It is generally acknowledged that in the world today there are potentially calamitous problems

1. relating to environmental (16) and overpopulation. The natural resources of this planet,

; its forests, fisheries and crop lands are already being used at such a rate that is unsustainable.

We are already using the planet’s renewable resources faster (17) . This trend is related to

1. the ongoing and accelerating process of species extinction and the destruction of natural habitats

such as the tropical rainforests, (18) . This gradual destruction of the Earth’s biosphere,

Its animal and plant species together with their complex webs of self-sustenance, is certainly set to

continue as human population growth and increased economic activity (19) . The world’s

population at an estimated 6.7 billion people today, is projected to grow to over 9 billion people as early as 2050. This is coupled with massive growth in economic activity lead by the surging

economies of China and India and further boosted (20) . If the Planet is already struggling

to cope with the demands placed upon it by the human race currently, when we also factor in these other considerations, then certainly we are heading for some interesting times. The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature issued a joint report in 2000 that said, «The world’s seas, fresh waters, forests and crop lands are being exploited at such a rate

(21) ». Also food shortages and food price hikes that were experienced by the world in 2008

may be the shape of things to come.

A destruction, resource depletion, global warming В by economic growth in the rest of the world as well С whole ocean ecosystems, rivers and coastal wetlands D that nothing will be left by 2075 E than what the planet can replenish F imposes more pressures on the planetary ecosystem G together as the human race

2. that support life on the Earth as we know it today

—-— — —-—- Task 5 ——— ——-—-— — —

Read the text below. For questions (22—33) choose the correct answer (А, В, С or D). Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Futurologists (22) that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields

of activity, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have

disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will (23) a programme from a «menu» and a computer

will send the programme directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometres away. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us by computer.

Then, «Holographic Feedback TV» will have arrived: holograms are pictures that have height,

24. and depth. Simple holograms exist today and «virtual reality» games are

25. ) popular. By 2050, we will be able to see, smell and touch the things that we see on

television.

And what (26) the environment, water will have become one of our most serious

problems. In many places, agriculture is changing and they are growing fruit and vegetables to

(27) . This uses a lot of water. Demand for water will (28) ten times between now

і and 2050 and there could be serious (29) . Some futurologists predict that water could be

1. the cause of war if we don’t act now.

ШРИ

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In transport, cars will (30) on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have

computers to control the speed of the car and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and

drive it to your (31) . On the other hand, space planes will take people halfway around the

world in two hours. Nowadays, the United States Shuttle can go into space and land on the Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angels to Tokyo in just two hours.

In the domain of technology, robots will have (32) people in factories. Many factories

already use robots. Big companies prefer robots — they do not ask for pay (33) or go on

strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere — in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

	A	В	С	D
22	predict	forsee	declare	monitor
23	select	choose	elect	make
24	wide	widen	width	wides
25	yet	already	just	since
26	concerns	troubles	worries	disturbs
27	import	export	consume	sell
28	decrease	reduce	increase	enlarge
29	reductions	cutdowns	lessenings	shortages
30	run	drive	go	work
31	place	aim	destination	purpose
32	changed	replaced	substituted	commuted
33	raises	roses	rises	risings

Read the text below. For questions (34—45) choose the correct answer (А, В, С or D). Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

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