TASK 2. Read the passage and choose the best answer to complete the blank.

The people of Kiribati are afraid that one day in the not-too-distant future, their country will disappear... (1)... the face of the earth literally. Several times this year, the Pacific island nation has been flooded by a sudden high tide. These tides, which swept across the island and destroyed houses, came when there was neither wind... (2)... rain. "This never happened before," say the older citizens of Kiribati.

What is causing these mysterious high tides? The answer may well be global warming. When fuels like oil and coal are being burned, pollutants are released; these pollutants... (3).... heat in the earth's atmosphere. Warmer temperatures cause water to expand and also create more water by melting glaciers and polar ice caps.

If the trend continues, scientists say, many countries... (4).... Bangladesh, for example, might lose one-fifth of its land. The coral island nations of the Pacific, like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, however, would face an even worse fate. They would be swallowed by the sea. The loss of these coral islands would be everyone's loss. Coral formations are... (5)... to more species than any other place on earth.

The people of Kiribati are afraid that one day in the not-too-distant future, their country will disappear... (1)... the face of the earth literally.