Teaching English through e-learning

Complete the sentences with the verb in brackets in the correct form (present perfect simple or continuous)

 A  According to the article, we ____________( look ) at the wrong issue since 1975.

B For the past three years, many scientists___________( say ) something completely    different.

C At some time, I am sure we ______________( all think ) about hotter temperatures, rising water levels and the possible effects for people around the world.

D Some scientists ______________( make ) the same point - that the cycle theory shows us that we can be sure the world is going to get cold again soon.

E  Because of global warming, in recent years icebergs ___________( shrink ) and there___________ ( be ) more and more rain.

F Secondly, the increase in heat is not because of natural increases in temperature, but because we ____________ ( damage ) the environment.

G  Since then, we __________ ( live ) through the beginning of a cold period .

Read the article on climate change. Match sentences A-G in previous exercise with gaps 1-7.

 CLIMATE CHANGE: GLOBAL COOLING, GLOBAL WARMING ... OR SOMETHING ELSE?

          In recent years we have all been hearing about global warming_1 .It seems that the issue has been decided. There is global warming and we cant do anything to stop it.

     Well, actually this might not be the whole story. In 1975 Newsweek published an article about Global Cooling, not Global Warming. The theory behind it was this:" In recent years (1940-1965), global temperatures have been getting colder. World history shows that Hot Periods and Cold Periods appear in cycles. The period up to 1940 was a hot period__2.

   This theory was supported by very famous scientists in scientific journals, and also celebrities, including Isaac Asimov.

Yet, in 2006, Newsweek wrote an 'apology‘ article. 3___It isnt global cooling but global warming that is the big issue. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, there was a cooling period between 1940 and 1965. Since then, however temperatures have been increasing 4___ 

So, do we all agree that global warming is the thing to worry about? Well, surprisingly the answer to that is ‚no‘. There are still many people who do not accept the theory about „global warming“ 5___ Other scientists argue that there is not enough evidence over a long period of time. Well, in fact, that is true but if we wait for a longer period, it may be too late to do anything about it !

Finally, of course, large countries with strong economies that use a lot of power, and interested industries (like the oil industry) spend millions and millions of dollars on research, trying to disprove the global warming theory.

They might be right. Maybe we are getting a false impression of what is happening. Why? 6___ They say it is going to get much colder. This is the ‚Arctic Stream‘ theory. It is a very complex theory but here is the simple version. The UK is warmer than Canada because it has a stream of salt water that keeps it hot. This is called the Gulf Stream. As we all know, salt water is warmer than fresh water ( is it warmer to swim in the sea or a lake?) 7___

  Ice and rain are fresh water, not salt water. This will have a significant effect on the Gulf Stream. With more fresh water in the sea, the Gulf Stream will stop working. If it stops working, the UK and Northern Europe will get much colder.

So, what should we believe? Climate change is not such a simple issue. If you live in Northern Europe, it looks like you are going to get very cold. For the rest of us, time to get the sun cream out.