8 de julio de 2009

Lengua Extranjera - 3º A - Prof.: Ercilia Bellusci
Alumno/a:.................................
(Fecha de entrega: durante el receso por este medio o en la primera semana de agosto’09)
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Follow the instructions (points 1 to 6) and complete the task.

500 places to see before they die


1 Warmer

Where in the world can you find these places? Mark each place on the map (write location and country). Then read the article to check your answers.

a) Battersea power station
b) The Nazca lines
c) The Everglades
d) Little Italy
e) the Holderness Coast













2 Key words

Match these key words with the definitions.

devastation - landmark - rare - disappear - at risk - diverted - marine life - mercury - Regency - gloom - ancient - architectural

1. To vanish, to go and never return. (para 1)
2. Opposite of common. Unusual. (para 1)
3. Damage and destruction affecting a large area or a lot of people. (para 2)
4. A famous building or object that you recognize easily. (para 3)
5. Another way of saying in danger. (para 3)
6. A poisonous silver liquid metal (used in thermometers). (para 4)
7. When the course or way has been changed. (para 5)
8. Things that live in the sea. (para 5)
9. Very old. (para 5)
10. Relating to buildings. (para 6)
11. A period in history – the time from 1811 to 1820 before George IV became King of
England (para 7)
12. Bad depressing news, the feeling of having no hope. (para 8)


* ( ‘para’ = paragraph )



Article

500 places to see before they die


A new guidebook for travellers shows the sites most at risk

Amelia Hill, social affairs correspondent
October 26, 2008

1
The first guidebook of ‘last chance’ holidays will be published tomorrow for travellers who want to visit the most endangered tourist destinations across the world. Frommer’s 500 Places To See Before They Disappear lists places where it is still possible to see rare animals, special landscapes and cultural sights.
2
Holly Hughes, one of the authors and a former executive editor of Fodor’s Travel Publications, said: “We all know about devastation brought on by climate change and humans. But this book is a list of last-chance destinations that travellers can visit – if they go soon – for possibly the last time.”
3
According to Hughes and co-author Larry West, a journalist, more than 20 of Britain’s best-loved landmarks have a place in their book. The Tower of London and Greenwich Maritime Museum, for example, are at risk from rising sea levels which could cause the River Thames to flood.
4
Hughes suggests that tourists go to the Everglades in southern Florida. This ecosystem which is filled with rare animals, birds, fish and plants is disappearing very quickly. Already half has been lost to farms and towns. Low water levels and pollution have put the rest of the Everglades at risk. “The number of birds has fallen by 93 per cent and many of the fish and even the alligators who still live there have high mercury levels in their blood,” said Hughes.
5
The Dead Sea may only be a tourist destination for another thirty years. By then, says Hughes, “it could be completely dry, because the rivers that run into it are being diverted”. Marine life around the Falkland Islands is in great danger from pollution. The Nazca lines in Peru, one of the world’s most interesting and mysterious ancient sites, may disappear as too many roads are being built. Many trees are cut down to build the roads and this leads to floods and mudslides. New York’s Little Italy, which was made famous by films such as The Godfather and Mean Streets, is also in danger as the districts around it grow.
6
Tourists should also visit some of Britain’s ancient architectural treasures which, she says, are in danger of falling down because there is no money to save them. Strawberry Hill, Sir Horace Walpole’s building in west London needs £8m. One of the oldest churches in England, St Mary’s, in Stow in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, needs £3m. Another London landmark, Battersea power station, becomes more run-down every day as government, property developers and the local people argue about its future.
7
Hughes also suggests a trip to Kentish Town, north London, to visit Little Green Street, one of the last complete Regency streets in London. Further north, the Holderness coast, in East Yorkshire, loses nearly 6ft (1.8 metres) a year due to rising sea levels caused by climate change and man, she said.
8
West points out that the guidebook’s message is not all gloom. “Some of the destinations can be saved”, he said. “We have to learn from our mistakes because the planet is poorer every time we allow something beautiful to die.”


© Guardian News & Media 2008
First published in The Observer, 26/10/08



3 Comprehension check

Match the sentence halves to find information from the article.

1. The two authors of the book are ... ... in Little Italy, New York.
2. The book lists the 500 most ... ... to visit the places mentioned in the book.
3. Part of the film The Godfather was filmed ... ... in Florida have too much mercury in their blood.
4. Fish and alligators in the Everglades ... ... within 30 years.
5. Little Green Street is a beautiful Regency street ... ... a journalist and an editor.
6. The Nazca lines in Peru are in danger because ... ... is near the River Thames in London.
7. The Greenwich Maritime Museum ... ... too many new roads have been built.
8. The Dead Sea could be dry ... ... in north London.
9. There is still hope for many of the places listed ... ... endangered tourist destinations.
10. If you are quick you will still be able ... ... in the book.



4 Vocabulary: Prepositions

Put the prepositions into the phrases from the article.

from - into - across - of (x3) - in (x2) - by (x2)

1. ... one ________ the authors
2. ... tourist destinations ________ the world
3. ... the Everglades ________ southern Florida
4. ... has fallen ________ 93 per cent
5. ... the rivers that run ________ it are being diverted
6. ... is also ________ danger
7. ... visit some ________ Britain’s ancient architectural treasures
8. ... in danger ________ falling down
9. ... rising sea levels caused ________ climate change
10. We have to learn ________ our mistakes ...


5 Discussion

How many tourist destinations can you find in the article? Underline them.
Have you been to any of the places in the article?
Which one would you most like to visit?

6 Webquest

a) Choose one of the destinations in the article and find it on Google Earth (weblink: http://earth.google.com/).
b) Does the destination have an official website?
c) What can you see or do there?
d) How could you travel there?
e) Where can you stay while you’re there?
f) How much would a trip to visit this destination cost?
g) What is the weather like there at the moment?