Nature: flora and fauna. Ecological problems. Environmental protection. Climate, weather. Natural disasters

Choose the correct option. People shouldn’t throw _______ in the streets.

Choose the correct option. Seas and oceans suffer from ______ pollution.

Choose the correct option. The rule “of 3 Rs” includes _____ .

Choose the correct option. _____ rain pollutes soil.

Choose the correct option. The next day Jane and her mum went to the park ______ than usual. Jane taped her picture onto a big rubbish bin and started picking up rubbish.

Choose the correct option. Banning cars ____ the city centre was a highly impractical decision.

Choose the correct option. The topics raised ____ the conference were relevant to the current ecological situation.

Choose the correct option. "I hope people won’t throw ______ rubbish here anymore.”

Match the headings (A-H) to extracts 1-7. Use each heading only once. There is one extra heading you do not need to use. A. Making it worthwhile В. A lucky rescue С. A terrible crime D. Neighbourhood pride works E. A suitable punishment F. Kid power G. Bad weather ahead H. Gone forever [1] Last Saturday a group of teenagers were seen doing their part to save the environment. Early in the morning, twenty young students from St Mark’s Secondary School in Granton set off by bus and headed for Brampton Forest — the forest that was partly destroyed in last year’s dreadful fire. Armed with small shovels and buckets of pine saplings, these teens were determined to show that they care about the future of their planet. At final count, the youngsters managed to plant over 2,000 young trees. We should all be proud of these hard-working young people. [2] The next time you go to your local supermarket take a minute to look and see if there is something different about it. The local council, supported by a government grant, has installed ten recycling machines in supermarkets in the area. The machines only work with returnable bottles, and when one is deposited in the machine the depositor receives ten pence for their effort. It is hoped that where concern for the environment has not persuaded people to recycle, money might. [3] 22-year-old Rowan Peters was sentenced to six months in prison yesterday at Carlisle Crown Court. Found guilty of an act of arson that resulted in the destruction of over 1,000 hectares of valuable woodland, Peters continued to proclaim his innocence. To most people gathered outside the court, Peters’ sentence was far too light and really counted as no more than a slap on the wrist for such an irresponsible and dangerous act. [4] Clydesdale Mews in the west of the city is sparkling this morning after a massive weekend clean-up by locals. Sick and tired of the rubbish littering their streets and parks, the people of the area, many of whom have lived there their whole lives, decided to get together to do something about it once and for all. Old and young alike turned out to participate in the clean-up. When asked about it, Mr Kline, an elderly resident, said, «Now, that’s the stuff. We have always loved the area, and after this weekend we have even more reason to do so. Everywhere is as neat as a pin, just like in the old days!» [5] Scientists have announced that a type of West African monkey, Miss Waldron’s red colobus, has probably become extinct. This large monkey is the first primate to vanish since the 19th century. Despite a series of searches conducted by anthropologists over a six-year period, no evidence of even one. Wildlife experts were unsurprised, as the last confirmed sighting of a Miss Waldron’s red colobus was over 20 years ago and it was listed as endangered back in 1988. [6] Hurricane winds ripped through areas of Florida yesterday, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage. Homeowners in the state complained to the media that the local meteorological office and weather stations had given them little time to prepare for the hurricane. An expert on climate change, Stan Wren, issued a harsh warning that yesterday’s hurricane was not simply a force of Mother Nature, but the product of man’s continuing disrespect for the environment. He went on to say that we should be prepared to expect more surprises in the future. [7] Concerned conservationist rushed to the mouth of St Stephen’s River late this afternoon after receiving reports that a young whale had beached itself. The desperate situation suddenly took a turn for the better when the water level began to rise and the whale managed, with the help of onlookers, to free itself and escape to deeper water. Once its sense of direction had returned, it turned and headed back out to sea. It seems that sometimes sonar signals from boats can confuse the young whales, and they become separated from their pod, or family group.

Read the text and mark the statements True (T), False (F) or Not Stated (NS). Terrible Twisters Tornadoes, also known as twisters, are the most violent storms on our planet. Tornadoes form when a warm wind meets a cold one. As the two winds move around each other, a funnel of spinning air forms. The faster it spins, the more powerful it becomes. At its base, a tornado can be from 100 metres to over 1 kilometre wide. The wider it is, the more destructive it can be. The most violent tornadoes have wind speeds of more than 400 kilometres an hour. As you can imagine, such a twister can destroy everything in its path. Tornadoes can pick up cars, houses and trains and put them down in the next street — or even in the next town. One tornado picked up a school house, turned it around, and then set it down backwards. In Russia, during one tornado, people were amazed to see money falling out of the sky. At least a thousand coins dropped from the clouds. The winds had removed the earth from a buried treasure, then picked up the coins. Once, a man from Texas opened the door of his house, and fell 10 metres to the ground! His house had already taken off. Luckily, the man remained alive. Most tornadoes last a few minutes, but some can last several hours. Such tornadoes are especially destructive. Some people think that you are safe from tornadoes if you are near rivers, lakes and mountains. How wrong they are! Tornadoes can go up 3,000-metre mountains, as well as across rivers and lakes. Tornadoes occur almost everywhere in the world, but the country that sees the strongest twisters is the United States of America. About 800 tornadoes hit the country every year. No two twisters are exactly alike. Each tornado has its own colour, sound and shape. Each tornado is filled with surprises because nobody can ever tell where it might go or what kinds of things it might do. This is why tornadoes are the most dangerous storms.