SUMMER TRIMESTER. NATURAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT.
NATURE, CLIMATE, NATURAL & UNNATURAL DISASTERS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, GREENPEACE MOVEMENT.
I.Wildlife. The Natural World. Animals.
2.Environment. Globalisation. The Pollution of the Environment.
3.Climate Changes. Natural & Unnatural Disasters.
4.Environmental Protection. Greenpeace Movement.
ACTIVE VOCABULARY LIST.
Reptiles, mammals, incubation, amphibians, oxygen, methane, filter, undersea creatures, mammalian characteristics, warm-blooded, cold-blooded, evolution, kinship, foetus,
1 WILDLIFE, THE NATURAL WORLD, ANIMALS.
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE upper-interm. & advanced (u. 46 p.92, 93)
TEXT I. Read the text and define its main point.
It is interesting to compare the order of mammals to the five other orders within the animal phylum Chordata - birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, tunicates. Mammals are the only order whose adults give milk to their young. Also mammals bear their young live. Consider this in contrast to a bird, which lays eggs, and after a given period of incubation within the egg, the young bird hatches out. Mammals, like reptiles, birds and adult amphibians, also breathe oxygen directly out of the air. Consider this in contrast to fish, which have gills that filter oxygen out of the water. Although it may seem strange because they are undersea creatures, dolphins and whales are more closely related to humans than they are to fish. They possess more mammalian characteristics than the characteristics of their undersea companions, the fish, inc luding the fact that they are warm-blooded and must surface to the top of the water from time to time so that they can breathe.
It is also interesting to note that the evolutionary kinship between fish and mammals is made evident by the fact that mammals in an early stage of development (when still inside of the mother’s womb) have gills through which amniotic fluid passes and delivers oxygen to the unborn fetus.
EXERCISE Complete the sentences with the words from the list: young, characteristics, characteristic, mammals, gills, lay eggs, cold-blooded, creatures, warm-blooded, their development, lungs, related.
Here we will summarize the main ______ of the six orders of the phylum Chordata. ______ are characterized chiefly by the existence of mammary glands in the female. They are ______ creatures that breathe through _______ and, generally, possess hair. Birds are also warm-blooded and lung-breathing, but instead of hair they have feathers. They are bipedal, the front limbs being adapted for wings, though it is true that some birds are flightless. Finally, birds are characterized by egg laying in the female. Amphibians, on the other hand, are cold-blooded. They spend the first stages of _______ in fresh water. After their body undergoes a change, they move to land as adults, returning to the water to______. Like amphibians, reptiles are _______, but unlike them they lay their eggs on land. Another differentiating ________ is the fact that young reptiles are fully formed when they are born. Fish are the only order discussed so far that use ________ to obtain oxygen from the fresh or sea water that they live in. They are cold-blooded, and may either lay eggs or give birth to live young. The order of fish consists of two superclasses that are not closely ______: the jawed fishes and the jawless fishes. Finally, tunicates, the phylum’s least-known group of animals, are sack- shaped ______ whose size may vary from a tenth of an inch to 12 inches in length. The ______ are free swimming, whereas the adults attach themselves to rocks, obtaining food by filtering water that enters through one duct and leaves through another.
WRITING: Make up one plan for the text and the exercise. Write a short summary using this plan.
TEXT 2 Read the article and match the headings (1—4) with the paragraphs (a—c). There is one extra title.
1 Indifferent lover, 2 mid-life crisis, 3 fame, 4 falling numbers.
LONESOME MALE OF THE GALAPAGOS
A) Celebrity is not usually a characteristic associated with middle-aged giant tortoises from the Galapagos Islands. However, few have been so influenced by humanity as Lonesome George. Fame came to George in 1971 when he was discovered on the tiny uninhabited island of Pinta. He is known to be the last surviving member of his sub-species but it is hoped that George will pass on his genes to a new generation.
B) The numbers of Galapagos tortoises are said to have begun their decline when it was realized that they could supply excellent fresh meat for passing ships, because they were known to be able to survive for six months without food and water. Nevertheless, it was the effect of the goats introduced to the Galapagos by the early settlers that are understood to have destroyed the ecological balance on the islands and the livelihood of George’s clan. Recently, there was another threat when the tanker Jessica ran aground near the islands. It is believed to have leaked almost a million liters of oil into the sea. At first, it was feared that the islands’ many unique species would be damaged, but the archipelago is expected to make a full recovery.
