Tourist Areas

[Task 4] Mountains, Seas and Rivers

Study the following extracts from dictionary entries:

Mountain n :

1.to climb a ~

2. high, snow-capped ~

3 .a chain, range of ~

4. to make a ~ out of a molehill (=to exaggerate)

River n :

1. to cross, ford a ~

2. to dredge a ~

3. a ~ floods , flows (into the sea), overflows (its banks), recedes, rises

4. to sell sb down the ~ (= to betray)

Sea n:

1. to sail the ~s

2. a calm, smooth, heavy, high, raging, rough, stormy, turbulent, open ~

3. at ~ (buried at ~)

4. to drift out to ~, to go to ~ ( to become a sailor), to sail the seven ~s (to travel the world as a sailor)

(The BBI Combinatory Dictionary)

Mountain n : distant snow-capped mountains; a climbing holiday in the mountains; (Mount) Everest is the highest mountain in the world

River n : the river Thames, the Mississippi river, the mouth of the river, river bank, river bed

Sea n : The waste was dumped in the sea.

The tanker was foundering in heavy/rough seas.

Sea air, sea bed, sea breeze, sea dog ( an old and experienced sailor), sea green ( a bluish green colour), sea food ( lobsters, crabs, etc)

( Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

Answer the following questions:

1. What mountain ranges on the British Isles do you know?

2. Where in Britain can you see snow-capped mountains?

3. What do you call a person who spends holidays climbing mountains?

4. Where does the Severn rise and where does it flow into?

5. Why is it dangerous when a river overflows its banks?

6. Why is it important to dredge a river or its harbour from time to time?

7. What do we mean when we say he/she has traveled the seven seas?

8. What is the highest mountain in the world?

9. Why is it not good to dump waste in the sea?

10. Who can we call a sea dog?

11. Do you like seafood? Why/not?

[Task 5] Read the following text and answer the questions that follow it:

Britain has a complex network of rivers and canals. Although the longest river, the Severn, is only 290 km (180 miles) long, many British rivers are navigable for much of their length. Numerous canals were constructed, especially in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, to link the major cities, notably in the Midlands. This opened up the interior of the country to navigation and contributed to the Industrial Revolution. The canals were used for transporting heavy loads and materials, such as coal and stone, until the development of the railways from about 1830. One of Britain’s best-known canals, the Manchester Ship Canal, was built in the final years of the 19^th century, in order to make Manchester accessible as a port to large ocean steamers.

Most of Britain’s navigable rivers and canals were nationalized in 1947 and in 1962 placed under the control of British Waterways Board (BWB). Many of the once busy canals were no longer being used and a number had fallen into decay. In 1968 an Act of Parliament was passed to renovate and reopen many old canals for pleasure cruising and recreation. Now people spend their holidays in small boats or barges that were formerly used to transport goods. In 1990 the Kennet and Avon Canals, which runs from Reading to Bath and has a spectacular series of 29 locks, was reopened.

(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary- Encyclopedic Edition)

1. What is the longest river in Britain? How long is it?

2. Why is the following mentioned in the text: the Midlands, the Manchester Ship Canal, Manchester, BWB, 1968 Act of Parliament, 29 locks?

3. On the map find the following navigable rivers and the cities that stand on them :

England – The Thames – London, Reading, Oxford

The Ouse [ u:z] – York

The Humber – Hull

The Mersey – Liverpool, Manchester

The Severn, Newport, Gloucester

Scotland – The Forth – Edinburgh

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1193