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UNIT 2 (2011)

ENVIRONMENT AND ITS COMPONENTS

ENVIRONMENTAL destruction

Note: the highlighted words are likely to be used in dictations

TASK 1. Read the definitions of the notions ‘environment’ and ‘ecology’ found in different sources. Summarize the information given in the definitions and present a precise and concise version of your own in one sentence.

Environment

1. Environment is what surrounds a thing or an item. It could be a physical element - physical environment that includes the built environment, natural environment - air conditions, water, land, atmosphere etc or it could be human environment - people surrounding the item or thing, which is also known as the social environment and includes elements like spiritual environment, emotional environment, home, family etc. The environment is a fluid dynamic thing. It is 'not' it 'becomes'. 

2. Environment is the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms. It can also be the complex of social and cultural conditions affecting the nature of an individual or community.

3. Environment is all of the biotic and abiotic factors that act on an organism, population, or ecological community and influence its survival and development. Biotic factors include the organisms themselves, their food, and their interactions. Abiotic factors include such items as sunlight, soil, air, water, climate, and pollution. Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behavior.

4. Environment means all of the outside forces, events, and things that act on a thing. A person's environment is made up of everything that surrounds him or her, including houses, buildings, people, animals, land, temperature, water, light, and other living and non-living things. Living things do not simply exist in their environment; they constantly interact with it. Organisms change in response to conditions in their environment. The environment consists of the interactions among plants, animals, soil, water, temperature, light, and other living and non-living things.

Ecology

1. Ecology is the science of the relationships between organisms and their environments which is also called bionomics.

2. Ecology is the study of the detrimental effects of modern civilization on the environment, with a view toward prevention or reversal through conservation. It is also called human ecology.

3. Ecology is the science that studies the interactions of organisms with their environment and with one another. It comes from the Greek words oikos (habitat) and logos (study). It deals with energy relationships and tracing them to our sun, the source of energy used in photosynthesis.

4. Ecology is the study of the relationships of living things with one another and with their environments. To understand the number of variety of interactions among Earth's living things and their environment, ecologists find it useful to divide the world into separate units known as ecosystems.

TASK 2. Fill in the gaps, using words from the box, and read about the difference between physical and geographical environments and see if your own definitions were right.

a) geology	d) characteristics	g) town	j) greatly	m) modifications
b) supports	e) suffering	h) relationship	k) living	n) overexploitation
c) physical	f) influences	i) erosion	l) widely

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENT?

It is the conditions and _______ (1) of the place in which an organism lives. The large number of different types of environment, for example, _______ (2) environment or tropical rainforest environment makes it impossible to give a single definition. In general, the _______ (3) environment describes the _______ (4) of a landscape, for instance, climate, _______ (5) which have not been _______ (6) changed by human activity, whereas the geographical environment includes the physical environment with any human _______ (7), for example, farming, industry, houses and towns. The _______ (8) between _______ (9) organisms and their environment forms part of the subject of ecology. Concern that large parts of the environment are _______ (10) from misuse and _______ (11) is central to conservation, and the environmental movement which _______ (12) conservation has recently become popular as new threats, for instance, acid rain, soil _______ (13), damage to the ozone layer, are _______ (14) recognized.

TASK 3. Find out the meaning of the words and expressions naming some basic issues of ecology and use them to complete the sentences below.

1. greenhouse effect

2. biodegradable

3. wetlands

4. deforestation

5. dumping

6. toxic waste

7. renewable energy

8. emissions

9. biodiversity

10. global warming

11. ozone layer

12. desertification

13. smog

14. habitats

15. depletion

1. There are still scientists who dispute the existence of __________ and say there has been no real change in temperature.

2. The draining of __________ to build factories has enraged environmentalists.

3. On some days in summer the __________ is so bad that people with breathing problems are advised to stay at home.

4. The emission of carbon dioxide __________ must be cut down if we want to stop polluting the air.

5. __________ of waste at sea is forbidden by international law.

6. Lack of rain means that large areas of previously fertile land in Africa are threatened with __________.

7. We must develop __________ sources and not depend on oil.

8. The problem with most plastics is that they are not __________ and cannot be reabsorbed by the earth.

9. The build up of a layer of gases trapped in the earth's atmosphere which prevents heat escaping is known as the __________.

10. Steady __________ in the Himalayas has resulted in catastrophic floods in countries at sea level.

11. Scientists first became aware of the effects of certain gases on the environment when they found a hole in the __________ over Antarctica.

12. As cities expand, many animals are being driven from their natural __________.

13. Plant and animal species dying out means the loss of the __________ of the planet.

14. Since __________ continues to be hazardous for a long time it is difficult to dispose of it safely.

15. Despite attempts to persuade people to conserve water, the __________ of water supplies continues.

TASK 4. You are going to listen to the text TREES IN DANGER. Decide if the statements below are true or false. Enlarge the statement if it is true and correct it if it false.

1. In 1980s the reason of trees dying in Europe was Dutch elm disease.

2. Deciduous trees like fir and pine as well as coniferous trees like oak, beech and birch are endangered in Europe.

3. The symptom of a tree disease is shrinking the leaves.

4. In Schwarzwald, Germany, 75% of the trees have been killed or damaged.

5. Acid rain is formed because factories, cars and power stations emit tonnes of sulphuric and nitric acid.

6. Shifting responsibility from one nation to another makes the problem of acid rains almost impossible to solve.

7. Pollution is the main reason of killing rainforests.

8. Trees are most important for our life because they provide shelter for different wildlife species.

TASK 5. Fill in the second column with the translation of the words and expressions, concerning environmental destruction, into your mother tongue. Make sure you know their pronunciation.