IGCSE-FLE-Workbook-3rd-Edition

Unit 4 o Football crazy 45

Composition coursework topics

Argumentative/discursive writing 1 Write about a sport played locally which
you enjoy as a participant or spectato~,
a 'Hooliganism and vandalism are the inevitable explaining why you enjoy it ~nd how it
social evils of the civilised world.' Argue for or contributes to your community.
against this claim.
2 Write a descriptive or narrative
b 'It matters not who won or lost, but how you imaginative piece entitled 'The match'.
played the game.' Discuss the meaning of this
line of poetry and whether this view is still
appropriate in today's world.

Descriptive writing

c Give an account of an experience of being in a
large and uncontrolled crowd.

d Describe the career of a real or fictional
character who rose from a poor background to
be a star.

Narrative writing

e Write a story about a group of football fans.
f Write about someone who achieves '15 minutes

of fame'.

46 Unit 4 o Football uazy

Unit Great rivers

Reading

1 Read the article below.

Passage A: Amazon facts

::t What makes the Amazon the greatest river
J
in the world is the volume of water that

it carries; it produces 20% of the world's

river water. Although the Nile river in

Africa is the longest river in the world Cat

6650km long to the Amazon's approximate

l

6280km), the Nile does not carry a 60th
l of the amount of water that the Amazon

does, because the latter river drains the

entire northern half of the South American continent. The torrential tropical rains deluge the

rainforests with over 10 metres a year, and rainfall in the region is a near daily occurrence.

The Amazon is also the world's widest river (6-lOkm), and the mouth of the Amazon, where it
l meets the sea, is so deep as well as wide that ocean-going ships have navigated its waters far

inland. It becomes even wider when it floods in the wet season.

The precise source of the Amazon was only recently discovered, although the origins of most
of the Earth's great rivers have been known for some time, and the quest to find the Amazon's
origin in the most inaccessible part of the world had intrigued explorers for centuries.
Determining the source of the Amazon has been so difficult because of a combination of
unfriendly terrain, high altitudes, cold winds and the large number of potential headwater
) streams that needed to be investigated . What defines a river's origin is the most distant point
from the mouth (as measured along the river's course and not by the way the crow flies) from
which water flows year round along the main trunk of the river, not including the tributaries.

In 2001 a 22-member international team of mappers and explorers, sponsored by the National
Geographic Society, claimed to have pin-pointed the source of the Amazon river. The team
explored five different headwater streams in the Andes before they were convinced that they
l had definitely discovered the place where drops of water first collect to form the mighty
Amazon. According to the team, the Amazon's origin is a small mountain stream that flows
from the sides of Nevado Mismi, a 5600 metre mountain in southern Peru. A global positioning
system (GPS), linked to a network of satellites, was employed to precisely locate the source,
which is less than 160 km from the Pacific Ocean.

Famously, the Amazon river is home to many exotic and extreme tropical creatures, such as
catfish, anaconda (biggest snake) and piranha (most ferocious fish), as well as the macaws
and tapirs which add their colours and sounds to the jungle.

Unit 5 o Great rivers 47

Language and Style

2 Fill in the parts of speech table below, which contains the words in bold from Passage A. In some
cases you may be able to find more than one word, and in others none. Be careful with spelling!

noun adjective verb adverb
deep produces definitely
occurrence
extreme measured
origins sponsored
explorers convinced

3 Circle all the commas in Passage A and study their usage. Work out and define the four ways in which
commas are used, giving an example of each.

a

b

c

d

48 Units o Great rivers

4a Complex sentences are constructed by linking subordinate clauses to a main clause using
connectives or participles (present or past, with or without a preposition). Underline examples of
different types of linking in Passage A.

b Link the three simple sentences below into one complex sentence in as many ways as you can.
You may need to make changes to the grammar or word order. (Note that and, but and so make
compound and not complex sentences.)
i The source of the Amazon has only recently been discovered.
ii The source is located 160 km from the Pacific Ocean.
iii Explorers tried for centuries to discover the river's source.

Comprehension and Summary

5 In two sentences, using connectives and/or participles, summarise the information in the first
paragraph of Passage A.

Units o Great rivers 49

Reading

6 Read the article below.

Passage 8: Life and death on the Nile

For Egyptians, farmers and fishermen, the Nile There is a
is not just a beautiful view, it is a gift, without superstition
which there could be no Egypt, only a scorched among the locals
wasteland. In a country which does not receive that the river
much rainfall, the river is their livelihood. It is inhabited by
creatures - half-
covers only 4% of the country but its banks human and
half-fish - who
are where almost all of the 67 million Egyptians sometimes take a
live. The Nile irrigates corn crops and citrus fancy to humans
orchards, and provides water for herds of cows and take them to
and for doing the laundry. Its seasons are the live with them at
rhythms of the Egyptian way of life; when it the bottom of the river. They also believe that
floods every July, locals move to higher ground the river is owned by 'djinns' who must be fed
until it subsides three months later. and kept happy or they will cause harm. The
Egyptian queen Cleopatra was nicknamed the
The waters of the Nile flow for nearly 7000 km, Serpent of old Nile, and it was believed that the
from the jungles of Uganda through the deserts river mud had creative powers and produced
of Sudan to arrive at Cairo, Africa's largest city. snakes. Many films and books have used the
For centuries no one knew where it began, and romantic and threatening setting of the river,
the whereabouts of its source was a legend including the famous Agatha Christie detective
and a quest - a dangerous one, as the Nile novel Death on the Nile.
contains crocodiles·- and intruders into the
heart of Africa were often not welcomed by the Since the advent of cruise liners and the
natives. The source was finally discovered in invasion of tourists, however, life on the
the mid 19th century. riverbank has changed, and Egyptians say
that the Nile is no longer theirs. Although it is,
The world's longest river is a personality in in fact, chemical fertilisers which are largely
myth as well as in reality. It features in many responsible, the locals believe that the leisure
memorable scenes in the Bible and in literature, boats have polluted the water. And they watch
ancient and modern. It was assigned to the as the great city of Cairo continues to spread
god Isis, to be honoured with offerings of food, its garish hotels and grey apartment blocks
and it was believed that the pharaohs could along the banks in a ribbon development which
control it through their magical powers. The shows no signs of ever stopping.
pyramids could not have been built without the
means of transport provided by the great river.

