Global warming

Read the text about global warming. Five sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A-E the one which fits each gap (1-5).

ARising temperatures in the world’s warm ocean waters have caused coral to lose color and die.

BA lot of bad weather gets linked to global warming in the media, which regularly predict that more and fiercer hurricanes, longer droughts and more severe rainstorms will result.

CIn Europe, scientists say warmer temperatures are affecting the spring and autumn seasons.

DScientists from the University of Hanover in Germany say global warming is affecting endangered species, sea life and the change in seasonal activities of organisms.

EBut many experts feel there is no need to rush into drastic measures.

Global warming is the most serious problem humanity has ever faced. In the late 1970s computer models predicted that the Earth would warm up by several degrees over the next century because of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. (1) ____.

Studies show that the Earth’s climate has warmed by about six-tenths of one degree Celsius for the past one-hundred years. Most of the increase has taken place in the last thirty years.

Scientists say the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere has begun to affect plant and animal life around the world. (2) _____.

The German scientists studied different animal and plant populations around the world in the past thirty years. They say some species will disappear because they cannot move to new areas when their home climate gets too warm.

The scientists say one of the biggest signs of climate change has been the worldwide reduction in coral reefs. (3) _____.

In the coldest areas of the world, winter freezing periods are now happening later and ending earlier. Researchers say these changes are having severe effects on animals such as penguins, seals and polar bears.

Changes in temperature in the air can also affect the reproduction of some reptiles and amphibians. For example, the sex of baby painted turtles is linked to the average temperature in July. Scientists say even small temperature increases can threaten the production of male turtles.

(4)_____. This is affecting the growth of plants and delaying the flight of birds from one place to another.

Scientists also are concerned about invasions of warm weather species into traditionally cold areas. Rising temperatures have been linked with diseases spread by mosquito insects in areas of Asia, East Africa and Latin America.

Britain’s Meteorological Office says worldwide temperatures will continue to rise during the next one-hundred years. It says how much these temperatures increase will depend on the success of worldwide policies designed to slow down global warming.

(5) _____. “We have a decade or so to collect data and refine our models before we have to act”, says Jerry North, professor of meteorology. There is also time for scientists to develop less carbon-intensive energy technologies, which we can switch to at a lower cost.

7. a) Divide the words and phrases from the box into three columns: