2. Sources of energy

Vocabulary

i.e. (лат. id est) = that is – то есть

on one hand – с одной стороны

on the other hand – с другой стороны

do one's best – делать все возможное

hard at work – упорно работают (трудятся)

besides – кроме, кроме того

able - способный

power - мощность

case - случай

cheap - дешевый

conventional – стандартный, обычный

to convert – превращать

however – однако

means – средство; by – of – посредством

namely – а именно

oil – нефть

per cent – процент

to reach – достигать

efficiency – производительность, к.п.д.

effort – усилие

engaged – занятый

enterprise – предприятие

to flow – течь

fuel – топливо

to represent – представлять

to require – требовать

source – источник

to succeed (in) – удаваться

tide – морской прилив и отлив

try – стараться

Text

The industrial progress of mankind is based on power: power for industrial plants, machines, heating and lighting systems, transport, communication. In fact, one can hardly find a sphere where power is not required.

At present most of the power required is obtained mainly from two sources. One is from the burning of fossil fuels, i. e. coal, natural gas and oil. The second way of producing electricity is by means of generators that get their power from steam or water turbines. Electricity so produced then flows through transmission lines to houses, industrial plants, enterprises, etc.

It should be noted, however, that the generation of electricity by these conventional processes is highly uneconomic. Actually, only about 40 per cent of heat in the fuel is converted into electricity. Besides, the world resources of fossil fuels are not everlasting. On the other hand, the power produced by hydroelectric plants, even if increased many times, will be able to provide for only a small fraction of the power required in the near future. Therefore much effort and thought is being given to other means of generating electricity.

One is the energy of hot water. Not long ago we began utilizing hot underground water for heating and hot water supply, and in some cases, for the generation of electricity.

Another promising field for the production of electric power is the use of ocean tides. Our engineers are engaged in designing tidal power stations of various capacities. The first station utilizing this principle began operating in Russia on the Barents Sea in 1968.

The energy of the sun which is being used in various ways represents a practically unlimited source.

Using atomic fuel for the production of electricity is highly promising. It is a well-known fact, that one pound of uranium contains as much energy as three million pounds of coal, so cheap power can be provided wherever it is required. However, the efficiency reached in generating power from atomic fuel is not high, namely 40 per cent.

No wonder, therefore, that scientists all over the world are doing their best to find more efficient ways of generating electricity directly from the fuel. They already succeeded in developing some processes which are much more efficient, as high as 80 per cent, and in creating a number of devices capable of giving a higher efficiency. Scientists are hard at work trying to solve these and many other problems.

Exercises

1. Answer the following questions:

   1. What is the industrial progress of mankind based on?

   2. Which is the first widely applied method of producing electricity at present?

   3. Which is the second way of generating power?

   4. What (how high) is the efficiency of these two methods?

   5. What do we use the energy of hot water for?

   6. When and where did the first power station using ocean tides begin operating in Russia?

   7. What can you say about the energy of the sun?

   8. What fuel is the most promising for the production of electricity?

   9. Is the efficiency of generating power from atomic fuel high or not?

   10. What problem do scientists pay great attention to?

2. Define the parts of speech of the following words: verbs, nouns or adjectives:

to exist - existence; to require - requirement; efficient - inefficient - efficiency; to resist - resistance - resistant; possible - impossible - possibility; to investigate - investigation - investigator; to apply – application - applicable; to act - active - activity - actor; long - length - to lengthen; to differ - different - indifferent - difference; to desire - desire - desirable - undesirable; to divide - division – divisible - indivisible; science - scientist - scientific - scientifically; product - production -productive - unproductive - productivity; to create - creation - creative - creator - creatively; to vary - variety - various - variable – invariable

3. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the meaning of the word «way»:

