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LESSON 1 Present Perfect: Statements and Questions

EXPLORE Kazakhstan

Aral
Sea
1 READ the excerpt from a lecture about the Aral Sea. Notice the
CD2-02
words in bold. Uzbekistan
Asia’s Aral Sea

Professor: . . . Now, as we’ve just seen in the first slide, the
Aral Sea is in central Asia on the border between Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan. It used to be one of the biggest inland seas
1
in the world, but most of its water has disappeared. The sea
2
has shrunk to 10 percent of its original size.
Some people say that the water level has gone down because
of climate change. However, we know that in the second half of the
twentieth century, agricultural projects used up the water in the
Aral Sea. The Aral Sea used to be home to 24 species of fish. Now,
people keep cows and camels on the land next to old fishing ships.

Student 1: Have the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
ever tried to save the sea?

3
Professor: Yes, they have. In Kazakhstan, they built a dam to
help save the northern part of the Aral Sea, and the water level
has risen again. A lot of fish are living there again, and birds have
returned, too.

Student 2: What about the southern part in Uzbekistan? Has the
situation there improved?

Professor: No, I’m afraid it hasn’t. Unfortunately, most of the
southern Aral Sea has probably disappeared forever.
1 inland sea: a sea that is completely surrounded by land The Aral Sea photographed in
2 shrunk: gotten smaller 1989 (top) and 2008 (bottom)
3 dam: a wall that is built to keep water in a certain area

2 CHECK. Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. Which of these statements about the Aral Sea is true?
a. It is the biggest inland sea in the world.

b. It is in two different countries.
c. It is in eastern Asia.

122 The PReSeNT PeRFeCT
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