The advantages of computers

It is difficult to imagine a world without computers. We use them in almost every area of our lives: at work, at school, and in our homes.

Computers have brought many advantages. They make it possible to access huge amounts of information very quickly and do complicated tasks in a short time. Instead of waiting inside a bank to get money from our bank accounts, we can use machines in the street 24 hours a day. People can communicate with each other instantly by email, and you can buy almost anything on the Internet without having to leave your home. Many people now work from home using a computer, and use the computer in their leisure time for playing computer games or just surfing the net. They think that life would be dull without computers.

1) What are the advantages of computers?

2) What role does the computer play in your life?

3) What do you usually do on your computer?

4) How often do you use it?

Задание 8. Прочитайте текст и расскажите о проблемах, которые у вас иногда возникают во время работы на компьютере.

This morning I went to the school library, switched on the computer, entered my password, and waited for the machine to start up! I clicked on an icon and opened the file that I wanted to work on. I spent two hours writing an essay. Just as I was about to save my data, the hard disc made a horrible noise, the screen froze, the machine crashed, and I lost all my work. The essay I had been writing was called “The benefits of modern technology”!

ТЕМА 11. ENVIRONMENT

Задание 1. Прочитайте тексты и ответьте на вопросы.

Pollution and the envirinment

People are more worried about the environment (the air, water, and land around us) as a result of the harmful effects of human activity. Some of these activities cause pollution (dirty air, land or water) and some are destroying the environment. Here are some of the problems:

1) the ozone layer: a layer of gases which stop harmful radiation from the sun reaching the earth; recent researches show that there is now a hole in parts of the ozone layers;

2) global warming: an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in carbon dioxide;

3) acid rain: rain that contains dangerous chemicals; this is caused by smoke from factories.

Because of these problems, there are many groups of people whose aim is conservation (the protection of natural things, e.g. plants and animals). They are often referred to as greens, e.g. ‘Greenpeace’ and ‘Friends of the Earth’.

Common causes of damage are smoke from factories, car exhaust fumes, dumping (throwing away) industrial waste in seas and rivers, aerosol cans (usually called sprays), cutting down tropical rainforests (e.g. the Amazon) which increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

If we want to look after the environment, there are certain things we should do. We should recycle paper, bottles and clothes; save, keep and protect tropical rainforests; plant more trees; save water and energy.

1) Why are people worried about the environment?

2) What is pollution?

3) What are the major environmental problems?

4) What causes damage to the environment?

5) What is conservation?

6) What should we do to protect the environment?

Задание 2. Прочитайте тексты и ответьте на вопросы.

The Greenhouse effect

Pollution from cars, factories, and power stations is causing harmful greenhouse gases to build up in the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping, and as a result our planet is getting warmer. This process is known as global warming.

Global warming is causing the ice at the North and South Poles to melt and sea levels and sea temperatures to rise, leading to serious flooding and violent storms in many parts of the world. In other places, there will be less rain and the land will be turned into desert.

Pollution from cars

The biggest polluter today is the car. Exhaust fumes are the main cause of poor air quality, which can make people feel ill and have difficulty in breathing. This problem is especially bad in cities, where the number of cars is increasing every year, causing serious congestion and filling the air with smog.

Governments try to improve the situation by encouraging people to use their cars less or buy cars that do not use as much fuel.