Alpharetta's Green School Program

Dee West, the director of Clean and Beautiful in Alpharetta, began the Green School in 1991. The Green School was created to teach children how to protect the environment. Now there are more than 20 schools in the Alpharetta area that are participating in Dee West’s environmental program.

 The children at the Green School understand that they have to work hard to protect the environment. They work on several environmental projects, including monitoring and cleaning lakes and rivers, planting trees, studying nature and the effects of pollution, and recycling cans and papers.

Now parents tell Mrs. West, “I can’t throw anything away”, because their children are so in tune with recycling!

to participate – участвовать

to monitor – контролировать, проверять

effect  - результат влияния действия

in tune – в тон, в согласии

Tasks:

а) Say if you agree to the school program of teaching children how to protect the environment.

b) Give examples of teaching children how to protect the environment in Russian schools.

c) Exchange your options on this problem with your classmates.

22. Read the following texts, giving some facts of nature pollution in the USA:

Dirty Water?

Nearly half of the lakes in North America are polluted. Often, companies dump chemical wastes into water. But scientists are finding a solution to this problem, too. Some rivers have been made much cleaner. And there are big plans to clean up the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River, and other bodies of water.

to dump – сбрасывать

wastes – отходы

solution – решение

body of water – водоемы

Air Care

Worldwide, the stinky problem of pollution has grown. More and more factories, cars, and tracks add their bad breath to the air. But the battle against air pollution is also growing. Many U.S. cities still have dirty air. So most states are making tougher laws against air pollution. And scientists are looking for ways to make factories and cars run cleaner.

stinky – вонючий, отвратительный

bad breath – выхлопной газ

 tougher – жесткий

Poisons In Food

Farmers often spray chemicals on crops to protect then against pests. These chemicals are calls pesticides. Scientists have found that pesticides often end up in our food. Pesticides can cause health problems – especially for kids. But here’s the good news: the U.S. government is helping farmers find ways to protect crops without using many pesticides.

to spray – распылять

pest (noun) – паразит, вредитель

pesticide – химическое средство для борьбы с вредителями

cause – быть причиной

Cleaner Cars

Cars are the world’s biggest air polluters. But scientists are trying to invent cars that pollute less. Farmers in Illinois are trying a fuel in their tractors made from soybeans. And there are electric minivans being used in at least six U.S. cities.

soybeans = soya – соевый боб

minivans - фургон

Tasks:

a) Using the facts, given in these texts, make a dialogue or conversation (in a group) with your classmates about ecological situation in your region (place).

b) Translate some sentences on this problem taken from one Russian newspaper into English:

h «В Неве практически нет чистой воды», - рассказывает один из авторов экологического атласа прилегающей к городу Санкт-Петербургу акватории Финского залива Владимир Анохин.

h«Особенно загрязнены устья рек, районы портов и судоходных трасс».

h»Раньше загрязняющие вещества уходили в глубоководные части Финского залива, а теперь защитные сооружения подпирают сток Невы и образуют застойные зоны».

    h «В нескольких местах залива дно загрязнено нефтью и тяжелыми металлами…»

(Газета «Петровский Курьер» от 16.03.1999)

                   Никто не обнимет необъятного.

                                                                    К.Прутков

У каждого из вас процесс познания окружающей действительности происходит индивидуально, по-своему, в соответствии с особенностями вашего мышления, внимания и памяти. Он связан также со многими другими объективными (зависящими от ситуации) и субъективными (зависящими от вас) причинами. Безусловно, важное значение в наше время имеет умение получать и обрабатывать разнообразную информацию, то есть осваивать образовательное пространство.