GLOBAL WARMING

1. Complete the text with the missing words.

air cars chemicals chimneys dumps environmental farmers harmful

humans jams place planet plants pollute recycling rivers rubbish survives

THE STATE OF OUR PLANET

A lot of people think that our _______________________ is in a bad state. We don't look
after it. Here are four examples of _____________________________ problems in many
countries:

1 There are too many __________________ in city centres. They _____________________

the atmosphere. It's not even efficient to use a car: there are big traffic
____________________, and it's often impossible to find a parking
_____________________. Other ways of travelling are less _____________________ to
the environment.

2 We produce more and more ________________________. There are huge rubbish

____________________ in most cities. Astronauts can even see a dump near New York
City from space! A lot of the rubbish is plastic, and it ______________________ for years
and years. Some things like paper, plastic, cans and glass can be collected and used again.
This is called ________________________.

3 Factory ________________________ pollute the air. This affects birds, animals and
______________________. We all need to breathe clean __________________.

4 Many towns and factories are built near ___________________ so that they can use
water from the rivers. Industry often pollutes water with _____________________ because
dirty water is not cleaned before it is put back into rivers. Some ______________________
also use too many chemicals. These enter the rivers, lakes and seas. They kill the
_____________________ and fish. We should build more wastewater treatment plants.
(Touchstone, WB: class 9, p 124)

2. Complete the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle chart with missing words.

bags cans cardboard compost crafts bike food glass

less bulbs paper plastic rechargeable refillable water

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

Walk or ride a Use ________________ Recycle

___________ instead of water bottles. ________________
driving. containers.

Use energy efficient Use reusable shopping Recycle soda

________________ and ______________. __________________.
appliances.

Turn the ____________ off

when brushing your teeth. Use _______________ Recycle
batteries. ___________________ boxes
and paper.

Compost Use the back side of Recycle ________________

____________ to _______________. bottles and jars.
change it into rich soil.

Buy ________________. Reuse materials for _________________ leaves and yard

______________. waste.
3. Imagine you have a friend who is not very eco-friendly. Give him/her some advice by matching up the green
tips in column B with the eco-unfriendly behaviour in column A.

A – eco-unfriendly behaviours B – green tips

1 I always buy bottled water. _____ Buy drinks in returnable bottles.

2 I always buy drinks in cans. _____ Buy products with little
packaging.
3 I always take a plastic carrier bag from the supermarket. _____ Buy things that will last.
4 I always take baths. _____ Don’t leave them on. This wastes
5 I buy things that are cheap. electricity. Switch off lights when not in
use.
6 I don’t care if the things that I buy are overly packaged. _____ Don’t throw everything away.
Reuse old things or donate them.
7 I don’t turn taps off firmly. I let them drip. _____ Take showers not baths.
8 I leave lights on all the time. _____ This wastes water. Turn the taps
off firmly.
9 I leave the tap running when brushing my teeth. _____ Turn the water off when brushing
your teeth. This saves water.
10 I leave TVs or computers on stand-by. _____ Turn them off when you are not
using them. This saves energy.
11 I throw everything that I consider ‘rubbish’ into an ordinary bin. _____ Use a refillable water bottle.
12 I throw old things away. _____ Use energy-saving bulbs.
13 I use normal batteries. _____ Wait until there are enough
clothes to fill the washing machine.
14 I use normal bulbs. _____ Walk, or use a bike, for short
trips.
15 I use the car all the time. _____ You could install a rain barrel and
collect rain water for your garden.
16 I wash only a few clothes at a time. _____ You should recycle and sort your
family rubbish.
17 I water the garden with a hose. _____ You should shop with reusable
bags.
_____ You should use rechargeable
ones.

4. Watch the trailer for the film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Fill in the gaps.

If you look at the ten hottest years ever measured, they've all occurred in the last fourteen years. And the
(1)_________________________ was 2005. Scientific consensus is that we are causing global warming. I
am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States of America. This is Patagonia 75 years
ago, and (2) _________________________ today. This is Mount Kilimanjaro 30 years ago and last year.
(3) _________________________ there will be no more snows of Kilimanjaro. This is really not a political
issue, so much as a moral issue. (4) _________________________ are taking place all over the world …
and that's causing (5) _________________________ . This is the biggest crisis in the history of this
country. Early this morning (6) __________________ Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Is it possible that
we should prepare against (7) _________________________ besides terrorists? From Paramount
Classics comes a film that has shocked audiences everywhere they've seen it. The Arctic is experiencing
faster melting. If this were to go, (8) _________________________ would go up 20 feet. This is what
would happen in Florida … Around Shanghai, (9) _________________ 40 million people … The area
around Calcutta – 60 million … Here's Manhattan. The World Trade Center memorial would be under
water. Think of the impact of a couple of hundred thousand (10) _________________ , and then imagine a
hundred million. We have to (11)_________________________ to solve this global crisis. Our ability to live
is what is (12) _________________________.