Text: Environmental problems

Man has always wanted to make his life easier. He invented machines and mechanisms which have been working — and polluting the world we live in. The price for rapid industrial development is very high: natural resources are exhausted, the ecological balance of the planet is disturbed. Acid rain, global warming, ozone reduction and species loss: we have to face them now.

Ecology and economy are very closely connected. First economy influenced the state of our environment. Now we have to face degradation of soils, water, atmosphere and forests. Millions of trees are dying in Germany’s Black Forest and thousands of lakes in Sweden are so acidic that nothing can live in them. In Scotland farmers complain that acid rains kill their fish. Forests in Denmark, France, Northern Italy, Greece and Norway are damaged.

Many forests in the Far East and in the north of European Russia are under threat. A system of dams on the Volga damaged fish. The Mediterranean Sea has one of the dirtiest coastlines in the world. Ten million tons of oil, industrial waste, chemicals are pumped into the sea every year. It causes diseases like typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis and cholera.

Many industries produce waste products, which can be difficult or dangerous to dispose of. Many countries have no storage facilities for the spent nuclear fuel. The search for ways to dispose of radioactive waste goes on.

In recent years the pollution problems have received great publicity. The protection of natural resources and wildlife is becoming a political programme in every country. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters. If we don’t learn to use the environment carefully, very soon we'll have no world to live in.

Task 17. Answer the questions:

1. Why did man invent different machines and mechanisms? 2. Is the price for rapid industrial development high? 3. What has happened to natural resources and ecological balance? 4. What ecological problems do we face now? 5. Is acid rain damaging to nature? 6. What destroys the ozone layer? 7. What happens to different species? 8. What is global warming? 9. What extreme weather events can global warming cause? 10. Did the pollution problems receive great publicity in recent years? 11. What will happen if we don’t learn to use the environment carefully?

Task 18. a) Fill in must or mustn’t.

1. We … pollute rivers. 2. We … use only unleaded petrol. 3. We … recycle paper, glass, etc. 4. We … create so much rubbish. 5. We … destroy rainforests. 6. We … protect wildlife. 7. We … drop litter in the streets. 8. We … let factories pollute the air.

b) Use the rules above (1-8) and the prompts below to make sentences, as in the example:

Example: If we don’t pollute rivers, fewer fish will die.

we will reduce air pollution, we will save important recourses, the planet will be cleaner, rare plants and animals will survive, we will save endangered species, streets will be cleaner, the atmosphere will be cleaner.

Task 19*. Read and translate:

Text: What can people do to protect nature?

The most important thing people could do is to change their attitude towards the environment. We should realize that natural resources are not unlimited and destroying them may result in destroying life on Earth. The change of public attitude to the environment is important due to several reasons. Firstly, public opinion could make governments introduce stricter anti-pollution measures. It could make governments fund scientific research facilitating development of ecologically safe materials and sources of energy. Secondly, people could behave in the way which is less damaging for the ecology of our planet. For example, they could stop leaving litter in city streets and in the country. Thirdly, they could stop damaging forests by cutting down trees for their personal needs or causing forest fires.

Task 20*. Make notes of things, we can do to reduce pollution and save the planet. Share your ideas with the group.

Тема 1.6. Научно-технический прогресс.

Наука и прогресс.

Чтение: работа с учебным текстом “Science”, Грамматика: Пассивный залог, Лексика по теме занятия, Говорение: монолог о важном открытии.

Task 1. Study the vocabulary:

Advance — продвижение, прогресс, affected by — зависимый от, amber — янтарь, assembly line — конвейер, available — доступный, benefit — выгода, convert — преобразовывать, describe — описывать, develop — развивать, engine — двигатель, enough — достаточно, essential — обязательный, необходимый, feasible — возможный, осуществимый, improve — улучшать, in some cases — в некоторых случаях, invent — изобретать, leisure — досуг, number of reasons — ряд причин, origin — происхождение, petrol — топливо, physician — физик, possibility — возможность, predict — предсказывать, produce — производить, put into practice — воплощать в жизнь, rapidly — быстро, research — исследование, science — наука, scientist — учёный, scientific — научный, supply — поддерживать, обеспечивать, tools — инструменты, transmit — передавать, various aspects — различные аспекты.