50 Units o Great rivers

Language and Style

7 Read the extract below from Joseph Conrad's Heart ofDarkness.

Going up that river was like travelling back bewitched and cut off for ever from everything
to the earliest beginnings of the world, when you had known once - somewhere - far away
vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees - in another existence perhaps. There were
were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, moments when one's past came back to one, as
an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, it will sometimes when you have not a moment
thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape
brilliance ofsunshine. The long stretches ofthe of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered
waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of with wonder amongst the overwhelming
overshadowed distances. On silvery sandbanks realities of this strange world of plants, and
hippos and alligators sunned themselves side water, and silence. And this stillness of life did
by side. The broadening waters flowed through
a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way not in the least resemble a peace. It was the
on that river as you would in a desert, and
butted all day long against shoals, trying to stillness of an implacable force brooding over
find the channel, till you thought yourself an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with
a vengeful aspect.

8 In what ways does the description of the river in the extract above differ from the descriptions of the
rivers in Passages A and B?

Unit 5 o Great rivers 51

9 The extract on page 51 describes the River Congo. Choose five words or phrases which convey the
feeling of:

a mystery _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

b threat _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _~

Comprehension and Summary fictions

10 List the facts and the fictions about the River Nile from Passage B.
facts

52 Units o Great rivers

11 List the similarities and differences between the Nile and the Amazon from Passages A and B.

similarities differences

12 You are the presenter of a television holiday programme. Chair the discussion between two studio
guests who are comparing their impressions and experiences of recent river cruises, one on the
Amazon and the other on the Nile. Base what they say on what you have read in both passages.
Presenter: So, can you each tell us what struck you most about your recent holiday?
Amazon cruiser: - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- -- - -- -- - - - - - - - -

Units o Great rivers 53

54 Unit 5 o Great rivers

Directed Writing

13 Look at the following adverts for trips.

Explore the cultural sights and sites of Europe! Prices include scheduled ftights,
three- or four-star hotel accommodation including breakfast, sightseeing
itinerary and guides, and the services of a tour manager.

Classical Spain

- Seven days from just €479

Departs 29th April, 15th May, 12th June, 7th B er1i·n, Prague and D resden
- Seven days from just €499
October

This tour beg.ins ·n Malaga where you will stay

1 • Departs 27th M 22nd
.. ay,
. ht The next day you travel to Ronda, a July and 16th September
for one mg . . o halves
town split by an impressive gorge. The tw
Vrsrt the Czech Republic and G ermany and
e.
of the town are joined by a huge 18th-century xpenence the diverse cit' '

stone bn.dge. On to Jerez· famous fo. r its sherry, famous antique citie Yi res.and cultures of three
and then to the beautiful city of Seville for three
travel on to D d s. ou wrll fly to Berlin and
res en for a two-ni ht
you can view the g stay, where
nights. On day five you will go on to co:doba,
and the superb Baroque architecture
famous for its bullfights and the Mezquita, _the on to Pra~::Y ;~ treasures. on display. Travel

grandest mosque constructed in the Moonsh , ere you wrll spend two ni h
Your walking tour of th . . . g ts.
world. You will then continue to Gra~ada for the
to six cent . e city wrll introduce you
next two nights to view the extraordinary mag .f. une.s of stunn·rng archi.tecture and the

Alhambra Palace. n1 rcent Rrver Vltava Fi .
to Berlin for th I . nally, you wrll return
e ast two night
capital of Europe th· . s. 0 nee the cultural

, is city has much f h.
interest to offer th . . . o 1storica1
e vrsrtor, includin th .
the former Berlin Wall. g e remains of
Undiscovered Paris

_ Five days from just €499

Departs on selected days from March to November

An unusual and interesting range of visits and excursions
is included in this tour. You will see the M_arais distr.ic,t,
where the French Revolution began; the lie de la Cite,
home of Notre Dame and the original city; rue Mouffetard
in the Latin Quarter; and the Pere Lachaise cemetery,
final resting place of Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Gustav
Eiffel and Chopin. You will visit other famous landmarks
on a coach tour by night, when they are beautifully
illuminated. As well as these guided tours, you will have
plenty of tree time to explore, to go shopping in the
Montmartre district, to visit the Louvre and other famous

art galleries, and to walk by the River Seine.

