Environment and Ecology: Exercises

I. Word formation: adjective or adverb?

To create an adverb we add
- ly e.g. slow -> slowly
- ally e.g. frantic -> frantically
- e.g. fast -> fast
Some adverbs change their meaning depending on the ending! e.g. hard vs hardly

Fill in the gaps in the text with the derivatives of the words in capitals. Decide if an adjective or an
adverb is needed. It may happen that you will not need to change the given word at all.

If we do not change our ways in dealing with Mother Earth, we will soon die out. One way of escaping
____________________________ (ENVIRONMENT) disasters is to reduce the exploitation of our
________________________ (NATURE) resources. We have to find _____________________
(RENEW) energy sources which will be more ________________________(ENVIRONMENT)-friendly
and will not pollute the air so much. This will certainly be ______________(HARD) to do, as
______________ (HARD) any country is willing to invest in ecology but we have to work
_______________ (HARD) for the future generations and we have to make a change
________________ (FAST). __________________ (FINAL), we have to remember that the changes
must start with us: Earth is our home, our habitat, and we have to take good care of it.
________________________ (NATURE), if we do not do anything ourselves, why should we expect
others to clean the environment for us?

II. Gap-filling
Fill in the gaps in the text below with the words from the table.

acid change endangered environmental layer ozone

polluted rainforests reduction renewable

Friends od the Earth is the worlds largest international network of (1) .

Groups represented in 68 countries. In the UK, it was the first organization to campaign to save
whales, (2) .. species and tropical (3) . . Friends of
the Earth also fought against (4) rain, (5)
depletion and climate (6) . .

The organizations present campaigns cover many more issues, such as protecting the wildlife and the
countryside and cutting air pollution. They promote waste (7) and
cleaning up of (8) . Rivers. They also campaign for the reduction of traffic
levels and the improvement of public transport.

They lobby politicians and political parties to protect the ozone (9) and
control dangerous chemicals.

to control dangerous chemicals. Their objectives also include promoting energy efficiency and (10)
.. energy.
III. Matching
Match the words from the two columns to create phrases or collocations. Then use
them in sentences of your own.
SOLUTIONS:

1. acid A. dioxide
2. carbon B. effect
3. dumping C. ground
4. global D. layer
5. greenhouse E. rain
6. natural F. resources
7. nuclear G. warming
8. ozone H. waste

IV. What is the word?

Find words that best complete the sentences. Each line corresponds to one letter. Some
letters have already been given.

1. Car _ x _ _ _ _ _ emissions are a major source of lead pollution in the atmosphere.

2. The company is very environmentally friendly: all the products come in
_ _ _ d _ _ _ _ d _ _ _ _ packaging.
3. Using energy efficiently reduces the emission of _ _ _ _ _ h _ _ s _ gases.
4. Oxygen in the atmosphere forms a screen the ozone layer which filters the
_ _ _ _ a _ _ _ l _ _ rays of the sun.
5. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident released huge amounts of r _ d _ _ _ _ _ n into
the environment.
6. The dinosaurs _ _ _ d out 65 million years ago.
7. _ m _ _ is the major cause of air pollution in big cities.

V. Choose the correct word to fill in the gap in the sentence.

1. Sulphur dioxide is one of the most serious air polluters/pollutants.

2. There are far too many people in this country: its overpopulated/overpopulation.
3. We didnt dare to swim in the river as it was probably contaminated/infected with sewage.
4. The children left sweets wrappers and other dump/litter all over the park.
5. The leak from the nearby factory has endangered/poisoned the lake and killed many species
of fish.
 CONVERSATION QUESTIONS (for the quiz)

1. Do you think that a small-scale recycling can change the climate?

Should supermarkets in Poland collect empty bottles? Would people return them?
Do you segregate garbage?
2. What do you think about these regulations in Poland? Is it good that we no longer get free
plastic bags in some supermarkets?
3. and 7. Do people in Poland really care about recycled materials? What about people
abroad?
4. Do you think organizations such as Greenpeace should get money? Are they trustworthy?
In what ways do they collect money and what for?
Are they helping the environment at all?
5. and 6. Who should clean the polluted beaches, rivers? Who should collect litter from the
streets? Where to take money for it?
8. Is it worth to save water on a small scale?
A shower or a bath? Why?
9. Public transport or your own car? Or maybe a bike? What is the situation in other countries?
How could we improve public transport in our city?
10. Which sources of energy are the most dangerous / expensive / environmentally friendly?
Which ones are our future?
11. Can you predict what will have happened to the environment by 2100? (animals, plants,
energy, people, oceans, etc.)
12. Do we have any influence on the climate on Earth, or is it rather changing of its own accord,
going from one Ice Age to another?