Put the sentences in the right order according to the text.
1) Measures must be taken against waste of water and pollution of water.
2) Water covers nearly three fourth of the Earth, most being sea water.
3) Water is the natural resource we all know very well.
4) Man’s activity accelerating the process of water pollution, the amount of fresh water available to use is decreasing rapidly.
5) Water is an unchanging and ever renewing resource, but its distribution on the surface of the globe varies greatly - there is either too little or too much water.
6) Ocean water evaporates into atmosphere leaving salts behind, and moves across the Earth as water vapor.
7) No natural resource on our planet has so many uses as water.
8) Our water needs are great and they continue to grow.
Finish the sentences.
1) Water is a natural resource…
2) We know its many forms…
3) Water covers nearly…
4) But seawater contains…
5) Still, it is from the salty seas and oceans that…
6) Water moves from clouds to land…
7) Ocean water evaporates into the atmosphere…
8) Having cooled in the air the water vapor…
9) Water is an unchanging and ever renewing resource, but…
10) No natural resource on our planet…
11) Our water needs are great and…
12) The amount of fresh water available to use…
13) Measures must be taken against…
14) We have to improve…
Answer the questions.
1) What is the natural resource we all know very well but least understand?
2) What are the forms of water?
3) What portion of the Earth does water cover?
4) What is water cycle?
5) Why is there sometimes too much and other times too little of water?
6) Is there enough water for all the plants, and all the animals, and all the people?
7) What uses has water?
8) What have we to do in order to use water more efficiently?
5. Summarize the text using the following beginnings:
The text reports on…
The text touches upon…
A careful account is given to…
It is reported that…
Much attention is given to…
The text points out that…
The text deals with the problem of…
The text provides information on…
The text defines the phenomenon of…
The text covers such points as…
Read text B and choose the headline.
1) Drinking Water
2) Water on Earth
3) Water Shortage
Words and expressions:
exist – существовать exceed - превышать
cover – покрывать consume - потреблять
precipitation – осадки shortage – нехватка
Text B
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam). Water can also exist in a liquid crystal state.
Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds, and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
Clean drinking water is essential to humans and other life forms. Access to safe drinking water has improved steadily and substantially over the last decades in almost every part of the world. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water shortage. A recent report (November 2009) suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances. Approximately 70% of the fresh water which is actively used by humans, is consumed by agriculture.