Light Pollution: Multiple Choice Vocabulary Test

Some years ago, when I was working as an astronomer at the Greenwich Observatory in London, I received a letter from an elderly lady living (0)_______ who said: 'When I was a girl, we could see so many stars, but they're not there any more. Have they faded?' Walking down the hill on which the observatory stands, I (1)_______ the truth of what she said. (2)_______ me were all the lights of London and above me was the orange glow they (3)_______ up into the night sky. But I could (4)_______ see any stars.

If light pollution - as this effect is known - continues to increase at its present (5)_______, our grandchildren will only (6)_______ the chance to see the stars if they visit an observatory (7)_______ the one in Greenwich. Light pollution is almost (8)_______ for granted in most cities, and it is fast spreading into rural areas too.

(9)_______ recent research, almost half of all Europeans and two-thirds of North Americans can no longer see the Milky Way. And this type of pollution doesn't only (10)_______ our view of the night sky, it also wastes money and causes environmental pollution. For example, a single light bulb, (11)_______ all year, releases around a quarter of a tonne of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, (12)_______ global warming even worse.