Text 2 a history of the modern british chemical industry

By D. W. Hardie and J. Davidson Pratt, pp. XI+380. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 1966, 218 NET.

This book is timely and will be useful to students and those working in the chemical industry. However, it suffers from some defects which detract from its value. The first, for which the authors are not to blame, is ca­reless proof-reading, so that far too many names have been misspelt which is unfortunate in a book of this kind. In the second place, there are some minor mistakes of fact: for example, the Bergius process was not worked out in Germany during the Great War but was developed during the mid 1920s; Bosch, not Haber, developed the ammonia synthesis in the works of Badische Anilin between 1909 and 1913. More serious is the omission of fertilizer manufacture, which represents one of the largest branches of the chemical industry; the brief refe­rence to its nineteenth-century background is also inade­quate. The review of man-made fibres (especially nylon) is much too short, and in no way reflects their role in the British textile industry.

In general, however, the detailed account of the mo­dern chemical industry in Chapter III is useful, and the summarized particulars of almost 200 companies are an interesting and valuable source of ready information.

L. F. Haber (Endeavour, vol. XXVI, N 97, January 1967)

Exercises

Ex. 1. Read the following sentences aloud and translate them into Russian, paying special attention to the parts in italics.

1. This book will be useful to those working in the chemical industry. 2. The book suffers from some defects which detract from its value. 3. The first, for which the authors are not to blame, is careless proof-reading. 4. Far too many names have been misspelt which is unfortunate in a book of this kind. 5. In the second place, there are some minor mistakes of fact. 6. Bosch developed the ammo­nia synthesis in the works of Badische Anilin. 7. The brief reference to the nineteenth-century background is also inadequate. 8. The review of man-made fibres is much too short, and in no way reflects their role in the British textile industry. 9. In general, however, the detailed account of the modern chemical industry is use­ful. 10. The summarized particulars of almost 200 compa­nies are an interesting and valuable source of ready in­formation.

Ex. 2. Confirm the statements. Follow the model. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. The first chapter discusses the thermodynamic principles, am I right?

2. Yes, indeed. Chapter one discusses the thermodynamic principles.

1. The second chapter deals with the methods, do­esn't it? 2. Such factors are incorporated in the third chapter, aren't they? 3. The detailed account of the mo­dern chemical industry in the fifth chapter is useful, isn't it? 4. The seventh article of the volume is concerned with the basic problems of adaptive behaviou. Right? 5. The eighth paragraph gives consideration to the refi­nements of such a mechanism, doesn't it? 6. In the ninth chapter the author gives an accurate description of co-enzymes. Is that so? 7. The tenth paper is unfortunately a very short one, isn't it?

Ex. 3. Discuss the book your fellow-student has brought to class. Follow the model. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. As far as I understand, this book provides (contains) useful (vast, valuable important) information. Right?

2. Yes, The information given in the book is useful (vast, etc.). However, sometimes it is too specialized (thorough, detailed, out-of-date), in my opinion.

1. Can you give us any examples?

2. Yes. For instance, the information about . . . is too specialized (thorough, detailed, out-of-date), because . . . .

Ex. 4. Insert the definite article where necessary.

1. . . . information is thoroughly up-to-date. 2. Other chapters provide a wealth of . . . specialized information. 3. The book aims to provide students with . . . informa­tion about the fine structure of various cells. 4. The handbook succeeds in compressing a vast amount of . . . information. 5. The book contains an extremely large amount of . . . useful information. 6. The summarized particulars of almost 200 companies are an interesting and valuable source of . . . ready information. 7. . . . information given by the author is extremely useful.

Ex. 5. Find out when the book was written (published, edited, appeared). Note that the definite article is used in the phrases: in the early (mid, late) 4- year. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. Can you tell me when the book you are reading appeared?

2. Let me see (looking at the page where the date of the publication is indicated). It was published by . . . (Academic Press) in . . . (e. g.: 1971).

1. So it appeared in the early 1970s. Were there other publications of the book?

2. (looking at the same page) As I see, the second edition was published in . . . (1975), in the mid 70s, and the third publication appeared in . . . (1978), in the late 70s.

Use this model to discuss all the books brought to class by the students.

