1.

4 Extended Skills

A. Match the illustrations 1-6 above with the words or phrases in the box.

water treatment plant aquifer greenhouse gases

reservoir climate zone filtration process

* pre·cipi·ta·tion (n) =
a) rain, snow, etc. that falls; the amount of this that falls
b) (chemistry) a chemical process in which solid material is separated from a liquid
*evaporate= if a liquid evaporates or if sth evaporates it, it changes into a gas, especially steam
*aquifer (n)= (in geology) a layer of rock or soil that can absorb and hold water

D. Listen to the whole lecture. Complete each gap with a word and/ or a
number.

Today I’m going to talk about the most damaging types of

greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere by 1 account for = to be the
allowing shortwave radiation in, but trapping some of the explanation or cause of
longwave (1) ___ which tries to get out. So these gases act like sth SYN explain
2 propellant = a gas that
glass in a greenhouse. There are four gases which are particularly
forces out the contents of an
____ (2). Firstly, there’s carbon dioxide, the largest ____ (3) to
aerosol
global warming. Secondly, there are the chlorofluorocarbons, 3 coolant = a liquid that is used
which are ____ (4) gases. Thirdly, I’ll talk about methane. And for cooling an engine, a nuclear
finally, I’ll mention nitrous oxide. reactor
Lecture 1 Listen and fill each gap with the missing word or a 4 protocol = (technical) the
number first or original version of an
Let’s look first at carbon dioxide. The release of this gas by agreement, especially a treaty
human activity is the main driving force behind the greenhouse between countries, etc.; an extra
effect. In fact, it accounts for around _____ (1) of the total part added to an agreement or
greenhouse warming at present. All the fossil fuels which modern treaty
5 lifespan = the length of time
economies use, including coal and petrol, contain carbon, and
that sth is likely to live, continue
when they’re burnt they ______ (2) carbon dioxide and stop heat
or function
from escaping back into space. As world demand for these energy 6 marshland = an area of soft
types increases, the _____ (3) of carbon dioxide continues to rise. wet land
We know that the level of carbon dioxide has risen quickly in the
last few hundred years because scientists have analyzed Antarctic (1)
ice cores which show that the ____ (4) of atmospheric carbon
(2)
dioxide has increased by around a ____ (5) since the seventeen
hundreds. (3)
Now, what about chlorofluorocarbons? Well, chlorofluorocarbons (4)
-often abbreviated to CFCs – have been used as coolants in ____
(5)
(6) systems and as propellants in aerosols. Although their current
concentration in the atmosphere is far less than carbon dioxide, (6)
they have a far longer _____ (7) and their relative greenhouse (7)
efficiency is far higher than carbon dioxide. CFCs contribute about
25% to the total greenhouse effect at present. The Montreal (8)
Protocol has led to a huge ____ (8) in their use; however, their (9)
long lifespan means that they will continue to have an impact for
years to come.
The third greenhouse gas is methane. It’s produced by ____ (9)
which exist in marshland, landfill sites and the stomach of grass-
eating animals such as cows and sheep. A cow can theoretically
produce 200 liters of methane every day! At present methane (10)
contributes around _____ (10) to global warming. This figure will
probably rise in the future as more land is turned over to the (11)
production of meat and _____ (11) products and landfill sites (12)
continue to expand.
(13)
Finally, let’s consider nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is normally
released when burning fossil fuels or when bacteria act on nitrates
and nitrites. An increasing use of nitrate _____ (12) is also a
contributory factor to the increased amounts in the atmosphere.
Of all the gases mentioned, nitrous oxide has the longest lifespan,
at around ____ (13) years, and it currently contributes about 6% to
greenhouse emissions.

