II. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates

1. Why is modern life impossible without travelling?

2. What is the fastest and the most convenient way of travelling?

3. Where do you go every year?

4. What kinds of transport can you choose from?

5. Is tourism a profitable business? Why?

6. Do you like to travel?

7. Discuss the qualities of an ideal vacation?

Environmental Protection

 

Men have always wanted to make his life easier. He invented machines and mechanisms which have been working — and polluting the world we live in. Economists have long thought of the environment as of the unlimited source of resources only. In fact, the economy and the environment are closely related. The environment supplies the economy with water, timber, miner­als, oil, etc. It has to absorb all the waste products, too. Nevertheless, some economists have always argued that pollution damages the resources.

There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Pumping waste gases from a power station does not get rid of them. Waste gases cause acid rain; this leads to forest damage and reduces the resources of forestry industry.

Another one is water shortage. It comes from abuse of lands in agricul­ture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollu­tion from factories and plants. The fourth one is damage to water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: many species of plants and animals can disappear. The sixth one is the greenhouse effect and global warming — that is, an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Global warming can lead to rises in sea levels, and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and global climate change. Lastly, the most serious danger is the result of all these consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.

If we cannot learn to use the environment carefully, very soon we’ll have no world to live in. Pollution can be stopped or at least reduced by using fuels which are low in pollutants, more complete burning of solid fuels, shift to using alternative forms of power such as wind power, electricity or solar energy and banning the use of nuclear power.

The most important thing common people could do is to change their attitude towards the environment. We should realize that natural resources are not unlimited and destroying them may result in destroying life on Earth. The change of public attitude to the environment is important due to several reasons. Firstly, public opinion could make governments introduce stricter anti-pollution measures.It could make governments fund scientific research facilitating development of ecologically safe materials and sources of energy. Secondly, people could behave in the way which is less damaging for the ecology of our planet. For example, they could stop leaving litter in city streets and in the country.

Thirdly, they could stop damaging forests by cutting down trees for their personal needs or causing forest fires.

 

Task 2

II. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates.

1. What is the fastest spreading disease of our civilization?

2. Why wasn’t pollution such as a serious problem earlier?

3. Why is pollution a complicated problem?

4. What is the result of the atmosphere pollution?

5. What is the main cause of the greenhouse effect and acid rains?

6. What do people of different countries do to save our planet?

7. What can government and individuals do to reduce pollution?