chinadamforcesmillionstomove-breakingnewsenglish.docVIP

www.Breaking News E Ready-to-use ESL / EFL Lessons The Breaking News E Resource Book “1,000 Ideas Activities For Language Teachers” /book.html China dam forces millions to move URL: /0710/071015-three_gorges.html Contents The Article 2 Warm-ups 3 Before Reading / Listening 4 While Reading / Listening 5 Listening Gap Fill 6 After Reading / Listening 7 Student Survey 8 Discussion 9 Language Work 10 Writing 11 Homework 12 Answers 13 15th October, 2007 THE ARTICLE China dam forces millions to move China’s highly controversial Three Gorges dam project has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again. Chinese state media announced four million more people have to move from their homes near the dam area. This latest setback comes hot on the heels of a warning a few weeks ago that: If no preventive measures are taken, the project could lead to catastrophe. The new dam evacuees will join the 1.4 million who have already been forced to exit their homes, villages and livelihoods. This now means the nearby city of Chongqing will see its population increase by in excess of five million people over the coming years. The city’s deputy mayor Yu Yuanmu stated the relocations were necessary to protect the ecology of the reservoir area, [which] has a vulnerable environment. The dam is part of the world’s largest hydro-electric power project. It cost a whopping 22 billion dollars to build. The reservoir stretches over 600 kilometres behind the dam itself. It is the safety of the residents in this huge area that the Chinese government is anxious about. The head of construction for the dam, Wang Xiaofeng, warned: We cannot let our guard down with the ecological and environmental security problems the Three Gorges project has created. The dam still has the potential for enormous environmental damage. In many places, the banks of the mighty Yangtze River are eroding, triggering dangerous landslides. There is also now the huge social cost of a small, already over-populat