Read the texts and then answer the questions below.
TEXT 1: Water, Air and Soil Contamination
Pollution is an environmental concern for people throughout the world. One university study suggests that pollutants in the water, air, and soil cause up to 40% of the premature deaths in the world's population. The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries.
Water in many developing countries is contaminated with toxic chemicals, also known as toxins. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion people have little or no access to clean water. In many of these regions the water that is used for drinking, cooking, and washing is the same water that is used for dumping sewage and hazardous waste. Most developing countries cannot afford water treatment facilities. Approximately 80% of infectious diseases in the world are caused by contaminated water.
Air pollution is a growing problem throughout the world. Indoor air pollution is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. Families in developing countries use open stoves for cooking and heating their homes. These homes do not have proper ventilation. The smoke, which is full of chemicals and carcinogens, gets trapped inside where families eat and sleep. Outdoor pollution also causes disease and illness, especially in industrial cities such as Beijing, China, where cancer is the leading cause of death. China relies heavily on coal, which is considered the dirtiest source of energy. According to the European Union, only 1% of urban dwellers in China breathe clean air on an average day. Neighbouring countries including Japan and Korea receive much of China's pollution in the form of acid rain. This pollution results mainly from the coal powered factories, which produce inexpensive goods for North American and European consumers. Outdoor air pollution is also a concern in many wealthy countries. Those who live and work in urban centres such as Los Angeles or Toronto experience many warm days beneath a layer of smog.
Soil pollution is also a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries. Pollutants such as metals and pesticides seep into the earth's soil and contaminate the food supply. Soil pollution causes major health risks to entire ecosystems. This type of pollution reduces the amount of land suitable for agricultural production and contributes to global food shortages. Dumping of industrial and domestic waste products produces much of the world's soil pollution, though natural disasters can also add to the problem. In wealthy countries such as the US, protection agencies monitor the food supply. The public is generally warned before major disease outbreaks occur. Developing countries do not have this luxury. Farmers in poor nations grow food in contaminated soil both to earn a living and to avoid starvation.
As more people move to urban centres, premature deaths caused by pollution are expected to increase worldwide. Today, the developed nations who achieved their wealth at the expense of the environment will be held accountable for protecting the earth's resources for future generations.
(Source Englishclub. com)
Quiz
TEXT 2: Will there be Life after Oil ?
Answer: Yes. The twentieth century was the century of OIL; but the twenty-first will be the age of cleaner types of fuel. It will have to be.
Oil will not last for ever; and extracting it will become much more expensive
To start with, we cannot go on using oil for ever. We can do so for a few more decades - perhaps until 2070, then it will run out. There will be none left - or at least, there will be hardly any left.
At present, there is still plenty of oil under the ground. There is oil under the North Sea and under the Atlantic Ocean. Engineers keep finding new sources of oil. But there are some realities which cannot be avoided.
a) The quantity of oil under the ground and under the sea is not infinite. It will not last for ever.
b) As oil becomes rarer, it will become harder to extract. It will also become more and more expensive. It will therefore become more expensive than other fuels.
c) Oil will always cause pollution.
Of course, there are also other truths:
d) Scientists are making new forms of oil, using plants.
e) Most of the oil that we eat comes from plants; and it is sometimes possible to make petrol from this oil. For instance, some types of diesel-fuel already contain sun-flower oil.
At present, there is still plenty of oil under the ground. There is oil under the North Sea and under the Atlantic Ocean. Engineers keep finding new sources of oil. But there are some realities which cannot be avoided.
a) The quantity of oil under the ground and under the sea is not infinite. It will not last for ever.
b) As oil becomes rarer, it will become harder to extract. It will also become more and more expensive. It will therefore become more expensive than other fuels.
c) Oil will always cause pollution.
Of course, there are also other truths:
d) Scientists are making new forms of oil, using plants.
e) Most of the oil that we eat comes from plants; and it is sometimes possible to make petrol from this oil. For instance, some types of diesel-fuel already contain sun-flower oil.
Sunflowers produce oil too; but most of this oil is needed for cooking.
Sun-flower oil is cleaner than mineral oil, so it causes less pollution. But perhaps, in the long term, vegetable oils are not a good solution for the future; in the future we may need all the land for producing food.
In reality, the future will have to be a future without oil - or with very little oil.
Scientists are already developing cars, houses and plastics that do not use oil. Electricity will be the energy of the third millennium, but it will have to be clean electricity.
Today, electricity is produced in Britain in several different ways; some of it is produced using oil; but already oil-burning power-stations are being closed. Nuclear power-stations will be closed too, because they are very expensive and people do not want them.
Tomorrow's electricity will be made from gas, and from "renewable sources".
In the short term, gas will be an important source of energy. It is cleaner than oil, and easier to extract. There is also a lot more gas than oil under the ground! Gas can be used in cars and houses too.
In the long term, all our energy will come from "renewable sources" - including water! The sun, the wind, the rivers and the oceans will give us all the energy that we need! It will be clean energy - with no pollution - and it will last for ever.
We are not there yet, however! The twenty-first century will be a century of change. People who are over 50 today are not going to see a world without oil. Those who are under twenty may perhaps do so...... if they live long enough.
In reality, the future will have to be a future without oil - or with very little oil.
Scientists are already developing cars, houses and plastics that do not use oil. Electricity will be the energy of the third millennium, but it will have to be clean electricity.
Today, electricity is produced in Britain in several different ways; some of it is produced using oil; but already oil-burning power-stations are being closed. Nuclear power-stations will be closed too, because they are very expensive and people do not want them.
Tomorrow's electricity will be made from gas, and from "renewable sources".
In the short term, gas will be an important source of energy. It is cleaner than oil, and easier to extract. There is also a lot more gas than oil under the ground! Gas can be used in cars and houses too.
In the long term, all our energy will come from "renewable sources" - including water! The sun, the wind, the rivers and the oceans will give us all the energy that we need! It will be clean energy - with no pollution - and it will last for ever.
We are not there yet, however! The twenty-first century will be a century of change. People who are over 50 today are not going to see a world without oil. Those who are under twenty may perhaps do so...... if they live long enough.
SOURCE Linguapress
Reusing information :
Complete this summary of the article, putting appropriate words in the blanks
Oil is one of the most important __________ of ___________ in today's world; but unless we ____________ finding more and more, it will not ___________ for ____________. In less than a century, it will ______ ______.
Most of the oil we _____ comes from the ground, but some comes from _______ . But plants cannot produce all the oil we ________.
In tomorrow's world, we will use ______ oil and more ____________, but most of this will have to come from _______________ ___________.
In the _______ _______ we will use a lot of ___________, but later we will have to get our _____________ from natural forces.
Answers in CLASS!!
Most of the oil we _____ comes from the ground, but some comes from _______ . But plants cannot produce all the oil we ________.
In tomorrow's world, we will use ______ oil and more ____________, but most of this will have to come from _______________ ___________.
In the _______ _______ we will use a lot of ___________, but later we will have to get our _____________ from natural forces.
Answers in CLASS!!
Defining
Globalization
