Discuss

• Litter is not only ugly, dangerous and expensive but it also multiplies and travels. Why is it so?

• Who do you think is responsible for solving the problem of litter in cities?

• Have you ever participated in a cleaning up activity or any other civic improvement programs in your city? Do you think such programs can help to improve your community? How would you feel walking along a street after you had helped clean it of litter?

Speaking

Interview ten of your fellow students about the most serious environmental problems in your hometown. How different are their opinions? Discuss your findings as a class. Make use of the phrases in the box.

Functional language: Presenting another point of view Some of the people think that … Each of the interviewees believes that … Most of the people agree/disagree that … Hardly anybody/Nobody feels that … According to the majority of people … Two of ten interviewees say … 50% of people point out that… Very few people/All the people claim that … etc.

Writing

1. Complete the bar chart on the right to mark and summarize your findings. Write a paragraph on what you have learnt from the interviews. Make use of the functional language box.

Reading

1. Do you know what a greenhouse is? What for do we use it? What is the Greenhouse effect and how is it related to global warming?

2. Work in groups. Brainstorm ideas about global warming: signs, causes and consequences. Discuss your ideas as a class.

3. Before you read the text match each word with its meaning:

1. amount	a) to send out sth such as light, heat, etc.
2. effect	b) to to have an influence on sb/sth
3. emit	c) a layer of a substance that has formed naturally underground
4. simultaneously	d) a result, influence of sth that has happened:
5. deposit	e) a quantity of smth
6. evident	f) happening or done at the same time as sth else
7. delay	g) a result, influence
8. affect	h) a substance added to soil to make plants grow more successfully
9. consequences	i) clear, easily seen
10. fertilizer	j) a period of time when sb/sth has to wait

4. There are some well-known facts as well as myths about the problem of global warming. Read the texts below. Match each myth with the right fact.

Global Warming: Facts vs. Myths myths:

FACTS:

1. Over millions of years, animals and plants lived, died and were compressed to form huge deposits of oil, gas and coal. In little more than 300 years, however, we have burned a large amount of this storehouse of carbon to supply energy. Today, the by-products of fossil fuel use - billions of tons of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide), methane, and other greenhouse gases - form a blanket around the Earth, trapping heat form the sun, raising temperatures on the ground, and steadily

changing our climate.

The impacts associated with this very small change in temperature are evident in all corners of the globe. There are heavy rainfalls in some areas, and droughts in others. Glaciers are melting, spring is arriving earlier, oceans are warming, and coral reefs are dying.

2. The slow heating of the oceans creates a significant delay between when carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere and when changes in temperature occur. This is one of the main reasons why we don't see changes in temperature at the same time as changes in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, there are many other factors that affect year-to-year variation in the Earth's temperature such as volcanic eruptions, El Niño, and small changes in the sun’s activity. Still, scientific evidence points clearly to anthropogenic (i.e. human-made) greenhouse gases as the main reason for climate change.

3. Carbon dioxide, a gas created by the burning of fossil fuels (like gasoline and coal), is the most important human-made greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use is produced in huge quantities and can stay in the atmosphere for as long as 200 years. Thus we need to act now if we want to avoid the increasingly dangerous consequences of climate change in the future.

4. Before human activities began to dramatically increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from natural sources closely matched the amount that was absorbed through natural processes, for example, as forests and oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Some carbon is later released back to the atmosphere. As a result of these natural cycles, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air had changed very little for 10,000 years. But that balance has been upset by man. We have already experienced a 1°F increase in global temperature in the past century, and we can expect significant warming in the next century if we fail to act to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Carbon dioxide can act as a fertilizer for some plant species under some conditions. However, in nature, plant nutrients like nitrogen as well as water are often in short supply. Thus, even if plants have extra carbon dioxide available, their growth might be limited by a lack of water and nutrients. Finally, climate change itself could lead to decreased plant growth in many areas because of increased drought, flooding and heat waves.

(Adapted from IPCC, 2001. Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis)

Comprehension check

1. Give questions for these answers:

Example: What forms a blanket around the planet?________________________

The by-products of fossil fuel use - carbon dioxide, methane and other

greenhouse gases.

a) _______________________________________________________________?

The melting of glaciers, warming of oceans, heavy rainfalls and droughts.

b) _______________________________________________________________?

Volcanic eruptions, El Niño and small changes in sun’s activity

c) _______________________________________________________________?

Human-made greenhouse gases.

d) _______________________________________________________________?

For as long as 200 years.

e) _______________________________________________________________?

Through photosynthesis.

f) _______________________________________________________________?

Significant warming in the next century.

g) _______________________________________________________________?

Lack of water and nutrients.

