People have always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. People lived in uncrowded rural areas and did not have pollution - causing machines. With the development of crowded industrial cities which put huge amounts of pollutants into small areas, the problem has become more important.

Automobiles and other new inventions make pollution steadily worse. Since the late 1960"s people have become alarmed with the danger of pollution.

Air, water, and soil are necessary for existence of all living things. But polluted air can cause illness, and even death. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life. On polluted soil, food can not be grown. In addition environmental pollution spoils the natural beauty of our planet.

Pollution is as complicated as serious problem. Automobiles are polluting the air but they provide transportation for the people. Factories pollute the air and the water but they provide jobs for people and produce necessary goods. Fertilizers and pesticides are important for growing crops but they can ruin soil.

Thus, people would have to stop using many useful things if they wanted to end pollution immediately. Most people do not want that of course. But pollution can be reduced gradually.

Scientists and engineers can find the ways to reduce pollution from automobiles and factories. Government can pass the laws that would make enterprises take measures for reducing of pollution. Individuals and groups of people can work together to persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities.

Загрязнение окружающей среды

Люди всегда загрязняли окружающую среду. Однако до последнего времени загрязнение не было такой серьезной проблемой. Люди жили в слабо заселенных сельскохозяйственных областях, у них не было машин, загрязняющих природу. С развитием перенаселенных промышленных городов, в которых огромные количества отходов сбрасывались на маленькой площади, эта проблема стала гораздо серьезнее.

Автомобили и другие новые изобретения делают загрязнение все интенсивнее. В конце 60-х годов люди начали ощущать тревогу в связи с опасностью загрязнения окружающей среды.

Воздух, вода и почва необходимы для существования всех живых существ. Однако загрязненный воздух может послужить причиной болезни и даже смерти. Загрязненная вода убивает рыб и других морских животных. На загрязненной почве не могут выращиваться пищевые культуры. Кроме того, загрязнение окружающей среды портит природную красоту нашей планеты.

Проблема загрязнения окружающей среды так же сложна, как и серьезна. Автомобили загрязняют воздух, но предоставляют людям возможность передвижения. Фабрики загрязняют воздух и воду, но они предоставляют работу людям и производят необходимые товары. Удобрения и пестициды важны для сельского хозяйства, но они могут разрушать почву.

Таким образом, людям пришлось бы прекратить пользоваться многими полезными вещами, если бы они захотели прекратить загрязнение окружающей среды сразу. Большинство людей, конечно, этого не хочет. Однако загрязнение может быть сокращено постепенно.

Ученые и инженеры могут найти пути сокращения вредных выбросов от автомобилей и фабрик. Правительство может издать законы, которые бы заставили предприятия принять меры для уменьшения загрязнения. Отдельные лица и группы людей могут сотрудничать, чтобы убедить предприятия прекратить виды деятельности, вызывающие загрязнение окружающей среды.

Key Words:
pollution, environment, the ozone layer, global warming, acid rain, car exhaust fumes, dumping industrial waste in seas and rivers, aerosol can, CFCs, to recycle, natural resources, human resources.

Important definitions of the key words :
People are more worried about the environment (the air, water, and land around us) as a result of the harmful (dangerous/damaging) effects of human activity. Some of these activities cause pollution (dirty air, land and water) and some are destroying the environment (damaging it so badly that soon parts will not exist).
The Greens is a short name of the organization called Green Peace. It"s an international organization whose members work actively to protect the environment from damage caused by industrial processes or military activities. It is known especially for using its own boats to try to prevent governments from testing nuclear weapons, to prevent companies from pouring poisonous chemicals into the sea, and to try to save whales and other sea animals from being killed.

Here are some of the problems:

  • the ozone layer : a layer of gases. It stops harmful radiation from the sun reaching the earth; recent research shows that there is now a hole in parts of the ozone layer;
  • global warming : an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in carbon dioxide;
  • acid rain : rain that contains dangerous chemicals; this is caused by smoke from factories;
  • smoke from factories;
  • car exhaust fumes ;
  • dumping (throwing away) industrial waste (unwanted material) in seas and rivers;
  • aerosol cans (usually called sprays); some of these contain CFCs (a chemical) which can damage the ozone layer;
  • cutting down tropical rainforests (e.g. The Amazon); this increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

How can we help?

  • Don"t throw away bottles, newspapers, etc. Take them to a bottle bank or newspaper bank, and then they can be recycled (used again).
  • Plant more trees.
  • Don"t waste (use badly) resources, e.g. water, gas. Try to save them.
  • Note : a resource is a valuable possession. There are natural resources , e.g. water or gold; and human resources , e.g. knowledge and skills. The word is usually plural.

The given text is a sample text and we recommend you to use it while getting ready with your own stories on the topic.

Environmental Protection.

