Introduction

The planet Earth is our common home. This idea of “home” includes the nature, all living beings and even the atmosphere around our planet. Everything is connected on the earth. If something goes wrong, everybody suffers. Unfortunately, people’s activities can make the environment unhealthy. Many territories, water basins, lakes, rivers, seas, oceans – and the atmosphere are polluted with all kinds of technological, agricultural, chemical, nuclear and other wastes. And I’d like to give more details about the relationship between the world’s climate and man’s activities.

Main Part

People are producing too many gases and because of that the earth is getting hotter. These gases hold heat. Plants and trees help to take gases, such as carbon dioxide, from the air, but we have now destroyed too many trees. So, there are not enough trees and plants to do this job. Because the earth is getting hotter, the ice is melting. And because the ice is melting, the level of the sea is slowly rising. Scientists believe that in the year 2050 some parts of Great Britain will be under the sea.

It is also common knowledge that fumes from the chimneys of factories, gases which are in refrigerators and sprays pollute the air. They damage the ozone layer that covers the earth and protects us from the dangerous rays of the sun. With the help of sputniks scientists discovered two large holes in the ozone layer. One is over the North Pole and the other one is over the South Pole, over Antarctica. And it is very dangerous for people as it can make them sick.

Conclusion

So, we can see that the intensive development of sciences, industry and chemistry has made the pollution of our environment a global problem which should be solved by no means. And I personally think all of us should always remember the wise advice of a great English writer John Galsworthy who said: “If you don’t think about the future, you will not have it”.

My impressions of a journey I once had (“My Journey”)

Introduction

Most people would agree that rest and recreation are as important as work. Different people choose different ways of spending their holidays. The most popular among them is traveling. People travel to see other countries, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, to enjoy picturesque places or just for a change of scene. And there are some people who long not to visit a particular place, but to travel by a certain way of transport. And there is a nice story about one of such people in our reading comprehension book. And I’d like to describe that man’s journey of a lifetime and also to share my impressions of a journey I once had.

Main Part

The man was eleven years old when he saw a television programme one dismal, rainy, Sunday evening. The programme was called “Great Railways of the World”, and after watching it the man was hooked and he knew he wouldn’t rest until he had been on a train journey. When he was young he used to talk about it all the time. He borrowed books from the library and memorized statistics about the train and line; its length, age, size, number of carriages and even the names of its first passengers. As he grew older people started pulling his leg and making jokes about it so the man became a little reserved and almost secretive about his passion, but he never got over wanting to be an engine driver. As soon as he left college he got a job and started saving all his spare money, so finally he managed to buy a second class ticket and he was on the train. In spite of the fact that there were only three people in the carriage, he chose his seat carefully. He sat with nobody around him and no one in the seat across the aisle, because the man didn’t want to be disturbed by idle conversation. He was on a journey to the holy of holies. His excitement was overwhelming, and his anticipation was unbearable. Yet at the same time he was apprehensive, because he was afraid that the journey wouldn’t fulfill all his dreams and expectations and would let him down.

As to the most memorable journey in my life, I’m not really sure which one can be considered to be the most pleasant one. I’ve been to Florida and to some other states in the USA. I must confess that I just love mountains. I was lucky to see the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains, Mount Rushmore, the Needles. Especially I enjoyed riding on a motorcycle in the mountains, in the back seat of course. I also had a chance to see the Elf Tower at night, and certainly I have unforgettable memories. Besides, I’ve been to some wonderful places in my native Belarus, and I absolutely share George Moore’s opinion, who said: “A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it”.

Conclusion

I also can’t help mentioning that in my opinion any journey can be considered to be a holiday of a lifetime, because traveling is a remarkable key to understanding other cultures, a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the world we live in.

Jerusha’s first steps at college (“Daddy-Long-Legs”)