ЭКЗАМЕНАЦИОННЫЕ ТЕМЫ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

9-ый класс

17. What does a healthy way of life mean? How do you look after your health?

People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.
To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. In my opinion, smoking, and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It’s common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia, emphysema and cancer. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy. Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don’t employ people who are smokers. Smoking has been banned in most public places because everyone agrees it does harm to our health. I don’t smoke, because I don’t want to have unhealthy skin and teeth and die young.
Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. Of course, they are not quite as deadly as smoking or drinking alcohol, but they also affect our health.
If we eat too much, we’ll become obese, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca cola and coffee, and enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. Fast food makes you fat, that is why Americans are the fattest people in the world.
In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. People are encouraged to eat less fat and more fibre. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. High fibre and low fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. Salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.
Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts, and cut down on fat. People have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food. Some people count the number of calories they eat every day; so that they can try to take in fewer calories and lose weight. This is called a calorie-controlled diet. Manufacturers are increasingly producing special foods with fewer calories for slimmers.
But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too. Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. I can’t agree with them, because meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. In my opinion, it’s wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.
To my mind, the only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times and more resistance to various illnesses. Besides, you can eat and drink as much as you want because you are burning it all off.
To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or to air the room.
I think it is very important to be fit and healthy, and it is necessary to take care of your health. Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems. It is harder for fat people to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. That’s why I go in for sports on a regular basis. I have been doing aerobics for three years and I feel great. I am not enthusiastic about strict dieting, but I try to eat only low-fat food, and fruit and vegetables which are rich in vitamins.
Personally I believe that regularity in life promotes our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.

Questions:

1. What good and bad health habits can people have?
2. In what way do bad habits affect people?
3. Are there any changes in health habits?
4. What is a healthy way of life?
5. What should you do to keep fit?
6. How does sport help you to stay healthy?
7. What are the most popular ways to avoid gaining weight?
8. What is a calorie-controlled diet?
9. What are your health habits?
10. What is your personal attitude towards health?
11. Do you have any health problems? Why do you think you have them/you don’t have them?

18. The problems of ecology are very important now. Which problem is the most urgent, in your opinion? What can you and the people around you do to protect the planet?

Environmental problems have become exceptionally acute in the modern world, and environmental protection has become a vital necessity for all people.
Our planet is in serious danger. One of the most important environmental problems in the world today is the shortage of clean water. Industrial pollution has made many sources of water undrinkable. Rivers, lakes and even seas have become poisonous. Thousands of fish die every year as a result of the illegal dumping of waste in rivers by factories all over the world.
Lake Baikal is one of the worlds’ largest and most beautiful lakes. It contains a rich variety of fish and plants, including 1,300 rare species that do not exist anywhere else in the world. However, they are being killed by massive industrial waste, which some factories still pour into the lake every day. A few years ago people thought that the supply of clean water was unlimited. Now clean water is scarce, and we are beginning to respect this precious resource. We must protect the clean water that remains for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
Air pollution is another important problem. In hundreds of cities and towns the concentration of harmful substances in the air is over ten times the admissible level. Every day a huge number of plants and factories emit lots of harmful substances into the atmosphere of big cities. The great increase in the use of motor cars in the last quarter of the twentieth century has caused an increase in a new kind of air pollution. Pollution from factories and cars poison the air we breathe, and is the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rain.
Acid rain can damage life in lakes and rivers and destroy forests. The greenhouse effect may also have disastrous consequences for our planet. It is already affecting several areas of the world with unusual weather causing droughts or heavy storms. The world’s temperature is going up and the climate is changing. Cutting down on emissions from large combustion plants and exhaust fumes from vehicles would help solve the problem. I think we should try and use alternative energy, such as solar energy and wind energy, and design plants and cars that run on electricity, a much cleaner fuel than petrol.
One of the most alarming environmental problems is depletion of the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun. Because of the ozone holes, the dangerous rays get through the atmosphere, causing skin cancer and other serious diseases. Many scientists think that these ozone holes are the result of air pollution.
In my opinion, the most urgent ecological problem today is the environmental safety of nuclear power stations. Nuclear pollution can’t be seen, but its effects can be terrible. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are. Nuclear waste also endangers people’s lives. People all over the world protest against nuclear tests and nuclear weapons. If we do not take any action, the possibility of a global nuclear disaster is very real.
Of course, we can’t help mentioning such burning issues as destruction of tropical forests and wildlife, overpopulation, and shortage of natural resources. The list of serious ecological problems could be continued.
Today environmental issues are much spoken and written about on TV, radio, and in the newspapers. If people want to survive, they must do their best to solve these problems. Fortunately, it’s not too late to save our planet. We understand that our environment is not just our home town, but the whole earth. The protection of the environment requires the cooperation of all nations. Governments should take measures that will help improve the environment.
There are a lot of environmental groups and international organisations, whose main goal is to strengthen cooperation among environmentalists from different countries. The most famous of them is Greenpeace, which combines the people’s efforts for peace with the huge and ever mounting movement for nature conservation. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the name of another international organisation that appeared in 1961. It has created or given support to National Parks on five continents.
However, there are a lot of simple things we should all do to stop the destruction of the environment. First of all, we mustn’t drop litter in public places. Besides, we shouldn’t dump our rubbish without thinking which things, such as bottles and paper, can be recycled. We must stop using aerosol sprays, because the stuff they contain destroys the ozone layer. We should take care of birds and animals. We can help to plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can clean rivers and canals and create footpaths. But first of all we must change people’s attitude towards the environment.
If we take action now, there might be some hope for the future. If we do nothing, we are heading for disaster!

