Урок на тему: Глобальные проблемы современности. Проблемы окружающей среды (8-9 класс)
Тема 3
Глобальные проблемы современности. Природа и проблемы экологии.
Vocabulary
Natural resources and attractions:
minerals, (fresh) water supplies (reservoirs), foods, rainfalls, vegetation, woodlands, wildlife, animal kingdoms (population), flora and fauna, cultivated land, open land, country (national) parks, clear landscapes.
Environment and man:
to link man to nature,
to adapt to environment,
to be preoccupied with economic growth,
unrestricted industrialization,
to upset the biological balance,
to abuse nature,
to litter the landscape/ ecology/ ecosystem,
to be environmentally conscious,
To be environment educated.
Environment destruction and pollution:
land pollution
industrial wastes
to dump waste materials on land
extensive use of agrochemicals
water pollution
a dropping water level
to face the fresh water supply problem
marine pollution
air (atmospheric) pollution
concentrations of smoke in the air
radiation
high (low) radioactivity
to store/disperse radioactive wastes
merciless killing of animals
destruction of animal habitants
to ignore the problem of environmental protection
Nature preservation and environmental protection:
global environmental security
to preserve ecosystems / woodlands
to create disaster-prevention programs
to harmonize industry and community
to fight pollution
to minimize noise disturbance
to reduce pollution
Global problems:
Pollution in its many forms (water, air, nuclear, noise)
Destruction of wildlife and countryside beauty
Shortage of natural resources (metals, minerals, different kinds of fuels)
Growth of population -> lack of food
The problem of coming WW III
Spiritual decline
The problem of nuclear storage, nuclear power stations.
Greenhouse effect
Practice
Ex. 1 Match the titles with the paragraphs.
Greenhouse effect
Water pollution
Spiritual decline
Growth of population
Air pollution
Nuclear pollution
World War the III
Soil pollution
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1. More and more often people are told not to be in direct sunlight, because 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 appear as a result of the emissions from engine vehicles, factories, usage of aerosols which destroy the ozone layer.
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2. The Earth has certain limitations and in particular, there are limits to growth of things that consume the Earth resources. Global human population growth is around 81 million annually. It is expected to keep growing to reach 11 billion by the end of the century. Many people had predicted catastrophic shortages of natural resources that would follow, because of continued population growth. Overpopulation is destroying our environment, lowering the standard of living, and generally degrading the quality of life. Overpopulation also causes more violence, environmental pollution that reflects on land degradation, tropical forest destruction, global warming and destruction of coral reefs. 6 billion member society has to get a huge food infrastructure, so society start producing genetically made food, which is cheaper than ordinary one but might reflect in the nutrient balance.
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3. Scientists now realize that the proportion of misbalance in the atmosphere gases has increased significantly over a few hundred years. The normal proportion of them is about 71% of Nitrogen, 21% of Oxygen and other gasses. The real increase began around the time of the Industrial Revolution. This is when we began to burn fossil fuels (coal) in large quantities to power our steam engines. These gases are termed ‘green house gases’ because during the day the earth absorbs heat from the sun, although much of this is radiated back out into space. The atmosphere surrounding our earth contains these gases, and acts like a blanket keeping some of the heat in. If there weren’t an atmospheric ‘blanket’ we would freeze during the night, like some of the other planets or our moon. The problem of global warming is the problem of temperature rise in the Earth’s atmosphere.
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4. The sea waters today are dangerous. There is no ocean or sea that is not used as a dump. Many seas are used for dumping industrial and nuclear wastes. The poisons from wastes bring harm to animals, fish and birds. Afterwards eating such food people suffer from different diseases, they may even get a dose of radiation and die. There is less and less sources of fresh water supplies, as our underground waters are polluted by extensive use of agrochemicals. There is a theory that WW III may break out because of the lack of fresh water.
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5. The political, economic, and social problems we encounter are the symptoms of the spiritual deterioration of a nations. Just as there are spiritual principles that influence the life of an individual, so there are political-spiritual principles that govern the life of a nation. Nations most often fall from within, and this fall is usually due to a decline in the moral and spiritual values in the family. As families go, so goes a nation. As nowadays the institution of a family has been drawn backwards and on the first place the material prosperity has been put, some morality and main principles have lost their importance. People are mad about their fortune and the way to earn it. This problem may be solved by appealing to religion and history of a nation , where all the necessary principles of life are described.
