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Unit 7 Lesson 2
Grass fires
Objectives : By the end of the lesson you will have
• read a text about prairie fires
• differentiated between words with close meanings
• prepared a table
A Adrian has grown up in (lie United Stales. On hearing about the cyclone havoc in Bangladesh, he looked up a book on natural disasters named "Discovering your world". Among the natural disasters described in it, he found (his extract on 'grass fires'. Read it.
A Prairie Fire
Fires swept over the prairies any time during practically ten months a year, although the worst were usually in the fall, with the grass standing high and rich in oily seeds. The prairie fires could be set by lightning, by the carelessness of greenhorns in the country, by sparks from the railroads, and by deliberate malice. Once started, the heal of the fire created a high wind that could sweep it over a hundred miles of prairie in an incredibly short time. Settlers soon learned to watch the horizon for the curling smoke rising from prairie grass. At the first sign of this, everyone hurried to the flames with water barrels, gunnysacks, hoes and particularly ploughs to dig furrows so as to prevent the fire from spreading. Even more important was the awareness of the danger ahead of time, early enough so fireguards were ploughed around the homestead, at least around the buildings.
Now work in pairs and based on the text above, find out the answers to the following.
1 What do you understand by "prairie"? Use your dictionary if you don't know.
2 What is the common English word for "fall"?
3 Which part of the world do you think this passage refers to?
4 When are prairie 11 fires more common?
5 Mention some causes of prairie fires.
6 What did the settlers do when they sensed a fire?
7 Do you think the passage talks of the present day'.' Give reasons for your opinion.
B Below is a list of words. A number of meanings are given beside them. Underline the correct meaning of each word. (The first one has been done for you)
1 Prairie: (a) vast woodlands, (b) wide open area of level land covered with grass or wheat, (c) rice fields
2 Fall: (a) summer, (b) rainy season, (c) autumn
3 Greenhorn: (a) a person who lacks experience, (b) one who grows vegetables, (c) a jealous person
4 Deliberate: (a) known, (b) international, (c) familiar
5 Malice: (a) maltreat, (b) ill will, (c) dislike
6 Horizon: (a) place where the earth and the sky seem to meet, (b)horizontal, (c) line of horoscope
7 Incredibly: (a) truly, (b) slowly, (e) unbelievably
8 Barrels: (a) deep bowls, (b) high tables, (c) large, round containers
9 Furrow: (a) strong blow, (b) long narrow cut or hollow area in the ground made with a plough, (e) westerly wind
10 Homestead: (a) a substitute for a home, (b) a house with outer buildings and land around it. (e) a shed
C The word "green" has many formations as in the word 'greenhorn'. Look up your dictionary and see how many compound words, idioms and phrases you can find. Write down at least 5. Write their meanings (in English and Bangla) and make a sentence in English with each.
D An effective speaker or writer picks among several related words the one with just the right shade of meaning. Work in pairs to consider the difference between the following words, giving examples of each with the help of an appropriate sentence.
1 a 'fire' and a 'flame'
2 a 'bag' and a 'sack'
3 'round' and 'around'
E You have read about prairie fires in North America. As you know, there are fire accidents in Bangladesh too. Speak to your partner and try to find out where and why fires occur. Work in pairs and in the table below write in note-form, the kinds of Ores we have. Identify their causes and suggest some preventive measures.
Kinds of fire Causes of tire Preventive measures
Focus :
Skills.
Intensive
rending,
speaking,
writing in
note- form. Functions.
Differentiating between closely-related words,
expressing cause &
effect,
suggesting action.
Grammar/Structure.
Simple past tense, compound words, idiomatic words and phrases.
Vocabulary.
prairie, fall (noun), deliberate, greenhorns, sparks, settlers, furrows, hoes, railroads, fireguards.
This text will be replaced
Unit 7 Lesson 2
Grass fires
Objectives : By the end of the lesson you will have
• read a text about prairie fires
• differentiated between words with close meanings
• prepared a table
A Adrian has grown up in (lie United Stales. On hearing about the cyclone havoc in Bangladesh, he looked up a book on natural disasters named "Discovering your world". Among the natural disasters described in it, he found (his extract on 'grass fires'. Read it.
A Prairie Fire
Fires swept over the prairies any time during practically ten months a year, although the worst were usually in the fall, with the grass standing high and rich in oily seeds. The prairie fires could be set by lightning, by the carelessness of greenhorns in the country, by sparks from the railroads, and by deliberate malice. Once started, the heal of the fire created a high wind that could sweep it over a hundred miles of prairie in an incredibly short time. Settlers soon learned to watch the horizon for the curling smoke rising from prairie grass. At the first sign of this, everyone hurried to the flames with water barrels, gunnysacks, hoes and particularly ploughs to dig furrows so as to prevent the fire from spreading. Even more important was the awareness of the danger ahead of time, early enough so fireguards were ploughed around the homestead, at least around the buildings.
Now work in pairs and based on the text above, find out the answers to the following.
1 What do you understand by "prairie"? Use your dictionary if you don't know.
2 What is the common English word for "fall"?
3 Which part of the world do you think this passage refers to?
4 When are prairie 11 fires more common?
5 Mention some causes of prairie fires.
6 What did the settlers do when they sensed a fire?
7 Do you think the passage talks of the present day'.' Give reasons for your opinion.
B Below is a list of words. A number of meanings are given beside them. Underline the correct meaning of each word. (The first one has been done for you)
1 Prairie: (a) vast woodlands, (b) wide open area of level land covered with grass or wheat, (c) rice fields
2 Fall: (a) summer, (b) rainy season, (c) autumn
3 Greenhorn: (a) a person who lacks experience, (b) one who grows vegetables, (c) a jealous person
4 Deliberate: (a) known, (b) international, (c) familiar
5 Malice: (a) maltreat, (b) ill will, (c) dislike
6 Horizon: (a) place where the earth and the sky seem to meet, (b)horizontal, (c) line of horoscope
7 Incredibly: (a) truly, (b) slowly, (e) unbelievably
8 Barrels: (a) deep bowls, (b) high tables, (c) large, round containers
9 Furrow: (a) strong blow, (b) long narrow cut or hollow area in the ground made with a plough, (e) westerly wind
10 Homestead: (a) a substitute for a home, (b) a house with outer buildings and land around it. (e) a shed
C The word "green" has many formations as in the word 'greenhorn'. Look up your dictionary and see how many compound words, idioms and phrases you can find. Write down at least 5. Write their meanings (in English and Bangla) and make a sentence in English with each.
D An effective speaker or writer picks among several related words the one with just the right shade of meaning. Work in pairs to consider the difference between the following words, giving examples of each with the help of an appropriate sentence.
1 a 'fire' and a 'flame'
2 a 'bag' and a 'sack'
3 'round' and 'around'
E You have read about prairie fires in North America. As you know, there are fire accidents in Bangladesh too. Speak to your partner and try to find out where and why fires occur. Work in pairs and in the table below write in note-form, the kinds of Ores we have. Identify their causes and suggest some preventive measures.
Kinds of fire Causes of tire Preventive measures
Focus :
Skills.
Intensive
rending,
speaking,
writing in
note- form. Functions.
Differentiating between closely-related words,
expressing cause &
effect,
suggesting action.
Grammar/Structure.
Simple past tense, compound words, idiomatic words and phrases.
Vocabulary.
prairie, fall (noun), deliberate, greenhorns, sparks, settlers, furrows, hoes, railroads, fireguards.