Look through the list of pros and cons of living in the city and decide what each item goes for. Add you own ideas. Be ready to express your opinion in group using the word combinations below.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Career prospects…

 

 big opportunities; rat race; many schools, shops, hospitals etc.; easier and more comfortable life; toxics; theatres, operas, cinemas – culture; pollution; many different people; anonymous people; stressful and fast life

Expressing opinion: clearly, obviously, personally, generally, surprisingly, inevitably, predictably, frankly, to be honest and direct, sadly, regrettably, unfortunately

E.g.: Despite living in the capital, to be honest and direct, I should say that traffic jams make my life unbearable.

Reading

Range the following environmental problems (1-15) according to their urgency. Compare your ideas in group. Then read the information from the text about the five top problems. Are they the same as in your list?

Pollution
Globalwarming
Overpopulation
Naturalresourcedepletion
Wastedisposal
Climatechange
Loss of biodiversity
Deforestation
Oceanacidification
Ozonelayerdepletion
Acidrain
Waterpollution
Urbansprawl
Public healthissues
Geneticengineering

Environmental Problems

1. Pollution: Pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust are the number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution. While water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins released by industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from essential nutrients.

2. Global Warming: Climate changes like global warming is the result of human practices like emission of Greenhouse gases. Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’ surface causing melting of polar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural patterns of precipitation such as flash floods, excessive snow or desertification.

3. Overpopulation: The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortage of resources like water, fuel and food. Population explosion in less developed and developing countries is straining the already scarce resources. Intensive agriculture practiced to produce food damages the environment through use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and insecticides. Overpopulation is one of the crucial current environmental problem.

4. Natural Resource Depletion: Natural resource depletion is another crucial current environmental problems. Fossil fuel consumption results in emission of Greenhouse gases, which is responsible for global warming and climate change. Globally, people are taking efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and geothermal energy. The cost of installing the infrastructure and maintaining these sources has plummeted in the recent years.

5. Waste Disposal: The over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste disposal. Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with it. Plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well being of humans. Waste disposal is one of urgent current environmental problem.

6. Climate Change: Climate change is yet another environmental problem that has surfaced in last couple of decades. It occurs due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels and release of harmful gases by industries. Climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to melting of polar ice, change in seasons, occurrence of new diseases, frequent occurrence of floods and change in overall weather scenario.

7. Loss of Biodiversity: Human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and and loss of bio-diversity. Eco systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger when any species population is decimating. Balance of natural processes like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human activity threatens the same. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life.

8. Deforestation: Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating temperature and rainfall. At present forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost amounting to the country of Panama due to growing population demand for more food, shelter and cloth. Deforestation simply means clearing of green cover and make that land available for residential, industrial or commercial purpose.

9. Ocean Acidification: It is a direct impact of excessive production of CO2. 25% of CO2 produced by humans. The ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot up by 150%. The main impact is on shellfish and plankton in the same way as human osteoporosis.

10. Ozone Layer Depletion: The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the atmosphere is attributed to pollution caused by Chlorine and Bromide found in Chloro-floro carbons (CFC’s). Once these toxic gases reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above the Antarctic. The CFC’s are banned in many industries and consumer products. Ozone layer is valuable because it prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth. This is one of the most important current environmental problem.

11. Acid Rain: Acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. Acid rain can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Acid rain is a known environmental problem that can have serious effect on human health, wildlife and aquatic species.

12. Water Pollution: Clean drinking water is becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political issue as the human population fights for this resource. One of the options suggested is using the process of desalinization. Industrial development is filling our rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human health.

13. Urban Sprawl: Urban sprawl refers to migration of population from high density urban areas to low density rural areas which results in spreading of city over more and more rural land. Urban sprawl results in land degradation, increased traffic, environmental issues and health issues. The ever growing demand of land displaces natural environment consisting of flora and fauna instead of being replaced.

14: Public Health Issues: The current environmental problems pose a lot of risk to health of humans, and animals. Dirty water is the biggest health risk of the world and poses threat to the quality of life and public health. Run-off to rivers carries along toxins, chemicals and disease carrying organisms. Pollutants cause respiratory disease like Asthma and cardiac-vascular problems. High temperatures encourage the spread of infectious diseases like Dengue.

15. Genetic Engineering: Genetic modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic modification of food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant can transfer to target plant. Genetically modified crops can cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove toxic to wildlife. Another drawback is that increased use of toxins to make insect resistant plant can cause resultant organisms to become resistant to antibiotics.

