synonym of AFTER and can be translated as dup ce. (I will go out when I have done my homework.) Aspect Simple/ Indefinite he works/sings he worked/sang he will work/sing he would work/sing Progressive/ Continuous he is working/singing he was singing he will be working/singing he would be working/singing Perfect Simple he has worked/sung he had sung he will have worked/sung he would have worked/sung Perfect Continuous he has been working/singing he had been working/singing he will have been working/singing he would have been working/singing

Tense Present Past Future

Future in the Past

Now read and discuss the following text: The First Men on Venus If the population of the Earth goes on increasing at its present rate, there will eventually not be enough resources left to sustain life on the planet. By the middle of the 21st century, if present trends continue, we will have used up all the oil that drives our cars, for example. Even if scientists develop new ways of feeding the human race, the crowded conditions on Earth will make it necessary for us to look for open space elsewhere else. But none of the other planets in our solar system are capable of supporting life at present. One possible solution to the problem, however, has recently been suggested by an American scientist, Professor Carl Sagan. Sagan believes that before the Earths resources are completely exhausted it will be possible to change the atmosphere of Venus and so create a new world almost as large as Earth itself. The difficulty is that Venus is much hotter than the Earth and there is only a tiny amount of water there. Sagan proposes that algae, organisms that can live in extremely hot or cold atmospheres and at the same time produce oxygen, should be bred in conditions similar to those on Venus. As soon as this has been done, the algae will be placed in small rockets. Spaceships will then fly to Venus and fire the rockets into the atmosphere. In a fairly short time, the algae will break down the carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon. When the algae have done their work, the atmosphere will become cooler but before man can set foot on Venus, it will be necessary for the oxygen to reproduce rain. The surface of the planet will still be too hot for men to land on it but the rain will eventually fall and in a few years something like Earth will be reproduced on Venus. If the experiments are successful, life will become possible there but it will not be pleasant at first. When they go to Venus, the first colonists will have to take plenty of water with them and be used to days and nights lasting 60 Earth-days. But there will also be some advantages. The colonists will live longer because their hearts will suffer less strain than on

Earth. Apart from that, they will be exploring a new world while those still on Earth are living in closed, uncomfortable conditions. Perhaps it will be the only way to ensure the survival of the human race. Comprehension-checking Choose which one of the following statements is correct in the context of the passage. 1. It will eventually become necessary for us to try to colonise another planet because (a) the Earth will have too many people on it (b) we will have used all the oil that drives our cars (c) there are not enough resources to sustain life on Earth. 2. It is not possible for us to colonise Venus immediately because (a) there is no water there (b) it is to far away for us to get there (c) it is too hot to support human life. 3. Algae are important for the colonisation of Venus because (a) they can be bred in any conditions (b) they produce oxygen (c) they can easily be carried in spaceships. 4. The first colonists on Venus will find life difficult there because (a) they will suffer from heart strain (b) there will be no water there (c) the days and nights will be very long. 5. One of the main advantages for the colonists will be that (a) they will be the only survivors of the human race (b) they will have comfortable houses (c) they will have much more space than before. (From Fowler 1973) Summarising: Present the content of the text above in five or six sentences. Note: A tip out of the sleeve for the summary of a brief text is: select the topic sentence of each paragraph. The sequence of topic sentences will make up a reasonably good draft of the final summary. Take-away exercise: Choose the correct form in each case. Before they will fly / fly to Venus, the first men chosen to live there will have to / are having to get used to the conditions there. While the algae are doing / will do their work of producing oxygen, the first colonists are learning / will be learning how to survive in the new world. When they go / are going to Venus, they will take / have taken plenty of water. By that time, it has rained / will have rained , for / during a long time and the temperature of the planet will have fallen / will fall. But at first the water on Venus will be / is too / enough dangerous for men to risk drinking it. When the scientists will test / have tested it, they will decide / are deciding if it will be / is pure enough / enough pure for people to drink it. In-class work: These statements were all made by the same person. Put them into chronological order as far as you can. (a) Were going to live in Liverpool. (b) After weve lived in Liverpool for a few years, well move back to Wigan. (c) We live in Wigan. (d) We lived in Bradford for five years. (e) We were going to move to London in 1993 but my job there fell through. (f) By the time we move to Liverpool, well have spent two years in Wigan. (g) We lived in Manchester for a while before we moved to Badford. Basic grammar review in a nutshell Future perfect tenses Future perfect: Shell have left before we arrive. Future perfect continuous: Theyll have been skiing for several hours by the time we arrive.

