Language Focus
Look at the following sentence from the text Proven environmental commitment helps create committed customers. Although thinking and buying green is more expensive, environmentalism is less taxing on the earth in the long run. (para 6)
Join the sentence halves below.
1. In spite of the present a. we still havent reached our target.
Recession
2. Despite rising costs, b. people are still buying them.
3. Even though our products are c. they are keeping their prices low.
expensive,
4. Although profits are increasing, d. we can reach our output deadline.
5. Despite the fact that our deadline.
supplies were late, e. The long-term economic outlook is optimistic.
Join the pairs of sentences using an expression of contrast. Use each expression once.
Example:
Patagonia sales fell in the 90s. Their reputation for high quality didnt decline. In spite o f a fall in sales in the 90s, Patagonia's reputation for high quality didnt decline.
1. Young people are concerned about the environment. They cant always afford environmentally-friendly products.
2. Patagonia makes efforts to convince other companies to use organically-grown cotton. Many companies resist because it costs more.
3. Pollution, is rising in Paris, People still prefer to take their cars to work.
4. Many countries organise separate waste collections for glass, paper, metal and plastic. Many others dont.
5. Most beauty products carry the label against animal testing. Some of the components may have been tested on animals.
Reading
Read the article and do the tasks which follow.
LANDFILL TAX
In the November 1994 budget, the Chancellor announced a new tax to help reduce pollution in the UK. The landfill tax, which will be introduced in October 1996, is designed to encourage industry to recycle more waste, reduce the amount created and find alternatives to landlill. The tax is expected to raise around £500 million. Some of this revenue will be used to restore old landfill sites and contaminated land, and I he rest to reduce employers national insurance contributions. The Chancellor introduced the tax in an effort to increase the cost of pollution and reduce the cost of employing people. The tax is likely to increase the landfill cost from £10 a tonne to about £15 a tonne. Those landfill sites near cities, which are in short l supply, may charge even more. The new tax will also encourage incineration and the generation of electricity from burning refuse and waste. At the moment such schemes are only marginally economic. However, some have argued that the landfill tax may actually do more harm than good. For example, waste will be driven away from the more expensive sites with liners, monitoring equipment and control systems, to smaller sites which are literally holes in the ground.
OLIVE ENERGY
New European anti-pollution legislation has forced olive oil produce to change their production methods. Dumping waste water into riven if now forbidden. An increasing number of olive oil producers in Southern Europe have switched to dry production methods which produce " semi-solid waste called sansa. Sansa is high energy waste making ideal biomass fuel. Biomass fuels are environmentally friendly because they are relatively clean and do not contribute to the greenhouse effect. They can also help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Unfortunately, biomass fuels are expensive, costing two or three times more than fossil fuels. At the moment, most biomass plant, are located in northern Europe where they supply heat to district healing schemes. In southern Europe the population density is lower and because of the climate, there is less demand for district heating, Bionner production is seasonal and the power plants used in northern Europe are not really suitable for the biomass fuels available from the south. However, in Spain, El Tejar an olive oil producer, uses sansa as a biomass fuel to generate electricity which fuels the factory. Indeed so much electricity is generated that a surplus is sold to La Sevilliana local electricity distributor. To encourage the use of power stations fuelled by sansa generating companies are paid more per kWh for their electricity than generators using other fuels. The Andalusian government in Spain also paid El Tejar 20 per cent of the capital cost.In Italy, power generators are also paid a premium if they use renewable sources. In addition to agro-industrial waste, biomass includes crops grown specially for their energy value, such as fast growing trees. One generating plant near Pisa will use trees such as poplar and robinia grown on EU set-aside land (i.e. land which farmers are paid not to use for cereal crops). However, such projects are only feasible if subsided by national governments or the EU.
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Reading Comprehension
Find in the texts Landfill Tax and Olive Oil the English equivalents of the following words and expressions:
1)
2) recycled waste
3) to restore old landfill sites
4) the cost of pollution
5) incineration
6) , anti-pollution legislation has forced
7) Dumping waste
8) biomass fuels
9) fossil fuels
10) -. contribute to improving the situation
11) the power plant
12) to generate electricity
13) renewable sources.
Language Focus
Rewrite Hie following sentences using a passive form. Omit the agent if it is not important.
Example:
