3. Infinitive and its constructions

Translate into Russian and define the functions of the infinitives

1. To appreciate the present requires some historical perspective.

2. To appreciate the present, try to look at it in historical perspective.

3. To be a successful scientist, one must be curious about the world around.

4. These advanced concepts have been immediately applied to practice, to give rise to a new branch of technology.

5. The traditional question behind the research is: "How is this to be explained?"

6. The program is sufficiently diversified to excite our interest.

7. He was the first to present the case for this line of research.

8. The air was rarified so as to diminish pressure.

9. The tendency was for the gas to become ionized.

10. They believe the substance to have dissolved.

11. The interpretation was found to be convincing.

4. Tenses

In Technical English the present tense means generalization. It helps to express the core idea. If the author wishes to claim no generality in support of a core idea, he will present info in the past tense. The present perfect shows connection between the past and the present.

Translate into Russian

1. All insulators permit some flow of electrons.

2. He highlighted the headings in bold.

3. We have found no evidence of the process.

4. Net-it-Software has released Net-it-Now.

5. Passive voice

The impersonality of scientific writings can be considered a typical feature of this style. This quality is mainly revealed in the frequent use of passive constructions. The emphasis is placed on what is done (what happens to things), not who does it. Impersonal activity is seen objectively.

A test tube was taken and half-filled with copper sulfate solution, then it was heated over. Errors were introduced into the text at keyboarding.

Hashing is a technique in which a mathematical calculation is applied to the key of a record and the resulting value is the location, such as a track number, on a disk where the record will be stored.

Impersonal passive constructions are frequently used with the verbs presume, consider, point out, etc.

It is known that...

It is suggested that...

It is seen that...

It should be expected because...

It was found that...

Who is the doer of the action? Observations show that it is the author himself who, is, implied to be the doer of the action. This must be expressed unambiguously in the Target Language text.

It is believed that this study is significant because... Значение данной работы, по нашему мнению, определяется тем, что...

It is considered / thought / felt / believed

6. Phrasal verbs

To build in, to set up, to figure out, to shut down, to hang up, to move to, go to, open to, save as, to bring up, to' blow up, to backup, to run on, to log on/off.

7. Prepositional phrases

Thanks to, owing to, due to, by means of, instead of, according to, in accordance with, in spite of, in the course of, etc.