Economists have long thought of the environment as an unlimited source of resources. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with the environment but with the industrial revolution our negative influence on Nature began to increase. Large cities with thousands of steaming, polluting plants and factories can be found nowadays all over the world. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the fields where our crops are grown.
There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is "acid rain". Cars with their engines and factories have become the main source of air pollution in industrial areas. When factories send gases and chemicals into the air, they mix and the mixture is carried for hundreds of miles by the wind and finally, it falls back to earth. This "acid rain" kills fish and trees and slowly it kills everything.
Another consequence is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth.
The third problem is damage to wildlife. Vast forests are cut down in Africa, South America and Asia for the needs of industries in Europe and in the USA. As a result, some species of animals, birds, fish and plants have disappeared and keep disappearing.
Another problem is damage to water and soils. Dumping wastes into lakes, rivers, seas and oceans causes water pollution. Harmful wastes may also get into the soil or drain off fields that have been sprayed with pesticides.
There is another aspect of the environmental problem, the importance and urgency of which steadily grow. How country disposes of its waste may have a major effect on its future and the future of the world, too. Recycling waste and rubbish receives ever-greater care in Europe. Cans, paper and empty bottles and other things we call rubbish are accumulated in every home. Recycling process has double effect, the other part of it being - saving energy, which would have been necessary for producing new things.
In Russia and the former Soviet republics there are some areas where the environment is in a poor state. Some of them are the Aral Sea, Lake Baikal, the Kuzbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. Cotton growing in the region of the Aral Sea has used huge quantities of water, and the level of the sea has fallen by 14 yards. For decades nuclear weapons were tested near Semipalatinsk, and the ground is contaminated with radiation there. More than twenty years ago a pulp-and-paper factory was built on the shore of Lake Baikal. As a result of the pollution, more than 50 per cent of the world"s purest water has been ruined. The whole ecological system of the lake has changed greatly. After the disaster in Chernobyl the inhabitants of the nearby towns and villages had to be evacuated. Some of them died and some became invalids.
Problems of environment are no longer problems of one particular country or one particular region of a country.
One of the most serious environmental problems in large cities in Britain is sick fog, which the British so often have in autumn and in winter. In London the fog is sometimes so thick that cars run into one another. For many centuries, during the cold time of the year, the English people used coal in their fireplaces in private houses, though smoke from factories contributed a great deal to the trouble too. This kind of fog the English people used to call smog. Unusually thick smog in London in 1962 caused the death of some 4000 people. A Clean Air Act was passed in 1956, which prohibited the use of open coal fires at homes and in the city area.
Today, many scientists and ordinary people realize that the Earth is in danger. Either we stop killing the Earth or we kill ourselves. The protection of the environment is a universal concern. Active measures should be taken to create an international system of ecological security. Some progress has been made in this direction. Many people belong to Green organizations in countries all over the world. Groups like "Green Peace" have already helped to stop some animals hunting but there are so many things to be done on our planet and our life on the Earth depends only on ourselves.

Задачи и тесты по теме "Тема 12. "Pollution and the Environment"."

  • Nature, environment and global issues - Vocabulary 10–11 класс

    Уроков: 8 Заданий: 17 Тестов: 2

  • Ecology - Vocabulary 5–9 класс

    В скобках Вы найдете пояснения к некоторым словам и выражениям, они даются на английском языке с той целью, чтобы Вы привыкали пользоваться англо-английским (толковым) словарем. Это поможет Вам увеличить Ваш словарный запас и развить понимание.

    Ключевые слова и выражения нужно выписать в тетрадь и выучить. А также полезно учить наизусть целые предложения, в которых встречаются новые для Вас грамматические конструкции или идиоматические обороты.

    Текст "Environmental Protection" поможет Вам разобраться в современной экологической обстановке и положении дел в сфере охраны окружающей среды и Вам будет легче выполнять задания.

    Задания к теме 12 включают в себя упражнения как на знание ключевых слов и выражений, так и на развитие разговорных навыков, умение высказать свое мнение по данному вопросу.

The planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but it’s the only place where human beings can live. People always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. People lived in uncrowded rural areas and did not have pollution – caused by machines. With the development of crowded industrial cities, which created huge amounts of pollutants, the problem has become more important. Today our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, and overpopulation are the problems that threaten human life on Earth. Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend continues, one day we won’t have enough oxygen to breathe.

The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following its fate. The Aral Sea is about to disappear. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas. Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out forever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today may soon become extinct. Air pollution is another serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is dangerous – equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for many Russian cites.

Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.

And even greater threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. We can plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can recycle litter. Individuals and groups of people can work together to persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities.


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Our planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but nowadays it"s the only place where we can live. People have lived on our planet for many years. They lived and live on different continents, in different countries. People depend on their planet, the sun, animals and plants around them. Environment is everything in the world around us that surround and affects all life on earth, including the air, food, water, plants, animals and other.

