The Physical Environment
Senior 1 · English
The Physical Environment
Lesson 3 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
Nobody knows exactly what Rwanda will look like in 2050, when today's S1 students will be about 36 years old. But good predictions are not guesses: they rest on evidence, and they show how sure the speaker is. The difference between "the rivers will dry up" and "some rivers might dry up" is the difference between a fact-sounding claim and a careful one. In this lesson you listen to a debate and learn to measure your certainty in words.
Before you listen: Name one change in the environment that older people in your family have seen in their lifetime.
The Environment Club of a secondary school in Rwamagana holds a debate every term. Today the chair is Mahoro, from S3. Kamanzi speaks for the motion and Uwera speaks against it.
Mahoro (chair): Good afternoon, everyone. Our motion today is: "By 2050, Rwanda's environment will be healthier than it is today." Each speaker has three minutes. Kamanzi, please begin.
Kamanzi: Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe the environment will definitely be healthier, and I have three reasons. First, Rwanda already acts. We banned plastic bags in 2008, and today visitors say our streets are among the cleanest in Africa. Second, people are planting trees: forests now cover about thirty percent of the land, and every Umuganda adds more. Third, we are repairing damaged places. Nyandungu, in Kigali, was a dirty, drained wetland; now it is a park full of birds. If we can do that in five years, imagine what we will do in twenty-five! By 2050 our children will probably breathe cleaner air than we do.
Mahoro: Thank you, Kamanzi. Uwera, the floor is yours.
Uwera: Thank you. My friend is optimistic, but hope is not evidence. There will certainly be more people in Rwanda in 2050, and every family will need land, water and firewood. The climate is changing, too. Scientists say that heavy storms are likely to become more frequent, so we may see more floods and landslides, like the ones that hit the Western and Northern Provinces in May 2023. Our wetlands might disappear under new houses. I am not saying the environment will definitely get worse. I am saying that it won't get better by itself.
Mahoro: Questions from the floor? Yes, Rukundo.
Rukundo: A question for Uwera. You say storms may get worse. Isn't that exactly why we will probably plant even more trees?
Uwera: Perhaps we will. But planting a tree takes one day, and growing a forest takes thirty years. That's my point: we must start now.
Mahoro: Thank you both. Now, let's vote…
| Word or phrase | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| environment | the air, water, land, plants and animals around us | We must protect the environment. |
| motion | the statement that a debate argues for or against | The motion was about the year 2050. |
| optimistic, pessimistic | expecting good things; expecting bad things | Kamanzi is optimistic about the future. |
| evidence | facts that show something is true | Give evidence for your prediction. |
| climate change | long-term changes in the world's temperature and weather | Climate change may bring heavier storms. |
| flood | a lot of water covering land that is usually dry | Floods damaged many homes. |
| landslide | a mass of earth and rock sliding down a slope | Heavy rain caused a landslide. |
| wetland | land that is covered with water for much of the year | Wetlands store water and clean it. |
| restore | bring something back to its good, earlier condition | REMA restored the wetland. |
| frequent | happening often | Storms may become more frequent. |
Definition
Degree of certainty: how sure a speaker is that something will happen, from completely sure to sure it will not.
Modal verbs of possibility: may, might and could, followed by the base verb, show that something is possible but not certain: We might see more floods. Adverbs such as definitely and probably adjust how sure will sounds.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| definitely and probably go after will … | Our children will probably breathe cleaner air. |
| … but before won't | It probably won't get better by itself. |
| may, might, could + base verb (no -s, no to) | Our wetlands might disappear. |
| Negative of possibility: may not, might not (not couldn't) | The rains may not come on time. |
| be likely to, be unlikely to + base verb | Storms are likely to become more frequent. |
| I think … will, I don't think … will | I don't think the forests will disappear. |
Worked example
Rewrite a prediction to match the evidence: By 2050 all our wetlands will disappear.
Warning
Tip
Debate like a scientist. Strong words (definitely, certainly) need strong evidence. When your evidence is weaker, move down the scale to probably or might. A careful claim is harder for your opponent to attack.
'May', 'might' and 'could': 6 Minute Grammar, BBC Learning English (6 minutes). Listen for how the presenters use these verbs to talk about possibility in the future, and note which one they say is the least certain.
Hold your own debate on one of these motions: "By 2050 most Rwandans will live in cities"; "In the future our school will not need paper"; "Electric motorbikes will replace petrol motos in Kigali." Each speaker makes three predictions from different points on the certainty scale and gives one piece of evidence for each.
Useful phrases: I believe that…; The evidence shows that…; I see your point, but…; I'm not sure that's true, because…; That may be true, but…
Madam Chair, I believe most Rwandans will probably live in cities by 2050. The evidence shows that Kigali has grown very fast: it had only 6,000 people in 1962 and about 1.7 million in 2022. New cities like Musanze and Rubavu are also growing, so many young people may move there for work. However, farming will definitely remain important, so millions of people won't leave the countryside.
Write 80 to 100 words predicting how your district's environment will change by 2050. Use at least five different expressions from the certainty scale, and give a reason for each prediction.
By 2050, Rubavu will definitely have more people and more buildings, because tourists and businesses keep coming to the shore of Lake Kivu. The town will probably spread up the hills, so some farms may disappear. Floods might become more frequent on the Sebeya River if people cut the trees on its banks. On the other hand, the lake is likely to stay clean, because fishing and tourism depend on it. I don't think the volcanoes will change at all: Nyiragongo may erupt again, but the Rwandan volcanoes probably won't.
Practice
Sources and credits
