Task 1

A. questions
1. It had quite a warm climate then.
2. About 150 million years ago Gondwanaland began to break up, and the Antarctic moved southwards until it reached its present position.
3. 99 percent of the total area of Antarctica is covered by a massive ice sheet.
B. fill in the blanks
1. Africa, Australia
2. small dog, (former) land connection, animals and plants
3. penguin

Task 2 skip

Task 3
A. questions
1. Until 1980, it had been quiet for more than a hundred years.
2. It was strange. No birds were singing, and the air was still.
3. He was standing near the summit and reporting the eruption on radio.
B. fill in the blanks
Washington, 35, 1980, 123, recreation, summit, tremors, small eruptions, no danger, 1980, dust, ash, rocks, mud, 40, peaceful, empty

Task 4
1. Mrs. Rakel Surlien is the Norwegian Minister of Environmental Protection, and she is about to begin a three-day visit to Britain.
2. Britain
3. Britain insists the case against acid rain in general and its contribution in particular is far from proven.
4. Sweden
5. It refers to a group of some 20 nations which are committed to reducing sulfur dioxide by a third.
6. Norway is against Britain in the dispute over acid rain in spite of its cordial approach.

Task 5
A. questions
1. four out of five, survive, rosy, forest flower, for centuries
2. 2,000; fight cancer, 40, wildlife, the rainforest
3. drugs, a South American tree, blood pressure, the snakeroot plant from Indian forests
4. foods, tropical forests, winged bean
5. rubber, oils, one, examined, 99, threatened
B. fill in the blanks
fish, aquatic life, forest, power stations, remain isolated

Task 6 skip

Task 7 skip

Task 8

A. fill in the table
1991, Jane Goodall, environmental, humanitarian; more than 4,000 groups in 68 countries; animals, environment, communities, creep underground everywhere, break through brick walls to reach light, all the problems
B. skip

Task 9 skip

Task 10 skip

Task 11
Planet Earth is 4,600,000,000 years old. If we condense this time span, we can compare it to a person 46 years old. Only at the age of 42 did the Earth begin to flower. Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did not appear until one year ago when the planet was 45. Mammals arrived only eight months ago, and in the middle of last week human-like apes developed into ape-like humans. And last weekend the last ice-age covered the earth. Modern man has been around for 4 hours. During the last hour agriculture was discovered. The Industrial Revolution began a minute ago. Since then, we have multiplied our numbers to plague proportions, caused the extinction of 500 species of animals, turned the planet upside down in the search for fuels; and now we stand, arrogant with power, on the edge of a war to end all wars and close to effectively destroying this oasis of life in the solar system.