English

You will develop these skills

• Use the present perfect tense.

• Use the passive voice.

• Use the present perfect tense with ‘since’

.• Identify and use paragraphs, headings and numbering

.• List and use vocabulary referring to the physical geography, population, farming and trade of Rwanda.

Quick check

Rwanda is famous for its wildlife, like gorillas, zebra and giraffe. Have you been to see the mountain gorillas of Rwanda? What other geographical features of Rwanda do you know about?

Geography is the study of the physical features of the Earth and its atmosphere. It includes human activities, such as farming and mining, as these activities affect, and are affected by, the physical features of the Earth. Human activities include the distribution of populations and resources, and political and economic activities. In this unit, you will use and improve your English language to learn about the geography of Rwanda.

The land of a thousand hills

When we write a geographical description of a country, we must give it a title so that readers know what we are writing about. This is called the main heading. We then group our information into paragraphs so that similar information is together. This helps the writing make sense. Each paragraph starts on a new line. We may also use a subheading for each new section, to show the reader that it contains important new facts.

Read about the location of Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda is a landlocked country located in the central African region. It is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the West, Uganda in the North, Tanzania in the East and Burundi in the South. Rwanda covers an area of 26 338 km2, 1 390 km2 of which is water.

The capital city is called Kigali, and the country is composed of five provinces, namely:

•Northern Province

•Southern Province

•Eastern Province

•Western Province

•City of Kigali.

Activity 1: Discuss the location of Rwanda

1. Look at the map and find the province that you live in.

2. Name the main provincial town.

3. In your groups, discuss the different provinces and share what you know about them.

landlocked completely surrounded by land

Activity 2: Write about your province

Write a description of your province. Use a main heading and paragraphs. Make sure that you include the names of the province, the main provincial town, the neighbouring provinces and any mountains, lakes or rivers.

Grammar focus

Use the present perfect tense

The present perfect tense is used to describe something that happened in the past, but the exact time it happened is not important. We also use this tense when we want to talk about unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present. We use the verbs ‘has’ or ‘have’ + past participle.

Read about the physical features of Rwanda

Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills. It has steep mountains and deep valleys. Most of Rwanda is situated over 1 520 m above sea level and its highest point is the Karisimbi volcanowhich is 4 507 m high. The Karisimbi volcano is situated in the Virunga mountain range, which runs to the North of Lake Kivu.

volcano a mountain from which molten lava, rock fragments, ash, dust, and gases from below the Earth’s surface are ejected

The vegetation of Rwanda is varied and includes grassland and savannahas well as steep, forested mountainsides. Rwanda has an abundance of wildlife including gorillas, hippos, chimpanzees, storks and cranes.

The main rivers of Rwanda are the Mwogo, Rukarara, Mukungwa, Base, Ruhondo, Akagera, Nyabarongo and the Akanyaru. Rwanda also contains many lakes. The main lakes are Lakes Kivu, Cyohoha, Muhazi, Ihema, Rweru, Burera, Ruhondo and Mugesera.

Activity 3: Use the present perfect tense

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences, using the present perfect tense.

1. _______ you been to see the gorillas?

2. My cousin from America _______ visited Rwanda.

3. I _______ walked around Lake Kiva.

4. I _______ not yet visited Lake Rweru and Lake Ihema.

5. Sentwali thinks that he _______ _______ a picture of the Karisimbi volcano.

savannah open, flat grasslands

abundance plenty

Grammar focus

Using the present perfect tense with ‘since’When we use the present perfect, we can specify a period of time before now by using the word ‘since’ and a point in time. For example:

• She has lived here since 1980.

• We have taught at this school since 1965.

• We have been learning English since we were in primary school.

Read about the population of Rwanda

The population of Rwanda was about 12 million in 2014. In 2010 the population was 10.5 million. It is believed that the population is now growing at a rapid rate of about 2.6%. Since 2002 the population has increased by 2% per annum. However, since 1995 the death rate has fallen by 3% per annum. It is also worth noting that the fertility rate in Rwanda is very high, since a Rwandan mother has five children on average. Rwanda is believed to be the most densely populated country in Africa. By 2015, males represented 49.1% of the total population and females represented 50.9%

The population is united by homogeneity of language and culture, which has created a group of people with socio-cultural pride and self-esteem.

