Дополнительные материалы по английскому языку "ABC of Ecology" для 8 класса к учебнику О.В. Афанасьевой
методическая разработка по английскому языку (8 класс) на тему

Методическая разработка по английскому языку для 8 класса.

Автор: Зудилина Татьяна Ивановна, учитель английского языка МБОУ «СОШ №19» г. Владимира.

ABC of Ecology.

Vocabulary

Acid rain – when harmful gases from cars and power plants are released into the air and fall                    back to the Earth with rain and snow.

Atmosphere – the layer of gases surrounding the Earth another world of air.

Biodegradable – anything that eventually decomposes and becomes part of the Earth again, like paper or apple cores (junk like plastic), stays the same forever.

Black market – buying and selling things that have been obtained illegally (like skins, tucks, horns or other parts of protected animals).

Boycott – to refuse to buy something that was produced or caught in a harmful way (like shrimp collected in nets, killed turtles, or fur coats made from endangered animals).

Carbon dioxide – a gas produced when animals breathe out or any material containing carbon is burned; green plants need it to make food, but too much adds to the green house effect.

CFCs – short for chlorine fluorine carbons: gases used in refrigerators, fire extinguishers, air conditioners and plastic foam that damage the ozone layer.

Conservation – the wise use of the environment.

Compost – garbage that was once alive (like meat, leaves and flowers) that can be turned into fertilizer for our gardens.

Decompose – to rot or decay, to break down through chemical change into natural substance.

Ecology – the study of organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem – a community of plants and animals living together.

Endangered species – animals and plants in danger becoming extinct.

Environment – all the surroundings of an organism, including other living things, climate, air, water and soil.

Extinct – when animals and plants die out and are gone from the Earth forever (like dinosaurs).

Fertilizer – anything from compost to cow manure that helps plants grow.

Fossil fuels – fuels like coal oil and natural gas that were formed from plants and animals buried millions of years age.

Geothermal – using the energy from natural steam to produce electricity.

Global warming – an increase in the Earth’s temperature caused by a build up of «green house gases» in the atmosphere.

Green house effect – when gases from factories, electric power, plants and cars trap the sun’s heat and warm up the Earth.

Ground water – water that has seeped into the soil and collected in underground space, 90% of the world’s drinkable water.

Habitation – an area that provides an animal or plant with food, water, shelter and living space.

Landfill – a place where garbage is buried underground.

Organic – made up of plant or animal materials: «organic gardening» is using natural fertilizers or insecticides instead of chemicals.

Organism – any living thing.

Oxygen – a gas that makes up about 21% of the Earth’s atmosphere: all living things need it to survive.

Ozone layer – a layer of gas high in the sky which protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun that cause skin cancer and crop damage.

Poachers – people who catch fish or kill animals  illegally.

Pollutants – man made wastes that lower the quality of water and air.

Precycle – to refuse to buy things that can’t be reused like polystyrene foam containers and disposable diapers.

Rainforests – tropical evergreen woodlands that receive at least 100 inches of rain a year home to more than half the world’s plants and animals.

Renewable resource – a naturally occurring supply of something that doesn’t get used up like wind power or solar energy.

Sewage – solid and liquid wastes from bathtubs, toilets and sinks.

Solar energy – energy that comes from the sun.

Smog – icky brown air pollution that comes from cars and factories; it makes the air unsafe for people, animals and plants to breathe.

Solid waste – unwanted discarded material that doesn’t contain enough liquid to flow freely.

Threatened species – plants and animals that still exist in some places but have died out elsewhere.

Toxic – another word for poison.

Vog – what Hawahans call the smog that spews out of a volcano.

Waste water – water carrying dissolved or floating solids from homes, farms, business or industries.

AIR POLLUTION.

The old days. Until about 150 years ago the air was pure and clean – perfect for the people and animals of the Earth to breathe.

Factories. Then people started building factories. Those factories and many of the things they make like cars, put a lot of harmful gases into the air. Then people started driving cars, which added more pollution to the air.

Today. Today the air is so polluted in some places that it’s not always safe to breathe.

The brown stuff. Many cities around the world have air filled with a pollution called «smog». This is so strong in some places that the air which should be beautiful blue, actually looks brown.

Down with pollution. Polluted air is not only bad for people and animals but for trees and other plants, as well. And in some places it’s even damaging farmers’ crops – the food we eat. So it’s very important for us to  «clean up our act» and clean up the air we all breathe.

Everyone can help keep our air clean and safe. It’s even fun! You can plant a tree, ride your bike and even write a letter to a newspaper. For more ideas on how to clean up our air, keep reading.

ACID RAIN.

Up in the sky. When we look up, we see the clouds and the blue sky. But there are other things in the sky that we don’t see. Some of these are harmful to the Earth.

What happens. When power plants burn coal to make electricity and when cars burn gasoline, invisible gases are released into the air. Some of these gases can mix with water and make it acidic like lemon, juice or vinegar.

