Exercises

1.Puttheverbsinthebracketsintothecorrecttense(PastPerfect
SimpleorPastPerfectContinuous):
. a)Theyreadthereportforanhour.Whenthemanagerfoundthem,
they(toread)hadbeenreading.
. b)Wefinishedlisteningtothepresentation.Bythetimeyoucame,we
(tofinish)hadfinished.
. c)Thewholecrewworkedfortwohours.WhenIarrivedatBucharest,
thewholecrew(towork)hadbeenworking.
. d)Manyofthepeopleleft.Beforetheconferencebegan,manyofthe
people(toleave)hadleft.
. e)Itsnowedinthemountains.Whenwewentonholidayinthe
mountains,it(tosnow)hadsnowed.
. f)TheArtteacher(todraw)hasbeendrawingpostersfortwohoursby
sixoclock.
. g)TheSpaniardsexploredCalifornia.BythetimetheEnglishcolonists
came,theSpaniards(toexplore)hadexplored.
. h)Tomwaitedforhalfanhour.Whenthetrainarrived,Tom(to
wait)hasbeenwaiting.
. i)Istartedstudyingthelesson.Bythetimeyourangmeup,I(to
start)hadstarted.
. j)SincethefoundingofthefirstcoloniesinNorthAmerica,the
population(tomove)hadbeenmovingconstantlywestwards.
 2.Correctthemistakeswithinthefollowingsentences:
. a)TheSmithswere(hadbeen)livinginBucharestfortenyearswhen
wemetthem.
. b)Peterlearnedtoswimbeforehehadgonetotheseaside.
. c)Theenvironmentalagencyhadreleasedareportafterholdinga
generalassemblyreunion.
. d)Mr.Milleris(hasbeen)workinginagarageforfiveyearswhenI
firstmethim.
. e)Ihadbeen(was)doingmyhomeworkandIwasjustfinishingitwhen
thelightshadgoneout.
. f)In1970,MrMartinsonhasnt(hadnt)boughtacaryet.
. g)Laurawaswetthroughbecauseshehas(had)beenoutintherain.
. h)Jimmyhadablackeyebecausehewasfighting(fought)withthe
otherboys.
. i)IfitWasntitforthatmeeting,wewouldnthavehadtheopportunity
toexpressouropinions.
. j)Theenvironmentalprojectwassubmittedtothecommitteebeforethe
lawconcerningtheCO2emissions(had)passedthrough.
3.TranslateintoEnglish:

Schimbareaclimei
Climaexerseazaoinfluentaenormaasupranaturiisiasupravietii
noastre,determinainmaremasurafaunasifloradepretutindeni,
cantitateadeapadulce,plantatiile,sichiarsiculturasimediilede
viatadinfiecarecoltallumii.
ncadeacum20anioameniidestiintaauavertizatcatemperatura
planeteinoastrecrestedatoritaactivitatiiindustriale,sicaacest
faptprovoacaschimbarialeclimeiTerrei.
Temperaturamedieglobalaasuprafeteiterestreacrescutdela0,4
la0,8oC,fatadesecolulprecedent,iarceimaicaldurosi6anisau
nregistratinanii90.Stimcaclimaesteunsistemcomplexsi
schimbatordecirculatieaaeruluidinatmosferasimaistimcan
secoleletrecutedifereamultdemomentulprezent;deexemplu
acum10.000deanitemperaturamedieglobalaerade4pnala
5oCmaimicadectceaactuala.Asanctnuesteonoutatefaptul
caclimaseschimba,insaproblemamaigravaestecaseschimba
attderepedenctomenireanusepoateadapta.

Climateexchange
Climatepracticesabiginfluenceuponthenatureandourlife,itlargelydeterminesthe
faunaandflorafromeverywhere,thefreshwaterquantity,plantations,andevenculture
andenvironmentfromeverycorneroftheworld.
Since20yearsagoscientistshadbeenwarningusthatthetemperatureofourplanetwill
riseduetoindustrialactivity,andthisfactcouldchangectheclimateofTerra.
Theaverageglobaltemperatureattheterrestrialsurfacerisedfrom0,4to0,8C,sincelast
sentury,andthehottest6yearswereregisteredinthe90s.Weknowthattheclimateisa
somplexsystemandcaninfluencethecirculationofairintheatmosphere,andwealso
knowthatinthelastsenturiesitwasdifferentfromnow;forexample10.000yearsagothe
globaltemperaturewas4to5Clowerthantheactualone.Soitisnotanewthingthatthe
 climateischanging,butthebiggestproblemisthattheclimateischangingsofast,people
cannotadapttoit.

