On Screen p 120. The Weather and Climate Change. Extra Speaking

1. MONOLOGUE. Prepare a talk of AT LEAST 5 minutes on the subject. You may use the pictures above and the contents below if you wish:

"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."

  -Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American inventor and businessman.-

How does climate change cause extreme weather? Are those who downplay climate change clutching at straws with no evidence to back their claim? Do people who claim that climate change is a hoax have an axe to grind? To what extent are wind turbines and solar panels the answer to climate change? Would you mind having an offshore wind farm near Mallorca?  What other sources of renewable energy do you know? What else could be done  to address the threat of climate change? Should we let nature take its course? Do you think we are going to weather the storm?



You may make some notes for your talk to take into the exam. These should not exceed five lines.


2. INTERACTION

In this part of the test, the examiner will ask you some questions about issues related to the TOPIC. Remember that you are expected to have a conversation as natural as possible and give full answers. This part of the examination will last AT LEAST 5 minutes. You will not see the questions below.

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TEACHER'S QUESTIONS  

1. What could be done to prevent air pollution from soaring above safety levels and in so doing avoid the depletion of the ozone layer?
2. Should speed limits be reduced in order to stop cars from whizzing, whooshing and zooming along the motorway? What would be the benefits and drawbacks of such a measure? Discuss how it could minimize traffic-related fatalities, why higher speeds contribute to higher risk of serious injuries, whether lower speed limits on motorways reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions and therefore help to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
3. What is the environmental impact of planes hurtling overhead on our island?  Are aircraft major contributors of carbon emissions to the atmosphere?
4.  Nearly half of all ocean pollution comes from activities that take place on land. Plastic pollution comes in all shapes and sizes. Larger pieces of plastic waste make up the Eastern Garbage Patch, a floating whirlpool of trash in the Pacific ocean that’s about the size of Spain. If this were not enough, agricultural run-off containing pesticides and fertilizers, sewage, garbage dumping, and chemical spills are polluting our oceans and creating huge dead zones —oxygen-depleted areas like the Mar Menor, where many marine species struggle to survive. And on top of all this oil spills also carry serious consequences. What are the solutions you propose?
5. There seems to be almost no limit to the damage people can cause to our planet. The signs and impacts of global warming are speeding up. What vital signs of climate change and global warming have you already experienced in your lifetime?
6. Governments in some countries are due to present new measures to reduce air pollution. These include financial support to insulate people's homes and to buy electric cars. What other measure do you think could be effective? What could be the next natural step?
7. A friend of yours is keyed up because he is about to refurbish his house. He is considering having double-glazing fitted and he is also exploring the option of having underfloor heating installed. What advice would you give him? What else can he do to become more environmentally friendly?
8. If you had to write a notice to raise awareness about environmental issues, what message would you write in big red letters so that it would stick out?
9. In some cities people can see how the smoke of carbon dioxide is drifting towards their windows. What measures aim to reduce the impact of fossil fuels burning in our cities? What could be better regulated or even banned?
10. Will some political parties eventually grudgingly agree to exploit renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power? Are offshore wind farms a solution you would go along with? Would you install a solar panel or a wind turbine on your property?
11. What precautions /prɪˈkɔːʃnz/ do you take when gales are expected in your area? 
12. What is your opinion about tourists who lie basking in the bright sunshine for a long time in the summer?
13. Describe how the effects of a storm surge can impact the lives of the people living in your area and the economy of the community.
14. Do you find the sound of wind howling, thunder rumbling and lightning striking eerie? Do you have an anecdote? 
15. Do you know anyone who goes swimming in all weathers? How do you think it feels? What do you do, come rain or shine?
16. Have you ever been disappointed by a fair-weather friend?
17. Tell us about the last time you felt under the weather. 






Vocabulary
Part 1 Pictures

• Weather forecast: a description, for example on the radio or television, of what the weather will be like tomorrow or for the next few days. E.g. There's a good weather forecast for tomorrow.
• Forecaster /ˈfɔːkɑːstə(r)/ a person who says what is expected to happen, especially somebody whose job is to forecast the weather. E.g. a weather forecaster. An economic forecaster.
• Weatherman (pl. weathermen)/ weathergirl: a person on radio or television whose job is describing the weather and telling people what it is going to be like.
• Weather map: a map showing the weather conditions over a large area at a particular time.

