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People have always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. With the development of crowded industrial cities the problem has become more important. The most serious environmental problems are pollution in its many forms (water pollution, air pollution, nuclear pollution), noise from cars, buses, planes, destruction of wildlife and others.
Air pollution is a very serious problem. One of the most alarming forms of air pollution is acid rain. Acid rain is killing forests. Seas, rivers and lakes suffer from this type of pollution.
One of the most important problems is depletion of the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The ozone layer is being damaged by chrolofluorocarbons. They are released by the daily use of industrial and household products, such as refrigerators, air conditioers and so on. Depletion of the ozone layer increases the risk of skin cancer, weakens the immune system of people.
The seas and oceans are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead, the North Sea is the following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. Many rivers and lakes are poisoned, too. Fish and reptiles can’t live in them. There is not enough oxygen in the water. It happens so because factories and plants produce a lot of waste and pour it into water.
Another problem is destruction of the tropical forest. It has a major impact on the world climate. The tropical rain forest is a natural protector for our planet. It recycles carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, helps determine temperature, rainfall and other climatic conditions.
An even greater environmental threat is nuclear power stations. Nuclear power stations can go wrong and cause nuclear disaster. This happened in Windscale in Britain, in Three Mile Island in the USA and in Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union. Nuclear pollution cannot be seen but its effects can be terrible.
To make air clean again we need good filters at nuclear power stations, at factories and plants and also in cars and buses.
Both clean water and clean air are necessary for our health. If people want to survive they must solve these problems quickly.
| environment- окружающая среда
protection -защита
pollution - загрязнение
crowded - переполненный
nuclear - ядерный
destruction - разрушение
wildlife- природа
acid rain - кислотный дождь
suffer from - страдать от
depletion - истощение
layer - слой
to protect - защищать
ultraviolet rays – ультрафиолетовые лучи
to damage – портить, наносить ущерб
chrolofluorocarbon - хлорфторуглеводы
to release - выбрасывать
to increase – увеличивать, возрастать
cancer - рак
to weaken - ослаблять
immune- иммунная
danger - опасность
poison - яд
waste - отходы
fertilizer - удобрение
pesticide - пестицид
brink – край, грань
extinction - вымирание
oxygen - кислород
to pour – лить, выливать
destruction - разрушение
major - большой
impact - влияние
to recycle - перерабатывать
carbon - углерод
nitrogen - азот
determine - определять
rainfall– количество осадков
threat - угроза
to cause – являться причиной, вызывать
disaster – бедствие, катастрофа
terrible - ужасный
health - здоровье
to survive - выживать
to solve - решать
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