7. Summarize the text “People and Nature”. Use the following beginnings:

The text reports on…

The text touches upon…

A careful account is given to…

It is reported that…

Much attention is given to…

The text points out that…

The text deals with the problem of…

The text provides information on…

The text defines the phenomenon of…

The text covers such points as…

8. Work in pairs. Speak on the facts below using the expressions:

• I agree (don’t agree) that…

• In my opinion…

• I am sure that…

• I think that…

a) The consequences of human activity are dramatic.

b) Global warming is one of the pressing problems nowadays.

c) The problem of acid rains could not be controlled.

d) Certain pollutant gases are now destroying the ozone layer.

e) The development of technology by the human race has helped to escape some of the risk

of natural hazards.

Reading for Understanding

1. Read the text and choose the headline:

1. A Mystery of Nature

2. The Population of the Earth

3. Meteorite Showers

4. Natural Events Influence the Earth

Modern humans have lived on Earth for about 300,000 years, but it took until 1960 for the population to reach 3 billion. However, in just 40 years, that figure has doubled – and by the year 2050 it is predicted that many as 10 billion people may inhabit the Earth.

Since life first appeared on Earth more than 3,5 billion years ago, many living things have become extinct as a result of natural events. These have included the eruption of volcanoes as well as meteorite showers hitting the earth. In 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington devastated nearby forests and killed 2 million birds, fish and mammals.

Despite continuing research and discoveries, the natural world is still full of mysteries and unsolved puzzles. Scientists are still unsure why animal life suddenly flourished about 550 million years ago, more than 3 billion years after life itself appeared. This relatively short period, called “Cambrian explosion” produced a vast range of new species in the world’s seas.

Notes:

It took for the population…–Населениюпонадобилось…

to predict – предсказывать mammal - млекопитающее

to inhabit – населять despite – несмотря на

eruption –извержение to flourish–процветать

to devastate–опустошение Cambrian –кембрийский(геол.),уэльский

2. Find in the text the equivalents to the following word combinations:

современные люди; населять землю; живые существа; природные явления; извержение вулканов; метеоритные дожди; близлежащие леса; продолжающееся исследование; неразгаданные загадки; относительно короткий период; огромное количество

3. Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the text.

1. It is predicted that as many as 10 billion people may inhabit the Earth.

2. Eruptions of volcanoes and meteorite showers hit the Earth.

3. The natural world is still full of mysteries and unsolved puzzles.

4. Scientists are still unsure why animal life suddenly flourished about 550 million years ago.

4. Is it true or false? Correct the wrong statements.

1. Modern humans have lived on Earth for about 500,000 years ago.

2. It is predicted that as many as 10 billion people may live on the Earth.

3. Life on Earth appeared more than 3,6 billion years ago.

4. Many living things have become extinct as a result of natural events.

5. Very often the eruption of volcanoes devastate nearby forests and kill birds, fish and animals.

6. Nowadays the mysteries of natural world are solved.

7. About 550 million years ago, animal life suddenly flourished.

8. The “Cambrian explosion” produced a vast number of new species.

5. Retell the text.

6. Read the following English proverbs and learn them by heart. Match the right Russian equivalents from the given below.

• Nature abhors a vacuum.

• Nature, time and patience are the three great physicians.

• To sit on a barrel of gun-powder.

• To play with fire.

• Nature is stronger than rearing.

(Жить как на вулкане. Как волка ни корми, он всё в лес смотрит. Природа не терпит пустоты. Играть с огнём. Природа, время и терпение – три лучших доктора.)

7. Global warming, ozone holes, acid rains are just a few challenges we are facing nowadays. What other ecological problems can you name? Find the information on the Internet and retell it.

Reading for Translating

Habitats in Danger

The Earth is a home to millions of different kinds of living things, which are linked in many ways. Together, they make up the complex world of nature. Some are rivals or enemies while others depend on each other for survival.

Wild plants and animals live in a particular set of surroundings, called their habitat. Nowadays people are in a hurry to change habitats to suit their own needs – to create farmlands or build cities, for example. The way people live threatens the delicate balance between living things and their habitats.

People create pollution, which travels through the air and water from one habitat to another. They also destroy wildlife habitats by digging the ground up for mining, or by building roads through them.

A quarter of all the plants in the world are known to be in danger or threatened with extinction.

The most serious threat to plants is the destruction of their habitat. This includes cutting down rainforests, draining wetlands, and plowing up grasslands. As population increases, people demand more space. The trees are cut down for timber or make way for farms and mines, but forest clearance causes many long-term problems such as soil erosion, floods, and droughts. An area of a football field is cut down every second. If this continues, the rest of the rainforests could disappear within 40 years.

Marshes, peat bogs, and other wetlands are important habitats. Coastal wetlands are spawning grounds for fish, lobsters, and shrimps. More than half of European wetlands has been drained for agriculture, flood control or tourism. Pollution from farms and towns also damages wetlands. Conservation laws, pollution control, and less intensive farming would help them recover.