   1. The turbine produced by the Metal Plant last month is on its way to the construction site.

   2. Full - scale construction will start next year, preparations, however, are under the way.

   3. My brother is a really capable man, he always tries to solve any problem in his own way.

   4. In many ways this method was different from the ones used before.

   5. There exist various ways of obtaining power.

Vocabulary

available – годный, действительный

decay – гниение, упадок

to accumulate – накапливать

to refer – ссылаться, упоминать

fossil – ископаемый, окаменелый, органический

fuel – топливо

particularly – особенно, в особенности

evidence – очевидность, доказательство

footprint – след, отпечаток

sedimentary – осадочный

charcoal – древесный уголь

igneous – огненный, вулканического происхождения

metamorphic – метаморфический

abundant – обильный, богатый

mudstone – галька

shale – сланец, глинистый сланец

limestone – известняк

sandstone – песчаник

dolomite – доломит

conglomerate – конгломерат, обломочная горная порода

to obtain – получать, достигать

to derive – получать, извлекать

crude oil – неочищенная нефть

sedimentary – осадочный

to utilize – использовать, утилизировать

peat – торф

Text

The chief sources of energy available to man today are oil, natural gas, coal, water power and atomic energy. Coal, gas and oil represent energy that has been concentrated by the decay of organic materials (plants and animals) accumulated in the geologic past. These fuels are often referred to as fossil fuels.

The word “fossil” (derived from the Latin folder "to dig up") originally referred to anything that was dug from the ground, particularly a mineral. Today the term “fossil” generally means any direct evidence of past life, for example, the footprints of ancient animals. Fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks, although sometimes they may be found in igneous and metamorphic rocks as well. They are most abundant in mudstone, shale and limestone, but fossils are also found in sandstone, dolomite and conglomerate.

Most fuels are carbon-containing substances that are burned in air. In burning fuels give off heat which is used for different purposes.

Fuels may be solid, liquid and gaseous. Solid fuels may be divided into two main groups, natural and manufactured. The former category includes coal, wood, peat and other plant products. The latter category includes coke and charcoal obtained by heating coal in the absence of air.

Liquid fuels are derived almost from petroleum. In general, natural petroleum, or crude oil, as it is widely known, is the basis of practically all industrial fuels. Petroleum is a mixture of hundreds of different hydrocarbons-compounds composed of hydrogen and carbon-together with the small amount of other elements such as sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen. Petroleum is usually associated with water and natural gas. It is found in porous sedimentary rocks where the geological formation allowed the oil to collect from a wide area. Petroleum is one of the most efficient fuels and raw materials.

Of gaseous fuels the most important are those derived from natu­ral gas, chiefly methane or petroleum. Using gaseous fuels makes it possible to obtain high thermal efficiency, ease of distribution and control. Gas is the most economical and convenient type of fuels. Today gas is widely utilized in the home and as a raw material for producing synthetics.

Scientists consider that a most promising source of natural resources may be the floor of the sea, a subject which now has become an important field of research.

Generally speaking, all types of fossil fuels described in the text are of great economic importance as they represent the sources of energy the man uses today.

Exercises

1. Say, whether the following statements are true or false. Give your reasons:

   1. Coal, water power and atomic energy are the only sources of energy available to man today.

   2. Coal, wood and peat represent natural group of solid fuels.

   3. As a rule fossil fuels are found in sedimentary rocks.

   4. Crude oil is widely used for producing solid fuels.

   5. Petroleum can be found in porous sedimentary rocks.

   6. Gas is used to produce synthetic materials.

   7. Not all types of fossil fuels burn.

2. Answer the following questions:

   1. What fuels are often referred to as fossil fuels?

   2. What does the word fossil mean?

   3. What rocks are most abundant in fossil fuels?

   4. What types of fossil fuels do you know?

   5. Is coke a natural or manufactured solid fuel? And what can you say about coal and peat?

   6. How are coke and charcoal produced?

   7. What rocks is petroleum usually associated with?

   8. What are the advantages of gaseous fuels?

3. Find the correct Russian equivalents in the second column.

   1. fossil fuel	a) дерево торф
   2. raw material	6) небольшое количество аргиллита
   3. crude oil	в) органическое топливо
   4. the chief sources of energy	г) сланец и известняк
   5. to refer to	д) сырье
   6. any direct or indirect evidence of the deposit	e) материалы, содержащие углерод
   7. shale and limestone	ж) главные источники энергии
   8. carbon-containing materials	з) любые прямые или косвенные признаки месторождения
   9. wood and peat	и) сырья (неочищенная) нефть
   10. the small amount of mudstone	к) относиться к (чему-л.); ссылаться на (что – л.)

4. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the underlined words:

   1. Mineral fuels such as oil, oil shale, gas and coal are commonly called fossil fuels.

   2. These fossils are organic materials accumulated in the geologic past.

   3. As a rule oil deposits are usually associated with water and natural gas.

   4. Salt deposits form folds in which petroleum can be found.

   5. Liquid is one of the states of matter.

   6. Liquid fuels are derived from petroleum.

   7. Coke manufacture depends on certain (определенный) grades of coal.

   8. Chemical plants manufacture synthetic materials from natural gas.

5. Speak on the topic «Fossil Fuels» and use the following words and sentences.

   1. Fossil fuels as a source of energy, their origin, (to represent, energy, the decay of organic materials, to accumulate, to be found in, to be abundant in)

   2. The types of fossil fuels. Solid fuels, natural and manufactured, their usage, (to divide into, to include, to obtain)

   3. Liquid fuels. Petroleum, its origin, occurrence and usage, (to be derived from, to contain, to be associated with, to be found in)

   4. Gaseous fuels and their use in the economy, (to make it possible, to be widely used, to be of importance)

Vocabulary

gentle flow – медленный поток

waterfall – водопад

tide – прилив

unlike – в отличие от

to use up – истратить, израсходовать

constant supply – постоянный запас

turbine – турбина

efficient – эффективный

to design – предназначать, задумать

dam – дамба, плотина

reservoir – водохранилище

steel pipes – стальные трубы

Text

Water always flows from a higher point to a lower point. This movement of water can be used as a source of energy. It can be the gentle flow of a river, or water falling from a great height as in a waterfall. The neverending movement of waves at sea and tides can also be used to provide energy. Unlike many other sources of energy, water does not get used up and there will always be a cheap and constant supply of moving water on the earth. Electricity is generated when water drives a machine called a turbine which is connected to a dynamo. Turbines are more efficient versions of earlier water wheels. They are designed to take as much energy from the moving water as possible. Hydroelectric power stations are often built in hilly regions where there is lots of rain. A lake or reservoir provides a store of water high above the generating station. The amount of power available depends on the height the water falls. A dam is often needed to increase the size of a natural lake. Water flows from the reservoir down to the turbines through strong steel pipes or tunnels.

Exercises

1. Complete the sentences.

   1. Water always ____ from a higher point to a ____ point.

   2. The never ending movement of ____ at sea and ____ can also be used to provide energy.

   3. ____ are designed to take as much energy from the moving water as possible.

   4. ____ is often needed to increase the size of a natural lake.

2. Ask and answer. Work in pairs. One completes the question, the other gives an answer.

   1. What always flows ____?

   2. What can be used ____?

   3. What can it be ____?

   4. What can provide ____?

   5. When is electricity ____?

   6. Are turbines more ____?

   7. Where are the hydroelectric power stations ____?

   8. What does a lake or a reservoir ____?

   9. Is a dam other ____?

   10. How does water ____?

3. Find in the text the equivalents to the following words and phrases.

   1. всегда течет-

   2. движение воды-

   3. источник энергии-

   4. с большой высоты-

   5. бесконечное движение-

   6. волны моря-

   7. на Земле-

   8. соединенное с динамо-машиной-

   9. часто строятся-

   10. зависит от-

   11. по прочным стальным трубам-

4. Use the above words to describe the production of water power.

Vocabulary

tidal power – энергия прилива

to rush – устремляться

mouth of the river – устье реки

unfortunately – к сожалению

Text

Tides provide another source of moving water that can produce power. A dam is built across the mouth of a river in a place where the height between low and high tide is great. Water rushes through tunnels in the dam as the tide rises and flows out of them when the tide turns. Turbines are turned by this flow and electricity is generated.

Unfortunately, high tide conies at different times each day and providing electricity when it is most needed is difficult.

