Английский язык — Практическое задание 2

Задание 1. Изучите информацию про загрязнение воздуха и воды. Составьте

словарную статью (перевод с английского языка на русский не менее 10 слов по

каждому тексту письменно).

Задание 2. Письменно составьте предложения с выбранными Вами словами.

Задание 3. Письменно подготовьте краткий пересказ по каждому тексту (не менее

10 предложений).

Air pollution

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today.

The byproducts of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we

grow grain and vegetables on.

Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and

other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in

fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of

animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of

man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises.

The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl

tragedy in April 1986 About 18 percent of the territory of Belarus were also polluted with

radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and

people's health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic

for the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other nations.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a

system of ecological security should be taken.

Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries -

members of the UNO - have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous

conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor

regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and

Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal.

The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to

save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future

generations.

Pollution of water and air is one of the problems millions of people are concerned today. Acid

rains, hydraulic power stations, radioactive and other poisonous materials, disposal of

wastes became the global disasters. Cars are one of the most harmful and dangerous

polluters of air.

In more than a hundred towns and cities the concentration of harmful substances in the air

and water is over 10 times the admissible level. Archangelsk is one of the most "dirty" towns

of the country. The Nothern Dvina - our main water source is fully polluted with industrial

and communal wastes - the result of side-effect in the work of three giant pulp and paper

mills. Water is not suitable for drinking.

Another problem is presence of dangerous radioactive military objects and cosmodrom

"Plesetsk". Besides we must remember about ozone holes over our heads. The ozone layer

doesn't protect us from dangerous ultraviolet rays any more. They get through the

atmosphere causing skin cancer and other diseases.

All these facts make us become more sensitive towards the environment. The trouble is that

our local powers don't realize enough the danger of the situation and don't pay much

attention and money for construction of cleanser enterprises. Various public organizations

and unofficial movement make their best to change official and public opinion on the

environmental problems. One of the most famous and strong organizations nowadays is

"Green peace". I suppose the solution of the problem requires the cooperation the people's

efforts in nature conservation.

The word environment means simply what is around us. Some people live in a town

environment; for others, their environment is the countryside.

Water pollution

There is no ocean or sea, which is not used as a dump. Many seas are used for dumping

industrial and nuclear waste. This poisons and kills fish and sea animals. "Nuclear-poisoned"

fish can be eaten by people.

Many rivers and lakes are poisoned too. Fish and reptiles can’t live in them. There is not

enough oxygen in the water. In such places all the birds leave their habitats and many

plants die. If people drink this water they can die too. It happens so because factories

produce a lot of waste and pour it into rivers. So they poison water.

Most of the pollution in big cities comes from cars and buses. More and more often people

are told not to be in direct sunlight, because ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause

skin cancer. Normally the ozone layer in the atmosphere protects us from such radiation,

but if there are holes in the ozone layer ultraviolet radiation can get to the earth. Many

scientists think that these holes are the result of air pollution.

Both clean air and clean water are necessary for our health. If people want to survive they

must solve these problems quickly. Man is beginning to understand that his environment is

not just his own town or country, but the whole earth. That’s why people all over the world

think and speak so much about ecology.

Since ancient times people have been trying to produce more and more to increase human

wealth. Nobody noticed that we were destroying Nature by using it as the source of raw

materials, and as the garbage can for our waste. Nature seemed to be boundless and

endless... Far from it as it turned out. Millions of cars and smoky factories pollute and spoil

the air we breathe in. Pollution is hanging over big cities like an ugly brown cloud. It is

hurting our lungs as well as the life of animals, birds and plants.

People need wood and paper, so we cut down our forests. We don't know what to do with

waste materials of our industry, so we pour them into water, bury them into soil, shoot them

into atmosphere. We pollute the water we drink, and the land we live in. People build

nuclear power stations and carry out nuclear tests. As a result, radiation represents one of

the main problems nowadays.

The rapid growth of population in the world may turn into another grave problem very soon.

The speed with which we are using up our non-renewable resources like oil and gas, is

appealing. With the development of our civilization we have become dangerous to the

planet and to ourselves. What must we do not to find ourselves in a dirty desert in the near

future? This question cannot be ignored.

Some scientists are pessimistic about our problems. They suppose that we have already

reached the point of no return. Others are more optimistic and believe that our ecological

problems are solvable because more and more people begin to understand how dangerous

they are. There is increasing awareness of people of the real state of the planet.

In many countries environmental protection agencies and research centers are set up. Such

organizations as "Green Peace" and "Friends of the Earth" try to put pressure upon those

governments that do not care for ecology in their countries. The humankind will be able to

survive only if we all understand that environmental protection is our universal concern.