A right to fight

Read ing and vo cab u lary D isappearing w orlds

1 SPEAKING Look at the photosand discuss the

questions. Then read the text and compare your ideas.
1 Have you ever visited an island? Can you nam e
som e islands?
2 W hat d o you think life is like on the island in the photos?
Think about the climate, food, work and free time.

2 Read the text again and choose the correct answers.

1 W h y is Jo h n S a ilik e s a d ?
a H e regrets his childhood,
b He misses friends from his community,
c H e doesn't w a n t to leave the island,
d H e can't hear the sea at night.
2 W hat d o peop le do on the island?
a M e n and w o m e n do similar work,
b I hey have frequent contact with the outside world,
c Th ey use a lot of electricity,
d Th ey try to provide their o w n food.
3 W h at first impressions of the island does the w riter g ive?
a Life on the island is very simple.
b People on the island are unhappy,
c Islanders need m ore help from the outside world,
d It's difficult for islanders to live there.
4 W h ich o f these things is not a problem for the islands?
a Fresh w ater shortages.
b M ore risk o f illnesses,
c A poor food supply,
d Too m any people.
5 W hat m ight h appen w he n the islanders relocate?
a There w on 't be en ough food and shelter.
b People will forget Carteret traditions,
c Th ey w on't be able to com m unicate,
d They w on’t be able to find work.
6 H o w have peop le helped th e islanders?
a Th ey have built them n e w homes.
b Th ey have supp orted th e younger generation,
c Th ey have tried to protect their traditions,
d Th ey have researched clim ate change.
3 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Discuss the questions.
1 W h a t did you learn ab o u t Carteret culture?
2 Did any of the challenges th e islanders face surprise you?
'W h e n I w a s a little boy, I loved to g o fishing in
th e s e a with m y spear,' s ays J o h n Sailike, sad ly.
'W h e n I le a v e t h e island, HI lose t h e s e a a n d th e
h a p p in e s s of fhis p la c e . I'll miss th e s ou n d of fh e
w a v e s a t n i g h t ... I w o n 't h e a r it a n y more.'
’Jo h n is a fish erm an from th e C a rt e re t islan ds in
th e So uth Pa cific, a n idyllic sem i-circle of w hite
s a nd , p a lm trees a n d crystal c le a r w aters. E a c h
d ay , h e g o e s o u t in a c a n o e to c a t c h fish for
his family, w hile his wife looks a fter th e child ren
a n d g row s v e g e t a b le s in their g a rd e n .T h e fam ily
lives in a w o o d h uf with s a n d floors a n d th e y
d o n 't u s e m u c h electricity, so w h e n th e sun g o e s
d ow n , it is u su ally tim e for b e d . 2This p e a c e f u l,
u n d e rd e v e lo p e d p l a c e h a s a finy p o p u la tio n a n d
o nly o n e c o n t a c t with t h e o u tsid e world - a ship
w h ic h b ring s su pp lies from B oug ainville, a la rg e
isla nd 86 km a w a y. B ut all this is a b o u t to c h a n g e ,
b e c a u s e Jo h n , a lo n g with 3,000 o t h e r p e o p le , is
le a v in g his islan d h om e .T h e q ue stion is, w h y ?
Take a clo se r look a f th e islan ds a n d fh e re as o n
b e c o m e s clea r. Th e C a rle re ts a re th e victim of
g lo b al w arm in g . H igh tides often flood across
th e v illag es a n d w a sh a w a y p e o p le 's h om es.
3S alt w a te r from th e s e a is overflow ing into
v e g e t a b le g a rd e n s a n d d e v a s t a tin g fruit trees.
It's c o n ta m in a t in g th e fresh w a fe r supply, too.
Islanders a re struggling to survive o n c o c o n u t
milk a n d fish, a n d child ren a re suffering from

The environment

Study the highlighted words in the text and match

them to definitions 1-9.
1 to stay alive, despite difficult conditions
2 w h e n w ater destroys something
3 to m ove to an other place
4 to disappear forever
5 to leave a place b ecause of danger
6 d estroying something
7 to protect som ething for the future
8 poisoning and making som ething bad
9 to affect a larger area or a bigger group of p eople

42 A right to fight
Vocabulary: the environment; prefixes: semi-, under-, over-, re-, co-,
inter--, verbs + prepositions; collocations: charities
Speaking: discussing cultural identity; comparing types of protest; asking
for and expressing opinions
4A
Gram mar: expressing the future; future perfect and future continuous W riting: an opinion essay

Complete the article about blue gold with the

correct form of the highlighted verbs in Is la n d sto r y .

