English Teacher: J. Humberto Perdomo L.
Activity for improving your English
Our planet
Y ou’ll read about one possible solution to an environmental problem. You’ll also read the story of one international student who is helping our planet. And you’lI write a short essay about your past and future plans.
The Greenhouse Effect an theWomen of Guatemala
Before You Read
Look at the pictures here and write :
1. Why did someone cut down these trees? How will people use these trees?
2. What problem is the factory causing?
3. There are five kinds of energy here. Which kinds of energy do people use in your country?
The following story might Iook long, but you can read it! You can guess the meanings of most new words.
Thc Greenhouse Effcct and the
Women of Guatemala
Most people know something about the greenhouse effect. Factories send gases such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the atmosphere, the air around the earth. In the past, this wasn’t a problem because trees absorbed, or drank in, CO2. But now people are cutting down billions of trees in many countries. At the same time, factories are sending more CO2 into the atmosphere. lt’s difficult to believe, but factories put billions of tons of CO2 ¡nto the atmosphere evry year! One ton is 2,000 pounds, so this is a lot of pollution. There is too much CO2, and there aren’t enough trees, so the world is getting warmer. In other words, we have a greenhouse effect. This is terrible for the environment.
What can we do about this? First, we can stop using so much coal and oil. We can learn to use different kinds of energy: the sun, wind, and heat from volcanoes and from inside the earth. Second, instead of cutting down trees, we should plant more trees. One tree can absorb ten pounds of carbon dioxide every year.
ln the past, the mountains of Guatemala, in Central America, were green and thick with beautiful trees. But people cut down trees for houses. Also, many women cook over wood fires. They walk hours every day to look for firewood. There are fewer and fewer trees, and this is bad for the land. Rain washes good soil down the mountains.
Far away from Guatemala, in the state of Connecticut, there is a new factory. The factory uses coal. It will send 400,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Many people are angry about this. But the factory owners are doing something about it. They are giving two million dollars to the women of Guatemala. The Guatemalans will plant trees in their country. These trees in Central America wiII absorb the carbon dioxide from the factory in Connecticut.
Why Guatemala? Why don’t people in Connecticut plant the trees in Connecticut? The answer is easy. Trees grow much faster in Central
America than in the northern part of the United States.
The trees are good for the earth’s atmosphere. They’re good for Guatemala too. In small towns and villages in Guatemala, most women are poor and have hard lives. Trees help them in three ways. First, the Connecticut factory pays them to plant the trees. Their pay is corn, not money. The corn is food for their children. Second, these women know a lot about their environment. They know where to plant, when to plant, and what kinds of trees to plant. For example, they plant many fruit trees. The fruit gives ttiem vitamins in their families’ diets. Other trees are good for firewood. In a few years, the women won’t spend so much time walking for wood. Third, all these trees are good for the soil. Now rain can’t wash the soil down the mountains so easily.
This plan isn’t enough to stop the grenhouse effect. But it’s a beginning. The women of Guatemala are helping themselves and helping their environment. As one woman says, “We’re planting for our famihies, for our children.”
After You Read
Exercise 1
Circle the number of the main idea of the reading.
1. The greenhouse effect is a problem in the world today.
2.- We should stop using coal and oil and use other kinds of energy.
3. A new U.S. factory is making people angry because it uses coal.
4. Women in Guatemala are planting trees, and these trees are helping the women’s families and the environment.
Exercise 2
Information about the Main Idea
Which information from the reading explains this idea? Write the information in the boxes.
Exercise 3
Read these sentences. If the information is not in the reading, cross out the number. If the information is given, which sentence is it in ? Write the sentence.
1. Trees absorb carbon dioxide. One tree can absorb ten pounds of carbon
dioxice every vear.
2. All trees are beautiful.__________________________________________
3. Trees give people fruit._________________________________________
4. Trees need too much water.______________________________________
5. trees give people food for fires _____________________________________________________________________
6. Trees are good for the land ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
New Words
Exercise 4.
Use these sentences to guess the meanings of the underlined words. Don’t use a dictionary.
1. Factories send gases such as CO2 into the atmosphere. What is one example of a gas? CO2
2. Factories send gases such as CO2 into the atmosphere, the air around the earth.
What is the atmosphere?___________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Trees absorbed, or drank in, CO2.
What does absorb mean? _________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. We should Iearn to use different kinds of energy: the sun, wind, and heat from volcanoes.