Exercises

1. Answer the questions:

   1. What can tides provide?

   2. Where is a dam built?

   3. Where does water rush?

   4. What turns turbines?

   5. When does high tide come?

2. Make verbs from the following nouns and adjectives and translate them into Russian. Use the suffixes:

• en- wide, black, strength, fresh, cheap

• ize- oxide, material, special, national, critic

• (i) fy- intense, class, beauty, pure, electric

Vocabulary

to be destructive – иметь разрушительную силу

gale – шторм, буря

to uproot – вырывать с корнем

yacht – яхта

windmill – ветряная мельница

to grind – молоть

to run out – истощаться

blade – крыло, лопасть

to spin – вращаться

exposed site – открытое пространство

fuel-burning – сжигающий топливо

unpredictable – непредсказуемый

suitable – подходящий, удобный

Text

The wind can be very destructive. Gales can uproot trees and lift tiles off roofs. But the wind can also be put to work. Sailing ships and yachts have sailed round the world on wind power alone. And windmills have used the power of the wind for grinding corn and pumping water. Today, aerogenerators are using the wind's energy to generate electricity. Unlike oil and gas, the wind is one source of energy which will never run out.

Most aerogenerators have a tall, slim tower with huge blades like an aircraft's propeller mounted on top. The blades can be over 209 m long. As they spin in the wind, they turn a generator which produces electricity. Aerogenerators are placed on exposed, windy sites often in large groups called wind farms. Unlike fuel-burning power stations, they do not pollute the atmosphere, but the force of the wind is unpredictable and few sites in the world are suitable.

Exercises

1. Use the text information to fill in the boxes

2. Look at your diagram (Ex.1) and say where the wind power can be used.

3. Study the text and point the benefits of water power.

   1. Wind power does not pollute the environment.

4. Read and retell the article

Vocabulary

square patch – квадратный участок (земли)

electric fire – электрический камин

efficiently – эффективно

to run – функционировать, работать

to maintain – содержать в исправности

solar furnace – солнечный горн, очаг

steam engine – паровой двигатель

solar cell – солнечный элемент

slice of pure silicon – пластина чистого кремния

wire – провод

array of cells – батарея элементов

remote part – удаленное место

Text

Light and heat from the sun pour down on the earth all the time. When we turn this energy into electricity or use it as heat, we call it solar power. On a sunny day, a square patch of earth facing the sun with sides 1 metre long gets up to 1,000 watts of power from the sun; enough to run one bar of an electric fire. In fact, the sun could supply all the power we need for the whole world if we could collect it and use it efficiently. The equipment needed to turn the sun's energy into useful power is expensive but it costs less to run and maintain than an ordinary power station.

Energy from the sun has always been important to people. Over 2,000 years ago the Greeks and Romans were building their houses to face the sun. In 1714, Antoine Lavoisier, a French scientist, made a solar furnace which could melt metals. The first steam engine to work on solar power ran a printing press in Paris in 1880.

By 1900 many houses in the hotter parts of the USA had solar water heaters. All these inventions used the heat from the sun. It was not until 1954 that the first practical solar cells turned sunlight directly into electricity.

Electricity is probably the most convenient type of power we use every day, and solar cells can turn sunlight directly into electricity. Solar cells are made from thin slices of pure silicon, a material which can be got from sand. The top of the slice is a slightly different kind of silicon from the bottom, and when light shines on it, an electric current will flow along a wire connecting the top to the bottom. A single solar cell produces only a tiny current, but an array of cells connected together makes a useful amount of power. Satellites in space use huge panels of solar cells to supply their electricity. In remote parts of some developing countries, solar cells provide electricity to pump water for drinking and growing crops and to power refrigerators storing medicines.

Exercises

1. Answer the following questions:

   1. In what way moving water can be used as a source of energy?

   2. Where are hydroelectric power stations usually built?

   3. Could you explain the principle of producing tidal power from tides?

   4. In what ways do people use wind power?

   5. What is the aerogenerator?

   6. Could you name the advantages and disadvantages of natural sources of power?

   7. What type of power is the most convenient, to your mind?

   8. Can you give a few examples to prove the statement that energy from the sun has always been important to people?

   9. When was the first steam engine working on solar power introduced?

   10. What is the source of electricity for satellites in space?

2. Translate from Russian into English.

   1. В отличие от других источников энергии вода неисчерпаема на Земле, и всегда будет постоянный дешевый запас движущегося потока воды.

