5b Our environment

Listening (Section 2: Table completion)

Before you listen 1 Do you have a favourite season? Which one? Why do you like it?

Test practice 2 Work in pairs. Read the test task and answer the questions.
h
TEST STRATEGIES page 178 1 You will hear a radio talk. What do you think it will be about?
2 What main points will the speaker discuss? How do you know?
3 Look at the words around each gap. What type of information is
missing?

Questions 1–8
Complete the table below. Write ONE word for each answer.

Weather Effects Examples

condition
Lack of • symptoms of people living in areas
sunlight depression: difficulty with short days and little
sleeping, no 1 energy 2 in winter
• Seasonal Affective
day light
Disorder (SAD)
Season of affects 3 moods and • people born in winter:
birth temperament as an adult less bad-tempered
• people born in
autumn: less likely to
suffer from 4 depression
Extreme can cause 5 stress and • communities which
weather mental illness rely on environment
• people in high-risk
h
HELP areas
3 Listen for a phrase meaning ‘as an makes people feel more help from 7 volunteer
after
adult’. 6 kind to others New Orleans hurricane
5 The answer is some sort of illness or High possible link to increased study in Chicago:
medical condition. temperatures 8 crime behaviour changes in
6 Listen for an adjective to describe late spring
character.

3 5.4 Complete the test task.

Task analysis 4 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1 How did the headings and the information in the left-hand column
help you follow the talk?
2 Did you correctly predict the type of information for each gap?
3 Did you check:
• that the words made sense with the words before and after each gap?
• the number of words you wrote in each gap?
• your spelling?

Discussion 5 Work in pairs. Are you affected by different seasons? In what way?
Think about:
• the light.
• how warm or cold it is.
• things like wind, rain and sun.
• the kind of activities you do in different seasons.

Student’s Resource Book > Listening page 51 79

5b Module 5
The world around us

Language development
Prepositions
h
EXPERT GRAMMAR page 187
1 Underline the prepositions in the sentences.
What does each one refer to? Write T for time,
P for place or M for movement.
1 The graph shows the temperatures in 2016.
2 They were heading towards the river.
3 The recycling centre is behind the post office.
Prepositions of place
2 Choose the correct prepositions to complete the
sentences. There is one extra preposition for
each sentence.
1 We have a recycling centre the main road,
the supermarket. (at, on, next to)
2 There’s a rubbish bin the corner
desk. (above, under, in)
3 The storm caused damage to a building
the station and the post office the end of
the road. (at, below, between)
4 You can’t see the factory because it’s that
wall, but you can see the smoke from it rising into
the sky the trees. (above, opposite, behind)
5 People living the airport don’t like the noise
from the aeroplanes flying their houses.
(near, below, above)
6 The river runs my house but there is a
great deal of rubbish it. (behind, in, over)
Prepositions of time
3 a Which preposition do we use with each of the
words/phrases in the box? Write them in the
correct place in the table.
13 March 2015 7 o’clock autumn Diwali lunchtime
Monday morning my birthday New Year night
November Saturday evening the evening the past
Wednesday
on at in
b Work in pairs. Choose two different phrases from
each category in Exercise 3a and use them to
write questions for your partner. Then ask and
answer your questions.
What did you do on Saturday evening?
I went to the cinema with a friend.
Prepositions of movement
4 Choose the correct options in italics to complete
the sentences.
1 We have to go over / across the street to leave our
rubbish.
2 They can’t go back / into home because the flood
damaged their houses.
3 Driving slowly through / over a city is bad for air
pollution.
4 A lot of pollution comes from the road which
goes right across / round the city.
5 The water can’t flow freely under / back the bridge
because there is too much rubbish.
6 The article had a photo of birds walking down /
over a street, unable to fly because of air pollution.
7 This is the first stage across / towards creating a
cleaner city.
8 We need to get away / back from the city because
it’s too polluted.
5 Choose the correct options in italics to complete
the
the summary.
Average number of days of moderate or higher
air pollution (UK)
30
25
20
15
10
Rural average
5
Urban average
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The graph shows the number of days 1 at / in / by
UK rural and urban areas when air pollution was
medium or higher 2 over / at / between the years
2010 and 2015. It is clear that 2011 was a bad
year for pollution as both gures went 3 down /
up / above signi cantly, with the number of
polluted days in rural areas rising 4 to / up / by
ve, and the number in urban areas increasing
5 to / above / to almost 25. However, in the
following year, both gures went 6 down / below /
to, with the urban average continuing to fall
7 over / at / between the next four years, until by
2015 it was down 8 by / across / below its 2010
gure. The rural average, on the other hand, went
up and down in the same period and by 2015 was
down to just 9 in / over / for ten, which is very
similar to the gure 10 at / on / in the start of
the period.

