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UNIT 7 WATER

 

INTRODUCTION

7.1 Study the information and answer the following questions after.

Water is a very important part of our environment. But how important is it? How many ways of using water do you know? Here are some of them.

DOMESTIC

Drinking People need to drink clean water every day. Over 1.5 billion people do not have clean drinking water.

Washing Taking a regular shower or bath is part of our lives. We also use water to wash the dishes, our clothes, and the house. The problem is, this fresh water then becomes waste water.

Cooking Do you want to cook some pasta or rice? You need water! Preparing salad? You wash it in water. Boiling potatoes? Water again!

The WHO (World Health Organization) says that a person needs 19litres of water a day. One in three Asians do not have safe drinking water, and one in two has no sanitation. Over 1.5billion people do not have clean drinking water.

AGRICULTURE

Animals Like humans, animals need to drink water to survive.

Irrigation Plants need water, too. So farmers use it to help their crops to grow. With water, dry land can produce crops. When there is no rain, irrigation is necessary for agriculture.

Fish Fish live in fresh water, in lakes and rivers. Many fish live in salt water, in the ocean. These fish are wild, but in many countries there are now also fish farms.

INDUSTRY

Machinery Machines use water.

Transport We transport things by water. Ships travel on the seas, rivers and canals.

Energy Countries where it rains a lot, or with high mountains, use water to produce electricity.

The WHO says that the largest water users are: Agriculture 70%, Industry 20% and Domestic Use 10%.

► 1 How many ways do we use water?

2 How many ways do you use water?

3 What is WHO?

4 What is the difference / similarity between drinking water, clean water, fresh water and waste water? Use a dictionary to help you.

5 What is irrigation? Where and why is it used?

 

7.2 Can we live without water? Of course not. Read the text below to support this idea and answer the questions after it.

The human body is about 65 per cent water. If you stopped drinking water (or drinks and food containing water) you would die within three or four days. But the water you drink must be clean.

Each day an average person uses the following amounts of water:

Toilet flushing 35 litres Bathing 30 litres

Cooking and drinking 30 litres Using a shower 12-20 litres

The average daily total per person is 140 litres. The average family uses 480 litres of water a day.

Water can carry diseases. According to a recent report published by the United Nations, every day throughout the world about 25,000 people die from diseases related to dirty water.

It takes 31,600 litres of water to make one car and 4,124 litres to make one tonne of steel. It takes 53 litres of water to make one pair of leather shoes and 9 litres of water to make every paper that you read.

● How much of the human body is water?

● How much water does an average person use for bathing?

● How many people die per day from disease related to dirty water?

● How many litres of water does it take to make one pair of leather shoes?

● How long can a person live without water?

 

7.3 Here are some words and phrases relating to water. Match them with their definitions.

1 running water a) an amount of wetness caused by the presence of water
2 water shortage b) how much water there is in something
3 moisture c) water that is flowing
4 water content d) a continuous movement of water
5 contamination e) an animal or plant lives or grows in water
6 flood f) animals that are able to live both in water and on land
7 current g) things that does not let water pass through
8 torrent h) pollution
9 aquatic species i) when there is not much water available
10 amphibious j) a very large amount of water that moves quickly and strongly
11 waterproof k) very large amount of water covering land and causing serious damage

 

7.4 Fill in the appropriate words from the list.

shallow / deep / level / content / flooding / ranging / torrent / irrigate / drought / dam / amphibious

1 Many species of frogs are …….. .

2 A system of canals carries water to …….. the soil in hot countries.

3 The water …….. of the River Thames gas risen in the past few days.

4 A …….. is a special wall across a stream to stop the water from flowing.

5 Parts of coastal dam collapsed, causing serious …….. in the town.

6 Be careful! The lake is quite …….. here.

7 This river is not navigable because it’s too …….. for boats.

8 After five days of heavy rain the Telle River was a …….. .

9 Condensed milk is produced by removing about 50% of the water …….. of whole milk.

10 …….. is a long period of time when there is no rain and crops die.

 

7.5 Match the two parts of the sentences.

1 Helicopters search for people a) water birds.
2 It is dangerous to swim in the sea here b) the village was flooded.
3 A water lily is a beautiful plant c) before installing the new heating system.
4 My eyes watered d) because the current is so strong.
5 A gull, sawn, pelican, flamingo are e) that sell books.
6 They turned off the water supply f) who climbed trees to escape from flood waters.
7 After two days of continuous rain, g) when I cut the onions.
8 Waterstone’s shops are large stores in Great Britain h) that grows in water and has flat floating on the surface.

 

 

7.6 We all need water. The problem is, there’s often too much – or too little. And there are other problems, too. Let’s look at some of them.

    Quantity Too much: When it rains a lot, the level of the rivers rises. The water runs over the banks. People often drown. Their cars and houses are ruined. Animals drown, too. Many big cities in Asia, Latin America and Europe often have floods. Too little: Sometimes it doesn’t rain for a long time. Plants die. Animals die, too. People have no food. Many countries in Africa have big problems with droughts. Every year, these droughts get worse and worse.
  Pollution Industry often pollutes water with chemicals. Some farmers also use too many chemicals. These enter the rivers and lakes. They kill the plants and fish.
  Increased use of water People can live 40-50 days without food, but only 4 days without water. People today vary in how much water they consume per day; in some places each person averages 5 litres, in other places 210 litres. People are using far more water today than they did 75 years ago.
  The amount of fresh water 75% of fresh water resources are frozen in the ice at the North and South Poles. Most of the rest is in or under the soil and less than 1% is actually available for human use in streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and springs.
  Politics Every country wants water for its people. So they build dams to collect it, and to produce hydroelectricity. Sometimes they divert rivers to provide more water. Different communities inside a country need water for different purposes. For example, in Spain, there are plans to build a big dam on the River Ebro to provide irrigation for farmers. But the fishermen at the mouth of the river do not want this. It will destroy the fish and affect their lives.
  Global warming The world is getting warmer, so water levels are rising. Climates are changing. Some countries are becoming hotter and drier. This affects agriculture. People want to control global warming, but they cannot agree about the best solutions.

 

7.7 Are these statements correct or incorrect?

1 The human body is about 65% water.

2 Fresh water lakes contain salt.

3 People can live 40 days without water.

4 Resources of river, lake and underground fresh waters are distributed unevenly on the continents.

5 The total area of lakes in Russia is larger than in Great Britain.

6 Rivers and lakes not only supply water resources, but are also used as transport systems and fisheries.

7 Dumping sewage into seas is not dangerous.

8 Today water recycling in industrial enterprises is a reality.

 

7.8 Read the information carefully and pay attention to the verbs in bold.

When water is heated to 100°Celsius, it boils and becomes steam. When steam touches a cold surface, it condenses and becomes water again. When water is cooled below 0°Celsius, it freezes and becomes ice. If the temperature increases, the ice melts.

► To check your good memory represent the text above without looking at it.

 

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 2255

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