Αγγλικά - Αρχάριοι (Β Γυμνασίου): Ηλεκτρονικό Βιβλίο

UNIT 6

What a waste!

These children from around the world want to know some things about waste and the environment. Try to guess the answers to their questions.
You can check the answers by doing the first Grammar activity on page 63.

Grammar:
Zero conditional, First conditional
Unless + first conditional = if not

Functions:
Stating a fact;
making statements about possible
future situations

Vocabulary:
Pollutants, waste and recycling

Learning strategies:
When I study a written text, I…
• use my world knowledge to guess
facts
• read texts in Greek to help me
understand the concepts of the
topic in the unit
• use the grammar in the lesson to
test hypotheses
• use it for ideas to make my own
suggestions.

Lesson 1	AIMS • To teach the first and zero conditionals • To teach ‘unless’ • To predict key points of information in a text • To find solutions in a text
Lead-in Task 1
What kinds of things do you and your family throw away? Write down six things and then compare your answers with your partner. Who do you think throws away the most rubbish in your family? Why do they do this? Discuss your ideas with your partner. Look at the words in the box. How many of these items have you got on your list?
old tyres boots traffic cones dolls plastic bags magazines cans bottles umbrellas old pieces of wood plastic containers
1. Where do you and your family put the old things that you don't use anymore? 2. How do you feel when you see litter like old cans, bottles, plastic and paper, on beaches and in the countryside? Why? 3. What do you do if you see someone dropping litter in the street or on the beach?

Task 2 Look at the picture below. In pairs, find ten examples of things that people throw away in public places like rivers. Make a list of the consequences from this behaviour. Use the Internet to find examples of rivers which suffer from this kind of behaviour. What a load of rubbish!

Rubbish and

pollution

Εικόνα Grammar

Zero conditional

Look at the pictures below to help you match 1-5 with a-e and say what happens in each of the situations.

1. If we recycle paper
2. If we reuse our plastic bags
3. If we examine our waste,
4. If we throw away cans,
5. If we don't break up glass

a) we see that most of it is paper
b) it takes a million years to decompose
c) we save 1,000 trees a day
d) it takes 300 years for them to decompose
e) we save 5 cents on our shopping bill.

First conditional

In pairs, use the pictures a-e to help you think of an answer to each of the questions:

1. What will happen if we don't clean the beaches?
2. What will happen if the headmaster sees you dropping litter in the school?
3. What will happen if we don't recycle?
4. What will happen if we throw plastic bags in the streets?
5. What will happen if we dump our junk like old wood and metal in the countryside?

Unless

Look at the two example sentences. In pairs, underline the word which means ‘if not'.

I can't have a school party unless the classroom is clean.
Unless I tidy my room, my mum won't let me go out.

Lesson 1

Conditional sentences

Zero Conditional:
If + Present → Present / Imperative
Unless + Present → Present
We use Zero Conditional to state a fact or a
truth, and to give instructions.

First Conditional:
If + Present → will + infinitive
Unless + Present → will + infinitive
We use First Conditional to state or predict the
future result of a present action.

Task 1

Match the grammatical form to the sentences below.
a) We will live in a rubbish dump unless we recycle now.
b) If you see litter on the street, pick it up and throw it in a rubbish bin.
c) If we recycle today, the world will be a cleaner place tomorrow.
d) If I eat an ice cream, I put the wrapping in the bin.

Task 2

Read the information and answer the questions in bold.

A. We use if + present to talk about possibilities in the future and their results
If + present tense → will + infinitive

Example: If we put our litter in the bin, the school yard will be clean.

What will happen if we don't put our litter in the bin?

B. We use if + present → present to talk about a fact or to give instructions.
If + present tense → present tense

Example: If you want more advice about recycling, ring our hotline 801 11 111111

What do you do to get more information?

Εικόνα Reading

Pre-reading

Task 1

The three teenagers below wrote letters to the local newspapers about problems caused by pollution and litter that exist in the area where they live.
In pairs, match the following statements according to the titles of these Greek newspapers.

1. Unless the new Mayor succeeds in his effort to restore the original architecture, the city will suffer.
2. Supermarkets and other shops will have to pay a huge fine if they dump their rubbish in the streets.
3. Many people will become ill and die if infected mosquitoes bite them.

