Global warming

What is Global Warming?

Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. This is a type of greenhouse effect.

The earth’s atmosphere is all around us.
It is the air that we breathe.

Sunlight enters the Earth’s atmosphere,
passing through the blanket of greenhouse gases.

As it reaches the earth’s surface, the land
and water absorbs the sunlight’s energy.

Once absorbed, the energy is sent back into the
atmosphere in the form of infra-red rays.

Some of the energy passes back into space, but much of it remains trapped in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases, causing our globe (earth) to warm up.

This warming is what we call Global Warming, and it is caused by the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is important. Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would not be warm enough for humans to live. But if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, it could make the earth warmer than usual. Even a little extra warming of the earth may cause problems for humans, plants and animals.

Pollution and the environment - word formation

Word formation
Complete these sentences using the word on the right. The word has to be changed into the correct form. The first one has been done for you.

1. Smoke from factories is polluting the atmosphere.      POLLUTION
2. This is one of many                      problems.                          ENVIRONMENT
3. Pollution is very                      to people's health.               HARM
4. Fortunately there are now many                      groups.    CONSERVE
5. Their aim is the                      of all natural things.             PROTECT
6. Pollution is                      the environment.                           DESTROY
7. The effects of radiation can be very                     .             DAMAGE
8.                       waste is a big problem.                                        INDUSTRY


Answers below!

Where are the rainforests? - FCE gap fill

Here is a gap-fill exercise from First Certificate in English (FCE).

There are fifteen gaps in the text. The most common grammatical words that are removed from the text are:

• prepositions (e.g. on, in, to)

• quantifiers (e.g. little, few)

• auxiliary verbs (e.g. do, are, have)

• determiners (e.g. the, most, another)

• relative pronouns (e.g. whom, who, where)

• possessive adjectives (e.g. my, his, their)

Read the following text and fill in the gaps with an appropriate word.

Where are the rainforests?

Rainforests once occupied almost all the land around the Equator, (1)                      there is hot sun and rainfall almost every day. In these hot, wet areas, trees and (2)                                 kinds of vegetation grow fast, feeding massive numbers (3)                             insects and animals.

Until recently, the rainforests filled river valleys in warmer countries (4)                  Australia. They climbed hillsides of great mountain chains (5)                           as the South American Andes, and covered islands (6)                      Borneo to the West Indies.

In West Africa, the rainforests cover (7)                     wide strip of the coast from Sierra Leone to Gabon. In the last century these forests (8)                       mostly uninhabited. The Europeans arrived and soon began chopping (9)                the trees for timber and to make way for massive plantations of cocoa, peanuts and cotton.

Today, two thirds of the West African forests (10)                            gone. But elsewhere in Central Africa it (11)                                       still possible to find huge undisturbed forests. Nineteenth century explorers along (12)                 River Zaire called Africa the 'dark continent'. Even today (13)                                 are no roads in some places. The inhabitants include pygmies, (14)                                     are trying to lead (15)                                     lives in harmony with the forest.

Adapted from First Certifiacate Gold, Langman 2000

Answers below!