7. opencast mining - открытые горные работы

8. humus [' hjuimas] - гумус, перегной

9. to decline [di'klain] - приходить в упадок

10. half-life ['ha:f'laifj - период полувыведения (пестицидов в почве)

11. owing to ['suil] tu] - no причине, вследствие, благодаря

12. artificial [,a:ti'fi/alj - искусственный

13. to deplete [di'plbt] - истощать

14. deforestation [di'faristeijan] - вырубка леса, обезлесение

15. desertification [ dezatifi'keijan] - опустынивание

16. salinization [sa.lini'zeijanj - засоление

17. perennial [pa'renjal] - длящийся круглый год

18. arid ['aeridj - сухой, засушливый

19. non-ferrous ['nan'feras] - цветной (о металле)

2. Прочитайте следующие интернациональные слова и пере­ведите их на русский язык.

degradation [.degra'deijan] maximum ['maeksimam] metal ['metal] intensive [in'tensiv]

municipal [mju(:)'nisipal] method [’meGad]

erosion [i'raufan] irrigation [iri'geijan]

minimum ['minimam] climate ['klaimitj

2. Переведите на русский язык следующие абстрактные существительные, обращая внимание на суффиксы, при помощи которых они образованы. Абстрактные существительные

-ion/-tion action __ty/__{ity sa}f_ety -sion collision _y agronomy

-th width

Degradation, growth, industry, erosion, contamination, activity, depo­sition, length, destruction, economy, speciality, salinization, emission, strength, irrigation, meteorology, dezertification, depth, intensivity, pollution.

2. Вспомните, как образуется время Present Continuous

be + Ving и переведите предложения на русский язык.

am is are

1. The humus content of the soil is decreasing.

2. The activity of soil organisms is declining.

3. Soil structure is breaking down owing to artificial fertilizer use.

4. The Earth is losing 24 billion metric tons of topsoil every year.

5. The industrial pollution is causing the contamination of soils and crops with heavy metals.

2. А. Прочитахгге текст и постарайтесь понять общее содер­жание данного текста.

Soil degradation is one of the most important ecological problems. The main causes of soil degradation are the contamination with pesticides, heavy metals or acid deposition; the destruction of topsoil and arable land and related ecosystems by opencast mining; the dumping of municipal and industrial solid waste; the erosion by wind or water.

Contamination with pesticides has seriously affected the biosphere in many areas; the humus content of the soil is decreasing and the activity of soil organisms is declining. Some pesticides are very stable, they remain unchanged in the environment for a long time. Estimates of the half-life of DDT in soil range from a minimum of 2 years to a maximum of 36 years.

Soil structure is breaking down owing to artificial fertilizer use. Artificial fertilizers add a few selected micronutrients, but because they cause rapid plant growth they deplete the soil of other nutrients.

The Earth is losing 24 billion metric tons of topsoil every year through intensive farming methods and deforestation. The end stage of the topsoil loss is desertification. Thirty percent of the world’s land surface is threatened with desertification.

Another hazard of intensive farming is salinization, which is caused by perennial irrigation in arid climates. As a result, the land becomes unable to support plant life.

The pollution emitted by industry and the communal economy in urbanized areas is causing the contamination of soils and crops with heavy metals, particularly around non-ferrous metal plants. Toxic metals, such as lead, mercury, copper, cadmium, zinc and aluminium find their way into the food chain via plants grown on contaminated land. Soil pol­lution also occurs when industrial waste is buried or dumped on the land.

2. Прочитайте и переведите на русский язык каждый абзац текста, выделяя в нем основную мысль.

3. Составьте план информации текста.

2. Выпишите из текста словосочетания, представляющие собой цепочки слов, и переведите их на русский язык.

3. Дополните предложения.

1. ... (деградация почв) is the result of human activities.

t

2. The main causes of soil degradation are ... (загрязнение пести­цидами, тяжелыми металлами, кислотными отложениями, промыш­ленными твердыми отходами и разрушение пахотного слоя почвы).

3. Using pesticides, we decrease ... (содержание гумуса почвы).

4. ... (интенсивные методы сельского хозяйства) cause the des­truction of topsoil.

5. .. (использование искусственных удобрений) breaks down the soil structure.

6. Industry contaminates soils and crops with ... (тяжелыми ме­таллами, такими как свинец, ртуть, медь, цинк и др.).

7. ... (промышленные твердые отходы) is buried or dumped on the land ... (вызывая загрязнение почвы).