{"id":29408,"date":"2025-01-09T03:43:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T02:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=29408"},"modified":"2025-01-09T03:43:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T02:43:05","slug":"saving-water-in-the-driest-place-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/01\/saving-water-in-the-driest-place-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Water in the Driest Place on Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2 – Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in the driest place on Earth can be a real challenge for people who reside there. It is especially a serious problem in agriculture. Farmers rely on steady irrigation to water their crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuma, an area on the border of California and Mexico and famous for date farming, is one of the hottest places on the planet. It has been suffering the worst drought in more than five centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ole Sivertsen and his company Desert Control have come up with a solution. They have invented a liquid that converts sandy desert soil into a sponge that retains water and nutrients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about liquid clay that helps farmers grow fruit and vegetables in the desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/learningenglish\/english\/features\/6-minute-english_2024\/ep-240919<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What does \u201ckick-start<\/strong>\u201d mean? \u201cOle makes a liquid by mixing clay and water which changes the soil composition and<\/em> kick-starts<\/em><\/strong> the growth of his trees \u2013 the liquid makes the trees start growing more quickly.<\/em>\u201d Give two (2) synonyms or similar expressions and use \u2018kick-start\u2019 in your own sentence. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What does the idiom \u201cdown the line<\/strong>\u201d mean? \u201cOle\u2019s liquid clay involves\u00a0manipulating\u00a0soil \u2013 using and controlling it skillfully to achieve some result. Myra worries that when people do this, they could create problems\u00a0down the line.<\/strong>\u201d <\/em>Give two (2) synonyms or similar expressions and use \u2018down the line\u2019 in your own sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What does \u201ccling\u201d<\/strong> mean? \u201cBut clay soil is made up of much smaller particles that\u00a0cling<\/strong>\u00a0together and naturally stop water from escaping.<\/em>\u201d Give two (2) synonyms or similar expressions and use \u2018cling\u2019 in your own sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. What can you say about the liquid clay? Cite its advantages and disadvantages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. What could be some problems associated with liquid clay down the line? <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Is drought also a problem in your country? What are some initiatives to fight against water shortage? Talk about it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Share your thoughts\/reaction to this, \u201cBut globally, over two billion people, around a quarter of the world\u2019s population, live in water stressed countries, where access to water for drinking, cooking, and washing is not guaranteed.<\/em>\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. What might be some other problems farmers need to deal with in your country? How are they being addressed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. What are the potential impacts of drought in agriculture?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B2 – Upper Intermediate\u00a0 Living in the driest place on Earth can be a real challenge for people who reside there. It is especially a serious problem in agriculture. Farmers rely on steady irrigation to water their crops. Yuma, an area on the border of California and Mexico and famous for date farming, is one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49,291,304,292,290],"class_list":["post-29408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-audio","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-environment","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-listening"],"yoast_head":"\nSaving Water in the Driest Place on Earth | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/01\/saving-water-in-the-driest-place-on-earth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saving Water in the Driest Place on Earth | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 – Upper Intermediate\u00a0 Living in the driest place on Earth can be a real challenge for people who reside there. 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