Focus on text comprehension

1. Answer the following questions using information from the text.

1. What are the direct costs of the Industrial Revolution?

2. Why has the problem of air pollution appeared?

3. What is smog? Why is it so dangerous for people’s health?

4. What causes the appearance of acid rains?

5. How can acid rain influence people and the environment?

6. Why is the problem of ozone depletion so important?

7. What negative effects can UV exposure have on the environment?

8. In what way is global warming connected with the “greenhouse effect”?

9. What are the possible effects of a global warmer climate?

10. Why is water regarded as one of the most poorly managed resources on the Earth?

11. How does pollution of the water supply affect health?

12. What is the current rate of extinction? What is extinction caused by?

13. In what way have humans transformed the planet?

14. Why should species and their habitats be protected?

2. Comment on the following statements using information from the text.

1. The Industrial Revolution has cost humanity extremely dear.

2. Air pollution has become a fact of life in all major cities.

3. The ozone layer is vitally important for the Earth.

4. The climate on the Earth will considerably change in the near future.

5. Industry plays the key role in polluting water.

6. The extinction of species has reached an alarming pace.

Focus on vocabulary

1. Translate the following words into Russian and reproduce the context they are used in:

volatile compounds, suspended particulate matter, plant emissions, car exhausts, lethal cocktail of gases, air quality standard, congested cities, pollution controls, acid rain, water cycle, airborne acids, vast stretches of forest, inhabitants, ozone depletion, global sunscreen, yields of crops, worst-case scenario, global warming, solar radiation, greenhouse-gas emissions, mass extinction of, wildlife reserves, ice sheets, glaciers, a moderate rise, disease patterns, deforestation, species extinction, farmlands, logging companies, plant extracts, ecotourism, poisonous substances, organic wastes, crop pests, disease carriers

2. Find in the text English equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases:

выделять первичные загрязняющие вещества, приписываться/относиться, быть следствием чего-либо, вступать в химическую реакцию с чем-либо, далеко идущее пагубное влияние, вредный чему-либо, повышать кислотность, УФ облучение, подвержение УФ облучению, подавление иммунной системы, защитные реакции против чего-либо, прозрачный, поглощать, дать оценку причинам, сокращаться/высыхать, стремительно повышаться, сорвать поставки, переместить миллионы людей, изменять модели болезней непредсказуемым образом, смягчать климат, растворять загрязняющие вещества, выбрасывать/сливать загрязняющие вещества, сливать что-то через дренажный коллектор, просачиваться из чего-либо, зараженные реки, передаваться по цепочке питания, превращение лесов в сельхозугодия, вырубать леса, древесина твердых пород, перерабатывать питательные вещества, обезвреживать ядовитые вещества, разлагать органические отходы, прирожденное право жить

3. Match the words to form collocations.

A

primary plant suspended acid car volatile lethal congested air quality global pollution ozone

rain depletion warming pollutants cocktail controls exhausts emissions particulate matter compounds cities standard

B

water UV far-reaching global mass airborne human worst-case solar greenhouse-gas wild

acid sunscreen scenario exposure radiation cycle effects emissions reserves extinction immune system

C

ice crop moderate organic disease unpredictable disease meteorite species poisonous logging

ways patterns impacts extinction sheets rise carriers companies substances wastes pests

4. a) Explain the following notions. Use any English dictionary for advanced users if necessary:

smokestacks, factories, by-products, raw materials, ecology, heavy industry, automobile manufacturer, cleansing systems, automation, waste disposal

b) Fill in the blanks with the words mentioned above.

Brought up by the Industrial Revolution, … have caused most of these problems. They have conquered the whole world, since in 1913 Henry Ford, the pioneer … , made an immense contribution to the expansion of the factory system in the USA when he introduced assembly line.

