Урок 13. Recycling
Предмет: Английский язык, 8 класс

8 класс. Lesson 13.

Recycling

In this lesson

you will talk about some aspects of recycling.
you will compare two types of bags: plastic and paper.
you will know which one is more eco-friendly.
you will learn how to form verbs to show repetition.

Ключевые слова: recycling, manufacturing, rubbish, a landfill site.

Речевой материал: recycling, paper bag vs plastic bag, manufacturing, rubbish, a landfill site, prefix -re.

Основное содержание урока

Our planet Earth is only a tiny part of the Universe, but it’s the only place where we, people, can live. Every day we try to get rid of (избавляться) different things and throw away a plenty of rubbish, polluting our surroundings. Factories and plants emit tons of harmful chemicals (вредные вещества); bury the waste of manufacturing (производство) in soil. As the result, there is the endless number of landfills (свалки), appearing in all the regions of the world every day. Recycling is one the solutions to this problem. People recycle different kinds of things: paper, plastic, glass and metal. Bags are not the exception.

While shopping, we put our purchases into a bag: plastic or paper. Many people are sure that a paper bag is more eco-friendly than a plastic one. Is it true? Let’s compare them. First, compare their origins. Paper bags come from trees, you know. But do you know that it takes about three tons of wood chips (опилки) to get one ton of paper pulp. Imagine the number of trees needed every year just to make paper!!!

You must be surprised to know that people wash, bleach (отбеливать) and colour this paper pulp using chemicals that harm the environment. Plastic comes from oil (нефть). Oil industry (нефтяная промышленность) causes pollution and uses a lot of energy which is not good for the environment. Secondly, let’s compare how and where they end their lives (заканчивать жизнь). A paper bag ends up in a landfill site where it will take years to break down (разлагаться). You can take it to a recycling centre (пункт переработки) that means more chemicals and energy are used to recycle it.

Like paper, plastic bags often end up in landfill sites where it will take them more than 1000 years to decompose (разлагаться). What’s more, plastic bags cause thousands of sea turtles and other marine (морской) animals to die annually. They mistake (путать) them for food.

So, what is the winner? None! Both a plastic bag and a paper one use large amounts of natural resources. Also, both kinds of bags end up in landfill sites breaking up for a long time.

But what is the best way to carry your shopping? What’s the winner of this discussion? A reusable fabric bag!

Pay your attention to the word reusable. Here you can see the prefix -re. It means that we can use something again and again.

Using a fabric bag you follow the rule of 3Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE as, this way, you reduce the number of bags you need as it lasts for years and you can use it again and again, day by day. At last, it’s light and takes minimal energy to be recycled.

Тренировочные упражнения

1 Complete the sentences.

1 The rule of 3Rs is _____________________________.

2 A _______________ bag is the most eco-friendly.

3 We use the prefix ________________to make a verb to show repetition.

2 Match the words with their meanings.

1 decompose

confuse with

2 get rid of

damage

3 light

making

4 mistake for

break up

5 harm

throw away

6 manufacturing

not heavy

3 Use the prefix re- to form the verbs.

name

print

appear

build

start

4 Which type of bags do the statements refer to?

1 It can cause animals to die. [plastic / paper]

2 A lot of energy is used to make it. [plastic / fabric]

3 It’s made from renewable resources. [paper / plastic]

4 It takes several hundred years to decompose. [plastic / fabric]

5 It’s the most eco-friendly type of bag. [fabric / paper]

5 Read the text and find the appropriate heading.

The Ecological Problems

Let’s Save the Earth Together!

Natural Resources

The population of the world is growing very fast. In the last 40 years, it has doubled. By the year 2200, it will be about 10,000 million. Our cities will be bigger. We’ll need more factories and roads. We’ll need more water and more natural resources. If we don’t change the way we use energy and natural resources, we’ll have serious problems in the future.

Every day we throw away millions of tons of rubbish. Half of this paper that we can use again, we can recycle it. A lot of rubbish we throw away, like plastic, metals and chemicals will not disappear for hundreds of years. We also produce a lot of unnecessary things, such as packaging. All of this pollutes the natural environment. So, not to have big ecological problems in the future, we must avoid using non-biodegradable material. Besides, we must reduce many unnecessary things that we produce and use.