Units o Great rivers 55

14 Imagine you are planning a trip with a friend between leaving school and starting university, and
have been given the information on the previous page by a travel agency. Write the discussion you
have with your friend about the advantages and drawbacks of each of the three trips, and decide
which one you will go on together. You may add ideas and details of your own.

56 Unit 5 o Great rivers

15 Imagine you have now returned from your chosen trip. Write a letter to the travel agent to complain
about misleading information in the adverts.

Units o Great rivers 57

58 Units o Great rivers

Composition coursework topics

Argumentative/discursive writing 1 Discuss the effect of the tourist industry
a 'Better to travel hopefully than to arrive'. on your country or locality.

Discuss this saying. 2 Write a story which ends with 'And the
b 'Travel broadens the mind.' Argue for ship sailed on.'

or against this claim, in the context of
contemporary mass tourism.

Descriptive writing
c The harbour.
d A journey I want to make one day.

Narrative writing

e 'The quest'. Write a story with this title.
f 'Towards evening, they finally arrived at their

destination, but it was not at all what they had
been expecting.' Continue this story.

Units o Great rivers 59

Unit On the road

Reading

1 Read the article below.

Passage A: Road safety

l

It was in the 1930s that the motor car
industry took off. Until then it was only
the rich who could afford to purchase such
a superfluous Luxury item and to Lay out
for the uniformed chauffeur to go with it.
) By 1939, however, it was possible for the
Less wealthy to buy a four-seater saloon
for somewhere in the region of £100.
This changed the shape of towns, causing
suburbs of semi-detached houses with
parking spaces and garages to proliferate.
) It also meant a significant number of
people being run over in motoring
accidents, as by 1940 there were a million
cars on the roads of Britain.
Nowadays the fatalities are half what they were then, with 20 times as many cars on the road. This
is because there were no systematic road signs, no highway code and no rules concerning the safety
and condition of vehicles. The minimum age for drivers, then as now, was 17. Testing began in 1935,
the same year as speed Limits in built-up areas and pedestrian crossings were introduced. Dipped
headlights were made compulsory in 1937, and rear-view mirrors, surprisingly Late, in 1941. Road
deaths continued to soar, however, because of blackout conditions during the Second World War.
Since annual vehicle testing was approved in 1960, road deaths have fallen by more than a third;
1 the target is for a further 40% reduction in fatalities by 2010 (50% for children). The factors
for improving safety have been education, an anti-drink-drive campaign, fewer pedestrians, and
increased car safety devices such as seat belts and airbags. However, just as many people die
from the effects of traffic pollution as from accidents, and the production of C0 by the internal

2

combustion engine contributes to global warming, which puts up the total death rate. Governments
will therefore require cars in the next decade to be free from toxic emissions, to use a renewable fuel
(such as methanol or other bio-fuel) and to be able to be recycled when they are scrapped.

60 Unit 6 o On the road

Language and Style

2 Give paraphrases for the phrasal verbs which are in bold in the passage, and also give their other
meanings.

3 Judging from the examples italicised in the passage, what do the following prefixes mean? Give two
more examples of words beginning with each prefix.

a super-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __
b sub- _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
c semi- _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __
d mini- _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

e ped- _ __ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __
f intro- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __

g anti- - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - -
h pro- _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _

Unit 6 o On the road 61

Comprehension and Summary

4 Select the facts from Passage A which are relevant to a summary of the history of road safety in
Britain, list them in chronological order, and then combine them into complex sentences to form a
paragraph.

62 Unit 6 o On the road

Reading

5 Read the article below.

Passage B: Intelligent cars

C rashing your car is about to become a door mirror will monitor the driver's blind
whole lot harder. Safety is on the cusp of spot and flash a warning light if another vehicle
a revolutionary new world as advances enters the zone. Another company has already
in technology that will make cars virtually introduced a lane-departure warning system as
idiot-proof begin to move off the drawing board an option on some of its models. It uses infrared
and into the showrooms. In the next three years sensors to monitor road markings and alerts
drivers will see passive safety systems such as the driver if he or she crosses them without
seat belts and airbags superseded by devices indicating. Another new development is a roll-
that will not only warn them of upcoming hazards stability control which uses a gyroscope to sense
but anticipate driver reactions and even take when a vehicle is tipping, and it can then activate
over the controls when human error threatens brakes on individual wheels to balance the car.
to cause an accident. So-called 'intelligent'
systems are now a reality. Pre-tension seat belts are already available;
These can predict the these predict when a collision is likely and
likely consequences press the driver into the seat. Intelligent
of a course of action, airbags also now exist, deployed
take into account according to the predicted
road conditions and velocity of the driver or
adjust the car to deal passenger by means of
with them safely. weight sensors in the
seats. In addition,
One of the advances is pedestrians involved
a brake assistance system in a collision can
which uses radar at the front be protected by a
of the car to detect vehicles ahead and front-bonnet airbag.
warn the driver if an object is too close.Then, A reactive steering
as soon as the driver touches the brake with his mechanism has been
foot, the system will apply the precise braking invented, which adapts
pressure necessary to avoid an accident. One the sensivity of the steering to match
manufacturer has gone one step further and its
new system applies the brakes automatically if the speed the vehicle is travelling at. There is
the driver ignores the audio warnings. If a driver also a drowsiness detector, which relies on a
does have to brake, the car will be less inclined dashboard camera to monitor the driver's eyes
to skid if it is a new upmarket model in a series and will sound a warning if fatigue is detected.
which features dynamic stability control that
reacts to rain sensors on the windscreen and However, the head of road safety at one of the
adjusts traction control accordingly. There is also leading motoring organisations has warned
the possibility of adaptive cruise control now, that these rapid advances could end up doing
consisting of radar sensors to estimate how near more harm than good. 'If you've got bleeps and
one's vehicle is to the car in front and adjust the flashing lights warning you of this, that and the
speed to maintain a safe distance. other, it's easy to become confused, which could
lead to mistakes,' he said. The solution may be for
As roads become more congested, drivers the intelligent driver information system to delay
will also gain a clearer view of their immediate non-essential information if it senses the driver is
surroundings. One manufacturer says it will busy, which can be determined from the braking,
begin phasing in its blind-spot information steering and signalling patterns - a recognition
system later this year. Digital cameras on each that the human needs to be protected from the
greater intelligence of the computer.

