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Unit 16 Lesson 5
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• talked about Siberia
• read a passage about a specific railway
• formed new words by adding affixes to some given words
• guessed meanings of a prefix in different words
• made an itinerary and defended it
A You may have heard about migratory birds coming to Bangladesh in winter. Do you know where they come from? Discuss in pairs what you know about that place.
B Read this passage about the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The 4,607-mile long Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway in the world. It runs across Siberia, a vast Asian part of Russia, from Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. Although studies of projects of the railway date from the mid-19tn century, its construction actually began in the Czarist regime in 1891 and it was opened for use in 1905. The construction of the railroad encountered enormous problems including wide rivers, steep grades around Lake Baikal, permafrost in Eastern Siberia, extremes of temperature and political .turmoil. But all obstacles yielded to human endeavour. Thirty-eight tunnels were cut through the mountains along the shores of Lake Baikal and the all-Russian route, which was completed by 1917, covered a total distance of 5,973 miles from Leningrad to Vladivostok. Modernisation of the railway followed in the 1930s. It was originally a single track but a second track was laid later and electrification was undertaken soon after. This vast railway was a major element in the settlement of Siberia at the turn of the 20th century. It is a vital artery linking .outlying Siberian industrial regions and mining centres with the core economic area of European Russia.
[permafrost = frozen layer of soil]
Now discuss the following questions in pairs.
1 What do you think 'trans' means in the word 'Trans-Siberian'?
2 The passage says the problems of constructing the railway was overcome by 'human endeavour'. Give some examples of how the builders endeavoured to construct the railroad.
3 What do you understand by Asian Russia and European Russia? What purpose does the Trans-Siberian Railway serve?
C An affix is a letter or group of letters which is added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning or use and make a new word. For example, in the word 'Subcontinental', 'sub' and 'al' are affixes. The affix which is added to the beginning of a. word is called a prefix, whereas the one added to the end of a word is called a suffix.
Now make new words by adding prefixes and suffixes to the following words.
nation, political, human, cover, economic
The prefix 'trans' has three different meanings in different words. Guess meanings of the following words.
transatlantic, transcontinental, trans-racial, transformation, transplantation, transcribe
D Suppose you and your friends are going to visit a place in Bangladesh which is quite far from where you live. First choose the place. Work in groups and make plans for the journey (think of cost, time, how you want to travel, what you want to see and do, etc). Then write a short composition describing your plans.
Focus:
Skills.
Discussion, reading, writing.
Functions.
Making plans, expressing intentions, guessing meanings of words. Grammar/Structure.
Passive voice, affixes, intentions (want to/hope to/would like to). Vocabulary.
regime, encounter, permafrost, turmoil. give in, endeavour, electrification, core.
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Unit 16 Lesson 5
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• talked about Siberia
• read a passage about a specific railway
• formed new words by adding affixes to some given words
• guessed meanings of a prefix in different words
• made an itinerary and defended it
A You may have heard about migratory birds coming to Bangladesh in winter. Do you know where they come from? Discuss in pairs what you know about that place.
B Read this passage about the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The 4,607-mile long Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway in the world. It runs across Siberia, a vast Asian part of Russia, from Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. Although studies of projects of the railway date from the mid-19tn century, its construction actually began in the Czarist regime in 1891 and it was opened for use in 1905. The construction of the railroad encountered enormous problems including wide rivers, steep grades around Lake Baikal, permafrost in Eastern Siberia, extremes of temperature and political .turmoil. But all obstacles yielded to human endeavour. Thirty-eight tunnels were cut through the mountains along the shores of Lake Baikal and the all-Russian route, which was completed by 1917, covered a total distance of 5,973 miles from Leningrad to Vladivostok. Modernisation of the railway followed in the 1930s. It was originally a single track but a second track was laid later and electrification was undertaken soon after. This vast railway was a major element in the settlement of Siberia at the turn of the 20th century. It is a vital artery linking .outlying Siberian industrial regions and mining centres with the core economic area of European Russia.
[permafrost = frozen layer of soil]
Now discuss the following questions in pairs.
1 What do you think 'trans' means in the word 'Trans-Siberian'?
2 The passage says the problems of constructing the railway was overcome by 'human endeavour'. Give some examples of how the builders endeavoured to construct the railroad.
3 What do you understand by Asian Russia and European Russia? What purpose does the Trans-Siberian Railway serve?
C An affix is a letter or group of letters which is added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning or use and make a new word. For example, in the word 'Subcontinental', 'sub' and 'al' are affixes. The affix which is added to the beginning of a. word is called a prefix, whereas the one added to the end of a word is called a suffix.
Now make new words by adding prefixes and suffixes to the following words.
nation, political, human, cover, economic
The prefix 'trans' has three different meanings in different words. Guess meanings of the following words.
transatlantic, transcontinental, trans-racial, transformation, transplantation, transcribe
D Suppose you and your friends are going to visit a place in Bangladesh which is quite far from where you live. First choose the place. Work in groups and make plans for the journey (think of cost, time, how you want to travel, what you want to see and do, etc). Then write a short composition describing your plans.
Focus:
Skills.
Discussion, reading, writing.
Functions.
Making plans, expressing intentions, guessing meanings of words. Grammar/Structure.
Passive voice, affixes, intentions (want to/hope to/would like to). Vocabulary.
regime, encounter, permafrost, turmoil. give in, endeavour, electrification, core.