Introduction 2 1 variation (in /of sth) = a

In this lecture, I’m going to look at how the climate is influenced change, especially in the
by the physical differences between ________ (1) and continents. amount or level of sth
Land which is close to the sea is often described as having a 2 the body of sth = the main
part of sth
_______ (2) climate. Conversely, land that is far away from the sea is
3 mild (adj) = (of weather) not
known to have a continental type climate. I’m going to look at the
very cold, and therefore
_______ (3) of these climatic differences, and the effects. pleasant
Lecture 2 Listen and fill each gap with the missing word or a 4 moderate (adj) = that is
number neither very good, large, hot,
Regions that are far away from the ocean have a much greater etc. nor very bad, small, cold,
______ (1) variation than land near oceans. The reason for this is etc.
that land masses lose and gain heat more rapidly than large 5 latitude (n) = (abbr. lat.) [U]
bodies of water because they have a lower heat ______ (2). The the distance of a place north or
result of this phenomenon is that maritime regions generally have south of the equator (= the line
much milder climates than continental ones. Islands and _____ (3) around the world dividing north
and south), measured in
zones are therefore warmer in winter and cooler in summer
degrees
because the waters that _____ (4) them moderate temperatures.
This can be illustrated by comparing the maritime climate of Great
(1)
Britain with the continental climate of Ontario in eastern Canada.
(2)
Although both Great Britain and Ontario lie above ______ (5)
(3)
degree latitude, their climates are very different. It’s not unheard
(4)
of for temperature to fall to minus _____ (6) degree Celsius in
(5)
Ontario, while in the UK temperatures rarely fall below minus _____
(6)
(7) degree Celsius Hence, Great Britain has a much milder climate,
(7)
because it’s not affected by continentality.
(8)
The second aspect of continentality is the effect it has on ____ (8).
(9)
In areas that are far from the ocean, air has to travel over great
(10)
distances of land, and the air loses much of its ____ (9) by the time
it arrives at the continental interior. The result of this is that rainfall
tends to be rather _____ (10) and the climate can be much drier
than coastal regions.
Introduction 3 1 framework = the structure
OK. Are we already? Right, I’ll begin. People have always created of a particular system = a set
mental frameworks to describe and explain the world around of beliefs, ideas or rules that is
them. In the past this took the form of ____ (1) or mythology. As used as the basis for making
judgements, decisions, etc.
Greek civilization appeared, people developed a new way of
2 civilization = a state of
looking at the world, where the natural world could be discussed
human society that is very
rationally. At the time it was called ‘philosophy’; today it’s known developed and organized
as _____ (2). 3 rational (adj) = (of behavior,
So, in this lecture today, I’m going to talk about the early _____ (3) ideas, etc.) based on reason
of science, focusing specifically on the development of _____ (4) rather than emotions
science from its Greek beginnings to the Arab scholars of the 12th =reasonable
and 13th centuries. 4 radical (adj) = new, different
Lecture 3 Listen and fill each gap with the missing word or a and likely to have a great
number effect: radical ideas / a radical
So, the early history of environmental science. As I said solution to the problem
5 to be grounded in sth = to
before, it was the Greeks who began the scientific tradition. Has
be based firmly on sth
anybody heard of a man called Thales? No? Well, this Greek was a
6 botany = the scientific study
philosopher who lived between 624-546 BCE on the Aegean coast of plants and their structure
in a town called Miletus. He and his _____ (1) became known as the
Lonian School and they had the radical idea that rational (1)
explanations could be made for the order underlying the _____ (2)
change we see in everything. He also suggested that religious (2)
accounts of ______ (3) could be tested. It is this critical attitude, (3)
where all ideas can be challenged, that now separates science from
____ (4). (4)
This early Greek scientific movement was strongly grounded in (5)
environmental science. Aristotle, another Greek philosopher who
lived between 384 -322 BCE, wrote widely on _____ (5) history. He (6)
studied over 500 species of animals with accurate descriptions and (7)
systematic _____ (6). He also wrote a book about the weather called
Meteorologica, from which we derive the scientific ____ (7) (8)
“meteorology”. (9)
Roman thinkers continued this tradition. Pliny the Elder, 23 -79 CE,
who was a naturalist, wrote a book called Natural History. It (10)
covered numerous _____ (8) from the earth and Life sciences
including botany, zoology and geogeraphy, and importantly, it was
based on fact.
After the collapse of the Roman _____ (9), it was Muslim scholars
who kept the scientific tradition alive. The writings of Arab ____ (10)
such as the physician Avicenna, 979 -1037, and the philosopher
Averroes, 1126-1198, kept the classical ideas alive in the Arab world
and were only rediscovered in Europe again in the 13th century.
Introduction 4
Good morning, everyone. This week, I’m going to talk about the 1 consumption (n)= the act of
treatment of water. Whether we take water from rivers or from using energy, food or materials;
________ (1), a multi-stage treatment process has to be followed in the amount used
order to make the water fit for human ________ (2). Although 2 differ from = to be different
from sb/sth:
treatment differs from one _________ (3) to another, the following
3 typical (of sb/sth) = having
eight steps are typical of a “traditional” method.
the usual qualities or features of
a particular type of person,
Lecture 4 Listen and fill each gap with the missing word or a thing or group
number 4 rough (adj)= having a surface
The first step is known as preliminary screening. Water that is not even or regular.
goes into a _____ (1) after passing through rough screens Opposite = smooth
that remove large objects like leaves and pieces of _____ (2). 5 initial = happening at the
beginning; first:
After this initial stage the water enters storage, where
6 germ (n)= a very small living
suspended solids settle to the bottom of the reservoir and thing that can cause infection
natural _____ (3) radiation kills some harmful germs. and disease
In stage three of the process – called the micro-straining 7 coarse (adj)= rough = not
stage – water again passes through screens, but this time the smooth
8 drain (v) = to make sth empty
screens are very fine and they remove pathogens and
or dry by removing all the liquid
microscopic _____ (4). Then, in the fourth stage, oxygen is from it;
added by dropping the water down a tall structure. This is -to make liquid flow away from
called aeration. sth
After aeration, the next step in the process is the _____ (5)
stage. Here fine solids are removed by passing the water (1)
through layers of sand and coarse ______ (6). (2)
Pipes at the bottom of the filtration system then drain the (3)
filtered water away. In the next part of the process, the pH
(4)
content of the water is _____ (7). This depends on whether
the water is too acidic or too alkaline. It’s important to do (5)
this because if the water has a high acidic content then it (6)
may ______ (8) household pipes. Conversely, if the water is (7)
too alkaline, it could block pipes with salt _____ (9).
(8)
In the seventh part of the process the water is disinfected to
remove any final _____ (10) that may still be in the water. This (9)
can be done by using chlorine, ozone or even UV radiation. (10)
Finally, the last step in the water treatment process is to _____
(11)
(11) the water by adding lime or soda ash so that hard water
– full of calcium and magnesium salts – doesn’t damage (12)