Factory has brought many economic changes; it made production of goods cheaper thanks to the … . But factory has also brought many environmental changes. Nowadays we can’t imagine a big city without … and the black smoke, coming from them and clouding the sky. The … of the factory system affect the … greatly. Consequently, each industrial branch adds to the whole economic growth and to the whole ecological decay at the same time. The main cause is that heavy industry deals with hazardous … , manufacturing them can’t do without poisonous by-products and … and … are rather expensive and not effective. Besides, in the industrialized society, like modern one, … is always of immense importance.

5. Fill in the blanks with prepositions if necessary. You can consult the text.

1. The lethal cocktail of gases can be tapped … months … end.

2. Various respiratory diseases, nervous disorders and brain damage can all be attributed … high concentrations of gases in the atmosphere.

3. One of the greatest threats to the world ecology resulting … the air pollution is acid rain.

4. When released into the atmosphere, oxides chemically react … sunlight and water vapor.

5. The airborne acids are very harmful … lungs.

6. Farmers and other outdoor workers might measure their exposure … the sun in minutes.

7. The global sea level would rise … 1,5m.

8. But even a moderate rise … sea level would flood low-lying areas of the world’s major cities.

9. Fresh water is a vital resource … agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and countless other human activities.

10. Water pollutants result … many human activities.

11. Pollution of the water supply affects … the health of all the living organisms that depend … it.

12. The industrial activity results … species extinction.

13. The conversion … forests … farmlands, coupled … the multiplication and growth of urban centers has physically altered ecosystems.

14. A global demand … lumber rises.

15. Tropical rain forests are being destroyed and badly degraded … an unsustainable rate.

16. There are many reasons … protecting species and their habitats.

17. About 75% of the world’s population relies … plants or plant extracts … medicines.

18. Wild species supply us … food from the soil and the sea.

6. Fill in the blanks with a suitable prepositional phrase from the previous exercise.

1. Nature used to have countless valuable … human activities.

2. Today's industrial manufacturing will inevitably … an ecological disaster.

3. What do you know about prolonged … the sun? It’s … to skin.

4. Car emissions … sunlight to form ozone.

5. The largest oil spill ever … the Gulf war of 1991. The sea birds were dying … of nearly 100 000 a day.

6. There are no … optimism about the company’s future unless we come up with more environmentally friendly products.

7. Nature has always … man … all the necessary materials.

8. You can … Helen … support.

9. She will … you … all necessary information.

10. Her intelligence, … experience, makes her a perfect candidate for the job.

11. The … of an office building … a block of flats didn’t solve the problem.

12. Ecologists predict a sharp … plant emissions which inevitably … our health.

7. a) Speak about air pollution and its effects, using the following words and phrases:

to cause the massive increase in sth, to release primary pollutants into the atmosphere, plant emissions, car exhausts, to clear the smog, to exceed the current “air quality standard”, respiratory diseases, to be attributed to sth, congested cities, inadequate pollution controls;

2. Say why acid rains are so dangerous for the environment, make use of the vocabulary below:

a threat to the world ecology, to result from sth, to chemically react with sth, to produce droplets of pure acids, to enter the water cycle, to pollute sth, to have far-reaching damaging effects, to cause skin damage, to harm ecosystems, to kill aquatic life, to reduce soil fertility, to neutralize acid, to corrode;

2. Dwell on the threats that the loss of the ozone layer poses, use the following words and word-combinations:

to have a global sunscreen, to thin sth, to be harmful to the ozone layer, UV radiation, to give smb sunburns, increased UV exposure, suppression of human immune system, lower yields of crops, degradation of polymer materials, to avoid the sun, to measure one’s exposure to the sun;

2. Explain what makes global climate become warmer, use the following:

the “greenhouse effect”, to be transparent to sth, to absorb radiation, to maintain a temperature range, development of industrial production, a mean rise in global temperature, to evaluate the probable effects of global warming, to attribute sth to sth, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions;

