passage 39

New York State's environmentalists now have proof that the Catskill Mountain region has been receiving high levels of acid rainfall.This has been shown through a school project started by two teachers at the Giboa—Conesville School.The project found that a one thousand square mile area of the Catskills has been re-ceiving acid rain.The rain has an average PH factor much more than expected.

Scientists know that acid rain occurs when high amounts of air pollution from the Midwest industrial belts mix with local rainfall.The problem has been documented in the Adirondack mountains, but little research has been done in the Catskills.

Joe Farleigh, one of the teachers involved, said the project started several years ago when his seventh—grade class participated in an acid rain study conducted by Current Science magazine.“The results of that survey,”Farleigh said,“indicated that thenorth— eastern United States is being threatened by acid rain.Since that area was receiving rain with higher levels of acidity than other sections of the United States.Sincethat time, I have been aware of acid rain as a potential environmental hazard”.

Last year Farleigh and another science teacher began a study of their own.In their study, schools in the region serve as collection sites for the rainwater.the samples collected on a

regular basis and brought to Farleigh's school for testing. Students in the shop classes made the collecting stations,

following the designs used by the state's environmental conservation chemists.The collection stations were sent to the different schools in May 1979.

Study became fully operational in September 1979.Since then, Mr.Farleigh has been receiving weekly samples of precipitation from the seventeen participating schools.

Mr.Farleigh says that there have been some problems with the collection stations.High winds have damaged some of them, and school closings have interrupted some weekly collections.

But in spite of these problems, the project has documented the acid rainfall problem in the Catskills.

  1. This passage is mainly about . A)acid rain in the Adirondack mountains

  1. the causes of acid rain

  2. a new study of acid rain

  3. protests against acid rain

  1. Joe Farleigh first became aware of the environmental dangers of acid

    rain .

    1. after conducting this study of acid rain in the Catskills

    2. after his students participated in an acid rain study several

      years ago

    3. after he visited the Midwest industrial belts

    4. after wind damaged his collection stations

  2. Which of the following is a fact stated in the article? A)Teachers are concerned about the environment

  1. Schools contribute a great deal to scientific study

  2. The Adirondack mountains receive acid rainfall

  3. Acid rain can kill fish

  1. Precipitation, used in paragraph six, probably means .

    1. PH factor B)rainwater C)testing D)pollution 5.According to this

      passage, acid rain .

  1. has a high PH factor

  2. is necessary

  3. was first discovered in September 1979 D)interrupted weekly sample

    collections in the survey