Владимир Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 3 курс [calibre 2.43.0]

movement, to preserve woodlands, to protect and reproduce animal (fish, bird) reserves, to fight pollution, to install antipollution

equipment, to minimize noise disturbance, to reduce pollution, to dispose garbage (litter, wastes) in designated areas.

1. Read the following text for obtaining its information.

Environmental Protection — Nationwide Concern

As a highly industrialized state Britain cannot ignore the problem of environmental protection. The practical results of the state

policy in environmental protection include the development of technology to control atmospheric (air) and water pollution, agricultural

pollution control, the study of man's influence on the climate, the forecasting of earthquakes and tsunamis, the biological and genetic

consequences of pollution, protection of rare and vanishing plants and animals as well as a whole lot more.

The Control of Pollution Act 1974, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales, sets out a. wide range of powers and duties for

local and water authorities, including control over wastes, air and water pollution and noise, and contains important provisions on the

release of information to the public on environmental conditions.

The main risks of land pollution lie in the indiscriminate dumping of materials on land, careless disposal of pesticides and chemi-

cals, fall-out of materials from the atmosphere and the deposition of materials from flood-water. The use of sewage sludge on farms,

too, involves risks as well as benefits to the land.

The Government encourages the reclamation and recycling of waste materials wherever this is practicable and economic in order

to reduce imports and to help to conserve natural resources. Industry already makes considerable use of reclaimed waste materials

such as metals, paper and textiles. In an increasing number of areas there are "bottlebanks" where the public can deposit used glass

containers.

There has been a steady and significant improvement in water quality: the level of pollution in the tidal Thames has been reduced

to a quarter of the 1950s level and 1 0 0 different kinds of fish have been identified there. Discharges of polluting matter into rivers,

lakes, estuaries and some coastal waters are already controlled by law.

Control of marine pollution from ships is based largely on international conventions drawn up under the auspices of the Intema-

tional Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency with headquarters in London. In dealing with spillages of oil or chemicals at sea

the main treatment method is to spray dispersant from aircraft or surface vessels, and emergency cargo transfer equipment is

available to remove oil from a damaged tanker.

Considerable progress has been made towards the achievement of cleaner air and a better environment, especially in the last 20

years or so. Total emissions and average concentration of smoke in the air have fallen by 80 per cent. London no longer has the

dense smoke-laden "smogs" of the 1950s and in central London winter sunshine has been increasing since the 1940s when average

hours a day were about 40 per cent less than at Kew in outer London; the levels are now virtually the same.

Transport is one of the main offenders in noise pollution, and control measures are aimed at reducing noise at source, through

requirements limiting the noise that aircraft and motor vehicles may make, and by protecting people from its effects.

In Britain radiation resulting from industrial and other processes represents only a small fraction of that to which the population is

exposed from the natural environment. Nevertheless, that fraction is subject to stringent control because of possible effects on health

or longer-term genetic effects.

Various methods are used to store radioactive wastes, depending primarily upon their physical form and radioactivity. Wastes of

sufficiently low radioactivity are dispersed safely direct to the environment. For those of higher radioactivity a comprehensive, inter-

national research programme is being carried out with government assistance and with the participation of the nuclear industry into

methods of treatment, storage, transport and disposal.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the major environmental problems confronting Britain today? 2. What powers and duties for control authorities are set

out by the Control of Pollution Act 1 9 7 4 ? 3. What measures are taken to fight land pollution? 4. What are the main treatment

methods applied to reduce water pollution? 5. What facts prove that a certain progress has been made towards cleaner air? 6. What

operational measures have been introduced to reduce noise disturbance? 7. What operational measures have been introduced to

store radioactive wastes? 8. What do you think are the responsibilities of nature conservation authorities and voluntary organizations

in Britain? 9. Why do you think people should be concerned about protecting environment from pollution and from destruction of

natural resources?

3. Summarize the text in three paragraphs specifying the necessity of fighting environmental pollution on a wide scale.

4. Use the Topical Vocabulary in answering the following questions:

1. What are the major environmental issues confronting humanity today? 2. What is the global imperative for environment as you

see i t ? 3. Why are many people concerned about ecology today? Why do we say that every man should be environment-conscious

and environment-educated? 4. On what basis should the "man-na- ture" relationship function? 5. What are the steps undertaken by the

governments (authorities) of many countries to protect environment? 6. What do you know about the practical results of the

international cooperation in environmental protection? 7. How does the state control nature conservation and environmental protection

in our country? 8. What role should mass media play in environmental protection?

5. Give a short newspaper review on one of the major issues of environmental protection. Refer to the Topical Vocabulary. Remember that your

review should appeal to the interests and attitudes of the intended reader. It can be neutral, descriptive, emotional. Choose the facts to prove your

viewpoint. Reproduce your story in class.

M o d e l :

Wild Flowers and the Law

All the protection that the law can effectively give to our wild flowers is likely to be provided by the Wild Plants Protection Bill, which

is due for its second reading in the Lords shortly. If the Bill reaches the Statute Book, as is probable, it will become an offence to sell,

offer or expose for sale any wild plant that has been picked or uprooted, and for anyone other than an authorized person wil fully to

uproot any wild plant. Picking of wild flowers will not be prohibited unless they are sold, or are included in the Bill's schedule of rare

species. The Bill has rightly been widely welcomed because so many of Britain' wild plants are already in danger of disappearing, and

it is high time that the law recognized the need for their conservation. It would, however, be self-deception to suppose that the Bill by

itself can provide the protection that is needed. Measures of this kind, which are concerned with the actions of individuals, either

greedy or ignorant, in remote and lonely places, are extremely difficult to enforce. If our rare plants are to be saved, only the greatest

vigilance, in and outside the nature reserves, will save them.

6. You are asked to tell a group of foreign students (schoolchildren) about the nature conservation and environment protection in your country.