80 Student’s Resource Book > Language development page 52 MyEnglishLab > 5b Language development
 Module 5
The world around us 5b
b Match the collocations in Exercise 3a with their
Vocabulary meanings.
1 the frozen water that covers the top of the earth 2
Weather 2 coal, gas or oil you burn to produce heat or
power 4
1 Match the words in the box with the descriptions. 3 an increase in world temperatures 1
6 2 3 7 4 1
blizzard drought flood fog heat wave hurricane 4 when pollution stops the sun’s heat from escaping
thunder and lightning and the air gets warmer 5
5 5 when a large area of trees is burning 3
1 During the summer my country sometimes
experiences strong violent winds that cause a lot Environmental issues
of damage.
2 Last year we had a long period of dry weather 4 a Complete the sentences with the words in the
with very little rain. box.
6 5 1 3
3 Last month some places had a lot of rain and air quality air pollution noise pollution recycling
many buildings and roads near rivers were rubbish toxic waste
damaged by the water. 2 4
4 At the moment we are having a long period of 1 Airports should try to reduce at night so
very high temperatures. that people living nearby can sleep.
5 In the summer we often have electrical storms 2 There should be strict punishments for people
which are very noisy and light up the sky. who drop in the streets.
6 If we have a severe snow storm during the winter, 3 Governments should do more to encourage
it can be difficult to get to work or school. of waste products like newspapers and
7 Driving can be dangerous as it is very difficult to plastic.
see through the thick cloud. 4 It should be against the law for factories to put
in the sea or rivers.
2 a Choose the options in italics which cannot be 5 Private cars should not be allowed in big cities, to
used with the nouns. reduce .
1 extreme / xxxxx
weak / severe weather 6 The government needs to do something to
2 light / heavy / xxxxx
strong rain improve the in my city.
3 tropical / violent / hot
xxxstorm
4 solid b Tick the sentences in Exercise 4a that you agree
xxx / freezing / thick fog
5 mild / extreme
xxxxxxx / severe climate with. Discuss your ideas with a partner.
6 hot
xx / high / low temperatures 5 Choose the correct options in italics to complete
b Complete the sentences with collocations from the text.
Exercise 2a.
1Thick fogcan be very dangerous and cause
accidents on the road.
Understanding noise pollution
2 We have a(n) , which means we have
warm summers and cool winters. mild climate Most of us are used to the sounds we hear in everyday
3 Many people believe that conditions like life. Loud music, people talking on their phone and the
floods and droughts are caused by rising global traffic are part of our way of life. But we do not realise
temperatures. extreme weather how much this can 1 move xxxxx us. Pollution
xxxx / affect / effect
4 Very , often below 0ºC, are very common is not limited to nature and resources; noise that upsets
here. high temperatures
the natural rhythm of life also 2 xxxxxxx
supplies / delivers
xxxxxxx /
5 Last year we had very for weeks, which
caused floods. heavy rain produces a form of pollution. By definition, noise
6 The building was struck by lightning during a(n) pollution 3 causes brings / takes place when there
xxxxxx / xxxxx
yesterday. tropical storm is a lot of noise which upsets us or is unhealthy. In our
environment it has become difficult to escape noise.
Climate change For example, many people have to live next to busy
3 a Match words 1–5 with words A–E to make roads, which 4 increases / spreads / grows the amount
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
collocations. of unwanted sounds they have to live with. Noise
1 global C A effect pollution is serious and can lead to disturbed sleep,
2 polar D B fuels so we do need to 5 cope / xxxxxxxxxxxxx
deal / manage with the
3 forest E C warming problem. However, it is hard to think of ways to 6 xxxxxx
check /
4 fossil B D ice cap avoid / prevent it increasing even more in the future.
xxxxx
5 greenhouse A E fire

Student’s Resource Book > Vocabulary page 53 MyEnglishLab > 5b Vocabulary 81

5b Module 5
The world around us

Reading (Matching information)

Before you read b Complete the test task. Remember to:

