Unit 9.

PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT

LANGUAGE FOCUS
Phonetics
Stress in three-syllable nouns:
confusion, Internet, animal, groundwater ...
Grammar
Reported speech
"The trees we planted last year have doubled in size."
→ They said that the trees they had planted the year before had doubled in size.
"Use the web search engine to find information."
→ We told him to use the web search engine to find information.
Vocabulary
Words and phrases related to environmental impacts and ways to protect the environment
atmosphere, greenhouse effect, ...
I. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in
pronunciation in each of the following questions.
1. A. newsletter B. preservation C. greenhouse D. result
2. A. focus B. topic C. most D. follow
3. A. threats B. stages C. levels D. ideas
4. A. environmental B. depletion C. melt D. chemical
5. A. pollution B. destruction C. consumption D. reduction
II. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of
primary stress in each of the following questions.
1. A. environs B. pollution C. influence D. removal
2. A. depletion B. preserving C. chemical D. disposal
3. A. animal B. protection C. confusion D. disaster
4. A. neighborhood B. pollutant C. energy D. scientist
5. A. factory B. extinction C. resources D. awareness
III. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the
following sentences.
1. Over the last few decades, the exploitation of our planet and degradation of our environment is going up at an
A B C
alarming rate.
D
2. As our actions have been not in favor of protect this planet, we have seen natural disasters striking us more
A B C D
often in the form of flash floods, tsunamis and cyclones.
3. Different environmental groups on the world play their role in educating people as to how their small actions
A B
when combined together can play a big role in protecting this planet.
C D
4. If you look at the environment around us, you can see that there is a number of issues that come to our
A B C D
attention.
5. Soil contamination is majorly created by mechanical waste that takes supplements out of soil.
A B C D
IV. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the following sentences.
1. Burning yard waste releases mold spores, soot, and other contaminants that can aggravate allergies and cause
____ problems.
A. respirator B. respiration C. respiratory D. respired
2. Waste from industrial and agricultural ____ pollutes the water that is used by humans, animals and plants.
A. acts B. actions C. interactions D. activities
3. Land pollution can have huge environmental impact ____ the form of air pollution and soil pollution which in
turn can have adverse effect on human health.
A. on B. in C. to D. with
4. Fossil fuel utilization brings about discharge of greenhouse gases, ____ causes environmental change.
A. which B. that C. it D. they
5. At present, timberlands cover 30% of the area, but wooded areas are being lost ____ a regular basis because
people are looking for homes, food, and materials.
A. by B. with C. at D. on
6. Genetic engineering of food brings about expanded poisons and sicknesses ____ qualities from a
hypersensitive plant can exchange to target plants.
A. so B. that C. as D. though
7. The number of inhabitants on the planet ____ arriving at unsustainable levels as it confronts deficiency of
assets like water, fuel and food.
A. is B. are C. have been D. had been
8. Consumption of fossil fuels at an alarming rate can ____ to global warming which can further result in
melting of polar ice caps and increase in sea levels.
A. lead B. drive C. attach D. run
9. Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, cyclones, volcanic eruption can be unpredictable, ____
and can cause irreparable damage.
A. devastated B. devastating C. devastative D. devastatingly
10. Radioactive waste is considered ____ harmful for humans, plants, animals and surrounding environment.
A. to be B. be C. being D. been
11. Modern day agriculture practices ____ chemical products like pesticides and fertilizers to deal with local
pests.
A. have a use for B. find a use for C. make use of D. come into use
12. Noise pollution is a common form of pollution that causes temporary disruption ____ there is excessive
amount of unpleasant noise.
A. where B. that C. how D. when
13. Medical waste is any kind of waste that ____ in large quantity by healthcare centers like hospitals, nursing
homes, dental clinics and is considered to be of a bio-hazardous nature.
A. produces B. produce C. is produced D. has produced
14. Landfills are generated due to large amount of waste that is generated ____ households, industries and
healthcare centers every day.
A. for B. in C. at D. by
15. Current environmental problems make us vulnerable ____ disasters and tragedies, now and in the future.
A. with B. at C. in D. to
16. ____ we address the various issues prudently and seriously, we are surely doomed for disaster.
A. If B. When C. Unless D. Though
17. Human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and ____ of bio-diversity.
A. lose B. losing C. loss D. lost
18. The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us ____ the sun's harmful
rays.
