IV. Grammar exercises.

Consider the use of the articles "a", "an", "the" in this extract.

The Lena winds for 2,730 miles from the mountains north of Lake Baikal to the Laptev Sea in the Arctic, and is 20 miles wide in places. It drains an area ten times the size of Britain, all of it covered in permafrost. If global warming melts the Siberian tundra, as some experts have forecast, this year's floods will be seen as having been mild.

Here is another extract from The Times, April 16 2001. Fill in the articles wherever necessary;

As ... Deputy Prime Minister prepared to fly to ... America today for climate change talks, ... Britain's most senior weather forecas­ter said ministers' inaccuracy was "damaging" ... Britain's case. ...Peter Ewis, ... chief executive of ... Met Office, told ...Times that ministers' remarks about ... climate change were often so wrong that they made his scientists wince.

He said ... easily disprovable claims made it simple for ... President Bush to challenge ... Government’s more laudable arguments about ... importance of cutting fossil-fuel emissions. Mr. Prescott is holding talks in ... New York and Washington today in ... attempt to put ... pressure on Mr. Bush to reconsider his decision to rip up ... Kyoto treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

V. Rendering.

Use the outline given below as a guide and render the article in class:

1. Yakutsk is threatened with the worst spring flooding for a century.

2. The Russian Air Force was called in to destroy the ice plug.

3. Deliberate flooding of a large area by breaching a causeway.

4. Lensk clear of flood waters will have to be rebuilt probably at a new site.

5. Locals refuse to be evacuated for fear of looters.

6. Gloomier forecast for the future.

VI. Discussion.

Debate the problem with your group mates:

Recollect some of the natural disasters and man-made catastrophes of the passed summer of 2002, such as: horrendous floods in the Kuban region of Southern Russia, in Central Europe, China; the giant military helicopter crash outside Khankala; gas explosions in blocks of flats in Moscow and in the North of the country.

Debate: a) whether it was possible to prevent them or they happened due to natural causes; b)whether people panicked or tried to protect their cities and save people; с)whether government is ready to shoul­der the burden of financial aid to families and the cost of reconstruction work; d) whether rescue operations were effective enough.

UNIT V ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

1. Pre-reading task.

a) Before reading the article study the meanings of the following words and phrases on the topic:

1. global climate change;

2. global warming; (el nino phenomenon);

3. to release emissions of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere;

4. emission levels;

5. to cut green-house emissions;

6. unchecked release of...;

7. to burn fossil fuel;

8. acidic rains (water);

9. quality of life;

10. environmentally-minded people;

11. wide-spread industrial pollution; to fight pollution;

12. major contributor to pollution;

13. to damage the natural environment;

14. to pose a serious threat;

15. long-term (bad, harmful) serious consequences;

16. biodiversity;

17. biopiracy;

18. genetically modified foods (GM foods); to label GM foods;

19. food safety;

20. coastal erosion;

21. to progress on fuel efficiency;

22. oil spill (leaks of oil);

23. wildlife conservation organizations;

24. poaching;

25. to mount a campaign against uncontrolled hunting;

26. to be in the Red Data Book;

27. to implement a reforestation program;

28. to spray chemical dispersants.

b) Discuss the following points. Make use of the vocabulary listed above:

1. What sort of human activity brings about the worst cases of environmental pollution?

2. How real is the threat of environmental pollution in your locality? Where does it come from?

3. Do you know of any endangered plants or animals listed in the Red Data Book?

4. What’s your attitude to biopiracy and keeping all kind of exotic pets at home?

5. How do you personally feel about organized hunting, uncontrolled hunting, poaching?

6. Do you personally feel responsible for preservation of biodiversity on our planet? What is the role and place of human beings in it?