   2. Когда поток воды вращает турбину, которая соединена с генератором, вырабатывается электрический ток.

   3. Поперек устья реки, в том месте, где образуется большой перепад воды во время отлива и прилива, строится плотина.

   4. К сожалению, время приливов неустойчиво, и поэтому достаточно сложно получать электроэнергию в нужное время.

   5. В отличие от теплоэлектростанций, аэрогенераторы не загрязняют атмосферу, однако трудно предугадать силу ветра, и, к тому же, на земле не так много подходящих мест.

   6. На самом деле, солнце смогло бы полностью обеспечить нас необходимой энергией, если бы мы умели ее собирать и эффективно использовать.

   7. Солнечные элементы превращают энергию солнца непосредственно в электрическую энергию. Их изготавливают из тонких пластин чистого кремния, который может быть получен из песка.

   8. В одном солнечном элементе возникает неболь­шой ток, однако солнечная батарея может произвести электрический ток, пригодный для практического использования.

Vocabulary

to hold out –протянуть

sunbeam – луч солнца

no wonder – не удивительно

to assume – присваивать, принимать

in order to – чтобы

irreplaceable – незаменимый

constantly – постоянно

to receive – получать

radiation – радиация, излучение

consumption – потребление, расход

conversion – превращение

efficient – действенный, эффективный

inventor – изобретатель

at least – по крайней мере

to employ – нанимать, применять

space – космос, пространство

purpose – цель

on one hand – с одной стороны

to store – накапливать, запасать

collector – коллектор

thermocouple – термоэлемент

photo-voltaic cells – фотогальванические клетки, элементы

waterfall – водопад

equipment – оборудование

semiconductor – полупроводник

device – устройство

for want – для нужд

consideration – обсуждение, размышление

Text

Hold out your hand towards a sunbeam. It feels warm, does it not? No wonder, for only a little more than eight minutes ago it left the sun's surface whose temperature is assumed to be about 6000° C. In that short period of time it has traveled about 93 million miles on its way to the earth in order to light your room, to cause the trees to grow, to produce wind energy and to create a lot of irreplaceable and wonderful things.

The energy the earth constantly receives from solar radiation is about 35,000 times the annual energy consumption of mankind. However, only a minute part of it is being utilized so far. As a matter of fact, the conversion of solar radiation directly into electric power by some efficient means has been the aim of Russian and foreign scientists, inventors, and engineers for at least one hundred years.

Sun energy can be employed on the one hand directly as heat for space heating, water heating and certain other purposes and on the other hand it might be utilized for the production of electricity. In the latter case, electric current can be obtained as follows:

1) by using fuel for thermal power plants since the Sun is known to be the primary source of all energy stored in fuel;

2) by heating boilers or air-heaters in thermal power plants with sunbeams concentrated by collectors;

3) by converting radiation into electric voltage by means of thermocouples or pho­to-voltaic cells.

Generally speaking, sun energy can be utilized, too, through falling or moving water. The heat of the Sun annually evaporates millions of tons of water from the oceans, seas, and rivers, lifting it high in the air. The water vapour is then carried away to various parts of the earth where some of it falls as rain, the latter (now, water again), in its turn, flowing into rivers and back into oceans. Provided we construct a dam across the river, we create a reservoir, a so called man-made sea. From the reservoir or waterfalls water may be directed to the hydroelectric station which houses the turbines, the generator as well as other suitable and necessary equipment. The force of the falling water rotates the blades of the turbine, the latter driving the electric generator. In this manner, the mechanical energy in running water, sometimes called white coal, is turned into electrical energy. However, we have just observed that it receives its power from the sun.

Figure 3. The Sun is an unlimited source of energy

In the south of Russia here are lots of solar installations. Sun heaters are used in both town and country to provide heat for various purposes. Scientists designed and created valuable instruments and appliances to be operated by solar heat and light. Semiconductor photoelectric devices find a wide application both in our science and industry. As the reader is certain to remember, devices of this kind and solar batteries are usually installed in our sputniks and other spaceships.

For want of space it is impossible to mention here all our achievements in this important field of science.