C) By the time George was discovered, breeding programs were known to be increasing the numbers of other tortoise sub-species, but it was acknowledged that his case was different. Unless a mate could be found, his group faced extinction. George was taken to the Charles Darwin Research Centre on Santa Cruz island and provided with a harem from related sub-species, but was said to have been uninterested. Thirty years later the last male tortoise is as lonesome as ever.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT:
1 Are you optimistic about the future of the Galapagos tortoises? Give your reasons.
2 Are there any suggestions concerning a recovery of the archipelago?
3 Why did the tortoises disappear from the Galapagos islands?
4 What measures should be taken to recover the ecological balance on the islands?
EXERCISE I Use the correct form of the words in brackets to complete the text:
The (1)_____ (usual) golden lion tamarin, a beautiful squirrel-sized primate, was nearly extinct in the 1970s. Its numbers had gone(2) _____ (hill) rapidly and there were only 200 left, due to loss of habitats from(3) ______ (forest). However, the World Wildlife Fund began a program to (4) ______ (place) the numbers of the tamarin. This involved (5)______ (plant) large areas of forest, linking together isolated areas of forest and the (6) ______ (introduce) of animals born in 2005 into the wild. There are over 1000 tamarins in the wild and the tamarin is on the road to recovery.
EXERCISE 2 Choose the most suitable word:
1 Experts (expect, hope, consider) temperatures to rise by at least three degrees.
2 The floods have (effected, affected, damaged) an area of three hundred square kilometres.
3 The (effect, affect, influence) of the rise in temperature is still unknown.
4 The earthquake (affectively, effectively, totally) wiped out the town so that only a few districts were left standing. 5 The government is (presently, currently, actually) sending aid to the disaster area and has so far sent 300 tons of food and medicine. 6 It was thought that numbers would go down but (presently, currently, actually) they have gone up. 7 The Prime Minister will (presently, currently, actually) visit the area affected by the floods. 8 The population is growing at the (speed, rate, number) of 10000 people every hour. 9 There are several species in (danger,
threat, risk) of extinction, such as the gorilla.
EXERCISE 3 Give opinions and agreeing. Complete the dialogue with the words from the list:
think, absolutely, agree, as if, reason, why, mean, totally, should, do.
TINA: Don’t you(1) _____ we should get rid of the nuclear power?
TINA: Another (3)_____ is the nuclear waste. I (4)_____, it lasts for centuries.
ALEX: Right, I (5)_____.
TINA: And I think because of that, we (6)______ invest more money in alternative energies.
ALEX: (7)______! I like solar and wind energy.
TINA: It’s not (8)______ there’s not enough sun or wind, is it?
ALEX: Sure. And we need to stop burning so many fossil fuels. That’s (9)_____ there’s the greenhouse effect.
TINA: I (10)_____ agree. I mean BMW have developed a new car powered by hydrogen. But it’s not in the interests of the oil companies, is it?
EXERCISE 4 Justify your agreements. Complete the justifications with the linking words from the list: one reason, basically, that’s why, so that, main reason.
1 I think we should use less energy, _____ to reduce the greenhouse effect.
2 We live in a consumer society. _____ we use so much energy, isn’t it?
3 We should plant a lot more trees. _____ for that is to restore habitats.
4 It’s important to conserve water. The _____ is to avoid desertification.
5 We need to send food and medicine ______ the victims can survive the floods.
EXERCISE 5 Comment on the effects the suggested issues cause to people & nature:
pollution, the greenhouse effect, climate change, natural disasters, deforestation, endangered species.
Give reasons for your opinions, like this: I think we should stop using such a lot of fossil fuels.
2 ENVIRONMENT, THE POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, GLOBALISATION.
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE upper-interm.&advanced (u 44, p.88, 89.& u38, p.76, 77)
EXERCISE I Complete the sentences using one of the words from the list: ecology, fallout, pollution, waste, acid rain, extinct, contaminated, dumped, environment, reactor.
1 The world in which we live is our _____. 2 Smoke, dirt and noise are all types of _____. 3 If man continues to hunt whales, they will shortly become _____. 4 Every day rubbish and chemicals are taken out to sea and ______. It’s disgusting and should be stopped. 5 In many parts of the world trees and lakes are being destroyed by ______. 6 In Chernobyl, there was an accident at a nuclear _____. When it exploded, large areas of surrounding countryside were _____ and there was _____ all over Europe. 7_____ is the science that studies the relationship between different life forms in nature. 8 When uranium is used up, it has to be kept in a safe place. It is extremely difficult to dispose of nuclear _____.
EXERCISE 2 Choose the most suitable word or expression.
We live in an increasingly global world. (1)According to/As a result of statistics from the World Trade Organisation, between 1990 and 2000 international trade grew almost twice as fast as the world growth in gross domestic product. (2)In spite of/In addition to that, the world has become a much smaller place (3)as a result/despite a revolution in global communications. (4)Neither/Both transport and telecommunications have become much cheaper over the last 20 years. (5)For example/In addition, international phone calls used to be extremely expensive but the cost has gone down dramatically in many countries.
(6)However/On the one hand, there are many benefits to globalisation and the standard of living of many people has gone up. (7)Furthermore/What this means in practical terms is that we are travelling more and consuming more products from global companies (8)for example/such as Coca Cola, Sony and Siemens. In terms of jobs, more and more people are working for multinational companies. Nestle’, (9) as well as/despite being a Swiss company, does over 94% of its business outside Switzerland. (10)Moreover/On the other hand, there are negative aspects of globalisation highlighted by the antiglobalisation movement. (11)Although/Because the standard of living in developed countries has gone up, the gap between rich and poor countries has widened considerably. More and more people are living in poverty, (12)especially/also in Africa and parts of Asia. (13)However/ Moreover, big multinationals now have much more power and influence than ever before and are beyond the control of many governments.