What are three examples of energy?_________________________________
_________________________________________
5. There is too much CO2, and there aren’t enough trees, so the world is getting warmer. In other words, we have a greenhouse effect.
What happens in a greenhouse effect?
Making Guesses
Exercise 5
What can you guess from the reading? Circie the letter of the answer.
a. Trees are important.
b. Connecticut is in the western part of the United States.
c. The women of Guatemala are rich now.
Discussing the reading
You are in small groups answer the following topics:
Are there many tress in your neighborhood?
Are there many tress in your city?
What kinds of energy are important in Colombia?
What environmentl problems do you have in your country?
My Change of Mind
When I finished high school back home in Brazil, I took computer
programming classes. I thought, “I can get a good job.” But I wasn’t realiy happy. I wanted to do something very different. I was eighteen years old, but I still needed to grow up. So I came to the United States, to California. My idea was to go to college. I wanted to study computer science. I didn’t speak much English, so I had to go to an adult school to Iearn the language. l’m finishing my second year now. In these two years, my whole life changed.
In California, I wanted to practice listening in English, so I watched a lot of TV programs. I especially liked programs about the environment. My listening got better, but I began to worry about the land, air, water, and animals. I saw dead animals in oil in Alaska. I saw air pollution in many cities. And I learned a lot about my own country. In Brazil, people are cutting down the ram forests. Most of my friends don’t think about the enviroriment. Back home, I never thought about it either.
I began to read more about the environment. I wrote letters to environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. They sent me lots of information! Then, on National Beach Cleanup Day, I volunteered to help. They made me the leader of a team of volunteers on Santa Monica Beach. It was hot, dirty, difficult work, but it was exciting. I met some nice people, and that night I was on the TV news!
Next September I’lI start college. I have to do this in English. It won’t be easy, but now English is so much a part of me! I’m making a big change. I’m going to study environmental science. My special area wiII be marine mammals—dolphins, whales, and sea Iions.
When I came to this country, I felt lonely. I cried a lot. Now l’m happy and excited. There I am in the photo next to the seals. l’m going to Start my new life!
After You Read
About the Reading
Exercise 1
Put these actions in the correct order. What happened first, second, third, and so on the lines.
Activity for improving your English
Our planet
Y ou’ll read about one possible solution to an environmental problem. You’ll also read the story of one international student who is helping our planet. And you’lI write a short essay about your past and future plans.
The Greenhouse Effect an theWomen of Guatemala
Before You Read
Look at the pictures here and write :
1. Why did someone cut down these trees? How will people use these trees?
2. What problem is the factory causing?
3. There are five kinds of energy here. Which kinds of energy do people use in your country?
The following story might Iook long, but you can read it! You can guess the meanings of most new words.
Thc Greenhouse Effcct and the
Women of Guatemala
Most people know something about the greenhouse effect. Factories send gases such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the atmosphere, the air around the earth. In the past, this wasn’t a problem because trees absorbed, or drank in, CO2. But now people are cutting down billions of trees in many countries. At the same time, factories are sending more CO2 into the atmosphere. lt’s difficult to believe, but factories put billions of tons of CO2 ¡nto the atmosphere evry year! One ton is 2,000 pounds, so this is a lot of pollution. There is too much CO2, and there aren’t enough trees, so the world is getting warmer. In other words, we have a greenhouse effect. This is terrible for the environment.
What can we do about this? First, we can stop using so much coal and oil. We can learn to use different kinds of energy: the sun, wind, and heat from volcanoes and from inside the earth. Second, instead of cutting down trees, we should plant more trees. One tree can absorb ten pounds of carbon dioxide every year.
ln the past, the mountains of Guatemala, in Central America, were green and thick with beautiful trees. But people cut down trees for houses. Also, many women cook over wood fires. They walk hours every day to look for firewood. There are fewer and fewer trees, and this is bad for the land. Rain washes good soil down the mountains.
Far away from Guatemala, in the state of Connecticut, there is a new factory. The factory uses coal. It will send 400,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Many people are angry about this. But the factory owners are doing something about it. They are giving two million dollars to the women of Guatemala. The Guatemalans will plant trees in their country. These trees in Central America wiII absorb the carbon dioxide from the factory in Connecticut.
Why Guatemala? Why don’t people in Connecticut plant the trees in Connecticut? The answer is easy. Trees grow much faster in Central
America than in the northern part of the United States.