Unit 6 o On the road 63

Language and Style

6 Give synonyms for the following words in bold in Passage B.

a cusp i detect

b revolutionary precise

c virtually k congested

d superseded I monitor

e anticipate m zone

f consequences n velocity

g adjust 0 collision

h advances

7a Look at the ten car model names below and write the associations these words have for you. Give
them a number to rank them in order of their desirability.
i Scirocco

ii Golf
iii Mondeo

iv Xs

v Phaeton
vi Discovery
vii Omega
viii Cherry
ix Focus
x Silver Shadow

64 Unit 6 o On the road

b Think of a name for a new car and explain your choice in terms of the effect you believe the word
would have on the public.

8 The information in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Passage B could be grouped and sequenced differently.
Use numbers, arrows and brackets to show how you could rearrange the material in a logical and
coherent order. Add initial adverbs or adverbial phrases as paragraph links.

Comprehension and Summary

9 Write a one-paragraph summary of the different types of danger for which new safety features have
been or are about to be introduced.

Unit 6 o On the road 65

Directed Writing

10 Using information from Passages A and B, write a presentation to give to your Technology
class entitled 'Changes in car safety design from 1930 to the present day'. You could deliver the
presentation as a slide show, using a series of slides to display the text.

66 Unit 6 o On the road

11 Read the information in the fact box below.

Electric cars

• growing number of motorists are opting for an alternative to petrol
• 1000 charging bays to be installed in Britain, 200 of them in London
• electric cars are economical and environmentally friendly
• each city is expected to have hundreds of sockets contained in pavement or car park pillars
• topping up power is free
• users pay f 75 a year to use the power points
• as fuel bills go up, electric cars will continue to increase in popularity
• recharging takes 2 hours
• short range and poor acceleration
• exempt from city-centre congestion charges
• classed as a quadricycle and not a car
• electric cars performed badly in safety tests
• altogether 600 were sold in 2006 and 2007
• London lags behind Paris in number of charging bays
• Paris plans to offer 4000 electric cars for hire to Parisians
• an electric car costs about f 9000
• top speed of 50 mph
• car battery needs recharging after 48 miles

• engine very quiet so pedestrians and cyclists can't hear them coming

Unit 6 o On the road 67

12 Sequence the points logically using numbers, then make the case for and against electric cars as a
review article in a magazine for Londoners. The article is entitled 'What price green power?'

68 Unit 6 o On the road

13 Using ideas from the information box on electric cars, write a news report of a road-traffic accident
involving an electric car and a cyclist or pedestrian.

Unit 6 o On the road 69

70 Unit 6 o On the road

Composition coursework topics

Argumentative/discursive writing 1 Describe your vision of the vehicles and
a 'The planet's greatest enemy is the motor car.' transport system of the future.

Do you agree? 2 Imagine that you have invented the wheel
b 'More haste, less speed'. Discuss the concept of and can see its potential. Write the speech
you would deliver to persuade ~our
speed in contemporary life. contemporaries that the wheel is a world-
changing concept.
Descriptive writing
c The accident.
d Cars I have known and/or cars I would like to

own.

Narrative writing
e 'At the crossroads'. Write a story with this title.
f Write a story about a professional driver such

as a racing car driver, chauffeur, stunt driver or
taxi driver.

