Global Concerns in the 21st Century

Explore 21st-century global challenges like climate change and terrorism with our engaging worksheet!

A) How do you feel about the following global concerns in the 21st century? What scares you the most and why? Write your answer. ~ Environmental problems and natural disasters~ Poverty and famine~ Diseases~ New technology~ Nuclear power~ Wars and terrorism B) Which of the global concerns from task A do the following words and expressions relate to? Enviromental problems and natural disasters hurricanes floods Poverty and famine homeless people starvation Diseases the HIV virus expensive drugs Nuclear power disposal of radioactive waste pollution Wars and terrorism bombings hijacked airlines C) Do you know any of these words from the box below? Look them up in the wordlist and then match them to the corresponding definition. a drought - a long period of dry weather when there is not enough wateran earthquake - a violent shaking of the earth's surfacean illness - a diseaseto devastate - to destroy completelya threat - a dangerhomeless - poor and without a place to live. D) Read and listen about the global concerns of the 21st century. NATURAL DISASTERSVolcanic eruptions, fires, droughts, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes happen every year somewhere in the world. But, because of climate changes in the world, they will be more dangerous and more frequent in the future. In 2007, violent summer rainstorms caused one of the biggest floods in England, where roads looked like rivers and thousands of people were left without homes. Still, it is nothing compared to the deadliest natural disaster in American history which was caused by hurricane Katrina in 2005. It hit four states, but New Orleans was particularly devastated. The hurricane totally destroyed the city, killed more than 1,833 people, and left thousands of people homeless. Some say this will be the first American city that will be rebuilt in the 21st century. NUCLEAR POWERAlthough it is one of the cheapest sources of energy, many people worry about the risks and the safe disposal of radioactive waste. It is also feared that people, especially children, living near nuclear power stations have a greater risk of getting cancer. Let’s not forget the worst nuclear disaster in history at Chernobyl in 1986, where an explosion destroyed the place and caused deaths and illnesses many years afterwards, as well as pollution over wide areas of Europe. Some say it will take thousands of years before Chernobyl radiation levels drop back to normal! TERRORISMWith the help of new technology, terrorist organizations are becoming a real threat to our personal safety. We all followed the media coverage of events like the London Underground bombings in 2004, and the most shocking one - the 9 terrorist attacks in the USA. On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and severely damaged the Pentagon. Commercial airliners were hijacked and flown directly into the twin towers, and thousands of people were killed when the WTC towers collapsed. And if world superpowers like the USA are not safe, can we really feel carefree when we travel by plane, like we used to? E) Connect the sentences about the global concerns you have read and listen about. Because of climate changes in the world, natural disasters be more dangerous and more frequent in the future. The deadliest natural disaster in American history was caused by hurricane Katrina which hit four states, killed more than 1833 people and left thousands of people homeless. Terrorist organizations are a real threat to our safety because of new technology. The 9 terrorist attacks in the USA happened on September 11, 2001, when commercial airlines were hijacked and flown directly into twin towers. Nuclear power is one of the cheapest sources of energy, but many people worry about the risk and the safe disposal of radioactive waste. The worst nuclear disaster in history happened at Chernobyl in 1986, where an explosion destroyed the place and caused death and illnesses many years afterwards, as well as pollution over wide areas of Europe. Practice Do all the tasks in the workbook on pg 106.