Главная Случайная страница


Категории:

ДомЗдоровьеЗоологияИнформатикаИскусствоИскусствоКомпьютерыКулинарияМаркетингМатематикаМедицинаМенеджментОбразованиеПедагогикаПитомцыПрограммированиеПроизводствоПромышленностьПсихологияРазноеРелигияСоциологияСпортСтатистикаТранспортФизикаФилософияФинансыХимияХоббиЭкологияЭкономикаЭлектроника






Ecology problems are of vital importance today. What can common people do to protect the planet?

Man have always wanted to make his life easier. He invented machines and mechanisms which have been working — and polluting the world we live in. Economists have long thought of the environment as of the unlimited source of resources only. In fact, the economy and the environment are closely related. The environment supplies the economy with water, timber, miner als, oil, etc. It has to absorb all the waste products, too. Nevertheless, some economists have always argued that pollution damages the resources.

There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Pumping waste gases from a power station does not gel rid of them. Waste gases cause acid rain, this leads to forest damage and reduces the resources of forestry industry.

Another one is water shortage. It comes from abuse of lands in agricul­ture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollu tion from factories and plants. The fourth one is damage to water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: many species of plants and animals can disappear. The sixth one is the greenhouse effect and global warming — that is, an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Global warming can lead to rises in sea levels, and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and global climate change. Lastly, the most serious danger is the result of all these consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.

The territories of the former Soviet Union are suffering many environmen­tal problems. Many of these problems have been caused by economic activities. Apart from the effect of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst problem is that wilh the Aral Sea. Cotton growing in the region has used large amounts of water, and the sea level has fallen, this destroyed fishing and led to a damage in soils, crops, and wildlife. Many forests in the Far East and in the north of European Russia are under threat. A system of dams on the Volga damaged fish.

If we cannot learn to use the environment carefully, very soon we'll have no world to live in. In my opinion, pollution can be stopped or at least reduced by using fuels which are low in pollutants, more complete burning of solid fuels, shift to using alternative forms of power such as wind power electricity or solar energy and banning the use of nuclear power. The first reason why I believe these ways to be most effective ones is that industry and transport are the most important sources of all chemical pollution of air, water and soil. The second one is that banning the use of nuclear power will destroy the danger of radioactive contamination.

The most important thing common people could do is to change their attitude towards the environment. We should realize that natural resources are not unlimited and destroying them may result in destroying life on Earth. The change of public attitude to the environment is important due to several reasons. Firstly, public opinion could make governments introduce stricter anti-pollution measures. It could make governments fund scientific research facilitating development of ecologically safe materials and sources of energy. Secondly, people could behave in the way which is less damaging for the ecology of our planet. For example, they could stop leaving litter in city streets and in the country. Thirdly, they could stop damaging forests by cutting down trees for their personal needs or causing forest fires.

 

Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Чтобы облегчить свою жизнь, человек изобрел машины и меха­низмы, которые загрязняют окружающую среду.

2. Хотя окружающая среда снабжает экономику водой, лесом, по­лезными ископаемыми, нефтью, она не является неисчерпаемым источником ресурсов.

3. Экономика и окружающая среда тесно связаны: окружающая среда должна поглощать все отходы, которые экономика выбрасывает в нее.

4. Экономика наносит ущерб ресурсам из-за кислотных дождей, которые приводят к повреждению лесов, из-за неправильного использования земель в сельском хозяйстве, разрушения озонового слоя, вреда, наносимого воде, почвам и природе, парникового эффекта.

5. Глобальное потепление — это увеличение средней температуры земной атмосферы и океанов, которое может привести к подъему уровня морей и экстремальным явлениям природы.

6. На территории России существует много проблем с окружающей средой, вызванных экономической деятельностью, таких как последствия Чернобыльской катастрофы и проблема Аральского моря.

7. Мы должны научиться бережно использовать окружающую среду.

8. Загрязнение окружающей среды можно остановить или, по крайней мере, уменьшить, используя топливо, содержащее низ­кое количество токсичных веществ, более полно сжигая твердое топливо, перейдя на использование альтернативных источников энергии и запретив использование ядерной энергии.

9. Простые люди могут изменить свое отношение к окружающей среде и заставить правительства ввести более строгие меры ох­раны окружающей среды и финансировать исследования, спо­собствующие разработке экологически безопасных материалов и источников энергии.

10. Люди могут вести себя таким образом, чтобы наносить меньший
вред экологии планеты.

