Unit 1. continents on the map

TASK 1. Read the text paying attention to the words in bold type. Look up their meaning in the Glossary:

The seven continents that make up the world’s land mass are, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. The polar regions, not completely visible on the flat map, surround the North and South poles and are shown on the globes.

The continents that make up most of the Earth’s land surface are always on the move, shifted around by forces deep inside the Earth. This is known as continental drift. Movement, or drift, takes place because of intense heat generated within the Earth. The heat is carried upward where it disturbs the cool, rocky surface, or crust, forcing sections of it, called plates, to move. Each year the continents, parts of the plates, drift nearly half an inch (about a centimeter), some getting closer together, others moving farther apart, some grinding past each other.

As this happens, many of the Earth’s natural features are created or changed.

Scientists believe that some 300 million years ago all the land on Earth was joined together in one “supercontinent” called Pangaea. It was surrounded by a giant ocean, Panthalassa. About 200 million years ago, as the plates moved, Pangaea began to split into two great landmasses, Laurasia in the north, and Gondwanaland in the south. These were separated by the Tethys Sea. As the plates continued to move, the two landmasses split and moved farther apart, eventually forming the known continents.

The Earth is not a solid ball, but is made up of many different layers. The crust that forms the continents and the ocean floors is a thin layer of rock that covers the Earth like a shell. The mantle beneath is 1,864 miles (3,000 km) thick and made of hot rock, some of which is molten (liquid). At the center is the core, the hot metallic center of the Earth. This is liquid on the outside and solid on the inside.

TASK 2. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following words and word combinations and write them down:

1. Составлять

2. Большая часть суши

3. Континентальный дрейф

4. Происходит

5. Переносится вверх

6. Почти полдюйма

7. Различные слои

8. Дно океана

9. Жидкое снаружи

10. Твердое внутри

 

TASK 3. Answer the questions in writing:

1. What are continents that make up the world’s land mass?

2. Which regions are not completely visible on the flat map?

3. What is known as continental drift?

4. Why does the movement, or drift, take place?

5. How many years ago was all the land on Earth joined together in one “supercontinent” called Pangaea?

6. What is the Earth made up of?

7. What covers the Earth like a shell?

8. What is the mantle made of?

9. What is the core of the earth?

 

TASK 4. Read the text and choose an appropriate title for each part of it:

a) One “Supercontinent” Called Pangaea.

b) The Earth and its Many Different Layers.

c) Continental Drift.

d) The Seven Continents.

TASK 5. Match the columns:

1. visible 2. generate 3. continent 4. eventually 5. disturb

a) any of the world's main continuous expanses of land (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America) b) interfere with the normal arrangement or functioning of c) able to be seen d) cause (something, esp. an emotion or situation) to arise or come about e) in the end, esp. after a long delay, dispute, or series of problems

 

TASK 6. Match the questions and the answers to make up a dialogue using the underlined words:

1. Is the Earth a solid ball? 2. What is it made up of? 3. What is the name of a thin layer of rock that covers the Earth like a shell? 4. What is the mantle made of? 5. What is in the centre of the Earth? 6. Is it liquid or solid? 7. What forces plates to move?

a) It is made up of many different layers. b) The mantle beneath is 1,864 miles (3,000 km) thick and made of hot rock, some of which is molten (liquid). c) At the centre is the core, the hot metallic centre of the Earth. d) The Earth is not a solid ball. e) The crust that forms the continents and the ocean floors is a thin layer of rock that covers the Earth like a shell. f) The heat is carried upward where it disturbs the cool, rocky surface, or crust, forcing sections of it, called plates, to move. g) This is liquid on the outside and solid on the inside.