Choose any of the following ideas (or propose your own), find information and write an essay (150-250 words).

 

The artificial ecosystem: Myth or reality?

One of food chains.

The Ecosystem we live in.

Climate changes and the Biosphere.

 

 

Unit 13

Тема урока: Extinction of Species текст 1 Extinction текст 2 Grizzly Bear текст 3 Dinosaurs текст 4 Динозавры

 

 

Words

1.	invade	v. to go into a place in large numbers, especially when you are not wanted
2.	sight	n. the physical ability to see, vision
3.	consider	v. to think carefully about something, typically before making a decision
4.	willing	adj. someone who is eager to help etc and does not have to be persuaded
5.	sacrifice	n. the act of offering something to a god, especially in the past, by killing an animal or person in a religious ceremony
6.	inclination	n. a tendency to think or behave in a particular way
7.	deserve	v. to have earned something by good or bad actions or behaviour
8.	deliberate	adj. fully considered, not impulsive
9.	worthwhile	adj. if something is worthwhile, it is important or useful, or you gain something from it
10.	brink	n. the verge of a particular situation or action, typically one that is unwelcome
11.	sheer	adj. nothing other than, pure
12.	insatiable	adj. (of an appetite or desire) impossible to satisfy
13.	deprive	v. to prevent someone from having something, especially something that they need or should have
14.	appreciate	v. to understand how good or useful someone or something is
15.	reduction	n. the action or fact of making something smaller or less in amount, degree, or size
16.	precipitation	n. rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to or condenses on the ground
17.	alter	v. to change, or to make someone or something change
18.	trap	v. to catch someone or something by forcing them into a place from which they cannot escape
19.	illegal	adj. not allowed by the law
20.	exterminate	v. to destroy completely
21.	submerge	v. to cover something completely with water or another liquid

 

 

Working with words

Match A and B to make word combinations.

A	B
genetic	space
outer	resources
deliberate	variety
numerous	weapon
natural	situation
powerful	intent
current	opportunities

Word building.

noun	verb	adjective
		attributable
resourcefulness
inclination
	to ignore
expansion
	to pollute
		relative

94. 3.Explain the following words.

	to force smb to do smth
	to eliminate
	to deserve
	to appreciate
	deliberate
	trap
	to invade

 

Choose the correct word to complete the sentences.

survive original crops timber landscape intrude environment disappear island majority natural habitats

The ..................... of species facing extinction today are endangered because of destruction of ....................... habitats. Building roads, parking lots, and buildings; clearing forests to grow ....................... or graze domestic animals; and logging forests for .............................. all take their toll on natural habitats. Draining marshes converts aquatic ...................... to terrestrial ones, while building dams floods terrestrial habitats.

Most organisms require a particular type of ........................., and habitat destruction reduces their biological range and ability to ..........................

Humans often leave small, isolated patches of natural .......................... that are completely surrounded by roads, fields and buildings. Like a land mass that is surrounded by water, an isolated habitat is referred to as an .......................... Species from the " developed" landscape may ............................ into the island. As a result habitat fragments often support only a fraction of the species found in the ........................., unaltered environment. Such fraction may occur in greatly reduced number or even ...................... altogether.

 

Working with words and word combinations

Give English equivalents of the following word combinations.

Значительно ускорить, вторгаться в область, в настоящий момент, исследовать глубины, производство оружия, приносить жертву, заслуживающий доверия, приложенные усилия, стоящий проект, привести на грань вымирания, ненасытный аппетит, столкнуться с опасностью, уничтожение мест обитания, нарушение природного баланса, полностью оценить, нестабильность экосистем, неиспользованные возможности, стoлкнуться с проблемой.

 

Define the following concepts.

Endangered species

Extinction

Introduction of species

Deforestation

Global warming

 

Make sure that you understand these verbs with prepositions and write sentences, incorporating them.