A Επιδημία δάγκειου πυρετού
Θύμα του η νοτιοανατολική Ασία και «ένοχες» η αστυφιλία και η μετανάστευση...

B Τα Τίρανα πληρώνουν το τίμημα της περιβαλλοντολογικής ελευθερίας

C Μεγάλα πρόστιμα για τα σκουπίδια επιβάλλει ο Δήμος Αθηναίων

Rubbish and

pollution

Task 2

Do you think the following statements are true or false? Why?
i) The Albanian government will not allow people in Tirana to use cars.
ii) The Albanian government will encourage people to throw away their old cars.
iii) There are clean toilets and washing areas in the Gypsy camps in Aspropirgos.
iv) You will pay 50 Yuan if a policeman sees you throwing rubbish in the street in Beijing.
v) People in Beijing will change their habits because of the Olympic Games.

Task 3

Read these 3 letters quickly to check if you are right. Then read the texts again and the possible solutions for each problem more carefully. In pairs, discuss the three solutions and then decide which you think the best solution for each problem is.

A. I'm called Agnieska and I live in the centre of Tirana. Some days on my way to school the smoke from the cars makes me feel dizzy and sick. It sounds incredible but in the1980's there were only 2000 cars in Tirana. Now there are 300,000 and most of them are in the city centre each day. Unless the government does something about the smoke and the smog, many people will have breathing problems. The result is terrible air pollution and some times during the day the air is so full of dirty smoke that we can't breathe. This is absolutely terrible and according to the European environment agency, traffic in Tirana produces 50kilograms of pollution for every Albanian each year. What people do not realize is that lead in fuel causes a decrease in intelligence and if the government does not test to see if this is the case with children in Tirana, the children will have problems in school. The mayor says that, if necessary, he will stop people driving old cars and make drivers pay fines if their car creates pollution. I quite like this idea and I think it will work. Solutions: a) get newer cars b) ask the European environment agency for help, c) test children to see how much lead they have.

B. I'm Marios and I live near the town of Aspropirgos outside Athens. There is a camp of Gypsies near us. The people who live there have to live under terrible conditions. For example, there is nowhere for them to put their rubbish and so it piles up. Some people throw litter out of laziness but others do it because there are no bins. There is so much waste like empty cans of coke, packets of crisps and other waste that even with a light breeze all the litter blows everywhere. There are no proper bathrooms or places to wash themselves and many children get ill. Over a period of time, this will get worse. It's a crying shame to see this in our country. If you walk around the camp, you see all kinds of things like empty tubes of toothpaste or old bars of soap lying on the ground. Sometimes when it rains the drains get blocked and the camp floods making the place a mess. Do the mayor and government not understand that people get ill if where they live is dirty? He even says that the people in the camps will have to pay a fine if they don't clean up the rubbish. This is not right and local people should write to the government or environmental organization and ask them for support. Solutions: a) build a better camp, b) get the government to build bathrooms, c) encourage people in the area to take action to help.

C. My name is Deng and I come from China. I live in Beijing, which is a city of over 15 million people. Just before dawn each morning, the streets are clean but by the end of the day there is enough litter to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool! Because of the Olympic Games in 2008 the government wants to make the city clean and it is trying to encourage people to change their bad habits and to be more responsible for their rubbish. Now it is a crime to throw rubbish or litter in the street. For example, if you drop litter or throw cigarette butts on the road, the police can fine you 500 Yaun on-the-spot. Although this is a good idea and they do it to help, I don't think it will change anything. In a big city people always think someone else will clean up the mess. This is a disgrace. They don't understand that it is everyone's responsibility to keep their city clean. Unless people learn to respect where they live, nothing will change and the problem will remain the same. We need to educate people about the importance of living in a clean environment. After all, it's for their own good, so why don't people want to change their bad habits? Solutions: a) make people pay a fine if they throw litter in the street, b) tell people to stop producing rubbish, c) teach people about the importance of keeping their city clean.

Task 4

Which child i) lives in a city which is bigger than Athens; ii) wants the government to help solve the problems; iii) likes the idea of fines; iv) talks about children in schools?