For the Speaking club you only need tasks I. II and IV. But you can do all if you wish.
I. First learn these words.
II. Watch the video below and fill in the gaps in the vocabulary exercise under it:
or watch on Rutube
Enter the English equivalents of the following Russian words you hear in the video:
вдохновение -
отходы -
Компостировать, превращать в удобрения - to
Принимать осознанные решения - to
Мусорное ведро для сухого мусора -
Поменять на ... - to
Потрясающий спортивный костюм -
Городской участок земли скромных размеров -
Сэкономить кругленькую сумму - to
Начать с малого - to
Быть как раз тем, чем нужно - to
Correct Answers: 0
Incorrect Answers: 0
Reload the page and practice again and again until you get all the words in green
Watch again and fill in the gaps in the transcript below
If you're in need of a little inspiration to produce waste in your home, these folks may just do the trick. “We do not produce any waste at all. So if we can’t compost it or reuse it or recycle it we will just not it into the house.” That’s right. San Diego-based Frederika Syron and James Harker along with their three children have been waste-free since 2015. They don't even own a trash ! “So we are just like everyone else. We do go to restaurants, we travel. The only difference is that we make more conscious decisions.” But their journey wasn’t always easy. “When we started making changes, I said “I don't have time for that. I don't know about this.” But by making they realized it was possible and anyone could do it. “One of the things that I did was I took the trash can out of our kitchen, caused everybody to walk to the other side of the house and gave us some moment to think like “What is this thing and why do we have it? And maybe how can we swap it out for ?” And then they started to think of how they could reduce waste room by room. So for the bathroom they either make their own cleaning products or “go to a zero waste shop to, say, shampoos or soaps in containers that we already have. And these are shops where you can go in and either bring your own containers or oftentimes they'll have containers there so that you can buy; and you refill them.” They also switch their plastic for bamboo ones. As far as the bedrooms, “you tend to have lots of clothes; and so we look at ways to buy those second-hand. Our daughter, our teenage daughter, is like the queen of awesome jumpsuits and second-hand fashion.” And to reduce , they decided that they’d take it to the next level by gardening. “Now we grow 80% of the food that we eat as a family behind us on a really modestly sized city loft.” “We grow actually 37 different types of vegetables and herbs, and we grow above 15 different kinds of fruit and vegetables." And they're doing their to help the earth 'cause “most American households throw away about 25% of the food they bring into their house.” They say this is a huge learning opportunity for the kids. “They learn biology, math, science, and they're having a lot of fun!” And after their healthy meals they use reusable washcloths instead of paper towels. “We haven't bought paper towels in 10 years,” which helps the environment and saves a penny. Since becoming zero waste, “we save over $18,000 a year.” They say if you wanna try out this lifestyle, start small. “Any little step and change is a huge change in the right direction.” To learn more about this fam and to get zero waste tips, you can head to www.zerowastefamily.com. Getting inspired to live more sustainably with a zero waste family.
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Incorrect Answers: 0
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III. Fill in the table with derivatives referring to the script above. If more than 1 variant is possible, use "/" without spaces.
noun |
bare infinitive (first form of verb) |
adjective |
negativeadjectiveIf impossible, enter "-" |
adverb |
| inspire |
inspiring/ |
uninspiring | ||
|
product production |
||||
| differ | безразличный
|
|||
| decision | ||||
| possible | ||||
| change/exchange/ | change/exchange/ | changeable/interchangeable/ | ||
| use/usefulness | use | reusable/useful | usefully/ | |
| environment | ||||
| grow | все больше |
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Incorrect Answers: 0
Reload the page and practice again and again until you get all the words in green
IV. [EXAMS, EGE] Answer the questions:
1. How does this family do the shopping?
2. How do they do the cleaning?
3. Where do they buy clothes? What do you think of their approach to clothing?
4. How do they avoid producing food waste? Is such a method feasible in Russia? Why?
5. Has zero waste living saved them a pretty penny or cost them a pretty penny?
6. How long is it since they went zero-waste?
7. How did they embark o a sustainable living?
8. How is it good for the planet?
9. How do you try to live sustainably? What stops you from going completely waste-free?
10. How can governments stimulate sustainable economies? What has been implemented in Russia?
11. What will happen to our planet if we don't cut down on consumption?
12. How is it possible to entertain ourselves without doing harm to the environment? (Consider: outdoor activities, eco-tourism, bringing home-cooked food rather than buying ready-to-eat food)
V. Act out the following conversation:
Imagine: you're a family of three—dad, mom, and their daughter. The parents are brainstorming ways to shrink their family’s carbon footprint when suddenly an idea pops into their heads: they could start buying all their daughter’s clothes at second-hand stores. They sit down and talk about how much money this could save them, as well as the positive impact it would have on the environment. They’re really keen on the plan, believing it's a win-win.