 

Text 3. Animals

Vocabulary

association— связь

task— задача, задание

to require — требовать

strength— сила

to depend on — зависеть от

source— источник

to domesticate — приручать,

protection— зашита

breeding — разведение, размножение

dairy and beef cattle — мясомо­лочный скот

poultry— домашняя птица

despite— несмотря на

species— вид(ы)

wild— дикий

research — исследование (-я)

recreation— развлечение

hunting— охота

unfortunately — к сожалению

exploitation— эксплуатация

edge— грань

extinction— вымирание

to slaughter — уничтожать, убивать

ivory— слоновая кость

at this rate — при таком темпе

to wipe out — уничтожать

consequence— последствие

to create — создавать

abandoned— покинутый

to get rid of — избавляться от

shelter— приют

neglected— отвергнутый

pleasure— удовольствие

utility— польза, использова­ние

hamster— хомяк

guinea pig — морская свинка

to breed — разводить, выращи­вать

to coexist — сосуществовать

snake— змея

lizard— ящерица

fascinating— увлекательный

captivity— неволя

desirable— желательный

to do one's best — делать все возможное

to ensure — обеспечивать

coexistence — сосуществование

Ever since true humans appeared on Earth, they have lived in close association with animals. They needed animals for tasks that required strength and speed. People depended on animals for food and clothing, but they also found a source of pleasure and spiritual strength in the animal life.

Humans domesticated some animals for food, clothing, power and companionship. Through protection and selective breeding people changed early domesticated forms into highly productive dairy and beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Bull despite the domestication of many species, we still depend on wild animals for food and clothing. Besides, a lot of animals arc used for medical research. In addition, wild animals provide recreation in the form of hunting, bird watching, and visits to zoos and wildlife reserves.

Unfortunately, unmanaged commercial exploitation has driven some species of wild animals to the edge of extinction. For example, 143 elephants are slaughtered in Africa every day to get ivory. At this rate, they'll be wiped out in 25 years. What can we do to help animals survive? First of all, environmental organizations must analyse the consequences of humans' actions. Besides, people should create nature reserves for wild animals and birds. And of course, we must take care of those animals that are around us. There are a lot of abandoned animals in cities and towns, because their owners got rid of them. We must build and run animal shelters where neglected animals can find safety, food and veterinary care.

Nowadays a lot of people keep pets at home. A pet is a domesticated animal that is kept for pleasure rather than utility. Domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, hamsters and guinea pigs make good pets because they have been bred for thousands of years to coexist with humans.

Some people keep exotic pets like snakes, lizards or wild cats. Of course, exotic pets are fascinating and beautiful to watch. However, very often people keep exotic pets only in order to look extraordinary. They regard them as a status symbol. But captivity is not natural for wild animals. It is a constant stress to them, so they may become very aggressive as they get older. Besides, wild animals need to be examined by a vet with special knowledge and training in wildlife medicine. That's why it's not desirable to keep exotic animals as pets.

To sum up, we can say that for centuries animals have been our friends and companions, and we must do our best to ensure that this coexistence will continue in the future.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the role of animals in people's lives? 2. What did people use animals for in the past? 3. What do they use them fog now? 4. Why do people keep pets at home? 5. What animals make good pets? 6. Why do people keep exotic pets? 7. Is it dangerous to keep exotic pets? Why? 8. Would you like to keep a pet? Why? 9. How can we help animals?

Text 4. Trees

Vocabulary

valuable— ценный

environment— окружающая среда

reason— причина

to improve — улучшать

shade — тень

shelter— убежище, кров

in turn — в свою очередь

to reduce — уменьшать

amount— количество

to remove — удалять

impurity— нечистота, грязь,

to breathe — дышать

urban— городской

to provide — обеспечивать

the only — единственный

butterfly— бабочка

scale — масштаб

carbon dioxide — двуокись углерода

oxygen — кислород

rainforest— тропический лес, джунгли

to supply — снабжать

fresh — свежий

wild— дикий

to contain — содержать

to include — включать

unfortunately — к сожалению

to disappear — исчезать

hardwood— твердая древесина

to break — нарушать

to deprive of — лишать

extinct— вымерший, вымира­ющий

protection— защита

Trees are amongst the biggest and longest-living things on Earth, some dating back longer than the oldest buildings. Trees are one of the most valuable parts of the environment. People like trees for a lot of reasons.

As well as being nice to look at, trees also play an important role in improving the quality of our life. They offer shade and shelter, which in turn reduces the amount of energy needed to heat and cool nearby buildings. They also give us a lot of fruit to eat and the place for children to play. Besides they remove impurities from the air we breathe.

