Global warming

Global warming has emerged as the most serious environmental threat of the 21st century. Only by
taking action now can we ensure that future generations will not be put at risk (taken from a letter to the
US President from 49 Nobel Prize winning scientists).
When carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are released into the air, they cover the Earth,
trapping heat inside the atmosphere this is known as the greenhouse effect, and it is this that keeps
our planet at a temperature at which life can prosper. But the massive increase in the production of
these and other greenhouse gases since industrialisation has caused the effect to intensify.
The 1990s was the hottest decade on record. Over the course of the 20th century, average global
temperature rose by around 0.6C. Over the past two decades the Earth has been warming faster than
at any point in the last 1,000 years. It is now almost universally agreed that the major cause of this
problem is the burning of coal and oil.
Climate scientists predict that this ratio of change will have serious consequences. Although it is
difficult to judge how our weather systems will adapt to higher global temperatures, possible scenarios
include an increase in unexpected floods and prolonged dry periods. The melting of the polar ice caps is
one of the most worrying possibilities, causing sea levels to rise by more than 40cm by 2100.
A * COMPREHENSION (4 points)
ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR
OWN WORDS. (1 point per answer)
1 How is industrialisation affecting the atmosphere?
2 Why is it thought that sea levels will change?
ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE
WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT. (0.5 points per answer)
3 Nobel Prize winning scientists are not convinced about the consequences of global warming.
4 All gas emissions are harmful for life on Earth.
5 Over the last 20 years, the worlds temperature has gone up more slowly than in the preceding
centuries.
6 It is certain that there will be an increase in floods and dry periods.
B * USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)
7 FIND IN THE TEXT ONE EXPRESSION MEANING in danger. (0.25 points)
8 FIND IN THE TEXT THE WORD WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION: of intermediate
value (ADJECTIVE). (0.25 points)
9 GIVE ONE OPPOSITE FOR warming (NOUN; LINE 1). (0.25 points)
10 GIVE AN ADJECTIVE WITH THE SAME ROOT AS threat (NOUN; LINE 1).

PASSIVE VOICE
1.

They climb a mountain every week.

2.

She didn't paint her bedroom.

3.

They are telling him awful stories.

4.

I'm going to send a parcel.

5.

They believe that Peter works in a hotel. 2

Join the sentences using a relative pronoun.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Queen Elizabeth II descends from King Egbert . He united all England in the year 829.
Unemployment is a problem . It concerns us all.
I dont want to see Mary. I am angry with her.
The new London guide contains a lot of information. It will appear in the bookshops next week.
Carol now lives in Oxford. Her parents also have a house there.