Pollution
Read the Passage Carefully and answer the following Questions:-
1 Pollution is the fouling of the environment — land, water, and air — by waste, smoke, chemicals and other harmful substances. The most pollution occurs where there are large cities and many factories.
2 Pollution is not a new problem. In the Middle Ages, most towns were dirty, water supplies were foul and diseases spread quickly. Much has been done to improve sanitation and public health. But since the Industrial Revolution, the problems of waste disposal have become more complicated. Every industrial country faces the problem of waste. As factories produce new goods for people to buy old ones are thrown out with the household rubbish. Burning this refuse pollutes the air, dumping it in rivers and seas pollutes the water, and rubbish tips are an unpleasant sight and take up much-needed space. Getting rid of plastics is particularly difficult. After some time wood and paper decay through the action of bacteria. But plastics never decay. The more we throw away, the more litter is produced. So scientists are trying to make plastics which will break down naturally into a harmless substance. Industrial waste, such as poisonous chemicals and radioactive matter, must be buried deep underground to prevent contamination.
3 Because the industry needs a constant supply of raw materials, the ideal solution to the problem of waste is to make use of rubbish as a raw material by reusing or ‘recycling’ it. For example, cars can be reduced to scrap by giant shredders and the valuable metal can be used again.
4 The world’s oceans have been used as ‘dustbins’, with millions of tonnes of rubbish being dumped into the seas every year, harming marine life. If too much-untreated sewage is poured into seas, lakes, and rivers from sewers, the water can no longer dilute it; all the oxygen in the water is used up, and the fish die. The bacteria which normally break down the sewage into harmless substances also die. Only harmful bacteria which do not need air remain and these cause disease.
5 Smoke from factory chimneys and exhaust gases from motor vehicles pollute the air. Chemicals in the air combine with moisture to make acids, which eat away stone and brick, and so damage buildings. Carbon monoxide gas and substances called hydrocarbons given out by the engines of cars, lorries, and buses can damage people’s health.
6 Smog darkens the skies, formed by chemical reactions among the fumes in strong sunlight. Smog poses a health risk, especially to people with lung problems. Chemicals in the fumes, especially from coal-fired power stations, combined with moisture to make acid rain which may drift and fall hundreds of kilometres away.
7 Another very serious form of pollution is the build-up of carbon dioxide in a layer high around the Earth. As we burn coal, wood, petrol, and oil, more carbon dioxide is released into the layers. This is causing the sun’s warmth to be trapped near the Earth’s surface, by what is called the ‘greenhouse effect’. If this burning continues, average temperatures could rise by around 3° to 5°C (5° to 9°F) in the next 50 or so years. Weather patterns will change so that regions that now grow wheat or corn could suffer droughts. Also, the polar ice caps might melt and raise sea levels by over 5 meters (16 feet). This would flood major seaport cities and vast areas of low-lying land such as in the Netherlands and Bengal.
8 Pollution is also caused by fertilizer may the fertilizers and insecticides used by farmers. The chemicals in cany are washed from the soil into rivers. They can build up in water supplies, and they also make algae grow so fast that they use up all the oxygen, choke the river, and kill all life in it. Poisons used to kill harmful’ pests can kill useful creatures also. Plans sprayed with poisonous chemicals are eaten by animals, which take the poison into their bodies.
9 A famous example of how a pesticide can build up is DDT1. This chemical does not break down naturally very easily. It is washed into water and eaten by small creatures, which are in turn eaten by bigger fish. The DDT becomes more and more concentrated as it passes along the food chain. If people eat contaminated fish, they take in harmful levels of DDT which may cause cancer and deformities in babies. Many rich countries have banned the use of DDT, but they still make it for sale to poorer countries where the risks are not so well-known.
10 Ridding our world of pollution is an unimaginably big task. There are so many people, for one thing. Also, many government and big companies are also to act since anti-pollution measures are often unpopular or unprofitable. Many people like the idea of reducing pollution, but not when it affects their own lifestyles.
Word-Meanings
1.tips—places where rubbish may be dumped. 2. Litter—light rubbish e.g. bits of paper, wrappings. bottles. etc. 3. Marine—found in the sea.
1.Answer the following questions as briefly as possible:
a) How does the problem of pollution in the present age differ from the one in the Middle Ages?
b) How does our land get contaminated?
c) What damage is done by rubbish and sewage dumped in the seas and rivers?
d) What do you mean by the ‘greenhouse effect’?
e) How is pollution a very difficult problem to solve?
2. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :
a) dumps (para 2)
b) deposited (para 4)
c) smoke (para 6)
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