Module 4. My Future Profession

Task 1. Study the information below and complete the sentences with the appropriate forms.

geography /dzi’ogrəfi /

-er – geographer /dzi’ogrəfə /

-ic – geographic /dziəg’ræfik /

-ical – geographical /dziəg’ræfikəl /

-ically – geographically /dziəg’ræfikəli/

geographical description – географическое описание

Geographic meridian/pole – географический меридиан/полюс

1. _________ is a science about the Earth.
2. People who are interested in environmental problems and their solutions are called __________.
3. Geographers give __________ description of the earth.
4. Greenwich is a __________ meridian.

Task2. Read and learn the new words/phrases and their equivalents by heart.

To be curious about	/’kjuəriəs/	Interested in	любознательный
Inclination	/inkli’nei∫ən/	tendency	желание, склонность
Spatially	/’spei∫li/		пространственно
Pattern	/’pætn/	sample	образец
Phenomenon	/fə’nominən/		Явление (мн.ч. – phenomena)
Landscape	/’lænd’skeip/	terrain	ландшафт
Particular	/pə’tikjulə/	special	особый
To obtain	/əb’tein/	gain	получать
To solve	/solv/	to decide	решать
To be located in	/lou’keitid/	to be situated	находиться, располагаться
Strength	/streηθ/	power	сила
To interact	/’intər’ækt/	to cooperate	взаимодействовать
To influence	/’influəns/	to affect	влиять
Habitat	/’hæbitet/	environment	естественная среда
Seemingly	/’si:miηli/	apparently	по-видимому
To relate	/ri’leit/	to connect	устанавливать связь

Task 3. Translate the words/phrases into English without looking at the table.

Образец

Любознательный

Явление

Взаимодействовать

Естественная среда обитания

Устанавливать связь

Решать

Сила

Желание

Особый

По-видимому

Ландшафт

Получать

Находиться

Влиять

Пространственно

Task 4. Complete the sentences with the appropriate words/phrases from the previous tasks.

1. I’m ________ about his future career.
2. Physical geographers are interested in a _________ branch of geography.
3. For their research work geographers _________ information and data from different ________ areas.
4. Geographers’ main ________ is to _________ problems and that’s why they are called problem solvers.
5. The territory of Russia has different forms of ____________.
6. Some geographers are interested in human activity and how it _________ on the environment or human and environment __________.
7. All geographers study different natural ____________.
8. The choice of a profession should be based on a person’s _____________.

Task 5. Match the words in the first column with their synonyms in the second one.

1. To be located

2. Landscape

3. To be curious

4. To interact

5. Particular

6. To obtain

7. Related

8. Pattern

9. Inclination

10. To buffet

A. Terrain

B. To squeeze through

C. Connected

D. Gain

E. To be situated

F. To cooperate

G. Tendency

H. Special

I. Sample

J. To be interested

Task 6. Replace the underlined words with their synonyms.

1. If you are interestedin special natural phenomena and how men affect the environment, then geography will be your tendency.
2. People of many specialities should know how to gain information and how to work with it.
3. Geographers also describe different forms of terrain.
4. The geographic meridian Greenwich is situated in Great Britain.
5. While deciding geographical problems geographers go through many difficulties.

Task 7. Look through the text and underline the examples of the First Conditional.

How do you know if you want to be a geographer?

If you are curious about places, geography will channel this interest into a rigorous study of the makeup of places and what makes them tick. You like to study maps, so the geographer's first inclination is to put information on a map in order to see how it looks spatially. In case you prefer the window seat on airplanes, geography is just for you, because geography tries to explain the constantly-changing patterns of human activity and natural phenomena on the landscape.

If you are interested in foreign areas, you will be able to specialize in a particular part of the world such as Latin America, Europe, Asia, or Africa. If you like to work outside, you will obtain the basic data from field investigation in environments that range from wilderness areas to cities. As scientists, geographers are naturally curious about how the world is arranged. They ask lots of questions about why things are located the way they are and then they try to answer those questions. So if you are a problem solver, you will be particularly interested in geography.

If you are not good at seeing connections among seemingly unrelated processes, you won’t be able to work in the sphere of geography, because one of geography's strengths is its ability to integrate ideas about human behavior, social institutions, and the natural environment.

If you can adapt to rapid technological change, you will find out that Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have revolutionized the way geographers collect, store, analyze, and present spatial information.