Part Two. Intermediate and Advanced Future substitutes In conversation native speakers of English often replace shall-will by other verbs and turns of expression to reinforce various coloured forms of the future, e.g., Ill be going next week.=> I intend to go next week. Shall I help you? => Do you want me to help you? Now read the following sentences with the suggested alternative verb, making any necessary changes: 1. Will you have some more cake? (like) 2. Shall I get you another book? (want) 3. What will you do now? (mean) 4. You shall stay here till I come back. (be to) 5. Ill be visiting my grandparents next weekend. 6. I wont do what you tell me. (refuse) 7. You shall have a new bicycle. (promise) 8. I wont take any more of your time. (take) 9. Well make our presence known to him. (mean) 10. My boy-friend will be promoted soon. (be to) 11. I thin I shall go away at he beginning of next week. (hope) 12. My girlfriend will enter for the local singing competition. (intend) (Adapted from Allen 1959) Text for discussion

The Hottest Life on Earth

(A scientist has discovered a bacterium which thrives in conditions that would be lethal to all other forms of known life). The seabed around Volcano Island, Italy, is fed by hot volcanic materials which escape from the rocks under the sea. These materials heat the water and saturate it with gases, removing all the oxygen. The volcanic material heats the water at the bottom of the sea to 105 degrees Celsius, which is above the normal boiling point of water. The water, however, does not boil and change into steam, because of the high pressure at that depth. These conditions would be lethal to every known form of life. But Doctor Karl Stetter, a German scientist, has discovered a previously unknown primitive type of bacterium which thrives in this environment. It lives on a diet of sulphur, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Doctor Stetter has brought the bacteria to the surface in sealed containers and tried to find out more about them. At temperatures of less than 80 degrees Celsius they stop growing. But they can live at even higher temperatures than the 105 degrees Celsius in which they were discovered. Doctor Stetter has kept them growing at 110 degrees Celsius and thinks they may survive even higher temperatures. Doctor Stetter speculates that these bacteria may be an ancient form of life preserved from the time when the earth was hot and the atmosphere contained no oxygen. Preserved in stable conditions, they would not need to evolve. The species Doctor Stetter is examining could be the same type as the species that existed four thousand million years ago. (Adapted from: John Wilson, BBC English, June-July 1983) Group work In groups of four make a list of other sensational discoveries related to life on the planet Earth you can remember of. The speaker of each group will present the final list accompanied by brief commentaries.

Composition Do you remember the floods of August-September 2005? In a paragraph, try to give some reasons why such natural phenomena as excessive rain can be so devastating.

Part Three. Varia

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Each process, explained the Human Element Manager, is carried out, as far as possible, by a single Bokanovski Group. And, in effect, eighty-three almost noseless brachycephalic Deltus were coldpressing. The fifty-six four-spindle chucking and turning machines were being manipulated by fifty-six aquiline and ginger Gammas. One hundred and seven best-conditioned Epsilon Senegalese were working in the foundry. Thirty-three Delta females, long-headed, sandy, with narrow pelvises, and all within 1 metre 69 centimetres tall, were cutting screws. In the assembling room, the dynamos were being put together by two sets of Gamma-Plus dwarfs. The two low work-tables faced one another; between them crawled the conveyor with its load of separate parts; forty-seven blond heads were confronted by forty-seven brown ones. Fortyseven snubs by forty-seven hooks; forty-seven receding by forty-seven prognathous chins. The completed mechanisms were inspected by eighteen identical curly auburn girls in Gamma green, packed in crates by thirty-four short-legged, left-handed male Delta-Minuses, and loaded into the waiting trucks and lorries by sixty-three blue-eyed, flaxen and freckled Epsilon Semi-Morons. O brave new world By some malice of his memory the Savage found himself repeating Mirandas words. O brave new world that has such people in it.