Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:Sustainability challenges and opportunities. Учебное пособие
.pdf
71
T
EXT
"A Double-edged Sword" of Chemistry and Environmental Problems
1. Chemistry is important - there is no doubt about that. It lies at the heart of our efforts
to produce new materials that make our lives safer and easier, to produce new sources
of energy that are abundant and nonpolluting and to understand and control the many
diseases that threaten us and our food supplies. Although a strong case can be made
that the use of chemistry has greatly enriched all of our lives, there is also a dark side
of the story. Our society has used its knowledge of chemistry to kill and destroy. It is
important to understand that the principles of chemistry are inherently neither good
nor bad - it's what we do with knowledge that really matters.
2. Although humans are clever, resourceful, and concerned about others, they also can
be greedy, selfish, and ignorant. In addition we tend to be shortsighted, we concentrate
too much on the present and do not think enough about a long-range implication of
our actions. This type of thinking has already caused us a great deal of trouble - severe
environmental damage has occurred on many fronts. However, it is less important to lay
blame than to figure out how to solve these problems.
3. The environment excites growing public concern due to realizing that at present
time human activity has become varied and complex that it effects not only at local
and national level, but the whole world. Ways of producing energy, using natural
resources and build up of waste threaten to destroy Nature irreversibly. To preserve
the environment of our planet development and growth in the world must be
sustainable. Sustainable means not sacrificing tomorrow's prospects for a largely
illusory gain today.
4. Solution to environmental problems cannot be found without their scientific
understanding. An important part of the answer must rely on chemistry. One of the
hottest fields in chemical sciences is environmental chemistry - an area that involves
studying our environmental ills and discovering creative ways to address them.
72
After Reading
Ex.3 Read the text more carefully and answer the questions.
1. How do you understand the title of the text?
2. What other titles could you suggest?
3. What is a main reason to think that Nature is certainly under threat?
4. What kinds of human activities threaten to change fundamentally the balance of
our global environment?
5. What is sustainable development?
6. Why does scientific knowledge play an important part in searching solutions to
environmental problems?
Ex.4 Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of paragraph.
Paragraph 1
1. Chemistry is one of the fundamental sciences.
2. Chemistry has greatly enriched our lives.
3. The principles of chemistry are neither good nor bad. It’s what we do with this
knowledge that really matters.
4. Knowledge of chemistry may be used for the benefit of mankind as well as for
destroying the life on the Earth.
Paragraph 2
1. Mankind has always been capable of great good and great evil.
2. We should avoid activities, which secure benefits in the short term at expense of
dangerous implications for the environment and human health in the future.
3. It's more important to find out solutions to ecological problems than to figure out
who are responsible for environmental damage.
4. Racing for short-term benefits without thinking about long-range consequences
73
gave rise to serious environmental problems, to solve them is a task of vital
importance.
Paragraph 3
1. The ways in which human activities affect the environment are complex and can
cause damage to Nature.
2. To preserve the environment of our planet development and growth in the world
must be sustainable.
3. The impact of human activity on the environment has changed greatly and can
threaten the live on the Earth.
4. The environment excites growing public concern.
Paragraph 4
1. Environmental chemistry can help to find the answers for many environmental
problems.
2. Environmental chemistry is one of the "hottest" fields in the chemical sciences.
3.
understanding, environmental chemistry playing an important part in the process.
Finding solutions to environmental problems is based on their scientific
V
OCABULARY REVIEW
Ex.5 Find the words and phrases in the text, translate them and make some
sentences using them.
1. abundant (1)
2. disease (1)
3. to enrich (1)
4. there is a dark side of the story (1)
74
5. inherently (1)
6. don't think about long range implications (2)
7. to be short-sighted (2)
8. a great deal of trouble (2)
9. to figure out (2)
10. growing public concern (3)
11. to destroy Nature irreversibly (3)
12. to preserve the environment (3)
13. sustainable (3)
14. environmental ills (4)
15. creative ways (4)
Ex.6 Which word is different? Why?
at the heart at the core at the edge
accuse lay blame praise
ecologically friendly polluting non-polluting
matter be of importance be of little significance
damage advantage harm
dark side background disadvantage
implication consequence action
ills utility problems
disease illness health
take place occur miss
involve include exclude
75
Ex.7 Match English expressions with their Russian equivalents.
