Практический курс разговорного английского языка

The Fourth of July is the American nation's birthday. It honors the day in 1776 when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which cut the tie with England and established the United States of America.

On that memorable day the Liberty Bell called the people of Philadelphia (the then capital) to the State House to hear the declaration of Independence read out. Communities large and small, with speeches, parades and fireworks, reaffirmed the words written on the Liberty Bell: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land into all the inhabitants thereof".

After the seat of the government was established in the Federal City of Washington, the President traditionally held open house. At large banquets characteristic of the time, flowery toasts were proposed to the President, to the Republic and to its democratic ideals.

As the country's boundaries expanded and its population increased, ceremonies at the capital were necessarily replaced by local celebrations. Each city and town now sponsors its own ceremony – a parade, speeches by public officials, guided tours through historic monuments, outdoor stage shows, boat-races, and evening fireworks displays. Families, fraternal and civic organizations, all hold daylong picnics. There are baseball games, three-legged races, water-melon eating contests, folk dancing, and lots of lively music.

     The Continental Congress organized when 12 states met in Philadelphia and

adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Articles of Confederation gave to Thirteen Colonies the name of "The United States of America", as by July 4, 1776 Georgia had become the 13th original state.

     The Liberty placed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, site

of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776 it rang to mark the occasion of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and on April 16,1783 – the independence of the United States of America.

Ex. 2. Answer the questions:

1.      What do Americans celebrate on July, 4?

2.      What does this holiday honor?

3.      What did the Declaration of Independence proclaim?

4.      How do people in America celebrate Independence Day?

UNIT V.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

PART I. CONSERVATION AND POLLUTION.

Vocabulary:

to thrive [                                ] – процветать

environment              [                                          ] – окружающая среда

to condemn              [                                          ] – осуждать

human habitat – среда обитания людей

sensitive equilibrium [                                          ] – устойчивое равновесие

disgorge [                                ] – выбрасывать, извергать

noxious gases [                                          ] – ядовитые газы

dump              [                            ] – свалка, груда хлама, сваливать

toxic waste              – токсичные отходы

to tear up [                               ] – вырвать, изорвать

to accommodate [                                                        ] – размещать

rubbish – мусор

threat              [                            ] – угроза

accumulation [                                                        ] – накапливать, скопляться

flooding coastal areas – затопление прибрежных территорий

vast tracts of farmland – огромные пространства сельскохозяйственных

земель

infertile [                                          ] – неплодородный, бесплодный

water contamination [                                                        ] – загрязнение воды

the very survival – само по себе выживание

spurred by poverty              [                                          ] – подталкиваемый нищетой

greed              [                            ] – алчность, жадность

to attempt – пытаться

wasteful – расточительный

to recycle – перерабатывать

conserve [                                   ] – сохранять, сберегать, консервировать

to inherit [                              ] – наследовать, унаследовать

acid rain – кислотный дождь

A green and pleasant land?

Britain, like the rest of Europe, is trying to clean itself up. The recycling of paper, glass, and plastic has increased dramatically. Nevertheless the question remains: how “green” is Britain?

Ex. 1. Read this article quickly. Explain the title.

No time to waste

For hundreds of thousands of years, the human race has thrived in Earth’s environment. By 1800 there were 1 billion people of the planet. That number had doubled by 1975. If current birth rates hold, the present population of 5.1 billion will double again in 40 years. The frightening irony is that our success as an organism could condemn the Earth as a human habitat. We have upset nature’s sensitive equilibrium – disgorging noxious gases into the atmosphere, dumping toxic waste into rivers and oceans and tearing up the countryside to accommodate our rubbish.

What would happen if we did nothing about the threat to the Earth?

Computers project that an accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could drive up the Earth’s average temperature from 30 F to 90 F by the middle of the next century. Sea levels would rise by several feet, flooding coastal areas and ruining vast tracts of farmland. Huge areas would be infertile and become uninhabitatable.  Water contamination could lead to shortages of safe drinking water.

In the last decade of the 20th century, we are at a crucial turning point. The actions of those now living will determine the future and possibly the very survival of the species. Spurred by poverty, population growth, ill advised policies and simple greed, humanity is at war with the plants, animals and elements that make up the planet and provide for our continued existence.