domestic ____ (12).

Introduction 5 1 channel off = to carry or send
In this week’s lecture, I’m going to compare and contrast water, light, etc. through a passage:
2 porous (adj)= having many small
two ______ (1) of water used in the water supply cycle. The
holes that allow water or air to pass
management of water for ______ (2) use can be seen as a through slowly)
system, which involves taking water from the hydrological 3 aquifer (n) = (=(geology) a layer
_____ (3). This water can either come from surface water or of rock or soil that can absorb and
from groundwater. hold water).
4 preferable (to sth / to doing
sth) | preferable (to do sth)= more
Lecture 5 Listen and fill each gap with the missing attractive or more suitable
word or a number 5 particle (n)= a very small piece
OK. So let’s consider surface water first. Surface water of sth
comes from water which flows in _____ (1).
It can be channelled off via an intake pipe into a reservoir 6 permeable (to sth) (adj)=
(technical) allowing a liquid or gas
for ______ (2). The level of water passing into the reservoir
to pass through
can be controlled; it’s common to fill the reservoir in
periods of high winter flows and then use the water 7 gaps (n)=a space between two
during the ______ (3) months. This water still has to be things or in the middle of sth
treated before it can be piped into the water supply 8 fractures=a break in a bone or
other hard material
system and this will occur in a water ______ (4) plant,
normally located near to the reservoir.
(1)

Groundwater comes from aquifers. These are water- (2)

bearing ______ (5) that behave like underground (3)
reservoirs. The rocks themselves are either porous,
(4)
containing tiny spaces between the ______ (6) of stone, or
permeable, with gaps and fractures. In areas that have (5)
______ (7) geology, groundwater is generally preferable to
(6)
surface water. The reason for this is that it’s cheaper and
______ (8) to use and treat because it doesn’t require (7)
reservoirs or an extensive system of ______ (9). Secondly, (8)
it’s of a higher ______ (10) than surface water.
(9)

(10)