Ex. 6. Discuss the subject matter of the book (article). Work in pairs. Use: one of the . . . ; none of the . . . ; many of the . . . ,' much of the . . . ; few of the . . . ; some of the . . . .

Model:

1. Can I ask you this: what subjects are dealt with in the book?

2. One of the subjects the author deals with is . . . .

1. And what about other problems?

2. Some (many, a few) of the problems the au­thor is trying to solve are (no longer) in­teresting.

1. Can you name one (some) of the problems?

2. For instance, . . . .

1. And what about the presentation of the material?

2. Some (much) of the material is not presen­ted clearly (or: clearly, briefly, at length, erroneously, with errors). And (though, however) some of the important facts (details) have been omitted (included, described).

1. Does the book deal with subjects that are already out-of-date (or: . . . that are thoroughly up-to-date)? Do you mean that?

2. Yes (or: exactly, definitely, of course.). Some of the subjects are quite out-of-date now (or: By no means. Some of the sub­jects are thoroughly up-to-date).

Ex. 7. Insert articles where necessary.

This book is one of . . . “Frontiers in Physics” series. There are a few errors in it, . . . most serious one is . . . description of the Bergius process, which was worked in . . . Germany in . . . mid 1920s. . .. Chapter V gives . . . detailed account of . . . modern chemical industry. This and . . . particulars about almost 200 companies are . . . interesting source of . . . ready information.

Ex. 8. Your fellow-student has read a book. Find out to whom it is useful (interesting, important, valuable). Work in pairs.

Model:

1. Do you think the book may (will) be valu­able to those familiar with the subject? (name the subject).

2. Yes. Professional researchers working in the field of . . . may find the book useful. But (however, though) it may be also (or:not) interesting to those approaching the subject for the first time.

Use also: the general scientific reader; those not fa­miliar with the subject; those studying the subject.

Ex. 9. Ask your fellow-student the following questions. Get him to give you the answers using the prompts given in brackets.

Model:

1. Who is to blame for these defects? (the authors).

2. The authors are to blame for these defects.

1. Who is to blame for the minor errors? (the editor, the printer). 2. What is the author to blame for? (the inade­quate references, the out-of-date information). 3. What is the corrector to blame for? (careless proof-reading, a large amounts of misprints).

Ex. 10. Ask your fellow-student the following questions. Get him to give you short answers. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. Who is to blame for careless proof-reading?

2. The proof-reader is.

1. Who is to blame for mistakes of fact? 2. Who is to blame for erroneous information in the book? 3. Who is to blame for misprints?

Ex. 11. Respond to the statements as in the model. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. I understand that one of the drawbacks of the book is careless proof-reading.

2. Yes (Yes, indeed. You are right. I agree, etc.). The book suffers from careless proof­reading.

1. I see that one of the drawbacks of the article is the misspelling of some names. 2. I think that one of the shortcomings of the thesis is the inadequate refe­rences. 3. I believe that the limitations of the volume are some mistakes of facts. 4. I am afraid that the dis­advantage of the paper is the omission of some factual material.

Ex. 12. Discuss the defects of some book. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. The book suffers from some defects, do­esn't it?

2. Yes. Like in many books, there some deplorable defects in this book as well.

1. What are they?

2. . . .(having looked through some book at home, the student is giving examples of some mistakes, indicating the pages).

Ex. 13. Listen to the text and answer the questions.

The book under review will prove useful to most of those working in the chemical industry. However, it suffers from a number of defects. One of them is care­less proof-reading, but the authors are not to blame for this. In general, the book provides a wealth of detai­led information about the particulars of almost 200 com­panies in the modern chemical industry.

Comprehensive check

1. To whom will the book prove useful? 2. What defects does it suffer from?

Ex. 14. Speak about the book you are reading (have read or looked through). Use the text of ex. 13 as a model.

Ex. 15. Make up sentences using these tables read them aloud and translate them into Russian.

A

The Autor The Book

gives presents

a

detailed concise careful comprehensive authoritative introductory basic accurate scientific

account of. . . discription of. . .

B

The account of The description of

the

topic research work experimental procedure experimental results

is

useful elegant important praiseworthy one of the central features of the book

Ex. 16. Using the tables given above (ex. 15) make up sen­tences concerning the book you are going to discuss.