What can happen. Sometimes the gases get into rain clouds, where they get mixed in with rain or snow. Then the acid falls back to Earth with the rain or snow. This is called acid rain.

Bad news. Acid rain is extremely harmful to plants, rivers and lakes and the creatures that live in them. In some places it is killing forests. And it pollutes the water that animals and people need to drink.

Our mission. It’s very important for us to stop making acid rain. One good way to do that is to drive our cars less. Another good way is to save energy. The less energy we use, the less coal those plants will have to burn.

You and your family can save energy in lots of ways. Saving energy means saving the Earth.

DISAPPEARING ANIMALS.

The people boom. Every day there are more and more people living on Earth. All these people need room to live. So they move into places that are already homes for plants and animals. Forests are cut down, and wild areas are filled with houses and stores.

What happens. When people move into new land, the plants and animals that live there can become endangered – which means that because there’s no place for them to live, they begin to disappear. Some even become extinct – which means that they all die out, and are gone from the Earth forever.

What can happen. We enjoy pictures and stories about the dinosaurs which lived on the Earth many millions of years ago. They’re all extinct now. That could happen to elephants, zebras, redwood trees, frogs, butterflies, robins, or goldfish or either animals if we’re not careful.

Our mission. Let’s keep the Earth green and healthy and full of millions of wonderful creatures!

Can you help animals? Yes! To find out how, check out Preserving our oceans, rivers, lakes and streams, protecting animals and keeping the Earth green.

TOO MUCH GARBAGE!

Garbage away! When you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Once a week the garbage truck comes and it can be emptied and that’s the last you see of it. But what do you think happens to the garbage then? Does it just disappear? No way!

What happens. Almost all garbage is taken to a garbage dump, or landfill where the garbage truck empties it onto the ground. After the truck leaves a big tractor comes along and pushes dirt on top of the garbage. So, most of our garbage is just buried.

The big mess. Now we are making so much garbage that in many places there is not enough room to bury it all.

Our mission. We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make. Can we do it? You bet!

Here’s how. We can recycle (which means re-using materials instead of throwing them away) and precycle (which means not buying things that can’t be re-used like plastic wrapping and other packaging). If we recycle and precycle we will produce a lot less garbage and help keep our planet green!

Recycling and precycling projects can be lots of fun. To find out more about what you can do see Guarding Our Buried Treasures and Be a Paper-Saver.

WATER POLLUTION.

Water, water. The planet Earth is mostly water. Oceans cover the biggest part of it – and there are lakes, rivers, streams and even water underground. All life on Earth – from least bug to the biggest whale – depends on this water. It’s precious. But we’re not doing a very good job of keeping water clean. In many places the water has become polluted.

Rivers and lakes. Rivers and lakes are polluted by garbage or by poisonous chemicals which are dumped right into them.

Underground. Underground water can be polluted by gasoline or other harmful liquids that seep into the ground. Some fertilizers and pesticides used on farms or lawns leak down through the dirt, too.

The seas. The ocean which is a home to so much life has been used as a place to dump garbage and poisonous chemicals for a long time. It’s getting polluted too.

Our mission. We need to save our water, to keep it clean and healthy so people, plants and animals will always have some to drink. And so fish and other creatures will have a place to live.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

A greenhouse? A greenhouse is a building made of glass where you can grow flowers and other plants that need a lot of warmth.

How it works? The sun shines in through the glass and warms the greenhouse, and the roof and walls keep the heat from getting out.

Our greenhouse. The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of invisible gases (with names like carbon dioxide) that act just like a greenhouse. The sun shines in and the blanket of gases traps the heat like a roof keeping it close to the planet. That’s good – we can’t live without warmth.

What’s going on. Factories, electric power plants, and cars are making a lot of new gases. Even trees when they are cut down give off the gases! These new gases are trapping more and more of the sun’s heat. This is called the greenhouse effect or global warming.

What can happen. In the Earth’s temperature gets hotter by just a few degrees, it could change the weather all over the planet in big ways. Places that are warm would become too hot to live in, and places that are cold would become warm. The places that grow most of our food could get too hot to grow crops anymore.

Every kid can help stop the greenhouse effect by using less energy protecting and planting trees and by recycling so factories don’t need to work as hard making things. This look is full of tips on how to do it!

THE OZONE HOLE.

The ozone layer. Up in the sky, above the air we breathe, there’s a layer of gas called ozone. It helps us by blocking out rays from the sun that can harm our skin and by letting the rays that are good for us come through. We’re lucky to have the ozone to protect us.

What’s happening. Now the ozone layer is being damaged by gases that people have made. The gases are called CFCs and halons. They are used in refrigerators, fire extinguishers, air conditioners, plastic foam, and some other things.

How it happens. The CFCs float up to the top of the atmosphere where the layer of ozone is and eat up the ozone just like little Pac-Men.

Our mission. Scientists are very concerned about the ozone layer because a lot of it has gone away in just a few years. So, it’s very important that we learn to do something about it.