Activity 4: Use the present perfect tense with ‘since’

1. Write down the two present perfect sentences from the passage above that use ‘since’.

2. Write a sentence about the birth rate and death rate in Rwanda using the present perfect tense with ‘since.’

3. Complete the following sentences with your own words:

a) Since the population has become a united homogenous group, _______.

b) The population of Rwanda has grown by 1.5 million since _______ .

4. Write sentences of your own about the population in Rwanda, using ‘since’ with the present perfect tense.

Read about the climate of Rwanda

Rwanda is located a few degrees South of the equator. The country is characterised by moderate temperatures and ample rainfall. The climate of Rwanda is influenced by the country's diverse physical features. The most mountainous province is the Northern Province, which is characterised by low temperatures and relatively high rainfall.

There are two rainy seasons, namely between March and May, and between September and December. The average rainfall is 110–190mm per month. The hottest months are always June, July and August. There is a dry spell during January and February. The average temperature is between 25°C and 27°C.

Activity 5: Interpret a graph

The following graph shows Kigali’s average temperature and rainfall. Examine the graph and answer the questions that follow.

1. What is the average temperature in January?

2. What is the hottest month of the year?

3. In which month does the most rain fall?

4. Give the name of the x-axis.

5. Give the name of the y-axes.

6. Write a short paragraph about average rainfall and temperature patterns at Kigali.

Grammar focus

Use the passive voice

The passive voice happens when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. For example, instead of writing: The seagull caught a fish, we can write: The fish was caught by the seagull.In the first sentence, ‘the seagull’ is the subject of the sentence and ‘the fish’ is the object of the sentence. In the second sentence, we have put ‘the fish’ first and made it into the subject of the sentence.A way to identify the passive voice is to look for a form of the verb 'to be' + past participle. If we change ‘the chicken crossed the road’ to ‘the road was crossed by the chicken’, we can identify the passive voice by ‘was crossed’. This is the verb 'to be' and the past participle of 'cross'.

Read about the economy of Rwanda

Trade in Rwanda

Rwanda has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. It contains both modern cities, such as Kigali, and small rural villages where traditional farming methods are still used.

It is the most densely populated country in Africa and has minimal industry.Mining in Rwanda consists of extracting minerals such as tin, tantalum and tungsten.

The industrial sector is still small and Rwanda imports food products, machinery and equipment, construction materials, petroleum products and fertilisers. The main trading partners are Kenya, Germany, Uganda and Belgium.

Activity 6: Use the passive voice

Change the following sentences into the passive voice:

1. Rwanda imports food products.

2. People in Rwanda still use traditional farming methods.

3. Rwanda mines some minerals, such as tin.

4. Rwanda has a small industrial sector.

5. Rwanda contains few natural resources.

Agriculture in Rwanda

Rwandais a rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in agriculture. Coffee and tea are grown in the highlands where the high altitudes, steep slopes and volcanic soils provide favourable conditions. These cash crops are exported and account for 80% of agricultural exports. Other crops include bananas, beans, sorghum and potatoes.

Much of the farming in Rwanda is still subsistence farming.Cattle are reared in the grasslands and fish are caught in Lake Kivu. Other agricultural animals include goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and rabbits. Production systems are mostly traditional, although there are a few intensive dairy farms around Kigali.

agriculture the practice of farming

cash crops crops grown for sale

subsistence farming farming just to feed the family

intensive highly concentrated

Activity 7: Identify the passive voice

1. Identify the sentences in the text above that use the passive voice.

2. Discuss the importance of agriculture in Rwanda, using the passive voice.

Tourism in Rwanda

Rwanda has a developing tourism trade. People come from all over the world to experience its natural beauty, to see the gorillas and to visit the volcanoes, waterfalls and rainforests which are home to many different African animals.

Activity 8: Practise using the passive voice

Write four sentences about agriculture or tourism in Rwanda, using the passive voice in your sentences.

Activity 9: Read and understand

Copy and complete this table with information from the texts on pages 7 and 8. The first question has been done for you.

Vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling

Activity 10: Match words and their meanings

Use your dictionary to look up the words in the left-hand column of the table, and then match them to the correct description in the right-hand column. Make sure that you can pronounce the words correctly