1. sustainable development a. научные знания
2. human activity b. сохранять окружающую среду
3. scientific knowledge с. природные ресурсы
4. public concern d. устойчивое развитие
5. to preserve the environment e. общественный интерес
6. natural resources f. деятельность человека
Ex.8 Fill in the gaps using words in Italics.
damage
1.
threat problems
The world’s ecological … are the aggregate of local and regional pressures on
the environment.
2.
3.
The … to the Nature can only be overcome if all nations work together.
Greenpeace is an international organization that aims to protect the … to make
governments change their policy.
4.
5.
Experience has taught us that actions and processes can … the environment.
Actions taken to protect one aspect of the environment can sometimes
themselves … other damage.
6.
There needs to be a major and growing scientific … to understand the effect of
environmental effort cause
human activities on the environment and our health.
Ex.9 Complete the table
76
Verb Noun Adjective
think
produce
development
creative
environment
human
national
Focus on grammar
Present Perfect Tense.
We use the Present Perfect for an action in the past with a result now/
(Настоящее свершенное время).
have + past participle
Example:
+ He has dressed himself.
- He has not dressed himself.
? Has he dressed himself?
Yes, he has. No, he has not. (No, he hasn't.)
Ex.10 Look through the text and find the structure with the Present Perfect.
Ex.11 Revise three forms of irregular verbs. (See the list in Grammar File)
Ex.12 Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect.
1. We (to have) many major problems while working on this project.
2. She (to talk) to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why
she is sick
77
3. Doctors (to cure) many deadly diseases.
4. Scientists (to split) the atom.
5. Ecologists (not find) solution to environmental problems .
6. Knowledge (to play) an important part in searching solutions to
environmental problems
Ex.13 Make different types of questions using sentences from the previous
exercise.
Speaking
Ex.14 Discuss in pairs the following questions.
1. What are the most promising lines of research in environmental chemistry?
2. How do you see the part of science in saving the environment? Give your reasons.
3. In what way has our view on Nature changed as compared with the view of
previous generations?
4. What makes the main difference in perception of the world nowadays and in the
past?
5.
What is the field of environmental chemistry?
78
Round Table
Discuss in groups the questions and prove your points of view.
Most of our world's problems today result from the fact that it is controlled by
huge corporations. Could people driven by need to make profits for their companies
think about long-running consequences of their activities?
Is there an economic reason for business to worry about environment?
Is it possible to integrate economic growth and environmental good sense?
Could business ever be green?
79
SPEAKING FILE
Guide to presentation
1. Make a plan of your talk. This should include at least three sections:
• introduction
• development
• conclusion
2. Write detailed notes of what you will say:
• key points and key words
• the action points you will stress
3. Prepare visual aids
4. Practice your presentation :
• use simple and clear language
• don’t read from your notes
Look at these expressions. In which part of a presentation would you expect
them to be used?
.1. On this next slide you can see …
.2. To conclude, I want to tell you about …
.3. I’ll be happy to answer questions at the end of the presentation.
.4. Let’s have a look at some statistics/ figures.
.5. My name is … and I’m a …
.6. Finally, a few words about …
.7. This brings me to the next point …
.8. Thanks very much for listening to my talk.
.9. My main aim today is to tell you …/ I’m here today to tell you
…
Expressing your opinion on the problem/ topic
80
Expressing your opinion
As I see it…
I think…
To my mind…
I (personally) believe that…
Expressing your agreement and disagreement
Agreeing Disagreeing
When you
agree
When you
agree but
not strongly
In my view/ opinion…
From my point of view…
I must say that…
It seems to me that…
When you
disagree, but you
disagree strongly
want to be polite
When you
Absolutely/
Exactly
I couldn’t/
can’t agree
more
I absolutely/
fully/ certainly/
quite agree
with you
Right/ That’s
right/ You are
I suppose
so, but…
I guess so
Yes, maybe/
perhaps,
but…
Yes, but …
I know, but…
I take/see your
point but…
But don’t you
think…?
I’m not so
sure…
No, it isn’t …
That’s not true
I can’t accept
that…
I don’t think
that’s right
That’s not the
way I see it
right
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]