Environment

Task 1. Read the passage and review the vocabulary.

The word environment has a lot of meanings and most often it refers to the natural environment — all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth. Humans have a leading role in the environmental changes as they use natural resources. Humans can affect the wildlife (life of animals) or they can damage the natural resources by polluting them. The causes of pollution are factories that emit poisonous chemicals, pesticides in farming, land degradation, toxins, waste and many others.

Task 2. Problems with the Environment. Explain what the following terms mean and say where they occur.

Environmental problems such as…	have a damaging effect on…
air, land, water pollution	______________________________________________________
climate change	______________________________________________________
deforestation (destruction of the rain forest)	______________________________________________________
overpopulation	______________________________________________________
energy consumption	______________________________________________________
greenhouse effect	______________________________________________________
industrial and nuclear waste	______________________________________________________
chemical fertilisers and pesticides	______________________________________________________
insecticides	______________________________________________________
acid rain	______________________________________________________
smog	______________________________________________________
genetic engineering (genetically modified food)	______________________________________________________
hunting/poaching	______________________________________________________

Task 3. Endangered Wildlife. Fill in the first column of the table with the italicized words.

Pollution, hunting, pesticides, agricultural growth, growth in urban expansion.

Wildlife can be affected with…	It happens when…	That is how…
	farmers spray crops with chemicals to protect crops from insects.	animals get poisoned as they eat the insects.
	industries release toxic waste in the water.	natural habitats are destroyed.
	large amounts of ground is cleared to make the way to housing/industry.	the natural habitats of animals and birds are destroyed.
	ground is cleared to make way for crops.	animals and birds lose their habitats.
	demand for luxury items leads to hunting/killing of animal species.	animals become endangered.

Task 4. Speak about natural disasters using the table.

	Cause	Effect
Hurricane	Winds and warm tropical air combine to create strong circular storm patterns.	Destruction of property/homes/build­ings, loss of livestock, flooding.
Drought	Shortage of rainfall over a long period of time.	Water shortages, reduced production of hydro­electricity, loss of crops and livestock, disease.
Tsunami	Water displaced in the oceans due to rapid movements from earthquakes, volcanic erup­tions, underwater explosions.	Destruction of buildings and loss of life.
Forest Fire	Drought, human error, irresponsibility, arson.	Loss of life, loss of oxygen needed from trees, loss of natural habitat.
Flood	Intense rain, severe storms, poor drainage systems.	Cannot use the land to grow crops, risk of widespread disease due to contaminated water, damage to property, food/water shortages.

Task 5. Protecting the Environment. Study the information to speak about the steps you are making to protect environment.

Environmental problems are solved by many national and international organizations. However, they can’t be effective without our help.

	Governments’ Help	Personal Responsibility
Electricity	Inform the public, use the media on educating people.	Use energy saving light bulbs and devices. Save electric energy.
Pollution	Introduce stricter legislation, prohibit pollution, impose the filters on factories’ chimneys.	Do not drop litter. Use the bike instead of the car when it is possible.
Food	Prohibition of genetically modified products. Eco-food popularization.	Eat organic! Consume less fast food.
Water	Water protection programmes, purification of contaminated rivers.	Do not let water run freely, reuse water.
Rubbish	Sorting of waste, recycling.	Recycle, use fewer plastic bags.
(Rain)forests	Prevent deforestation through fines and laws, replanting programmes.	Plant a tree, do not print the documents out if it’s not necessary, use recycled paper.
Wildlife	Organize campaigns, create wildlife parks, breed endangered animals in zoos.	Adopt an animal, feed animals and birds in winter.

Some steps for saving rainforests and, on a broader scale, ecosystems around the world can be abbreviated as TREES:

· T each others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.

· R estore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.

· E ncourage people to live in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment.

· E stablish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.

· S upport companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Task 6. On a separate sheet of paper write an essay about the environmental problems using the frame:

Urban expansion and overpopulation in the modern world have led to such problems as...

The damaging effect on the environment is caused by...

The example of the environmentally unfriendly attitude is seen with the wildlife when...

There is the danger that in the long run the damage may not be recovered. So, today people are becoming increasingly concerned about...

I think that our first priority should be... another important factor to consider is... the least urgent priority is...

The ways of solving the environment can be abbreviated as TREES:...

Task 7. Read the text. For questions (1–9) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

In 1928, Thomas Midgley, a scientist and engineer in America, found a way to use chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs) as a refrigerant. They proved to be a valuable compound, stable, non-poisonous, non-corrosive, non-flammable.

Their low thermal conductivity made them ideal for coolants in refrigerators and air-conditioners. In the Second World War, CFCs were widely used as cleaning solvents and in plastic foam for food and drink containers, and the insulation of buildings.

These are the products which, doubling in output every ten years, have contributed to the destruction of the ozone layer, the thin veil in the stratosphere which protects animals and plants from disease and, possibly, extinction.

Other man-made chemicals, apart from CFCs, are eating ozone molecules. Among them are halon gases used in fire extinguishers, aerosols, and refrigerators, and two compounds widely used as solvents: methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Their combined reaction on the ozone layer is devastating, allowing ultraviolet rays from the sun, known as UV-Bs, to bombard the earth.

UV-Bs cause skin cancer. Medical journals in Australia say two-thirds of the population alive today will develop some form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 of the continent’s 16 million inhabitants will develop the deadliest of all, malignant melanoma.

UV-Bs can damage the immune system and leave you open to infectious diseases. They damage your eyes, burning the cornea, injuring the retina and generating cataracts. In southern Chile, blindness has begun to strike humans, sheep, rabbits and horses. The radiation kills off the plankton on which larger sea creatures depend, and in southern Chile a 12 per cent reduction in plankton has been measured.

The scientists who know about the ozone layer are worried. They give three reasons for their pessimism:

1. Ozone depletion is now general over the globe, and occurring twice as fast as had been predicted: according to reports, in the first two months of this year, parts of the ozone layer shrank by 20 per cent, and levels of chlorine, the ozone-eating chemical, were 70 times higher than normal.

2. Depletion is now being caused by the CFCs released in the mid-1970s, and so the chemicals being released now will endanger our children.

3. No one knows what the cumulative effects of the depletion of the ozone layer will be, but they do know that things from now on are going to change very quickly indeed.

1 Which title would best suit the passage?

A CFCs: from Coolers to Cancers

B The Ozone Layer

C UV-B and Skin Cancer

D Worries about the Ozone Layer

2 As CFCs are non-corrosive, they don’t________.

A poison food

B cause explosions

C eat metals

D damage plastics

3 CFCs were used in drink containers because they________.

A are easily moulded

B are light-weight

C don’t conduct heat

D are stable compounds

4 How rapidly was the use of CFCs increasing?

A Doubling every decade.

B Doubling every year.

C Twice as much each year.

D Ten per cent every year.

5 A solvent is used in________.

A cooking

B lubricating

C cleaning

D sterilizing

6 ‘Bombard’ is a word normally used with reference to________.

A artillery fire

B heavyweight boxing

C solar radiation

D laser technology

7 The opposite of ‘malignant’ is________.

A neutral

B benevolent

C healthy

D salubrious

8 According to the text, in southern Chile, as a result of UV-B________.

A fish stocks are falling

B fish are going blind

C fish are subject to disease

D fish food has been depleted

9 Our children are in danger because________.

A CFCs are cumulative

B CFCs are used more than ever

C CFCs take time to attack the ozone layer

D chlorine levels are rising

Дата добавления: 2014-11-29