Ex. IS. a) Read (he text aloud.

f) Make sure (asking your partner tag questions) that you uuderstood the information
correctly.

g) The newspaper that published the article has asked for letters from its readers to
express their opinions. Write in with your opinion on the problem.

City's Pollution Levels Threaten Inhabitants' Lives

1. Its streets blocked by ever growing numbers of cars, Moscow is Europe's
most heavily-polluted city. " Pollution from traffic in Moscow shortens
our inhabitants' lives by at least four to five years, " said one of civil ser­
vants participating in a campaign to clean up the capital. " If we don't do
anything about it, by 2010 it will be taking six to seven years off everyone's
life, " he added. At the moment the city's 10-mi! lion population is suffer­
ing from lung illnesses because of breathing in traffic fumes. Campaigners
of the Greenpeace ecological group have come up with a proposal to try
to convince motorists of Moscow to switch to cleaner-burning natural gas
from gasoline by 2004. Only 100 000 out of 2.3 million cars use natural
gas, which emits up to 30 per cent less pollutants than gasoline.

2. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the number of privately
owned cars in Moscow has skyrocketed, straining the city's traffic system,
which was designed for a different era.

3. Transport is responsible for about 80 per cent of the air pollution in the
capital and the problem will worsen as the number of cars is forecast to
jump to five million within the next 20 years,

4. Some eight out of 10 vehicles are old Russian-made models such as Ladas
and Volgas, which pump one million tons of pollutant into the atmosphere
every year.

5. The low quality of gasoline sold, which is not subject to strict enough con­
trols allowing gas stations to mix it with cheaper fuel with a high lead
content, is another problem.

6. The lack of parking places on the outskirts of the city enabling people to
use other means of transport to get to the centre of the city also produces
traffic jams and therefore more pollution,

7. According to a 1999 study by the World Resources Institute, Moscow was
the 10" ¹ worst polluter among cities with a population of over nine mil­
lion, the only European city to make it into the top ten. Meanwhile, Mus­
covites who breathe in car exhaust on a daily basis pay a heavy piice.

8. People suffer serious damage to their health, especially children, with air
pollution causing coughs, lung illnesses, and heart problems.