Exercises forIntegrated Skills
1.Dictation
2. Fill in eachblank in the passage below with ONE word you think appropriate.
WhenKylie Galliani started at the University of New England, she was given a key toher dormitory, a class timetable and something (1) ________ unusual: a $480bicycle. “I like this free bike,”said Ms. Galliani, 17, a freshman from California. “It’s reallya good way to get (2) ________ the campus.” Now, more and more students havethe same feeling as Kylie Galliani.
TheUniversity of New England and Ripon College in Wisconsin are giving (3) ________bikes to freshmen who promise to (4) ________ their cars at home. Othercolleges are setting up free bike sharing or rental (5) ________. The goal isto (6) ________ shortages of parking spaces and to change the influence of carculture on campus. At Ripon, officials say thatgiving students a bike of their own might encourage them to be moreresponsible. The college offered $50,000 to the program and plans to continue(7) ________ with next year’s freshmen. About 180 freshmen (8) ________ up for the program. “We did it as ameans of reducing the need for parking,” Dr. Joyce said, “but from the point ofview of health and (9) ________ protection, we realized we have the opportunityto create a change.”
The University of New England has a similar problem: toomany cars, not enough space and a desire to make the campus greener. So itcopied the Ripon program, (10) ________ out 105 bikes in the first week ofschool. Because of the program, (11) ________ 25 percent of freshmen broughttheir cars with them this year. “I don’t have to fill itwith gas, and it doesn’t harm the environment,” said a student. “(12) ________a car, you need a parking permit and gas. Now I needn’t worry about that.”
Oral Activities
1. Giving a Talk
Topic: Traffic Problems and Solutions
Words and phrases for reference: expressway, commuter, infrastructure,one-way, rush hour
Solutions:
a) Trafficpolice department must use technology for controlling and monitoring themovement of vehicles at important and busy crossroads.
b) Drivesshould be launched to educate masses to drive in their respective lanes onlyand to follow traffic signals strictly. If the offence is found to be repeated,then the driving license of the driver should be cancelled.
c) Checkon minor-driving and in this regard amendment should be introduced in theMotors Vehicle Act, and parents of such minors should be punished.
d) Publictransport, like the Metro and state of the art buses, should be increased todeal with the rising number of private vehicles on roads.
e) Pollutioncheck of vehicles by the owners on regular intervals can contribute a lot insaving the environment from air pollution.
f) Wemust encourage our children to ride bicycles and walk short distances.
g) Finally,the government must give encouragement to battery bikes, autos and cars tohandle the growing demand for oil.
2. Having a Discussion
Topic: Car Culture in China
Viewpoints:
l Formany Chinese people, owning a car has become a symbol of success and personalfreedom.
l Privatecars don’t provide a measure of convenience or control over one’s daily life.
l Dependenceon automobiles is nothing to celebrate —especially in our cities.
l Certainlythe pollution cars create is a serious issue — in Shanghai, for example, some 80% of urban air pollution comes fromcar exhaust. The impact on public health is severe and profound.
l Whencities are built to accommodate cars, they are no longer designed toaccommodate people.
l Muchof Beijing wasbuilt before the massive explosion of private car ownership. The infrastructureis simply not designed to carry as many cars as are present today.
l Althoughprivate cars can provide a refuge of sorts for their owners, they also addimmeasurably to the stress and alienation of urban life.
l Carculture is extremely seductive but ultimately it isn’t a healthy — or happy — culture.
