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Global
Problems of Today
People have lived on our planet Earth for centuries and global
problems have always existed. In ancient times the biggest
global problem was wars. People have been fighting with each
other since the beginning of the civilisation mostly to get new
territories and more land. Later, fighting the distance was
another global problem, too, before the discovery of the plane.
Today, there are more global problems which can be divided into
two categories: ecological problems and social, eco¬nomic and
political issues.
The first category includes issues relating to ecological
destruction, pollution and global warming as the result. The
climate is changing and many people agree that climate change
may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Many
people think that a rise in temperature of about three or four
degrees is not very much, but the effects are worse than it
seems at first sight. Global warming has already killed off some
types of animals and plants. There have been more and more heat
waves in the summer, with many people dying in big cities.
Rising sea levels are threatening whole nations on low-lying
islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The second category of global problems deals with social,
economic and political issues. They include global terrorism,
poverty, human rights, health issues, racism and many others.
We are faced with the problem of global terrorism and more and
more countries are suffering from it. It is difficult to catch
terrorists and prevent their acts. The most terrible terrorist
attack took place on September 11, 2001 in the USA. The World
Trade Centre, the pride of all Americans and one of the symbols
of New York City, was destroyed completely and thousands of
people died. The world was shocked and most countries decided to
fight against terrorism. However, new terrorist attacks have
been committed. Many innocent people still get killed and nobody
can stop terrorists.
Poverty is another global problem. It may seem surprising, but
most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day now. The
worst situation is in Africa where people (mostly children) die
every day of hunger because they have nothing to eat. The poor
also have less access to health, education and other services.
Problems of hunger, malnutrition and diseases affect the poorest
in society.
Another global problem is racism, when people of different races
and different skin colour are humiliated and even killed. There
are many organisations that fight social global problems, but
this battle has lasted for a long time and it will take much
time for the solution of all of them.
We live in the 21st century and humanity has made a great
progress in technology, so I think that it is strange that we
still have global problems, especially the ones that deal with
social, economic and political issues. I am sure that they can
be solved completely without any conflicts or wars.
ПЛАН-ОТВЕТ. GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF TODAY
1. Вступление по теме (People have lived on our planet Earth for
centuries and global problems have always existed. In ancient
times the biggest global problem was wars. People have been
fighting with each other since the beginning of the civilisation
mostly to get new territories and more land. Later, fighting the
distance was another global problem, too, before the discovery
of the plane.).
2. Рассказать о двух группах глобальных проблем и о каждой в
отдельности (two categories; ecological problems: ecological
destruction, pollution and global warming; climate change;
killed off some types of animals and plants; heat waves in the
summer; many people dying in big cities; rising sea levels;
social, economic and political issues: global terrorism,
poverty, human rights, health issues, racism; terrorists, most
terrible terrorist attack, fight against terrorism, new
terrorist attacks, innocent people; poverty, Africa, die of
hunger, less access to health, education and other services;
racism, humiliated and killed, organisations, fight social
global problems).
3. Заключение (We live in the 21st century and humanity has made
a great progress in technology, so I think that it is strange
that we still have global problems, especially the ones that
deal with social, economic and political issues. I am sure that
they can be solved completely without any conflicts or wars.).
QUESTIONS
1. What global problems were there in the past?
2. What are the two categories of global problems now?
3. What does the first category include?
4. Why is global warming considered a global problem?
5. How does it affect nature?
6. What global problems does the second category include?
7. Why is terrorism a global problem?
8. Is poverty a big issue nowadays? Why?
9. What is racism and why is it a global problem?
10. What other global problems can you mention?
11. In what way can we fight global problems?
12. What global problem do you think is the biggest one? Why?
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
Problems Проблемы
climate change изменение климата
diseases болезни
ecological экологические
economic экономические
educational образовательные
environmental связанные с окружающей средой
financial crisis финансовый кризис
global глобальные
global warming глобальное потепление
health здравоохранение
hunger голод
malnutrition недоедание
political политические
pollution загрязнение
poverty бедность
racism расизм
social социальные
technological технологические
terrorism терроризм
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