Reading_for_the_Real_World_1_2nd_Ed

27	adopt --- to take as one’s own; to follow
33	adhere to --- to follow; to obey
39	oppose --- to speak against; to take action against
42	prediction --- a statement about the future
50	indicate --- to show
53	ratify --- to formally accept

representatives from over 150 nations adopted a treaty to limit emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, and SF6.

The so-called Kyoto Protocol called for reducing emissions

30to at least 5 percent below 1990 levels of these gases by 2012. The Protocol was signed by 38 industrialized countries attending the summit. Developing nations attending the summit were not required to adhere to the guidelines of

the Protocol. The 15 EU nations at the summit agreed to further reduce emissions

35	to 8 percent, the US to 7 percent, and Japan to 6 percent below the 1990 levels.
	The US officially signed the Protocol on November 12, 1998, but the US
	president then did not send it to the Senate to officially approve the treaty
	because he knew there was little hope for its approval at that time. When the
	next president took office in 2000, the new administration openly opposed the

40Protocol. The Bush administration claimed the standards set in the Protocol were unfair to developed countries. Australia also rejected the Kyoto Protocol on the basis that the UN predictions of industrial growth (and thus future greenhouse emissions) were improbable.

Even with the predictions of the Protocol called into question, many

45countries continued to push for its approval. In July 2001, delegates met again in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the Protocol. At the Bonn meeting, the delegates agreed, despite opposition from US representatives, on setting guidelines and

timetables for achieving the reductions set in the Kyoto Protocol. The following year, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South

50Africa, Russia indicated it would soon officially approve the Kyoto Protocol. However, in late 2003, Russia said it needed to further study the Protocol’s requirements and predictions before signing. Without Russia’s approval, there seems little chance the Kyoto Protocol will ever be completely ratified.

Reading Time

_______ minutes _______ seconds

583 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ The greenhouse effect began in the 1800s.

2.____ A consequence of global warming could be floods along coastlines.

3.____ Some people believe the standards in the Kyoto Protocol are wrong.

4.____ The Kyoto Protocol officially went into effect in 2001.

BChoose the best answer.

1.How is the Earth’s atmosphere like a greenhouse?

a.It has lots of plants growing in it.

b.It is full of gases that are not good to breathe.

c.It lets in light and traps heat.

d.It stays one temperature all year round.

2.Which of these greenhouse gases is NOT produced naturally?

a.CH4

b.CO2

c.O3

d.SF6

3.Which is true about the US and the Kyoto Protocol?

a.The US congress has asked the president to approve the Protocol.

b.The US does not plan to follow the Protocol.

c.The US has already met the standards set by the Protocol.

d.The US is a strong supporter of the Kyoto Protocol.

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.What did the Kyoto Protocol call for?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.What was decided at the summit in Bonn, Germany?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Fill in the blanks with phrases from the list. Use each phrase only once.

an international summit	serious consequences	approve the Protocol
to reduce emissions	signed the Protocol	level of man-made

Since the 1800s, the 1 _________________ CO2 in the atmosphere has risen, which some scientists predict will lead to warmer global temperatures. This global warming could have 2 _________________. In order to reduce the emission levels of greenhouse gases, countries met at 3 _________________ to sign the Kyoto Protocol. According to the Protocol, industrialized countries would agree

4 _________________ of greenhouse gases below emission levels in 1990. Delegates from many countries around the world 5 _________________. The US and Australia did not officially 6 _________________ because they thought it was unfair and its predictions were improbable.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

glaciers

erosion

negotiating

forecast

debating

precipitation

1.The weather __________ stated that it will be sunny on the weekend.

2.Many politicians are __________ how to best manage the environment.

3.Cutting down trees causes __________ of the soil on the mountains.

4.The __________ at the South Pole are starting to melt because of global warming!

5.Industrialists are __________ acceptable emission levels with politicians.

6.The Sahara gets about 13mm of __________ a year.

