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Through a series of complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere, the sulfur oxides are
converted to sulfuric acid, which then falls to Earth’s surface as rain or snow. This acid
precipitation can have detrimental ecological effects over widespread areas. Because none of the
problems just mentioned are likely to prevent the increased use of this important and abundant
fuel, stronger efforts must be made to correct the problems associated with the mining and use of
coal.
Task 2. Build up a vocabulary to the text.

Task 3. Provide brief answers to the following:
1. What are modern energy resources from sedimentary rocks?
2. What do you think: is coal as popular as oil? Explain it.
3. What problems do coal recovery and its use present?
4. Is underground mining safe? What about our country?
5. What is a major problem associated with the burning of coal?

Task 4. Build up a plan to the text and be ready to talk about coal as one of the
energy resources from sedimentary rocks

Task 5. Read the following text, translate it into Ukrainian (in written form).
Energy Resources from Sedimentary Rocks
Oil and Natural Gas
Petroleum and natural gas obviously are not rocks, but we class them as mineral
resources because they come from sedimentary rocks. They are found in similar environments
and typically occur together. Both consist of various hydrocarbon compounds (compounds
consisting of hydrogen and carbon) mixed together. They may also contain small quantities of
other elements, such as sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen. Like coal, petroleum and natural gas are
biological products derived from the remains of organisms. However, the environments in which
they form are very different, as are the organisms. Coal is formed mostly from plant material that
accumulated in a swampy environment above sea level. Oil and gas are derived from the remains
of both plants and animals having a marine origin.
Unlike the solid organic matter from which they formed, the newly created petroleum and
natural gas are mobile. These fluids are gradually squeezed from the compacting, mudrich layers
where they originate into adjacent permeable beds such as sandstone, where openings between
sediment grains are larger. Because all of this occurs underwater, the rock layers containing the
oil and gas are already saturated with water. But oil and gas are less dense than water, so they
migrate upward through the water-filled pore spaces of the enclosing rocks. Unless something
acts to halt this upward migration, the fluids will eventually reach the surface. There the volatile
components will evaporate.
Sometimes the upward migration is halted. A geologic environment that allows for
economically significant amounts of oil and gas to accumulate underground is termed an oil trap.
Several geologic structures can act as oil traps. All have two basic conditions in common: a
porous, permeable reservoir rock that will yield petroleum and natural gas in sufficient quantities
to make drilling worthwhile; and a cap rock, such as shale, that is virtually impermeable to oil
and gas. The cap rock keeps the upwardly mobile oil and gas from escaping at the surface.

Task 6. Build up a vocabulary to the text.

Task 7. Provide brief answers to the following:
1. Are petroleum and natural gas rocks?
2. Describe similar features of oil and natural gas environment.
3. Compare coal and oil. What makes them different? What unites them?
4. Coal has the advantage of being plentiful. What are some of coal’s disadvantages?