(14)To sum up/In this way, globalisation is a process which not only brings many benefits but (15)in addition/also many disadvantages. (16)However/As a result, it is important to realise that we cannot stop globalisation as such. What we can do, is to give developing countries a fairer deal (17)so that/as a result they can compete in international markets. Developed countries also need to provide much greater long-term aid in areas (18)like/for example agriculture, education and health (19)so as not to/in order to improve the lives of most of the people on the planet.
VOCABULARY EXERCISE 3. Fill in the gap in every second sentence with the words from the list below, circle the synonymous word in every first sentence: methods, birds, country, products, impact, cattle, animals, landscape, poultry.
1) Modern farming techniques have increased production dramatically. However these _____ often have a very negative effect on the environment and on farm animals. 2)The British countryside has changed in the last 20 years. The _____ now has fewer trees and hedges than 30years ago and there are considerably fewer people working in the _____ than before. 3)Pesticides and herbicides have also had a major effect on wildlife. The ______ of these products has been greatest on certain species of birds which are now in danger of extinction. 4)A few years ago, many cows lived to the age of about 15. Today, with modern factory farming, most cattle die after only 6 or 7 years. The _____ also live in very cramped conditions and are given hormones to make them grow faster. 5)Factory-farmed hens have very short lives. Sometimes the legs of the ______ break because their body is too heavy for them.
Many people now prefer to buy free-range ______.
LISTENING: a) Listen to a climate change expert talking about the greenhouse effect and take notes. With your partner, discuss what you believe are the key points made by the speaker(t.02) b)Listen again and answer the following questions:
--What would the temperature of the Earth be without the greenhouse effect?
--What happens to radiation when it hits the Earth?
--What image is used to describe the warming of the Earth?
c)Read the sentences, find the verbs with prefixes; which of these prefixes suggest an error, an excess, too little?
d)Add the correct prefix –mis-, -over-, -under- to the following sentences:
1 Using the world’s fossil resources as fuel is a big _____ take.
2 Many of the world’s major cities are becoming ______ populated.
3Environmentalists sometimes _______ inform the public about nuclear power.
4The staff are complaining: they feel _______ worked and ______ paid.
5Wearing protective clothing can prevent _______ exposure to radiation.
6Research has suffered in recent years from ______ funding.
7The supervisor gave ambiguous instructions which led to a ______ understanding.
8______ loading caused the device to fail. 40 tons were loaded in stead of 20 tons.
9Never _______ spell the name of the important customer.
EXERCISE 4. Fill in the gaps in the sentences with the words from the list: climate, fossil fuels, energy, gas, global warming, oceans, planet, poorer countries, sources of energy, storms.
As we enter the 21st century, one third of the people on the(1)_____ cannot use electricity for basic needs, such as lighting or cooking. One of the most serious problems today is to get people clean and reliable (2)_____ so that they can have clean water, healthcare facilities, heating and lighting. (3)_____ which is caused by burning fossil fuels, threatens people’s lives around the world. The world’s poorest people use very little of the world’s oil, coal and (4)___ but they will suffer most from floods and (5)_____ if no action is taken. Whole countries near the Indian and Pacific (6)_____ are threatened by flooding as the sea level rises. If we are going to stop the earth’s (7)______ getting out of control, we should stop using most of the world’s (8)______ such as coal, oil and gas to produce energy. It’s time to change to alternative sources of energy, like using the (9)______ of the wind and the sun, both at home and all around the world. We mustn’t forget that (10)______ where 80% of the world’s people live, cannot afford oil, coal and gas.
EXERCISE 5. Read the words from the list and decide which are good or bad for the environment; give your arguments.
Acid rain, recycled paper, litter, solar panels, traffic jam, bicycles, global warming, factories, bottles & cans, sprays, conservation, chemicals, ozone layer, exhaust fumes.
READING: A GLOOMY PICTURE (texts & exercises are from “Greening” /an environmental reader/ Brenda Bushell, p 5-12(from ETRC)
EXERCISE 6. Comment on the letter answering the questions given below:
Dear Sir
I follow your environmental news section with interest. However, as a result of a number of recent stories, I believe that we have begun to take conservation too seriously.
You report that almost 1000 trees have been cut down in the north of England to create a nature reserve for a tiny snail. Is this sensible? The snail was last seen seven years ago and nobody has seen one since. For all we know, it might already be extinct and 1000 trees have been cut down for no reason at all.
The world’s smallest lizard, measuring 2cm from nose to tail, has just been discovered in the Dominican Republic and immediately placed on the list of endangered species. Why? A week ago we even didn’t know it existed. Why should we suddenly care so much about it now?
At Worthing, on the south coast of England, work has stopped on a sea wall in order to protect the habitat of a rare flower, which was being disturbed by the building work. How much will the people who live there be disturbed if the sea breaks through the sea wall, damaging property and possibly taking lives?
