Text Exercises

1. Read the text “Living on Planet earth” and find in it English equivalents of the following words and word combinations.

Окружающая среда, загрязнять, углекислый газ, парниковый эффект, выбросы вредных веществ, кислотный дождь, тропический лес, химические удобрения, озоновый слой, радиоактивное загрязнение, рак щитовидной железы, экологический кризис, наводнение, засуха, атомная энергия, здоровье, внешний фактор, альтернативный источник энергии, ядовитые газы, поглощать

2. Read the text and answer the following questions.

1. What does our planet look like from outer space?

2. What makes up an ecosystem?

3. What factors are slowly changing the global climate and water balance?

4. Where does the energy we use today come from?

5. What has the Chernobyl disaster changed?

6. What animals are most in danger of becoming extinct?

7. What are possible consequences of global warming?

3. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. Organisms and their environment constantly interact.

2. With the development of civilization all ecological problems will be solved.

3. The ozone layer doesn’t shield the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

4. The greenhouse effect may cause drought in some parts of the world, and floods in others.

5. Increased ultraviolet radiation will lead to a growing number of plant and animal species.

6. Acid rains help support the growth of fish populations.

4. Extend the following statements, use the text for your reference.

1. The relationship between man and nature has become one of the most vital problems today.

2. Nuclear energy as an alternative is opposed by many people.

3. Nowadays the problem of air and water pollution is changing from a national to an international one.

4. It is known that many cities throughout the world suffer from air pollution.

5. The greenhouse effect has lead to global warming.

6. Rainforests absorb CO2 and help control global warming.

5. Read these quotations and say how you understand them. Use speech patterns given in brackets (well, I must say, from my point of view, as far as I know, in my opinion; if I may say so).

1. “ The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself”. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

2. “ One touch of nature makes the whole world kin” (William Shakespeare)

3. “ In nature there are neither rewards nor punishment there are consequences.” (Robert G. Ingersoll)

“ Nature never did betray the heart that loved her” (William Wordsworth).

PART II. Text 2: Environment Protection Must Be Global

That the problem of pollution and ecology has become the most important one for mankind is evident to all. Civilization is being poisoned by its own waste products.

However, our scientific knowledge and technological advancement make it possible to eliminate this problem, if people use good will and make considerable investments for that purpose. Large-scale experimental work in this area is successfully being carried out.

At present scientists in industrially developed countries are looking for different ways of supplying energy. Solar power is a way of using the sun’s energy as heat or to make electricity. We can also use wind-power by building modern windmills that spin in the wind. There are several types of water power, river water in mountainous areas can be used to generate hydroelectric power, and we can also create electricity from sea water flowing in and out with the tides.

The essential feature in the environment protection is that many problems can be solved only on the level of world community. It is necessary to develop an international program to study data on land, forest, atmospheric and oceanic resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Recycling, the processing of used objects and materials so that they can be used again, saves energy and raw materials, and also reduces damage to the countryside. About 60% of rubbish from homes and factories contain materials that could be recycled. A lot of paper bags, writing paper and greeting cards are now produced using recycled paper.

A desire for environmental change led to the creation of various political parties around the world whose emphasis was largely on environmental protection. The first of these organizations, collectively known as green parties, was the Values Party in New Zealand, created in 1972. By far the most successful has been the green party of West Germany, Die Gruenen, which in 1983 won nearly 6 percent of the seats in the West German Parliament. Green parties have developed in almost all countries that have open elections, but they have had the largest impact in those nations where proportional representation within a parliamentary system occurs. Thus, the green parties have not played a significant role in American politics. In 1993, 23 green parties from eastern and western Europe came together to form the European Federation of Green Parties, with the hope that together they would have the leverage necessary to demand that environmental issues such as pollution control, population growth and sustainable development be more fully addressed by various national governments and international bodies.

Everything around us is tied together in a system of mutual interdependence. The plants help renew our air, the air helps purify our water, the water irrigates the plants. Man, as, a part of nature, cannot master it, he must learn to work with it – and with his fellows everywhere – to ensure that we do not alter the environment so drastically that we disappear before we can adjust to it. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their planet. We have all technical skills and resources. We have a common cause worth fighting for: a new kind of war to make the world safe for humanity against its own worst instincts. Perhaps this mighty global struggle to restore the quality of our human environment may provide an effective substitute for national conflict and bloodshed. Perhaps only a planetary view of man can guarantee our survival.