3. The past simple/ the past perfect tenses

Past simple

We use the past simple to refer to a completed action or event in the past or to talk about situations that existed over a period of time in the past, but not now. We can either say when something happened, using a time adverbial (e.g. a few minutes ago-. ), or assume that the listener or reader already knows when it happened or can understand this from the context.

I bought a new vacuum cleaner yesterday.

We use the past simple to talk about repeated past actions.

What did you do when the fire started? – I ran out of the house.

Past perfect

We use the past perfect to talk about a past event that took place before another past event (1), or before or up to a particular time in the past (2).

After he had washed his car, he cleaned the garage.

By the time I got there, the concert had already begun.

The Simple Past, not the Past Perfect, is used when you enumerate the actions that happened one after another in the past.

First I washed my car, then I cleaned the garage, and after that I went for a walk.

CARD #9

2. Environmental Protection

Some hundreds of years ago people lived in harmony with nature, because industry was not much developed. Today, however, the contradictions between man and nature are dramatic.

The twenty first century is a century of the scientific and technological progress. The achievements of the mankind in mechanization and automation of industrial processes, in chemical industry and conquering outer space, in the creation of atomic power stations and ships are amazing. But at the same time, this progress gave birth to a very serious problem – the problem of environment.

Ecology and the contamination of environment, is concerned with climate, over-population in certain areas, deaths of plant and animals, chemical contamination of seas, lakes and rivers as well as atomic experiments and dumping of atomic waste from power stations. Floods, unexpected draughts, and the greenhouse effect are the next reasons.

There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Another one is water shortage resulting from abuse of arable lands in agriculture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth problem is damage o water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: numerous species of animals and plants can disappear. At last, the most serious danger arising from damaging the environment is the result of the abovementioned consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.

The protection of natural resources and wildlife is becoming a political programme in every country. Numerous anti-pollution acts passed in different countries led to considerable improvements in environment. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters.

But the environmental problems have grown beyond the concern of a single country. Their solution requires the co-operation of all nations.

If we are unable to learn to use the environment carefully and protect it from damage caused by man’s activities, very soon we’ll have no world to live in.

ЛИБО ЭТОТ ТЕКСТ

People are slowly destroying the nature environment around them. Today we are anxious about the state of the air we breathe because every year world industry throws out into atmosphere about 1 000 million tons of dust, smoke and other harmful substances and people of many cities suffer from smog.

Another reason why there is such high level of air pollution in large cities is because of car exhaust fumes from very intensive transport. A great number of plants get used to dump poisonous chemical wastes in rivers, lakes and seas that has led to polluting water and killing fish life. At present time pollution from sinking ships and tankers with oil is increasing and there is a strong destruction of sea life. We face the fresh water supply problem today because of the depletion of water resources and the disruption of water cycle.

Speaking about atmosphere we should mention ozone holes which are result of air pollution and their increase can lead to the destruction of the whole great chain of life of our planet. The pollution of the air, oceans, seas, rivers and lakes and the destruction of the ozone layer could lead our planet to a global catastrophe. But the most terrible catastrophe of our age is the Chernobyl disaster which has resulted not only in atomic explosion but has brought death to 300 thousands hectares of farm lands and has affected the lives of millions of people. The radiation doses have affected and will continue to affect the health of people living in contaminated areas.  The Earth is our home that's why we must take measures to fight land pollution and keep our environment clean; we must plant trees and flowers and take care of animals, we must not throw our wastes into the rivers. In many countries environmental protection organizations such as "Green Peace", "Friend of the Earth", "World Wild Life Fund" are set up which try to put pressure upon the governments that don't care for ecology in their countries. The humankind will be able to survive only if we all realize that environmental protection is our universal concern.