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TM

Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ENGLISH

Water crisis
Lesson code: ICXZ-ZF6B-D4UI-R

INTERMEDIATE +

1 Warm-up
What do you know about the water crisis in Brazil?

2 Key words
Match the underlined words to the correct definitions below:
1. Farmers cannot grow anything because of the drought.
2. If you spend too much, you will run out of money.
3. For a few weeks, nobody had anything to eat - it was a big catastrophe.
4. Don't deny that you stole the money! We all know that you did it.
5. Oil reserves are very low at the moment - in the future, we will need to find other forms of energy.
6. The city's water utility provides water for every citizen.
7. During the war, there was meat rationing - citizens were only allowed to eat a very limited amount.
8. The possibility of a successful career is a good incentive to study hard for your degree.
9. Julia had to pay a fine for parking illegally.
a. a disaster
b. a period of very low rainfall
c. a supply of something not needed for immediate use but available if required
d. allow each person to have only a fixed amount of something
e. an organisation or company that provides water for the public
f. money you pay as a penalty for breaking the law
g. say that it is not true that you said or did something
h. something that encourages or motivates you to do something

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use all of something and leave nothing

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i.

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Water crisis

Innovation in Learning

TM

GENERAL ENGLISH

3 Find the information

You are going to read an article about the water crisis in Brazil. Find the information below in the text.
1. The population of So Paolo is

2. The lowest rainfall in So Paulo was in

3. Brazil has

per cent of the world's freshwater.

per cent.

4. Water reserves in So Paulo are at

5. The name of So Paulo's water utility is

Brazil's water shortage

So Paulo suffers its worst drought on record.
1 Brazil continues to suffer from a historic drought, and millions of people in its largest city might run out
of water soon. So Paulo, home to around 20 million people, is experiencing its lowest rainfall since
1930, and new water-saving measures have been introduced to deal with the catastrophe.
2 Services including schools and hospitals are having to adapt to the country's new water problems.The
Cndido Fontoura children's hospital has denied that it ran out of water earlier this month, but biologist
Analice Dora expressed fear: "Everyone is worried. Hospitals are the one place that can't lack water."
3 Although there has been a recent increase in rainfall in the region, it hasn't been enough to improve
supply in Brazil, a country which normally has 12 per cent of the world's freshwater
more water
than any other country in the world.
4 Current reserves in So Paulo stand at just 10 per cent - known as the "dead volume" - and the
government has warned that it could get worse in the next few months.
5 Professor Decio Semensatto from the Federal University of So Paulo has compared the current water
situation to a "semi-desert". And the water crisis will probably last for years.
6 He says that water utility Sabesp is responsible because it has known for years that drought-like
conditions would soon arrive, but did not do much to prevent the future problems.
7 The current crisis has reached a serious point, and water rationing may be necessary. State governor
Geraldo Alckmin last month admitted that it was already happening.
8 Brazil is not used to such scarcity, but So Paulo is getting used to way things have to be run; there
are incentives to use less water, fines for those who use too much and the possible installation of
more efficient taps.
9 Sabesp will see if such steps can make the difference before it decides whether to formally introduce
wider water rationing.

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Adapted from The Independent, by Zachary Davies Boren, 23 February 2015

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Water crisis

Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ENGLISH

4 Checking understanding
Put T (True) or F (False) next to the statements below. Correct the statements which are false.
1. Millions of people have already run out of water in So Paulo.
2. People are worried that hospitals might run out of water.
3. There hasn't been any rain recently.
4. The Brazilian government says that the water crisis will get better.
5. The Sabesp water utility knew about the water crisis years ago.
6. Water rationing may be necessary.
7. There are no incentives to use less water.
8. People who use too much water have to pay fines.
9. Sabesp has already decided to formally introduce water rationing everywhere.

5 Find the words

Find the words from the text which mean ...
1. important in history (adj., P1)
2. a lack of something (TITLE)
3. stop something from happening (verb, P6)
4. said that it was true; the opposite of `denied' (verb -ed, P7)
5. devices to control the flow of liquid or gas from pipes (plural noun, P8)

6 Talking point
Discuss any of the questions below:
1. How can people use less water?
2. What environmental problems do you have in your country?
3. Has your country ever had a water crisis?

