The world we live in Use the information in the pamphlet and the verbs and prepositions given below to change the sentences from the active to the passive. HERE ARE JUST.SOME OF THE DANGERS FACING YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN. The water we drink The foodweeat The air we breathe —_The world we live in 1. Agricultural runoff is 3. Certain agricultural 5. Factories ore 7. The lack of rainfall contaminating the pesticides have releasing dangerous has created more: water supply. caused new ilnesses. chemicals. severe droughts. 2. Chlorine and other 4. Pollution from cars 6. Breathing smog 8. Global warming is # have ruined and trucks is every day has: threatening our forests st i destroying our crops. ny nd wildlife, Seige SIPS ea Join Save Our Planet Today (due to) + ______ (by} _____ (by) (because of) (by) __ (asa result of) - (through) a (by)‘A Complete the chart. contaminate contaminetion educate contribute pollution creation populate deplete protect destruction _ reduction B Write four sentences like the ones in Exercise 1 using words from the chart. Example: Many rivers and streams have been badly contaminated by industrial waste. aeN 8 Choose the correct words or phrases. 1. Green organizations are trying to save rain forests that have been threatened by developers and farmers. (created / ruined / threatened) 2. One way to inform the public about factories that pollute the environment is through programs on TV. (agricultural / educ: nal / industrial) 3. Inmany countries of the world, threatened animal and plant species are being by strict laws. (created / polluted / protected) 4, Agricultural pesticides are the soil in many countries. (damaging / eating up / lowering) 5. is an enormous problem in many large cities where whole families can only afford to live in one room. (pollution / poverty / waste) ElYunque rain forest 38 = Unit7How safe are your plastic cards? AQ Scan the first paragraph of this article about plastic cards. Why are more and more people using these cards? Can you think of any other reasons? It’s in the cards. radays, many people pay for things wit credit cards, Six billion cards are produced worldwide annually, and the number is increasing yearby year. Bill and coins ate gradually being replaced by “plastic money.” Banks ae issuing debit cards, and charge cardsare beng offered by many fypes of stores and businesses. People are now using plastic cards in supermarkets, at gas stations, and {or public transportation in many countries around the world In addition, cards that used to be made of paper are being replaced by plastic ones. For example, many ‘gym membership cards are now made of plastic How safe isthe plastic used to make these cards? Most cards are made from a plastic called polyviny! chloride (PVC). While PVC i being produced, harmful chemicals are released into the atmosphere. One of the most dangerous chemicals released is dioxin, which is known to cause cancer in humans. Another problem i that PVC cards are not biodegradable; in other words, when they are thrown away, they do not “break down’ and cannot be recycled. So, why is PVC stil being used to make credit cards? Over recent years, research has been done to try to find safer and biodegradable materials to produce plastic ‘money. However, none ofthe alternatives currently available is sustainable, and al of them are vary expensive. For instance, paper cards are more eco-riendly to produce ‘than PVC because they can be recycled. The problem is that they often do notlast until their expiration dates. ‘When they get wet, they biodegrade immediately, Paper cards, therefore, have tobe replaced frequently, which is expensive. Research has been done with cards made ‘of wood, but it’ dificult to make wood both exible and unbreakable. Some people have suagested metal, but ‘others say ts dangerous to put metal objects into electronic equipment Recently, a polylactic acd (PLA) has been suggested as a material for credit cards. t's abio-based polymer made from com. In 2008, three Japanese companies Mitsubishi Plastic, Dai Nippon Printing, and Sony — announced the development of the fist creditcard made from natural sources approved for use by MasterCard Worldwide, a corporation that processes electronic payments However, many people complain that, ina world where lots of people are hungry, i's wrong to use a food crop and ‘tum it int plastic B Read the article. Check (V) the true statements. For statements that are false, write the true information. 1. ©) The plostic used in making most credit cards is fairly sofe. © Most plastic cards biodegrade over time. 3. ©) Paper cards are expensive because they biodegrade very easily. 4, ©) Research shows that wood and metal are good materials for making cards. 5. () Some companies have issued cards made of polylactic acid. 6. © There are no problems with these new cards The world we live in = 39ey Nouns beginning with over AA Match the nouns and definitions. Nouns Definitions 1. overbuilding 2 . putting something to a particular purpose too often se overcrowding __ catching so many fish that the population is depleted overflowing __ having too much of something to deal with having too many people or things to be contained; spilling ove overuse — 2. 3. 4, overfishing _ 5. having too many structures and homes in a certain area 6. ap an overburdened —__ having too many people or things ina contained area B Choose the correct noun from part A to complete each sentence. 1. Asaresult of we are losing more and more species as well as entire ecosystems. 2. In some major cities, the problem of isa result of too many skyscrapers and too little land area inside the city limits 3. Thereisan of fossil fuels when we should be looking for other natural sources of energy like wind and solar power. 4. City officials are trying to stop development in areas with roads and schools. 5. The best way to prevent the of our landfills is to have better and more efficient recycling programs. 6. Another way to help reduce the of our schools is to build more schools and hire more teachers.Complete the conversations. Use the expressions in the box and the information in the list. ‘One thing to do... The best way fo fight Another thing to do... One way to help... {% complain to the Parks Department about it create more government-funded jobs create more public housing projects educate young people about its dangers organize a public meeting to protest the threat to public property “} report it to the local newspaper donate money to charities that provide shelters and food A: Abig housing developer wants to build an apartment complex in Forest Hill Park. | think that’s terrible, but what can we do? One thing to do is to complain to the Parks Department about It That's a good idea. Personally, Im worried about drug trafficking It puts lots of children and young people at risk. | anew housing development? ‘You know, there's a lot of corruption in our city government. Yeah, the bad publicity might help to clean things up a bit. There are so many unemployed people in this city. | just don’t know what can be done about it What worries me most is the number of homeless people on the streets. The world we live in # 41wel Complete the sentences using the present continuous passive or the present perfect passive. Then suggest a solution to each problem. 1. Prices have been raleed. (raise) a lot in recent years, (One way to deal with inflation 's to stop paying raises 2. These days, a lot of endangered animals (ki by hunters and poachers, The best way to stop this practice 3. During the past few years, lots of trees (destro by acid rain. One thing to do about it 4, Underground water (contaminat by agricultural pesticides. The best way to deal with the problem 5, Too many young people's lives (ui through the use of illegal drugs. The best way to fight drug traffickers Write two paragraphs about a charity, an organization that helps people. In the first paragraph, describe what the charity does. In the second paragraph, explain why you think the charity is useful. ‘A good charity in my city is Shelter. This organization works to reduce the number of homeless people on our streets, Shelter believes the best way to do this is to... Shelter is my favorite charity because homelessness is, in my opinion, the greatest problem facing my city. Many people cannot find jobs, and 42 = Unit7