The writing module

III. Writing exercises:

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words:

with; before this; entered; as; and.

Linn had experimented ____ gasoline and steam powered vehicles and six wheel drive ____, and at some point ____Lombard's employment ____a demonstrator, mechanic ____sales agent.

Exercise 2. Fill in the table with words and expressions from the text:

	parts of design	types of vehicles	duties	substance
Example: this makes them suitable for use on				soft, low friction and uneven ground such as mud, ice and snow
resembling a trolley car only with
Linn had experimented with
at some point entered Lombard’s employment as

Exercise 3. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):

“The principal advantages of tracked vehicles”

“Intention of crawler tractors”

“A patent dispute”

Lesson 4 the reading module

Read the text: Caterpillar Inc. and Environmental Protection

Caterpillar Inc. is a United States-based corporation headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar is, according to their corporate website, "the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines."

Famous for their products featuring caterpillar tracks and a distinctive yellow paint scheme, Caterpillar produces a wide range of heavy equipment, mainly engineering vehicles, including the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer.

Caterpillar is one of the thirty companies whose stock is tracked in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is a Fortune 100 company ranked first in its industry, with more than $40 billion in assets.

Caterpillar has been criticized by many environmental groups. Products produced by the company include forestry equipment, mining equipment, and diesel engines. While providing higher fuel efficiency than gasoline engines, diesel engines usually produce higher levels of NOx and particulates.

In July, 1999, Caterpillar, along with five other diesel engine companies, signed a consent decree with the Justice Department and the State of California, after governmental investigations had revealed violations of the Clean Air Act, in the form of the sale of over a million diesel engines with "defeat devices," devices designed to regulate emissions during pre-sale tests, but to shut down during subsequent highway driving. Consequently, these engines, "emit up to triple the permissible level of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx). In 1998 alone, these violating vehicles emitted 1.3 million tons of additional NOx – an amount equal to the emissions of 65 million cars." The consent decree provided that $83 million be paid in civil penalties and determined new deadlines for meeting emissions standards. Caterpillar, however, was successful in lobbying for an extension of deadlines they considered too severe. Even so, in October, 2002, Caterpillar – the only diesel engine company (of those that signed decrees) to fail to meet the new emissions standards deadline – was forced to pay $128 million in per-engine non-conformance penalties.

In 2004, the company came out with ACERT diesel engines that exceed federal guidelines for emission standards. In 2007, Caterpillar released a second generation of ACERT to meet even stricter standards.

Caterpillar actively participates in initiatives such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Clean Diesel Campaign program, which encourages retrofitting fleets of older buses and trucks with newer diesel engines that meet higher emissions standards.

In 2005, Cat expressed a strong commitment to sustainability in its annual report's "letter to shareholders" and announced plans to publish an annual sustainability report.

In 2005, Caterpillar donated $12 million dollars to The Nature Conservancy in a joint effort to protect and preserve river systems in Brazil, USA, and China.

In recent years Caterpillar has expanded in the remanufacturing area. In 2006 they acquired Progress Rail Services Corporation, a provider of remanufactured locomotive and railcar products and services to the North American railroad industry. In 2007, they acquired Eurenov S.A.S., a remanufacturer of engines, transmissions and components for leading European automotive manufacturers.

In 2006, the company issued its first annual sustainability report, touting its remanufacturing, recycling, and environmental projects around the world. This report can be found on their website.

Caterpillar has, for many years, been a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Caterpillar has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index each year since 2001.