Unit 6 o On the road 71

Unit Bricks and stones

Reading

1 Read the article below.

Passage A: Lost marbles

For 200 years there has been importance for the civilisation located, no one knows whether
a bitter argument between of Europe. The carvings show Lord Elgin had paid for them
Greece and Britain over the scenes ofstruggle between in the first place, except for
ownership of the Elgin marbles. men, gods,centaurs and giants, the necessary bribes and site
The issue raises high passions echoing recent battles. They licences; certainly he does not
and poses difficult political, were sculpted by Phidias, who seem to have had permission
legal, moral and cultural is regarded as the greatest to remove sculptures still
questions with far-reaching artist ofthe ancient world. attached to the temple. Lord
implications.Although nearly Byron, who strongly objected
half of the Britons polled had Much damage was caused to to their removal from Greece,
no opinion on the matter, 40% the temple by the removal of denounced Elgin as a vandal.
of the other half were in favour The Romantic poet John Keats
of returning the marbles to the metopes (carved panels) was one of those who saw them
Greece. Greeks are, of course, in London and he was inspired
unanimous in their demand. when they began a perilous to write two sonnets about
journey which took some of the them.
Dedicated to the goddess marbles to the bottom of the
Athena, protector ofAthens, the sea. One shipload of marbles Those in favour of the return
marble panels adorning the on board a British ship which of the marbles believe they
sacred temple of the Parthenon was travelling to Scotland was should be reunited with other
were removed in August 1801 caught in a storm and sank near Greek sculptures in sight of
under the orders of the Earl of the Greek island of Kythera. It the building which they once
Elgin, British Ambassador to took two years to salvage the adorned, a move for which
the Ottoman Empire, who was marbles and bring them to the there is worldwide public
a keen collector of antiquities. surface. support.
He intended to use them to
decorate his stately home in Since the alleged original
Scotland. In 1816 they were document of sale has not been
bought by the British Museum
in London.The frieze dates from
the time ofPericles, who was
the ruler of Athens in the fifth
century BC during its golden
age of democracy, philosophy
and the arts, a period which
was of profound and lasting

72 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

The Greeks, who have been for posterity. The city fell to exhibits. Officials claim that the
seeking their return since 1829, Byzantines, Franks and Turks, return of the marbles to Greece
when their country became and the Parthenon was damaged would open the floodgates
independent, view them as an by fire and earthquake as to all countries wanting their
intrinsic part of their national recently as 1981. In 1687, during antiquities back, and the
identity and culture, as the a siege, the Turkish garrison's world's museums and libraries
essence of Greekness. They gunpowder stored inside the would have to dismantle their
have offered various guarantees Parthenon was ignited, bringing collections and close, thereby
for the return of their treasures: down walls and columns, diminishing their own nation's
providing a temperature- and the Acropolis was twice educational and financial
controlled, world-class museum besieged during the Greek War resources. Tourist attractions
to house and display them; of Independence in the 1820s. would be rendered national
paying the cost of their transport The Venetians shattered the rather than international,
to Athens; donating other pieces horses ofAthena and Poseidon which, they argue, would be a
in a reciprocal exchange; and while they were trying to retrograde step, as links and
accepting them as a long-term remove them, and other pieces comparisons between the
loan, without transference of had been carried off to the world's greatest artefacts can
ownership. Fragments of the Louvre before Elgin's 'theft' and only be possible in international
marbles have already been relocation of the marbles in exhibitions. Since more than
returned by other countries, 1801. half the original marbles are
including the USA. Supporters lost, the return of the ones in
also point out that Aboriginal However, while the artefacts Britain would not complete the
ancestral human remains were held in London may have been collection.
returned to Tasmania after a saved from the hazards ofwar,
20-year battle with Australia, they suffered gravely from The Museum takes the view
despite the existence of 19th-century pollution and that history cannot be rewound
the British Museum charter they have been irrevocably and that by displaying the
preventing the repatriation of damaged by previous cleaning marbles in London - and by
items in its collection. methods employed by British not charging for entry - the
Museum staff, which destroyed Museum has spread the culture
Those who resist the demand the original fine detail of the of classical Greek civilisation,
for the restitution of the marbles carving. which has been an inspiration
point out that they would to generations ofpeople of all
not have survived at all had The British Museum continues nationalities.
they remained in Athens, and to resist political pressure and
that Lord Elgin saved them intends to hold on to its prize

Language and Style

2 Give single words or phrases as synonyms for the following words from Passage A.

a polled f intrinsic
b unanimous g posterity
c profound h irrevocably
d perilous i dismantle
e denounced
diminishing
73
Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

3 Underline all the words beginning with re in Passage A. Choose those which are the correct
synonyms for the following words or phrases.

a joined again f turned back
b taken away g change of place
c in return h return to country of origin
d oppose i moving backwards
e return to owner
supplies

4 Using different colours for each tense, underline or highlight in Passage A all the verbs in the four
past tenses: present perfect, simple past, past continuous, past perfect. Fill in the gaps below to
explain their usage.

For a completed and dated action in the past we use the _ _ __ _ ____ , whereas for an

action which began in the past but which is not yet completed we use the _ _ _ _ __ _ __

The past perfect tense is used when an action - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -- -- - -

The past continuous shows that an action - -- - - - -- -- - -- - - - -- -- -
when _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

5 Circle all the uses of which and who in Passage A. They either define or do not define the preceding
noun, depending on whether or not a comma is used. Join the simple sentences below into one
complex sentence by using which or who (or whom if the person is the object of the verb), either with
or without a comma.

a I visited the exhibition. I heard about it on the radio.

b I read about the man. He had stolen the statues.

c I bought a book. It was about the history of Greece.

d I met Lord Byron. He had written a poem the previous day.

e We have not visited Greece. We have heard it is a beautiful country.

74 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

f I spoke to a woman in the gallery. She was the one I had met previously.
g It is difficult to find the people. They are responsible for the damage.
h This is the Museum Director. He is against the return of the marbles.
i They didn't find the sculpture. It was buried by an earthquake.

You should have interviewed Lord Elgin. I introduced him to you.