• The after-effects of the storm could prove to be more serious than previously thought.
• flatten something to destroy or knock down a building, tree, etc. E.g. Most of the factory was flattened by the explosion.
• Aftermath /ˈɑːftəmæθ/ the situation that exists as a result of an important (and usually unpleasant) event, especially a war, an accident, etc. Sp. tras, repercusiones. E.g. A lot of rebuilding took place in the aftermath of the war. The assassination of the Prime Minister and its immediate aftermath. 
• Clear-up (the process of removing rubbish and tidying things. E.g. a massive clear-up operation)
• Death toll the number of people killed in an accident, a war, a disaster, etc. E.g. The death toll has now risen to 200
• Debris /ˈdeɪbriː/ /ˈdebriː/ pieces of wood, metal, brick, etc. that are left after something has been destroyed. Sp. escombros, restos. E.g. Emergency teams are still clearing the debris from the plane crash. Several people were injured by flying debris in the explosion.
• Wreckage:  /ˈrekɪdʒ/ the parts of a vehicle, building, etc. that remain after it has been badly damaged or destroyed. E.g. A few survivors were pulled from the wreckage. Pieces of wreckage were found ten miles away from the scene of the explosion.
• freak: /friːk/ (adj) 1. (of an event or the weather) very unusual and unexpected. E.g. a freak accident/ storm/ occurrence. Freak weather conditions. A freak storm (Sp. una tormenta inesperada). 
• freak (n) 1. a person with a very strong interest in a particular subject. E.g. a health/fitness/jazz, etc. freak. 2. a person who is considered to be unusual because of the way they behave, look or think. E.g. She was treated like a freak because she didn't want children. He's going out with a real freak.
• quirky: (adj) (of an aspect of somebody's personality or behaviour) a little strange. Peculiar. E.g. a quirky sense of humour. 
• erratic:  /ɪˈrætɪk/ not happening at regular times; not following any plan or regular pattern; that you cannot rely on. E.g. Irrigation measures will be necessary in areas of erratic rainfall. Erratic weather. The electricity supply here is quite erratic.
• The elements [plural] the weather, especially bad weather. E.g. Are we going to brave the elements and go for a walk? To be exposed to the elements. Rock climbers sometimes have to battle the elements in order to reach the summit
• make landfall 

• blizzard: a snowstorm with very strong winds. Sp. ventisca, tormenta de nieve. E.g. blizzard conditions. The blizzard was still raging outside. The storm is unleashing blizzard conditions in parts of the country. 
• unleash /ʌnˈliːʃ / something (on/upon somebody/something) to suddenly let a strong force, emotion, etc. be felt or have an effect. Sp. soltar, desencadenar, desatar. E.g. The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press.
• Brass monkeys/ brass monkey weather (British English, slang) if you say that it is brass monkeys or brass monkey weather, you mean that it is very cold weather. 
• Cold snap: a sudden short period of very cold weather.
• wrap up | wrap somebody up | wrap yourself up to put warm clothes on somebody/yourself. E.g. She told them to wrap up warm/warmly. 
• wellington: (also welly) one of a pair of long rubber boots, usually reaching almost up to the knee, that you wear to stop your feet getting wet. E.g. a pair of wellingtons/ wellies.

 

• Drought: /draʊt/ a long period of time when there is little or no rain. E.g. two years of severe drought. One of the worst droughts on record. The country's entire grain harvest has been hit by drought. 
• Weather-beaten: (especially of a person or their skin) rough and damaged because the person spends a lot of time outside. E.g. The weather-beaten face of an old sailor.
• Heatwave: /ˈhiːtweɪv/ a period of unusually hot weather.