Environment is the place where we live. Since ancient time nature has served man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But man"s interference in nature began to increase with the development of civilization. Our ecology becomes worse and worse with every new day. Many species of animals and birds are disappearing nowadays. People destruct wildlife, cut down trees to make furniture. They forget that people can"t live without trees and plants, because they fill air with oxygen.

There are a lot of ecological problems. The most serious ecological problems are: noise from cars and buses; destruction of wildlife and countryside beauty; shortage of natural resources; the growth of population; pollution in its many forms. Water is everywhere, but there is no ocean or sea which is not used as a dump. Many rivers and lakes are poisoned too. Fish and reptiles can"t live in them. People can"t drink this water. So we have to clean the water environment. Another problem is air pollution. Air pollution influents the health of people. For example: ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer. Normally the ozone layer in the atmosphere protects us from such radiation, but if there are holes in the ozone layer ultraviolet radiation can get to the earth. Many scientists think that these holes are the result of air pollution. Also we have problem with nuclear pollution. Nuclear pollution cannot be seen but its effect can be terrible. To make air clear clean again we need good filters at nuclear power stations, at factories, in cars and buses.

Another problem is growth of population. They don"t have enough places to live. They need more water, more food. So it is the reason of the shortage of the natural resources. It is very difficult to solve this problem. Also one of the most serious problems is greenhouse effect. It works like this: sunlight gives us heat. Some of the heat warms the atmosphere and some of the heat goes back into space. Nowadays the heat can"t go into space. That"s why winter and summer temperatures in many places have become higher. If the temperature continues growing up the snow on the mountains and ice will melt, so the most of the earth will be under water. So every person has to understand how important it is to solve these problems, which endanger people"s life.

На этой странице находится топик по английскому по теме ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

The Earth is the only planet in the soiar system where there is life. If you look down at the Earth from a plane you will see how wonderful our planet is. You will see blue seas and oceans, rivers and lakes, high snow-capped mountains, green forests and fields. For centuries man had lived in harmony with nature until industrialization brought human society into conflict with the natural environment. Today, the contradictions between man and nature have acquired a dramatic character. With the development of civilization man’s interference in nature has increased. Every year the world’s industry pollutes the atmosphere with millions of tons of dust and other harmful substances. The seas and rivers are poisoned with industrial waste, chemical and sewage discharge. People who live in big cities are badly affected by harmful discharge from plants and city transport and by the increasing noise level which is as bad for human health as lack of fresh air and clean water.

Among the most urgent problems are the depletion of the ozone layer, acid rains and global warming that lead to unfavourable changes in the world’s climate.

Another serious ecological problem is the disappearance of forests. Some of them die from acid rains, others are cut down. Rain forests disappear at an alarming rate. If man continues to cut down rain forests, more than one million species of plants and animals will become extinct by the year of 2030.

Water is often looked upon as a dumping place where sewage and industrial waste can be washed away and hopefully disappear. As a result some rivers and lakes are so badly polluted that the water is unfit for bathing.

There are a lot of places on our planet that need immediate help. Our country is no exception. The nuclear accident at Chernobyl has seriously aggravated the ecological situation in Belarus. About 18 per cent of the country’s soil are unfit for farming and some districts in the south-east of the country are dangerous to live in.

Today people are aware that our life depends on the state of the environment. Pollution kills everything that is alive. It ruins nature creating serious dangers to the flora, fauna and man himself. So nature protection should become everybody’s concern.

I believe that environmental disasters can be avoided if people broaden ecological education and every person understands that the beauty of nature is extremely fragile and people must obey the unwritten laws of nature. Governments must be prepared to take action against pollution. Air pollution could be reduced if plants and factories were made to fit effective filters on chimneys and car exhausts. Green zones around big cities must be protected and extended. Natural resources should be used more economically because their stocks are not unlimited.

Today more and more people are aware of the necessity to stop the damage done by man to nature. Different nongovernmental organizations work actively to protect nature. The international organization «Greenpeace» is one of them. It has brought the plight of the natural world to the attention of other people. The «Greenpeace» sent its boats to protect whales, and today commercial whaling is banned. In the North Sea Greenpeace swimmers turned back dump ships carrying chemical waste, and new laws to protect the North Sea have been considered.

It’s time we asked ourselves a question, «What can I do to protect nature?» When I look around I realize that not all people understand the importance of nature protection. On fine summer days a lot of people go out of town. They have picnics on the shores of lakes and the banks of rivers or on beautiful forest glades and they often leave behind a lot of rubbish - plastic bags and bottles, tins and paper. It makes me feel sad when I see people returning to town with huge bunches of forest or meadow flowers. Many of these plants are included into the Red Book which contains the names of rare plants and animals. Some of them have become extinct and others are on the verge of disappearing. If we don’t realize that we are all responsible for what’s happening around us we will never feel secure about the future of the world we live in.