Английский язык (стр. 8 )

In this world around us, there are two things that do not belong to any one country: air and ocean water. In both the air and the water, there is much pollution. People are concerned about the air and the water used by everyone, and they are also concerned about the future of the Earth.

One of the most important pollution problems is in the oceans. Many ships sail in the ocean water – fishing ships, some ships carrying people, some carrying oil. If a ship loses some of the oil in the water, or trash from the ships is put into the ocean, the water becomes dirty. Many birds and fish die because of the polluted water. Many fish are dying in the sea, others are getting contaminated. Fishermen catch contaminated fish which may be sold in markets and people may get sick from eating them. Fish may also move to another part of the ocean. Lakes and rivers are getting polluted, too. Some beaches are considered dangerous for swimming.

The second important problem is air pollution. Cars and factories pollute the air we use. It also destroys the ozone layer which protects the Earth from the dangerous light of the Sun.

Another problem is that our forests are dying from acid rain. This, in turn, affects the balance of nature.

If we want our children to live in the same world we live in, or in better and healthier world, we must learn to protect the water, the air and the earth from pollution.

Ex. 10. Answer the following questions.

1.  Why are people concerned about air and water?

2.  What are the consequences of water pollution?

3.  What are the consequences of air pollution?

4.  What other kinds of pollution do you know?

5.  What should people do if they want to live on the Earth?

Ex. 11. Find the English equivalents for

Облегчить чью-либо жизнь; защищать воду, воздух и землю от загрязнения; на протяжении многих столетий; рыбаки; погибать из-за кислотных дождей; изобретать машины и инструменты; оказывать влияние на гармонию в природе; разрушать озоновый слой; загрязнённая вода; загрязнение воздуха; быть отравленным; пляжи.

Ex. pply the prepositions where necessary.

1. Man has been trying to make his life easier ______ many centuries.

2. There are two things that do not belong ______ any country.

3. One ______ the most important pollution problems is _____ the oceans.

4. The ozone layer protects the Earth ______ the dangerous light ______ the Sun.

5. Our forests are dying ______ acid rain.

Ex. 13 .Fill in the blanks with the suitable words from the following list: pollution, dangerous, acid rain, to protect, contaminated.

1. In both the air and the water, there is much______.

2. Many fish are dying in the sea, others are getting ______.

3. The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ______ light of the Sun.

4. Our forests are dying from ______.

5. We must learn ______ the water, the air and the earth from pollution.

Ex. 14. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.  Чтобы облегчить свою жизнь, люди изобретали машины и инструменты.

2.  Люди озабочены загрязнением воды и воздуха.

3.  Суда, сбрасывая отходы в океан, загрязняют воду.

4.  Рыба в загрязнённой воде умирает или становится ядовитой.

5.  Машины и фабрики загрязняют воздух и разрушают озоновый слой.

6.  Кислотный дождь нарушает баланс в природе.

7.  Люди должны научиться защищать землю и воздух от загрязнения.

Ex. 15.You are a famous scientist, a member of the Environment Protection Committee. You are asked about the problem of pollution. Your task is to give information about

­--kinds of pollution

--causes of pollution

--results of pollution

--who suffers because of it

--possible solution.

Ex. 16. Translate the text with the help of a dictionary.

Text C

WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF GLOBAL WARMING CONTINUES?

We can often hear on radio or television about global warming: everybody starts discussing it, being alarmed, but gradually everything is forgotten and falls back into its normal place. We live and don’t think that global warming continues and it becomes apparent not only in temperature increases, but in its influences on the plants, animals, sea level, and even ourselves.

University of California researchers have solved a longstanding mystery for scientists trying to understand how the Earth’s climate can quickly shift between cold and warm modes. The mystery revolves around the source of a rapid change in the geochemistry of oceanic carbon that occurred just as the last ice age ended, between 16,000 and 20,000 years ago. Climate-change experts say these changes reflect the types of events that could occur because of global warming related to human activities. Because the greenhouse gases that human beings are producing affect not only the warming of the atmosphere but also the circulation of the oceans. Changes in the atmosphere temperature can have immense effects on the flow of the deep ocean currents, which in turn can affect weather and climate worldwide.