Blue gold
Did you know that 97% of all the world's water is salt
water? 3% is drinkable, but we can only use 1% of this
because the rest is trapped in glaciers or deep underground.
The bad news is this percentage is getting smaller because
of overpopulation, pollution and climate change.
It's a scary situation: rising sea levels1
homes and sometimes whole islands on one side of the
world. Floods and high tid es2 fresh water
and 3 disease. Governments are forced

m alnu trition.T he d y in g trees a re h o m e to m os q uitoe s to 4 communities from danger zones and

5 them to higher ground. But, in other parts
th at s p re a d d is e ase s, like m a la ria . P e o p le k now t h a t
of the world, droughts 6 crops and kill farm
life o n th e island is c o m in g to a n e n d .
animals. And as people move to other areas in search of
Exp erts p re d ic t th a t th e C arfer e fs will b e u n d e r w a fe r food, traditions and cultures 7
by 2015. B efore th en , 'hh e island ers will r e lo c a te to It's a man-made problem, so what's the solution? We
p l a c e s like B ou g ain ville a n d reb uild their lives.This have to learn to 8 this valuable resource. In
2030, almost 50% of the world's population will probably
m o v e will pro vide p e o p le w ith fo o d a n d shelter, b ut
experience water shortages, and experts predict the first
w h a t will h a p p e n to their cu ltu re ? The island ers h a v e
water wars. Who will be the winners and losers? Will we
son g s for different e v e r y d a y activities, a n d traditions 9 the battle for blue gold?
a n d ce le b ra tion s linked to th e se a .T he y a lso h a v e
their o w n la n g u a g e , c a l le d 'H a lia '. 5lt th e y co-exist
with o th e r cultures, this m a y d ie out.
insight Prefixes: sem i-, u n de r-, o ver-, re -, co-, in ter-
'W e 're losing ou r h om e , o u r identity, o ur w h o le life,'
sa ys islan d er Ursula R a k o v a .'W e h o p e t h e world
Study sentences 1-6 in Isla n d s to ry. Then match the
is listening.' It is. 6O v e r th e last fe w ye ars, artic les in
underlined prefixes to definitions a-f.
intern a tio n a l n e w s p a p e rs , Y ouTube v id e o s a n d a n a again or back d not enough, below
O s ca r- n o m in ate d d o c u m e n t a r y film c a lle d S u n is Up b together e half, partly
h a v e fa lk ed a b o u f fh e C a rte re t islands. P e o p le h a v e c betw een f too much
s u p p o rte d f h e islan ders a n d a s a result, th e y h a v e
fu m e d their a n g e r a n d frustration info action .'T u le le Complete the sentences with the words in brackets
Pe isa ' is a p ro je ct w h ic h is h elp in g to e v a c u a t e and a prefix in exercise 6.
p e o p le like Ursula. It's als o lo okin g for w a ys to 1 The island w a s ......................... Too m any p eople w ere
pres e rv e th eir w a y of life a n d re co rd th eir la n g u a g e living there, (crowded)
a n d trad itions for fu ture g enera tio ns. 2 O nce the Carterets are under the sea, the y will never

B a c k o n fh e island, Jo h n Sailike is g e ttin g into his .........................(appear)

b o a t for th e last time. He's s a yin g g o o d b y e to his 3 If the islanders .th e re m ight be
h o m e a n d to his a n cestors. He d o e s not kn o w w h a t enou gh food for e v e ryo n e (-operate)

th e future will bring; h e d o e s n o t kn ow if his c ultu re 4 It's difficult t o ........................ with peop le w h o speak

will survive. H e is th e h u m a n f a c e of c lim a fe c h a n g e . a different language, (act)

5 The fish smelt bad and it w a s ......................... It wasn't
safe to eat. (cooked)
6 Their n ew hom es on Bougainville were
Factfile: Carteret Islands
.........................They could only live there for a few
Location: South Pacific, off the north-east coast
of Papua New Guinea months, (-permanent)
Population: 3,300
total area: 0.6 square km (83 football fields)
SPEAKING Work in pairs. Think about the place
Highest point: 1.2 metres above sea level
History: Discovered by Philip Carteret in 1767 where you live. Choose the things that make up
your cultural identity, then put them in order of
importance. Give reasons for your order.
language music (songs and dance) festivals
beliefs lan d /g e o grap h ical features houses food

Vocabulary bank Global issues pag e 1S7

A right to fight 43