Unit 12. Ecological crises

Grammar:

1. Функции would § 70

2. Функции слов as, mean §§ 38, 64

A. 1. Read and translate the following international words: Celsius ['selsjəs], concentration [,kɔnsən'trei∫n], constant [′kɔnstənt], degradation [,degrə'dei∫n], crisis [′kraisis], expert [ekspə:t], potential [pou'ten∫əl], standard [stændəd], role [roul]

A. 2. Learn new words

atomic атомный describe описывать destroy разрушать dry сухой, сушить dust пыль earthly земной generally обычно huge огромный low низкий mine шахта scientist ученый	accelerate ускорять as a result в результате break down разрушать degree степень, градус dig - dug - dug копать endless бесконечный excavate копать, рыть heat тепло, отапливать lose – lost – lost терять predict предсказывать warm нагревать(ся)				being существо, человек cut down сокращать, рубить delicate тонкий, хрупкий deprive (of) лишать чего-л. direct направлять; прямой get into войти, прибыть interaction взаимодействие picturesque живописный profit [′prɔfit] прибыль pursuit стремление, поиски thin тонкий, утончать(ся)
solar солнечный	balance [′bæləns] равновесие, сохранять равновесие
dangerous опасный dry up высушивать human beings люди steadily равномерно warming потепление		collapse разрушение, крушение; разрушаться freeze – froze – frozen замерзать, замораживать rise - rose - risen подниматься, вставать, возрастать surroundings окрестности, среда, окружение waste потери; отходы; бытовые сточные воды
build-up наращивание give off выделять, испускать landscape ландшафт, пейзаж rainforest тропический лес whenever всякий раз, когда			agree (with) соглашаться с кем-л. average среднее число, средняя величина effect воздействие, результат, следствие trap поглощать, улавливать, отде­лять vital жизненный, жизненно важный
break – broke – broken ломать pollutant загрязняющий агент relationship отношение, связь				edge край, кромка, острие, лезвие melt плавиться, таять; плавка power station электростанция use [ju:s] польза, употребление

foget [fə′get] – forgot [fə′gɔt] – forgotten [fə′gɔtn] забывать

recycle повторно использовать, перерабатывать вторично

A. 3. Read and translate the following groups of derivatives

destroy – destruction, predict – prediction, describe – description, produce – production, accelerate - acceleration, create - creation, mean - meaning, agree – agreement, surround – surroundings, basic - basis, steady - steadily, general – generally, end – endless – endlessly, hope – to hope – hopeless, danger – dangerous, continue - continuous, waste – to waste, collapse – to collapse, poison - to poison, read – reread, cycle - recycle

A. 4. Translate the following word combinations:

recycle endlessly, ozone layer, dangerous effects, destroy huge areas, picturesque landscapes, predict the future, global warming, have a direct impact, water vapour, the waste from factories, trap solar heat, lower atmosphere, produce pollutants, burn carbon, contain materials, poison the air, threaten human health, cut down forests, break the ecological balance, excavate mountains, dig mines, higher profits, forget about nature, as a result of new technologies, continue to accelerate, lose soil

B. 1. Translate the sentences paying attention to AS

1. As I live far from the Institute I have to take a tram. 2. Man-made satellites had to use solar cells as a source of power. 3. Specialists do not use solar cells in industry as they are too expensive. 4. As the train was approaching the station we went to the platform. 5. The teacher as well as her students is going to the theatre. 6. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was established as early as 1725. 7. Аs the idea was false, it wаs rejected.

B. 2. Translate the sentences paying attention to WOULD

1. It would be impossible to carry on a careful study of the process without the new device. 2. The erection of large modern buildings would not have been possible, if new building materials had not been used. 3. If the quality of the equipment were higher, the results of the experiment would be more accurate. 4. The building of this project would be impossible without modern technique.

B. 3. Translate the sentences

1. The evidence is by no means clear. 2. It is necessary to use the latest means of control in industry. 3. To study geometry means to train logical thinking. 4. The mean speed of manipulating building cranes can easily be calculated.

