Topic № 10 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTIONI. Vocabulary: 1. absorb - поглощать 2. acid rains – кислотные дожди 3. chemical fertilizers – удобрения 4. depletion – уменьшение 5. disastrous consequences – гибельные последствия 6. emission – выброс 7. environment – окружающая среда 8. greenhouse effect – парниковый эффект 9. overpopulation – перенаселение 10. oxygen balance – кислородный баланс 11. ozone layer – озоновый слой 12. persuade enterprises – убедить предприятия 13. pesticides - пестициды 14. pollute – загрязнять 15. pollution – загрязнение 16. threaten – угрожать 17. wastes – отходы
II. Read the text: Many years ago people lived in harmony with the environment and it seemed to them that natural resources were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man’s interference in the nature began to increase. Today our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, and overpopulation are the problems that threaten human lives on the Earth. The official number of people on our planet is 6,000,000,000 (six billion)! Every new person added to the planet needs food, water, clothes and fuel. The more people mean more cars, roads, factories, electricity. People throw away more litter and cut down more trees. Our planet becomes more and more polluted. Every year the world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reasons for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. Vast forests are cut down and burn in fires. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds and plants disappear forever. The rivers and seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas. Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out forever. One more danger comes from the depletion of the ozone layer, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. If it continues, it will damage all living organisms on our planet. The pollution of the air and the world ocean, destruction of the ozone layer are the results of man`s careless interaction with nature, a sign of ecological crises. Fortunately, it’s not too late to solve these problems. We have time, money and even technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. There are state organizations and international conventions which pay much attention to this problem. There is a science, named ecology, which studies the relation between people and their environment. People are beginning to realize that environmental problems are not somebody else's. Each of us can plant trees and create parks for endangered animals. We can recycle our wastes; persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities, because we must do everything possible to keep our environment clean for ourselves and for the next generations. III. True or false: 1. People have long thought of the environment as a limited source of resources. 2. One of the main problems of the environment is depletion of the ozone layer which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. 3. The Aral Sea is already dead. 4. A million species of animals, birds and fish have already appeared on our planet. 5. Big cities face the environmental catastrophe. 6. We can not recycle our wastes. 7. We have time, money and even technology to make our planet clean. IV. Answer the questions: 1. What is older: nature or mankind? 2. What have people thought of the environment? 3. What are the main ecological problems? 4. What happens to forests on the planet? 5. Why did some species of animals, birds, plants disappear from the Earth? 6. What is the result of man`s careless attitude to the nature? 7. What do people of different countries do to save our planet?
V. Find the English equivalents in the text: защита окружающей среды, кислотные дожди, вмешательство человека, вредные вещества, разрушение озонового слоя, редкие виды животных и растений, химические удобрения и пестициды, обращать внимание на проблему, государственные организации, сохранить окружающую среду. VI. Fill in the gaps: 1. Today our planet is …. 2. More people mean …. 3. …is 6,000,000,000 (six billion)! 4. Every year world industry …. 5. These emissions have …. 6. … is already dead. 7. The rivers and seas are filled …. 8. … dies out forever. 9. The pollution of the air and the world ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is …. 10. People are beginning to realize ….
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