(Abridged from http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/15-current-environmental-problems.php)

Post-Reading Tasks

Answer the questions on the text using the information from the given paragraphs:

	Par. №
1) What kinds of pollution do you know?	1
2) What are the dangers of global warming?	2
3) Where can population explosion be observed?	3
4) What are renewable sources of energy?	4
5) What does loss of biodiversity mean?	7
6) Why are forests so useful?	8
7) What does urban sprawl result in?	13
8) What is the biggest public health risk of the world?	14

Vocabulary Work

1. Distribute the words given below into the proper columns:

 

Pollution, result, require, exhaust, combustion, emission, create, precipitation, cause, desertification, waste, population, reach, shortage, release, explosion, change, agriculture, deprive, environment, practice, fertilizer, install, threaten, strain, suggest, produce.

Noun	Verb	Noun/Verb
1) pollution …	1) require …	1) result …

2. Match the words with their definitions:

1)	recoup		a)	insufficient for the demand
2)	pollutant		b)	a danger or risk
3)	flood		c)	the process of removing salt from sea water
4)	scarce		d)	regain (something lost or expended)
5)	infrastructure		e)	the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
6)	plummet		f)	a cultivated plant that is grown on a large scale commercially
7)	garbage		g)	fall or drop straight down at high speed
8)	hazard		h)	the disorganized expansion of an urban or industrial area into the adjoining countryside
9)	habitat		i)	an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits
10)	survival		j)	a substance that pollutes something, esp. water or the atmosphere
11)	desalinization		k)	an illness which affects people, animals, or plants
12)	sprawl		l)	the basic organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society
13)	disease		m)	the state or fact of continuing to live in spite of difficult circumstances
14)	crop		n)	wasted or spoiled food and other refuse, as from a kitchen or household

 

3. Choose the proper variant using the information from the text:

1) Climate change has various … effects.

a) human b) useful c) harmful

2) Human activity is leading to the … of species.

a) extinction b) sprawl c) survival

3) Coral reefs support the rich … life.

a) scarce b) marine c) acid

4) Forests produce fresh ….

a) oxygen b) carbon dioxide c) fossil fuel

5) The ozone layer protects us from the … harmful rays.

a) CFC’s b) earth’s c) sun’s

6) Acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the ….

a) atmosphere b) soil c) habitat

 

7) Industrial development is filling our rivers seas and oceans with toxic ….

a) diseases b) species c) pollutants

 

8) Urban sprawl results in land … and increased traffic.

a) garbage b) hazard c) degradation

 

9) Dirty water poses … to the quality of life and public health.

a) desalinization b) threat c) crop

 

10) Genetic … of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering.

a) modification b) risk c) flood

 

Grammar Focus

1. Put there is or there are to fill the gaps. Pay attention that we use there is with countable nouns and there are with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns.

 

1.________furniture in my parent’s bedroom.

2. ________floods that happen quite often in India.

3. ________no electricity in the countries of the third world.

4. ________ no salt and pepper shakers on the table.

5. ________many environmental problems in the world.

6. ________much city noise that is a serious health hazard.

7. ________so much junk in space!

8. Where ______fumes ______blaze.

9. _______few traffic jams when _____not a rush hour.

10. _______ no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.

 

2. We use much, many and a lot to talk about a large amount of something. We use little / a little and few/ a few to talk about a small amount of something. Which of these pronouns a) are used with countable nouns; b) are used with uncountable nouns; c) can be used separately; d) can not be used in questions and negation? Complete the followingsentencesusingmany/ much / little / few.

1. Janehasn'tgot _____ time.

2. Do you know ______ words in English?

3. Hedidn'teat ______ meat.

4. There isn't ______ butter in the fridge.

5. How______ eggs did the hens lay?

6. Samantha has as ______ money as Bruce.

7. Ann is very busy these days. She has _______free time.

8. You take ______photographs when you were on holidays.

9. I'm not very busy today. But I have got _____spare time to do housework.

10. The museum was not very crowded. Therewere _______people.

11. Most of the town is modern. Thereare______oldbuildings.

12. The weather has been very dry re cently. We've had ______ rain.

 

3.  Look at the given plan. Use it to complete the following sentences with the correct prepositions of place.

 

1. The music store is ________ Santos Dumont Street and Rosa e Silva Avenue.

2. The hospital is________ the pet shop.

3. The toy store is________ the music store and the restaurant.

4. The supermarket is________ the restaurant.

5. The fast food restaurant is________ Amelia Street.

6. The bookstore is _________ the supermarket.

7. The bank is on Santos Dumont Street _______ the flower shop.

8. The school is______ Amelia Street and Rosa e Silva Avanue.

9. The pet shop is ________ Amelia Street.

10. The flower shop is _______ Santos Dumont Stree.