C. 1. Read and translate the text Environmental Crises

1. What does the environmental crisis mean?

2. What gases are called greenhouse gases and why?

3. What effect would global warming have on the planet?

We are in an environmental crisis because human beings are destroying the environment. In nature all processes are in constant balanced interaction. There is no waste in nature. Nothing is created, nothing is lost. Everything is recycled endlessly. The environmental crisis means that this perfect and delicate balance has begun to break down, and the relationship between life and its earthly surroundings have begun to collapse.

The environmental degradation continues to accelerate. The ozone layer, vital for survival, is thinning. Acid rain is destroying huge areas of forest and tens of thousands of lakes. We pollute our rivers, lakes and oceans, and the sky, forgetting that we need water and air to live and breathe. We destroy rainforests, picturesque landscapes, and kill the world's most beautiful animals. As a result of our new technologies of land use we lose soil, which is the basis of civilization. And, worst of all, the earth is steadily warming with potentially dangerous effects.

What is global warming? Our planet is getting warmer. Scientists predict that in the future it will be even hotter. Most experts agree that humans are having a direct impact on this warming process – generally described as the "greenhouse effect".

Certain gases, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane, are called greenhouse gases because they trap solar heat in the lower atmosphere. Without them our planet would be frozen and nothing would be able to live on it.

Humans add to these gases, producing pollutants that cause a gas build-up in the atmosphere. Most important of the gases produced as a result of human activity is CO₂. CO₂ is given off whenever we burn carbon-containing materials such as coal, oil or wood and remains in the atmosphere on average for more than a century. Over the past 200 years CO₂ concentration in the air has risen by a third. If we continue as we are there will be twice as much CO₂ in the atmosphere by late next century. As a result temperatures will rise by an average 1 degree Celsius.

Every year the world’s industries pollute the atmosphere with about 1,000 tons of dust and other substances. The waste from factories and industrial plants, electric and atomic power stations gets into lakes, rivers and seas; it poisons the air, it destroys plants and animals. Pollution of the environment threatens human health. A lot of forests are being cut down, lakes are drying up. This breaks the ecological balance and deprives lots of animals of places to live. People have destroyed nature by building huge cities, cutting down trees, excavating mountains and digging mines. In pursuit of higher profits man has forgotten about nature and it has led him to the edge of ecological crises.

B. 4. Translate the sentences

1. For our experiment we must take the mean of several temperature measurements. 2. Large scale mechanization should be introduced into practice by all possible means. 3. We can easily lift great loads by means of helicopters. 4. By minerals we mean natural substances which occur in nature, each having definite physico-chemical properties.

B. 5. Translate the sentences with AS

1. Peter as well as his friend came late for the lecture. 2. As far as we know, the oil that we obtain from the earth will not last more than a few centuries at the present rate of consumption. 3. As a result of the universal gravitation every thing on or near the surface of the earth is attracted toward the earth with a force that we call weight. 4. As mercury is commonly used in barometres, air pressure is often recorded in centimetres of mercury. 5. The energy principle is not limited to solids. It appplies to liquids as well. 6. The gravitation force between two bodies gets smaller as the bodies get farther apart. 7. Many metals are found in pure state as well as in combination.

B. 6. Translate the sentences with WOULD

1. It would be impossible to protect metals from corrosion without the films. 2. If it were possible to live on the moon, people would be able to jump about six metres as high as they could on earth. 3. If the sun got its energy from ordinary chemical processes, such as the burning of coal and oil, it would not last for more than several thousand years. 4. It would be impossible to meet all the difficulties without this new method.

С. 2. Read and translate the text TOO MUCH GARBAGE

When you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Once a week the garbage truck comes, and the can is emptied, and that's the last you see of it. But what do you think happens to the garbage then? Does it just disappear? No way!

Almost all garbage is taken to a garbage dump, or landfill, where the garbage truck empties it onto the ground. After the truck leaves, a big tractor comes along and pushes dirt on top of the garbage. So, most of our garbage is just buried.