 A. away with B. from C. under D. out of
19. Deforestation simply means clearing of the green cover and making that land available ____ residential,
industrial or commercial purpose.
A. on B. by C. for D. to
20. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the atmosphere is ____ to pollution caused by Chlorine and Bromide
found in Chlorofloro carbons (CFC's).
A. attributed B. subjected C. indebted D. entitled
21. Acid rain can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which
____ sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.
A. release B. releases C. is releasing D. have released
22. The more rubbish people throw away, ____ to protect the environment.
A. it is more irresponsible of them B. it is the more irresponsible of them
C. it is of them more irresponsible D. the more irresponsible it is of them
23. Recycling minimizes the need for raw materials ____ the rainforests can be preserved.
A. so B. so that C. such that D. that
24. "Are you going to join the green city campaign?" “____.”
A. Surely, I am B. No, not mine C. None of that D. Just kidding
25. "Do you recycle anything?" “____.”
A. Yes, I recycle glass bottles B. I've bought a lot of recycled things
C. I have a lot of things D. How to recycle is easy
26. As the human population grows and grows, natural resources are being used at a rapid rate, and large areas
of forest are being converted ____ human use.
A. for B. to C. into D. in
27. By using the environment sustainably, the environment and the natural resources ____ provides will not be
depleted or destroyed permanently - and will be available for human use for a very long time.
A. that B. which C. what D. it
28. Preservationists believe that humans can have access to the land, but they should only utilize it for ____
natural beauty and inspiration.
A. the B. their C. its D. those
29. Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the variety of life either in a particular place or on the entire Earth,
____ its ecosystems, species, populations, and genes.
A. include B. includes C. including D. inclusive
30. To help save the environment, try ____ energy and water consumption, changing your eating and
transportation habits to conserve natural resources, and adapting your home and yard to be more
environmentally friendly.
A. decrease B. to decrease C. decreased D. decreasing
V. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s)
in each of the following sentences.
1. Regulations and laws should be enacted for the preservation of natural resources in every corner of the world.
A. applied B. approved C. removed D. composed
2. Reducing pollution simply implies recycling and conserving as much energy as possible because energy
generally means pollution in some form.
A. describes B. excludes C. includes D. denies
3. You should choose to buy energy efficient appliances as this can save energy as well as reduce both costs and
pollution.
A. using little energy B. being economical
C. consuming a lot of energy D. being cheap and convenient
4. For eliminating pollution, one can switch to alternative and renewable energy sources like bio fuels instead of
depending on non-renewable fossil fuels that only helps in polluting our planet.
A. change for the better B. substitute for the unavailable
C. make no change at all D. find a replacement for
5. Ten percent of the world's oil supply is used to make and ship disposable plastics - items like plastic utensils,
plates, and cups that are used just one time and thrown away.
A. being used once B. being used forever
C. being often used D. being rarely used
VI. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following
sentences.
1. "What happens to what we throw away?" Many wonder.
A. Many wonder what happens to what we throw away.
B. Many wondered what happened to what we threw away.
C. Many wondered what has happened to what we threw away.
D. Many wonder what happened to what we threw away.
2. "In China, waste is growing twice as fast as the population," the lecturer said.
A. The lecturer said that in China, waste was growing twice as fast as the population.
B. The lecturer said that in China, waste is growing twice as fast as the population.
C. The lecturer said that in China, waste has been growing twice as fast as the population.
D. The lecturer said that in China, waste had been growing twice as fast as the population.
3. "Which cities have the worst waste problem?" The student asked the teacher.
A. The student asked the teacher for which cities had the worst waste problem.
B. The student asked the teacher to tell him which cities had the worst waste problem.
C. The student asked the teacher which cities had the worst waste problem.
D. The student asked the teacher which cities had had the worst waste problem.
4. "How to stop humans from filling the world with trash?"
A. Environmentalists are wondering how to stop humans from filling the world with trash.
B. Environmentalists are wondering how humans can stop filling the world with trash.
C. Environmentalists were wondering how humans could stop filling the world with trash.
D. Environmentalists were wondering how to stop humans from filling the world with trash.
5. "Where does all our rubbish go?"
A. We will not know where all our rubbish goes.
B. We should know where all our rubbish goes.
C. We did not know where all our rubbish goes.
D. We will never know where all our rubbish went.
VII. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences given.