Comprehension and Summary

6 Using the information in Passage A, write as a dialogue an argument between a British Museum
official and a representative of the Greek Ministry of Culture about who should have custody of the
Elgin marbles.
MC: I must insist on behalf of the Greek people that this important part of our cultural heritage is
returned to where it belongs.

Unit 7 o Bricks and stones 75

Directed Writing

7 Imagine that the British Museum has changed its mind and agreed to return the marbles to Athens.
Using the information in Passage A, write the news report, with headline, announcing this decision.

76 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

Unit 7 o Bricks and stones 77

Reading

8 Read the article below.

Passage B: High water

Every winter Venice fears the acqua alta, which a high tide of 144 cm. What is certain is that the Adriatic
threatens to overwhelm it; relentless high tides are has risen by 23 cm over the last 50 years, after decades
eating into the wooden doors and shutters of ground- of stability. This may be due to global factors, or to
floor apartments. No one lives on the ground floor heavy draining of underground water by local factories;
any more and Venetians are leaving their drowning an aggravating factor is that the city also suffers from
home; the population has dwindled by 100,000 in 50 subsidence.
years to 70,000. The worst thing about the floods is
their unpredictability, and that they cost the city $5 Venice has twin problems of subsidence and rising water
million annually in lost work hours. Priceless frescoes levels. The current plan to alleviate flooding consists of
are subject to damp and are at risk of permanent water giant gates at the entrances to the lagoon. Many locals
damage; tourists find they have wet feet in St Mark's believe the development is a waste of money and may
Square 50 times a year. This flooding is most dramatic even worsen the situation. This remains to be seen, but
when a higher-than-average tide coincides with various Venice is certainly one of the world's first major cities to
other phenomena - such as heavy rainfall inland from be threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change.
the Venetian lagoon, a wind blowing in from the Adriatic
Sea or an area of low pressure. Paintings by Venice's most famous artist, Canaletto,
show how much the sea has risen around the city in the
High water is most likely to occur between September 200 years since his death in 1768: 80 cm, an average of
and April, though it's not unheard of at other times. 2.4 mm annually. His paintings are so realistic that they
July is just about the only dry month in a city of water include tidemarks on the buildings beside canals, and
built in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. If you are tourist are as accurate as photographs since he used a camera
planning ahead, you can expect the highest tides around obscura to project images through a lens on to his
the time of a full moon or a new moon. When a level canvases.
above 110 cm is expected - which will invade nearly 12%
of Venice - sirens will sound a warning 3-4 hours in When the tide is high, the boats cannot pass under the
advance of high tide, with an increasing number of tones bridges, and kilometres of temporary raised wooden
to signify every 10 cm above 110 cm, warning residents walkways (passerelle) have to be laid to keep feet
to protect their properties and get out their wellington dry, though these are in danger of being swept away
boots. The speakers are concealed inside bell towers and by the high waters and there are particular fears for
public buildings. schoolchildren. There is a plan to instal barriers on the
seabed by the year 2010, which could be raised as a
For half a century there has been constant debate on temporary dike when high tides are predicted, but it is
how to save the city, but no agreement can be found, hugely expensive and some experts have warned that the
not even on whether the situation is getting worse. dike might have to go up as many as 200 times a year,
The number of high tides varies between 80 and 100 and that the barriers could have adverse environmental
in consecutive years, without any apparent trend; the effects on the lagoon.
worst flood of 194cm was in 1966, but in 2001 there was

78 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

Language and Style

9 Use the following words, in bold in Passage B, in sentences of your own which show you understand
their meaning. Look up any which you are not sure of.

b relentless_ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __
c dwindled _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
d unpredictability _______________________________
e priceless _______________________________ __
f dramatic _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
g coincides _________________________________
h phenomena _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _~
i consecutive ________________________________

trend _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __
k stability _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ __
1 aggravating _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __
ni current _ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
n alleviate _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _
o adverse _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _~

10 Add prepositions in the spaces below, then check back in Passage B to see whether your answers are
correct.

a eating the wooden doors e debate _ _ _ how to save

b the worst thing the floods f suffers _ _ _ subsidence

c subject damp g in danger _ _ _ being swept away

d at risk permanent water damage h have effects _ _ _ the lagoon

Unit 7 o Bricks and stones 79

11 Study the use of full stops, semicolons and commas in the first two paragraphs of
Passage B, then punctuate the paragraph below.
standing in Miracle Square in the Tuscan town of Pisa is the 54.5-metre-high 12th-
century monument world famous for its lean of 4.5 metres off the perpendicular
the leaning tower of Pisa has been stabilised by earth extraction but it will take
300 years to get it back to where it was in 1990 even then it was very close to falling
over it has worn a steel corset for most of the past decade in 1990 the bells were
silenced for fear of destabilising vibrations tourists have not yet been re-admitted
to the tower when they are it is likely that only 30 will be allowed at a time

12a How does the writer of Passage B convey the seriousness of the threat to Venice of the high tides?

b How does the writer of Passage B convey the difficulty of finding a solution to the problem?

80 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

Comprehension and Summary

13 As a Venetian citizen, tell a visitor in one paragraph about the effect of the acqua alta on your life and
your city.

Directed Writing

14 Using information from Passages A and B, and ideas of your own, write a magazine article entitled
'Battling the elements' on the importance and difficulties of preserving ancient buildings and
artefacts.

