Air pollution and intelligence
(1) Scientists have revealed that air pollution may be responsible for a significant reduction in intelligence. Research conducted for the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that air pollution was responsible for notable falls in student test scores in language and arithmetic. The study is called "The impact of exposure to air pollution on cognitive performance". The study took place over a period of four years. Researchers analyzed verbal and arithmetic tests taken by 20,000 people of all ages and came to the conclusion that polluted air might impede cognitive ability as people become older.
(2) The researchers say their study is a warning to the rest of the world, especially to those who live in cities. The WHO says over 91 per cent of the world population live in areas with toxic air. Air pollution is currently the fourth highest cause of deaths worldwide. The researchers discovered that the longer people were exposed to polluted air, the greater was the damage to their intelligence. They equated the average impact of air pollution to losing a year of the person’s education. For those aged over 60, this could be the equivalent of a few years of lost education. One of the researchers warned: "There is no shortcut to solve this issue. Governments really need to take concrete measures to reduce air pollution."
12. Read the text one more time and match the words with their definitions using the context.
| Paragraph 1 | |
| 1. revealed 2. significant 3. arithmetic 4. impact 5. exposure 6. cognitive 7. impede | a. the action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another b. to slow the progress or make something worse c. made previously unknown or secret information known to others d. the area of mathematics dealing with adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying numbers e. great or important enough to be worthy of attention f. the state of having contact with something g. involving intellectual activity, such as thinking, analyzing, remembering etc. |
| Paragraph 2 | |
| 8. toxic 9. currently 10. exposed 11. equated 12. equivalent 13. shortcut 14. concrete | h. at the present time i. not protected and because of that being at risk of something j. a quicker way of doing or achieving something k. poisonous l. specific, definite m. equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc. n. the same or similar |
13. COMPREHENSION CHECK. Answer the questions.
1. In what two subjects did the scientists say test scores fell in due to air pollution?
2. How long was the study?
3. How old were the people who took part in the research?
4. What percentage of people in the world live in areas with toxic air according to the study?
5. What is currently the fourth highest cause of death worldwide?
6. What was the equivalent loss of education caused by air pollution?
7. Who might lose several years of education because of air pollution?
8. What did a researcher say governments needed to do?
14. AIR POLLUTION DISCUSSION. In pairs ask and answer the following questions. Summarize your partner`s answers.
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS
1. Did you like reading this article? Why/Why not?
2. What is the air quality like where you live?
3. What problems does air pollution cause?
4. What causes air pollution?
5. How worried are you about air pollution?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS
1. Did you like reading this article? Why/Why not?
2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'pollution'?
3. Would you move house to avoid air pollution?
4. Will air pollution get better or worse in the near future?
5. What is our government doing about air pollution?
15. READING. Scan the text and say if it answers the question in the title positively?
Text C