Tiếng anh chuyên ngành Thổ nhưỡngvà Môi trường đất NXB Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 2007. Tr 66 – 76. Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa học Tự nhiên có thể được sử dụng cho mục đích học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in ấn phục vụ các mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và tác giả. Mục lục Unit 7 Human impact on the environment 2 A. READING 2 I Comprehension Questions 3 II True - False sentences 4 III Increasing your vocabulary 5 B. WRITING 5 I Sentence-building 5 II Sentence-transforming 7 C. FURTHER PRACTIVE 8 D. TRANSLATION 9 I Translate into Vietnamese 9 II Translate into English 9 E. VOCABULARY 11 Unit 7. Human impact on the environment Nguyễn Thị Minh Nguyệt Unit 7 Human impact on the environment A. READING • Warm-up activities - Where does air pollution mainly come from? - What should we do to prevent pollution? Air pollution is one of the most pervasive environmental problems because atmospheric currents can carry contaminated air to every part of the globe. Most air pollution comes from automobile emissions and from power plants that burn coal and oil to produce energy for industrial and consumer use. Carbon dioxide and other harmful gases released into the air from these sources adversely affect weather patterns and the health of people, animals, and plants. Industrialized nations produce most of the world’s air pollution. For example, although the United States is home to just 5 percent of the world’s population, the country generates 22 percent of human-made carbon dioxide emissions and 19 percent of all greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These emissions harm the environment by causing acidic rain and global warming, and by depleting the protective ozone layer that surrounds the earth. Acid rain, a serious threat around the world, occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from automobiles and fossil fuel burning power plants fall back to Earth as acidic precipitation. Global warming is another negative by-product of air pollution, and although there is debate about the sources of the problem, most scientists agree that the earth is heating up. One of the principle causes is thought to be high atmospheric concentrations of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These and related substances are called "greenhouse" gases because they trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere instead of letting it radiate into space, thereby, raising air temperature. If the warming trend continues, glaciers would melt, causing sea levels to rise by as much as 65 centimeters, a depth that would inundate most coastal cities. Low-lying island nations would disappear altogether, and fertile farmland would turn to desert. Another serious problem related to air pollution is the shrinking of the atmospheric ozone layer that blocks out dangerous ultraviolet (UV) light. First reported over Antarctica in the 1980s, ozone holes have since been detected over parts of North America and elsewhere. The holes are created when ozone molecules are destroyed by chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), chemicals that are used in refrigerants and aerosol containers and can drift into the upper atmosphere if not properly contained. Some scientists estimate that 60 percent of the ozone layer may already have been lost to pollution, and that even a percent loss could add a total of 330,000 new cases of skin cancer and 1.6 million cases of eye cataracts worldwide. The high levels of UV light that cause skin cancer and eye problems may also harm plankton, the foundation of the food chain in oceans. Serious declines in plankton levels could lead to catastrophic losses of other sea life. (Taken from "Encarta-World Atlas", Microsoft 2000 ® ) I Comprehension Questions Answer the questions 1. Where does most air pollution in the world originate from? 2. What are weather patterns and the health of people, animals, and plants affected by? 3. How do the human-made carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases harm the environment? 4. When does acid rain occur? 5. What is the main cause of global warming? 6. Why are carbon dioxide, methane and related substances called "greenhouse" gases? 7. What will happen if the warming trend continues? 8. How are the ozone holes created? 9. What substances are used in refrigerants and aerosol containers? Where can they go to if they are not properly contained? 10. What do skin cancer and eye problems result from? II True - False sentences Decide whether the following statements are true "T", false "F" or there’s no information given "N" according to the text. Correct the false statements. Air pollution comes not only from automobile emissions but also from power plants. Developing countries produce air pollution greatly. The United States’ population accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population. Acid rain is a serious threat in industrialized nations. Ozone layer is known as a protective layer for the earth. People in industrialized countries as well as in less developed countries want to reduce air pollution. "Greenhouse" gases let heat in the earth’s atmosphere radiate into space . When CFCs destroy ozone molecules, ozone holes are created. Recently more than 330,000 new cases of skin cancer and 1.6 million cases of eye cataracts worldwide have been reported. Plankton is the foundation of the food chain in oceans. III Increasing your vocabulary Synonyms Look at the text again and say which words or phrases have the same meaning as: 1. spreading throughout 2. originate from 3. unfavourably 4. cause damage 5. incidental product 6. cities near the beach 7. becoming smaller 8. move slowly 9. discover 10. disastrous B. WRITING I Sentence-building Make necessary changes and additions to complete the following passage from the prompts given below: 1. Environmental pollution / be / term / that / refer / all the ways / by which / people / pollute / surroundings. 2. People / dirty / air / gases / smoke. 3. They / poison / water / too many / fertilizers / pesticides. 4. People / also / pollute / surroundings / various other ways. 5. For example, / they / ruin / natural beauty / scattering / junk / litter / the land / the water. 6. They / operate / machine / motor vehicles / that / fill / air / disturbing / noise. 7. Nearly / everyone / cause / pollution / some way. 8. Thus, / to end / or / great / reduce / pollution / immediately, / people / would / have / stop / using / many things / such / fertilizers / pesticides. 9. Governments / can / pass / laws / that / require / businesses / individuals / stop / or / cut down on / polluting activities. 10. Individuals / groups of people / can / work / persuade / business / take action toward reducing pollution. II Sentence-transforming Change the following sentences from active voice into passive voice and vice versa: 1. Too much fertilizers or pesticides can ruin soil. Soil 2. Today, 75 percent of all the world’s energy is consumed by a quarter of the world’s population. A quarter of 3. Pollution can be gradually reduced in several ways. People 4. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life. Fish and other marine life 5. Much pollution is caused by things that benefit people. Things 6. Greenpeace expects that hydrochloroflourocarbons (HCFCs) will come under strict control at the parties to the Montreal Protocol in the next few years. It 7. Ozone is considered a dangerous pollutant when it exists close to the ground. People 8. Some factors may slow global warming. Globe warming 9. The statistics in the text were supplied by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The US Environmental Protection Agency 10. Rain washes pollutants out of the air and deposits them on the land and in bodies of water. Pollutants C. FURTHER PRACTIVE Exercise 1: Choose one of the words or phrases below to fill in each gap in the following passage. Each word or phrase is used once only. affected danger on grow during pollution polluted reduce major simple pollutants thing for increase problem change cities development the areas People have always (1) their surroundings. But throughout much of history, pollution was not a major (2) .Most people lived in uncrowded rural areas, and the (3) they produced were widely scattered. People had no pollution-causing machines or motor vehicles. The (4) of crowded industrial cities in the 1700s and 1800s made pollution a (5) problem. People and factories in these cities put huge amounts of pollutants into small areas. (6) the 1900s, urban areas continued to develop and other new inventions made pollution steadily worse. By the mid-1900s, pollution had (7) the water in every major lake and river and the air over every city in (8) United States and other industrial countries. Since the late 1960s, millions of people have become alarmed by the (9) of pollution. Large numbers of people are now working to (10) pollution. (Taken from "English-Vietnamese Translation Materials for Advanced Students of English" by Alan Mc Gowan and Jack Hudson) Exercise 2: Read the following passage. Put the correct word from the list below in each blank. You may use some words more than one. so so much so many too