1Debateupon:
. a)Conceiveaphoneconversationwiththeheadofanenvironmental
agency,whomyoutrytopersuadeabouttheimportanceofan
environmentaldisaster.Thenwritealettertothemonthesametopic.
Him: Hello
Me: Hello,sir Big X CEO of Plant Industries?
Him:Yes thats me,how may I help you?
Me:My name is Big Y ,I am CEO of Future Invest and I would like to have with
you a 5 minute conversation about an offer ,our corporation would like to
make to you,are you interested?
Him:Ok,sounds good to me,what would be that offer you are talking about
sir?
Me:First of all I am glad that you accept to listen my words,which I think it
would change your vision about nature and not only this.So,I am not sure
that you know about the problem this city has with the waste disposal at the
moment
Him:Actually I do and it concerns me very bad,because my company is
suffering from it.
Me:This is good because we can work together and we can solve this.I think
you have a big problem with your plants around the city ,because they are
dying due to the pollution created by misplaced garbage .
Him:Indeed,I am always struggling to find a solution to this.
Me:Awesome,as I said before this garbage can create big problems for the
society and your plants,so if we do not take action right now, in a not too
distant future this unrecycled material which is dropped everywhere by
people can create an epidemy and kill hundreds of citizens maybe more.
Him:You are totally right but for the moment my company has the money
and resources only for planting trees and plants. I was thinking about s
solution but, my possibilities are limited.
Me:I understand and this is the real reason I called you,as you may know my
company invests in projects that prove to save lives,so I will help your
company research and create solutions to solve this issue.After all we all
want a better world,without thinking of dangers that can compromise our
future.
Him:This is the best news I heard in a long time sir,I would be glad to accept
your offer.
Me:Awesome sir,this is great,I will right to you a letter letting you know how
much the project has advanced and I hope everything will be alright.
 Him:Everything will be fine for sure,hope to hear from you soon,have a nice
day!
Me:Have a nice day !!

Big X is CEO of Plant Industries-company which plants trees for aestetichs of

the city and purify the air
Big Y CEO of Future Invest-company which promotes sustainable
development
Characters are fake identities created on a Sunday morning,and the story
may seem to be lamesorry !

. b)Ifyouwereanenvironmentalist,whatdoyouthinkwouldbethebest
waytoconvincestudentsthatthethingsyouteachareimportantfor
them?
If I were to be an environmentalist I would know that everyone is
preoccupied by the environment only by talking about the proplems but in
the real life no one would like to take action.So based on my experience as a
student,I will put myself into a teachers place and say that the best way to
convince the students that what I say is important is to show them
practically what happens if they do not care about the environment,with real
life examples with lots of practice so they can appreciate the nature.

c)DoyouhappentoknowaRomaniancompanyhavingthesameobject
ofactivityastheoneinthetext?Whicharethesimilaritiesandthe
differencesbetweenthem?

This exercise can be solved by simply saying no,I do not know and thats
it,but lets be real even if I do not know,the pupropse of the exercise is not to
verify my honesty.So even if I am not in touch or do not know any company
in Romania that has the same project of activity I will try to come up with
something.
The company presented in the text above seems to be much more
technologically and scientifically developed besides the ones that are in
Romania at the moment.For example lets think about Urban SRL a company
which is responsible with waste disposal. In essence this company clears the
soil and the urban area but,thats that.The company described in the text
seems to be like a spaceship from Star Trek or something,they are analyzing
the contaminated soil with x-rays and they wash it,remediate it,and they
even have a 10-ton /hour chemical extraction plant.I do not think in the
nearest future some company from Romania will have something like this.
The biggest improvement I heard about at news these days was that some
 waste desposal companies installed some devices that process and use the
disposed christmass trees as heating fuel and some of them are used as a
fertilizer,I think they mean that they are chopping the x-mass trees and burn
them,which is not so advanced.
Saying this the similarities are far from existing and the differences are
big,unfortunately.

. d)Wastedisposalrepresentsarathercostlyactivity.Takinginto
accountyourprofessionalexperience,imagineamoreeffectiveand
cheaperstrategy.
Waste disposal it is a costly activity indeed,but I think there always should be
a more efficient way of doing everything in this world. Lets think about the
process that involves waste disposal. First the citizen has to collet the
waste,take it to the dumbster,then the company sends its trucks regularly to
collect the garbage.For this you have to pay for trucks fuel and 3-4 persons
that work on that truck.
I think it would be easier if all the waste would be placed in a single large
container rather than smaller ones,so the waste collecting trucks can be
modified to carry the whole container.The modified truck comes at the
collecting point with an empty container and switches it with the full
one.Then it goes to the factory where everything is deposited on a conveyor
belt.Now we have 4 materials we need to separate, paper glass metal and
plastic.Above the conveyor belt will be a powerfull magnet that separates
metal from the rest of the waste,the conveyor belt will have vibrations so the
glass will brake and fall on to another conveyor belt.As well as having
vitrabtion the conveyor will have showers so the paper will melt and
separate from plastic which remains on the conveyor to be transported for
recycling.The trucks engine will be replaced with an electrical one,so
pollution will not be a problem,and the container will always be ermetically
sealed, the only time it will open will be for citizens to throw the waste inside
it,so the bad smell will not be a problem.
It seems a little SF but it is an idea which I think will be much more cost
effective in long term because you remove some payments to the
workers,now being only the truck driver,the sorting is more efficient so the
energy required is less than before,the electrical engine of the truck is more
economical than the petrol one,and a lot of new upgrades which may
contribute to a more cost effective waste disposal strategy.

. e)Drawareport(15lines)concerningthelevelofsoilpollutioninyour
area.
As anywhere in the world I think in my area the soil is polluted as well,but I
think there are areas where the pollution is greater than it is here in my
town.I am thinking about the much more poorer places of the world where
animals and humans have to carve their way through garbage so it is
obvious that there the soil is infected . I am looking outside through my
windows and I can see green spaces,clean streets and spots with colorful
frlowers. I think in my opinion this means there is a clean soil,a healthy soil,if
the soil was polluted I am not so sure if the vegetal life would have been
present. I also think this is thanks to the waste desposal efficient
management,because I can see that the streets are not covered in garbage
and people seems to care about this.
So as a conclusion I think the soil in my area is in a very good state but this
is only an opinion of someone who sees it from the outside,fact that can be
deceiving ,I do not run soil test to see the actual health level,but I am also
sure that there are plces in this world in a far worst state that here where I
live.