Key Greening the Sahara: Madrid 2011

 


GREENING THE SAHARA
RESUELTO



1.  Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.
a)  The number of people living in Egypt will increase in the future.

• TRUE: Egypt's population is expected to double by 2050, and already crowded living conditions will likely get worse. 

b) The text says that the government's plan to reclaim the dessert for agriculture is economical.

• FALSE: (…) crowded living conditions will likely get worse. So the government is keen to encourage people to settle in the desert by moving ahead with an expensive plan to reclaim 3.4 mil1ion acres of desert over the next 10 years.

2.  In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.
      a)  Why is Tarek el-Kowmey mentioned in the text?

• Because he is a farmer whose job consists of growing fruits (banana trees) in a place that in the past was totally part of the Sahara desert. 

      b) Why  do  environmentalists  believe  desert  tourism  is  better  than agriculture for Egypt? Give two reasons.

• On one hand, because they think that agriculture might not give as many benefits as the government wants, and on the other hand because it might destroy the touristic wild environment in Egypt.

3.  Find the words or phrases in the text that mean:

• a)  huge (paragraph 1):  vast
• b)  probably (paragraph 2): likely
• c)  since (paragraph 2): because
• d)  instead of (paragraph 3): rather than

4.  Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in brackets when given.

• a)  The Sahara, the "Great Desert", is almost as large as the United States and extends from  the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
• b) My friends have suggested travelling (travel) to Egypt next year. The pyramids are considered to be the world's most ancient (ancient) monumental structures. The first one was built (build) in 2612 B.C.
• c)  Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, petroleum and tourism.
• d) Eco-tourism, which has become very popular in recent years, reduces the  negative  effects  of  conventional  tourism  on  the  environment. Government officials have agreed to promote (promote) eco-tourism in Egypt.

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