2. Elaborate on the effects global warming may have, use the vocabulary below:

food productivity, to water ecosystems, to shrink or to dry up, to migrate to areas with adequate water supplies, to cause mass extinction of species, to soar, shifts in regional climate, to rise by 1,5m, to flood low-lying areas, to disrupt supplies of food and fresh water, to alter disease patterns;

2. Dwell on the dangers of water pollution, using the words and expressions that follow:

to moderate climate, to dilute pollutants, to be a vital resource for, to waste sth, to discharge pollutants into city sewers, to leak from pipelines, contaminated rivers, to be the ultimate sinks for sth, to produce waste, to affect health, to cause cancers, to pass up the food chain from…to, to be poisoned by pesticides;

2. Speak about the causes and effects of extinction and deforestation, make use of the following:

to result in sth, to lose approximately 74 species per day, extraordinary rate of extinction, to destroy and disrupt ecosystems around the Globe, ecosystem disturbance, humankind, to transform the face of the planet, conversion of sth into sth, to couple sth with sth, to reach an alarming pace, to clear forests for…, in search of sth, to enter a remote area of rain forests, to disregard sth, to be degraded at an unsustainable rate;

2. Explain the necessity of protecting species and their habitats, use the words and expressions given below:

to develop new crops, to become important sources of food, to rely on plants and plant extracts for medicines, recreational pleasure, to generate 12 % billion in revenues, to evolve, loss of biological library, to recycle nutrients, to maintain soil fertility, to produce oxygen, to store solar energy, to detoxify poisonous substances, to break down organic wastes, to have an inherent right to exist, to hasten sth, to live in peace.

8. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using the vocabulary of this unit.

1. Можно с уверенностью сказать, что следствиями промышленной революции стали загрязнение воздуха, воды и почвы, кислотный дождь, истощение озонового слоя, глобальное потепление, вымирание видов и вырубка лесов.

2. Что касается загрязнения воздуха, то больше всего вреда наносят промышленные выбросы и выхлопные газы. Хуже всего ситуация в перегруженных городах. Часто жители таких городов страдают от смертельного коктейля газов – смога.

3. Оксиды, выброшенные в атмосферу, вступают в химическую реакцию с солнцем и водяным паром, и превращаются в кислоту. Так получается кислотный дождь. Кислота повышает кислотность почвы и воды, что приводит к снижению плодородия почвы и уничтожению рыбы в реках.

4. Озоновый слой – солнцезащитный экран земли. Он защищает от УФ облучения. Считается, что вещества, используемые в холодильниках, аэрозолях и кондиционерах, приводят к истощению озонового слоя. Сильное подвержение солнечной радиации вызывает подавление иммунной системы, ослабление защитных реакций организма.

5. Причины глобального потепления в парниковом эффекте. Парниковый эффект поддерживает благоприятную для жизни температуру. Но увеличение выбросов газов, вызывающих парниковый эффект, может привести к тому, что температура на всей планете стремительно повысится.

6. Глобальное потепление приведет к высыханию рек, миграции населения, массовому вымиранию видов, уничтожению заповедников, таянию ледников. Даже умеренный рост температуры может сорвать поставки продуктов питания и воды, переместить миллионы людей и изменить модели болезней непредсказуемым образом.

7. Люди сбрасывают отходы в реки, сливают загрязняющие вещества через дренажные коллекторы. Затем зараженные реки впадают в океан, где различные пестициды, токсины и химикаты поглощаются морскими животными и передаются по цепочке питания обратно человеку.

8. Лесозаготовительные компании вырубают тропические леса – легкие нашей планеты. А превращение лесов в сельхозугодия, строительство железных дорог, каналов и дамб меняет привычную среду обитания животных и растений, обрекая их на вымирание.

9. Много видов находится на грани вымирания. И если они вымрут, то некому будет перерабатывать питательные вещества для почвы, обезвреживать ядовитые вещества, разлагать органические отходы, контролировать численность с/х вредителей и переносчиков болезней.