XXI. Try your hand at teaching.

1. Say what you would do in the teacher's position:

Paul, a senior in high school, must outsmart every adult with whom he comes in contact. His need to feel superior is so strong that he spends hours plotting how he can achieve his goal. He goes to the library to look up definitions and in­formation of irrelevant subject matter, and confronts the teacher with questions like "What kind of dress did Josephine wear when she married Napoleon?" Since the teacher cannot answer this question, Paul proceeds with his information and proves his superiority to the whole class.

2. a) Try and act as a teacher of geography and discuss one of the follow­ing topics. Make use of Essential Vocabulary (1). Use the map when speaking. (Give athree-minute talk.)

b) Comment on the students' knowledge of the topic, their skill of reading the map and the choice of the vocabulary:

1. The British Isles and the seas, straits and channels, wash­ing their coast. 2. The relief of England, its highlands, lowlands and mountains. 3. The rivers of England. 4. The Lake District. 5. Stratford-on-Avon. 6. The relief of Scotland. 7. The relief of Wales. 8. The climate of Great Britain. 9. The relief and cli­mate of Ireland. (See "Classroom English", Section VIII)

LABORATORY EXERCISES (I)

1. Listen to the text "The British Isles", mark the stresses and tunes. Repeat the text following the model.

Paraphrase the sentences, using the suggested speech patterns. Check your sentences with the key (oral work).

Complete the sentences with geographical terms. Write these terms down and check them with the key (oral and written work).

Write a spelling-translation test: a) translate the phrases into English; b) check them with the key.

Do the suggested exercises and check them with the key (written work).

6. Listen to the text "Soil and Vegetation" or some other text on Geography: a) write it as a dictation; b) retell it.

TOPIC: GEOGRAPHY

TEXT A. INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS IN GREAT BRITAIN

England is a highly developed industrial country. The city of London is one of the World's three leading financial centres along with New York and by far the biggest in Europe The Bank of England is the commercial pulse of the city of London while Greater London is important for products of all kings in cluding food, instrument engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, clothing, furniture and printing. It has some heavy engineering plants and several leading research establishments[65]. London is a great port with many docks.

North-west of London, in the midland counties (the Mid­lands) is a very important industrial district which is known as the "Black country". In Birmingham, the centre of this area, and in the manufacturing towns nearby, various goods are produced: machine tools, tubes, domestic metalware, rubber products, etc. The largest coal and iron fields in Britain are located in the Midlands. Further north is Manchester, one of the main centres for electrical and heavy engineering and for me production of a wide range of goods including computers, electronic equipment, petrochemicals, dye-stuffs and pharma­ceuticals. The Manchester Ship Canal links Manchester with Liverpool, one of Britain's leading seaports.

East of Manchester is the city of Sheffield, well-known for its manufacture of high quality steels, tools and cutlery. A short railway journey to the north-east will take you from Manchester to Bradford, the commercial centre of the wool trade.

Further north is Newcastle situated on the North Sea coast, a city famous for its shipbuilding yards and its export of coal.

What is remarkable about the second half of the 20th century is the accelerating pace of change.

The Scottish economy has moved away from the tradi­tional industries of coal, steel and shipbuilding. North-east Scotland is now the centre of offshore oil and gas industries. There has been a significant development in high-technology industries, such as chemicals, electronic engineering and in­formation technology. In Scotland, the richest part is that of the Lowlands. Here there are coal and iron fields. Glasgow is the largest city, seaport and trading centre of Scotland.

Recent decades have seen fundamental changes in the Welsh economy. Wales is an important centre for consumer electronics, information technology, chemicals, and food and drink.

Although Britain is a densely populated, industrialized country, agriculture is still one of its most important indus­tries. Dairying is most common in the west of England, where the wetter climate encourages the growth of good grass. Sheep and cattle are reared in the hilly and moorland areas of northern and south-western England. Its best farm­land lies inthe south-eastern plains.

The south of England is rural, with many fertile valleys, well-cultivated fields and pastures.

The south-eastern coast is well-known for its picturesque scenery and mild climate and a number of popular resorts. On the southern coast of England there are many large ports, among them: Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth.

TEXT B. THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE

— I know that there are many types of natural scenery in England. But what is there in the English landscape that strikes the eye of the stranger used to other countries?

— Its "park-like" appearance, I believe. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees, green meadows and hedges.[66]

— But as far as I know the hedges take up a consider­able part of soil suitable for ploughing.

— They do. But the Englishman loves the green of En­gland with its hedges, tender-green in spring, covered with leaf and flower in summer, a blaze of gold and red in autumn. In winter too they are still beautiful with a few scarlet berries almost burning in the frost.

— And yet, if England swept away her hedges and put in their place fences the saving of land would be enormous.

— But much of the park-like beauty of the countryside would be gone and with it the peculiar character of the En­glish landscape.

— I hear there are a lot of lovely gardens all along the English countryside. Are English people fond of gardening?

— They are. Almost every one in England tries to come in touch with a bit of plant life. In the East of London you may see workingman's "flats" with their window gardens. In the West End, land which is worth many thousands of pounds per acre is devoted to garden use. In the small suburban vil­las a very considerable tax of money and labour is paid in the effort to keep in good order a little pocket handkerchief of lawn and a few shrubs.

— Well, I think that this proves that the Englishman is at heart a great lover of nature, though he is supposed to be such a prosaic and practical person.