The trees are good for the earth’s atmosphere. They’re good for Guatemala too. In small towns and villages in Guatemala, most women are poor and have hard lives. Trees help them in three ways. First, the Connecticut factory pays them to plant the trees. Their pay is corn, not money. The corn is food for their children. Second, these women know a lot about their environment. They know where to plant, when to plant, and what kinds of trees to plant. For example, they plant many fruit trees. The fruit gives ttiem vitamins in their families’ diets. Other trees are good for firewood. In a few years, the women won’t spend so much time walking for wood. Third, all these trees are good for the soil. Now rain can’t wash the soil down the mountains so easily.
This plan isn’t enough to stop the grenhouse effect. But it’s a beginning. The women of Guatemala are helping themselves and helping their environment. As one woman says, “We’re planting for our famihies, for our children.”
After You Read
Exercise 1
Circle the number of the main idea of the reading.
1. The greenhouse effect is a problem in the world today.
2.- We should stop using coal and oil and use other kinds of energy.
3. A new U.S. factory is making people angry because it uses coal.
4. Women in Guatemala are planting trees, and these trees are helping the women’s families and the environment.
Exercise 2
Information about the Main Idea
Which information from the reading explains this idea? Write the information in the boxes.
Exercise 3
Read these sentences. If the information is not in the reading, cross out the number. If the information is given, which sentence is it in ? Write the sentence.
1. Trees absorb carbon dioxide. One tree can absorb ten pounds of carbon
dioxice every vear.
2. All trees are beautiful.__________________________________________
3. Trees give people fruit._________________________________________
4. Trees need too much water.______________________________________
5. trees give people food for fires _____________________________________________________________________
6. Trees are good for the land ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
New Words
Exercise 4.
Use these sentences to guess the meanings of the underlined words. Don’t use a dictionary.
1. Factories send gases such as CO2 into the atmosphere. What is one example of a gas? CO2
2. Factories send gases such as CO2 into the atmosphere, the air around the earth.
What is the atmosphere?___________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Trees absorbed, or drank in, CO2.
What does absorb mean? _________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. We should Iearn to use different kinds of energy: the sun, wind, and heat from volcanoes.
What are three examples of energy?_________________________________
_________________________________________
5. There is too much CO2, and there aren’t enough trees, so the world is getting warmer. In other words, we have a greenhouse effect.
What happens in a greenhouse effect?
Making Guesses
Exercise 5
What can you guess from the reading? Circie the letter of the answer.
a. Trees are important.
b. Connecticut is in the western part of the United States.
c. The women of Guatemala are rich now.
Discussing the reading
You are in small groups answer the following topics:
Are there many tress in your neighborhood?
Are there many tress in your city?
What kinds of energy are important in Colombia?
What environmentl problems do you have in your country?
My Change of Mind
When I finished high school back home in Brazil, I took computer
programming classes. I thought, “I can get a good job.” But I wasn’t realiy happy. I wanted to do something very different. I was eighteen years old, but I still needed to grow up. So I came to the United States, to California. My idea was to go to college. I wanted to study computer science. I didn’t speak much English, so I had to go to an adult school to Iearn the language. l’m finishing my second year now. In these two years, my whole life changed.
In California, I wanted to practice listening in English, so I watched a lot of TV programs. I especially liked programs about the environment. My listening got better, but I began to worry about the land, air, water, and animals. I saw dead animals in oil in Alaska. I saw air pollution in many cities. And I learned a lot about my own country. In Brazil, people are cutting down the ram forests. Most of my friends don’t think about the enviroriment. Back home, I never thought about it either.
I began to read more about the environment. I wrote letters to environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. They sent me lots of information! Then, on National Beach Cleanup Day, I volunteered to help. They made me the leader of a team of volunteers on Santa Monica Beach. It was hot, dirty, difficult work, but it was exciting. I met some nice people, and that night I was on the TV news!
Next September I’lI start college. I have to do this in English. It won’t be easy, but now English is so much a part of me! I’m making a big change. I’m going to study environmental science. My special area wiII be marine mammals—dolphins, whales, and sea Iions.
When I came to this country, I felt lonely. I cried a lot. Now l’m happy and excited. There I am in the photo next to the seals. l’m going to Start my new life!
After You Read
About the Reading
Exercise 1
Put these actions in the correct order. What happened first, second, third, and so on the lines.
Write numbers on the lines.
_____ She came to the United States.
_____ She wanted to practice listening in English, so she watched TV.
_____She finished high school.
_____ She’ll start college.
She volunteered to help on National Beach Cleanup Day.
