1. What did the government order? – Each family must reduce its water use by 40%.
2. Coal pollutes the air and gives off a lot of carbon dioxide. Most European nations have switched to natural gas or nuclear power to produce electricity.
3. Chemists are constantly creating new products in the laboratory. People can have substitutes for scarce or unavailable products.
4. What is advisable? – People should conserve energy whenever possible.
5. Global warming is a real problem. Governments have been slow to take action.
6. People pay more for organic farm products. They can avoid food with chemicals.
7. Technology creates new jobs in some sectors of the economy. It takes away jobs in others.
8. Technology is changing our loves in insidious (secretly harmful) ways. The computer is replacing human contact.
9. Albert Einstein was a high school dropout. The world recognizes him as a genious.
10. Books go digital. New questions arise. These are both philosophical and commercial questions.
11. Technology will “unbind” books. Technology has unbundled other media, such as music albums. Reading habits will change as a result.
12. The difference between iPods and electronic books is simple. It is easy to transfer one’s old music CDs onto iPods. It is impossible to transfer one’s old books onto an e-book.
B. Revision
Practice1
Fill in the gaps with appropriate transition signals, punctuate them if necessary.
Genetic engineering.
Genetic research has produced both exciting and frightening possibilities. Scientists are now able to create new forms of life in the laboratory(1)…. … the development of gene splicing (gene joining)(2). … … ….. the ability to create life in the laboratory could greatly benefit humankind.(3)…. ……….. it is very expensive to obtain insulin from natural sources(4) …….. through genetic research scientists have now developed a way to manufacture it inexpensively in the laboratory.(5) ………….. beneficial application of gene splicing is in agriculture. Genetic engineers have created a new tomato that doesn’t spoil quickly.(6)………………… tomato farmers can now let the tomatoes ripen on the plant and develop full flavor and color….. they are picked-no more green, flavorless tomatoes in grocery stores!(7)… ………… genetic engineers have created larger fish, frost-resistant strawberries, and more productive cows.
(8) … ….. ……… ……… not everyone is positive about gene-splicing technology. Some people feel that it could have terrible consequences. A laboratory accident(9)…. ……….might cause an epidemic of an unknown disease that could wipe out humanity. (10)………………… the ability to clone human beings is a possibility that frightens many people. In 1993, a researcher at George Washington University Medical Centre cloned human embryos by splitting single embryos into twins and triplets. These embryos did not develop into babies(11)…….it is possible that they could do so in the future.(12)………… human embryos can be frozen and used at a later date, it could be possible for parents to have a child and then, years later, to use a cloned, frozen embryo to give birth to its identical twin.
Practice 2
Edit the following article for errors in adverbial clauses. There are 13 errors. Fill in the gaps with appropriate connectors. Punctuate them if necessary.
Addicted to the Net
(1)A lot of people enjoy surfing the Net.(2)They look for interesting Websites and chat with other people all over the world.(3)…………….. some people spend such many hours on-line that they are Internet addicts.(4)………………….an average person spends about 8 to 12 hours per week but an addict spends 8 to 12 hours per day on-line.(5)Because addicts spend so much time interacting with the computer, so it can affect their lives negatively.(6)They become social recluses(people who withdraw from the world and live in isolation) …………… they stop going out and talking to people face-to face.(7)They avoid real-life social situations, preferring ……………to be in a dimly lit room with only the glowing screen.
(8)Internet addiction negatively affects …. ……… the addicts themselves but also the people around them.(9)…. ………… John’s marriage to Mary broke up until he insisted on spending so many hours on the Net.(10)…. ….. …… he arrived home from work he was at his computer.(11)While he finished dinner, he would disappear into his computer room again.(12)He paid ….. little attention to her …….she finally divorced him.
(13)….. college students are especially technologically skilled they can easily become nonstop Net-surfers.(14)Many college provide computers at several locations around campus since students can use them at any time day or night.(15)….. ………. students can spend too much time surfing the Net …………. of “surfing” their textbooks.(16)Last semester, nine freshmen at Berkshire College flunked out although they became Internet addicts.
(17)….. …………… even though the Internet is an excellent source of information and entertainment, but we must not let it take over our lives.
Practice 3
Write an opinion essay on the following topic: Some kinds of scientific research should be discouraged for ethical reasons.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL