What are the biggest global challenges?

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ANNEE SCOLAIRE : 2019/ 2020 COLLEGE LE ROI DES ROIS

Koumassi Bia-Sud 10 BP 2616 Abidjan 10 Tel : 21-56-01-92

UNIT 4: (Revision)

What are the biggest global challenges?

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By 2050, the world must feed 9 billion people. Yet the demand for food will be 60% greater than it is today.

The United Nations has set ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the year 2030. To achieve these objectives we will need to address a host of issues.

First, agriculture sectors will have to become more productive by adopting efficient business,

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models and forging public-private partnerships. And they need to become sustainable by reducing greenhouse gas emissions .

The second issue is that despite huge gains in global economic resources, there is evidence that the current social, political and economic systems are exacerbating inequalities, rather than reducing them. A growing body of research suggests that rising income inequality is the cause of economic and social ills, ranging

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from low consumption to social and political unrest and that is damaging our future economic well-being.

Another issue is the vast scale of employment. The International Labour Organization estimates that more than 61 million jobs have been lost since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008, leaving more than 200 million people unemployed. Nearly 500 million new jobs will need to be created by 2020to provide opportunities to those currently unemployed and to the young people who are projected to join the

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workforce over the next few years.

We're already seeing and feeling the impacts of climate change with weather events such as droughts and storms becoming more frequent and intense, and changing rainfall patterns. Insurers estimate

that since the 1980s weather-related economic loss events have tripled. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this trend will worsen if no action is taken by policy-makers

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The internet is changing the way we live, work, produce and consume. With such extensive reach, digital technologies cannot help but disrupt many of our existing models of business and government. Within the next decade, it is expected that more than a trillion sensors will be connected to the internet. By 2025, 10%

of people are expected to be wearing clothes connected to the internet and the first implantable mobile phone is expected to be sold.

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Even if having almost everything connected will transform how we do business and help us manage

resources more efficiently and sustainably, the following question remains unanswered: how will this affect our personal privacy, data security and our personal relationships?

Aside from the challenges previously mentioned, gender equality in all aspects of life needs to be addressed too. Although we are getting closer to gender parity, change isn't happening fast enough.

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The World Economic Forum’s reports of the past decade reveal that it would take the world about 118 years (until 2133) to close the gap entirely.

Over the past few decades, the world has seen major advancements in health. As a result, people are generally living longer. However, serious challenges to global health remain, ranging from frequent outbreaks of pandemics to non-communicable diseases.

© Adapted from 2016 World Economic Forum Note1. Emissions de gaz à effet de serre

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WORKSHEET Comprehension check 1

SKIMMING: Read the text and answer the following questions

1) What the test is about?

2) What is the first big challenge we have to face up to in the first paragraph?

3) What is the second big challenge we have to face up to in the second and third paragraph?

4) What is the third big challenge we have to face up to in third and fourth paragraph?

2) SCANNING (10 min)

Activity 1: (5min)

The teacher: Read the text again silently and find words or expressions which mean the same as the following.

1. In or before 2015 (l.1)

2. to give food, to provide food for (l.1) 3. to put an end (l.2)

4. accomplishing, attaining (l.2)

5. ameliorated the process of nourishing (l.2) 6. durable (l.3)

7. to deal with a certain number of questions (l.4) 8. activities (l.5)

9. Profits (l.8)

10. we notice that (l.8)

Answers:

1………..2………..3………..4………..

5………..6………..7………..8………..

9………..10………..

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Comprehension check 2 Activity 1: (5min)

Read the text again silently and find words or expressions which mean the same as the following.

1. in progress, belonging to the present time (l.8) 2. aggravating (l.9)

3. moreover (l.9-10)

4. the augmenting revenue (l.10) 5. going from ……. to ……… (L.10-11) 6. political agitation, trouble (l.11) 7. welfare (l.11)

8. without remunerative employment (l.12)

9. the total number of workers employed by a company (l.16) 10. meteorological conditions (l.17)

11. dryness; a shortage of rainfall (l.17) 12. tempest; a violent wind and rain (l.18) 13. tendency (l.20)

14. to aggravate; to make worse (l.20)

15. influential or important persons who make the right decision (L.20) 16. to disturb, to trouble (l.22)

17. anticipated; imagined(l.23) 18. to negotiate; to bring off(l.26) 19. private life(l.28)

20. apart from (l.29) 21. to be dealt with (l.29) 22. sex (l.29)

23. approaching (l.30)

24. to terminate, to put an end (l.32) 25. progress; development (L.33)

26. a sudden, violent or spontaneous occurrence, especially of disease (l.35) 27. non-infectious diseases (l.35)

Answers:

1………..2………..3………..4………..

5………..6………..7………..8………..

9………..10………..11………..12………..

13……….14………..15………..16………..

17………..18………..19………..20……….

21………..22……….. 23……….. 24………..

25………..26………..27………..

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Activity 2 : Writing

PROBLEM-SOLVING TASK

Some Ghanaian friends arrive at lycée le Roi des Rois in order to know the English Club’s point of view on the biggest global challenges. As the member in charge of the

communication you are asked to receive them and deliver our position. In order to reach your goal of information:

1- Identify the big global challenges to which the world is faced up to.

2- Mention three problems linked to these challenges.

3- Make two suggestions to take up the challenges.