Yes, the environment is important --- but more important is human progress, the lives of other species, and a sense of prospective.
Yours faithfully, Reginald Wells
1)Who do you think the letter is written to?
2)What is the position of the author of the letter?
3)What three conservation issues does the writer mention?
4)What has been done in each case?
5)How does the writer feel about each issue?
6)Share your point of view concerning the issue touched upon in the letter; give your arguments.
FOCUS ON WRITING.
Write a letter on one of the suggested topics:
1)The giant panda is threatened with extinction.
2)People shouldn’t get so angry about the use of land. We need houses and factories.
3)Humankind has always exploited the resources of the planet. It’s nature’s problem --- not ours
4)Sensible ideas how to care about the environment.
3 CLIMATE & WEATHER, CHANGES OF CLIMATE, NATURAL & UNNATURAL DISASTERS.
LISTENING (T.04) a) Listen to a climate change analyst discussing climate change. Which of the following topics mentioned?
Hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, pollution, nuclear power, heat waves, energy consumtion, storms, house insurance.
b) Listen again and complete the following sentences & phrases from the listening text:
1. “Snow and ice cover has decreased____10%____ the____.”
2.”… hundreds of thousands of people are likely to be flooded ____ ____ 10____ which will…”
3.”Against this, storm frequency and intensity and the extent of Antarctic sea ice __________”.
4.”Global population increased _____ over the 20th century and now stands at 6 billion; it is currently growing _________________ a year.”
5.”9 _________ 10 children coming into the world are born in ______ countries.
6.”Here the economic boom has led to electricity demand growing _______percent ______.”
7.”So even though energy consumption in ______ countries has ________ in recent years, global energy consumption will continue to __________ with most energy coming from fossil fuels.”
c) Remake the sentences based on the following prompts:
Powercom’s profits decreased from $150m in 1999 to $75 in 2004.
Powercom’s profits decreased by 50% between 1999 and 2004.
1.Nuclear’s share of electricity generation in the US was 20% in 2002 and 20% in 2003.
2.The truck covered the 180km journey in three hours.
3.Nuclear’s share of world electricity generation was 2% in 1971 and 16% in 2004.
4.100 hundred people were interviewed. 80 supported the construction of the waste site.
5.The President of the United States was elected in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.
EXERCISE 1 Choose the appropriate definition for each word:
1 hurricane
a) a storm over high mountains, usually accompanied by snow;
b)a tropical storm with strong winds and rain;
c)a very quick, but very heavy rain shower;
2 tornado
a) a long heavy snow shower, accompanied by strong winds;
b)a long period when there is no rain and when the land is dry;
c)a violent storm with a whirlwind;
3 volcano
a)a violent shaking of the earth’s surface;
b)a strong wind caused by a drop in air pressure;
c)a mountain with a hole in the top through which lava, ash and gas come out;
4 drought
a)a storm, usually without rain, which happens in hot countries;
b)a very long period of rain;
c)a long period without rain and when the land is dry;
5 flood
a)a large amount of water over land which is usually dry;
b)a large area of dry land which should usually be wet (e.g., a dry lake);
c)a lake or river which has been poisoned by pollution;
6 earthquake
a)along, heavy snow shower, accompanied by strong winds;
b)a shaking of the earth caused by, for example, volcanic activity;
c)a large area of dry land which should usually be wet;
7 tsunami
a)tropical storm with strong winds and rain;
b)a huge wave in the sea, caused by underwater earthquake;
c)a long period when there is no rain and when the land is dry.
EXERCISE 2 Read the sentences and correct the false statements.
1.A shower is a light wind. 2.It often pours with rain in the desert. 3.You always enjoy cool breeze on a very hot day. 4.It usually gets frosty in very high temperatures. 5.When it’s very foggy, a flight may be delayed. 6.If it is humid, the air will be very dry. 7.Water can turn into ice if the temperature is below zero. 8.Lightning is a loud noise in the air followed by thunder.9.It can get quite chilly in the desert in the evening. 10.Temperatures below zero are very unusual in the mountains in Switzerland.
EXERCISE 3 a) Give the definition for each word from the following list: mist, frost, sleet, rain, hail, wind, fog, smog, snow, blizzard, lightning, thunder; b) fill in the gaps with these words.
Listen to the pouring (1)___ outside, and the roar of the (2)____ as it blows through the trees. Listen to the clatter of icy (3)____ on the window and the crashing of the (4)____ while (5)____ flashes across the sky. See the thick, grey (6)____ and the thin, grey, wet (7)____. Smell the dirty, bitter, yellow-grey (8)____ in the city. Feel the crunch of (9)____ under your feet as you walk on the icy grass, and shake the freezing, wet (10)____ and (11)____ from your hair as the howling (12)____ turns the world to white.
