Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment

©Elena González Guerrero

EUROPEANS
CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The European Union

1. European countries. How many countries make up the European Union

nowadays? What do you know about them? Do the following activities :

1.a. Which are the hidden words? Unscramble the letters and give the
name of some countries. Then listen and check your answers:

AIPNS ______________ AIRONMA ______________

_ _
IUELBMG ______________ PRTOGUlA ______________
_ _
IEANRD ______________ DEANRMK ______________
_ _
AALTM ______________ STNEOAI ______________
_ _
PAONL ______________ AIUATRS ______________
_ _

1.b. Here are some other countries. Join their names to the phonologic
transcription. Pay attention to the pronunciation of /i:/ and /I/:

GREECE /|Îtêli/
FINLAND /¬lÎÔju|eÎiê/
ITALY /gri·s/
LITHUANIA /|swi·dên/
SWEDEN /|fÎnlênd/
1.c. What do the above countries have in common? There are another 12
countries that can also be grouped here. How many can you name?:

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero
1.d. What do you know about Spain? Join with arrows and then fill in the
„country identification card‟:

What‟s the name of the country? In 1986.

When did it join the European Union? The euro.
What‟s the capital of Spain? Constitutional monarchy.
What political system has Spain got? Spain.
What‟s the area of Spain? 45.8 million.
How many inhabitants has Spain got? Spanish.
What‟s the official language of Spain? 504782km²
What‟s the currency used in Spain? Madrid.

Member States of the EU

SPAIN

Year of entry:

Political system:

Capital city:

Total area:

Population:

Currency:

Official language:

1.e. What do you know about the other countries?

a. Work in pairs and exchange all the necessary information so that

you can complete the two cards your teacher will give you:
b. Share your information with the rest of your classmates and
make sure you complete the chart below:
c. Check your answers visiting the following website:
http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm
Click on each country, notice its location in the map and listen
to the official language. What is the role of the English language
in the EU? Do you think it is important to be able to
communicate in English?
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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

COUNTRY Year of EU Political Capital city Total area Population Currency Official
entry system language
Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech
Republic
Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United
Kingdom
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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

2. The history of the European Union. Read this text about the history of
the European Union and do the activities that follow:

The European Union was created with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between
neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. In 1950 the European Coal and Steel Community
began to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. The six
founders were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Moreover, in 1957 the
Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC), or “Common Market”.

The 1960’s was a good period for the economy, helped by the fact that EU countries stopped
charging custom duties when they traded with each other. They also agreed joint control over food
production, so that everybody had enough to eat.

Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Union on 1 January 1973, raising
the number of member states to nine. The EU regional policy started to transfer huge sums to create jobs
and infrastructure in poorer areas. The European Union increased its influence in EU affairs and in 1979 all
citizens could, for the first time, elect their members directly.

In 1981 Greece became the 10th member of the EU and Spain and Portugal followed five years
later. In 1987 the Single European Act was signed. This treaty provided the basis for a six-year programme
aimed at sorting out the problems with the free-flow of trade across EU borderers, creating the “Single
Market”.

In 1993 the Single Market was completed with the “four freedoms” of: movement of goods,
services, people and money. In this year the “Maastricht” Treaty on European Union was signed. The
Treaty of Amsterdam was signed in 1999. People were concerned about how to protect the environment
and also how Europeans could act together when it came to security and defence matters. Austria, Finland
and Sweden joined the European Union in 1995. The “Schengen” agreements allowed people to travel
without having their passports checked at the borders.

The euro became the common currency for most Europeans. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Cyprus and Malta became members in 2004 and Bulgaria
and Romania did the same in 2007. This year all the members signed the Treaty of Lisbon in order to deal
with global challenges such as climate change, security and sustainable development. In December 2009
EU ministers attended a climate change conference in Copenhagen. Many people think it is time for Europe
to have a constitution, but what sort of constitution is not easy to agree.

Text adapted from The History of the European Union

(http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm)

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

2.a. : Give a title to each paragraph. Choose from the following ones:

The creation of a single market A Europe without frontiers The first enlargement

The beginnings of cooperation A period of economic growth Current situation

2.b. : Say when each of these events happened:

a) The European Economic Community was created. ________

b) There was no hunger in the EU countries. ________
c) Spain became a member of the European Union. ________
d) The “Single Market” was created. ________
e) People, goods, money and services could move freely for the first time. ________
f) The Treaty of Lisbon was signed. ________

2.c. : Underline all the verbs in Past Simple in the text, using blue for
regular and red for irregular ones. Then, complete this chart:

REGULAR VERBS IRREGULAR VERBS

Base form Past simple Past Base form Past simple Past
Participle Participle

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
The Environment ©Elena González Guerrero

3. Climate Change. The European Union has taken a lot of initiatives

related to climate since the early 1990‟s. Thus, EU governments have
set limits on how much CO₂ factories are allowed to emit because
combating climate change is a key priority for the Union. What do you
know about climate change and global warming?

3.a. Read the text in the slide presentation on climate change and do
the activities that follow:

a. Answer these questions according to the information you

have read:

a) What is the difference between „climate‟ and „weather‟?

b) What is the cause of current high temperatures in the world?

c) Name four natural disasters caused by weather and climate.

d) What is the problem with European glaciers and polar ice? Why is this
happening?

e) What can you do to fight against climate change?

3.b. These are some sentences taken from the text you have read.
Underline the verbs and think about them. What tenses are they? Why
are those tenses used?:

Natural greenhouse gases help retain heat.

Scientists believe that humans are responsible.

Polar ice is melting and sea levels are rising at double the rate of 50 years ago.

