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THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH IS

IN OUR HANDS

VOCABULARY
1. Write these words under the correct picture:
pine needle shore meadow prairie hill lake wood

IES EL FONTANAL 3
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ
LISTENING
A. Watch the video and listen to the speech carefully:
- In your opinion, who is speaking?
- What is he speaking about?
- Does the speaker love nature?

B. Play the video again and write TRUE or FALSE next to each statement.
1. President Obama wants to buy the speaker´s land. ________
2. The speaker thinks that human beings are part of the Earth ________.
3. He doesn´t care for animals _________.
4. He says that the Earth belongs to man ________.
5. The red men are Indians _______.
6. The Indians sell their land and they ask for more money because it is precious ____

READING AND WRITING


3. The speech you have just listened to was given by an Indian Chief called Seattle.
Nice words about the Indians´ relationship with nature. Read it carefully and answer
the following questions:

a. Who are the Indians´ sisters? and their brothers?


________________________________________________________________________
b. Write down the condition Chief Seattle made the president in Washington.
________________________________________________________________________
c. Think of a title for this text.
________________________________________________________________________

d. There are two paragraphs in the speech which can be easily related to the film
Avatar. Write down these two paragraphs on your notebook and explain the relationship
between Chief Seattle´s words and the before mentioned film.

IES EL FONTANAL 4
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ
This document has been considered by ecologists as one

of the most beautiful and deep declarations for

environment. This is the speech the Indian Chief Seattle

addressed the President of the United States of America

in 1855 as a reply for wanting to buy their land. The

American Indians were really united to the Earth and

they even considered it was the owner of human beings…

Chief Seattle´s Speech

The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you
buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us.

Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy
shore, every mist in the dark, woods, every meadow, all are holy in the memory and
experience of my people.

We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear,
the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters
of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the
voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers. They carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell you our
land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that
it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh.

This we know: the Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. All things are
connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a
strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

IES EL FONTANAL 5
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ
Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered?
What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many
men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? The end of living and the
beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the
shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will
there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this Earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land,
love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the
memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love
it, as God loves us.

One thing we know - there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be
apart. We are all brothers after all.

IES EL FONTANAL 6
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ
4. Nowadays, most people’s behaviour towards the Earth is quite different from that
of the American Indians or the native people of Pandora in the film Avatar. In fact,
many scientists think that climate change is due to what people have been doing for
the last 100 years. Order the following words or sentences into the correct column.
Use a dictionary if necessary:

deforestation  pollution drought throw rubbish into riversflood 

greenhouse effect no use of toxic waste control method acid rain 

waste of water

HUMAN ACTIONS CONSEQUENCES IN NATURE

GRAMMAR REVIEW
5. Miriam, Tom, Janet and Nicholas have learnt a good lesson: Everybody should
take care of the Earth and its resources so that human beings, plants and animals
may have a good quality of life in future.
Read their words and complete the sentences using the Present Perfect of the
verbs in brackets.
1. Tom said: “I ___________________ (handle) the electrical appliances with care to
make them last longer.”
2. Janet pointed out: “My parents and I _________ (eat) fresh food with little packaging.”

IES EL FONTANAL 7
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ
3. “_________ you ________(use) public transport to go to school?” Miriam asked
Nicholas
4. Nicholas told his parents: “My friend ________________(go) by bike to school.”
5. “What _________ you _________ (do) at home to save water?” Tom wanted to know
“I _____________________ (have a shower) instead of a bath.” Miriam answered.
6. They declared proudly: “We _____________ (take) our shopping bag to the
supermarket.”
7. “Our teacher _________________ (give) us a class about recycling.”
8. “More people __________________ (save) energy since they watch TV
advertisements.” Janet insisted

WRITING AND SPEAKING


6. Now it´s your turn!!
A. Choose one of the measures above or another one you may think of to be
respectful with the environment (print on both sides, keep the rivers and oceans
clean, burn less oil…).
B. Use the Internet to find out information and images and design a leaflet. The
objective is to convince everybody that they should adopt that behaviour. Give
reasons and explain the positive effects trying to use grammatical structures we
have already studied in class.
C. Show your leaflet to your classmates and present your ideas.

IES EL FONTANAL 8
ENGLISH TEACHER: IRENE VELÁZQUEZ

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