A majority of ocean pollution is the result of runoff from landfills, streets, and farm fields. Soil, containing fertilizers or pesticides, slides into rivers and lakes, creating toxic sediment. Rain also washes these poisonous pollutants into the waterways and then into the oceans, killing life there.

These are just two of the many animal environments that mankind is destroying. Many species of plants and animals have already become extinct because of our actions. How we treat our planet during the next few years will dictate our fate. Becoming aware of the problems and then working to correct them is our only hope. As Buckminster Fuller said, "Think globally, act locally."

Ex.1. Read and translate the text.

Ex.2 .Answer the following questions based on what you remember: a) Which problems are only on the tip of the iceberg?

b)What do people do actually by polluting the ocean?

c)Which factors are the most harmful to the ocean ecosystems?

Ex.3. Translate the sentences given below. Having resulted the whole information on the problem from the Units 1 – 4 write down a short composition declared the idea: ’’The environmental awareness of human kind has become task number one for scientists and engineers.’’

Unit 6 .The throw – away societies – number six international problem

Text A. Among the others Britain as the throw-away society

Предтекстовое задание. По своему выбору выпишите предложения, перевод которых соответствует грамматическим конструкциям, приведенным перед текстом. Обоснуйте в соответствии с грамматическими правилами.

Grammar: The Present Simple Tense.

Britain is well on the way to being swamped1 by rubbish. Every year each family offers the dustmen one ton of “mixed waste” (two black sacks a week). More than half of the dustbin content is a combination of paper (33%) and vegetable matter (20%). The rest includes glass (10%), dust and ash (10%) and smaller quantities of metals, plastics and textiles. How do we get rid of this rubbish? We find or dig huge holes in the ground and fill them with this stuff. These are known as "landfill sites". This 20 million ton of rubbish pose major environmental problem polluting the area. It is a slow and unseen menace. Methane gas given off by decaying organic matter can build up and explode. Toxic materials poison the water and air and pose a long term threat to our food chain. But a lot of what we throw away is still useful. The glass, plastic, metal, oil, textile, paper, cardboard, battery content we send to landfill is potentially very valuable because it is a concentrated source of many raw materials.

27

Rubbish can be also burnt to generate electricity and heat our homes. Britain recycles less than 1.5 % of waste. It is a pretty poor record if compared to 10% in the US and Germany, 14 % in the Netherlands, 18 % in Canada. There is a problem - recycling is expensive. But it should be sponsored by government, local councils and industry.

Still the number of recycling centers is growing. Collection "banks" and kerbside "blue boxes" have become very popular. Consumers separate materials (paper, metal, textiles, glass, cans, plastic containers) and take them to collection points. It cuts waste going to landfill by half and reduces pollution.

Ex.1. Read and translate the text.

Ex.2. Complete the sentences:

a)More than half of the dustbin content…

b)A lot of what we throw away…

c)Every year each family offers…

d)Toxic materials poison…

Text B. Litter is a problem in our cities

Grammar: The Present Simple Tense.

Litter is garbage—like food, paper and cans—on the ground or in the street. Where many people live together, litter is a problem. People don't always put their garbage in the garbage can. It's easier to drop a paper than to find a garbage can for it. But litter is ugly. It makes the city look dirty, and it spoils the view.

The wind blows papers far away. Often they are difficult to catch. When they blow against a fence, they stay there. This fence is a wall of garbage

Litter is a health problem, too. Food and garbage bring animals, which sometimes carry disease.

Some people want to control litter. They never throw litter themselves, and sometimes they work together in groups to clean up the city. In most places litter is against the law. The law punishes people who throw garbage on the streets. They usually pay a fine, and occasionally they go to jail.

Two famous sayings in the United States are: “Don’t be a litterbug!” and “Every litter bit hurts!”

Ex.1. Read and discuss the problem in pairs:

a)What is litter?

b)What do people do with the garbage? What don’t they do?

c)Why litter is a health problem?

d)What does it mean «To be a litterbug’’?

28