© BBC News
Pre-reading questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Do you believe that water is precious? Please explain why.
- What would it be like to not have access to fresh drinking water?
Vocabulary
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- glacier /GLEY-sher/
- melt /melt/
- mass /mas/
- store /stawr/
- shallow /SHAL-oh/
[noun] – a large mass of ice that moves slowly
The sink sank when it struck the cold glacier.
[verb] – to turn from something solid into something soft or liquid
Iron melts when made hot enough.
[noun] – a large amount of something that has no particular shape or arrangement
The village was overwhelmed by a large mass of water.
[verb] – to put or keep things in a special place for use in the future
We store the gardening equipment in the backyard shed.
[adjective] – having only a short distance from the top to the bottom
The water is extremely shallow near the coast.
Article reading
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
According to a recent study, Switzerland’s glaciers have lost more than half of their volume in less than 100 years, and this year’s long, hot summer has made the thaw worse. The Tsanfleuron and Scex Rouge glaciers have split apart, revealing previously hidden land. The two glaciers are being monitored by glaciologist Mauro Fischer of the University of Bern. Every year in the spring, he installs ice measuring rods and observes them through the summer and fall. The rods had completely melted out of the ice and were laying on the floor. He emphasizes that his ice measurements were “off the charts,” far exceeding anything we’ve ever measured since the beginning of glacier monitoring, and that “maybe three times more mass loss over one year than the average over the last ten years.”
Glaciers are referred to as the water towers of Europe. They store the winter snow and gradually release it over the summer, cooling nuclear power stations and delivering water to Europe’s rivers and farms. Because the water level is too low for boats carrying big loads, transportation along the Rhine in Germany has already experienced delays this summer. In Switzerland, dead fish are quickly removed from warm, shallow streams. Nuclear power facilities in France and Switzerland had to reduce their production since there was not enough water to cool them.
Glaciers are referred to as the water towers of Europe. They store the winter snow and gradually release it over the summer, cooling nuclear power stations and delivering water to Europe’s rivers and farms. Because the water level is too low for boats carrying big loads, transportation along the Rhine in Germany has already experienced delays this summer. In Switzerland, dead fish are quickly removed from warm, shallow streams. Nuclear power facilities in France and Switzerland had to reduce their production since there was not enough water to cool them.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- What were the two glaciers that split apart?
- Who has been monitoring the two glaciers?
- How did Mauro Fischer describe the ice measurements?
- What caused the delays in transportation in Germany?
- Why had nuclear power facilities in France and Switzerland reduced their production?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Where does your city get its water supply from? Has it ever run out of supply? Please share.
- Do you worry about the water supply in the future? Please tell me more about it.
- What would you do if you were affected by the declining supply of water?
- Do you think artificial glaciers could help lessen the impact of Europe’s water supply problem?
- Where else do you think Europe could get a temporary water supply?