12. Ecological problems

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with the environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises have appeared all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature.

As a result of the Chernobyl tragedy the Belarusian people faced the most horrible ecological disaster. About 18 per cent of the territory of Belarus was contaminated with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the republic's agriculture, forests and people's health. The consequences of the atomic power station explosion are tragic for the Belarusian nation.

Not only Chernobyl but many of our "peaceful" factories and towns cause a great damage to the environment. Dangerous dust and blow-outs of the enterprises are being carried out by winds for long distances destroying the life around.

People all over the world are worried about what is happening to the environment. The environmental protection should be our universal concern. Serious joint measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

13. Famous people of belarus and great britain

The world gave birth to many famous people whose names are known all over the world.

The history of the Belarusian culture is more than one thousand years old. The names of such Belarusian thinkers as Euphrosyne Polotskaya and Kirill Turovsky have been known since ancient times.

The name of the first printer Francisak Skaryna and his followers Symon Budny and Vasily Tyapinsky are known throughout the world.

It goes without saying Belarusian literature has made a great contribution to world literature. The names of Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, Maxim Bagdanovich are world famous. Their works are translated into many European languages.

As for Belarusian art the names of Kazimir Malevich, Mark Shagal are known far beyond the borders of our country.

The world knows also the names of many great British scientists: mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, linguists, historians etc. A lot of discoveries have been made by them in different fields of science and engineering.

Among the names of great scientists who contributed much to different fields of science and engineering one should mention Isaac Newton, the founder of modern mathematics, physics, spectroscopy, the discoverer of the law of motion and the universal law of gravitation. William Shakespeare is the world’s greatest poet and dramatist.

The list of outstanding people of the world is long. One thing is obvious: great times are created by great men. Their names are sure to become history whatever it may be.