If you don't think about the future, you won't have it.

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Зучит запись песни М. Джексона "What about sunrise"

T: Dear boys and girls! Today we have an unusual lesson. As you see, there are many students from the 6-th up to the 11-th forms. We are going to work together and I am sure it'll be very interesting and useful for us.

P1:

P2:

РЗ:

P4:

Т: Boys and girls! Today we have a very serious subject to speak at. It is ecology.

Many years ago man lived in harmony with nature because industry was not much developed. Today the contradiction between man and nature are dramatic. The protection of nature has become one of the most burning problems. The nature provides people with mineral resources, rivers, forests, fields. The development of industry has had a bad influence оn the nature of the whole world. Let's speak about environmental problems in the world, in our country and in our region. We'll discuss how to help nature, how to help ourselves and future generations.

So, the first word is for Pete, the student of the 11-th form. He will speak about environmental problems in Russia.

P: In effort to meet production goals the ministries stinted on measures to protect the environment from industry pollution. As a result, about half of the water sources in the country are polluted with industrial or communal waste. In more than a hundred towns and cities with populations of some fifty million, the concentration of harmful substances in the air is over ten times the admissible level. For dozens of years the national economy focused on large projects, including giant projects in what was called the transformation of nature. Blunders were committed that caused environmental disasters.

Of the acute problems causing public concern the environment safety of nuclear and hydraulic power engineering is beginning to assume paramount importance. Public anxiety has grown particularly after the Chernobyl disaster. Another reason is the adverse effect of flatland hydropower stations on the environment. The list of serious environmental problems could be continued.

The other problem is that Russia turned into a garbage heap. In the past few years alone as many 4000 tons of mercury waste, copper slag, old pesticides, dyes and radioactive waste have been brought into and dumped in Russia. Old types alone number about 75000. It is not doubt that this is merely the "tip of the iceberg". On the one hand, there is uncontrollable export of raw materials and radioactive waste. On the other hand, the growing import of foreign waste. Such are the two sides of the medal bearing witness not only to the deep going crisis, but also to the "new mentality" among the "new" entrepreneurs which may be characterized as "grab all you can lay your hands on".

We must stop this process. We must join together in order to protect nature and ourselves. I want to add that mass media is to play a great role in ecological propaganda and environmental protection.

T: We've heard the short report about ecological problems in Russia, but it's common knowledge реорle all over the world touch the same problems. And the students of the 8-th form tried to find out the main ecological problems. Now you will see the results of their work.

Problems to discuss

About 150 years ago the air was pure and clean. Then people started building factories and many of the things they make, like cars, put a lot of harmful gases into the air. Today the air is so polluted in some places that it's not always safe to breathe there.

Many cities around the world have air polluted with "smog". This is so strong in some places that the air, which should be a beautiful blue, looks brown.

Polluted air is not only bad for people and animals, but also for trees and plants. And in some places it's even damaging farmers' crops - the food we eat. So it's very important for us to "clean up our act", and clean up the air we all breathe.

The planet Earth is mostly water. Oceans cover the biggest part of it - and there are lakes, rivers, streams, and even water underground. All life on the Earth - from the smallest bug to the biggest whale - depends on the water. It's precious. But we're not doing a very good job of keeping water clean. In many places, the water has become polluted.

Rivers and lakes are polluted by garbage or by poisonous chemicals which are dumped right into them.

Underground water can be polluted by gasoline or by harmful liquids that seep into the ground. Some fertilizers and pesticides used in farming leak down through the dirt, too.

The ocean, which is a home to so many life forms, has been used as a place for dumping garbage and poisonous chemicals for a long time. It's getting polluted, too.

We need to save our water, to keep it clean and healthy so that people, plants and animals may always have something to drink. And so fish and other creatures will have a place to live.

When you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Once a week a garbage truck comes and the can is emptied, and that's the last you see of it. But what do you think happens to the garbage then? Does it just disappear? No way!

Almost all garbage is taken to a garbage dump, or landfill, where the garbage truck empties it onto the ground. After the truck leaves, a big tractor comes along and pushes dirt on top of the garbage. So, most of our garbage is just buried.

Now we are making so much garbage that in many places, there is not enough room to bury it all.

We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make. Can we do it? We can recycle (which means re-using materials instead of throwing them away) and reject (which means not buying things that can't be re-used, like plastic wrapping and other packaging). If we recycle and reject we will produce a lot less garbage, and help keep our planet green!

When we look up, we see the clouds and the blue sky. But there are other things in the sky that we don't see. Some of them are harmful to the Earth.

When power plants burn coal to make electricity, and when cars burn gasoline, invisible gases are released into the air.

Some of these gases can mix with water and make it acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar. Sometimes the gases get into rain clouds, where they get mixed with rain or snow. Then the acid falls back to the Earth with rain or snow. This is called acid rain.

Acid rain is extremely harmful to plants, rivers and lakes and the creatures that live in them. In some places it is killing forests. And it pollutes the water that animals and people need to drink.

