Oral Speech Practice Exercises:

Ex.5. Practise reading the following flashes of conversation:

Dialogue 1

Boris: Glad to meet you, Prof. Brown. What country have you

come from?

Brown: Nice to meet you too. I came from Brazil. I’m interested

in air pollution problems.

Boris: Oh, I’ve heard about the industrial region in Brazil

‘the valley of death’. 300 factories polluted the air with

acrid black smoke.

Brown: It was just so. At times, children had been given oxygen

at health clinics.

Boris: Did the government try to solve this problem?

Brown: Yes, the government and the World bank invested 300

million dollars in pollution control equipment.

Boris: Was it really not in vain?

Brown: As the result pollution

was reduced by 70 per cent in five years.

Ex.6. Comprise the similar flashes of conversation using words and word combinations from the text ‘Ecological Problems’.

Ex.7. Prove that:

Breathing the air in crowded cities is very dangerous.

Many fish in the seas are getting contaminated.

Numerous species of animals and plants can disappear.

What people do is not always safe.

Nuclear power station is a great environmental threat.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern.

Ex.8. Read the text and be ready:

a) to answer the questions below;

b) to give a short summary of the text B:

Text b ecological problems in pyatigorsk

There are some ecological problems in Pyatigorsk as well as in other parts of our country. I’d like to remind you about the overpopulation in Pyatigorsk. It is the main ecological problem here. Grassland is turned into brown land. The only solution in this respect is to avoid overpopulation. There should be 70-80 thousand people living in their own cottages and houses. Blocks of appartments are inadequate family lodgings. They were invented in Germany in the first half of the 20 century as houses for workers in the industrial parts of growing cities.

The most dangerous form of air pollution in Pyatigorsk is pollen of some plants (ragweed and ambrosia). Allergia to this pollen is called hay fever which was done away with in the Southern State of the USA last century. Air pollution also takes place when the dead leaves are burnt. Huge heaps are smoldering for days and weeks. To my mind it’s better to leave these leaves on the ground.

There are some natural hazards to health in Pyatigorsk. Radon is a natural gas. In small quantities it’s curative for some people. But for all other people it is a deadly poison. And there is no getting away from it. Radon is where there is a basalt rock and granite. It’s heavier than air and so most of it is concentrated downtown and in the bed of the Podkumok river.

Natural radiation in some parts near Pyatigorsk is a bit too high. There is no health risk for people who were born here. They are in some way used to it. But for those who come lately it might be not so harmless.

We have only stated all these facts. But it doesn’t mean we are unable to change the situation. We can also learn not to litter. Let’s begin with this problem. We all know the sign: DO NOT LITTER. But not everyone does what the sign says.

Notes:

to remind [ri maind] напомнить

overpopulation [ə uv ə po pju leiζ n] перенаселённость

grassland [gra slæ nd] сенокосное угодье, луг

to avoid [ ə vo id] избегать

lodgings [lo dз inz] жилище, комната, квартира

pollen [po lin] пыльца

ragweed [ragwid] амброзия полыннолистная

ambrosia [ əmbrə uzj ə] амброзия

allergia [ə lə :dз i] аллергия

hay fever [hei fi:və ] сенная лихорадка

to smolder [smə uld ] тлеть

radon [reidə n] радон

сurative [kju rəi tiv] целебный

basalt [bo so :lt] базальт

granite [grə nit] гранит

downtown [dauntaun] деловая часть города

to litter [lit ə] сорить

1. Are there any ecological problems connected with overpopulation in Pyatigorsk? 2. What do you know about the most dangerous form of air pollution in Pyatigorsk? 3. What are the natural hazards to health in Pyatigorsk? 4. Do you do anything to protect environment?

Ex.9. Look at the ideas on this page and discuss your reactions.

According to the experts:

- Between 1990 and 2000 10% of the estimated species of plants and animals are lost forever. By 2030 another 20% are likely to be lost. The extinction of one plant species can cause the loss of 30 dependent organisms.

- Between 1990 and 2000 the average temperature rose by 1ºC. By 2100 it will rise by 3ºC to 5ºC. This will have unpredictable effects on local weather patterns. The sea level is likely to rise between 10 cm and 2 m.

- There were 600 million motor vehicles in 1990. By 2000 there are 750 million, and by 2030 there will be 1,100 million.

(Information from Save the Earth by Jonathon Porritt)

Ex.10. Speak on:

1. Ecological problems in different parts of the world.

2. Environmental protectionusing the information of two texts.

***********************