1. Trees should be planted everywhere possible. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
A. Trees, which should be planted everywhere possible, absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
B. Trees should be planted everywhere possible as they absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
C. Trees should be planted everywhere possible to be able to absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
D. Trees should be planted everywhere possible where they absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
2. Habitat destruction is a major cause for biodiversity loss. Habitat destruction is caused by deforestation,
overpopulation, pollution and global warming.
A. Habitat destruction is a major cause for biodiversity loss which is caused by deforestation,
overpopulation, pollution and global warming.
B. Habitat destruction due to deforestation, overpopulation, pollution and global warming is a major
cause for biodiversity loss.
 C. Biodiversity loss is caused by habitat destruction that also causes deforestation, overpopulation,
pollution and global warming.
D. Biodiversity loss caused by habitat destruction causes deforestation, overpopulation, pollution and
global warming.
3. To conserve fossil fuels people can choose to use hybrid cars. Some of these cars will run on electricity
combined with using small amounts of gas.
A. To conserve fossil fuels people can choose to use hybrid cars, some of which will run on electricity
combined with using small amounts of gas.
B. To conserve fossil fuels people can choose to use hybrid cars which will run on electricity combined
with using small amounts of gas.
C. To conserve fossil fuels people can choose to use hybrid cars, some will run on electricity combined
with using small amounts of gas.
D. To conserve fossil fuels people can choose to use hybrid cars, they will run on electricity combined
with using small amounts of gas.
4. Biodiversity has its own economic importance. Protection of biodiversity is important.
A. Biodiversity has its own economic importance, so protection of biodiversity is important.
B. Biodiversity has its own economic importance that protection of biodiversity is important.
C. Protection of biodiversity is so important that biodiversity has its own economic importance.
D. Protection of biodiversity is important to make biodiversity have its own economic importance.
5. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials. One simple benefit of
recycling is it saves our resources.
A. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials, that one simple benefit
of recycling is it saves our resources.
B. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials, one simple benefit of
recycling is it saves our resources.
C. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials, one simple benefit of
which is it saves our resources.
D. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials as one simple benefit
of recycling is it saves our resources.
VIII. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase
that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
The global warming controversy is an ongoing dispute about the effects of humans (1) ____ global
climate and about what policies should be (2) ____ to avoid possible undesirable effects of climate change.
The current scientific consensus on climate change is (3) ____ recent warming indicates a fairly stable
long-term trend, that the trend is largely human-caused, and that serious damage may result (4) ____ some
future date if steps are not (5) ____ to halt the trend.
Mainstream (6) ____ organizations worldwide (Royal Society, American Geophysical Union, Joint
Science Academies, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, American Meteorological Society, and
American Association for the Advancement of Science) (7) ____ with the assessment that most of the (8) ____
warming over the last 50 years is likely to (9) ____ due to the human-caused increase in greenhouse gas
concentrations.
However, there is also a small but vocal number of scientists in climate and (10) ____ fields that
disagree with the consensus view.
1. A. to B. in C. on D. about
2. A. implement B. implements C. implementing D. implemented
3. A. that B. it C. the D. what
4. A. from B. in C. on D. at
5. A. done B. made C. taken D. struck
6. A. science B. scientific C. scientist D. scientifically
7. A. share B. confront C. face D. concur
8. A. observable B. observing C. observed D. observation
9. A. be B. have been C. being D. having been
10. A. climate-relatingB. climate-related C. climatic-relating D. climatic-related
IX. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of
the questions.
Many products such as paper, cardboards, and cups come from trees. In fact, trees are our natural assets,
you can converse trees by recycling the paper products, we can minimize the number of trees cut down a year.
This is one form of waste recycling. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste
materials. One simple benefit of recycling is it saves our resources. It will be wise to reuse metal items as metal
reserves may be depleting. You can hold your worn-out metal items for recycling. As mentioned earlier,
recycling of waste papers can save our forests.
Recycling waste not only saves our natural resources but also helps save energy. By simply recycling an
item or making a basic fix to it, we can save all the energy that would have been consumed in the process of
making it. The same example can be taken with plastic items. A large amount of energy can be saved by simply
reusing the plastic items. To recycle waste is to simply reduce pollution. By recycling plastic material, we can
reduce air pollution as well as water pollution. Plastic factories produced large amount of smoke when
producing plastic material at the same time if we don't have proper waste disposal system, those waste
emissions will cause water pollution. Recycling waste in a way helps reduce pollution.
