3. The truth about water.
What do you know about water?
Can you guess the answers?
1. About ----- of all the Earth’s water is salt water in the oceans.
b) 73%
c) 55%
a) 97%
2. Approximately ----- of all fresh water is in the form of ice or snow.
c)77%
a) 34%
b) 51%
3. Only about ----- of the world’s fresh water is held in lakes and rivers.
b) 2.85%
c) 4.25%
a)0.45%
4. Over ----- more water is used by the world today than in 1960.
c)100%
a) 50%
b) 80%
5. Roughly----- of the world’s people are often badly affected by lack of water.
a) 12%
b) 21%
c) 33%
6. Our bodies are made up of many solid materials, but are around ----- water.
b) 45%
c) 15%
a) 95%
4. Similarities and Differences
Find similarities and differences between:
(the Aral Sea) and (the Dead Sea).
* salt levels / shrink
* rivers feed each one
5. Read the given questions before
each paragraph. Then read it
silently to give correct answers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Paragraph 1:
1. Where’s the Aral Sea?
2. What changes can bring a terrible water disaster?
Lakes are going through bad times worldwide.Modern farming
is taking water from the rivers that feed lakes. Farm chemicals
are also getting into the water and polluting it. These changes
can bring terrible disaster. The Aral Sea, in the old Soviet Union
,is on such disaster.
6. Paragraph 2
1. What were the people’s main jobs in the Aral Sea area?
2. What was the sudden change in the Aral Sea? Why?
3. T /F Before 1960s, the Aral Sea used to be one of the
largest freshwater lakes in the world.
The Aral Sea was the world’s fourth-largest freshwater lake
until the 1960s. People lived well from the successful fishing
and local farming industries.
This would have continued if the Moscow Government had
not introduced a huge and sudden change. The planners
suddenly decided to turn the region into a major cotton product
The government needed money, and cotton sells well
internationally .
7. Paragraph 3:
1. ‘Cotton is thirsty’, that means -------------------2. What caused pollution to the whole environment in the
region?
3. ‘These’ L.5 refers to -------------------4. Find synonyms for: required / quantities / complete
However, cotton is thirsty, and the region is dry. Water was
needed from the two large rivers that fed the Aral Sea. Soon,
more and more water was being taken from them for
irrigation. Increasing amounts of farm chemicals were also
being used. These started getting into the rivers, the lake and
groundwater and polluting the whole environment.
8. Paragraph 4:
1. Why is cotton called ‘the
white gold’?
2. T/ F The planners thought
about the effect and saw
the dangers on the Aral
Sea.
3. Find the antonyms of:
safety / continued / led
The planners should have
thought about the effects on
the Aral Sea, but they cared
only about the white gold . If
they had thought, they would
have seen the dangers, and at
that time, they could have
stopped. However, they did
not, and one of the world’s
greatest environmental
disasters followed.
9. Paragraph 5:
1. What two things have caused
the Aral Sea to shrink and
become very salty?
2. Why did 60,000 fishermen
lose their jobs?
3. T/F The Aral Sea is 40% of
its old area.
4. Find synonyms of:
more than / locate / several
5. Complete:
--------------------, so the fish
and the fishing industry died.
By 1983, all the river water was
being taken. The rivers were dry,
and the Aral Sea was also
evaporating. Soon, the water was
too salty for anything to live. The
fish died, and the fishing industry,
too. Over 60,000 fishermen lost
their jobs. The lake was also
shrinking. Today, it is two-fifths of
its old area and just 15% of its
original volume. Hundreds of rusty
fishing boats lie on the old seabed,
many kilometres from water.
10. Paragraph 6:
1. What are the effects of the
Aral Sea changes on human
health?
2. Find the opposites of:
weak / causes
3. ‘This’ L4 refers to --------------
There have been other
disastrous effects . Strong winds
blow salty, polluted dust from
the seabed across the land. This
and the polluted water are
causing cancer and other killer
diseases. Many children are also
being born with physical
defects.
11. Paragraph 7:
1. Complete:
The irrigation water contains
salts, so ----------------------2. ‘The land is dead’ L. means
that ----------------------3. ‘these’ L.3 refers to ----------4. T/ F The cotton is dying
because there is a
shortage of irrigation
water.
Now the cotton itself is dying.
The irrigation water brings salts
and these remain in the
ground. The salts cover the
plants’ roots and kill them. The
land is dead.
The planners could and should
have foreseen what would
happen. If they had, they might
have thrown away their plans.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. You have to lose to know how to win
Prepared by: Saida Barqawi