Urban trees are especially important because for many people they provide the only daily contact with the natural world. What's more, urban trees also provide a home for birds, small animals and butterflies. Without the trees we would lose the pleasure of seeing these creatures in our cities.

Regrettably, however, trees in cities are now coming under | threat. There is a limit to the level of pollution they can put up with, and down at street level their roots are being seriously disturbed by digging needed to make a way for modern telephone, television and other cables.

On a world-wide scale forests help to slow down the effects of global warming by using up the gas known as carbon dioxide and giving out the oxygen we need to breathe. The world's largest rainforests (in Brazil, Africa and South East Asia) supply about 80 percent of the oxygen for the world's fresh air.

Rainforests also give us thousands of valuable wild plants. One square kilometre of rainforests sometimes contains 250 different types of plants, including 125 different trees. These plants and trees are valuable because scientists use them to make a lot of medicines.

Unfortunately, every year an area of rainforest as big as England and Wales disappears. Large companies cut down the trees for valuable hardwood and for wood for making paper. There are also forest fires. This breaks the ecological balance and deprives lots of animals of places to live. Every day about 50 kinds of rainforest plants and animals become extinct. Whole systems of plant and animal life are disappearing forever.

If nothing is done about it, soon there will be very few trees and animals on Earth. Environmental protection is more than just picking up litter. We must take into consideration all factors that people's survival depends upon.

Answer the following questions:

 
 

1. Why do people like trees? 2. Why are trees one of the most valuable parts of the environment? 3. How can trees and wild plants help to cure people? 4. What is happening to rainforests now? 5. Are trees in cities in safety now? Why? 6. How does the disappearance of forests influence animals and birds? 7. What can people do to protect plant and animal life?

 

 

Text 5. How to Help Our Planet

Vocabulary

environmental— экологический

issue— проблема, вопрос

to survive — выживать

charity— благотворительная организация

aware— знающий

fortunately— к счастью

environment — окружающая среда

protection— защита

to require — требовать

government — правительство

to take measures — принимать меры

to improve — улучшать

goal— цель

to strengthen — укреплять

to combine — сочетать

effort— усилие

huge— огромный

support— поддержка

trust— общество

threat— угроза

destruction— разрушение

to drop litter — бросать мусор

litter bin — корзина для мусора

to dump — выбрасывать

rubbish— мусор

to recycle — перерабатывать

pavement— тротуар

stuff— вещество

ozone layer — озоновый слой

to take care of — заботиться о

endangered species — вымирающие виды

attitude — отношение

Today environmental issues are much spoken about on TV, radio and in newspapers. If people want to survive, they must do their best to solve these problems. Fortunately, it's not too late to save our planet. We understand that our environment is not just our home town but the whole Earth. The protection of the environment requires the cooperation of all nations. Governments should take measures that will help improve the environment.

There are a lot of environmental groups and international organizations whose main goal is to strengthen cooperation among environmentalists from different countries. The most famous of them is "Greenpeace", which combines the people's efforts for peace with the huge movement for nature conservation. "The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the name of another international organization that appeared in 1961. It has created or givensupport to National Parks in five continents. You may also join "Friends of the Earth Trust", which is an educational charity set up to help people of all ages become aware of the threats to our environment.

However, there are a lot of simple things we should all do to stop the destruction of the environment. First of all, we must keep our cities and towns clean. That means, we mustn't drop litter in public places. If we see litter on the ground, we must put it into a litter bin. Besides, we shouldn't dump our rubbish without thinking which things, such as bottles and paper, can be recycled. And of course, we mustn't draw or paint on pavements, walls or trees.

We must stop using aerosol sprays because the stuff they contain destroys the ozone layer. We should take care of birds and animals. We can help to plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can clean rivers and canals and create footpaths. But first of all we must change people's attitude towards the environment.

If we take action now, there might be some hope for the future. If we do nothing, we are heading for disaster!

 

Answer the following questions:

1. How can people protect our planet? 2. How can we save nature resources? 3. Should we reject the technological prog­ress? 4. How can we safeguard the world's wildlife? 5. What is the aim of ecological Organizations? 6. What ecological organi­zations do you know? 7. Do you have environmental program­mes in your city? 8. What can you personally do to keep the world healthy?

 

 

Последнее изменение этой страницы: 2016-08-11

lectmania.ru. Все права принадлежат авторам данных материалов. В случае нарушения авторского права напишите нам сюда...