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Welcome! This site is for students to practice their English and keep up to date with environmental issues.

TEN MINUTES OF ENGLISH A DAY!
You can find a mixture of reading, crosswords, videos and short English lessons: these will normally be vocabulary, but I may also treat you to some grammar!

There are now over 260 lessons on this blog. Look through the Blog archive, Post labels and Popular Posts to find what you want.

If you want to print a lesson, click on the lesson title and then look for the Print Friendly icon.

''Let nature be your teacher''
William Wordsworth, poet, 1770-1850

''Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift''
Albert Einstein, physicist, 1879-1955

''... to find the word, or words, by which [an] idea may be most fitly and aptly expressed''
P.M. Roget, lexicographer, 1779-1869

Sunday 16 November 2014

How almonds are sucking California dry

Level: Upper-intermediate B2

Please click the 'Print Friendly' icon at the bottom of the page if you want to print this exercise.

California's worst drought for over a century is causing big problems for farmers and residents.
Read this BBC article about the situation.
You can also download the podcast.

Read and/or listen to the article, then answer the following questions:
1) How much water do almonds farmers need?
2) What are people doing to their gardens to cope with the drought?
3) For how many years has California had this drought?
4) How much of the world's supply of almonds comes from California?
5) Which country is the biggest market for the almonds?


Answers below!





ANSWERS!

1) A trillion gallons per year
2) Installing succulent plants and ground cover 
3) This is the third year
4) 80%
5) China

Monday 3 November 2014

Elephants - mega-gardeners of the forest

Level: Upper-intermediate B2
Use of adjectives

Please click the 'Print Friendly' icon at the bottom of the page if you want to print this exercise.

Here is another great video from the BBC's Power of Nature series, this time about the Congo and elephants.

Watch the video (four minutes long) and then complete the sentences below. You need to fill the gaps with adjectives.
1) ''...one of the                                      and                                   tropical rainforests'' (00:04 in the video)
2) ''...and at its heart is an                                             giant.'' (00:17)
3) ''...one of the                      -                     wild places of our world.'' (00:30)
4) ''...the diversity of species that make up the forest is a                                       characteristic.'' (01:14)
5) ''...and they do that by wrapping the seed in a                         ,                             ,                          packet...'' (01:37)

Answers below!




ANSWERS!

1) ''...one of the   largest  and  richest  tropical rainforests'' (00:04 in the video)
2) ''...and at its heart is an  enigmatic  giant.'' (00:17)
3) ''...one of the  life-giving  wild places of our world.'' (00:30)
4) ''...the diversity of species that make up the forest is a  fundamental  characteristic.'' (01:14)
5) ''...and they do that by wrapping the seed in a  nice  ,  little  ,  tasty  packet...'' (01:37)