1. The passage mainly discusses ____.
A. how recycling waste helps reduce pollution
B. a simple benefit of recycling waste materials
C. the most useful waste materials in daily life
D. how to reduce pollution by using waste materials
2. The word "assets" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____.
A. gifts B. property C. savings D. values
3. The author mentions "metal reserves" as an example of ____.
A. natural assets B. waste materials C. natural resources D. waste emissions
4. All of the following are mentioned as examples of waste material EXCEPT ____.
A. paper B. metal C. plastic D. glass
5. The passage may be taken from ____.
A. an article for general readers B. a scientific journal for environmentalists
C. a school student's notebook D. a magazine for tourists visiting an area
X. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of
the questions.
Those who are concerned with protecting the environment often use the words conservation and
preservation. These two terms are often confused and are used to mean the same thing, although differences
exist.
Conservation is the sustainable use and management of natural resources including wildlife, water, air,
and earth deposits. Natural resources may be renewable or non-renewable. The conservation of renewable
resources like trees involves ensuring that they are not consumed faster than they can be replaced. The
conservation of non-renewable resources like fossil fuels involves ensuring that sufficient quantities are
maintained for future generations to utilise. Conservation of natural resources usually focuses on the needs and
interests of human beings, for example the biological, economic, cultural and recreational values such resources
have. The rain forest for example, contains a wide range of biodiversity, providing food stocks for local
populations and a source of timber and medicines for other countries. Conservationists accept that development
is necessary for a better future, but only when the changes take place in ways that are not wasteful. What the
conservationist opposes is not the harnessing of nature for mankind's progression, but the fact that all too often
the environment comes off the worse for wear.
Preservation, in contrast to conservation, attempts to maintain in their present condition areas of the
Earth that are so far untouched by humans. This is due to the concern that mankind is encroaching onto the
environment at such a rate that many untamed landscapes are being given over to farming, industry, housing,
tourism and other human developments, and that we are losing too much of what is 'natural'. Like
conservationists, some preservationists support the protection of nature for purely human-centred reasons.
Stronger advocates of preservation however, adopt a less human-centred approach to environmental protection,
placing a value on nature that does not relate to the needs and interests of human beings. Deep green ecology
argues that ecosystems and individual species should be preserved whatever the cost, regardless of their
usefulness to humans, and even if their continued existence would prove harmful to us. This follows from the
belief that every living thing has a right to exist and should be preserved.
1. What should be the best title of the passage?
A. Conservation and Preservation B. Conservation or Preservation
C. Conservation, not Preservation D. Conservation for Preservation
2. The word "they" in the passage refers to ____.
A. trees B. renewable resources C. natural resources D. deposits
3. According to the passage, conservationists support all of the following EXCEPT that ____.
A. non-renewable resources must be sufficiently saved for future generations
B. renewable resources must not be consumed faster than they can be replaced
C. conservation focuses on the needs and interests of human beings properly
D. any changes can be taken so that humans beings develop for a better future
3. The rain forest is mentioned in the passage as an example of ____.
A. natural tourist attractions
B. sources of medicines for people
C. where local people can find and keep food stocks
D. how natural resources are valuable to humans
5. The word "harnessing" in the passage can be best replaced with ____.
A. exploitation B. usage C. consumption D. production
6. The phrase "the worse for wear" in the passage most likely describes a state of being ____.
A. exhausted B. worn out C. used up D. run out
7. According to the passage, reservation generally refers to which of the following?
A. that the natural resources exist not for humans' need
B. making sure that no resources are used in a wasteful way
C. saving natural resources for future generations' needs and interests
D. maintaining the untouched areas of the Earth in their current state
8. The word "untamed" in the passage almost means ____.
A. not having been explored B. having been reconstructed
C. not having been visited D. having been industrialized
9. The word "advocates" in the passage can be best replaced with ____.
A. fans B. supporters C. holders D. fighters
10. It can be learnt from the passage that both 'conservationists' and 'reservationists' ____.
A. focus on the needs and interests of human beings
B. protect the natural resources for the sake of themselves
C. work to protect the Earth and its biodiversity
D. save all individual species regardless of their values