It's very important for us to stop making acid rains. One good way to do that is to drive our cars less. Another good way is to save energy. The less energy we use, the less coal those power plants will have to burn.

Every day there are more and more people living on the Earth. All these people need room to live. So they move into the places that are already homes for plants and animals. Forests are cut down, and wild areas are filled with houses and stores.

When people move into a new land, the plants and animals that live there can become endangered - which means they begin to disappear because there's no place for them to live. Some even become extinct - which means that they all die out, and are gone from the Earth forever.

We enjoy pictures and stories about the dinosaurs that lived on the Earth many millions of years ago. They're all extinct now. That could happen to elephants, zebras, butterflies, robins, or goldfish... or other animals, if we're not careful.

A greenhouse is a building made of glass, where you can grow flowers and other plants that need a lot of warmth. The sun shines in through the glass and warms the greenhouse, and the roof and walls keep the heat from getting out.

The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of invisible gases (with names like carbon dioxide) that act just like a greenhouse. The sun shines in and the blanket of gases traps the heat like a roof, keeping it close to the planet. That's good - we can't live without warmth.

Factories, electric power plants and cars are making a lot of new gases. These new gases are trapping more and more of the sun's heat. This is called the greenhouse effect, or global warming.

If the earth's temperature gets hotter by just a few degrees, it could change the weather all over the planet in many ways. Places that are warm would become too hot to live in, and places that grow most of our food could get too hot to grow crops anymore.

Up in the sky, above the air we breathe, there's a layer of gas called ozone. It helps us by blocking out the sun rays that can harm our skin, and by letting the rays that are good for us come through. We are lucky to have the ozone to protect us.

Now the ozone layer is being damaged by gases that people have made. The gases are called CFCs. They are used in refrigerators, air conditioners, plastic foam, and some other things.

The CFCs float up to the top of the atmosphere, where the ozone layer is, and "eat up" the ozone.

Scientists are very concerned about the ozone layer, because a lot of it has gone away in just a few years. So it's very important that we learn to do something about it.

E-numbers is a general name for a group of chemicals which sometimes are added to food. Usually these kinds of foods are made abroad, not in Russia. They are much cheaper.

The chemicals of E-number group give the food a better color, a long time of preservation and a better look. They may be dangerous for our health because diseases start if there is a certain quantity of E-numbers in your body. How can you learn if there are E-numbers in the nice western product, which you want to buy? Look at the bar code. If you see numbers with E before figures, it means that dangerous chemicals were used to produce the food. Do you need E-numbers in your body? Then buy the foreign products with them.

T. We've listened to the student's reports about such global problems as Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Acid Rain, Disappearing Animals, the Greenhouse Effect, the Ozone Hole, and Products Containing E-numbers. I think all students tried to do their best and you've learnt a lot of interesting facts. Thank you.

Now we'll listen to the information about the steps undertaken by the public movements of many countries to protect the environment. Arina, the student of the 11-th form, you are welcome.

A.: In recent years people have become more sensitive towards environment. Still more public organizations and unofficial environmentalist movements have been established with every passing year.

In 1987 a "Green Peace" public commission has been set up. Its main goal is to combine the people's efforts for peace with the huge and ever mounting movement for nature conversation. Another aim of its work is to set up and strengthen cooperation among environmentalists from many similar organizations abroad.

"Travels for Peace and Nature" is the name of another public movement that appeared in Russia some years ago. It concentrates its efforts on theory and practical work. The movement launches all kinds of environmental actions and informs the public of the ways, means and results of this work.

Russia is cooperating in the field of environmental protection with the United States, Canada, Norway, Finland and other countries.

Russia and the United States are carrying out joint projects to study and protect the environmental systems of the Arctic and Subarctic regions, and also to study some of the natural processes in the permafrost zone.

T: Now it's just the time for us to speak about one more international organization. It is WWF - the World Wild Nature Fund. It is one of the biggest independent international environmental organizations. There are more than 5 million members in it and they work in more than 100 countries. The main aim of WWF is to stop the destruction of Nature. And the representatives of the organization live and work in our Amur Region. Some students will tell us about it.

P1. Below Blagoveshchensk, along Amur river, is located Muraviovsky park, where under protection live Japanise and Daursky cranes.

The park was created in 1967 and its employees are engaged in ecological education, education of environmental protection. The aria of the park is 34 square km. There are 37 kinds of insects and 202 kinds of birds in the park. And 16 of them are in the Red Book.

P2. The most famous and interesting of them are the Japanise and Daursky cranes. And I'd like to tell you a few words about cranes.

The crane is a large bird. It has a long, slim neck and long legs. Its body is not very big, but the crane is as tall as a seven-year-old boy. The crane lives near ponds, and eats frogs and small fish. Its legs are so long that the crane can easily wade in a pond. It goes into the pond and stands still for a long time. It stands and waits till a fish comes near it. When the crane sees a fish or a frog, it picks it up with its long bill.