Scientists all over the world will continue, of course, to look for ways of making semiconductors even more efficient. At the same time, they will do their best to find new methods of converting sun energy directly into electricity. Who knows, you or a friend of yours will perhaps be the one to come out with the best possible answer to the problem under consideration.

Exercises

1. Read the words:

blade, boiler, consumption, to feel, for want of, to grow, to hold out, in this manner, a lot of, man-made sea, radiation, to receive, sunbeam, space, spaceship, thermal power plant (station), wonderful

2. Put questions to Fig.3

3. Speak on possible uses of solar energy.

4. Compose a story looking at Fig.3

5. Answer the following questions:

   1. There is "black coal"—the coal from the mines. Where is it used?

   2. There is "white coal"—the energy of the waterfalls. Where is it used?

   3. There is "sky blue coal" — the energy of the wind. Where is it used?

   4. There is "blue coal"—the energy of the tides of the sea. Where is it used?

   5. There is "yellow coal"—the energy of the sun. Where is it used?

6. Read and retell the following story:

The Sun and the Moon

Two men were arguing one day about the sun and the moon, and which of the two was more useful. At last one of them said, "Oh! I know. The moon is quite worth two suns, for it shines at night when it is needed, but the sun shines in the daytime when nobody wants it."

Vocabulary

add – добавить

accumulate – накапливать

consider – считать

engine – двигатель

feed – питать

hold back (held) – задерживать

hope – надеяться

keep (kept) – хранить

nuclear power plant – атомная электростанция

pipeline – трубопровод

reason – причина

store – накапливать

Text

Scientists consider hydrogen a very promising energy source. The reserves of hydrogen are practically unlimited. Per unit of weight it contains almost three times more thermal energy than benzene. Besides, hydrogen can be used as fuel in transport, industry and home.

Hydrogen is easy to transport and store. It can be transported over large distances using conventional pipelines. It can be accumulated and kept for a long time either in conventional or natural reservoirs.

Scientists have found many ways of producing hydrogen-basically from ordinary water. And large volumes of this fuel can be obtained from coal, whose global reserves are tremendous. There is also an idea of using nuclear power plants to generate hydrogen. Scientists hope to use the energy of the sun, wind and tides to obtain hydrogen.

In several countries car engines fed by hydrogen have been tested successfully. Tests have also shown that adding five to ten per cent hydrogen to benzene increases engine efficiency by 40-45 per cent.

What is still holding back the use of hydrogen as fuel, and what has to be done in order to apply it extensively in the economy? The main reason is that now it is more expensive than mineral fuels, but in the near future hydrogen can be made cheaper to obtain. This new kind of energy opens up new prospects in aviation, metallurgy and some other industries.

Exercises

1. Complete the sentences.

   1. Scientists consider hydrogen...

      1. not a very promising energy source

      2. a very promising energy source

      3. a more promising energy source than atomic energy

   2. At present hydrogen fuel is being produced from...

      1. the energy of the sun

      2. the energy of the wind and tides

      3. ordinary water

   3. Adding a few per cent of hydrogen to benzene...

      1. greatly increases engine efficiency

      2. decreases a little engine efficiency

      3. does not change engine efficiency

   4. Hydrogen is not used widely as a fuel at present because...

      1. hydrogen reserves are limited

      2. its production is very expensive at present

      3. it is impossible to accumulate and keep it for a long time

2. Choose the correct word for translation:

   1. источник (энергии) - a) reserve; b) resource; c) source

   2. топливо - a) fuel; b) oil; c) tide; d) way

   3. обычный - a) promising; b) efficient; c) cheap; d) conventional

   4. npeo6paзовывать - a) convert; b) consist; c) contain; d) create

   5. достигать - a) represent; b) remain; c) resist; d) reach

   6. стараться - a) flow; b) try; c) obtain; d) use

   7. посредством - a) however; b) namely; c) no wonder; d) by means

   8. поэтому - a) thanks to; b) besides; c) i. e.; d) therefore

3. Translate the sentences:

   1. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that scientists first established experimentally the atomic theory of the structure of matter.