Unit 7 o Bricks and stones 81

82 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

15 Read the following descriptions of properties for sale.

A
Large house in open country, in need of some decoration, with pleasant
views and walks. Separate apartment over double garage plus four
bedrooms. Spacious garden with lawns and fruit trees. Nearest village Skm.
Good school in town 10 km away which also has railway station. Occasional
bus service. Not recently lived in. Telephone and central heating could be
installed.

B

Semi-detached, four-bedroom 1930s house in suburb. Large rooms and
good-sized rear garden, mostly patio. Single garage. On main road and bus
route to centre of town. Two schools in neighbourhood. Shops and park
within walking distance. Recently modernised and decorated throughout.
Quiet street of mostly retired people.

c

Three-storey, four-bedroom terraced house in the town centre. Cinema,
bowling alley, playground, sports facilities and medical centre all within
the locality. Communal garden and on-street parking.Walking distance
from town centre and shops.Houses in the area mostly owned by young
professional couples with small children.

16 As an estate agent, advise a couple which property would be most suitable for them and their teenage
son and daughter, elderly parent, dog and two cars. The properties are all roughly the same price.
The family are moving because the mother has got a job in the town; the father runs a business from
home and needs office space.
Estate agent: Here are the details of three properties but, from what you've told me, I think the one
you should go and look at first is ...

Mother:

Unit 7 o Bri<ks and stones 83

84 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

17 As the teenage son or daughter in the family, write a letter to a friend at your old school, telling him
or her about your new house and its location, how it differs from the house and neighbourhood you
used to live in, and what alterations are needed to make it more suitable for your family's needs.

Unit 7 o Bricks and stones 85

Composition coursework topics

Argumentative/discursive writing 1 Discuss the role of the arts in society, how
they have evolved, and why they pro~oke
a 'Home sweet home'. Discuss the physical and debate about their purpose and funding.
emotional importance of the idea of home.
2 Design and describe in detail the room or
b Should art be owned? Present the case for or house of your dreams.
against the right of individuals to purchase
famous works of art.

Descriptive writing

c Write a detailed critique of a particular
painting or sculpture.

d Describe a castle, palace, hotel or other large
public building which you have visited and
which made an impression on you.

Narrative writing

e 'I looked back, and saw that the building was
now just a heap of rubble.' Write a story with
this as the last sentence.

f 'The day we moved house'. Write a story with
this title.

86 Unit 7 o Bricks and stones

Unit Medical notes

Reading

1 Read the article below.

Passage A: Dogs to the rescue

If one is asked to think about rescue dogs, the ones
likely to come to mind are St Bernards, with brandy kegs
around their necks, digging people out of avalanches in
'l:i:le Alps, earthquake dogs sent to Turkey and Greece in
recent years, and of course the guide dogs for the blind.

There is a growing body of evidence and opinion that the hands and arms - and can give warning up to 40 minutes
power of dogs' noses is as yet underexploited, and that before a seizure or blackout occurs. It fetches the medication
the acute sense of smell of an ordinary hound can be put and howls until its owner takes it. Diabetics can also be
to better use than finding lost bones: it could be applied helped by a barked warning and the dog retrieving a bag
to diagnosing cancer and other serious diseases. This first containing sugar foods. If an attack does occur, the dog
came to the attention of the medical profession in 1989, presses an alarm button to summon medical aid.
when the letters page of a medical journal described
the case of a woman whose dog's repeated sniffing at a As well as 'seizure alert' dogs, there are a variety of
lesion on her leg had led her to seek medical advice; it 'disability' dogs who can help their owners dress and can
was diagnosed as a malignant tumour. The dog (a border operate control buttons, fetch items, bring the phone and
collie and dobermann cross) had shown no interest go shopping. They can even load and unload a washing
in other moles on her owner's body, but spent several machine. The dogs must be obedient, confident, sociable,
minutes a day sniffing the malignant mole. Eventually the well-adjusted and devoted to their owners, who also have to
dog tried to bite off the mole, which was the point at undergo training. It costs roughly £5000 to train a medical
which her owner went to the doctor. In the view of the support dog, but their ability to perform various household
doctors who wrote to the magazine, the possible use of tasks enables their owners to lead a fuller and more
animals with highly developed sensory abilities in cancer independent life.
diagnosis was worth investigation; surgeon John Church
began doing further research and discovered other cases Research has proved that, in addition to all these canine
of dogs which had detected cancerous growths and services to humans, having a dog improves the quality and
saved their owners' lives. duration of human lives by reducing stress through the act
of stroking and by providing an incentive for daily exercise
There is another type of patient to whom dogs have and fresh air.
proved invaluable: epileptics. Dogs can reduce the
frequency of epileptic seizures by 40% in those who
suffer from them, not only because the presence of
the friendly animal reduces the stress which brings on
the attack, but because a trained dog has the intuition
to sense a potential attack - by detecting microscopic
twitches of the eyes and nervous movements of the

Unit 8 o Medical notes 87

Language and Style

2 Remind yourself in Passage A of the use of apostrophes, dashes,
brackets, hyphens, colons, semicolons, commas, full stops and capitals;
then punctuate the passage below.
this is a curious story a doctor in athens who examined a 33 year old
woman after she complained of headaches removed a spider which had
made its home in her ear doctor evangelos zervas showed video footage
he had recorded of the spider inside the womans ear when he examined
the patient he was surprised to find a spiders web and then he saw that
there was movement the woman drove a motorcycle it appears that this is
when it entered her ear because the temperature is ideal there it stayed

