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

Vocabulary

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?

Trees

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.