Text # 2 “Carbon Footprint”
Экзаменационные материалы по дисциплине «Английский язык» (Профориентированные тексты по специальности):
Text # 1 “The Sun”
Scientists have worked out when our Sun will die. It won't be any time soon. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists are from the University of Manchester in the UK. They predict that in about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the scientific name given to a star at the end of its life. When our Sun becomes a red giant, its centre will shrink. Its outer layers will expand as far as Mars. This means Earth will be burnt and disappear. After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become a planetary nebula. This is a bubble of gas and space dust. The scientists say no humans will be on Earth when the Sun dies out. Humans will disappear in around one billion years from now.
The Sun is still quite young in space years. It is just 4.6 billion years old. This means it is only around one third into its lifespan. Professor Albert Zijlstra, a scientist from the University of Manchester, explained what happens at the end of a star's life. He said: "When a star dies, it ejects a mass of gas and dust into space.…This reveals the star's core. By this point in the star's life, it is running out of fuel." He said it eventually turns off and dies. Professor Zijlstra was happy that modern science can calculate the age of stars and what will happen to them. He said we can measure the presence of stars in distant galaxies, and "we even have found out what the Sun will do when it dies".
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- The article says the Sun will not die soon. T / F
- When the Sun becomes a red giant, it will expand to reach Mars. T / F
- After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become a comet. T / F
- Humans will not be on Earth in two million years from now. T / F
- The Sun is over 4.5 billion years old. T / F
- The Sun is over half way through its life span. T / F
- A professor is unhappy because he cannot calculate the age of stars. T / F
- The professor said he can measure stars in faraway galaxies. T / F
Text # 2 “Carbon Footprint”
Climate scientists from the University of Sydney in Australia say tourism causes over 8 per cent of greenhouse gasses. They also say that this figure will continue to increase because the tourism industry is growing. Their study looked at the carbon footprint of many different areas of tourism. It studied the CO2 emissions from transport, events, hotels, restaurants and shopping. It even researched the carbon emissions from producing souvenirs. The researchers spent 18 months conducting the research. They included the tourist activities of 189 countries. Researcher Dr Arunima Malik said her team analyzed the impact on the environment of over one million businesses involved in tourism.
The researchers said domestic travel was a bigger cause of CO2 emissions than international or business travel. Air travel was the largest part of tourism's footprint. The researchers said flying would continue to increase global emissions as more people in the world become richer. The countries causing the most harm were the biggest and richest nations. The USA, China, India and Germany had the largest tourism carbon footprints. Their carbon emissions will continue to increase as more of their citizens travel. The researchers encouraged holiday-makers and travelers to try and reduce their carbon footprint when on vacation so their travel causes less harm to the planet.
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- Scientists said Australia's tourism carbon footprint is very big. T / F
- Scientists said the size of tourism's carbon footprint would get smaller. T / F
- The research took one-and-a-half years. T / F
- The researchers looked at 500,000 businesses related to tourism. T / F
- International travel causes more C02 emissions than domestic travel. T / F
- Air travel was the biggest part of tourism's carbon footprint. T / F
- Germany was one of the countries with the biggest carbon footprint. T / F
- Researchers suggested tourists reduce their carbon footprint. T / F
Text # 3 “Billionaires' CO2 Emissions”
We all know about the damage being done to the environment by industries, households, belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a source of CO2 emissions that few of us are aware of – billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the lavish lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It conducted an analysis of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The conclusion was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the average person creates. Collectively, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.
The lifestyles of billionaires are damaging to the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a huge carbon footprint. This is made bigger by the investments they make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided details about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long."
TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- The article says cows add to the damage done to the environment. T / F
- A charity made a report about the CO2 billionaires create. T / F
- The article says there are just 125 billionaires in the world. T / F
- The article says billionaires in France create the most CO2. T / F
- The article says private jets create the most CO2. T / F
- The investments made by billionaires add to CO2 emissions. T / F
- A charity said many people talk about the CO2 emissions of billionaires. T / F
- The article says a billionaire escaped from a pyramid. T / F