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6. Higher concentrations of heavy metals in the soil around industrial enterprises deplete the local flora, with the more sensitive species disappearing.
It is a difficult problem to restore the fertility of soil polluted by heavy metals. People use many chemicals to prolong soil fertility but overuse of them cause storing of harmful substances in it. The main measure, and a cardinal solution to the problem is to improve technology so that waste is not released into the environment. Sometimes various chemical substances are introduced into the soil to neutralize the effect of soil pollutants, and so on.
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7. Radiation due to uncontrolled radioactive waste and other radioactive materials is a growing threat. It causes genetic damage and cancer. Radioactive contamination or nuclear pollution is the most dangerous for the environment since the wastes maintain their radioactive properties for thousands of years. A responsible management of the nuclear waste would limit the risk of nuclear pollution on the long term, allowing us to live on a cleaner and safer planet, also preventing the temptation of dumping the waste in the oceans. Another question is nuclear power stations. There is a constant threat if something happens to a reactor, as it was the case with the Russian Chernobyl for instance. There are other energy sources that are still highly effective without the huge risks of nuclear pollution or irradiation: geothermal sources, ocean currents, tidal waves, wind and waterfalls, all make alternative power solutions that should not be neglected. Environment-friendly electricity is one of the chances this planet has to survive.
8. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Nowadays according to the political situation in our world hardly any person has ever thought, Worlds War III may break out in the nearest future. As a result of the shortage of resources, the most powerful countries try to capture all possible reserves, invading other countries, like it happened in Iraq. Analyzing to the recent events happening in Ukraine the world has been split into 3 groups of countries, the first which supports the USA, the second supports the Russian Federation and the others who don’t interfere into long historically established rivalry. Such blind fight for leadership may cause great conflicts and lead to WW III break out. The only way to avoid it is to solve the problems by peaceful dialogs between the countries.
Ex.1 Write about each global problem, using the plan.
the problem;
what people have been doing to create the problem
what people should do to prevent it.
Example:
1. Problem: Water pollution
2. False actions:
Factories dump waste materials in waters
Merciless overfishing
Destruction of ecosystems3. What should be doneDumping wastes should be forbidden
Fishing should be restricted
Ecosystems should be harmonized/ preserved/ saved
Water pollution
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Air pollution
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Nuclear pollution
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Noise pollution
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Soil pollution
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Destruction of wildlife and countryside beauty
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shortage of natural resources (metals, minerals, different kinds of fuels)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Growth of population
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The problem of coming WW III
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Greenhouse effect
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Spiritual decline
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Use of English
Environmental protection – Nationwide Concern
1. As a highly industrialized state Britain cannot ignore the problem of (environment) ________________________ pollution. The (practice) _______________________ results of the state policy in environmental protection include the (develop) ________________________ of technology to control (atmosphere) ________________________ and water pollution, (agriculture) ________________________ pollution control, the study of men’s influence on the climate, (forecast) ________________________ of earthquakes and tsunamis, the (biology) ________________________ and (gene) ________________________ consequences of pollution, protection of rare and (vanis) ________________________ plants and animals as well as a whole lot more.
The Control of Pollution Act 1974, which (to apply) ________________________ to England, Wales and Scotland, (to set) ________________________ out a wide range of powers and duties for local and water authorities, (to include) ________________________ control over wastes, air and water pollution and noise.The main risks of land pollution (to lie) ________________________ in the (discriminate) ________________________ dumping of materials on land (care) ________________________ disposal of pesticides and chemicals and disposition of materials from flood-water.
There (to be) ________________________ a steady improvement in water quality: the level of pollution in the tidal Thames (to reduce) ________________________ to a quarter of the 1950s level and 100 kinds of fish (identify) ________________________ there. Discharges of polluting matter into rivers, lakes and some coastal waters already (to control) ________________________ by law.
Considerable progress (to make) ________________________ towards the (achieve) ________________________ of (clean) ________________________ air and a (good) environment, especially in the last 20 years or so.
