Unit8

GreenLivingReadingclub2Toreadandunderstandalongertextonenvironmentaltreats.Toreadfordetailandanswerquestions.Toansweracriticalthinkingquestion.LearningobjectivesIn

manyways,lifehasbecomefarmorecomfortableandconvenientin

the

past

few

decades.

However,thishascomeatahugecosttotheenvironment.Here,welookatthreeofthemostseriousenvironmentalproblemswearecurrentlyfacing.Lead-inAirPollutionGlobalWarmingOverflowingLandfillsDiscusstheenvironmentalproblemsandmakenotesonthesethreepoints:Cause–Effect-SolutionAirPollutionThemaincauseofairpollutionistheburningoffossilfuels1byvehiclesandpowerplants.Otherhumanactivities，suchasconstructionandtheburningofwaste，alsocontributetoairpollution.NOTES1

fossilfuel化石燃料While-readingTheeffectsonourhealthcanbeveryserious.AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganisation，2.4millionpeopledieannuallyfromcausesdirectlyrelatedtoairpollution.Youngchildren，theelderlyandpeoplewithheartandlungproblemssufferthemostasaresultofthisenvironmentalproblem.NOTES1

fossilfuel化石燃料While-readingYoucaneasilycontributetoreducingairpollutionbyonlyusingacartomakejourneyswhenit′sabsolutelynecessary.Ifitisn′t,tryusingpublictransportinstead.NOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料While-readingGlobalWarmingGlobalwarmingistheincreaseinthetemperatureoftheEarth′snear-surfaceairandoceans.It′scausedbythebuild-upofcarbondioxide2andotherpollutants3intheatmosphere.ThesetraptheSun′sheatandwarmuptheplanet.NOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物NOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物Overthepast100years，averagetemperaturesaroundtheworldhaverisenbybetween0.5℃and1℃.Scientistspredictthattemperatureswillrisebyafurther1℃to3.5℃duringthe21stcentury.While-readingNOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物Globalwarminghasalreadycausedawiderangeofproblems.Sealevelsarerisingduetothemeltingofpolaricesheets.Countriesaroundtheworldhavefacedextremeweatherconditions，suchashurricanes，floodsandheatwaves.While-readingNOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物Forexample，thesouthofFranceandnorthernItalyexperiencedextremelyheavyrainand1,000km/hwindsinNovember2016.Over200mmofrainfellinjustonenight.ThisresultedinthefloodingoftheRiverPonearTurininItaly.While-readingNOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物OverflowingLandfillsLandfillsareusedforwastedisposalinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.However，duetotheamountofwasteourlifestylesproduce，theselandfillsarenowreachingfullcapacity4.Whenthishappens，thechancesofdangerouschemicalsinthewasteenteringourwatersupplyincrease.4capacityn.容量NOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物4capacityn.容量5exponentiallyadv.以指數方式TheamountofwasteinlandfillsinChinahasrisenexponentially5overthelastdecade.In2005，forinstance，landfillsinShanghaicontainedalittleover6.2milliontonnesofwaste，buttheynowcontain7.9milliontonnes－anincreaseofnearly30%.While-readingNOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物4capacityn.容量5exponentiallyadv.以指數方式InHongKong，itispredictedthatthethreeexistinglandfillswillbefullwithinthenextdecade.Thegovernmentisnowtryingtofindalternativewastedisposalmethods.Somecities，suchasBeijingandShanghai，amongothers，areleadingthewayandhavepromisedtosend“zerowastetolandfill”by2025.While-readingNOTES1fossilfuel化石燃料2carbondioxide二氧化碳3pollutantn.污染物4capacityn.容量5exponentiallyadv.以指數方式ApartfromthethreeRs(Reduce,ReuseandRecycle),someexpertshavebegunadvocatingthefourthR-ResponsibilityTheybelievethat,althoughrecyclingwasteiseffective，themosteffectivewayofsolvingtheproblemofoverflowinglandfillsistoencouragepeopletotakeresponsibilityforreducingthewastetheyproducethemselves.While-readingReadthetexts.Answerthequestions.1Whatarethecausesandeffectsofairpollution?2Whatisglobalwarmingandhowdoesitaffectourplanet?3Whatarelandfillsandwhyaretheybecomingaseriousproblem?4Whatarethepossiblesolutionstotheseenvironmentalproblems?While-reading1Whatarethecausesandeffectsofairpollution?Thecausesofairpollutionare：theburningoffossilfuels，construction，theburningofwaste.Theeffectsofairpollution：are

serioushealthproblemsanddeaths.While-reading2Whatisglobalwarmingandhowdoesitaffectourplanet?GlobalwarmingistheincreaseinthetemperatureoftheEarth′snear-surfaceairandoceans.Itaffectsourplanetinmanyways：sealevelsarerisingduetothemeltingofpolaricesheetsandcountriesaroundtheworldhavefacedextremeweatherconditions，suchashurricanes，floodsandheatwaves.While-reading3Whatarelandfillsandwhyaretheybecomingaseriousproblem?Landfillsarebigspacesoflandusedforwastedisposal.Theyarebecomingaseriousproblembe