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Supplemental Reading

Emission Credits

Track 20

According to the Kyoto Protocol, various nations agreed to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases below emission levels in 1990. Developing nations such as China and India are exempt from meeting

the standards set by the Protocol. In order for the treaty to go into effect, 55

5countries representing 55 percent of the emissions by industrialized countries must ratify it. More than 100 countries have already ratified the Protocol, but all of these countries only represent 43 percent of the emission levels from 1990.

The way the plan works is that industries first set a limit, or cap, on emission levels for the industry. Industries such as oil and gas producers,

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generating plants, and industrial plants would all take part in establishing the limits. Once the treaty is in effect, companies that produce emissions below the cap level can “sell” their unused level to other companies. New industries that would produce emissions must then buy or trade with existing industries to keep the national emissions within limits.

Supporters of the Kyoto Protocol were hopeful that Russia would ratify the agreement in 2003. However, Russia decided to postpone its ratification. One of the reasons Russia was originally interested in signing the Protocol was that they were already well below 1990 emission levels. This meant

they took part in the agreement, they would have plenty of credits to sell. However, since the US is not participating, Russia is hesitant to sign the agreement. With the absence of the US, there appears to be less of a market for the Russian emissions credits.

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.If you were a government head, would you approve the Kyoto Protocol? Why or why not?

2.Are you personally doing anything to decrease the amount of pollution? If yes, what are you doing?

U N I T 6 Law & Crime 1

The History of the

Death Penalty

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.Is the death penalty still used in your country? If not, when was it stopped?

2.In the past, which crimes could bring the death penalty in the United States?

3.How were people usually put to death in the past?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	firing squad	a. regularly; usually
2.	humane	b. a person in jail
3.	inmate	c. with kindness and sympathy; not cruel
4.	routinely	d. to check to prove true; to show to be correct
5.	verify	e. a line of people with guns given the job of executing criminals
6.	execute	f. to kill by court order

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Track 21

The History of the Death Penalty

	n the United States, the death penalty is sometimes given to people who
	are guilty of committing very serious crimes. These crimes could include
	Ifirst-degree murder and treason, or betraying one’s country. Capital
	punishment was brought to America by early settlers from Europe. In early
5	America, people who were found guilty of murder and rape were routinely
	executed, either by hanging or by a firing squad. Convicted burglars, thieves,
	and even counterfeiters often received the death penalty. This was thought to
	be a deterrent to other criminals.
	People began to feel that criminals were not evil. Instead, they were victims of
10	poverty, poor education, and lack of opportunity. Society should help criminals,
	rather than kill them, they thought. Another reason for the change in thinking was
	economic. Prisons were very expensive. Early American states could not afford to
	keep many people in prison. Rather than keep them in prison, convicted criminals
	were executed. But as society became richer during the Industrial Revolution,

15prisons became more affordable for society. Because of this and other reasons, keeping criminals in prison rather than executing them became a viable option. By the mid-1800s, many states banned the death penalty except in the case of convicted murderers. But those states were mostly the northern states. The southern states kept the death penalty for many crimes. That trend continues in

20	modern America. Even today, most
	executions happen in the southern states.
	The southern states are considered more
	conservative than northern states. In the
	southern states today, death by injection is

25the standard form of execution. It is considered the most humane form of the death penalty.

5rape --- to use violence to force someone to have sex

6burglar --- a person who enters a place to steal things

7counterfeiter --- a person who makes fake money

8deterrent --- something frightening or unpleasant that stops some

bad action

23 conservative --- not wanting change; not liberal

32	death-row --- the part of a prison where people sentenced to death are held
36	halt --- to stop
45	exhaust --- to use completely

48first-degree murder --- killing on purpose or with a plan

49in favor of --- for; supporting

In the last few years in America, the debate over the death penalty has grown more widespread. A recent argument against the death

30penalty is that some of the people who are found guilty and sentenced to die are not actually guilty. New methods of verifying evidence, such as DNA testing, have helped free many death-row inmates. Because in many cases, criminals cannot be proven 100 percent guilty, it is not right to sentence them to death,

35opponents say. There is a chance that they may be innocent. In fact, the governor of Illinois recently halted all executions in his state. In Illinois, some death-row inmates were shown later to be innocent of the crime for which they were imprisoned. After that,

	the governor was afraid that some people being executed were
40	wrongly convicted.
	Another argument against the death penalty is the high cost of executing a
	prisoner. Someone sentenced to die has the right to appeal the sentence several
	times. The state has to defend its case each time before a higher court. One study
	found that it costs more than $1,000,000 in legal costs for a prisoner to

45exhaust all appeals against the death penalty. Despite the often-heated national debate, the majority of Americans are still in favor of the death penalty.