Part 1. Questions

• Tackle something to make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or situation. E.g. The government is determined to tackle inflation. I think I'll tackle the repairs next weekend. Firefighters tackled a blaze in a garage last night.
• Downplay something: to make people think that something is less important than it really is. Play down. E.g. The coach is downplaying the team's poor performance.
• Clutch at straws: to try all possible means to find a solution or some hope in a difficult or unpleasant situation, even though this seems very unlikely. Aferrarse desesperadamente a una esperanza. E.g. I know I'm just clutching at straws here, but is it possible that the doctors are wrong? They were really clutching at straws when they observed animal and bird behaviour and linked it to the weather. 
• hoax  /həʊks/ an act intended to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially something unpleasant. Sp. engaño, fraude. E.g. a bomb hoax. Hoax calls. The emergency call turned out to be a hoax.
• have an axe to grind: to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause. E.g. She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety. These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind.
• Wind turbine: /ˈwɪnd tɜːbaɪn/ a type of modern windmill used for producing electricity.
• Solar panel: a piece of equipment on a roof that uses light and heat energy from the sun to produce hot water and electricity.
• Offshore: happening or existing in the sea, not far from the land. E.g. offshore drilling. An offshore island. 
• Wind farm: an area on which there are a lot of windmills or wind turbines for producing electricity.
• Renewable energy: is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat, which are renewable.
• Water power: power produced by the movement of water, used to drive machinery or produce electricity.
• Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of power that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity.
• Wave power: power extracted from the motion of sea waves at the coast.
• Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth.
• Address: to think about a problem or a situation and decide how you are going to deal with it. E.g.  Address something. Your essay does not address the real issues. Address yourself to something We must address ourselves to the problem of traffic pollution.
• Curb something: /kɜːb/ to control or limit something, especially something bad. E.g. Curb air pollution. Curb water pollution.
• Reduce (the size of) your carbon footprint: a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by the daily activities of a person or company. E.g. Flying is the biggest contribution to my carbon footprint. An analysis of the carbon footprints of leading companies. Companies are measuring their carbon footprints.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions  /iˈmɪʃnz/
• Preserve natural resources
• Protect endangered species
• Prevent/ stop soil erosion/ overfishing/ massive deforestation/ damage to ecosystems
• Raise awareness of environmental issues 
• Use recycled/ recyclable/ biodegradable material
• Recycle bottles/ packaging/ paper/ plastic/ waste
• Promote/ encourage recycling/ sustainable development/ the use of renewable energy.  
• Develop/ invest in/ promote renewable energy. 
• Reduce your dependence/ reliance on fossil fuels.
• Get/ obtain/ generate/ produce electricity from wind, solar and wave power/ renewable sources. Build/ develop a (50-megawatt /ˈmeɡəwɒt/ /offshore) wind farm.
• Install solar panels. 
• Run/take its course: to develop in the usual way and come to the usual end. E:g. When her tears had run their course, she felt calmer and more in control. With minor ailments the best thing is often to let nature take its course.
• Weather something to come safely through a difficult period or experience. E.g. The company just managed to weather the recession. She refuses to resign, intending to weather the storm (= wait until the situation improves again).
• depletion: /dɪˈpliːʃn/ the reduction of something by a large amount so that there is not enough left. Sp. disminución, reducción. E.g. ozone depletion. The depletion of the ozone layer (Sp.la destrucción de la capa de ozono). The depletion of fish stocks.
• renewable: (of energy and natural resources) that is replaced naturally or controlled carefully and can therefore be used without the risk of finishing it. E.g. all renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.
• renewables (N) (plural) (Renewables are more commonly referred to as renewable energy (sources))types of energy that can be replaced naturally such as energy produced from wind or water. E.g. renewables such as hydro-electricity and solar energy. Investment in renewables
• non-renewable: (of natural resources such as gas or oil) that cannot be replaced after use the need to protect. E.g. non-renewable resources. Non-renewable energy sources. Fossil fuels are non-renewable and rapidly running out. 
• sustainable: involving the use of natural products and energy in a way that does not harm the environment. E.g. sustainable forest management. An environmentally sustainable society.
• unsustainable: that cannot be continued at the same level, rate, etc. E.g. unsustainable growth.
• infinite: /ˈɪnfɪnət/ without limits; without end. E.g. infinite sources of energy.
• finite: /ˈfaɪnaɪt/  having a definite limit or fixed size. E.g. a finite number of possibilities. The world's resources are finite.