EXERCISE 4 Comment on the suggested idioms & set expressions (A) using definitions from (B)
(A)1.To keep a weather eye open; 2.to get one’s second wind; 3.in the wind; 4.to take the wind out of one’s sails; 5.to clear the air; 6.to have one’s head in the clouds; 7.on cloud nine; 8.hail from somewhere; 9.within hailing distance; 10.hail-fellow-wet-met; 11.come rain or shine; 12.out of season; 13.(all)at sea (about something); 14.storm in a teacup; 15.steal someone’s thunder; 16.to set the world on fire.
(B)1.To do exciting things that bring fame and glory(often negative); 2.close enough to hear someone call out; 3.no matter what the weather will be like in future; 4.to be on the guard; 5.very happy; 6.confused and bewildered; 7.not now available for sale; 8.falsely friendly to everyone (about males); 9.to become more active and productive; 10.to come originally from somewhere; 11.to prevent someone from receiving the public recognition expected upon the announcement of the achievement; 12.to put an end to someone’s boasting and make the person feel embarrassed or to take an advantage away from someone; 13.an uproar about something trivial and unimportant; 14.to be unaware of what is going on; 15.about to happen; 16.to get rid of doubts or hostile feelings.
EXERCISE 5 Make up a dialogue with a partner using the idioms & set expressions from Ex.4.
EXERCISE 6 a) Read three texts and find three events common for these reports.
Good evening. Our program tonight is about disasters. This year there have been fires, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. All our guests tonight have survived disasters.
1.Hello, I’m Suzan Fisher-Dias. I live in Chicago. I was working in my office on the 28th floor of a skyscraper. I was dictating some letters to my secretary when the fire alarm rang. I rushed out to the elevator, but it wasn’t working. The stairs were full of thick smoke. We couldn’t go down, so we had to go up to the roof. When we got there, some people were waiting calmly. Others were shouting and screaming wildly. A helicopter managed to land on the roof and rescued six of us before the roof collapsed.
2.My name’s Linda Reed. I was on vacation at the Med Club on Patapita, a small island in the South Pacific. I was taking a nap when the volcano erupted. The noise woke me up. I looked out of the window. Everybody was running toward the harbor. I threw on my robe and ran to the harbor too. I managed to get on a cruise ship. It was leaving when the lava hit town.
3.Hi. My name’s Richard Ching. My wife and I were staying with friends in Santa Librada near Los Angeles. We were having dinner when the earthquake began. Everything shook. All the plates and food fell on the floor. We were picking everything up when the ceiling fell in. Fortunately, we were under the table and survived. We had to wait for hours before help arrived.
b)Complete the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in parentheses().
I was (work) in the field next to the house when I (see) it. The tornado was (move) toward me very fast. I (manage) to get into the storm shelter next to the house. When I (come) out two hours later, the house (be not)there. The tornado just (blow) it away! Fortunately, no one (be) hurt.
c) Write a report about any natural or unnatural disaster in your country.
EXERCISE 7 a) Read the article, highlight the following words in the text and explain their meanings: blight, inexorably, fixation, presage, two-tire, unscathed, earthquake-prone, countered, piffling.
b)Answer and discuss the questions given below the text.
WHERE NEXT?
No natural phenomenon brings home more clearly piffling scale of human activity than an earthquake. Last Tuesday evening, San Franciscans saw their most impressive skyscrapers rocking to and fro like cocktail twizzle-sticks.
At a time when scientists can usually be relied on to come up with at least an explanation, it comes as a shock to learn that the study of earthquakes is still in its infancy, and that predicting them with any reliability is still years away.
The cause of earthquakes is easy to understand. If all the world’s oceans were drained away, the Earth’s surface would look like a giant egg-shell criss-crossed with huge cracks. These cracks mark the boundaries between so called “tectonic plates”: vast slabs of rock as much as 4000 miles across and 18 miles thick. Despite their immensity, these plates are far from static. They float on a bed of molten, lava-like material known as magma. Thermal currents in the magma rise up under the plates and slowly, but inexorably, force them against one another. The grinding of the plates generates enormous tension in the rock. When it can take no more, the rock tears, releasing huge amounts of energy. An earthquake is a result.
In any one year, the number of earthquakes around the world stays roughly constant. About 3000 earthquakes of at least moderate intensity are usually detected. This had led scientists to seek ways of predicting when and where an earthquake will strike. These range from looking for jumps in the level of radon, a radioactive gas, released from rock about to give way, to an investigation of folklore that insists earthquakes are preceded by odd behaviour of animals.
According to Dr Russ Evans of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, the most promising prediction method seems to be the use of “foreshocks” --- tiny creakings in the earth that presage a major quake. The problem is that the Earth is always creaking quietly away, but only occasionally produces a major earthquake. Trying to separate out the creaks from the quakes demands large amounts of data, which take years to accumulate. Dr Evans says that a wrong or even slightly mis-timed prediction would prove worse than useless. He pictures the scenario of the two-tire highway to Oakland, which collapsed last week, being jammed with citizens fleeing a predicted earthquake which came an hour too soon.
