Topic
GLOBAL ISSUES
“We have a very small number of years left to fail or to succeed in providing a
sustainable future to our species”.
(Jasques Cousteau)
I. Use these expressions to comment on the statement.
It appears to me to be true…
I agree that …
Yes, indeed …
Vocabulary:
1. fossil fuel – горючие полезные ископаемые;
2. vinegar – уксус;
3. to be responsible for – быть ответственным за что-либо;
4. decline of forests – гибель лесов;
5. droplet – капелька;
6. to disrupt – нарушать;
7. chlorophyll – хлорофилл;
8. persistent – постоянный;
9. aquatic life – жизнь моря;
10. dilute – разбавленный (разведенный);
11. to obey – подчиняться;
12. combustion – горение, сжигание.
II. Read the text and find answers to the questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What kind of danger is acid rain?
Which gases cause acid rain?
What are the sources of these gases?
How is acid rain formed?
How does acid rain affect the plants?
How do people try to solve the problem of acid rain?
Text
Acid Rains
Every year more and more plants and animals disappear never to be seen again. In
many lakes the fish are dying. The problem is acid rain. It’s a kind of air pollution. It is
caused by sulphur and nitrogen oxides. These gases are released by factories and power
plants when fossil fuels are burned and by cars. These oxides reach high into the atmosphere
and mix with water and other chemicals to form acid rain. The wind often carries the smoke
far from the factories. Some of the harmful substances in the smoke may come down with
the rain hundreds of miles away.
The rain in many places isn’t natural and clean any more. It’s full of acid chemicals.
When it flows in lakes, it changes them too. The lakes become more acidic. Acid water is
like vinegar or lemon juice. It hurts when it gets in your eyes. It also kills the plants and
animals that usually live in lake water. That is why the fish are dying in lakes.
But dead fish and fish-eating wildlife may be just the beginning of the problem.
Acid rains are also responsible for the decline of many forests. Some kinds of trees can not
live in the soil that is very acidic. And tiny droplets of acid attack plant leaves disrupting the
production of chlorophyll.
Besides this, acid rain releases heavy metals and other toxic substances, providing a
persistent source of toxicity to surrounding vegetation and aquatic life.
Buildings “die” too. Some of the most beautiful historic buildings in the world are
being eaten away by the dilute acid, rained on them. Notre Dame and St. Paul’s Cathedral
have all been damaged.
A major problem with air pollution is that it does not obey national boundaries. The
planet’s wind cycles and currents can carry pollution hundreds of miles away from its
original source.
So Britain is a large contributor to air pollution in Sweden and creates more for
Norway than Norway does itself. The pollutants of the USA end up on the eastern cost of
Canada.
Many nations have adopted air quality standards to safeguard the public against the
most common pollutants. These include sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide
and lead – all of which are tied directly or indirectly to the combustion of fossil fuels.
Many countries in the world are trying to solve the problem of air pollution in
various ways, either by trying to burn fossil fuels more cleanly or by fitting catalytic
converters to their cars, so fewer poisonous gases are produced.
Developing technologies like this may raise the price of electricity a little, but will
save millions of trees, plants and animals and human health.
III.
Read the text again. Guess the meaning of the words and expressions without a
dictionary.
1. sulfur oxide;
2. nitrogen oxide;
3. toxic;
4. contributor;
5. converter;
6. to release;
7. chemicals;
8. harmful substances;
9. fish-eating wildlife;
10. to safeguard.
IV.
Choose the statement, which expresses the main idea of the text.
1. to define a phrase “the problem of acid rains”;
2. to analyze the reasons and consequences of acid rains and the ways of this problem
solving;
3. to compare different ways of this problem solving.
V.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Acid rain gases are released by …
The rain in many places is full of …
Acid water kills …
Heavy metals and other toxic substances provide …
Some historical buildings in the world are …
Air pollution does not obey …
Air quality standards have been adopted to …
To solve the problem of air pollution people should …
VI.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Complete the sentences:
Summarize the text according to the outline. Make use of the expressions:
The text points out that …
It focuses on …
The text presents interest for …
It is claimed that …
The paper deals with the problem of …
VII. Choose one of the following situations to act it out in pairs:
1. You are taking an exam on ecology. Answer teacher’s questions on the problem of acid
rains:
- tell about gases which cause acid rain;
- inform on sources of these gases;
- describe how acid rain affects the plants, wildlife and fish;
- tell what people should do to solve the problem of acid rain.
2. You are at the ecological conference, listening to the report, devoted to acid rains. Ask
questions:
- ask what kind of danger acid rain is;
- ask about the sources of acid rain gases;
- ask how acid rain forms;
- find out how acid rain affects the plants, fish and wildlife;
- ask about possible ways out of this situation.
3. You are a teacher, explaining why acid rains are harmful for health and environment.
Ask questions on the problem:
- say that water is very important for our planet and people, plants and animals can not live
without water;
- tell about one of the most dangerous kind of air pollution – acid rain; how it is formed;
- explain why acid rain is harmful for environment;
- say what should people do to prevent possible ecological crisis.