Now we are making so much garbage that in many places, there is not enough room to bury it all.

We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make. Can we do it? You bet!

We can recycle (which means re-using materials instead of throwing them away) and precycle (which means not buying things that can't be re-used, like plastics wrapping and other packaging). If we recycle and precycle we will produce a lot less garbage, and keep our planet green!

C. 3. Read the text Recycling and speak on:

a) recycling and its importance today;

b) the advantages of recycling

The massive increase in public concern for protection of the environment has given a new prominence to the recycling industry, which covers everything from the collection of beverage cans and the reclamation of old car bodies to the treatment of industrial sludge. The great advantage of recycling is that it saves a large proportion of the energy needed to manufacture an article from the original raw materials such as metal, plastic, glass or paper. This is of paramount importance at a time when energy conservation is essential to reduce the use of fossil fuels which contribute to global warming - the greenhouse effect. Materials which are recycled are less expensive than primary raw materials and thus offer a considerable cost advantage to industry.

Recycling also avoids the need to dump large quantities of used materials in landfill sites, a process which is unpopular with the public and can have dangerous environment side-effects.

Above all, recycling is an important means of reducing dependence on finite natural resources. It offers the potential for averting the crisis often predicted by conservationists - a world eventually running out of raw materials.

Today recycling is a major activity in the industrialized countries. Advanced technology is used to collect, sort and process materials that are discarded by industry or the public. Technical advances mean that valuable metals from such complex equipment as computers and other electronic machines are recovered, instead of ending up on the scrap heap. Furthermore, used oils can be recycled as lubricants for industry and transport, while rubber from old tires can be transformed into mats and carpets underlays. Despite this activity, environmental pressure groups are highly vocal in their dissatisfaction with the scale of recycling.

C. 4. Translate the text "Environmental Conservation" using a dictionary

Conservation of living resourses means using them in such ways that valuable plants and animals are maintained for future generations.

To survive, every species must modify its environment. So, environmental modification is a natural process, it is a necessary part of development. It is inevitable that most of the plants will be modified by people. However, this modification may have some harmful side-effects. To conserve the environment is to find such ways of development which will at the same time conserve the living resources essential for man. Let us have some illustrations.

Soil is of the greatest importance in the life of people, as all food production depends on it. Soil erosion is a natural process, but usually the soil is regenerated if there is enough vegetation. If soil and vegetation are not in balance as a result of poor soil management, the soil is lost. For example, in India 340 million acres of a total area of 800 million acres are subject to erosion. In the USA 3 million acres of land is lost every year.

E. 1. Choose the proper variant

1. He (finishes, finished) school two years ago. 2. My friend translated this article (two days ago, in two days). 3. We shall have an English test (last week, next week). 4. (We, he) have read the text. 5. (All the students, he) have done this exercise. 6. (One student, all the students) has not finished the translation of the text. 7. When did they (finish, finished) school? 8. (Do, does) she study at the Institute now? 9. When (will she, she will) take her first exam at the Institute? 10. Our (teacher, we) has explained all the grammar rules. 11. The chemistry of carbon compounds (calls, is called) organic chemistry. 12. Last week methane (was, is) decomposed during the experiment. 13. New houses (is built, are built, was built, built) everywhere: in cities, towns and villages. 14. A lot of problems (was discussed, were discussed, is discussed, discussed) at the conference.

E. 4. Put the verbs into the correct form

1. How many days a week (you study)? 2. I (play) the piano, but I (not / play) very well. 3. Where (your father / work)? – He (work) at the plant. 4. If you need money, why (you / not / get) a job? 5. Where (your father / come) from? – He (come) from Scotland. 6. How often (she / watch) TV? 7. I don’t understand the word “ class”. 8. What (it / mean)? 9. When did they (to finish) school? 10. He (have) no free time on week-days. 11. He (prefer) old comedies. 12. He (leave) for work at 8.30.