The attack on britain’s environment

Vocabularly

advertisement реклама

believe припускати

spread поширювати,

розповсюджувати

strict суворі

share розділяти

wildlife жива природа

spoil шкодити

far fewer значно менше

car park стоянка машин

accident нещасний випадок

employ наймати на роботу

ride їздити

notice помічати, бачити

Reading Read the text and say what dangers Britain’s environment faces.

Most of the western nations have the same basic environmental prob­lems, but they take different forms in each country. Here you can read about some of the dangers facing Britain's environment.

Air pollution

One of Britain's environmental successes has been the control of air pollution, especially in London. Thirty years ago hundreds of people died every year from the dreadful London smogs. Since then London and many other cities have become "smokeless zones", areas where no coal fires are allowed. But now the increase in traffic is threatening with serious air pollution in our cities again.

However, the commonest air pollution comes from the cigarette smoke which pollutes many public places, like cinemas, pubs and restaurants. Though cigarette advertisements are not allowed on TV or radio, you can still see them on posters in cinemas and in newspapers and maga­zines. The advertisements don't tell you that doctors believe cigarettes cause 30,000 deaths in Britain every year.

Noise pollution

Traffic and aircraft can cause serious noise pollution. Aircraft are very noisy when they take off and the noise spreads over a wide area. Heathrow airport, near London, is the busiest airport in the world. Planes are only allowed to take off and land at Heathrow between six in the morning and eleven at night, but during the day fifty planes take off and land there every hour.

Water pollution

There has been bad pollution of Britain's rivers, and the government has tried hard to stop it. There are now strict laws against water pollu­tion, though it still quite often happens accidentally. Britain and France share the problem of oil pollution from the Channel. This has caused great damage to beaches and wildlife.

Cars and Roads

The need for new roads causes great environmental difficulties. They often spoil the countryside and bring noise and air pollution to thousands of homes. Since 1958 the population of Britain has increased by 11%, but the number of cars has increased by 400%.

There are now only about thirty meters of road for each car in Britain, so we'll have to build more expensive motor-ways which damage the en­vironment.

Cars cause other problems too: thousands of people die in car acci­dents; car parks use valuable space in towns and cities; cars use a lot of our limited amount of oil. Unfortunately, it's difficult to do anything about all this because cars play an important part in the lives of many families, and the car industry employs large numbers of people.

Friends of the Earth suggest that the bicycle is the best way to travel because it's cheap, quiet and riding it keeps you healthy. However, there are far fewer cyclists in Britain than in some other European countries, so our roads aren't built for cycling. It can be dangerous to cycle in large cities as British motorists don't seem to notice cyclists. Some people think that only buses and bicycles should be allowed in our city centers.

Exercise 1. Tick the correct completion.

1. Britain is successfully solving such environmental problems as

a) water pollution.

b) air pollution.

c) noise pollution.

2. The commonest air pollution comes from

a) traffic.

b) London smogs.

c) cigarette smoke.

3. Planes at Heathrow are allowed to take off and land between /and

a) 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.

b) 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.

c) 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

4. The problem which has caused great damage to beaches and wildlife is

a) air pollution.

b) oil pollution.

c) noise pollution.

5. The bicycle is considered to be the best way of travelling in Great Britain because

a) the roads are well-built for cycling.

b) it's cheap and helps people keep fit.

c) it's not dangerous.

Exercise 2. Replace the underlined pronouns in the sentences with the correct phrases.

traffic and aircraft cyclist cigarette smoke cars and roads

oil pollution planes cigarette advertisements

1. The commonest air pollution comes from the it.

2. You can’t see them on posters in cinemas and in newspapers.

3. The noise pollution is caused by them.

4. They are allowed to take off and land every hour at Heathrow.

5. Britain and France share the problem of it from the channel.

6. They cause great environmental difficulties.

7. There are far fewer them in Britain than in some other European countries.

Exercise 3. Check facts and ideas. Decide if these statements are true or false.

1. “Smokeless zones“ are the areas where no coal fires are allowed.

2. The cigarette smoke doesn’t pollute the air.

3. You can see cigarette advertisement on posters in cinemas and in newspapers.

4. Sixty planes take off and land every hour at Heathrow.

5. Oil pollution cause great damage to beaches and wildlife.

6. Car parks use valuable space in towns and cities.

7. The bicycle is the commonest way to travel in Britain.

Exercise 4. Reorder the words in these sentences. The first word is underlined.

Example : lives – in – John – countryside – the.

John lives in the countryside.

1. is – very – Smoke – for – harmful – health – our .

2. fifty – the – take – land – off – Heathrow – at – hour – Every – planes.

3. role – the – families – an – Cars – important – play – of – lives – in.

4. are – Forests– by – rain – damaged – acid.

Exercise 5. Put questions to the underlined words from the Exercise 3.

Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of adjectives given in the box.

busy cheap expensive common

1. The bicycle is … way to travel than the car.

2. The cigarette smoke is … air pollution.

3. Heathrow airport, near London, is … airport in the world.

4. Motor-ways are … than roads.

Exercise 7. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of adjectives given in the box.

reduce employ take off keep

spread have discuss influence

1. Most of the western nations … the same basic environmental problems.

2. The cigarette smoke … on our health badly.

3. The aircrafts … and the noise … over a wide area.

4. The council … the problem of oil pollution at the last conference.

5. The unreasonable use of nitrates … the quality of land.

6. The car industry … large numbers of people.

7. Riding the bicycle … you healthy.

Exercise 8. Put the questions in the correct order and use the answer to get summary of the text.

1. What problems do cars cause in Britain?

2. What is the reason of noise pollution?

3. What problem do Britain and France share?

4. What is the increase in traffic threatening British cities with?

5. Why have many cities in Britain become "smokeless zone"?

6. What dangers does Britain's environment face?

Lesson 11