If prediction is impossible, minimising the damage must be the next priority for scientists and engineers. The San Francisco earthquake proved that the engineers had got their money right. The slender pyramid of the Transamerica building and its skyscraping neighbours survived virtually unscathed, despite swaying by as much as three feet during the quake. Some engineers, particularly in earthquake-prone Japan, want to isolate the main structure from its foundations. The simplest way of doing this is to put the building on shock-absorbing bearings made of lead or rubber. The most sophisticated technique under study involves “active vibration control”. A building struck by a quake responds rather like a huge, upside-down pendulum, swaying from side to side. By changing the weight distribution of the building, it is possible to damp out the worst swaying. A computer senses the onset of the quake and sends instructions to weights on the building’s roof. These are positioned so that the amount of swaying is minimised. Japanese engineers recon that as much as three-quarters of the movement can be countered using this technique.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1.When was the article written?
2.How many earthquakes are there every year?
3.What determines the amount of damage caused by an earthquake?
4.How can scientists tell that an earthquake may be about to happen?
5.Why were engineers relieved after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake?
6.How are earthquakes caused?
7.Where do most earthquakes occur and what is the result of this?
8.Why is it so difficult to predict exactly when a major earthquake is about to happen?
9.How does Dr Evans think that a slightly mistaken prediction could be more dangerous than ignorance?
10.How do some Japanese engineers want to protect modern buildings from earthquakes?
11.What is the very latest idea for protecting buildings from earthquakes?
12.Have you ever experienced an earthquake or any other natural disaster? What was it like?
13.What earthquakes or other disasters have happened recently in your country and other parts of the world? How serious were they?
EXERCISE 8 a)Read the text and tell which of the disasters are mentioned in the article.
b)Headline each paragraph. c)Complete the gaps in the text (1—6) with the sentences (a—g) given below the text. There is one extra sentence you do not need.
HELL AND HIGH WATER
The last few years have been the worst period on record for environmental disasters and experts are predicting far worse to come. Tim Redford reports.
A)Here is how to become a disaster statistic. Move to a shanty town on an unstable hillside near a tropical coast. Crowd together as more and more people arrive. Wait for the world to get a little warmer. More evaporation means more rain, which means the slopes will get progressively more waterlogged. One day, the land will turn to mud, and the neighbourhood will begin to go downhill. Literally. And if the slope is steep enough, the landslide will accelerate to more than 200 miles an hour. Peter Walker, of the international federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, has seen it all too often. “First, your house has been washed away. Second, the land that you farmed has disappeared(1)___.”
B)In the last decade, floods, droughts, windstorms, earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions and forest fires have become increasingly common. There has been disastrous flooding in Asia, Africa, Central and South America and Oceania. (2)___ Storms have been getting worse everywhere too, with a growing number of hurricanes hitting the US, the Caribbean and Central America. Drought has affected large areas of Sub-Saharan Africa for years and many other zones are becoming drier. (3)____ A number of nations have already been in armed conflict over water, and drought in the West of the US has resulted in enormous forest fires.
C)Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have always been a threat in certain parts of the world. A volcanic eruption virtually wiped out the small Caribbean island of Montserrat in 1997 and there have been serious earthquakes in Greece, Turkey, and El Salvador. The quake that rocked the small Central American country of El Salvador in 2001 came as the people were still rebuilding their houses and recovering from 1998’s Hurricane Mitch.
D)So why is nature beginning to turn on us? (4)____ The population of the world is growing at the rate of 10000 people an hour, 240,000 every day, nearly 90 million a year, with most of the growth in the developing world. People in agricultural areas, unemployed and sometimes undernourished, move to the cities, and then set up homes on poor soil, crowded into substandard buildings. (5) ____ This has mainly been caused by the mismanagement of the world's resources: carbon emissions from rich countries; the activities of the big multinational companies; the deforestation of the world's forests. As a result, a hotter ocean breeds a fiercer cyclones and hurricanes. It surrenders greater quantities of water as evaporation, and more powerful winds dump this water against mountain sides with increasing fury. Atlantic hurricanes, for instance, are 40% more intense now than they were 30 years ago.
E)Volcanoes and earthquakes are even more dangerous than in the past as around half the world’s population now lives in cities. There are more than 500 hundred active and semi-active volcanoes, about 50 of which erupt each year, and more than 500 million people now live within range of a volcanic eruption. An even greater number live at risk, in some degree, from earthquakes which have taken a toll of more than 1.6 million lives in the last hundred years.
F)All the betting from the disaster professionals is that things will get worse. Professor McGuire, of University College London, is a volcanologist who has been warning for years that the world has not seen the worst the nature can do. The worst eruption in human history was probably Mt. Tambora in 1815, in Indonesia. It pumped so much dust into the stratosphere that it effectively cancelled the following summer in Europe and America. (6)___ “It reduced temperatures by maybe 6C in some places and the whole planet was plunged into winter for years. And there are about two of these every 100000 years.
a)But geological evidence shows that 73000 years ago there was a much greater eruption.
b)Even prosperous Europe has suffered and large areas of France, Britain and Germany have all been under water.
c)That is probably not the most important factor either.
d)Third, the other bits of land you might have been able to farm are now useless.
e)On top of all that, add climate change and the spectre of global warming.
f)For example, the Yellow River once notorious for flooding the Chinese landscape, failed to reach the sea at all on 226 days in 1997.
g)One answer is overpopulation.