Model:

1. H. Mark, the author of the article, gives a detailed account of structures and pro­perties of cellulose fibres.

2. The book presents a comprehensive des­cription of cellulose and cellulose deriva­tives.

3. The account of the chemical nature of cel­lulose and its derivatives is one of the central features of the book.

Ex. 17. Support the statements as in the model. Use: an ac­count is given (presented, provided). Work in pairs.

Model:

1. So far as this book is concerned, basic physical principles are explained.

2. You are absolutely right. An account is gi­ven of basic physical principles.

1.As far as this article is concerned, all the construc­tions are clearly explained.2.So far as this chapter is con­cerned, the method is described.3. So far as the intro­ductory chapter is concerned, the author describes and discusses the recent developments in physics. 4. As far as the first chapter is concerned, the author describes the achievements and aims of space science.

Ex. 18. Ask your fellow-student the following questions Get him to give you detailed answers. Work in pairs.

1. Which part of your thesis (paper, the book you are reading) contains an introductory account of the theory? 2. Which section of your thesis (article, the book you are reading) presents a detailed account of the experimental results? 3. In whose work can you find a comprehensive and authoritative account of the problem you are inte­rested in?

Ex. 19. Translate into English.

Model: В книге дается подробное описание метода исследования.

The book presents (gives, provides) a detailed account of the method of the investigation.

1. В третьей главе дается тщательное описание •эксперимента. 2. В первой главе содержится вводное описание вопросов теории. 3. В последней главе при­водится краткое описание экспериментальных резуль­татов. 4. В разделе “Обсуждение” дается всестороннее описание основных направлений работы. 5. В статье содержится авторитетное описание истории исследова­ния. 6. В докладе не приводится подробного описания отдельных отраслей современной химической промыш­ленности.

Ex. 20. Give the Russian equivalents of the sentences below. ray attention to the words in italics.

1. The second part of the article covers the subject in detail. 2. Practical details are mentioned. 3. The de­tailed study of this subject is useful. 4. This part is too detailed for most readers.

Ex. 21. Find out whether or not the information presented in the book is detailed. Work in pairs, speak about the books (artic­les, etc.) you are reading or have just read or looked through.

Model:

1. My question is: Does the article cover the subject in detail?

2. Yes. In general the author presents a de­tailed study of the problem (name the problem). However, it should be admitted that some (practical) details have been neglected (omitted).

1. Such as?

2. Such as . . . (experimental results, methods of preparation, calculations, experimental procedure, etc.).

Ex. 22. Translate into Russian. Pay attention to the words in italics.

1. This book will be valuable to advanced students.

2. This book will be invaluable to advanced students.

3. This book will be of value to advanced students.

Ex. 23. Try to estimate the value of the book. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. I wonder if the book you are going to dis­cuss is of any value?

2. It certainly is. The book is (makes) a va­luable contribution to . . . (physical, mathe­matical, biological, etc.) literature. Or: I'm afraid it will be of little value, as the book makes little contribution to . . . literature.

1. (in the case of the positive answer) To whom will it be useful?

2. I think it will be invaluable to . . . (ad­vanced students of . . .; research workers concerned with . . .; those working in the field of . . ., all workers in the field of . . .; those approaching the subject for the first time).

1. What part is of particular value?

2. The one devoted to . . . . However, in my opinion, the part dealing with . . . is of little practical value.

1. Why?

2. Because . . . .

Ex. 24. Translate into Russian paying attention to the word background.

1. The book is addressed to the general scientific reader with engineering and mathematical background. 2. The references provide an excellent background for understanding this phenomenon. 3. The section contains background material on the basic theory. 4, The reader needs a good background knowledge of the topic. 5. The brief references to the nineteenth-century background of the chemical industry are inadequate.

Ex. 25. Translate into Russian.

1. To give (to provide) a critical review of the subject. 2. To review the subject. 3. An inclusive review of the problem. 4. A review journal. 5. The reviewed article. 6. The book under review. 7. A review chapter. 8. The reviewer.

Ex. 26. Agree with the statements as in the model. Work in pairs.

