Read and render the text “Ecology”.

TEXTS

Read and render the text “Thanksgiving”.

The story of America’s Thanksgiving begins with the Pilgrims. Early in the 17-th century, the Pilgrims left England in search of religious freedom. In 1608, they sailed to Holland. Then, in 1620, they set sail once again and crossed the Atlantic aboard a leaky ship called the Mayflower.

After sailing for many weeks, the Pilgrims landed at a place now called Massachusetts. They set up a colony at Plymouth, where they planted the seeds they had brought from England. But the seeds didn’t grow well, and there was so little food for the Pilgrims that many of them starved to death.

Luckily for the Pilgrims, some nearby Indians came to rescue. They taught the Pilgrims to grow native food such as corn. The Indians even helped to build houses for the newcomers. Without this help, the Pilgrims would not have survived.

After the first harvest, the governor of Plymouth Colony - William Bradford - suggested that the Pilgrims hold a feast of thanksgiving. He felt that it was a good time to thank God for the Pilgrims’ survival in their new homeland. And to their thanksgiving feast the Pilgrims invited the Indians. The Pilgrims were grateful to the Indians for helping the Colony survive. In addition, they hoped that the celebration would strengthen their friendship with the Indians.

In 1789 George Washington declared that Thanksgiving would be a national celebration. But later the holiday faded in importance. In 1827, Sarah Hale started a campaign to have Americans observe Thanksgiving once again. Her efforts were finally successful in 1863, when President Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated every year on the third Thursday of November. In 1941, while Franklin Roosevelt was president, Thanksgiving was moved to the fourth Thursday in November.

Read and render the text “Ecology”.

The Earth is the only planet in the solar system where there is life. If you look down at the Earth from a plane you will see how wonderful our planet is. You will see blue seas and oceans, rivers and lakes, high snow-capped mountains, green forests and fields. For centuries man lived in harmony with nature until industrialization brought human society into conflict with the natural environment. Today, the contradictions between man and nature have acquired a dramatic character. With the development of civilization man’s interference in nature has increased. Every year the world’s industry pollutes the atmosphere with millions of tons of dust and other harmful substances. The seas and rivers are poisoned with industrial waste, chemical and sewage discharge. People who live in big cities are badly affected by harmful discharge from plants and city transport and by the increasing noise level which is as bad for human health as lack of fresh air and clean water.

Among the most urgent problems are the ozone layer, acid rains, global warming, toxic pollution of atmosphere, disappearance of forests, contamination of underground waters by chemical elements, destruction of soil in some areas, threat to some flora and fauna representatives, etc.

One of the most important pollution problems is the oceans. Many ships sail in the ocean water- fishing ships, some ships carrying people, some carrying oil. If a ship loses some of the oil in the water, or waste from the ships in put into the ocean, the water becomes dirty. Many sea birds die because of the polluted water. Many fish are dying in the sea, others are getting contaminated. Fishermen catch contaminated fish which may be sold in markets, and people may get sick from eating them. Lakes and rivers are becoming polluted, too. Some beaches are dangerous for swimming.

Another important problem is air pollution. Cars and factories pollute the air we use. Their fume also destroys the ozone layer which protects the Earth from the dangerous light of the Sun. Aerosols create large “holes” in the ozone layer round the Earth. Burning coal and oil leads to global warming which may bring about a change in the world’s climate.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 587