EXERCISE 9. Read the text again and answer these questions:
1 What is the attitude of the journalist toward the future?
2 Who is most likely to be a victim of natural disasters?
3 Why are there now more hurricanes, floods and droughts?
4 Why are volcanoes and earthquakes more dangerous now?
5 What could be the biggest threat to the planet in the future?
6 What effects might this threat have?
EXERCISE 10. Read the word combinations and find the equivalents for them; make up sentences with these equivalents.
1.Too many people living in a particular place; 2.not as good as the average and not acceptable; 3.the cutting or burning down of all the trees in an area; 4.towards the bottom of a hill or towards lower land; 5.unhealthy and weak because you haven’t had enough food; 6.to construct again; 7.is likely to change suddenly and become worse; 8.partly, not completely operating in a way that is normal or expected; 9.people from different countries; 10.a bad control of business or work.
SPEAKING. Discuss the following questions:
1What natural disasters have happened in the last few months?
2What do you think government can do to prevent natural disasters?
3What organisations do you know that provide aid after diseases or work for the environment?
4What can we do as individuals to improve the environment and help victims of natural disasters?
4 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. GREENPEACE MOVEMENT.
EXERCISE 1.Read the article, guess its message, and say what kind of text it is.
THANK GOD, SOMEONE’S MAKING WAVES.
The natural world is under violent assault from man. The seas and rivers are being poisoned by radioactive wastes, by chemical discharges and by the dumping of dangerous toxins and raw sewage. The air we breathe is polluted by smoke and fumes from the factories and motor vehicles: even the rain is poisoned. It’s little wonder forests and lakes are being destroyed and everywhere wildlife is disappearing. Yet the destruction continues. Governments and industries plunder its living resources. The great rain forests and the frozen continents alike are seriously threatened. And this despite the warnings of the scientific community and the deep concern of millions of ordinary people.
Despite the fact too, that we can create environmentally-clean industries, harness the power of the sun, wind and waves for our energy needs and manage the finite resources of the earth in a way that will safeguard our future and protect all the rich variety of life-forms which share this planet with us. But there is still hope. The forces of destruction are being challenged across the globe --- and at the spearhead of this challenge is Greenpeace, Wherever the environment is in danger, Greenpeace has made a stand. Its scientific presentations and peaceful direct actions at sea and on land have shocked governments and industries into an awareness that Greenpeace will not allow the natural world to be destroyed. Those actions, too, have won the admiration and support of millions. Now you can strengthen the thin green line; you can make your voice heard in defence of the living world by joining Greenpeace today. Thank God, someone’s making waves.
GREENPEACE.
EXERCISE 2 Choose the best answers (A, B, C, D) to these questions:
1.Which of the following statements is not true?
a) Drinking water is polluted.
b) Radioactive wastes pollute the sea.
c)Sewage isn’t processed.
d) Cars and factories pollute the air.
2.Rain forests are being destroyed because governments and industries
a)are unaware of what they are doing wrong.
b) are rich and powerful.
c) choose to ignore criticism.
d) basically care about the environment.
3.The Earth’s resources
a)should be left for people.
b)can be made to last longer.
c)will last forever.
d)belong to just humans and animals.
4.How does Greenpeace feel about the future?
a)Desperate.
b)Resigned.
c)Cautiously optimistic.
d)Deeply pessimistic.
5.Governments and industries
a)don’t know what Greenpeace thinks.
b)are forced by Greenpeace to understand the problems.
c)can easily ignore Greenpeace.
d)misunderstand what Greenpeace thinks.
6.How does Greenpeace think that people can help?
a)By becoming members.
b)By speaking out.
c)By painting a green line.
d)By making waves.
EXERCISE 3. Read the text and say how effective the report is; highlight the lines which carry important facts about Greenpeace activity.
GREENPEACE
Against all odds, Greenpeace has brought the plight of the natural world to the attention of caring people. Terrible abuses to the environment, often carried out in remote places or far out to sea have been headlined on television and in the press.
Greenpeace began with a protest voyage into a nuclear test zone. The test was disrupted. Today, the site at Amchitka in the Aleutian islands is a bird sanctuary. Then Greenpeace sent its tiny inflatable boats to protect the whales. They took up position between the harpoons and the fleeing whales. Today, commercial whaling is banned. On the ice floes of Newfoundland, Greenpeace volunteers placed their bodies between the gaffs of the seal hunters and the helpless seal pups. The hunt was subsequently called off. In the North Atlantic, Greenpeace drove its inflatables underneath falling barrels of radioactive waste. Now nuclear waste dumping at sea has been stopped. In the North Sea, Greenpeace swimmers turned back dump ships carrying chemical wastes. New laws to protect the North Sea have been promised. Peaceful direct action by Greenpeace has invoked the power of public opinion which in turn has forced changes in the law to protect wildlife and to stop the pollution of the natural world.