Questions:

1. What ecological problems are urgent now?
2. What is the influence of pollution on people’s health?
3. What is happening to our forests?
4. What are the consequences of nuclear disasters?
5. Was life better a hundred years ago? Why do you think so?
6. What ecological problems exist in your home town?
7. How can people protect our planet?
8. What is the aim of ecological organisations? What ecological organisations do you know?
9. What can you personally do to keep the world healthy?
10. Should we reject technological progress?

19. People set up different organizations for various purposes. What do you know about these organizations? Are you a member of any organization? Which organization would you join? Why?

The 20th century is characterized by the creation of international organizations: only a small number of the international organizations now in existence were formed before 1850, and about 90% were organized in the period 1900–1956. In the 1980s there were more than 2500 international organizations, of which about 750 were formed after World War II. This number included more than 130 intergovernmental agencies, of which the most notable were the United Nations and its affiliates.
The name United Nations was devised by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was first used in the “Declaration by United Nations” of 1 January 1942, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against Germany, Japan and Italy. The Charter of the United Nations was signed by 51 states on 26 June 1945. This day is now celebrated each year throughout the world as United Nations Day. Russia is a member of the United Nations.
A specialized agency of the United Nations is UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). It was founded in 1946. It promotes international collaboration in education, science and culture. Education is UNESCO’s main activity. The organization attempts to assist and support national efforts of member states in eliminating illiteracy, training teachers, developing educational institutions and extending free education. UNESCO also works to study, develop and promote cultural heritage and protect historic monuments and the natural environment. UNESCO assists and supports the efforts of member states through conferences, seminars and publications, through the promotion of research and exchange of information and knowledge.
Now I’d like to tell you about the World Health Organization (WHO). It began its activities in 1948. It is a specialized agency designed to further international cooperation for improved health conditions. The major function of the WHO is to establish measures for the control of epidemic diseases. This consists of mass campaigns promoted by WHO against communicable diseases. The major function of WHO is nursing concerned with maternal and child health. It also assists educational programmes for nurses and assistants. WHO is coordinating an international effort against Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) as well as the current threat of SARS.
Another medical organization is the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The Red Cross is an humanitarian agency with national affiliates in almost every country in the world. The Red Cross movement began in 1863. Its peacetime activities include first aid, accident prevention, water safety, training of nurses’ aids and mothers’ assistants and maintenance of maternal and child welfare centres, clinics, blood banks and numerous other services. The Red Cross is the name used in Christian countries; the Red Crescent is the name used in Muslim countries.
Greenpeace is an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to preserving endangered species of animals, preventing environmental abuses and taking care of wildlife. Greenpeace was founded in 1971 in Vancouver, Canada. It brought together people concerned with terrible abuses to the environment. The organization has a small staff and relies largely on voluntary staffing and funding. Greenpeace also campaigns:
– for stricter control over chemical waste disposal on land;
– to stop all nuclear weapons tests;
– to close down nuclear power stations and nuclear reprocessing plants;
– to stop acid rain and protect the atmosphere;
– to reduce the trade in endangered species products;
– to declare Antarctica a World Park – free of military and industrial exploitation, and so forth.
Today it is a global organization with national offices in 27 countries, one of them is in Russia (since 1992).
There are also youth organizations, because the main aim of society is to prepare young people for responsible roles in the adult world and to provide constructive outlets for energies of young people. Some organizations such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or Guides, and Young Men’s Christian Association and Young Women’s Christian Associations, have spread all over the world. The Boy Scout movement was founded in Great Britain in 1908. In 1910 the Girl Scout movement was also founded in that country. There are about 1,300,000 boys and girls in them. The movement of the Boy Scouts has its aim to help a Scout (a boy from 8–18) to develop into a good man and a useful citizen. He must be able to handle sails, to use a compass, to lay and light a fire outdoors, he must know first aid and develop his interest in music, literature, drama, arts and films. A Scout is a friend to animals, he’s “clean in thought, word and deed”. He must obey the Scout Law.

As for me, I’m not a member of any organization. But if I had chance, I would become a Scout, because I like the aims of this organization and the ways they are achieved.

Questions:

1. What is the 21st century characterized by?
2. When did the greatest number of international organizations appeared?
3. How many international organizations were there in the 1980s?
4. What do you know about the United Nations?
5. What do you know about the UNESCO?
6. What do you know about medical organizations?
7. What do you know about Greenpeace?
8. What youth organizations do you know?
9. What is the Boy Scouts movement?
10. What is the Girl Guides Association?

to be continued

By Elena Kisunko, Moscow, School No. 651,
Elena Muzlanova, Moscow, School No. 1537