1 a You are going to read a passage about visual
pollution. Read this definition of the term. Do
you have a similar term in your language?
visual pollution (n) a term used to refer to structures or
objects that make a view or environment unattractive
b Look at the list of things many of us see in our
daily lives. How much do they annoy you?
Number them 1–7 (1 = most annoying, 7 = least
annoying). Can you think of other examples of
visual pollution?
• billboards (advertising on the side of the road) 6
• bright lights in a city 7
• rubbish on the street 3
• graffiti on walls of buildings or public transport 2
• telephone towers 4
• power lines 1
• wind turbines 5
Test practice
h
TEST STRATEGIES page 179
2 a Read the test task and underline the key words.
Label the underlined parts of each question A
or B.
A type of information you are looking for
B detailed information you need
Questions 1–8
The passage has seven paragraphs labelled A–G.
Which paragraphs contain the following information?
You may use any letter more than once.
• refer to the key words you underlined in
Exercise 2a.
• only select a paragraph if it has the necessary
information, not because it uses the same words
as the question.
• underline the specific information in the passage.
h
HELP
2 Paragraph C uses the word health, but does the
information in the paragraph match the question? Does
it give examples of health problems?
5 Many of the paragraphs refer to problems, but the right
answer must also refer to how long people expect this
problem to last.
Task analysis
3 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
1 Which sentences in the passage gave you the
detail you needed to match each statement?
2 Did the answer paragraphs use the same words as
those in the question?
3 Did you use any letters more than once?
4 Did you use all the paragraphs?
Discussion
4 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
1 Which do you think is the most serious problem
in the place where you live – visual pollution,
noise pollution or air pollution? Why?
2 What do you think we can do about visual
pollution?

1 a reference to a problem that may no longer be

possible to solve G
2 examples of visual pollution having an impact
on health F
3 an example of a deliberate way of hiding
something unattractive E
4 definitions of different kinds of visual pollution A
5 an example of a problem that may last for a
long time
6 a reference to the fact that visual pollution can
cause accidents B
7 a reference to the impact of visual pollution on
the economy C
8 an example of different ways of viewing the
same thing D

82 MyEnglishLab > 5b Reading


The problem of visual pollution
A Visual pollution means that people cannot enjoy what they see. E When more people started to drive in the mid-20th century,
There are two types of visual pollution in the modern world:
one is when visibility is limited by haze*; another is visual
untidiness, when buildings and signs spoil the view.
B Air pollution from cars and factories reduces visibility. It
looks like a brown haze over cities, but it also affects the
countryside. Scientists measured the visibility at a United
States national park and found that on a clear day, it is
possible to see for 320 kilometres. On a hazy day, that
distance falls to 48 kilometres.
C Transport and industry are both major man-made causes
of air pollution. But there are also natural sources of haze –
smoke from forest fires, for instance. The pollution that
creates haze can travel thousands of kilometres. In Southeast
Asia, haze from enormous forest fires cost billions of dollars
in health care. These fires have also stopped many tourists
from visiting the area in the last decade. Fires in Sumatra
and Borneo affected not only Indonesia, but also Malaysia,
Singapore and Thailand. Developers started many of these
fires – often illegally – because they wanted to use the land
for building or farming. It is possible that some of the fires will G Moreover, another consequence of visual pollution is that it
continue to burn for years.
D Scientists can measure haze, but people have different opinions
about other forms of visual pollution. Wind turbines, billboards,
power lines, mobile phone towers, even modern buildings can
all cause different feelings. To the businessman, a billboard in a
good location may be beautiful. But to the traveller who would
like to see the hills or the pretty village behind that billboard, it
is visual pollution.
Module 5
The world around us 5b
businesses put large advertising hoardings next to busy roads.
However, in the 1960s, many people began to complain about
them, saying they were ugly and stopped drivers from focusing
on the road. More modern examples of visual pollution are
mobile phone towers and spray-painted graffiti. Some mobile
phone towers have been made to look like trees or plants,
which has reduced the visual impact, but attempts to ban the
sale of spray paint to young people have not had much effect.
F But do these more subjective types of visual pollution really
matter? The dangerous effects of air pollution are obvious,
with more and more people suffering from breathing
problems. However, research suggests that the other types
of visual pollution can also have dangerous effects. One
research study found that people who have an unpleasant
view from their window are 40 percent more likely to feel sad
or depressed. And there are several studies which show that
physical environment affects stress levels. Being in beautiful
surroundings – beside a lake or in a forest, for instance – tends
to make people feel more relaxed.
destroys the individual differences that make the world so
special. In the past every town, city and suburb had its own
unique character. Now they are starting to look the same all over
the world. There are identical fast-food restaurants, billboards,
motorways and petrol stations everywhere. Although this has
a negative effect on the quality of life, it is probably already too
late to change the situation.
*haze: air that contains something that makes it difficult to see through it,
e.g. smoke or dust
83