GENERAL ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

1. Give the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

The source of life; to live in harmony with environment; interference; emission; to increase; smoky industrial enterprises; to appear all over the world; pollute the air; suffer from smog; fossil fuels; to generate; nuclear power station; greenhouse effect; renewable sources of energy; to run out of smth; be harmful to the environment; produce harmful gases; to contribute; global warming; climate change; to damage the environment; threat; wind power; source of energy; vast forests; rare species of animals,  to disappear forever; dry up; economically developed states; to face serious problems;  global water crisis; the lack of water; a shortage of pure fresh water; the world ocean; Earth’s surface is extremely polluted; oil products; germs causing diseases; contaminated water; soil degradation; soil’s ability to retain water; system of ecological security; ecologically poor regions; international environmental research centre; to preserve the environment; special youth organizations; Woodcraft Folk;

2. Give the English equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

Увеличивать, исчезнуть навсегда, высохнуть (пересохнуть), глобальное потепление, источник энергии, мировой океан, поверхность земли крайне загрязнена, глобальный водный кризис, нехватка (отсутствие) воды, парниковый эффект, система экологической безопасности, экономически развитые государства, появляться по всему миру, опасность (угроза), источник жизни, генерировать (производить), общество защиты лесов, атомная электростанция (АЭС), деградация почвы, способствовать, выделение (распространение), редкие виды животных,  изменение климата, жить в гармонии с окружающей средой, загрязнять воздух, специальные молодежные организации, столкнуться с серьезными проблемами, нефтяные продукты, нехватка чистой пресной воды, выпускать (производить) вредные газы, система экологической безопасности, загрязненная вода,  микробы, вызывающие заболевания, способность почвы удерживать воду,  возобновляемые источники энергии, кончаться (иссякать), международный центр исследования окружающей среды, сохранять окружающую среду, страдать от смога, ископаемое топливо, вмешательство, дымящие промышленные предприятия, экологически неблагополучные регионы, причинять вред окружающей среде, нанести ущерб окружающей среде, энергия ветра, обширные леса (прерии).

3. Fill in the gaps with a suitable word or phrase from the vocabulary.

1. The Earth is our home that’s why we should live ________________with environment.

2. Fish in seas and oceans are poisoned because of the _____________________________.

3. The world ocean________________________________ because __________________ .

4. Millions of factories, plants and others _______________________________________ .

5. Wind power is a real ______________________________which is used in Holland and Denmark.

6. The result of deforestation is ___________________________________________________ .

7. This degradation is evident in almost every continent that is – ___________________ . It is due ________________________________ .

8. Members of the UNO discuss questions of _______________________________________ .

9. There are several organizations which take care of ___________________________, they are____________________________________ .

10. The initial steps to protect nature and to live in harmony with it are ___________________ .

4. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Люди всего мира обеспокоены тем, что происходит с окружающей средой.

2. Миллионы фабрик, заводов и другие промышленные предприятия сбрасывают отходы, поэтому поверхность земли и мировой океан крайне загрязнены.

3. Чистой воды для питья становится все меньше и меньше.

4. Долгое время люди жили в гармонии с окружающей средой.

5. С развитием цивилизации человеческое вмешательство в природу начало расти.

6. Если человек не перестанет причинять вред окружающей среде,  редкие виды животных и растений исчезнут навсегда.

7. Существуют специальные молодежные организации, они носят зеленые рубашки и специальные эмблемы и заботятся о чистоте улиц, парков, садов и лесов.

8. В экологически неблагополучных регионах есть проблема – нехватка чистой пресной воды.

9. Многие экономически развитые города страдают от смога, вредные газы могут быть причиной изменения климата и глобального потепления.

10. Защита окружающей среды – всеобщая забота и каждый человек должен сделать все возможное, чтобы сохранить чистыми землю, воздух и воду.

5. Match the problems to their effects and their solutions. Then in pairs discuss them.

Effects:

1. Destruction of the rainforest
2. Many animals and fish wiped out.
3. Change in world’s climate – ocean levels rising – extreme weather conditions.
4. Very poor air quality in cities – rivers and lakes full of industrial waste.

Solutions:

1. Have stricter laws and harsher punishments for illegal hunting and fishing.
2. Encourage countries to control the number of trees that are cut down.
3. Reduce gases produced from factories. Use public transport instead of cars.
4. Reduce of aerosols. Use alternative sources or energy.

6. Match the columns to form compound nouns and explain them. Finally make up sentences using them.

rubbish                                             effect

gas                                                    rain

acid                                                  dump

greenhouse                                       layer

ozone                                               path

urban                                                mask

cycle                                                sprawl  

e.g. rubbish dump: a place where rubbish is left.

The rubbish dump on the outskirts of town is an eyesore.

7. Think of two ways that we can:

save on water; create less litter; reduce air pollution.

8. There are many things we can do to conserve our non-renewable resources. Match the following suggestions (1-6) to the correct headings below.

1. switch off the lights when we leave a room

2. wear warmer clothes in the winter.

3. ride a bicycle

4. insulate our houses

5. use fluorescent light bulbs

6. use public transport

1. To use less petrol for transportation we can:
2. To use less electricity inside our houses we can:
3. To use less coal, gas, petrol and electricity to heat our homes we can:

Can you think of any other ways to reduce consumption of our non-renewable resources?

9. (A) Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap.

SOWING THE SEEDS FOR SURVIVAL

When people mention (1)____________________the first things that come (2)_______my mind are probably whales, pandas or tigers. Not many people would think (3)_________ plants, but (4)________ fact, there are far more threatened species of plants than of threatened mammals, fish, birds and insects combined.

One of the main threats to the survival of many plants is (5)______________.This causes (6)_______________and (7)______________, which destroy forests and (8)_____________many species of plants. Another threat is man! Many products that man uses come from plants. For instance, many plants are collected from the Amazon and are used to make (9)_______________. Other plants, such as mahogany trees, are valued for their timber and are very popular building materials. There are even plants that have become desirable collectors’ items. Luckily, more and more people are becoming (10)______________of the problem. There are now several organizations that are working to protect endangered plants as well as animal species and (11)_____________ all living things for the future.

10. (B) Do some research in the library / on the Internet and find out what animals and plants are endangered in our country. Make a class poster to show the information you collected.

11. Fill in the correct animal in the following idioms and fixed phrases. Match the following idioms (1-5) to the correct explanations (a-e) below.

1. Ben was so nervous he had ……………………….in his stomach.

2. If I go into town to visit Mark, I may as well kill two ………………. with one stone and do some shopping on the way home.

3. I don’t want to tell Liz the truth but I suppose it’s time to take the ……………………..by the horns.

4. I’m sure Jean wasn’t really upset, those were just ………………………..tears.

5. Peter has done most of the work, so he must get the ………………….’s share of the money.

a. the largest part of smth.

b. not sincere tears.

c. be very nervous or excited.

d. be able to achieve two things you want rather than one.

e. do smth that you feel you should do even though it is difficult or unpleasant.

12. Use the vocabulary and ideas from the above exercises as well as information from other sources to write an article about:

1. Global warming.
2. Air pollution.
3. Deforestation.
4. Endangered species.
5. Soil degradation.