 Part 2

• Gale: an extremely strong wind. E.g. The gale blew down hundreds of trees. Gale-force winds. It's blowing a gale outside (= a strong wind is blowing).
• Bask (in something): to enjoy sitting or lying in the heat or light of something, especially the sun. Sp. disfrutar del sol. E.g. We sat basking in the warm sunshine. A cat was basking on the windowsill.
• Sun yourself to sit or lie in a place where the sun is shining on you. E.g. We lay sunning ourselves on the deck. 
• Sunbathe to sit or lie in the sun, especially in order to go brown (get a suntan). E.g. We spent the day sunbathing and swimming.
• Storm surge: a rising of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm. 
• Howl: /haʊl/ (of the wind) to blow hard and make a long loud noise. Sp. aullar. E.g. The wind was howling around the house.
• Rumble /ˈrʌmbl/ (V) to make a long deep sound or series of sounds. E.g. The machine rumbled as it started up. Thunder rumbling in the distance.
• rumble (of something) (N) a long deep sound or series of sounds. E.g. the rumble of thunder
• Clap: a sudden loud noise. E.g. a clap of thunder.
• bolt/ flash of lightning a sudden flash of lightning in the sky, appearing as a line.
• Lightning strike:  an incident in which lightning hits somebody/something.
• Eerie strange, mysterious and frightening. E.g. I found the silence underwater really eerie.  
• In all weathers: (British English) in all kinds of weather, good and bad. E.g. She goes out jogging in all weathers. They work outdoors in all weathers.
• Come rain, come shine |(come) rain or shine whether there is rain or sun; whatever happens. E.g. He goes jogging every morning, rain or shine.
• Fair-weather behaving in a particular way or doing a particular activity only when it is pleasant for them. E.g. a fair-weather friend (= somebody who stops being a friend when you are in trouble)  
• Under the weather: (informal) if you are or feel under the weather, you feel slightly ill/ sick and not as well as usual.

Other words and expressions
freak: (of an event or the weather) very unusual and unexpected. E.g. a freak accident/storm/occurrence. freak weather conditions.

ferocious: /fəˈrəʊʃəs/ very aggressive or violent; very strong. E.g. a ferocious beast/attack/storm. a man driven by ferocious determination. ferocious opposition to the plan.

erratic: /ɪˈrætɪk/ not happening at regular times; not following any plan or regular pattern; that you cannot rely.  unpredictable. E.g. The electricity supply here is quite erratic. She had learnt to live with his sudden changes of mood and erratic behaviour. Mary is a gifted but erratic player (= she does not always play well). Irrigation measures will be necessary in areas of erratic rainfall. their increasingly erratic policy decisions.

harness something to control and use the force or strength of something to produce power or to achieve something. E.g. attempts to harness the sun’s rays as a source of energy. We must harness the skill and creativity of our workforce. How can this energy be harnessed effectively for the good of humankind? They are attempting to harness the power of the sun.  

batten down the hatches: to prepare yourself for a period of difficulty or trouble. E.g. A natural tendency in times of recession is to batten down the hatches and think about our own needs. 

brace somebody/yourself (for something) | brace somebody/yourself (to do something) to prepare somebody/yourself for something difficult or unpleasant that is going to happen. E.g. UN troops are braced for more violence. They are bracing themselves for a long legal battle. 

hunker down: to prepare yourself to stay somewhere, keep an opinion, etc. for a long time. E.g. We were told to hunker down during the storm. 

On Screen p 21. Immigration. Speaking

1. MONOLOGUE. Prepare a talk of AT LEAST 5 minutes on the subject. You may use the pictures above and the contents below if you wish:
"To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war"
-Winston Churchill-  
Why is the refugee crisis all over the news? How is this related to the political situation in some countries? Do military interventions make any difference? Do you think that launching air campaigns make our countries safer places? Are you absolutely convinced that diplomatic campaigns are feasible and more convenient? Do you agree with Churchill's quote "To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war"? Is it feasible to stem the haemorrhage of people being displaced by armed conflict? How can our governments deal with the increasing number of insurgents in the West?

You may make some notes for your talk to take into the exam. These should not exceed five lines.



2. INTERACTION

In this part of the test, the examiner will ask you some questions about topics related to the TOPIC. Remember that you are expected to have a conversation as natural as possible and give full answers. This part of the examination will last AT LEAST 5 minutes. You will not see the questions below. 

