Sorry it’s been a few days since I posted the last in our B2 Italian listenings series. Here’s number 4 (of 8). Hope you’re making good progress with them!
Here at OnlineItalianClub H.Q. we’ve been busy figuring out what to to next after the listenings.
While we still have another four B2s to go, plus the whole of the C1 and C2 series (bet you can’t wait), there’s a possibility we might pause with the listenings after the B2 series and do something different.
Currently we have two options, and brains are being racked for other possibilities.
Option 1 is an Italian writing course, which will be a paid product (but affordable, and probably will come will a ‘no buts’ money-back guarantee). This’ll be an e-mail course with 5 writing tasks to complete in your own time.
You’ll be assigned a tutor who will correct your work, and who you can e-mail with your questions.
We’ve never done any writing on the club before, so even if you don’t buy the course, there’ll be some interesting articles about how Italians write, and how you can learn to do so too.
Option 2 is another first: we’re hoping to publish a simplified ‘reader’. Now you might remember we’ve tried this before, but this time it’ll be different. First of all, we’re getting an orginal story written by one of our expert Italian teachers. It’s going to be gripping! Then, when it’s ready, we’re hoping to publish it, chapter by chapter, free of charge!
O.K. so now you know what’s coming up, let’s get back to work.
Click play to hear our 4th B2 Italian listening track. When you’ve listened to it a couple of times at least, scroll down to study the transcript.
(If you’re reading this in an e-mail, you won’t be able to see the listening plug-in. Click here to view the article on our site and do the listening.)
Transcript
4. L’INQUINAMENTO
Negli ultimi anni l’inquinamento ha raggiunto dei livelli preoccupanti. Se guardiamo il telegiornale ci accorgiamo che spesso si parla di problemi ambientali come il buco nell’ozono o le discariche troppo piene di rifiuti.
L’aumento del livello d’inquinamento è preoccupante perché porta con sé delle conseguenze gravi.
Ma a cosa è dovuto l’inquinamento? E quali effetti può provocare sul nostro pianeta?
L’aumento dei livelli d’inquinamento è dovuto a molti fattori, tra cui lo smog. Infatti negli ultimi anni è cresciuto il numero di automobili. Molte persone infatti si servono delle automobili per andare a lavoro o per spostarsi, a volte usando l’auto più del necessario.
In aggiunta, è cresciuto anche il numero fabbriche: i gas e i liquidi di scarico spesso vengono riversati liberamente nell’aria e nell’acqua e contaminano le falde acquifere e l’atmosfera. A questo dobbiamo aggiungere che produciamo sempre più rifiuti non riciclabili.
Le conseguenze sono molto gravi e sotto l’occhio di tutti. Infatti l’inquinamento dell’aria e dell’acqua minaccia molte specie animali e vegetali che rischiano l’estinzione.
In più, l’emissione di gas aumenta l’effetto serra. Quest’ultimo comporta l’aumento delle temperature e lo scioglimento dei ghiacciai.
Per fermare questo problema che riguarda tutti noi occorre un maggiore rispetto per il nostro pianeta.
P.S.
Don’t forget our sponsor school’s 2014 Summer Offer, which ends on Saturday. More details here.
And you might also be interested in this related article: How to learn more Italian (not what you think)
P.P.S.
What do you think of the writing course / e-book in episodes ideas?
By way of market research, we’d love to hear your views. Click here to comment on this article.
John Thomson says
I would certainly support the second option, I assume the book will be about a handsome young sailor from Bologna and his many adventures
The other reason for this post is that I have changed my e=mail address, Daniel assures me all I need to do is change it when I post
A life on the ocean wave
Cheers
John T
Daniel says
But no, John. It’s Paolo doing the writing, and he is more of the leading man getting the dusky maiden in an (Italian-speaking) war zone type.
As you see, your new email is now approved so future comments will be published immediately.
Buona giornata!
Pamela says
The Italian writing course is a brilliant idea.
It would help me enormously to see, understand and work to retain in my mind the syntax differences between English and Italian, not just with replicating the (formal, convoluted) way Italians write.
Pamela says
Or maybe I need to re-learn how to write comprehensible English first.
Daniel says
It constantly surprises me just how few people regularly need to WRITE in their daily lives. Writing is something that we all learn at school, but how many people would feel confident even with a basic formal letter, or writing a report, or something like a Wikipedia article?
Interestingly, writing in a foreign language can mean improving the skills you need to write in your own language, even things as simple as spell-checking…
Sjaak says
Forse un buon idea ma mi chiedo quando da quanto paroli
sufficiente a me
Daniel says
Not sure I quite understand that, Mr (or Ms) Oosterman41…
Are you worried about the lessical (vocabulary) complexity of new material?
Or the opposite? That you want more, more, more new words!