7 metodika indd

Homework checking. 5 min
Activity 1a Work in pairs. Do the quiz. 8 min
Objective: to stimulate pupils’ interest and ideas about the topic
STEP 1: The pupils in pairs answer the questions.
STEP 2: Check the answers involving the whole class.
Answer key:
1) Is the Aral Sea as big now as it was in 1960? 
No. Formerly, it was the fourth largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 sq 
km. The Aral Sea has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were 

---

161
diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 1997, it had declined to 10% of its original 
size, splitting into four lakes: the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of 
the once far larger South Aral Sea, and one smaller intermediate lake. By 2009, the 
southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin 
strip at the western edge of the former southern sea; in subsequent years, occasional 
water fl ows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small 
degree. Now it is only 8,000 sq km. Satellite images taken by NASA in August 2014 
revealed that for the fi rst time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had 
completely dried up. The eastern basin is now called the Aralkum Desert. 
2) Is the Amu Darya as long as the Syr Darya? 
No. The Amu Darya is shorter than the Syr Darya. The Amu Darya is 1,415 km 
long, and the Syr Darya is 2,212 km long.
3) Is the Indian Ocean as big as the Pacifi c Ocean? 
    No. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world’s oceanic divisions, 
covering 70,560,000 square kilometres.
 
The Pacifi c Ocean is the largest and deepest 
of Earth’s oceanic divisions, covering 165,250,000 square kilometres.
4) Is the population in Asia as big as in Africa?
No. The population in Asia is bigger than in Africa. Asia – 4,462,676,731 (2016 
year); Africa – 1,225,080,510 (2016 year)
5 Is Mount Kilimanjaro as high as Mount Everest? 
  No. Mount Everest is the Earth’s highest mountain, with a peak at 8,850 metres 
high, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa is 4,895metres.