 

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TEACHER'S QUESTIONS

1. How has climate change played a role in the displacement of people in certain parts of the world?
2. In what way does immigration positively contribute to the enhancement of a country?
3. Have any of your acquaintances moved to a foreign country? Why?
4. Do you know anyone who has come to live in Spain from another country? Why have they? Are they seeking asylum or are they economic migrants? Do these people have any problems about living away from home?
5. What would you sorely miss about Spain if you went to live abroad?
6. What would be your expectations about living in a different country? What do you think immigrants hope to find when they come here? Are their expectations over-optimistic or realistic? Does the reality of what they find fall short of their expectations?
7. What would be your worst fear or the greatest problem you might be faced with? Would you be concerned that you might be discriminated against? Why do you think discrimination exists? Have you experienced discrimination on a personal level? Do immigrants assimilate easily?
8. What are some things you could do to make your move easier? 
9. Do you think that more measures to curb the number of migrants entering the EU should be put in place? When do you think immigrants should be deported? Do you feel sorry for those refugees who face deportation?
10. Should asylum seekers be granted a work permit?
11. Are detention centres necessary?





Useful language 

1. MONOLOGUE: PICTURES

Picture A
refugee: /ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/ a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons. E.g. a steady flow of refugees from the war zone. Political/ economic refugees.  
A refugee camp.
Makeshift: /ˈmeɪkʃɪft/ used temporarily for a particular purpose because the real thing is not available. Provisional. A makeshift camp/ hospital.  

Flock: to go or gather together somewhere in large numbers. E.g. + adv./prep. Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend. Hordes of refugees are flocking out of Syria everyday.
Horde: /hɔːd/ a large crowd of people. E.g. Hordes of tourists arrive in Italy every June. Millions of refugees are fleeing Syria in hordes.  

Rubble: broken stones or bricks from a building or wall that has been destroyed or damaged. E.g. The bomb reduced the houses to rubble. In the aftermath of the air strikes there were piles of rubble everywhere. 
The war pushes them to leave. 

Picture B
Banner: a long piece of cloth with a message on it that is carried between two poles or hung in a public place to show support for something. E.g. A huge banner over the street said ‘Welcome home’. Protesters carried a banner reading ‘Save our Wildlife’.
Placard: /ˈplækɑːd/ a large written or printed notice that is put in a public place or carried on a stick in a march. E.g. The protesters gathered together in front of the embassy with placards that denounced the president's crimes. They were carrying placards and banners demanding that he resign.
It's always easier to stereotype and judge than it is to look beneath the surface and "see" the forest, not just the trees... Who would not walk through a dessert, cross an ocean or do whatever it took to feed their children? I'd crawl over glass if that's what it took. The laws of a nation need to be enforced (Sp. hacer cumplir), but we do not need to lose our compassion and empathy for people in a desperate situation in order to do so.
not see the forest/wood for the trees: to not see or understand the main point about something, because you are paying too much attention to small details.

Picture C
small boat. Sp. patera. The small rubber boat is packed.  
dinghy: a small open boat. They bundle up (Sp. abrigar) their children and take the smugglers' rubber dinghies to Europe.   

Life jacket/ Life vest   

Lifebelt: a large ring made of material that floats well, that is used to rescue somebody who has fallen into water, to prevent them from drowning. 

Lifeboat Jet-ski: Sp. moto acuática. They are doing jet-skiing.  

Capsize (something): /kæpˈsaɪz/ if a boat capsizes or something capsizes it, it turns over in the water. E.g. The boat capsized and sank.
Shipwreck: the loss or destruction of a ship at sea because of a storm or because it hits rocks, etc. E.g. They narrowly escaped shipwreck in a storm in the North Sea. The shipwreck of the tanker has caused one of the worst oil spills in recent years.
be shipwrecked: to be left somewhere after the ship that you have been sailing in has been lost or destroyed at sea. E.g.  They were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa. A shipwrecked sailor.
castaway: a person whose ship has sunk (= who has been shipwrecked) and who has had to swim to a lonely place, usually an island. 
The refugees/ illegal immigrants have been rescued by the coast guards.
The boat might have been adrift for some days (Sp. a la deriva)
The coast guard ship took the boat in tow and brought it into the harbour.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just think about how bad their life must have been. They are desperate. I do feel sorry for them.
Ellis Island in the New York Harbour was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. The Greek islands seem to be the gateway for Syrian refugees.
Immigrants typically face a difficult journey. Most of them have been ripped off by smugglers. They travel in cramped (Sp. apretado) rubber boats. They often experience overcrowding (Sp. masificación) and seasickness.  
stowaway: /ˈstəʊəweɪ/ a person who hides in a ship or plane before it leaves, in order to travel without paying or being seen. Someone who stows away in a vehicle, ship, or plane. E.g. If someone is to survive as a stowaway then they have to get into an area of the plane that is pressurised and warm. He travelled as a stowaway on a freight ship at the age of fourteen. Authorities at the port and tunnel have stepped up efforts to thwart (frustrate) stowaways, making it harder for migrants to get through on their own.
stow away to hide in a ship, plane, etc. in order to travel secretly. E.g. At the age of 13 he had stowed away on a ship bound for Rio.