A

Model:

1. If I'm not mistaken, the book provides an excellent review of the subject.

2. You are quite right. The subject is excel­lently reviewed in the book.

1. If I'm not mistaken, there are critical reviews on two new areas of research. 2. I believe the volume gives a critical review of the subject. 3. To my mind, the articles provide a short review of advances made in the field. 4. I think, the book gives an excellent review of the topic. 5. If I'm not mistaken, the journal provides an excessive review of the subject.

В

Model:

1. Is it right to say that the reviewed book is an interesting and valuable source of ready information?

2. That's just what I wanted to say. The book under review is an interesting and valuable source of ready information.

1. Is it correct to say that the reviewed book is timely and will be useful to students and those working in the chemical industry? 7. Is it light to say that the reviewed book suffers from some defects? 8. Is it right that the reviewed article is authoritative and of a very high standard? 9. Is it correct to say that the reviewed article contains a summary and a section recommending further reading? 10. Is it right that the reviewed article originally appeared in the magazine “Endeavour”? 11. Is it correct that the reviewed articles represent papers given at the Agricultural University? 12. Is it right that the reviewed articles cover the theory of electronic and quantummechanical aspects of proteins?

Ex. 27. Discuss the book your fellow-student has brought to class. Follow the model. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. Speaking about the review of the subject dealt with in the book, do you think it is complete?

Use also: excellent, short, (inadequate, (in)valuable, inclusive.

2. Your question is not easy to answer. It seems to me, the review of . . . (name one of the subject) is rather too short. As for the review of . . . (another subject), it is rather inclusive (or any other adjective).

Ex. 28. Ask your fellow-student the following questions. Get him to give you detailed answers. Work in pairs.

1. Who is the reviewer of the above article? 2. What is the work the reviewer does? 3. Have you ever acted as a reviewer? 4. What sort of journals are called “review journals”? 5. What review journals do you know? 6. What sort of chapters (articles) are called “review chapters (articles)”? 7. Do you have to write a review chapter for your thesis? 8. What adjectives can be used with the noun “review”?

Ex. 29. Explain the meaning of represent and present-

Model:

1. Phonetic signs represent sounds. Phonetic signs symbolize (correspond, stand for) sounds.

2. The essay presents the author's ideas. The essay brings forward (shows, exhibits, reveals) the author's ideas.

1. The articles represent work done in Japan. 2. The book is well presented, with useful bibliography to each chapter. 3. The articles represent the papers given in Ox­ford University. 4. These articles present reliable data. 5. Fertilizer manufacture represents one of the largest branches of the chemical industry.

Ex. 30. Agree with the statement as in the model. Use pre­sent or represent instead of the words given in italics.

Model:

1. The author emphasizes the advantages afforded by enzymes, doesn't he?

2. Yes, indeed. That is just what I wanted to stress. The author emphasizes the advan­tages presented by enzymes.

1. The second chapter deals with methods explaining the chemical composition of various compounds, doesn't it? 2. The work gives valuable results, doesn't it? 3. The volumes contain articles which describe work done in this field.

Ex. 31. Translate into English.

1. Эта статья представляет интересные данные. 2. Эта статья представляет собой интересную трак­товку данной проблемы. 3. Эта книга представляет интересный обзор данной темы. 4. Эта книга представляет собой ценный вклад в науку. 5. Этот журнал представляет ряд статей на данную тему. 6. Этот том представляет собой сборник статей на данную тему.

Ex. 32. Talking about a publication containing some defects, start a statement with It is very unfortunate that . Use the prompts.

Prompt: Far too many names have been misspelt.

Example: It is very unfortunate that far too many names have been misspelt.

Prompts: There are some minor mistakes of facts.

The brief references are also inadequate.

The review of man-made fibres is rather too short.

Proof-reading was done carelessly. Some important facts were omitted. The volume is already out-of-date.

The method of the investigation is not pre­sented.

The lecture is a short one.

Ex. 33. Talking about a publication, respond to the statement. Use It is fortunate; Fortunately; or It is unfortunate; Unfortunately.

Model: Prompt: Much of the material is already out-of-date.

Response: It is unfortunate that much of the material is already out-of-date.