Focus on language

1. Read the sentences below and study the models in the box:

• Acid rain is strongly acidic rain that …

• Soil naturally contains many metallic ions …

• We need to act now to if we want to avoid the increasingly dangerous consequences of climate change in the future.

Adverb Collocations Adverbs often go with certain verbs and adjectives. Look at the examples below: Verb + adverb Adverb + adjective to think quickly severely damaged to remember well unusually fast to damage severely/ badly badly organized to speak confidently totally destroyed

Practice

1. Complete the sentences with an adverb from the box.

perfectly clearly badly fully desperately efficiently environmentally-friendly definitely extremely commonly highly

1. The possible impacts of climate change are more ………. understood now.

2. Cotton production will be ………. affected by droughts.

3. There is ………. something wrong with this thermometer, it can’t be that hot!

4. Animals ………. need protection.

5. We are ………. informed about the consequences of global warming.

6. I work with a ………. -motivated team of researchers.

7. People should buy ………. products.

8. Nuclear power plants produce ……… large amounts of electricity.

9. Today, our most ………. used fuels are oil, gas and coal.

2. Make up your own sentences using the adverb collocations from the grammar box.

Get real

Search the Internet, specialized magazines or talk to experts in this area who work in your university to get more information about the environmental problems in Russia. Summarize the information you have collected and report back to the class. Follow the guidelines below:

• State the problem briefly but clearly

• Describe the problem in detail

• Give examples of causes and effects of the problem you have chosen from your personal experience.

Speaking

1. Work in groups of 3-4 and discuss what actions as individuals you can take to help to solve the environmental problems below. Brainstorm solutions to some national or local problems. Use the phrases from the useful language box below. Share your solutions with the rest of the class.

What can be done… a) to control the cutting down of forests?

b) to stop extinction of animals?

c) to clean up the beaches?

d) to reduce air pollution?

e) to save rare animals and plants?

f) slow down global warming?

g) to stop the spread of droughts?

h) to reduce floods?

i) etc.

Functional language: Making suggestions Well, one thing to do is… Another thing to be done is … Another way to help is… If we don’t do …, we will (won’t) … It would be great to … We should … We’d better( do smth.)…

In the Realm of Science

1. Practice these compounds and chemical reactions:

H2O [‘eitʃ ‘tu: ou]

HNO3 [‘etʃ ‘en ‘ou ‘Θri]

NOx [‘en ‘ou ‘eks]

SO2 [‘es ‘ou ‘tu:]

C + O→CO2 C plus O two give CO2 [si:plus ou tu: give si: out u:] or

1 atom of carbon reacts with 1 two-atom molecule of oxygen and produces 1 molecule of carbon dioxide.

2. Now take turns to read and note down the following compounds and chemical

reactions:

H2CO3, P2O5, Na2O, CaCo3, H2SO4, K3Po3, HgO.

H2SO4, H3PO4, MgO, ZnSO4, NaCL, CuO, NaNO2.

2Mg+O2 → 2Mg0

CaO+H2O → Ca(OH)2

2CO+O2 → 2CO2

NaCl + AgNO3 → NaNO3 + AgCl

3. Consult a dictionary to check the pronunciation and the meaning of the chemical

elements below:

Ag – argentums Al – aluminium Br – bromine

C – carbon Cl – clorine Co – cobalt Cs – caesium

Cu – copper H – hydrogen I – iodine Li – litium

Mo – molybdenium N – nitrogen Na – natrium=sodium

Ni – nickel O – oxygen P – phosphorous Pu – plutoniun

Ra – radium S – sulfur Si – silicon Ti – titanium

U – uranium Xe – xenon Zn - zinc

Unit 1. Progress Monitoring In this unit you have worked on the following vocabulary related to the topic “Environment” acid rain/deforestation to do harm to sth/to damage sth ozone layer depletion/climate change a serious issue air/water/soil pollution/ contamination landfill/damp site natural disasters littering flood/drought/hurricane/heavy rainfall sewage water treatment to be caused by sth/to affect sth the melting of glaciers to result in sth/to be affected by sth extinction of animals/plant species the burning of fossil fuels to save rare animals and plants human-made greenhouse gases nutrient/fertilizer vehicle exhausts/industrial waste to slow down global warming aquatic vegetation/wildlife to increase/decrease the amount of harmful chemical substances Tick (V) the points you are confident about and cross (X) the ones you need to revise.

Unit 2 The Downside of the Computer Era

Lead In

1. What kind of environmental problems has computer era already brought about? Make a list of problems and discuss them with the rest of the class.

2. Look at the picture and make suggestions on what the manufacture of one PC requires. Comment on the environmental hazards of this process.

Reading

1. Read the text. Check if your predictions of the possible environmental hazards correspond to the information from the text.