Many natural resources are not renewable. Gas, oil and coal will come to an end one day. Other resources, such as trees, take a long time to grow. We have to reduce the amount of resources and energy we use. We also try to use such alternative ways as the wind and the sun to make energy.

6 Read the text and choose the right option to fill in the gap.

The population of the world is growing ______________.

fast

slowly

very fast

We’ll need more and more natural ______________ in the future.

resources

environment

problems

People throw away millions of tons of ______________ every day.

food

natural resources

rubbish

Gas, oil and coal aren’t ____________.

recycled

necessary

renewable

People must use different kinds of alternative resources, such as ______________.

oil and coal

the sun and the wind

the sun and gas

7 Fill in the gaps with: break up, manufacturing, ends up, threw away, reduce.

The boy ____________ a piece of paper.
It takes plastic a long time to ____________.
The rubbish ____________ in a landfill site.
People must ____________ the amount of rubbish they throw away.
____________ of fabric bags uses minimal energy.

8 Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits each space.

The essay isn’t good enough. I think you should ___________ it.

WRITE

The best way to carry your shopping and protect the environment at the same time is to choose a ___________ fabric bag.

USE

The Earth is the only planet that people can live on, so ___________ problems concern everybody.

ECOLOGY

When rubbish is buried in landfill sites, it can cause ___________ of water supplies.

POLLUTE

The obvious solution of ecological problems is ___________.

CYCLE

Контрольные задания

Вариант 1

1 Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits each space.

In Russia, separate waste ___________ is not common.

COLLECT

Recycling plants get their income almost exclusively from the sale of ___________ materials.

RECYCLE

Viridor is one of the UK’s leading recycling, ___________ energy and waste management companies.

NEW

People should use more alternative ___________ of energy, such as solar, water and wind energies.

RESOURCE

People need to invent new waste-free technologies that ________________ the environment.

NOT, DAMAGE

2 Choose the correct word.

1 Plastic comes from [oil / paper].

2 Eco-safe clothes are made from recycled [materials / resources].

3 [Manufacturing / Industry] of plastic items takes a lot of energy.

4 Marine animals [mistake / confuse] plastic bags for food.

5 A plastic item takes more than one thousand years to [decompose / end up].

3 Fill in the gaps with appropriate words.

Manufacturing of Paper Bags

Paper comes from ____________. After being collected, they must dry for several years before they can be used. More machinery is used to make paper pulp. It takes three tons of wood ____________ to make one ton of pulp. The pulp is then washed, bleached and coloured; all the stages require tons of clean ____________. The pulp and water mixture is dumped into a web of bronze wires, and the water showers through, leaving the pulp, which, in turn, is rolled into ____________.

Don’t forget about the energy inputs: electrical, ____________ and fossil fuel-based, used to transport the raw material, turn the paper into bags and then transport the finished paper bags all over the world.

Вариант 2

1 Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits each space.

Some ____________ have started using up-to-date filters to prevent pollution.

FACTORY

Many factories and plants pollute air by pouring ____________ emissions into the air.

HARM

We must not ignore the problems of ____________ pollution.

ENVIRONMENT

Paper and plastic are recycled at ____________factories.

RECYCLE

People use different kind of ____________ to make paper.

CHEMISTRY

2 Choose the correct word.

1 A [landfill / pollution] site is a large deep hole where people bury rubbish.

2 Many [natural / environmental] resources are not renewable.

3 People throw [away / up] tons of rubbish every day.

4 Thousands of tons of [waste / shopping] have accumulated in Russia.

5 Turtles are [marine / minimal] animals.

3 Fill in the gaps with appropriate words.

Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are made from __________. It’s fact that the oil industry causes pollution. Besides, oil is a __________ resource.

The biggest energy input for the plastic bag manufacturing process is electricity, which often comes from coal-burning power. This way, the manufacturing of plastic bags uses a lot of electricity which is not good for the __________.

Like paper, plastic can be recycled, but it isn’t easy. The process of __________ involves re-melting and re-casting the plastic. The producing of new plastic from recycled items takes much more energy than the virgin plastic _____________. Also, the quality of such plastic is not rather high.