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4. What do you think are the most serious environmental problems in the world today?

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Water crisis

Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ENGLISH

7 Grammar Review - Present perfect simple

Look at the following sentences:

a. There has been a recent increase in rainfall in the region.
b. The government has warned that it could get worse in the next few months.
c. Sabesp has known for years that drought-like conditions would soon arrive.
1. We often use the present perfect simple (have/has + past participle) to talk about a recent change
that began in the past and is complete in the present.
Example: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. We often use the present perfect simple to talk about a state that started in the past and continued to
the present.
Example: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. We often use the present perfect simple to talk about a recent event (without saying when it
happened).
Example: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Remember: If we say `when' something happened in the past (for example, 2 months ago, last year,
yesterday, etc.), we cannot use the present perfect. We must use a past tense.

8 Recent changes
Form sentences with the present perfect simple to describe the recent changes below, like in the
example. Use words like `increase', `decrease', `rise', `fall', `decline' and `growth'.
1. the number of people learning English
There has been a growth in the number of people learning English.
2. global temperatures
3. wars and political conflicts
4. the world's population
5. the amount of freshwater in Brazil
6. the number of smartphone users

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7. unemployment in my country

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Water crisis

Innovation in Learning

TM

GENERAL ENGLISH

9 Recent events
Complete the sentences below with the verbs in the present perfect simple.
discover

change

finish

hear

lose

open

receive

win

1. Scientists have discovered a method of creating freshwater!

2. Brazil

the World Cup!

someone

3. It's cold in here.

the window?

4. Look at Alice. It looks like she

her hairstyle.
them.

5. I can't find my keys. I think I

6. At last! I

my all my work and I can go home now.

7.

the news? Norman

a promotion.

10 Situations from past to present

Complete the sentences below with the present perfect simple or past simple.
1. I'm very tired now. I ve been (be) in the office all day.
2. I

(be) at home yesterday.

3. She

(know) about the problem since Monday.

4. I

(know) her 10 years ago.

5. I

(never/understand) him

6. I

(not/understand) what you said earlier. Now, I do.

7. The internet

he's just so different.

(not/exist) 100 years ago.

(exist) for over 1600 years.

8. The Parthenon in Greece

9. Paul

(have) his car since 2010.

10. They

(have) a nice time at the party last night.

Make sentences about yourself or your country in the present perfect and past simple. Use the
following verbs:
have

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be

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exist

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know

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lingua house

Water crisis - Key

A

TM

Innovation in Learning

GENERAL ENGLISH

1- Warm-up
Encourage a short warm-up discussion.
2- Key words

1. b

2. i

3. a

4. g

5. c

6. e

7. d

8. h

9. f

3- Find the information

1. 20 million

2. 1930

3. 12

4. 10

5. Sabesp

4- Checking understanding

1. F

2. T

3. F

4. F

5. T

6. T

7. F

8. T

9. F

5- Find the words

1. historic

2. shortage

3. prevent

4. admitted

5. taps

7- Grammar Review - Present perfect simple

1. There has been a recent increase in rainfall in the region.

2. Sabesp has known for years that drought-like conditions would soon arrive.
3. The government has warned that it could get worse in the next few months.
8- Recent changes
Possible answers:

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

There has been an increase in global temperatures.

There has been a rise in wars and political conflicts.
There has been a growth in the world's population.
There has been a decrease in the amount of freshwater in Brazil.
There has been an increase in the number of smartphone users.
There has been an increase/decrease in unemployment in my country.

9- Recent events

2. have won
5. 've lost

3. Has someone opened

6. 've finished

4. 's changed
7. Have you heard/has received

10- Situations from past to present

2. wasn't
6. didn't understand
10. had

3. 's known
7. didn't exist

4. knew
8. has existed

5. 've never understood

9. has had

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Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.

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Students make up similar sentences about themselves or their countries (e.g. "The Eiffel Tower has existed for
over 100 years.")

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