Negotiations for a follow-up took place in December 2009 in Copenhagen.

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero
3.c. Read the following sentences taken from the text and notice the
verbs in bold type. They are in Present Perfect. Can you complete the
rule below?:

Europe’s temperatures have risen by 1ºC since 1850.

Extreme weather events have become more frequent.

Europe’s glaciers have lost two-thirds of their mass since 1850.

Man-made greenhouse gases emissions have increased to 10% since 1970.

EU countries have set targets for 2020.

Present Perfect consists of: auxiliary verb …………. + verb in …………..

3.d. Join the examples of Present Perfect on the left with the uses on
the right:

a. “The Copenhagen Climate Conference 1. Actions that began in the past and still
has just began”, said the journalist. continue, including the present time (usually
with „for‟ or „since‟).

b. Spain has been a member of the 2. Actions that happened at an unspecified

EU since 1986. point of time in the past.

c. Have you visited many European 3. Past actions with a consequence in the
countries? Yes, I have. present.

d. Europe‟s glaciers haven‟t kept 4. Recent past actions (usually with „just‟).
their mass.

3.e. Underline the verbs in Present Perfect in 3.d. and complete the
following rules:

The auxiliary verb for Present Perfect is …………. if the subject is third person singular.

Sentence structure for Present Perfect

Affirmative sentences: Subject + …………… + …………… + Complements.
Negative sentences: …………… + …………… + …………… + Complements.
Interrogative sentences: …………… + …………… + …………… + ……………?
Short answers: - Affirmative: Yes, …………… + ……………
- Negative: No, …………… + ……………

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

3.f. Complete the following sentences writing the verbs in brackets in

Present Perfect:

a) All the EU members ……………………. (sign) an important agreement.

b) Our school ……………………. (establish) some measures to recycle paper.
c) We ……………………. (not save) enough energy.
d) ………. Spain …………… (cut) man-made greenhouse gases emissions?
e) Many countries ……………………. (agree) to reduce their emissions.

3.g. Read the rules below and write „for‟ or „since‟ in the phrases below:

We use for to refer to a period of time and since to refer to a point of time.

a) Portugal has been an EU member ………. 1986.

b) The single market has existed ………. more than two decades.
c) Glaciers have lost mass ………. more than a century.
d) The ministers of the environment have been in the conference ………. some hours

3.h. Write the verbs in brackets in the appropriate tense. Choose

between Past Simple and Present Perfect:

a) The United Kingdom ……………………. (join) the European Union in 1973.

b) The European Union ……………….. (exist) since 1950.
c) Many rainforests ……………….. (disappear) in the last decades.
d) High temperatures ……………….. (cause) many forest fires last summer.

3.i. Watch a video about global warming and pay attention to the narrator‟s
explanation about its causes, effects and solutions. Then, answer the
questions below:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8zlQIagerM&feature=related)
a) What is global warming?
b) What is the greenhouse effect?
c) Name some elements that increase the greenhouse gases.
d) Name some effects of global warming.
e) Give some environmentally friendly sources of energy to produce power.
f) Give some ideas about things you can do at home to stop global warming.

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

3.j. There are many things we can do at home to stop climate change. Do
the following activities:

a) “The Sustenergy family used to be very careless with their

domestic appliances and the household chores. However, one day
they watched the news and now . . . they have changed.”
How have they changed? What have they learned? Watch the
video and continue the story:
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/campaign/resources/article_7360_en.htm)

b) Would you like to check the information in the video? Go to the

carbon calculator and mark the things you could easily do. How
many kgs of CO₂ could you change each year?
(http://www.mycarbonfootprint.eu/index.cfm?language=en)

3.k. There are also things we can do to take care of the environment when
we meet our friends. Listen to Gauthier. What does he do at his parties?
Then watch the subtitled video and check your answers:
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/campaign/podcast/01_english.mp4)
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/campaign/resources/videos_en.htm)

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 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

A cleaner Planet

4. Project. After all the information presented it is time we took action

and turned our polluted planet into a cleaner one. Follow these
instructions and enjoy the project:

4.a. Devote some time to look at the poster titled Our Polluted Planet
and think about the main problems it has.

4.b. Choose one of the pollution problems below and work on it either
individually or in pairs (according to your teacher‟s instructions):

1. Global warming 10. Fresh water shortage

2. Air pollution
3. Acid rain
4. Water pollution
in rivers, streams and lakes
5. Ocean water pollution
6. Extinction of animals
7. Deforestation
8. Soil pollution
9. Sound pollution
11. Erosion
12. Ozone depletion
13. Smog
14. Desertification
15. Industrial waste
16. Domestic waste
17. Indoor pollution
18. Food shortage

a) Read the information about the causes and effects of

pollution problems, visit the library and surf the Internet
(some sites are also provided below) in order to complete the
card.
b) Bear in mind that you will include information about the main
reasons that cause the problem, the effects the problem has
had on the environment and the things we should do to stop
it.

c) Stick your complete card on the back of the poster card for
a clean planet. Present your findings to your classmates and
stick your clean Earth card on the picture of the polluted
planet.

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Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

PROBLEM: ……………….
CAUSES:
……………………………….
……………………………….
……………………………….
EFFECTS:
……………………………….
……………………………….

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……………………………….
MEASURES:
……………………………….
………………………………..
………………………………..
-…………………….
 Didactic Unit: Europeans Care for the Environment
©Elena González Guerrero

Climate Change Quiz

5. Final Quiz. Are you a climate change hero? How much have you
learnt? How much can you do? Test your knowledge in this online
quiz:
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/campaign/quiz/quiz_en.htm)

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