Prompt: The papers were promptly published.

Response: Fortunately, the papers were promptly published.

1. Much of the material presented is extremely up-to-date. 2. There are some mistakes of fact. 3. Refe­rence has been made up to this year. 4. Proof-reading has been done without due care. 5. Much attention is gi­ven to describing the methods of the investigation..

6. The reader is introduced to the old-time procedure. 7. The introductory part is much too short. 8. Some names are misspelt. 9. The author succeeded in providing a large amount of useful information. 10. The illustra­tions are well chosen and excellently reproduced.

Ex. 34. Talking about a publication which contains some de­fects, respond to the statement as in the model. Work in pairs.

Model:

1. You say that there are some drawbacks in the book.

2. Yes. I think, however, that in spite of these drawbacks the book is timely and useful to . . . (those working in the field of . . .;professional scientists in the field of . . .; students of . . .).

1. Why?

2. Because in spite of these shortcomings the book provides a large amount of useful information on . . . .

1. Can you quote some of the minor defects?

2. Yes. One of the defects is . . . (careless proof-reading). See page . . . . Or: I'm afraid [I can't do it at the moment. It'll take much time to look through the book.

Ex. 35. Disagree to the statements below using some of the introductory phrases: I am afraid you arc wrong; I am afraid you are mistaken; just the reverse; on the cont­rary.

Model:

1. As far as I could gather from the text, the book has no defects.

2. I am afraid you are wrong, the book suffers from a number of defects. Or: I am afraid you are mistaken, there are a lot of drawbacks in the book. Or: Just the reverse, there are many shortco­mings in the book.

1. As far as I could gather from the review, proof­reading was done with due care. 2. Judging by the review, there are no mistakes of fact. 3. As far as the review goes, the numerous references are always adequate. 4. Accor­ding to the reviewer, there is a detailed information about nylon. 5. As far as I could get from the review, the book is not timely.

Ex. 36. Look through Text 2 (pags 132—133) once again and answer the following questions.

1. What is the title of the reviewed book? 2. Who are the authors of the book under review? 3. What is the name of the reviewer? 4.^When and where was the book published? 5. How much does it cost? 6. In what volume and number of what journal was the review published? 7. Who will the book prove useful to, according to the reviewer? 8. What defects does it suffer from? 9. Are the authors to blame for careless proof-reading? Who are to blame for" this? 10. What has been the result of ca­reless proof-reading? 11. Give some examples of minor mistakes of fact. 12,'What mistakes can be considered as more serious ones? 13. Which chapter is to be considered especially useful? What is its subject? 14. Why else is the book to be considered an interesting and va­luable source of ready information?

Ex. 37. Speak about a book (an article) you have recently read. Use the following questions as a guide for your talk.

1. What book have you recently read? 2. Who is the author of the book? 3. Who edited the book? 4. Where and when. was it published? 5. Is this its first edition? What edition is if? 6. What does the subject of investigation include? 7. What do different chapters "(or articles) deal with? 8. How many chapters (articles) does the book consist of? 9. What is given much (little) atten­tion to? 10. Are there any drawbacks in the book? What are they, if there are any? 11. How is the material illu­strated? 12. What can you say about the style of the book? 13. Who is the book addressed to? 14. What is of particular interest in it? 15. What does the book begin (end) with? 16. What is the purpose of the book? 17. Who do you think this Kook will be useful to?

Ex. 38. Speak about your own publications. Use the following questions as a guide for your talk.

1. What is the subject of your thesis? 2. Have you already published any articles? 3. Where and when did you publish them? 4. What are the titles of your published papers? 5. What problems do you deal with in those papers? 6. What are you going to prove in the course of your research? 7. Is there much or little material pub­lished on the subject of your investigation? 8. Who are your published papers addressed to? 9. What do you give much (little) attention to in your published papers? 10. What is of particular interest in your papers? 11. What have you succeeded in showing? 12. What did you fail to show? 13. How many parts does your paper consist of? 14. Are there any shortcomings in your paper, do you think? What are they? 15 How did you begin (finish) your paper? 16. What is the purpose of your paper? 17. What do you treat in your introductory part? 18. What do you say in conclusion?