Иностранный язык (стр. 6 )

P: Yes, thank you, doctor, very much.

D: 7______________

                                       

a. Show me your tongue.                        e. What’s wrong with you?

b. Any complaints of a headache?                f. What’s your temperature this morning?

c. Do you need a sick-leave42?                g. Now I’ll have to listen to your breath.

d. Be healthy!

GOING GREEN

If you go camping in a Canadian national park, you would be told: “Walk lightly on the earth. See but don’t be seen. Hear but don’t be heard. What you carry in, carry out. Take only memories; leave only footprints.”

You don’t believe it makes a difference if you leave a little rubbish? This is how long it takes for some rubbish left in park areas to disappear naturally”:

Cigarette butts – 1-5 years                        Aluminium cans – 50 years

Glass bottles – 1,000,000 years                        Plastic bags – 10-20 years

Plastic photo-film containers – 20-30 years        Nylon fabric – 30-40 years

Rubber boots – 50-80 years                        Orange and banana peels – about 2 years

Plastic bottles – indefinitely

Here are some more fact you probably didn’t know:

• Each year, 1 million sea birds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed as a result of eating or being strangled* in plastic.

• The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.

• Americans throw away about 40 billion soft drink cans and bottles every year. Placed end to end, they would reach to the Moon and back nearly 20 times.

If we all do our best to go green, we can help Mother Earth.

       ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

About 200 years ago man lived in harmony with nature because, industry was not much developed. Today, however, the contradictions between man and nature are dramatic. Every year world industry throws out into atmosphere about 1000 tons of dust and other harmful substances. People of many cities suffer from smog. Forests are disappearing. The pollution of the air, oceans, seas, rivers, lakes and the destruction of the ozone layer could lead our planet to a global catastrophe. The Earth is our home, that’s why we must take care of it, for ourselves and for the next generations. We must keep our environment clean.

What can we do?

There’s much that we can do. Factories should filter their smoke. Cars and planes can be done so that they do not pollute the air. The dirty water from the factories and sewage should be drained.

We must learn not to litter. Old glass and plastic jars and bottles can become new glass and plastic. Old iron can help us to make new cars and refrigerators. Old newspaper can become new paper. We can recycle most things that we don’t want or can’t use any more. 

WHAT IS GOING ON? IS OUR CLIMATE CHANGING?

Jerome K. Jerome said that we are never happy with the weather. The weather, like the government, is always in the wrong. But something has been really wrong with it lately. Droughts, wildfires, landslides, avalanches, gales, tornadoes, floods... All over Europe it’s the same story. The weather is definitely getting worse and the so-called extreme weather events are becoming more and more frequent.

Scientists have noticed it too. Their explanation is short: the cause is global warming. What is global warming? “Greenhouse effect” is actually a natural feature of our atmosphere without which life on our planet would be impossible. Certain atmospheric gases (the most important of them is carbon dioxide – CO2) work as a kind of blanket, keeping the Earth warm. The amount of these ‘greenhouse’ gases used to be more or less the same for centuries. But the industrial revolution broke this balance. Because of heavy industry and other human activities the amounts of CO2 and other gases have increased by 30%.

Climate experts predict that by 2050 the global average temperature will rise by 2-3 degrees. It doesn’t seem much. Remember, however, that the difference between the average global temperatures now and the last Ice Age* (20,000 years ago) is only 6 to 8 degrees.

So what could happen?

Northern regions will be wetter and warmer, southern regions will be drier and hotter. Forests grow instead of tundra in Siberia. It'll be possible to grow grapes in Britain. Not so bad so far. But parts of Spain, Italy and Greece will desert. Snow will melt in the Alps and other mountains, and the water will causefloods landslides and avalanches. Sea levels willrise and a lot of coastal areas will disappear under water. So will whole species of animals and plants.

It sounds gloomy. Moreover, some experts argue that the short-term global warming will lead to a more catastrophic long-term global cooling. As the arctic ice cap melts, a flow of fresh water will change currents, including theGulf Stream*, which now keeps Europe warm.

What shall we do?

Certainly we can cheer ourselves idea that this forecast is far from proven. After all, people began to measure temperature not so long ago. The climatologic history of the world is long and man's knowledge of it is short. But it doesn't mean that we can just sit and wait. Since the global warming is the result of air pollution, the main thing is to lower greenhouse gases emissions. People should use clean energy, such as wind, solar and wave power, which do not emit greenhouse gases. If we recycle cans and paper, insulate* our homes, take public transport and think about energy efficiency in the home – switching off unused lights, for example, we’ll reduce the threat of global climate change.

The question is: will mankind succeed in making such radical changes in attitudes and lifestyles in time?

                                               

THE HISTORY OF LONDON

London was founded in the first century AD by the Romans. They built a city a square mile in size, surrounded with a wall and called it Londinium. They left London in the 5th century and the city was largely the 8th century London was again a busy trading center and in the 11th century it became the capital of England. The King Edward the Confessor built a palace and a huge abbey at Westminster. The Norman period saw the construction of the Tower, old St. Paul’s Cathedral and many churches and monasteries.

Medieval London grew in importance as a trading center and in 1215 its citizens won thw right to elect their own leader, or Lord Mayor. London begat to spread beyond the city walls during the Tudor and Stuart periods. The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed three-quarters of the city. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral and designed 51 Churches. The rebuilding of Londonfollowed the medieval street plan, but the old wooden houses were replaced by buildings of brick to reduce the future fire risks.

During the 19th century London spread rapidly into the suburbs. As a result of it new forms of transport were developed, including the underground railway system. Britain was then at the height of her Imperial powers and this is expressed in buildings such as the Houses of Parliament and St. Pancras Station.

Large areas of London were destroyed by bombs during World War II and the rebuilding that followed was of mixed quality.

Today in its full extent Greater London covers 625 square miles and consists of 33 separate boroughs, including the City, the West End and the East End.

About half million people work in the City. It’s the financial center of the UK with many banks, offices and the Stock Exchange*.

All the historical places and famous parks are in the West End. Covent Garden in London’s West End, is crowded with cafes, clubs and clothes shops. It includes the shopping area of Knightsbridge, Oxford Street, Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden; it hosts museums and galleries, among them are the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery, Portrait Gallery and the BritishMuseum. The best known streets are: Downing Street, № 10 has been the Prime Minister’s official residence since the 18th century, and Fleet Street which has long been associated with printing and was until recently the home of many national newspapers. One part of the West End has so many Chinese shops and restaurants that it is called Chinatown. Chelsea and Sloane Street are supposed to be the homes of trendy rich kids.

The port of London was until recently in the East End. It was an area of docks, unattractive in appearance, but very important in the country’s commerce.

If you want to discover London, it is best to start with a tour on a sightseeing bus. It's also fun to go on a guided walk. These are advertised in Time Out, a weekly magazine that tells you what is happening in London. The walks last up to three hours and have special themes, such as “Ghosts* and Haunted* Taverns”, “Royal London – Palaces and People”, “The Beatles London – Rock Routes of the Sixties”.

When you go outside the centre you find many areas which used to be small villages. The villages became part of the city when the city expanded, but they still managed to keep their village character. Hampstead, the best-known of the villages, is extremely expensive. It is on one of thehighest hills in London.

Some visitors say that London is an expensive city, but there are a few things to do which do not cost a lot of money. Most museums are free and live free guided tours as well as lectures.