CLC – Centro de Línguas e Cultura do Maranhão

INTERMEDIATE 2 – Prof. Anderson Monteiro

SIOT – Shine It Out TALKS: Grupo de Conversação

Se você está procurando um lugar para desenvolver suas habilidades em inglês de

forma descontraída e eficaz, então você precisa conhecer nosso grupo de
conversação! Aqui, você terá a oportunidade de praticar suas habilidades de
comunicação com outros aprendizes de língua, construindo sua confiança ao falar
inglês em uma atmosfera segura e sem julgamentos. Além disso, você terá a chance
de fazer novas amizades e conexões duradouras com pessoas que compartilham o
mesmo objetivo de aprender a língua. Não perca mais tempo e junte-se a nós agora
para começar a desenvolver seu inglês de maneira divertida e efetiva!

MATERIAL DE APOIO

Climate Change - Can we stop it?

The world is getting hotter. We have to take drastic measures to combat

global warming; but can we do this quickly enough, or are we going
towards a climate catastrophe?

T
here are still some people who say that climate change is not
real ! Others say that it is real, but we
cannot do anything to stop it, so we
need not try. A few people even say that climate
change is not caused by human beings. But most
people now understand that our world is getting hotter, and we have to do
something about it. We only have one Earth, and we can't get another one.
 Twenty years ago, people could perhaps imagine that climate change
was not a real problem, because some scientists still had doubts. Today
almost all the world's scientists agree: the world is getting hotter, and it is
the fault of human beings. Our planet is going towards a climate catastrophe,
but we can stop its worst effects. Indeed we must do everything possible to
stop them.

In November 2021, world leaders (or most of them) met in Glasgow,

in Scotland, for the COP26 summit. They took quite a few decisions, to try
and stop the Earth getting too warm.
Many countries promised to become
"carbon neutral" before 2050. Some have
promised to become carbon-neutral
even faster. World leaders agree that we
have to stop using coal and oil to generate heat and electricity; we should
use green energy sources instead, known as "renewables."

Before the year 2100, all the energy that we use may perhaps come
from renewable sources; the sun, the sea, the wind and rivers can produce
more than enough energy for everyone on our planet, but we still have a long
way to go.

The green energy revolution has already

begun, but the challenges are still enormous.
"Going green" will cost an enormous amount of
money, and use some kinds of technology that do
not yet exist. Also there are some people who believe that it will be too
expensive.

Although most people care about our planet and know that we have to
act now to avoid a climate catastrophe, there are other people who have
different priorities. There are people who just don't care, and there are
people who care more about themselves than about the world around them.
There are people and big companies that just want to make money, and are
not interested in anything that gets in their way. Most importantly, there are
politicians who are frightened of doing anything that other people will not
like; they make promises, but they do not keep them.

THE COAL DILEMMA

At COP26, people agreed that we will have to stop using coal as soon
as possible, because it is the dirtiest of fuels. Yet for some countries this will
be very difficult. Most of their electricity
is generated by burning coal, so if they
stop using coal, people will not have
enough electricity. In developed
countries, everyone uses electricity, and
industry uses lots of electricity. No countries can stop using coal unless they
have another source of electricity to use instead.

The cleanest electricity comes from the wind and the sun, but it takes
time to build enough solar power plants and wind turbines for a whole
country. Then there is another big problem; we cannot depend on solar power
and the wind, because the sun does not shine at night, and the wind does not
blow all the time. These kinds of green power are not reliable, so we need
other ideas too.

Climate change is mostly caused by CO2 and other gases in the air.
Many countries are now producing less CO2 and less air pollution than they
used to. Cars are cleaner, heating is cleaner, more things are being recycled.
The problem lies in poorer countries which cannot afford the new technology,
and do not have the systems in place; it also lies in countries like China or
Poland or Greece, where coal is still a vital source of energy, of jobs or of
exports.

Some people believe that we cannnot afford to fight climate change

because it will cost too much. The truth is that we cannot afford not to fight
against climate change, because the cost of a climate catastrophe will be
even higher.

INFORMAÇÕES EXTRA:

Para ter acesso ao áudio deste texto e outras informações relevantes,

por favor, visite o link: Climate change - can we stop it? (linguapress.com)

ORIENTAÇÕES GERAIS E DICAS:

Hello from the other side, it’s me again! Bem vindo ao nosso grupo de
conversação, fique à vontade para interagir com os colegas sobre as suas
impressões e pontos de vista referentes ao texto lido. Leia atentamente o
texto e destaque as palavras ou expressões que você não conhece ou não
lembra (pesquise aqui: Reverso Context | Tradução em contexto de inglês
para português).

QUESTÕES PARA AS DISCUSSÕES:

NOTA: Esta são algumas das questões que estarão presentes em nosso
momento de conversação, portanto, você pode responder previamente e
trazer seus pontos de vista ou alguma outra informação adicional
referente ao tópico abordado (se for o caso, para te dar mais confiança
para falar, você pode preparar um roteiro com as respostas ou falas).

1) Did you have any kind of difficulties during your Reading process?
Could you share it with us?
2) What was your first impression about the text?
 3) Is the humanity growth responsible for all global changes in terms of
nature?
4) From your perspective, what is the worst kind of pollution? Is it
possible to minimize the effects?
5) What are the main renewable energy process? Have you ever had
contact with one of them?
6) In Brazil, is it easy to have access to renewable sources? Why?
7) In your city, is there any pollution's impact in the environment? Could
you explain?
8) What do you think about moving to another planet as a consequence
of nature polution?

TABOO / SENSITIVE QUESTIONS:

1. Should we prioritize the economy over the environment, even if it
means worsening climate change and risking a climate catastrophe?
2. Is it fair for developed countries to demand that developing countries
reduce their carbon emissions, when they have already benefited
from decades of industrialization and fossil fuel use?
3. Is it ethical for individuals and companies to prioritize their own
financial gain over the well-being of the planet and future
generations?

VOCABULARY HELP:
• global warming - the increase in the Earth's temperature caused by
human activity
• combat - to fight against something
• catastrophe - a disaster or event causing great damage or suffering
• carbon neutral - producing no carbon emissions
• renewables - energy sources that are replenished naturally and do not
deplete over time, such as solar, wind, and water power
• revolution - a sudden or dramatic change or improvement in
something
• priorities - the things that are considered most important
• politicians - people who are elected to run a government or make
decisions on behalf of a group of people
• dilemma - a difficult situation or problem
• reliable - trustworthy and consistent
• CO2 - carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to global warming
• air pollution - the presence of harmful substances in the air
• recycled - to convert waste into reusable material
• exports - goods or services produced in one country and sold to
another country
• climate catastrophe - a disastrous event caused by climate change