T. The students of the 6 -th form visited Muraviovsky park last spring. It was so great, so interesting for them, and they want to tell us everything they know about the cranes.

P1. There are many kinds of birds. They are: a swallow, a sparrow, a dove, a magpie, a woodpecker, a stork, a crane, a nightingale, an eagle, an owl, a parrot and others. Some birds are big, others are small. The body of a bird is covered with feathers. The feathers of the birds are of different colors.All the birds make nests and lay eggs. Birds are useful, they are beautiful, they sing nice songs, they eat harmful insects, they kill mice and small animals that harm crops.

We must protect birds in winter. Birds are our friends.

T: As you see there are different kinds of birds. Cranes are among them.

We had begun an ecological expedition - "Crane: Bird of Peace".

Crane: Bird of Peace

P: I found an interesting information about cranes. 17 types of cranes live on our planet, 7 of them can be met in Russia - gray, daurskiy, canadian, black, white, manchzhursky, krasavka.

A crane is a rather big bird, about a kilogramme and a half. These birds do not sit on the trees, they eat seeds, berries, frogs. Most of all they like to live in steps and marshes. Their feathers are light-gray, the ends of the wings are black, the head and neck are white. There is a red crown on its head.

The man influences upon this bird. Their number is reducing. The nest of a crane is pressed grass. Usually there are two green-brown eggs in it. The small cranes are very weak. Cranes can dance very well, they are perfect ballet-dancers.

T: This bird is a symbol of peace, friendship and happiness in the East. These Chinese friends are our guests. Their dance is a present for you. Meet them!

(The Chinese dance).

P: Last spring I went to Muraviovsky park. It is the largest one in our region. Different kinds of animals and birds, among them cranes, live there. I saw Daursky and Japanese cranes. These birds are very beautiful: snow-white, gracious. The Japanese crane has a red crown on its head. Cranes have no enemies in nature except a man. You can read about cranes in the Red Book, we must protect them.

There are 7 types of cranes on the continent, 6 of them live in our region - we have no Canadian crane.

P: Last spring a group of American biologists came to study our cranes.

We made friends with them. Now we have pen-friends in the United States of America. I have two pen-friends: Sara and Scott. I write letters to them in English. I shall never forget my trip, the cranes and my American friends. These are the letters, the pictures and the presents. And now I understand that I need the English language very much.

P: "Returning from the far-away countries"

I want to tell you about the children's exhibition "Crane: Bird of Peace". It was organized in the United States of America. The Americans saw scientific documents, ecological tales, pictures, photographs, letters, films, different works. This exhibition is international now. Many countries - the USA, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea - are going to take part in it.

The 5^th of June is an international day of nature protection. This day a new exhibition is usually opened in Blagoveshchensk, it is devoted to cranes.

T: As you know, that our students brought the film about cranes from Muraviovsky park. It is a very interesting and useful story and it is told in English. Let's watch this film.

T: And here is the Russian folk-tale "The Fox and the Crane ".

The pupils of the 6-th form will show it to you.

"The Fox and the Crane ". (A fable)

T: To protect our planet, to save nature we must live in peace and friendship.

T: There is a special day around the world, Earth Day. What do you know about this Day? ( The students of the 8-th and 11-th forms)

PI. April 22 is a special day around the world. On that day inhabitants of the Earth celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day is the time when many people show that they care for our fragile planet. They show concern about the threats the planet faces - distinction of rainforests, holes in the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, too much garbage, and all forms of air and water pollution. It is the day for people to learn what they can do to preserve the Earth.

T. When and where was the first Earth Day held?

P2. The first Earth Day was held in the USA 36 years ago, in April, 1970. At that time, Americans were just beginning to learn about the problems facing the planet.

T. What must we do to improve the situation? Of course, there are some solutions of the problem. How can we save our planet?

PI. People can reserve rainforests making them national parks.

P2. To keep seas clean it's necessary to stop polluting them.

P3. We can stop greenhouse effect by:

P4. To stop acid rains we need to make factories and power stations cleaner.

Р5. То stop pollution we need to:

4 use rubbish again after recycling.

P6. To avoid chemicals in food we need to use fewer chemicals in food production.

P7. To stop pollution from power plants we need to design, build and use solar, wave, wind, geo-thermal power plants.

T. So, now we know how to solve some ecological problems. But what can we do to live healthy in the healthy world?

Ps. We must:

- buy fresh food that doesn't need much packing, 4- buy fruit and vegetables from farmers who don't use chemicals,

- save as much water as possible, 4 save paper and wood,

- use public transport, as often as you can. First it concerns trams, trolley-buses and metro, because they don't pollute the environment,

- try to eat healthier food. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less fat or sugar,

- use batteries as little as possible. It takes 50 times more energy to make them than they produce,

- don't leave electric lights, TV, etc on, if you are not using them

T: Our lesson is over. I am very thankful to all the pupils. Thank you very much.