Questions: 1.How many examples of Greenpeace activities are described in the article?
2.Does Greenpeace care about the environment?
3.Has Greenpeace saved a lot of territories on the globe?
4.How do governments react to Greenpeace activities?
5.Do you share Greenpeace policy?
EXERCISE 4. Read and translate the text.
PLANET EARTH IS 4600 MILLION YEARS OLD.
If we condense this inconceivable time-span into an understandable concept, we can liken Earth to a person of 46 years of age. Nothing is known about the first 7 years of this person’s life, and whilst only scattered information exists about the middle span, we know that only at the age of 42 did the Earth begin to flower. Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did not appear one year ago, when the planet was 45. Mammals arrived only 8 months ago; in the middle of the last week man-like apes evolved into ape-like men, and at the weekend the last ice age enveloped the Earth. Modern man has been around for 4 hours. During the last hour Man discovered agriculture. The industrial revolution began a minute ago. During those 60 seconds of biological time, Modern Man has made a rubbish tip of Paradise.
He has multiplied his numbers to plague proportions, caused the extinction of 500 species of animals, ransacked the planet for fuels and now stands like a brutish infant, gloating over this meteoric rise to ascendancy, on the brink of a war to end all wars and of effectively destroying this oasis of life in the solar system.
EXERCISE 5. Fill in the gaps in the sentences with the words from the text:
The earth is (1)____ million years old. It is easier to understand this if we imagine the earth as a (2)____ person. Of the first 7 years we know (3)____. Dinosaurs appeared just (4)____ when the planet was (5)_____. Last week, man-like apes evolved into (6)____. Modern Man has been around for just (7)____. In the last hour (8)____ was discovered and the (9)____ began a minute ago. In the last minute Paradise has been turned into a (10)____.
FOCUS ON READING
A) Did you know that Antarctica is as big as Australia and Europe combined, sunnier than California, drier than Arabia, higher than Switzerland and emptier than the Sahara? A hundred million birds breed there each year and the Southern Ocean contains the world’s largest fish stocks. Beneath its surface are the world’s largest coal deposits and probably the world’s richest oil reserves.
Read the text and find more information about Antarctica.
THE ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENT
The Antarctic is the most remote continent and the last to be discovered, but it constitutes about a tenth of the world’s land surface. It is also the only continent without an indigenous human population. In the past it had a warm climate, supporting luxuriant vegetation and large animals, but the climate deteriorated over the last 30 million years, once the great Gondwana had drifted apart sufficiently for a southern circumpolar current to become established. This, the largest ocean current in the world, cut off Antarctica from the warmer oceans to the north and allowed the ice sheets, in places over 4 kilometres thick, to develop. This region is the earth’s major heat sink and contains 90% of the world’s ice and nearly three-quarters of its fresh water. Only two per cent of the continent is not covered by ice, and life retains a tenuous foothold there. Nearly half of Antarctica’s coastline is hidden by thick floating ice shelves or glaciers; and the rest is covered by icebergs down to depths of 15 metres or more, which limits the coastal life. But below this level, where water temperatures are stable, there is a colourful marine world containing a great diversity of life. The Southern Ocean makes up a tenth of the world ocean, and the expansion and contraction of the surrounding sea ice is the largest seasonal process on earth. Recent work has shown that the pack ice provides a surprisingly productive Winter habitat for a number of small creatures, the most important of them being krill.
KRILL
Krill, which looks like a small shrimp, probably has a total weight in excess of any other animal in Antarctic fishes, birds, seals and whales.
B. Exercise: Fill the gaps in the sentences with information from the text.
1 Antarctica, which once had a ______ climate, is separated from the warmer oceans by the____. 2The Antarctic constitutes _____ of the world’s land surface. 3 Parts of the Antarctic ice cap are _____ thick. 4 Antarctica contains _____ of the world’s ice and snow. 5____ of Antarctica is buried beneath ice and snow. 6The total weight of_____ is greater than any other species of animal on earth. It is important in the Antarctic eco-system because ________.
C. Work in groups. Discuss the question raised in the passage below with your partners.
THE LAST FRONTIER?
Today, Antarctica is about to enter a new age. After thirty years of unparalleled international co-operation under the aegis of the Antarctic Treaty, the continent is threatened by man’s insatiable appetite for natural resources.
Antarctica is the last frontier --- the last continent on earth to have escaped the worst of our destructive ingenuity. True, whales around Antarctica were hunted dangerously close to extinction, and species like the Blue --- the largest creature ever to inhabit the planet --- may never recover. But Antarctica has remained until now a pristine environment, and a perfect natural laboratory for scientists to pursue knowledge for its own sake. Will things remain that way? A Minerals Convention may soon be ratified that will allow regulated mining in Antarctica for the first time, albeit within stringent environmental safeguards.
Should the exploiters be allowed in, to operate under tough protective controls? Or should Antarctica be declared a “wilderness park”, free from exploitation for ever? Perhaps the answer isn’t as obvious as it appears. What is important, though, is that the questions should be asked by all of us, and not just by the tiny number of diplomats
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