too much too many enough We are all slowly destroying the earth. The seas and rivers are (1) dirty to swim in. There is (2) smoke in the air that it is unhealthy to live in many of the world’s cities. In one well-known city, for example, poisonous gases from cars pollute the air (3) that traffic policemen have to wear oxygen masks. We have cut down (4) trees that are now vast areas of wasteland all over the world. As a result, farmers in parts of Africa cannot grow (5) to eat. In certain countries in Asia, there is (6) little rice. Moreover, we do not take (7) care of the countryside. Wild animals are quickly disappearing. For instance, tigers are rare in India now because we have killed (8) for them to survive. However, it isn’t (9) simply to talk about the problem. We must act now before it is (10) late to do anything about it. Join us now. Save the Earth. This is (11) important to ignore. (Taken from "Longman Texts in Context" by Heaton J. B) D. TRANSLATION I Translate into Vietnamese The greenhouse effect is not a new phenomenon. Scientists have known centuries that a layer of gases naturally surrounds the earth like an insulting blanket, trapping the reflected energy of the sun and preventing it from escaping into space. That is what makes the earth warm enough for people, plants and animals. However, recent human activity has boosted concentrations of greenhouse gases and enhanced their heat-trapping ability. The main culprit is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) which scientists estimate amounts for nearly half of global warming. CO 2 is released from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and from clearing and burning forests. There are other important greenhouse gases too and they cannot be ignored – CFCs, for example, may account for 25 per cent of global warming in the next century if their production is not scaled back. But CO 2 is the pivotal one. The UN International Panel on Climatic Change now says that CO 2 levels could double within 40 years if present rates of fossil-fuel burning and deforestation continue. That could mean an average temperature increase between two and four degrees centigrade and a sea-level of perhaps a foot by 2050. (Taken from "Passport to ILTS" by Diana Hopkins & Mark Nettle) II Translate into English 1. Người ta đã ước tính được rằng 50% sự ô nhiễm khí quyển và 20% của hiện tượng hiệu ứng nhà kính trên thế giới là do các loại xe có động cơ gây ra. Để bảo tồn năng lượng, giảm thiểu sự ô nhiễm không khí và những ảnh hưởng mang tính toàn cầu của sự ô nhiễm này thì việc chuyển các loại xe chạy bằng động cơ đi-e-zen sang loại xe chạy bằng điện là vô cùng cần thiết. 2. Ô-zôn được tạo thành từ ba nguyên tử ô-xy, trái với hai nguyên tử ô-xy có mặt trong khí ô-xy mà chúng ta vẫn cần để thở. Bản thân ô-zôn rất độc hại và nó được xem như là một chất gây ô nhiễm nguy hại nếu như nó tồn tại gần mặt đất. Trên tầng bình lưu, ô- zôn thực hiện một chức năng rất quan trọng đối với cuộc sống trên trái đất. ở đó, ô-zôn sẽ chắn bức xạ cực tím và bảo vệ trái đất khỏi bức xạ (nhiệt) mặt trời. Những ảnh hưởng của việc suy giảm tầng ô-zôn bao gồm:  tỉ lệ ung thư da cao hơn  nhiều bệnh về mắt hơn (gồm cả bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể)  giảm hệ thống miễn dịch ở con người  phá huỷ sự sống dưới nước và hệ sinh thái  gây thiệt hại cho nông nghiệp và các loài thực vật tự nhiên  tăng hiện tượng hiệu ứng nhà kính tự nhiên  thay đổi nhiệt độ của khí quyển. [...]... bệnh đục thuỷ tinh thể catastrophic (adj) : thảm hoạ, tai biến debate (v) : bàn luận, tranh cãi, suy nghĩ, cân nhắc detect (v) : khám phá ra, phát hiện diesel-propelled car (n) : xe chạy bằng động cơ đi-e-zen drift (v) : trôi dạt electric car (n) : xe (chạy bằng) điện environmental protection (n) : việc bảo vệ môi sinh food chain (n) : chuỗi thức ăn glacier (n) : sông băng hemisphere (n) : bán cầu... trôi nổi precipitation (n) : (lượng) mưa, tuyết radiate (v) : toả ra, phát ra rare (adj) : hiếm screen (v) : che, chắn shield (v) : bảo vệ trap (v) : giữ lại, không thoát ra được wasteland (n) : vùng đất hoang . Tiếng anh chuyên ngành Thổ nhưỡngvà Môi trường đất NXB Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 20 07. Tr 66 – 76 . Tài liệu trong Thư viện điện tử ĐH Khoa. đích học tập và nghiên cứu cá nhân. Nghiêm cấm mọi hình thức sao chép, in ấn phục vụ các mục đích khác nếu không được sự chấp thuận của nhà xuất bản và tác giả. Mục lục Unit 7 Human impact. độc hại và nó được xem như là một chất gây ô nhiễm nguy hại nếu như nó tồn tại gần mặt đất. Trên tầng bình lưu, ô- zôn thực hiện một chức năng rất quan trọng đối với cuộc sống trên trái đất. ở