II. Read and translate into Russian the following sentences

1. The earth is an integral system.

2. The problem of environment pollution has become the most important one.

3. The growth of industrialization is changing the climate of our planet.

4. Water, air and soil are becoming more and more polluted.

5. It is difficult to predict changes in the environment accurately.

6. The law obliges people to protect nature.

7. Most big cities pour their waste into seas and rivers.

8. Natural resources should be used economically.

9. It is urgent to build cleaning systems to avoid the pollution of rivers.

10. Many plants and factories have been removed from the city.

11. At least one unique life form disappears from our planet every day.

IV. Arrange the words of the two groups in pairs with similar meaning

a) exhaust, rate, affect, diverse, constantly, shield, reach, respond, area, interact, vast, inextricable

b) sphere, steady, large, co-operate, answer, achieve, protect, waste, influence, sophisticated, speed, different

V. Arrange the words of the two groups in pairs with contrary meaning

а) abiotic, ability, pollute, the worst, loss, dissolve, flood, destroy, desert, exhaust

b) build, oasis, absorb, clean, drought, the best, biotic, find (n), crystallize, inability

Home Vocabulary Exercises

1. Arrange the following words into your own sentences

1. factories, into, release, the atmosphere, some, and plants, substances, harmful

2. itself, soil, destroys, the nation, that, destroys, its, (Franklin D. Roosevelt).

3. draw, public, to mass media, problems, ecological, attention

4. deals, ecology, the relationships, with, nature, of, man, and

5. was, the exhaust, from, the air, black

6. acres, forests, the earth, 20 million, of, every, tropical, year, loses

7. quality, scandalously, is, our, low, water

8. chemicals, of, all, are, kinds, the rivers, into, pouring, and streams

II. Fill in the blanks with the words given below

1. Terrible … to the environment have been headlined on TV and in the press.

2. Greenpeace began with … into a nuclear test zone.

3. Nuclear … … at sea has been stopped.

4. New laws … the North Sea have been promised.

5. Pandas and chimps are on the verge of becoming …

6. The government takes measures to prevent … of water …

7. Our cities … air pollution.

8. Special effective systems enable us … the amount of harmful … … in the air.

9. Scientific farming produces products that are grown without …

suffer from, to reduce, a protest voyage, abuses, the pollution, chemical waste, resources, waste dumping, to protect, pesticides, extinct

Text Comprehension Exercises

1. Read the text '' Living on Planet Earth'' and answer the following questions:

1. The problem of environmental pollution has become the most important one for mankind, hasn’t it?

2. Are the problems facing the environment vast and diverse?

3. Where is smog usually found in?

2. Read the text again and say which of the following replies is correct

1. a) air pollution in Mexico City remains the worst.

b) New York City is one the most polluted cities in the US.

c) air pollution in London is now reaching tremendous proportions.

2. a) the depletion of the ozone layer is caused by the growth of population.

b) the depletion of the ozone layer is caused by substances called CFCs.

c) the depletion of the ozone layer is caused by CO2.

3. a) many plant and animal species will survive in the future.

b) the extinction of chimps and pandas occurred millions of years ago.

c) many plant and animal species could become extinct.

4. a) acid rain is responsible for the decline of mankind.

b) acid rain is responsible for the decline of many fish populations.

c) acid rain is responsible for the decline of many forest ecosystems in the world.

5. a) scientists say the temperature of the earth could rise by 3°C over the next 100 years.

b) scientists say the temperature of the earth could rise by 3°C over the next 50 years.

c) scientists say the temperature of the earth couldn’t rise over the next 50 years.

Text Exercises

1. Read the text “Living on Planet earth” and find in it English equivalents of the following words and word combinations.

Окружающая среда, загрязнять, углекислый газ, парниковый эффект, выбросы вредных веществ, кислотный дождь, тропический лес, химические удобрения, озоновый слой, радиоактивное загрязнение, рак щитовидной железы, экологический кризис, наводнение, засуха, атомная энергия, здоровье, внешний фактор, альтернативный источник энергии, ядовитые газы, поглощать

II. Read the text and answer the following questions.

1. What does our planet look like from outer space?

2. What makes up an ecosystem?

3. What factors are slowly changing the global climate and water balance?

4. Where does the energy we use today come from?

5. What has the Chernobyl disaster changed?

6. What animals are most in danger of becoming extinct?

7. What are possible consequences of global warming?

III. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. Organisms and their environment constantly interact.

2. With the development of civilization all ecological problems will be solved.

3. The ozone layer doesn’t shield the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

4. The greenhouse effect may cause drought in some parts of the world, and floods in others.

5. Increased ultraviolet radiation will lead to a growing number of plant and animal species.

6. Acid rains help support the growth of fish populations.

IV. Extend the following statements, use the text for your reference.

1. The relationship between man and nature has become one of the most vital problems today.

2. Nuclear energy as an alternative is opposed by many people.

3. Nowadays the problem of air and water pollution is changing from a national to an international one.

4. It is known that many cities throughout the world suffer from air pollution.

5. The greenhouse effect has lead to global warming.

6. Rainforests absorb CO2 and help control global warming.