MONOLOGUE: QUESTIONS

air strike: an attack made by aircraft. 

Be opposed to/ in favour of air strikes. jingoist: /ˈdʒɪŋɡəʊɪst/ (disapproving) someone who ​believes that ​their own ​country is always ​best. E.g. He was a ​confirmed jingoist and would ​frequently ​speak about the ​dangers of ​Britain ​forming ​closer ​ties with the ​rest of ​Europe.  

jingoism: /ˈdʒɪŋɡəʊɪzəm/ (disapproving) a strong belief that your own country is best, especially when this is expressed in support of war with another country. E.g. Patriotism can ​turn into jingoism and ​intolerance very ​quickly.
jingoistic: /ˌdʒɪŋɡəʊˈɪstɪk/ (disapproving) adj. showing a strong belief that your own country is best, especially when this is expressed in support of war with another country. E.g. Can patriotism in the USA be too jingoistic?
Chauvinist: /ˈʃəʊvɪnɪst/ a person who has an aggressive and unreasonable belief that their own country is better than all others.

chauvinism: an aggressive and unreasonable belief that your own country is better than all others. E.g. It was a typical case of British chauvinism and insularity. National/cultural chauvinism. chauvinistic: showing an aggressive and unreasonable belief that your own country is better than all others. E.g. chauvinistic nationalism.  

Military action/intervention/ operations will/ won't make any difference

insurgent: a person fighting against the government or armed forces of their own country. rebel. E.g. an attack by armed insurgents.
radicalise: to make a person, group, or system more radical  

  the West: Europe, N America and Canada, contrasted with Eastern countries. E.g. I was born in Japan, but I've lived in the West for some years now.  

Good intelligence  

In the short/ long term, launching an air campaign will make our country a more dangerous place. Bombing alone won't do it. It is no guarantee of success.

If we draw an analogy with what happened in Iraq /with Al-Qaeda ...

ethnic cleansing: (used especially in news reports) the policy of forcing the people of a particular race or religion to leave an area or a country. E.g.  All the speakers at the conference condemned the so-called ‘ethnic cleansing’.
Civilian casualties Collateral damage: the government denied that there had been any  

collateral damage (= injury to ordinary people or buildings) during the bombing raid. If bombs go stray and a hospital/school is hit they call it collateral damage.

 
stem something to stop something that is flowing from spreading or increasing. E.g. The cut was bandaged to stem the bleeding. They discussed ways of stemming the flow of smuggled drugs. 
 

haemorrhage: /ˈhemərɪdʒ/ haemorrhage (of somebody/something) a serious loss of people, money, etc. from a country, a group or an organization. E.g. Poor working conditions have led to a steady haemorrhage of qualified teachers from our schools.  

displace somebody to force people to move away from their home to another place. E.g. Around 10,000 people have been displaced by the fighting. If the dam is built it will displace 100 000 people. 
 

 

Sample answer:

