Read and translate the text. Our planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but nowadays it's the only place where we can live

Our planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but nowadays it's the only place where we can live.

People always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. People lived in rural areas and did not produce such amount of polluting agents that would cause a dangerous situation in global scale.

With the development of overcrowded industrial highly developed cities, which put huge amounts of pollutants into surrounds, the problem has become more and more dangerous. Today our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, and overpopulation are the problems that threaten human lives on the Earth.

In order to understand how air pollution affects our body, we must understand exactly what this pollution is. The pollutants that harm our respiratory system are known as particulates. Particulates are the small solid particles that you can see through rays of sunlight. They are products of incomplete combustion in engines, for example: internal-combustion engines, road dust and wood smoke.

Billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels are burnt, they produce smoke and other by-products, which are emitted into the atmosphere. Although wind and rain occasionally wash away the smoke, given off by power plants and automobiles, but it is not enough. These chemical compounds undergo a series of chemical reactions in the presence of sunlight; as a result we have smog, mixture of fog and smoke. While such pollutants as particulates we can see, other harmful ones are not visible. Among the most dangerous to harm health are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and ozone or active oxygen.

If you have ever been in an enclosed parking garage or a tunnel and felt dizzy or lightheaded, then you have felt the effect of carbon monoxide (CO). This odourless, colourless, but poisonous gas is produced by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels, like gasoline or diesel fuel.

Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.

Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend continues, one day we won't have enough oxygen to breathe, we won't see a beautiful green forest at all.

The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in our seas.