Английский язык (стр. 4 )

5.  Ежедневно люди выбрасывают поразительное количество мусора и хлама. Иногда этот хлам сжигается, загрязняя при этом воздух.

Ex. 18. In many countries forests, fields and marshes are being destroyed. Is it a problem in your country? Find out if your country has a policy to protect the environment.

Ex. 19. Translate the text without the dictionary.

Text C

SECOND WIND FOR EUROPE’S LUNGS

Belaruisan Polesie is a special place. The natural landscape of the region is unique, including the largest forest-marsh area in Europe and the Pripyat floodplain ecosystem. The state scheme for its development until 2015 has been accepted in Belarus, creating a new page in its biography.

A program was elaborated to revive the Polesie area of the Brest and Gomel regions, aiming to develop the social sphere, restoring flooded land, raising efficiency and preventing land degradation. Above all, it provides for the development of the agriculture and fishing industry, bringing non-consumptive use of water resources and their protection from desiccation and pollution.

Among its priorities is the protection of forest resources, flora and fauna, while minimizing the effects of emergencies.

Various projects are connected with the development of tourism in this region, with better accommodation being provided, alongside reconstruction of schools, hospitals and town halls.

The state program will help create tourist infrastructure, uniting unique architectural sites and the rich nature of the area. In other words, it will give us everything we need to ensure successful tourist business, from which the district can make money.

UNIT 3

Ex. 1. Look through the following words before reading the text.

to become extinct – вымирать, исчезать

wildlife – живая природа

environment – окружающая среда

acid rain – кислотный дождь

chemicals – химикаты

fossil fuel – ископаемое топливо

nuclear energy – энергия

solar energy – солнечная энергия

geothermal energy – геотермальная энергия

Ex. 2. Read the text and do the exercises that follow it.

Text A

WE NEED OUR PLANET CLEANER AND HEALTHIER

The Earth is our home, but much of it is dirty and dying.

By the year 2030, scientists report that 25% of all animals, birds, fish and insects may be extinct. Every year man cuts down more trees to provide paper, wood, medicines, mineral fuel. But it’s not only trees and forests which are disappearing. Every rain forest also contains millions of animals, insects and flowers. These are destroyed, too. Is there any solution? Governments in rain forest countries need to plan and work together. They should protect certain areas and plant new forests.

Cars and factories are very dirty. They can also be dangerous for people, wildlife and environment. One of Europe’s and North America’s most serious pollution problems is “acid rain”. This happens when factories send gases and chemicals into the air. There they mix, and the mixture is carried for hundreds of miles by the wind and finally falls back to Earth. This “acid rain” kills fish and trees. It slowly destroys everything. Industrial countries should control their level of pollution and try to reduce the acid rain effect.

At the moment, 94% of the world’s energy comes from oil, gas and coal. But this “fossil fuel” won’t last forever. There’s only enough oil and gas for the next 50 years. Coal will last longer – perhaps about 300 years. And then? Well, one answer is nuclear energy. But today, after Chernobyl, many people think it’s too dangerous. There are four solutions. They all use natural energy in the environment: wind energy, solar energy, wave energy (from the sea), and geothermal energy (from “hot” rocks under the ground). It’s clean and natural, but there’s another problem: they all are rather expensive.

Today, many scientists and world leaders realize that the Earth is in danger. It’s really very simple. Either we stop killing the Earth or we kill ourselves. We need a cleaner, healthier planet. Millions of ordinary people – both young and old – understand this, too. Some of them belong to the so-called “Green” or earth-friendly organizations in countries all over the world. Groups like “Green Peace” have already helped to stop the hunting of some animals, such as whales. What else can be done?

Ex. 3. Answer the following questions.

