Unit: Poverty and World Resources. Sequence: Reading and Writing.

Pre-reading: look at the two cartoons below and choose the correct answer:

01 02

1- Picture 01 illustrates: 2- Picture 02 illustrates:

A- The problem of smoking in the world. A- Ways of saving our planet.
B- The unfair distribution of wealth in the world. B- Solutions to the problem of poverty.
C- The equal distribution of wealth in the world. C- The greed of rich nations.

While-reading:
1- Read the text below and answer the following questions.

The amount of natural resources on Earth is limited while the number of people using
these resources is growing rapidly; therefore, this problem must be solved1. Some people
believe that the best way to conserve natural resources is implementing ‘population control’
programs in order to reduce the number of people on Earth 2. However, these programs have
failed to improve the lives of people anywhere because they do not address the root causes of
the problem3. An efficient plan of conserving resources is still needed so as to ensure a certain
balance between the existing resources and the people’s needs4. The best way to reach this
objective is for the rich to use fewer resources because natural resources are not shared equally
among everyone: the poor use the least and the rich use the most 5. In other words, by first
changing the behaviour of those who use the most, we can make sure there will be enough for
everyone6. As the Indian leader Mahatma Ghandi said, “There is enough for everyone’s need,
but not for everyone’s greed.” 7
Adapted from: Hesperian Health Guides. (2012). A Community Guide to Environmental Health. P. 21-23.

A- Which problem does the author discuss in the text?

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B- What is the first solution that people suggested to this problem?
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C- Did that solution succeed to end the problem? Why or why not?
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D- What is the best solution to that problem in the opinion of the author?
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E- Explain in your own words the meaning of Ghandi’s words that were quoted in the text.
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Post-reading: go through the following tip box and complete the table below with the types of sentences
used in the reading passage:

Tip Box

There are generally four types of sentences in well-written paragraphs. Each type of sentences has
a different function in the paragraph.
A- Topic sentences: it is a sentence that identifies the main idea of the paragraph. A topic sentence
also states the point the writer wishes to make about that subject. Generally, the topic sentence
appears at the beginning of the paragraph.
B- Supporting sentence: it is used to develop, support, explain, illustrate, or provide evidence for the
idea expressed in the topic sentence.
C- Transitional sentence: it provides a smooth transition from one idea to another in the paragraph.
D- Concluding sentence: it indicates that you are bringing closure to a paragraph. A concluding
sentence logically concludes the ideas discussed in the paragraph.

Sentence N° Type (Function)

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