Question: Why is the refugee crisis all over the news? How is this related to Syria? Why should we care at all? 
Sample answer:
In the summer of 2015, Europe experienced the highest influx of refugees since the Second World War. The main reason is that Syria has become the world’s top source of refugees.
Syria is located in the Middle East, an ancient fertile land settled for at least 10,000 years. Since the 1960s, it’s been led by the al-Assad family, who have ruled it as quasi-dictators until the Arab Spring happened in 2011, a revolutionary wave of protests and conflicts in the Arab world that toppled many authoritarian regimes. But the Assads refused to step down and started a brutal civil war. Different ethnicities and religious groups fought each other in changing coalitions. ISIS, a militaristic jihadist group, used the opportunity and entered the chaos with the goal to build a totalitarian Islamic caliphate.
Very quickly, it became one of the most violent and successful extremist organizations on Earth. All sides committed horrible war crimes, using chemical weapons, mass executions, torture on a large scale, and repeated deadly attacks on civilians. The Syrian population was trapped between the regime, rebel groups, and the religious extremists. A third of the Syrian people have been displaced within Syria, while over four million have fled the country. The vast majority of them reside now in camps in the neighbouring countries, who are taking care of 95% of the refugees, while the Arab states of the Persian Gulf together have accepted zero Syrian refugees, which has been called especially shameful by Amnesty International. The UN and the World Food Program were not prepared for a refugee crisis on this scale. As a result, many refugee camps are crowded and under-supplied, subjecting people to cold, hunger, and disease.
The Syrians lost hope that their situation will be getting better any time soon, so many decided to seek asylum in Europe. Between 2007 and 2014, the European Union had invested about €2 billion in defences, high-tech security technology, and border patrols,but not a lot in preparation for an influx of refugees. So it was badly prepared for the storm of asylum seekers. In the EU, a refugee has to stay in the state they arrived in first, which put enormous pressure on the border states that were already in trouble. Greece, in the midst of an economic crisis on the scale of the Great Depression, was not able to take care of so many people at once, leading to terrible scenes of desperate, hungry people on islands usually reserved for tourists.
The world needed to come together and act as a united front, but, instead, it has become more divided. Many states downright refused to take in any refugees, leaving the border states alone in their struggle.
In 2014, the UK lobbied to stop a huge search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum that was designed to stop asylum seekers from drowning in the Mediterranean. The idea seems to have been that a higher death toll on the sea would mean fewer asylum seekers trying to make the journey. But, of course, in reality, that’s not what happened.
The perception of the crisis around the world suddenly changed when photos circulated of a dead boy from Syria found lying face down on a beach in Turkey. Germany announced that it will, without exception, accept all Syrian refugees, and is now preparing to take in 800,000 people in 2015, more than the entire EU took in 2014, only to impose temporary border controls a few days later and demand an EU-wide solution.
All over the West, more and more people are beginning to take action, although support for asylum seekers has mostly come from citizens, not from politicians. But there are fears in the Western world: Islam, high birth rates, crime, and the collapse of the social systems. Let’s acknowledge this and look at the facts.
Even if the EU alone were to accept all four million Syrian refugees and 100% of them were Muslims, the percentage of Muslims in the European Union would only rise from about 4% to about 5%. This is not a drastic change and will certainly not make it a Muslim continent. A Muslim minority is neither new nor reason to be afraid. Birth rates in many parts of the Western world are low, so some fear asylum seekers might overtake the native population in a few decades.
Studies have shown that even though birth rates are higher among Muslims in Europe, they drop and adjust as the standard of living and level of education rises. Most Syrian refugees already are educated, the birth rate in Syria before the civil war was not very high, and the population was actually shrinking, not growing.
The fear that refugees lead to higher crime rates also turns out to be wrong. Refugees who become immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native population. When allowed to work, they tend to start businesses and integrate themselves into the workforce as fast as possible, paying more into the social systems than they extract from them. Syrians coming to the West are potential professional workers, desperately needed to sustain Europe’s ageing population.
Refugees’ travelling with smart phones has led to the misconception that they’re not really in need of help. Social media and the internet have become a vital part of being a refugee. GPS is used to navigate the long routes to Europe; Facebook groups give tips and information about obstacles in real time. This only proves that these people are like us: if you had to make a dangerous journey, would you leave your phone behind?
The European Union is the wealthiest bunch of economies on Earth, well-organized states with functioning social systems, infrastructure, democracy, and huge industries. It can handle the challenge of the refugee crisis if it wants to. The same can be said for the whole Western world. But while tiny Jordan has taken in over 600,000 Syrian refugees, the UK, which has 78 times the GDP of Jordan, has only said it will allow 20,000 Syrians across its borders over the next five years. The US has agreed to accept 10,000, Australia 12,000 people.
Overall, things are slowly getting better, but not fast enough.
We are writing history right now. How do we want to be remembered? As xenophobic rich cowards behind fences?
We have to realize that these people fleeing death and destruction are no different from us. By accepting them into our countries and integrating them into our societies, we have much to gain. There is only something to be lost if we ignore this crisis. More dead children are sure to wash ashore if we don’t act with humanity and reason.
Let’s do this right and try to be the best we possibly can be.



