Exercise 3
Fill in the gaps with the verbs in brackets in the present simple or present continuous.
Rainforests 1 (disappear), and we all 2 (know) that humans are the main cause of this destruction. Every year we 3 (cut down) an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey. Every hour we 4 (destroy) 6000 acres of rainforest (that’s 4000 football fields). What we 5 (not realise) is that we 6 (destroy) the planet where our children and grandchildren have to live. We 7 (need) the rainforests; they 8 (produce) oxygen and 9 (eliminate) carbon dioxide (C02), cleaning the atmosphere.

But why 10 (the forests/disappear) so quickly? Well, experts 11 (agree) that there are two main reasons. The most important is human activity. Big companies 12 (cut down) more and more trees every day and this 13 (cause) damage to the land. The way of life in the rainforests 14 (also/change) because of climate change. Now there is less rain and this 15 (cause) more and more trees to die. As a consequence of the droughts, the risk of fires 16 (increase) dramatically.

Fortunately, it 17 (seem) that now some governments 18 (begin) to understand the problem, and they 19 (try) to control these activities. Some of them really 20 (want) to put an end to this problem, although a few big companies with a lot of power are in their way.