Unit seven listening
- 1. Unit Seven Read the story of Wangari Maathai’s life. My childhood I grew up in Lenya, in a small viollage in the countryside. We had a river with clean water and many trees. We planted corn, beans, bananas, and sweet potatoes in our beatiful green fields. The people in my village were poor, but we were never hungry. My love of nature My mother taught me about KIKUYU( the name of a culotural group in Kenya) culture. She encouraged me to love nature. The kikuyu people say, “Everything in the environment is from God, so we must always take care of it – the land we live on, the trees all around us, and our beautiful clean rivers. We must never destroy anything in nature.” Changes in my country I studied at a university in the U.S. for five years. But when I came back to Kenya, everything was very different. There was a new government. It was not a democracy. The new president did many bad things to our people. And the people had no political power. When I returned to my village, I was so shocked. There were no more trees! Without trees, the coil became dry, and the rain washed it away. The women couldn’t plant vegetables in the dry land. Our river dried up, too. The women in my village walked for many hours to find clean water and wood for cooking. Changes in my village In Kenyan villages, women must get the food for the families. But without trees, there wasn’t enough food or water. Nobody had money to buy food. So the people became hungry. Many children became sick. They couldn’t go to school. Some children died. The women didn’t know what to do about this terrible situation. I wanted to help, and I had an idea. I decided to speak out to the women in my village. Read the sentences with the underlined vocabulary. Then choose the correct meaning. Example We planted corn, beans, bananas, and sweet potatoes in our beautiful green fields. Put seeds into the ground. Used plants for food. My mother always encouraged me to love nature. What does this sentence mean? My mother tried to teach me to love nature.
- 2. My mother didn’t think nature was important. 2. “We must always take care of it- the land we live on, the trees all around us, and our beatiful clean rivers.” What does this sentence mean? Thank God for it Keep it in good condition 3. “We must always take care of it- the land we live on, the trees all around us…” What does this sentence mean? the ground under our feet the street near our house 4. We must never destroy anything in nature. What does this sentence mean? Change; make different Hurt, kill 5. There was a new government. It was not a democracy. What does this sentence mean? The people chose the government. The people didn’t choose the government. 6. The people had no political power. There was a new government. It was not a democracy. What does this sentence mean? Ability to change the government Ability to make money. 7. And when I returned to my village, I was so shocked. What does this sentence mean? Very surprised and worried Very interested and excited 8. Without trees, the soil became dry…
- 3. What does this sentence mean? There were some There weren’t any 9. I decided to speak out to the women in my village. What does this sentence mean? Speak freely and openly Speak quietly to a few people