2. INTERACTION 

Question 2

enhancement: /ɪnˈhɑːnsmənt/ the act of increasing or further improving the good quality, value or status of somebody/something. E.g. equipment for the enhancement of sound quality. Software enhancements. The devotion of the foreign workers to the enhancement of our country's economy is a fact that cannot be neglected.
enhance something : /ɪnˈhɑːns/ to increase or further improve the good quality, value or status of somebody/something. E.g. This is an opportunity to enhance the reputation of the company. Many of the immigrants bring new cultural practices with them, which also enhance our culture.
Question 4  

economic migrant: a person who moves from their own country to a new country in order to find work or have a better standard of living. E.g. They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants.  

asylum (also political asylum) [uncountable] protection that a government gives to people who have left their own country, usually because they were in danger for political reasons. E.g. to seek/apply for/be granted asylum. There was a nationwide debate on whether the asylum laws should be changed.  
All of these immigrants are looking for free land, freedom of worship, or adventure, or running away from oppressive governments.
Question 6  

Despite the hardships, immigrants hold on to their hopes.
They hope to find work and other people from their homelands. Life in Europe is often very different from life in their own country. Therefore, many immigrants move into neighbourhoods with other people of the same nationality. In these neighbourhoods they can hear their own language, eat familiar foods, and keep their customs.
Even with neighbourhood support, immigrants often find city life difficult. Many immigrants live in tenements (poorly built, overcrowded apartments). They often have to work under exhausting conditions.
Most of these immigrants have little money and know little Spanish. These factors force most of them to take low-paid unskilled industrial jobs. Many of these jobs are in the construction industry. Longer hours are also common.
Although wages are relatively low, they are often higher than those that most immigrants can earn in their home countries.
Some immigrants work long hours for little pay in small shops or factories located in or near working-class neighbourhoods. These workplaces are called sweatshops because of the long hours and often unhealthy working conditions.
Question 7

migrate, migration, migrant

immigrate, immigration, immigrant

emigrate, emigration, emigrant  

assimilate, assimilation assimilate: to become, or allow somebody to become, a part of a country or community rather than remaining in a separate group. E.g. assimilate (into/to something) New arrivals find it hard to assimilate. Many new immigrants have not yet assimilated fully into the new culture. Assimilate somebody (into/to something) Immigrants have been successfully assimilated into the community. 

integrate, integration  

segregate, segregation  

ostracise, ostracism  

ostracise: ostracise somebody (formal) to refuse to let somebody be a member of a social group; to refuse to meet or talk to somebody. E.g. He was ostracised by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. The regime risks being ostracised by the international community.  Some Muslim communities are becoming increasingly ostracised.

ostracism: the act of deliberately not including somebody in a group or activity; the state of not being included. E.g. With U.S. Ebola fear running high, African immigrants face ostracism. Anti-immigrant feelings have grown along with the rise in immigration. Some people fear that too many new immigrants are being allowed into the country. Some also hold racial and religious prejudices against immigrants.
Question 9

curb: /kɜːb/ curb something to control or limit something, especially something bad.  E.g. Measures to curb the number of migrants entering the UK from Calais have been put in place this week by the UK.  

put something in place: set up, establish E.g. the rules which we shall put in place in the months ahead meet these criteria.  

deport somebody to force somebody to leave a country, usually because they have broken the law or because they have no legal right to be there. E.g.  He was convicted of drug offences and deported. Many refugees were forcibly( /ˈfɔːsəbli/ using physical force) deported back to the countries they had come from.   

deportation: the act of forcing somebody to leave a country, usually because they have broken the law or because they have no legal right to be there. E.g. Several of the asylum seekers now face deportation.
Question 10 

asylum seeker: a person who has been forced to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country asking to be allowed to stay there   

work permit: an official document that somebody needs in order to work in a particular foreign country.  
Many immigrants seek work and new lives in Europe.
Question 11  

detention centre: a place where people are kept in detention, especially people who have entered a country illegally. E.g. They are confined in a detention centre for asylum seekers, and forced to prove their refugee status.