11. The Human Race and Nature

	Slovakia has a continental climate with four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
The weather in spring and autumn is alike. Winters are normally cold and snowy. Summers are hot with many sunny days and a few summer storms.

Plants  are important parts in the cycle of nature. There would be no life on earth without them. Plants also produce the oxygen than we breathe.
Animals depend on plants because they cannot make their own food. Scientists say, there are about 260 000 species of plants and about 9 or 10 million species of animals. 
	Nowadays, some plants and animals are in danger. For example: elephants, tigers, pandas, whales, great apes, marine turtles, polar bears, rhinos, snow leopards, dolphins … In Slovakia bisons, wolves, foxes, eagles are also in danger.

	The most serious ecological problems of today are the pollution of air water and soil,
destruction of ecosystems, disappearance of many species of animals and plants, changes in wealthy, acid rain, global warning, destruction of the or one layer.
Professional organizations, ecologists, biologists, volunteers or just nature lovers do their best to protect nature and save life on Earth. We all have to respect the laws of nature. For example in forests, it is not allowed to make noise, set fire, cat wood, drop litter, poison air and likes with chemicals and so on. People can be fined or even imprisoned for breaking the laws.

QUESTIONS:
1. What seasons are there in Slovakia?
2. Why are plants important for our life?
3. What animals are in danger?
4. What ecological problems are the most serious?
5. Who is responsible for the most damage in nature?
6. How should we behave in forests?
7. What's the weather like today?
8. What kinds of weather do you know?
9. Which natural disaster, do your think, is the most dangerous?

-	earthquakes
-	fire
-	volcanoes
-	droughts
-	tornadoes
-	hurricanes
-	floods
-	tsunami, waves …