We only have a few years to attempt to turn things around. We must review our wasteful, careless ways; we must consume less, recycle more, conserve energy and adapt our lifestyles for the sake of those who will inherit the planet.

Ex. 2. Read the first paragraph again and complete this table.

Ex. 3. Give three examples of ways in which the increase in human population has hurt the environment.

Ex. 4. Read the second paragraph again and answer the question in the subheading.

Ex. 5. Read the rest of the article and answer these questions:

1) Why does the writer say “we are at a crucial turning point”?

2) In what way is the conflict between humanity and the environment like a war?

Ex. 6. Match these words and their meanings in this article.

habitat                                                                                                  motivated

equilibrium                                                                                    areas

toxic                                                                                                  increase

project                                                                                                  environment

drive up                                                                                                  badly-thought out

tracts                                                                                                  poisonous

spurred                                                                                                  balance

ill-advised                                                                                    predict

Ex. 7. Work with a partner at the points mentioned about recycling. Which are the most important?

Recycling

a)     generates the environment

b)     conserves our recourses

c)      reduces pollution and litter

d)     reduces acid rain

e)     cuts energy costs

f)       generates jobs

g)     engenders a sense of community pride

h)    creates profitable industry

i)       provides funds of charity

j)       reduces the need for landfill sites

Ex. 8. a) Which fact do you find the most surprising?

b) Which situation needs the most urgent action?

c) Which fact arouses the most optimism?

Factfile

1. In 1990 British consumers threw away 6 million tones of paper,                      2 million tones of glass and 35 million worth aluminium.

2. Only 4 % of recyclable material is actually recycled.

3. The estimated annual value of materials which are thrown away in Britain is ₤ 750 million per annum.

4. In Britain there is only one bottle bank for every 14.000 people. In France and Germany the figure is one bottle bank for every 2.000.

5. At the end of 1990 80% of petrol stations sold unleaded petrol. In 1988 the figure was only 4 %.

6. Emissions from lead from petrol fell by more than 50% between 1975 and 1988, despite an increase in petrol consumption of over 7 million tones.

7. 90% of British rubbish is tipped into holes in the ground called landfill sites. There are 5.000 such landfill sites in Britain today.

Ex. 9. Make up a recycling  project in group. Think about these questions:

1.      What are you going to recycle – paper, plastic, tins, bottles?

2.      How can you encourage people to recycle – produce an explanatory leaflet or poster, organize a competition?

3.      How are the things going to be collected – a central collection point, volunteer collections, house-to-house collection?

4.      How can other people be made to help – form a committee, talk to other students, persuade shopkeepers, tell the municipal authorities?

5.      What other events can be organised  to help the project – a sale of old books, clothes or records; a sponsored walk, bike ride or run; a collection in the town?

Vocabulary:

to link – связывать

sewage pollution [                                                        ] – загрязнение сточными водами

sinusitis [                                                        ] – образование свищей

to eliminate [                                          ] –  устранять, исключать

significantly [                                                        ] – значительно

vomiting [                                                        ] – рвота

diarrhea [                                          ] – диарея

itchy – зудящийся

fever [                            ] – жар, лихорадка

to suffer from – страдать, болеть

health threat [                                          ] – угроза здоровью

prompt [                                          ] – побуждать, незамедлительный

mount  [                                          ] – расти, увеличиваться

Ex. 1. Read the two newspaper articles. Which article was published the first?

1.

Children who play in the sea at Blackpool run more than five times the risk of developing symptoms of sewage poisoning than those who stay on the beach, according to scientists.

Research findings published by a team from Lancaster University today provide some of the clearest evidence to date of the health dangers posed by untreated sewage in sea water.

The university’s Environmental Epidemiology Research Unit interviewed the parents of more than 900 children, aged six to 11, on the beach at Blackpool last summer. In follow-up interviews 10 to 14 days later, parents were asked several questions, including whether their children had suffered from any of a list of 29 symptoms.

After statistical analysis to eliminate the possibility of error, the unit discovered that the 455 children in the sample who had had contact with the sea ran a significantly higher risk of contracting symptoms of disease associated with sewage pollution.