1.  Why have 40% of the world’s rain forests disappeared in the last 80 years?

2.  What do the governments need to do?

3.  What is “acid rain”?

4.  How can we solve pollution problems like “acid rain”?

5.  How much “fossil fuel” is left for further generations?

6.  What kind of energy will replace coal, gas and oil in the future?

7.  What do you know about “Green Peace”?

Ex. 4. Find the English equivalents for:

Киты; вырубать леса; минеральное топливо; уровень загрязнения; геотермальная энергия; медикаменты; нефть; естественная энергия окружающей среды; решение проблемы; древесина; прекратить охоту; насекомые; во всём мире; энергия ветра.

Ex. plete the following table with the appropriate verb or noun form.

Verb	Noun
to destroy	-
-	pollution
to solve
-	hunting
to disappear	-
to protect	-
-	mixture
-	leader
to provide	-

Ex. 6. Fill in the table with the degrees of comparison of the following adjectives.

dangerous	-	-
-	cleaner	-
-	healthier	-
young	-	-
-	-	the most serious
-	longer	-
-	more expensive	-
-	-	the dirtiest
simple	-	-
old	-	-

Ex. 7. Make up your own sentences using the following words and word combinations.

Nuclear energy; to solve problems; fossil fuels; wildlife; to be in danger; pollution.

Ex. 8. Read and translate the following sentences, paying attention to the modal verbs.

1.  By the year 2030, 25% of all animals, birds, fish and insects may be extinct.

2.  Governments in rain forest countries should protect certain areas and plant new forests.

3.  Cars and factories can also be dangerous for people, wildlife and environment.

4.  Industrial countries should control their level of pollution and try to reduce the acid rain effect.

5.  What else can be done?

Ex. 9. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.  Ежегодно человек вырубает всё больше лесов для удовлетворения своих потребностей в бумаге, древесине, медикаментах и минеральном топливе.

2.  Автомобили и работающие предприятия представляют собой угрозу для людей и живой природы. Одна из серьёзнейших проблем загрязнения окружающей среды – это «кислотные дожди». Они медленно разрушают всё вокруг.

3.  Индустриальным странам следует контролировать уровень загрязнения и стремиться к его постоянному снижению.

4.  Запасов газа и нефти осталось лет на 50. Угля хватит на более долгий срок, а что потом?

5.  Сегодня, после трагедии Чернобыля, многие люди считают, что ядерная энергия опасна.

6.  Есть четыре варианта решения этой проблемы. Все они связаны с использованием естественной энергии окружающей среды: энергии ветра, солнечной энергии, энергия воды и геотермальных источников.

Ex. 10. Look through the following words before reading the text.

Satellite – спутник

hole – дыра

ultraviolet radiation – ультрафиолетовая радиация

fridge – холодильник

manufacture – изготовление, производство

heat – тепло

petrol – бензин

wood – древесина

to reflect – отражать

cloud – облако.

Ex. 11. Read the text and do the exercises that follow it.

Text B

CLIMATE CRISIS

1. Holes in the sky

The satellite photographs showed the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. The hole is pink and white on the computer photograph. The ozone layer stops some of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ultraviolet radiation causes a suntan. Too much ultraviolet radiation causes sunburn and skin cancer.

CFCs in the atmosphere have caused the hole. Scientists first discovered the hole in 1982, and it is getting bigger. Thirty per cent of CFCs come from aerosol cans, thirty per cent from fridges and air-conditioning, and thirty-four per cent from the manufacture of some plastic products.

2. The greenhouse effect

Sunlight gives us heat. Some of the heat warms the atmosphere, and some of the heat escapes back into space.

During the last 100 years we have produced a huge amount of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere works like the glass in a greenhouse. It allows heat to get in, but it does not allow much heat to get out. So the atmosphere becomes warmer because less heat can escape.

Where does the carbon dioxide come from? People and animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees take carbon dioxide from the air, and produce oxygen. We produce carbon dioxide when we burn coal, oil, petrol, gas or wood. In the last few years, people have burnt huge areas of rain forest. This means there are fewer trees, and, of course, more carbon dioxide!