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If this post asked you to quickly analyse your
relationship with consumption, what would you have to say about how much of
what you need you buy in one shopping? Do you splash out on whims? While
thinking hard about what makes people (that is, Athenians) happy, Aristotle
realised that happiness had to do [then – as I tend to believe it still does
now, 2,500 years later] with living among people who do not have more than you.
This shifts the reference from a real feeling of happiness for what one is and has to happiness – or sadness, for that matter – by comparison.
There is no denying that
Darwin’s theory on the origin of species, and on the descent of man marked a
turning point in the development of science and its physical branches. But
there is a long way away from the publication of his ground-breaking theory
(1859) and the cultural civilization as some of the earth-dwellers experience
today.
As usual, I expect that you, too, have an opinion about what is happening around you; it's all down to taking a stance, even if the voice you use sounds more like a whisper! You're not alone.
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PLANET EARTH IS 4,600 MILLION YEARS OLD
[adapted from New Success at First
Certificate,
by Robert O’Neill, Michael Duckworth & Kathy Gude - workbook]
It is difficult for us to think about such an enormous length of time,
but if we simplify it into an understandable idea, we can compare the planet
Earth to a person of forty-six years of age.
Nothing is known about the first seven years of this person's life, and
very little information exists about the middle period; we know that it was only
at the age of forty-two that Earth began to flower.
Dinosaurs and great reptiles did not appear until one year ago, when the
planet was forty five. Mammals arrived only eight months ago; in the middle of
last week man-like apes became ape-like men, and at the weekend, the last Ice
Age covered Earth.
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Modern man has been around for four hours. During the last hour man
discovered agriculture. The Industrial Revolution began just a minute ago. During
those sixty seconds of biological time, Modern Man has made a rubbish tip of
Earth.
He has increased his numbers to terrible proportions, has caused the
death of hundreds of species of animals, has robbed and destroyed the planet in
his search for fuels; now he stands, like a violent, spoilt child, delighted
at the speed of his rise to power, on the edge of the final mass destruction
and of killing all the life which exists in the solar system.
A.
Choose the
best answer.
1.
The passage
tells us that
A a great deal is known about how Earth was created.
B life on Earth began relatively recently.
C more is known about the earlier part of Earth's life than the middle
part.
D scientists are well-informed about the middle part of Earth's life.
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| Michelangelo's Adam and Eve (Google Images) |
2.
We are
informed by the author that
A the dinosaurs appeared during the middle period.
B mammals and great reptiles appeared at the same time.
C there were more than forty-five kinds of great reptiles.
D ape-like men appeared before the last Ice Age.
3. The author is
mainly interested in
A the time when man first evolved from apes.
B what has happened since the
Industrial Revolution.
C the effects of farming.
D the period before the last Ice Age.
4. It would appear
that the main danger ahead is that
A man will destroy everything on Earth.
B man will use up all the fuels.
C there will be a population explosion.
D more species of animals may die out.
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B.
Read the
following passage from a publicity letter
and answer the questions.
OZONE LAYER Ozone-damaging gases such as CFCs, which are used in
aerosols, packaging, building and refrigeration materials, should no longer be
used.
Our fight to persuade people to help save the ozone layer is now really
beginning to work.
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TROPICAL RAINFORESTS Rainforests are being rapidly destroyed. Friends of the Earth is leading the
fight to stop the trade in hardwoods and end forest destruction.
WATER POLLUTION Much of our drinking water still does not come up to
acceptable standards, and too many of our rivers are polluted with chemicals
and sewage.
We lead the fight to clean up Britain's drinking water and stop water
pollution.
SAFE ENERGY Friends of the Earth believes in safe energy policies
and energy-saving measures. Nuclear power is dangerous and expensive – and
produces radioactive waste which lasts for centuries.
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GREENHOUSE EFFECT Global warming, caused by changes in the atmosphere,
will bring climate changes and sea-level rises in coming years. We are
demanding immediate world-wide action – including sensible energy, forestry and
industrial policies – to limit the danger.
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Say if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1.
CFC gases
are found in some building materials. T/F
2.
The
government has forbidden all packaging materials that contain ozone-damaging
gases. T/F
3.
None of the
drinking water in Britain meets acceptable standards. T/F
4.
All
Britain's rivers are polluted with sewage. T/F
5.
Car exhaust
fumes are partly responsible for acid rain. T/F
6.
Stopping the
trade in hardwoods would help end the damage to rain forests. T/F
7.
Friends of the Earth says it is not in favour of nuclear power stations. T/F
8. The level of the sea will rise as a result of the
greenhouse effect. T/F
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Now read the passage again and find a word or phrase that means:
1. the part of the atmosphere being damaged by CFC gases;
2. made dirty;
3. the water and other waste from bathrooms and toilets;
4. the gases from car engines;
5. a large wood in a tropical country;
6. the kind of power made by using
atomic reactions;
7. unwanted material;
8. a building made of glass;
9. relating to the whole world (two
words).
A. 1. B – 2. D – 3. B – 4. A
B. 1 T – 2 F -3 F – 4. F – 5. T – 6 T – 7. T – 8.T
C.
1. Ozone layer – 2. Polluted – 3. Sewage – 4. Exhaust – 5. Rainforest – 6. Nuclear power – 7. Waste – 8. Greenhouse
– 9. World-wide
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