Contribute to, depend on, wipe out, to be caused by, to be driven to, differ from, to be aware of, to deprive of.

 

Translate into English.

Вымиранию подвержены группы разных размеров и разных рангов. Нам представляется полезным выделить пять уровней вымирания:

1) вымирание вида на большей части его ареала; 2) вымирание вида в целом; 3) вымирание филетических групп относительно низкого таксономического ранга, например родов или семейств; 4) вымирание групп высокого ранга, таких как отряды и классы: 5) массовое вымирание, охватывающее много разных групп в данную эпоху.

Мы можем установить причину вымирания, если она представляет собой прямое или косвенное следствие деятельности человека в историческое время. Известно, например, что странствующий голубь, бескрылая гагара и многие другие виды птиц, а также бизон на большей части своего некогда обширного ареала вымерли по вине человека.

 

Working with texts

Read and translate the text.

Text 1

Extinction

A

Extinction, the death of species, occurs when the last individual member of a species dies. A natural biological process, extinction has been greatly accelerated by human activities. The increasing human population has forced us to spread into almost all areas of Earth. Wherever humans invade an area, the habitats of many plants and animals are disrupted or destroyed, which can contribute to their extinction.

B

Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms and of the ecosystems in which they live. Biodiversity includes the number of different species, the genetic variety within a species, and the variety of interactions within and among ecosystems.

Biodiversity is currently decreasing at an alarming rate. It is likely that thousands of species will be eliminated within the next few decades. As many as one –fourth of Earth`s plant families may be extinct by the end of the 21^st century. And countless animal species, that depend on those plants for food and habitat will probably also become extinct.

C

There have been periods of mass extinction, such as that which wiped out the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous era, 65 million years ago. But the current situation differs from the previous periods in several respects. First, its case is directly attributable to human activities. Second, it is occuring in a tremendously compressed period of time.

D

As we all know, our resourcefulness has enabled us to construct massive industrial and educational centers, explore the depths of Earth’s oceans and the mysteries of outer space, and manufacture weapons powerful enough to make all species including ourselves on the planet extinct. Unfortunately, we have been so busy with our own interests that we have lost sight of the fact that we might consider sharing some of Earth’s resources with other species.

The key question is whether or not we have taken this problem seriously yet. We are fairly well aware of how we have polluted our environment, but at least that’s a trend that can be reversed if we are willing to make the sacrifices needed to clean up the air and waterways we have dirtied.

E

Interestingly, man has shown an inclination toward preserving some of

Earth’s more charismatic creatures such as whales, polar bears, chimpanzees and bald eagles in recent years, and he deserves credit for the exceptional efforts involved. The problem, however, is that while the attention was focused on such worth-while projects, it’s probable that several thousand other species disappeared during that time.

Relatively few creatures are facing dangers because of the activities of persons with direct or deliberate intent to kill them. Instead, species are being eliminated through the activity of many millions of people who are unaware of the “spill-over” consequences of their complex lifestyles. Thus, we can say that while we are not deliberately destroying our world, it’s also a fact that we have made it virtually impossible for some species to co-exist with us.

F

Species become endangered and extinct for a variety of reasons, including the destruction or modification of habitats and the production of pollution. Humans also upset the natural balance by introducing new, exotic species or by controlling native pests or predators. Illegal hunting and uncontrolled commercial harvesting are also factors.

Organisms are important natural resources that are not fully appreciated. The current reduction in biodiversity caused by extinction of many species results in the increased instability of ecosystems and in lost opportunities and lost solutions to future problems.

The world`s forests provide many environmental services as well as commercially important timber and numerous recreational opportunities. The greatest problem facing forests today is deforestation, the temporary or permanent removal of forests.

Production of atmospheric pollutants that trap solar heat in the atmosphere will probably heavily affect Earth`s climate in the nearest future. Global warming and the accompanying changes in precipitation patterns could alter food production, destroy forests, reduce biological diversity, and submerge coastal areas

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