8.Modern medicine has produced a great increase in the population of a third of the world.

9.In the 1930s some European countries started a widespread birth control campaign. 10.Industrialization and modernization will certainly take place in the underdeveloped countries.

3.5.GPS (Global Positioning System) Starting time

With a GPS receiver, you need never be lost again. Whether you are driving in a new city or climbing a mountain path, you can use GPS (Global Positioning System) to find out exactly where you are. How is this possible? A system of twenty-four satellites sends continuous signals from 12,000 miles above the Earth. Based on the location of the satellites, GPS receivers on the earth can use these signals to find their own location.

GPS had its beginnings in the 1940s when the United States military developed a navigation system using radio signals from different ground locations. However, because the signals were easily interrupted or lost, the system did not always work. American scientists realized they might be able to use satellites to send signals after 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite. Since the scientists could follow the satellite's path and track its radio beams, it occurred to them that they could calculate the exact position of the satellite, using their exact location on the Earth. Using the same logic, they also realized that if they knew the exact location of the satellite, they could calculate their own position on the Earth. A system using signals sent from satellites was clearly the solution for global navigation. The first such system was developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1960s. It sent signals from five satellites and was used mainly by military ships and airplanes. However, with only five satellites, it was not always possible to get a signal everywhere on the globe. This meant ships or planes could not depend on the system in emergency situations —in war or in bad weather. More satellites and better signals were needed. After years of research, the first GPS satellite was launched in 1978, ten more had been launched by 1989, and a complete set of twenty-four satellites were in orbit by 1994.

Though it was originally created for military uses, GPS has by

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now become an essential global navigating tool. Around the world, ships depend on GPS, as do airports and airplanes. In recent years, the development of very small and inexpensive receivers has made possible all kinds of other uses. Many cars now come equipped with GPS receivers and computerized maps to show where you are. Farmers put GPS receivers on tractors to help them find their way at night over dark fields. Emergency telephone operators use GPS to locate people who have called in for help. And parents or pet owners put receivers on their children or their dogs so they cannot be lost. However, what makes GPS so useful—the way it allows us to keep track of people and things— could also make it dangerous if it is used for the wrong purposes. Some organizations that are concerned about rights to privacy have argued that there should be limits to who can use GPS and for what purpose. In the United States, several cases have been brought to court to question the right of the government or private companies to track people without their knowledge.

One important case came up in 2003 before the Supreme Court in the state of Washington. Under American laws protecting the right to privacy, the government or the police are not allowed to investigate a person's private life if there is no evidence that he or she has committed a crime. In the Washington case, the police had wanted to learn more about the habits of a man they suspected, so they hid a GPS receiver in his car. Lawyers for the suspect argued that this was illegal because it went against his right to privacy. The Washington Supreme Court agreed. In their view, hiding a GPS receiver in a car was like putting an invisible police officer in the back seat. This was acceptable practice only if the police already had evidence that the suspect had been involved in a crime and if they had permission from a judge. Otherwise, it could not be used. In 2005, another interesting case involving GPS was brought before the Supreme Court in Connecticut. This case involved a rental car company that decided to use GPS technology to prevent customers from driving their cars too fast. They hid GPS receivers in all their rental cars, which allowed them to know where each car was at any time. The receivers could also be used to calculate the speed at which a car moved from one place to another. If the car was driven faster than 80 miles per hour (120 km/hour), the driver was

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charged an extra $150. Though the rental contract did mention GPS in very small print, customers were not told about it or about the extra charge.

One customer who was charged $450 for speeding three times became very angry, and he decided to bring the rental company to court. In his view, the rental company had used GPS to spy on him illegally and the charges were unfair. The Connecticut Supreme Court agreed that this use of GPS was not acceptable and told the rental company to return the $450. According to the judges, the rental company should have informed the driver about the existence of a GPS receiver in the car and about the speeding charge.

As a technology for finding location, GPS is the latest in a long series of technological developments. Travelers once looked for patterns in the stars to find their way through unknown lands. Then, they began to use maps, which were first drawn in Turkey in about 6200 B.C.E. And became more and more accurate over the centuries. But the remarkable precision of GPS raises many new questions today about how and when this technology should be used.

Multiple choice

Read the passage carefully, then answer the following questions. Choose the response which best reflects the meaning of the text.