According to a recent study, approximately 65 percent of Americans still believe that the death penalty is appropriate for crimes such as first-degree murder. In cases of mass murder, the percentage in favor of capital punishment is even

50higher. More than 80 percent of Americans wanted the death penalty given to Timothy McVeigh, the man who killed hundreds in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Reading Time

_______ minutes _______ seconds

555 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ The death penalty is still used in the United States today.

2.____ In the past, people could receive the death penalty for stealing.

3.____ As the United States became wealthier, the use of the death penalty increased.

4.____ Most people said Timothy McVeigh should receive the death penalty.

BChoose the best answer.

1.Which was a reason for the use of the death penalty during the early 1700s?

a.Executions were a kind of entertainment.

b.People were very religious.

c.American states were poor.

d.The states could not control the criminals.

2.Which states stopped using the death penalty?

a.Eastern states

b.Northern states

c.Southern states

d.Western states

3.Why did the governor of Illinois stop the execution of prisoners?

a.To give DNA tests to all death-row inmates

b.To keep innocent people from dying

c.To save money for the state

d.To win support for his re-election

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.Today, why do most executions happen in the southern states?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.Why is it expensive to sentence a person to death?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Fill in the blanks with the words or phrases from the list. Use each word or phrase only once.

routinely	firing squad	execute
humane	verified	inmates

In the past, criminals in America were 1 ________________ put to death for crimes. Executions were usually either by hanging or by a(n) 2 ________________. It was not until after the Industrial Revolution that the prison system grew large enough to hold many 3 ________________ at one time and became an alternative to the death penalty. However, some southern states still 4 ________________

quite a few prisoners. Even though more 5 ________________ methods of execution, such as lethal injection, have been found to execute prisoners, there are other points opponents still debate about the death penalty. For example, the innocence of some prisoners on death row has been 6 ________________

through DNA testing.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

charged

defendant

witness

confessed

chamber

testimony

1.The police officer arrested the man and __________ him with murder.

2.The __________ told the police officer what she had seen.

3.The man __________ to the murder when the police arrested him.

4.The judge heard the __________ of the arresting officer.

5.The accused man is the __________ in court.

6.The murderer was sentenced to death and so went to the gas __________.

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Supplemental Reading

Daryl Atkins and the Death Penalty

Track 22

Mentally challenged people have IQs of below seventy. Many mentally challenged people with IQs of fifty-five and above can hold jobs, have children, and do many things that “normal” people do. They

even commit murder and other crimes. When mentally challenged people

5commit crimes and are convicted, is it fair to put them to death, as other criminals are sentenced to death? This is a question that American people and

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their courts have struggled with for many years. However, in recent years, it seems that the majority of Americans have come closer to agreement on the issue. Many people now think that putting mentally challenged people to death is a “cruel and unusual” punishment.

Daryl Atkins had an IQ of fifty-nine. In the late 1990s, Atkins was found guilty of killing a person and was given the death penalty in Virginia. His case was appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. In 2002, the court ruled that Atkins and other mentally challenged persons may not be executed. This decision opposed a 1989 Supreme Court decision that said mentally challenged persons may be executed. Since 1976, approximately thirty-five mentally challenged people have been executed in the United States.

In the 2002 decision, the court said that the nation had come to a consensus against executing the mentally challenged. They said it is unfair to execute someone who cannot fully understand how bad their actions were. It is a violation of the US Constitution’s ban against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.Do you agree with the death penalty? Why or why not?

2.In your opinion, what people should be exempt from the death penalty?