The effect of global warming on alpine vegetation was one of the main topics discussed at a recent climate conference in Grindelwald. One of the key speakers at the conference, scientist George Grabherr from the University of Vienna, confirmed that if global warming continued, Europe could see vegetation shifting north – and eastwards.

“There’s a probability that the trees and plants that are growing there could move or grow in our area. According to models of forest recovery after the last ice age,” – Grabherr said – “dominant tree species moved northwards at an average rate of 200 meters a year”.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Text 1

The Acute Problems of Ecology

Our ancestors considered the Earth’s resources to be boundless and endless. We have no right to blame our ancestors for their ecological ignorance: they fought to live.

Even in the 19th century when the word “ecology” was born people continued to use nature as consumers, considering Man to be “lord and king” of nature and not the child.

In the 20th century with the rapid growth of science and technology human achievements in conquering nature became so great that man’s economic activities began to produce an increasingly negative effect on the biosphere.

People are striving to reach an immediate objective, their consumer attitude to nature in disregard of natural laws break natural balance. According to the International Union for the Protection of Nature 76 species of animals and some hundred species of plants have disappeared from the planet in the course of the last 60 years. 132 mammal and 26 bird species face extinction not so much due to hunting as due to the pollution of the biosphere.

The destruction of nature gradually led to the loss of the most essential element of existence, a healthy biological habitat. Environmental pollution increases the cases of disease, raises the cost of medical services and reduces the life-span of a now the pollution and poisoning of the soil, water and air have reached a critical level.

Environmental pollution has become a significant obstacle to economic growth. The discharge of dust and gas into the atmosphere returns to the Earth in the form of “acid rain” and affects crop, the quality of forests and the amount of fish. To this we can add the rise of chemicals, radioactivity, noise and other types of pollution.

Text 2

Acid Rain

Imagine rainwater more acid than lemon juice! Imagine forests and lakes dying and historical monuments being destroyed by rain. Not just by normal rainwater but by acid rain. Just what is acid rain? Did you know that normal rainwater is already a little acidic? So what makes acid rain different from normal rainwater? Well, the term “acid rain” actually refers to any form of precipitation, that is, any form of rain or snow that is more acidic than normal rainwater. Let me repeat that definition for you. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is more acidic than normal rainwater. This definition is rather unscientific. So let me give you another, more scientific way of saying what acid rain is. In scientific terms, acid rain is defined as any form of precipitation, which has a pH of less than 5.5. The term pH is a term used in chemistry to indicate how acid or how alkaline a solution is. If a solution is neither acid nor alkaline, we say that it is a neutral solution and that it has a pH of 7. If a solution has a pH of less than seven, we say the solution is acidic. So you can see that with a pH of 5.5., normal rainwater is already slightly acidic. Ordinary rainwater is slightly acidic because there are some normal gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the gas that all animals, including humans exhale. When these gases dissolve in water, they make the water somewhat acidic. So it is perfectly natural that rainwater is a little acidic. But as you heard, today in parts of Europe and North America rainwater is sometimes more acidic than lemon juice.

What causes this rainwater to be so acidic? The most important cause of the excessive acidity of rainwater has been the burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal. Burning fossil fuels produces not only carbon dioxide, but also gases such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide, which go high into the atmosphere. These gases combine with water molecules and form acid. These acidic water droplets then can travel hundreds of miles before they return to earth as rain or snow.

This will not be an easy problem to solve. As more and more countries become industrialized, there will be more and more competition for petroleum for cars, home heating, and industry. While burning petroleum contributes greatly to acid rain, it is less polluting than coal. Unfortunately, petroleum is more expensive than coal and the supply of petroleum will eventually run out. Therefore, there will be more and more pressure to burn coal for energy. Coal is much dirtier energy source than petroleum. Since we already know how destructive acid rain is, it’s very important that we increase our efforts to find a non-polluting source of energy as quickly as possible, so that we can avoid further environmental damage.