| 8. Destructive fires |
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| Fire can do many good things, but it
is also very dangerous. Fires are sometimes accidental. There are
natural fires, for example caused by lightning, but very often they
are caused by humans: short-circuits, explosions in homes, etc. In
some cases, fires are set intentionally. The effects of forest fires,
brush fires, etc., whatever the origin, are always devastating. Living
organisms are destroyed, and combustion consumes huge amounts of oxygen
and produces carbon dioxide, which pollutes the air. In addition,
burnt areas take a long time to recover. |
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| Contextualising. Certain statements
change meaning, and may become untrue, when they
are applied to different contexts. So, when we say
that something is true we should be prepared to
say under what circumstances it might be false,
and vice versa. |
| 1. Under what circumstances might
the following statements be true: |
| a. |
Water does not extinguish fire. |
| b. |
Trees explode. |
| c. |
It frightens you to be in the countryside. |
| d. |
Fires do not burn underwater. |
|
| 2. Under what circumstances might
the following statements be false: |
| a. |
All governments are good. |
| b. |
There is no life on the moon. |
| c. |
The sun will last forever. |
| d. |
Fire always burns paper. |
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Music. Listen to: A Serious Matter
from Children’s Scenes by Robert Schumann. |
|
| List possible causes of
fires, and make another list of factors and actions that can prevent
them. |
|
| © Grup IREF 2003, with the support of the European Commission, DG XXII (Socrates/Comenius 3.2) |
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