The children who went in the sea were five times more likely to be affected by diarrhea than those on the beach, and three times more likely to suffer from vomiting. Other symptoms included itchy skin, fever, lack of energy and loss of appetite.

2.

Evidence is mounting that Blackpool townspeople are at risk from illnesses linked to sewage pollution of the sea, even if they do not swim in it.

According to a Blackpool GP, increasing numbers of resident are suffering from gastro-intestinal illnesses and sinusitis, which he believes are caused by sewage pollution.

Worry over the health threat has prompted Lancashire Country Council to sponsor a study by Lancaster University into the connection between ill-health in children living on the Fylde coast and pollution.

The GP, Dr Martin Lucking, said that in recent years, increasing numbers of his patients have suffered gastro-intestinal illnesses and sinusitis during periods of strong on-shore winds bringing moisture from the sea.

This happened in 1998 and late on in 1989. It is unacceptable that this is going on our doorstep.

Ex. 2.    a). Work in groups. Write a headline for each article.

b). Compare your headlines. Choose the best ones.

Ex. 3. Are these statements about Blackpool true or false? Correct the false statements.

1. Children are not in danger as longer as they stay out of the sea.

2. Lancashire Country Council carried out a survey into the connection between

    ill-health and pollution from the sea.

3. The pollution in the sea is caused by untreated sewage.

4. The major illness that children suffered was diarrhea.

5. Children also complained of headaches.

6. According to DR Lucking, the number of patiens suffering from pollution-

    related illnesses has increased recently.

Ex. 4. a). How would you react to the findings of the report  if you were a … ?

1. Blackpool parent

2. tourist

3. hotel owner

          b). Read the torn out comments from the newspaper. Match each comment with the person who made it.

1. John Hall, Director of Tourism for Blackpool.

2. Louse Ellman, leader of Lancashire Country Council.

3. Dr. Martin Lucking, Blackpool GP.

a). “This is seriously going to affect our trade. The constant sportlight on Blackpool’s beaches means we will pay the price and if you take away tourism Blackpool is nothing”.

b). “We have known since Victorian times that there is a link between sewage and ill-health and I would say it is up to the authorities to prove otherwise”.

c). “The water authority’s proposals are inadequate. We need firm plans for the short term. There is too much anecdotal evidence of people in this area becoming ill. It must be treated seriously”.

Ex. 5. a). Work in groups. What do you think should be done?

b). Write a letter to one of the Blackpool newspapers expressing your point of view.

PART II.  TO LIVE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

Ex. 1. Read the text and discuss the problems given.

We tend to imagine that ancient people were “environmentally” friendly and lived in harmony with nature. Some people (such as the American Indians) did indeed respect and protect their environment. But there are many examples of ancient people who destroyed land they inhabited. In doing this, some of them destroyed their own livelihood.

The great city of Ur was destroyed by floods after its people removed the trees on the banks of the river Euphrates to use as fuel for their fires. Although the Bible says that the cause of floods was the anger of God, the real cause of the flood was probably environmental damage by man.

The dodo was a large bird, rather like a turkey, that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. When the first man arrived in Mauritius in the early 16th century, they found that the dodos were very tame. The settlers killed the dodos partly for food and partly for sport. By 1680, less than 200 years after the first man settlement on Mauritius, the last dodo was dead. Only the expression “as dead as a dodo” lives in the English language.

Ex. 2. a). Say which statement is true. According to the passage our ancestors (предки):

a). were all environmentally friendly.

b). respected and protected their environment.

c). were probably as selfish as modern people.

d). lived in harmony with nature.

b). The passage states that the great city of Ur was probably destroyed by

a). fires

b). removing the trees on the bank of the river Euphrates

c). the anger of God

d). floods caused by earthquake

Ex. 3. Read the passage.

Difficult problems

More people are against cruelty to animals in sports, such as foxhunting. Some people think that it is also cruel to use animals for scientific research. I don’t think so. My mum works in a medical laboratory. They create new medicines and then test them on animals. Mum says it’s necessary. Some animal research leads directly to the development of important new medicines that save hundreds of lives. It’s not the same: to kill animals for sport or for life-saving research in medicine.