However, when they break the news to their daughter, all hell breaks loose. She’s beside herself: she refuses to wear old, out-of-style clothes and is terrified of being the butt of jokes at school. The poor girl is already thinking about how her classmates might poke fun at her. In a panic, she brings up how Suzie was bullied recently and now fears she’ll end up in the same boat, wearing something that looks like it’s been dug up from a graveyard.
Her parents try to calm her down, insisting she’s blowing things out of proportion. They gently remind her that by making this choice, she’s helping the planet, which, in their eyes, is worth the small sacrifice. But she isn’t having any of it and thinks her parents have completely lost the plot with this eco-friendly obsession. She flat-out refuses to wear what she calls "old junk," especially since she still has two long years of school ahead.
Direct speech prompts:
- "Listen, I just had a thought! We could..."
- "Yes, this would really allow us to..."
- "Exactly, and besides, it would save us..."
- "Let’s tell Didi..."
- "Are you kidding me?!"
- "Do you want me to be a laughingstock at school?!"
- "They just gave Suzie a hard time for... and now you expect me to show up in some rag from the last century, pulled off a corpse?"
- "Don’t be so dramatic, sweetie! You’re doing something great by saving the planet’s resources. Isn’t that worth it?"
- "You’ve totally lost your minds with this eco-stuff!"
- "No way am I wearing that old rubbish. I still have two years of school left!"
VI. Read the text and prepare its summary. But first, translate it and do the test on it in the right column.
What is Sustainable Living?Source: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sustainable-living-principles-benefits-and-examples.php Sustainable living is based on four main pillars namely minimizing waste, limiting the use of Earth’s natural resources, the wise use of the environment, and ensuring quality working/living environments. The following are the guiding principles that can be used as an initiative to make sustainable and stable living a reality. Principles of Sustainable Living1. Effective land use and wildlife protectionThis principle requires people to realize the need for effective land use and wildlife protection. The aim of the principle is to aid in creating new habitats and restoring biodiversity through effective land use and incorporating the practices in our surrounding environments. As the custodians of the planet’s natural environment, wise actions with regards to proper land use and wildlife protection are vital in embracing sustainable living. 2. Sustainable water usageThe principle emphasizes on the need to advance good water utilization practices by designing water management systems that can deal with issues such as flooding, water wastage, and protection of water sources from pollution or destruction. 3. Supporting local and organic foodsThe principle implies humane and sustainable farming by ensuring the availability of healthy, local, organic, low impact, and seasonal diets. Food wastage is also highly discouraged. For this reason, people need to support local farming and organically grown products by buying local and eating organic foodstuffs. 4. The use of sustainable materialsSustainable materials refer to healthy, efficient, and durable products. Examples include materials that are locally sourced, manufactured from waste or renewable resources, and those with low embodied energy. 5. The use of sustainable transportPromoting the use of low and zero-carbon transport mechanisms is one of the overriding principles of sustainable living. It encompasses the need to reduce travel and accepting green transport services such as electric trains and cars and walking or cycling as an alternative to driving high emission vehicles. 6. Zero waste and zero carbonAccording to this sustainable living principle, every little thing done should focus on reducing the waste to the landfills. Only buying and consuming the needed staff is essential. Priority should be given to quality and not quantity to achieve this goal. People also need to find the easiest ways of using efficient and renewable technology. 7. Creating own healthy environmentThis involves indulging in active and meaningful life activities to promote good health and well being. Fun, healthy, and less stressful living can be achieved by fun activities such as biking, hiking, walking, sailing, and skiing. Benefits of Sustainable LivingSustainable living comes with numerous benefits. Not only does it limit the impacts on the natural environment, but it also redefines our lifestyles with a promise of good health and reduced cost of living. The health benefits are attributed to little dependence on vehicles or machinery and the consumption of quality food products that is either locally or organically produced. From the point of ecology, utilizing the sun’s energy, reducing environmental footprint, use of non-toxic materials, and effectively using the planet’s resources will ensure the environment is stable and able to support the current generations as well as generations to come in the future. |
Find English Equivalents for Russian words and phrase in the text on the left
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VII. Paraphrase the following sentences in various ways using synonyms of underlined words as well as chaning their grammatical structure.
Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy required to produce any goods or services, considered as if that energy was incorporated or 'embodied' in the product itself.
Environmental footprint is the effect that a person, company, activity, etc. has on the environment, for example the amount of natural resources that they use and the amount of harmful gases that they produce
VII. [EGE, IELTS, Olympiads] Write the following essay.
| Imagine that you are doing a project on plastic waste pollution.You have collected some data on the subject (see the pie-cart below). Comment on the data in the pie-chart and give your personal opinion on the subject of the project.Write 200–250 words. Use the following plan: – make an opening statement on the subject of the project work; – select and report 2–3 main features; – make 1–2 comparisons where relevant; – outline a problem that can arise from the use of plastic and suggest ways of solving it; [If you are preparing for IELTS/Olympiads, write a separate essay on this point!] – draw a conclusion giving your personal opinion on the importance of sustainable living. |
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