Transport is one of the main (offend) ________________________ in noise pollution.
2. Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood were our neighbours. They had two ________CHILD__________.
Their son Michael _________NOT/DIFFER_________ from the other children very much, but their daughter Matilda was a brilliant child.
By the time she was five, Matilda was able to read very well. She studied every magazine and newspaper that she ________CAN__________ find around the house.
Actually, she read ________WELL__________ than most school pupils.
One afternoon when the parents were out of the house, Matilda put on ________SHE__________ dress and shoes and went to the library.
The librarian was surprised to see such a small child. "Are you here for the ________ONE__________ time? Would you like me to find a nice book with lots of pictures for you?" she asked.
"No, thank you, I ________FIND__________ what I need," answered Matilda and pointed to a thick book of fairy tales.
Then she added, “I _________COME_________ for a new book as soon as I finish this one”.
The librarian was really shocked when she saw Matilda only two days later.
“I wish all children _________LIKE_________ reading so much,” the librarian said. From that day on Matilda went to the library every afternoon.
3. Kate called me early in the morning. It was the ________TWO__________ day of holidays; I felt angry with her for waking me up.
“What ________HAPPEN__________?” I didn’t sound very polite, but she paid no attention to that.
“Oh, nothing! I want to go shopping today and wondered if you wanted to go with _________I_________.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
“But it _________NOT/TAKE_________ you long! I promise.
My first impulse was to say “no”-unlike most _______WOMAN_______ I hated shopping. But Kate sounded so unhappy that I felt sorry for her.
“Ok, what do you need to buy?”
Kate’s voice _________BECOME_________ cheerful again.
She excitedly explained to me that she _________WANT_________ to buy a pair of hiking boots and a raincoat.
That _________BE_________ strange as Kate had never been fond of hiking.
“I want to take up hiking as a new hobby,” went on Kate. “Bob Smith says that it’s very exciting.”
Now I knew what was going on. Bob Smith, the captain of the school baseball team, was the _________POPULAR_________ boy in our school. All the girls wanted to attract his attention.
4. Michael could not imagine his life without computers. His parents ________BUY__________ him his first computer at the age of seven.It took_________HE_________ several days to learn how to use it.
His mum said that the younger people were, the _________FAST_________ they could learn computer skills.
That was probably true – most ________CHILD__________ in Michael’s class were very competent computer users.
Michael was really surprised to find out that the first personal computer ________INVENT__________ in the 70’s of the last century.
“And how did you chat or send your e-mails without computers?” he asked his mother.
She smiled: “We ________NOT/SEND__________ each other e-mails. And there were no networks.”
She also said that it ________BE__________ fun to communicate face-to-face, to play out-of-doors and to visit friends’ homes.
“But if there ________BE__________ no computers, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with my friends who live far away from me,” Michael replied.
“True. Technological progress is a great thing,” his mother said “And I think people ________CREATE__________ even more amazing communication devices in the near future.”
Speaking
STUDENT CARD
Тask 1
Give a talk about environmental problems.
Remember to say:
· what environmental problems our country has;
· what environmental problem you consider to be the most serious, why;
· what people can do to improve the situation.
You have to talk for 1.5 – 2 minutes. The examiner will listen until you have finished. Then he/she will ask you some questions.
Writing
You have 30 minutes to do this task.
You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend, Ben.
…Yesterday was a special day
–
we had the Earth Hour. My town (and lots of towns around) went dark for one hour. It’s one of the ideas of an ecological group called the Green Movement. We switched off the lights to draw people’s attention to the poor ecological situation on the planet …
…Do people have the Earth Hour in your country? What can people do to save energy in their everyday life? Do you approve of the Green Movement, why? …
You have 30 minutes to do this task.
You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend, Ben.
…I’ve just been to the zoo. What lovely animals are there! Bears, tigers and even sharks! When I look at them in the zoo I can hardly imagine that they could be dangerous or eat other animals…
… What do you think is better for animals
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to live in the zoo or in the wild, why? What animals are common in your region? Have you ever seen any animal in the wild? …
Write him a letter and answer his 3 questions.