SOME NOTES ON DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION

(1) The Sahel zone lies between the Sahara desert and the fertile savannahs of northern Nigeria and southern Sudan. The word sahel comes from Arabic and means marginal or transitional, and this is a good description of these lands, which occupy much of the West African countries of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad.

(2) Unfortunately, over the last century the Sahara desert has steadily crept southwards spreading to once productive Sahel lands. United Nations surveys show that over 70 % of the dry land in agricultural usage in Africa has deteriorated over the last 30 years. Droughts have become more prolonged and more severe, the most recent lasting over twenty years in parts of the Sahel region. The same process of desertification is taking place across southern Africa as the Kalahari desert advances into Botswana and parts of South Africa.

(3) One of the main causes of this desert advance is poor agricultural land use, driven by the pressures of increasing population. Overgrazing – keeping too many farm animals on the land – means that grasses and other plants cannot recover, and scarce water supplies are exhausted. Overcultivation – trying to grow too many crops on poor land – results in the soil becoming even less fertile and drier, and beginning to break up. Soil erosion follows, and the land turns into desert.

(4) Another cause of desertification is loss of tree cover. Trees are cut down for use as fuel and to clear land for agricultural use. Tree roots help bind the soil together, conserve moisture, and provide a habitat for other plants and animals. When trees are cut down, the soil begins to dry and loosen, wind and rain erosion increase, other plant species die, and finally the fertile topsoil may be almost entirely lost, leaving only bare rock and dust.

(5) The effects of loss of topsoil and increased drought are irreversible. However, they are preventable. Careful conservation of tree cover and sustainable agricultural land use have been shown to halt deterioration of soils and lessen the effects of shortage of rainfall. One project in Kita in south-west Mali funded by the UNDP has involved local communities in sustainable management of forest, while at the same time providing a viable agricultural economy based on the production of soaps, bee-keeping, and marketing shea nuts. This may be a pattern for similar projects in other West African countries.

Задание 2. Найдите слова в тексте, которые:

1. начинается на букву “o” и означает cover (параграф 1);

2. начинается на букву “s” и означает firmly, constantly (параграф 2);

3. начинается на букву “s” и означает limited (параграф 3);

4. начинается на букву “e” и означает completely (параграф 4);

5. начинается на букву “h” и означает stop (параграф 5).

Задание 3. Определите, являются ли отсутствующие слова в предложениях 1-6 существительными или прилагательными.

1. Climate of the Sahel is described as ……. .

2. In some areas of the Sahel, there has been no rainfall for more than ……. .

3. Desertification is caused to be overgrazing, but this in turn is due to the pressure from …….

4. When trees are cut down, the soil is affected, which leads to the death of the surrounding ……

5. The consequences of the loss of topsoil cannot be reversed, but they are … .

6. Looking after trees reduces the consequences of a lack of … .

Задание 4. Заполните пропуски в предложениях, данных в задании 3. Используйте не более двух слов из текста для каждого ответа.

Задание 5. Определите, какие из высказываний являются правдивыми, какие ложными, а какие вообще не содержат информацию из текста.

1. The Sahara has spread slowly northwards into the Sahel region.

2. Just over 70% of the dry land in agricultural use in Africa has deteriorated over the last 30 years.

3. Desertification is taking place faster in southern Africa than in the Sahel.

4. The advance of the desert is not the result of poor agricultural land use.

5. The loss of tree cover is a minor cause of desertification.

6. If there is a loss of tree cover, the deterioration in the soil is stopped.

7. Tree conservation is more effective than sustainable agricultural land use in reducing the consequences of lack of rain.

Задание 6. Выпишите из текста все неправильные глаголы в трех формах и переведите.

Задание 7. Измените следующие предложения, используя конструкцию there + be.

1. Another cause of desertification is loss of tree cover.

2. Soil erosion follows, and the land turns into desert.

Задание 8. Подчеркните сказуемое в следующих предложениях, укажите видовременную форму, залог.

1. Droughts have become more prolonged and more severe, the most recent lasting over twenty years in parts of the Sahel region.

2. Trees are cut down for use as fuel and to clear land for agricultural use.

3. Careful conservation of tree cover and sustainable agricultural land use have been shown to halt deterioration of soils and lessen the effects of shortage of rainfall.

Задание 9. Преобразуйте предложения в пассивную форму и переведите.

1. Tree roots help bind the soil together, conserve moisture, and provide a habitat for other plants and animals.

2. Unfortunately, over the last century the Sahara desert has steadily crept southwards spreading to once productive Sahel lands.

Задание 10. Cоставьте 10 вопросов различного типа к любым предложениям из текста.

Вариант № 5

Задание 1. Прочтите текст и переведите последний абзац письменно.

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