Unless you think big, you won’t understand how places interact with each other, and how they are influenced by larger, more global forces. If you are interested in connections between people and the environment, you will see the world as the human habitat, one that we have transformed and that has transformed us.

To sum it up, if the information above is right about you, then to be a geographer is about you.

Task 8. Complete the sentence to make it true about you. The sample will help you.

If I am curious about the places, I will be a geographer. – I will be a geographer because I am curious about the places.

I will be a geographer, because ….

1. 2. 3. 4.

Task 9. Read and learn the new words by heart.

Major	/’meidzə/	профилирующая дисциплина
Technique	/tek’ni:k/	техника, метод
Perspective	/pəs’pektiv/	перспектива
Considerably	/kən’sidərəbli/	значительно
Issue	/’i∫u:/	вопрос, суть, проблема
Sprawl	/spro:l/	разрастание
To designate	/’dezigneit/	назначить, обозначить
Literacy	/’litərəsi/	грамотность

Task10. Read the text and answer the questions:

1. What does geography provide for students?
2. Why are geographers called environmental problem solvers?
3. What are the advantages of studying geography?

What can you do as a geographer?

Geography is an attractive major for students. Its theories and methods provide analytical techniques applicable to a wide range of questions asked over a broad spectrum of occupations. For students planning to end their formal education with the bachelor's degree, a geography major provides marketable skills and the broad perspectives on environment and society that enable graduates to move beyond entry-level positions. For similar reasons, geography provides a sound foundation for students who plan to enter graduate work in a variety of fields, from geography to business, land use planning, law, and medicine.

The potential for practicing geography in private enterprise and government has grown considerably in recent years, although few such positions are designated with the title of geographer. Roughly a quarter of all geographers work in the private and public sectors.

Geographers are environmental problem solvers. They are being called upon to use their skills to address some of the most pressing environmental issues facing our planet. If you have ever wanted to work on environmental issues such as global warming, urban sprawl, resource conservation, or environmental justice, you should study geography.

1. It prepares you to confidently enter the workforce. Geography has a major role to play in framing and answering key environmental, economic, social and political questions. As a diverse subject, it allows students to obtain a range of learning experiences and skills which make geography graduates highly attractive to a wide range of future employers. The skills practiced in geography are used by many professionals: urban and regional planners, resource managers, attorneys, legislators, business and political leaders, architects, marketing consultants and engineers. Preparation in geography is an ideal stepping stone to a wide range of careers.

2. Geography is a diverse, broad field that encompasses a wide range of knowledge. Geography is a broad flexible subject, which may be classified as an art, science or social science. Geography, as a discipline, is as diverse as the problems facing our planet. From saving a forest to planning a downtown development project, geographers are there.

3. Studying Geography promotes environmental literacy. It is widely agreed that education is the most effective means that society possesses for confronting the challenges of the future. In order to address the environmental challenges society is currently faced with, people are needed who can think broadly and understand the systems, connections, and patterns of the physical and cultural world. We desperately need people equipped with the analytical skills necessary to rebuild neighborhoods, towns, and communities.

4. Studying Geography is FUN!! Studying Geography can take you to distant lands and cultures. You can learn about different peoples and places. You can develop the skills that will help you recognize and make sense of the patterns, distributions, and interactions between living things and their environment. Geographers often travel and study places by experiencing them first-hand. They have the opportunity to use cutting edge technology to study the landscapes and patterns that define who we are and what we do.

Task11. Complete the sentences with the right ending.

1. Geographers are …

a) literate people.

b) environmental problem solvers.

c) unemployed people.

1. Geography is an attractive major for students because...

a) it will promote them.

b) it is fun.

c) it provides skills desirable in a broad spectrum of occupations.

1. Geography is a diverse subject because …

a) it provides a great variety of problems facing our planet.

b) it trains different specialists.

c) students can learn about different people and places.

1. Preparation in geography is an ideal stepping stone to...

a) business.

b) politics.

c) a wide range of careers.

5. Studying geography promotes environmental literacy because …

a) it teaches many subjects connected with the environment.

b) it teaches students to think in broad terms and understand the systems, connections and patterns of the world.

c) it makes students environmental problem solvers.

Task12. Speak on the topic “Profession of a geographer”(about 15-16 sentences).

PLAN