Nations Ranked as Protectors of the Environment

Countries from Northern and Central Europe and South America dominated the top spots in the 2005 index of environmental (1) _____________, which ranks nations on their success at such tasks as maintaining or improving air and water quality, maximizing (2) ___________ and cooperating with other countries on environmental problems.

Finland, Norway and Uruguay held the top three spots in the (3) __________, prepared by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities. The United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe. The lowest-ranking country was North Korea. Among those near the bottom were Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq and Kuwait.

The report is based on 75 measures, including the rate at which children die from respiratory diseases, fertility rates, water quality, overfishing, (4) __________ of heat-trapping gases and the export of sodium dioxide, a crucial component of acid rain. The report also cited a statistically significant correlation between high-ranking countries and countries with open political systems and effective governments.

At 33, Russia's ranking is in large part a consequence of the country's vast size. While it has terrible pollution problems in the western industrial heartland, its millions of unsettled or sparsely settled acres of Asian taiga mean it has vast, untrammeled resources and more (5) _______ water than anywhere in the world. So, on average, Russia ends up looking better than it does to someone who lives in western Russia.

Irritation at low rankings in the 2002 index spurred countries like Mexico and South Korea to improve their efforts. Young Keun Chung, an environmental economist with South Korea's state Korea Environment Institute said: "The first time we were shocked. Our government wanted to improve our situation. So we concentrated on improving environmental policy, (6) __________ problems, traffic problems and everything." South Korea moved up 13 spots between 2002 and the new report, but was only No. 122 in the overall index, and 14th out of 21 high-density countries in which more than half the land has a population (7) __________ greater than 100 people per square kilometer.

Ex. 10. Work in pairs or in small groups. Discuss the following issues:

1. Modern problems: global warming, biodiversity, population growth and their outcomes.

2. Kyoto Protocol and its role.

3. Ecological situation in Kazakstan: problems and possible settlement.

Unit 6. Elections

Key vocabulary

Give equivalents in your mothertongue to the following English words and phrases:

Absentee ballots; be listed on ballots; to cast ballots; to fill out ballots in favor of; to punch ballots with a hole-puncher

to appear on the air

to boycott the elections

to campaign for the election

candidate for the presidency

to capture a clear majority

the Central Election Commission

two consecutive terms

to form a unity government

fraudulent president/presidential election

full suffrage

to recruit international observers for the Iraqi elections

a legitimate handover of power

to monitor the voting

to organize and administer the vote

to have a low profile

electoral fraud; widespread fraud; to deter fraud; ballot-box fraud; falsified ballots

to exercise one's right to vote; to watch the vote

to hold a national referendum on

an incumbent president