_____ She wrote letters to environmental organizations.
Outlining and Note Taking
You can understand and remember a the reading better if you take notes. One way is to write the main idea and sorne information about the main idea in an outline. There are different kinds of outlines. Here’s one. Finish this outline. (You’ll need to look back at the reading my change of mind.) Don’t worry about complete sentences. The smaaller circles are for information about the larger circles.
Writing activity
read about one student who made a big change in her life. Write a letter to your teacher about something that changed your life.
Building Vocabulary
Complete these sentences. Circle the letters of the answers. There is one answer for each blank.
1. He comes from my______
a. Connecticut
b. northern
c. ton
d. hometown
2. Let’s go______
a. camping
b. boring
c. exciting
d. interesting
3. She wants to study______
a. museum
b. factory
c. rain forest
d. environmental science
4. They ____sorne weight.
a. gained
b. sent
c. stopped
d. followed
5. We use ____for energy.
a. ton
b. soil
c. oil
d. mountains
write the answers about the following questions :
1. Do you match TV? Does it help your English?
2. Do you write e- mails in English? To whom? Have you written any letters in English to organizations?
3. How can you meet new people? Tel about two ways.
A. In Colombia, many things are in our garbage. Look at the pie chart below and answer the questions.
1. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, newspapers or plastic bottles? Newsppers are Iarger percentage of our garbge.
2. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, yard waste or tin cans? _____________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, glass or plastic bottles?
________________________________________
________________________________________
Fill in the blanks.
4. Metal cans and other metais are 8.7 percent of our trash.
5. Grass clippings and other yard wastes are _________ percent of our trash.
6. Food waste is _________ percent of our trash.
B. Think about how you feelnow and what your plans are. Do you feel the same? Have your plans changad? Write about how you feel now and what your plans for the future are. Again, these are just notes. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C. When you are writiing about the past , remember to use past- tense verbs. When you are writing about the future, remember to use a future tense. Each of these sentences has one verb in the wrong tense. Correct the verbs and write the corrected sentences on the lines:
1. When I come here two years ago, i was nervous
2. Next year I finish the collage.
3. Last year I don’t speak English well
4. When I finish collage, I work in this city.
_____ She came to the United States.
_____ She wanted to practice listening in English, so she watched TV.
_____She finished high school.
_____ She’ll start college.
She volunteered to help on National Beach Cleanup Day.
_____ She wrote letters to environmental organizations.
Outlining and Note Taking
You can understand and remember a the reading better if you take notes. One way is to write the main idea and sorne information about the main idea in an outline. There are different kinds of outlines. Here’s one. Finish this outline. (You’ll need to look back at the reading my change of mind.) Don’t worry about complete sentences. The smaaller circles are for information about the larger circles.
Writing activity
read about one student who made a big change in her life. Write a letter to your teacher about something that changed your life.
Building Vocabulary
Complete these sentences. Circle the letters of the answers. There is one answer for each blank.
1. He comes from my______
a. Connecticut
b. northern
c. ton
d. hometown
2. Let’s go______
a. camping
b. boring
c. exciting
d. interesting
3. She wants to study______
a. museum
b. factory
c. rain forest
d. environmental science
4. They ____sorne weight.
a. gained
b. sent
c. stopped
d. followed
5. We use ____for energy.
a. ton
b. soil
c. oil
d. mountains
write the answers about the following questions :
1. Do you match TV? Does it help your English?
2. Do you write e- mails in English? To whom? Have you written any letters in English to organizations?
3. How can you meet new people? Tel about two ways.
A. In Colombia, many things are in our garbage. Look at the pie chart below and answer the questions.
1. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, newspapers or plastic bottles? Newsppers are Iarger percentage of our garbge.
2. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, yard waste or tin cans? _____________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is a larger percentage of our garbage, glass or plastic bottles?
________________________________________
________________________________________
Fill in the blanks.
4. Metal cans and other metais are 8.7 percent of our trash.
5. Grass clippings and other yard wastes are _________ percent of our trash.
6. Food waste is _________ percent of our trash.
B. Think about how you feelnow and what your plans are. Do you feel the same? Have your plans changad? Write about how you feel now and what your plans for the future are. Again, these are just notes. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C. When you are writiing about the past , remember to use past- tense verbs. When you are writing about the future, remember to use a future tense. Each of these sentences has one verb in the wrong tense. Correct the verbs and write the corrected sentences on the lines:
1. When I come here two years ago, i was nervous
2. Next year I finish the collage.
3. Last year I don’t speak English well
4. When I finish collage, I work in this city.
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