You will read a newspaper article about how less light is reaching the Earth from the sun.

Before you read:

What may be causing this?

What might happen as a result?

EARTH GETTING DARKER AS SUNLIGHT DECREASES

In a recent report, scientists (0) ___C__ that the Earth is getting darker because of pollution
in the atmosphere. The reason for this (1)
_____ apparent in 2001 when flights in the US
were grounded for a few days and scientists (2) _____ that days were brighter and nights
were cooler. It is thought that pollution is (3) _____ for this. Sunlight is reflected back into
space after hitting particles created by car fumes, aerosols and aeroplanes.
Scientists (4)
_____ that this phenomenon may have (5) ____ the climate from
becoming even warmer. They also believe that when anti-pollution laws (6) _____ into effect,
the speed at which the world's climate changes will (7) ______. To the surprise of scientists
(8) _____ the world, hundreds of instruments recorded a drop of around ten per cent in the
amount of sunshine which was (9) _____the surface of the Earth from the late 1950s to the
early 1990s.
The (10) _____ on agriculture could be very damaging, since even a one per cent reduction
in sunlight is enough to reduce the growth of some crops. The factors that have led to the
reduction in sunlight also cause various environmental problems, such as air pollution and
acid rain. Some scientists believe that the reflection of heat has (11) _____ the oceans
cooler. As a result, less rain forms and this may have played a (12) _____ in changing
weather patterns in the last few years.
For questions 1-12, read the text again and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits
each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A

tell
came
noticed
guilty
advise
prevented
go
increase
over
arriving
effect
caused
piece

B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B

inform
became
learned
accused
alert
avoided
arrive
grow up
around
touching
result
resulted
part

C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

claim
got
knew
suspicious
alarm
controlled
come
develop
in
getting
change
made
effect

D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D

instruct
made
measured
responsible
warn
protected
become
hurry up
through
reaching
consequence
got
game

PREVENT

to stop something from happening or something from doing something:

Label your suitcases to prevent confusion.

AVOID

to stay away from someone or something:

We left early to avoid the traffic.

PROTECT

to keep someone or something safe from injury, damage or loss:

It's important to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun.

REACH

to arrive at a place, especially after spending a long time or a lot of effort travelling
We finally reached the hotel just after midnight. (It is not normally followed by a
preposition. It is not normally used with here or there)

ARRIVE

to reach a place, especially at the end of a journey. (You arrive at a building or part
of a building) It was dark by the time we arrived at the station.
(You arrive in a town, city or country) When did you arrive in London?

GET (+ to)

to reach or arrive at a place:

If you get to the hotel before us, just wait at reception.