1.Choose the statement that best expresses the overall thesis of the passage.

a)GPS has made it possible to keep precise track of a lost person or stolen car.

b)GPS receivers capture continuous signals from twenty-four satellites.

c)GPS began as a tool for the military but now has many nonmilitary uses.

d)GPS may not be used secretly by the police in the United States.

2.The first radio navigation system

a)was developed by the Soviet Union.

b)followed the path of a man-made satellite.

c)was used to follow a suspected criminal.

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d)depended on signals sent from the ground.

3.Sputnik I, the satellite launched by the Soviet Union,

a)was developed by the Soviet military.

b)sent GPS signals to Soviet scientists.

c)helped American scientists develop GPS.

d)was captured by the American military.

4.Having twenty-four satellites in the system means that

a)it is possible to get a signal from any place on earth.

b)it may not be possible to get a signal in some places.

c)signals are easily interrupted or lost in some places.

d)only military ships and airplanes can use GPS.

5.You can infer from this passage that in the United States

a)private companies are allowed to use GPS to locate customers.

b)the use of GPS has reduced the number of airplane accidents.

c)the police can use any means to find out about a suspected criminal.

d)the decisions of the Supreme Court are very important legally.

6.The Supreme Court in Washington decided that the police

a)can put an invisible police officer in the back seat of someone's car.

b)have to ask a judge before they can use GPS to follow someone.

c)should not use rental cars when they are following a criminal.

d)may investigate people's private lives whenever they want to.

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ГЛАВА 4. ТЕКСТЫ ПО СТРАНОВЕДЕНИЮ 4.1.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state of the UK as well as of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world—a legacy of the British Empire.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires Royal Assent to become law. The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the Member of Parliament who can obtain the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons, usually the current leader of the largest political party in that chamber. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The UK's three major political parties are the Labour Party, the

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Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, who won between them 616 out of the 646 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 general election. Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labour Party, has been Prime Minister since 27 June 2007.

The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag or, popularly, Union Jack. The current design of the Union Flag dates from the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England), edged in white, superimposed on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales' patron saint, Saint David. The national anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the King", with "King" replaced with "Queen" in the lyrics whenever the monarch is a woman.

The UK is a developed country, with the world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialized country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the economic and social cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a major power with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the fourth highest defence spending in the world. It is a Member State of the European Union, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, G8, G20, NATO, and the World Trade Organization.

Do you know that …

1. The Commonwealth is a unity of 49 countries, former colonies of Great Britain, including the USA, Canada and Australia.

2.MP is a member of British Parliament.

3.PM is the Prime Minister .

4.The “Tories” are members of the Conservative Party.

5.The “Whigs” are members of the Liberal Party.

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6.BBC is British Broadcasting Corporation (the most popular).

7.“Top of the Pops” is the most popular TV musical channel.

8.Union Jack is the name of the UK flag. The flag is made up of 3 crosses.

9.The English Channel is пролив ЛаМанш in Russian.

10.The Strait of Dover is пролив Па-де-Кале.

11.The Channel Tunnel is the underground passage below the English Channel.

12.Stonehenge is one of ancient monuments made up of huge

13.Tube is metro in London.

14.Buckingham Palace is the chief queen’s place of residence.

15.Windsor Palace is the queen’s summer place of residence.

16.Downing Street , 10 is the address of the Prime Minister.

17.Loch is “lake” in the Scottish language , ex. Loch Ness.

18.Kilt is a Scottish skirt for men.

19.Cymru - so the Welsh call their country Wales.

20.The Welsh dragon is the name of the Welsh flag.

21.The Emerald Isle – so is Ireland called due to bright-green colour of its vegetation.

22.Stratford-on-Avon is the birthplace of Shakespeare and he is often called “ the Swan of Avon”.

23.“The Globe ” is the name of Shakespeare’s theatre.

24.Bagpipe is a national musical instrument.

25.“Cockney” is London local accent.

26.“Brum” is Birmingham local accent.

27.Old school tie, old boy, old girl are names for collegemates.

28.Oxford is the most prestigious and oldest University in the UK

29.Cambridge is the second Un. in Great Britain of the 13th century.

30.Oxbridge is their collective name and they are also called “the 2 intellectual eyes” of Great Britain.

31.London University is the third in popularity and the largest one.

32.Kapitza - Russian famous physicist, studied at Cambridge.

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