1.

— Many people think that life was better in the past. The air was cleaner, the water was purer and life was safer.


— No wonder, because there are a lot of environmental problems nowadays. You only have to listen to TV news to realize that they are not solved.


— You are quite right! However, problems such as the hole in the ozone layer and acid rain often seem unimportant to us. It’s difficult to get upset about tropical forests on the other side of the planet.


— I can’t agree with you. Of course, we can’t see ozone holes, but the dangerous rays of the sun get through the atmosphere, causing skin cancer and other diseases. More and more often people are told not to be in direct sunlight.


— To tell the truth, air pollution seems to be much more serious problem. We pollute the air we breathe. Everyone can see smoke coming out of tall factory chimneys. Everyone can smell the gas from the back of a bus. In big cities the concentration of harmful substances in the air is rather high. This can also have disastrous consequences for our health.


— I am of the same opinion. Water pollution is another serious problem. Thousands of fish die every year because factories pour a lot of waste into rivers. If people drink polluted water, they may die too.


— What is more, the seas are also in danger. When I went with my parents to the seaside last summer, I was surprised that the water was not blue but brown with rubbish floating in it.


— But the most urgent environmental problem is nuclear pollution. I am against the use of nuclear energy. The waste products can last hundreds of years.


— And who is to blame for all these environmental problems?


— The answer is simple: all of us. The technological progress of the 20th century resulted in widespread mechanization, atomic powers stations, new roads and highways. But it cannot be denied that the price for rapid industrial development is very high.


— Should we reject the progress then?


— Never! But we must take control of the progress to give it a humanistic direction. We must take into consideration all the factors that people’s survival depends upon. The solution of the environmental problems requires the cooperation of all nations.


— Are you a Greenpeace supporter?


— Yes, I am. It’s a noble aim to keep the planet and cities clean. We want everybody to do his or her best in caring for all human beings and living creatures.


Fill in the gaps:


1. More and more often people are told not to be in direct _________

.


2. In big cities the concentration of harmful _________

in the air is rather high.


3. We must take into consideration all the factors that people’s ________

depends upon.

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