Compose your own sentences with each English equivalent of the words or phrases given in exercise 22. Compare your variants with the sentences of your partner.

24. Work in pairs and decide whether these statements are true or false:

1. The environment is our physical surroundings and it includes only human (man-made) features.

2. People are never concerned about human action in the environment.

3. Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are acid rain, air pollution, global warming, etc.

4. Acid rain is caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

5. The term «global warming» does not mean the worldwide warming of the atmosphere.

6. To understand global warming you first need to know about the greenhouse effect.

7. Water is necessary to life on earth.

8. People who ingest polluted water can not become ill.

9. Many petroleum products are poisonous if ingested by animals, and spilled oil damages the feathers of birds or the fur of animals, often causing death.

10. Chemicals used to kill unwanted animals and plants may be collected by rainwater runoff and carried into streams, especially if these substances are applied too lavishly.

11. Environmental engineers develop solutions to environmental problems using the principles of biology and chemistry.

12. Environmental engineers conduct research on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects, analyze scientific data, and perform quality-control checks.

25. Explain in Russian the meaning of the following word combination:

physical surroundings; globalization; human action in the environment; acid rain; global warming; greenhouse effect; water pollution; oil and chemicals; to develop solutions to environmental problems

26. Fill in the gaps with the words from the box:

Large cities with thousands of smoky 1 ___ enterprises have appeared all over the world today. The byproduct of their activity pollutes the 2 ___ we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on. Every year world industry pollutes the 3 ___ with about 1000 million tons of dust and harmful substances. Many cities suffer from 4 ___. Vast forests are cut and burned in fire. Their disappearance upsets the 5 ___ balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants 6 ___ forever, a number of lakes and rivers dry up. The pollution of air and the world’s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer are the result of man's careless 7 ___ with nature, a sign of ecological crises.

Check your answers on p. 279.

27. Match each word in A with the Russian equivalent in B:

28. Read the text below to learn about the ecological problems of Russia:

Text 6 C

Ecological Problems of Russia

In today’s world, preservation of the environment is of crucial importance for the future of civilization. In the near future the importance of maintaining the environment at a level capable of supporting human life and ensuring the reproduction of renewable natural resources and preservation of non-renewable resources will eclipse all other human achievements to date.

The demographic explosion and scientific and technological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century have led to a sharp increase in the exploitation of natural resources, and thus to their depletion. For example, currently more than 3.5 billion tonnes of oil and about 4.5 billion tonnes of coal and charcoal are taken out of the ground every year. Furthermore, the human race produces a huge quantity of industrial and domestic waste.

Between 1970 and 1990, the planet was stripped of almost 200 million hectares of forest; there has been serious degradation and desertification of vast tracts of land; soil pollution by waste, rubbish, slag-heaps, heavy metals, pesticides, toxins, radioactive materials, and abandoned and disused factories.

Pollution of the atmosphere is caused mainly by the industrial and transport sectors, which combined emit millions of tonnes of solid and gaseous substances; of these, the major pollutants are: soot, carbon dioxide, sulphurous gases, chlorofluorohydrocarbons, and acids. Also under threat are the planet’s water resources, which are of no less importance for the survival of the human race.

The human race mainly uses fresh water from the ground, rivers and lakes; in volume, they make up just over 2% of the earth’s water resources (35 million cubic kilometres), but they are distributed unevenly around the world, and the quality of these resources is deteriorating catastrophically.

Water which is used in industry, agriculture, and in the home, returns to reservoirs unfiltered, chemically and biologically polluted. Water resources, therefore, become polluted by oil products and other forms of waste. The enumerated ecological problems, individually and collectively, are leading to the rapid decline in bio-diversity of fauna and flora, both in specific regions and on the planet as a whole.

Russia is the largest country in the world with a territory of more than 17 million square kilometres, covers 12.6% of the dry-land surface of the planet, and thus bears responsibility for the protection of a significant share of the world’s natural and biological diversity. Official data show that currently the ecological situation in Russia is generally poor, and in places catastrophic. 14-15% of Russian territory is classed as ecological ‘problem zones’.

In the future, it is expected that the ecological situation will worsen, as projected economic growth is to be achieved principally using out-dated technologies and techniques. Negative ecological and economic factors are among the causes of the worsening demographic situation in Russia. Life expectancy has reached impermissibly low levels: 57 years for men, and 70 years for women.

According to experts’ assessments, ecological factors are to a considerable extent responsible for these depressing demographic indicators. Ecological problems are extremely closely intertwined, and are closely connected to global problems, such as: the greenhouse effect, global warming (causing the sea-level to rise by 1.2 mm per year), ozone layer depletion, and destruction of tree cover. Satellite photographs show that forests are being cut down at an alarming rate in Russia.

Society has developed a number of methods for minimizing the ecologically damaging consequences of economic activity, amongst which the most effective are:

§ rationalizing the use of natural resources;

§ introducing ecologically clean, and low-waste or waste-free technologies; building purification facilities; and rationally locating production;

§ concluding various international environmental protection agreements;

§ the activities of private, public and state ecological organizations, committees and funds, which promote and sponsor environmental protection activities;

§ improving people’s ecological awareness through upbringing and education;

§ setting up a system of ‘Red books’ containing information about rare fauna and flora which are on the verge of extinction, etc.

These are only the initial steps of people that must be carried forward to protect the environment not only for the sake of the present but for the future generations.

TEXT AND VOCABULARY EXERCISES

29. Find in the text the English equivalents to the following words:

30. Find the Russian equivalents to the following phrases:

Preservation of the environment; to be of crucial importance; to support human life; natural resources; demographic explosion; technological revolution; depletion of natural resources; water resources; biological diversity; ecological situation; to be closely connected; global warming; purification facilities; ecological awareness; initial steps; for the sake of; future generations

31. Match each word in A with the Russian equivalent in B:

32. Complete the sentences according to Text 6C:

1. Preservation of the environment is of ___.

2. The demographic explosion and scientific and technological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century ___.

3. Pollution of the atmosphere is caused mainly by ___.

4. The human race mainly uses fresh water from ___.

5. The enumerated ecological problems are leading to the rapid decline in ___.

6. Negative ecological and economic factors are one of the causes of the ___.

7. Ecological problems are extremely closely intertwined, and are closely connected to ___.

8. Society has developed a number of methods for minimizing the ecologically damaging ___.

33. Find in the text the situations in which the following word combinations are used:

Preservation of the environment; importance of maintaining the environment; the demographic explosion; pollution of the atmosphere; ecological problems; negative ecological and economic factors.

34. Test yourself:

How Green Are You?

green – (зд.) поддерживающий движение

защитников окружающей среды

1. If you had a lot of old newspapers and empty bottles, would you ...

a) leave them on the pavement?

b) put them in a rubbish bin?

c) recycle them?

2. If somebody offered to give you one of the following as a gift, which would you choose?

a) a big, fast car

b) a motorbike

c) a bicycle

3. If you were in the middle of a city and wanted to go somewhere one or two kilometres away, would you...

a) take a taxi?

b) take a bus?

c) walk/cycle?

4. If you had a picnic on the beach, what would you do with your rubbish? Would you ...

a) leave your rubbish on the beach?

b) put your rubbish in the first bin you found?

c) take your rubbish home?

5. If you had 1000$ to spend, would you ...

a) buy a fur coat?

b) go on a safari?

c) adopt a dolphin?

Check at page. 279.