Comprehension and Summary

3 Re-read Passage A. Write a summary of the ways in which dogs can be of service to humans.

88 Unit 8 o Medical notes

Reading

4 Read the news report below.

Passage 8: Robot doctors perform surgery

YesterdSiY a team of six French surgeons controlled the movements of the miniature
in New York were able to carry out an robot from New York.
intercontinental surgical operation from more
than 4000 miles awSiY and across six time The time delSiY between the surgeons' hand
zones. movements, transferred to the robot, had to
be constant and kept at no more than 200
The operation was to remove a gall bladder milliseconds.
in Strasbourg, France, using robotics linked
to a high-speed telephone line. It was called Robots are the future
'operation Lindbergh', after the American
aviator who was the first man to fly solo It took two and a half years to create the
across the Atlantic. high-power telephone line capable of reducing
the delSiY to an average of 150 milliseconds,
The operation took 54 minutes and was almost impossible to detect, by using a fibre
a complete success, with no risk to the optic line that transmitted 10 megabytes of
anonymous patient, a 68-year-old French computer memory per second.
woman. There were 80 people on hand, some
at each end, on standby in case things went Previous operations were practised on
wrong. animals before the human surgery was
performed.
The woman's gall bladder was removed by
keyhole surgery at the Strasbourg university Medical professors believe that it will soon
hospital, using a camera introduced into her be possible to perform operations anywhere
body through a small incision. This is now in the world. The present cost is a million
normal practice for keyhole procedures, but dollars for this kind of robot, but in a few
the difference was that the surgical team, years they will be a normal part of the
led by French professor Jacques Marescaux, surgical apparatus in all hospitals.

Comprehension and Summary

5 Fill in the gaps to complete the summary of Passage B. Use your own words.
Surgeons have proved it is possible to _ __ __ _ __ operations across thousands of miles
using _ _ __ __ _ _ _ . These are controlled by surgeons transferring movements by means
of high-speed telephone lines via cameras which have been _ _ _ _ __ __ into the patient's
body. Previous _ _ __ __ __ have been performed on animals. It has taken a quarter of a
_ _ _ _ __ __ to perfect the technology. Although the cost at present is _ _ _ _ _ __ _
it is expected that all hospitals in the future will have such _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Unit 8 o Medical notes 89

Language and Style

6a Note that practise and practice both occur in Passage B. Study the way the words have been used,
then consider the following similar pairs: advise and advice, license and licence, prophesy and
prophecy. Complete the rule below.

There is a small group of usually two-syllabled words which have a slightly different spelling for the

_ _ _ _ __ form and the ______ form. We spell the word with ans when we are referring

to the _ _ __ _ , but with a c when we are using the _ _ _ __

b Note the spelling in Passage B of controlled, transferred and transmitted, which double the final
consonant before adding -ed or -ing. List other two-syllabled verbs ending in l, r or t, usually with the
stress on the second syllable, which follow the same rule.

c Choose the correct spelling in the following pairs.

prefered preferred

offering offerring

transference transferrence

reference referrence

referal referral

deterent deterrent

7 Choose examples from Passage B of vocabulary and syntax which convey the idea of risk, and
explain why they have this effect.

90 Unit 8 o Medical notes

8 Headlines and titles often act as a summary of a text. Think of other short titles which could have
been used for Passages A and B to summarise their content.

Comprehension and Summary

9 Write the diary entry of the surgeon Professor Jacques Marescaux after the operation, commenting on
the history, process and success of the procedure.

Unit 8 o Medical notes 91

Directed Writing

10 Using material from Passages A and B, write a radio script in which Dr John Church and Professor
Jacques Marescaux argue that their own research is the future of medicine.
Doctor C: Surgeons will no longer be needed if diseases can be detected earlier.

92 Unit 8 o Medical notes

11 Study the leaflet below.

From its foundation in 1971, Medecins Sans Frontieres has been a living,
breathing, vital humanitarian presence in the world.
A group of frustrated French doctors were determined to create a union
of medical professionals and logistics experts who together could bring
humanitarian aid to whoever needed it, anywhere in the world. The charity
now has 2500 workers and covers 80 countries.
And so Medecins Sans Frontieres was born and with it a new vision and
direction for the world's humanitarian response to crisis. One which could
cut through the barriers of bureaucracy to bring aid swiftly and effectively to
the most vulnerable populations.
Today it is the world's largest independent international medical-relief
agency, helping victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-
made disasters. It is not affiliated to any government, religion or economic
power. This means, however, that the only financial support comes from
members of the public, private individuals committed to the cause.
Treatable diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia are still the leading
causes of death in the developing world. Floods and earthquakes are often
followed by malaria and cholera outbreaks. Because of its independence
and flexibility, Medecins Sans Frontieres can be at the scene of a medical
emergency within 24 hours, to provide medical equipment, examination kits
and essential drugs, and to set up functioning clinics.

Unit 8 o Medical notes 93

12 Write a charity appeal letter for the organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres. Explain simply the work
of the organisation and why money is needed.

94 Unit 8 o Medical notes