   2. It was Lomonosov who first determined the existence of atmosphere round Venus.

   3. Moscow University was named after M. V. Lomonosov because it was due to him that the University was founded in 1755.

   4. It was only after Mendeleyev's death that many of his ideas were put into practice.

4. Read and retell the text.

Vocabulary

drop – капля

single – единственный

to split – расщеплять

to replace – замещать, заменять

source – источник

application – применение

reliable – надежный

furnace – печь, горн, топка

to develop – развивать

nuclear power station – атомная станция

to construct - строить возводить

to mention – упоминать

peaceful – мирный

to achieve – достигать

contribution – вклад

engineering – инженерное искусство

by the way – между прочим, кстати

achievement – достижение

installation – установка, монтаж

to generate – вырабатывать

icebreaker – ледокол

powerful – мощный

to pay attention – обратить внимание

from year to year – год от года

Text

A man trying to see a single atom is like a man trying to see a single drop of water in the sea while he is flying high above it. He will see the sea made up of a great many drops of water but he certainly will not be able to see a single drop. By the way, there are so many atoms in the drop of water that if one could count one atom a second, day and night, it would take one hundred milliard years! But that is certainly impossible.

Man has, however, learned the secret of the atom. He has learned to split atoms in order to get great quantities of energy. At present, coal is our most important fuel and our basic source of energy. It is quite possible that coal and other fuel may be replaced by atomic energy in the future. Atomic energy replacing the present sources of energy, we shall get more energy than we produce today. As for coal, it is not only a fuel and it will therefore never lose its importance. We cannot do with out it and it may find some other important applications. For example, coal will be used to get various necessary products.

The nuclear reactor will possibly be one of the reliable "furnaces" producing atomic energy. Being used to produce energy, the reactor produces it in the form of heat. In other words, heat is developed by the splitting of atoms in the reactor.

Gas, water, melted metals, and some other liquids circulating through the reactor carry that heat away. The heat may be carried to pipes of the steam-generator containing water. The resulting steam drives a turbine, the turbine in its turn driving an electric generator. So, we see that a nuclear power station is like any other power station but the familiar coal-burning furnace is replaced by a nuclear one. However, a ton of uranium (nuclear fuel) can give us as much energy as 21/2 to 3 million tons of coal.

The first industrial nuclear power station in the world was constructed in the USSR in 1954. It has already been working for many years. One may mention here that the station in question was put into operation two years earlier than the British one and three and a half years earlier than the American nuclear power stations.

The Beloyarskaya nuclear power station in the Urals may serve as another example of the peaceful use of atomic energy in Russia. Our scientists and engineers having achieved a nuclear super-heating of steam directly in the reactor itself, it is certainly a new important contribution to nuclear engineering. By the way, such a nuclear super-heating of steam directly in the reactor before it is carried into the turbine was achieved for the first time in the world.

We may mention here another important achievement. It is the first nuclear installation where thermal energy generated in the reactor is transformed directly into electric energy.

Speaking of the peaceful uses of atomic energy in our country, it is also necessary to mention the icebreaker Lenin. It is the world's first icebreaker with a nuclear installation and at the same time the largest and the most powerful one. The machine installation of our icebreaker is of a steam-turbine type, the steam being produced by three reactors and sip steam-generators.

In our country great attention is paid to the peaceful use of atomic energy, its importance growing from year to year.

Exercises

1. Read the words:

achievement, atomic, coal, to construct, to contain, contribution, icebreaker, in question, installation, in the form of, nuclear, peaceful, power station, to put into operation, reactor, reliable, steam.

2. Translate the following sentences:

   1. Working at his new device, the inventor made numerous experiments.

   2. We have been speaking about the reactors from which no power is being taken.

   3. In future the nuclear reactor must be one of the most reliable furnaces producing atomic energy.

   4. Atomic energy being developed in a reactor in the form of heat, we can get both heat and power.

   5. The construction of power stations operating on atomic fuels and generating electric current is quite necessary.

   6. Being a source of heat and power, atomic energy can also serve as a source of new useful products.

   7. The energy sources of the world decreasing, it is necessary to turn to atomic energy.

   8. Water falling from its raised position changes potential energy into kinetic energy.

3. Answer the following questions:

   1. What is the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy?

   2. What sources of energy do you know?

   3. What form of energy can be changed into another form?

   4. What are the industrial uses of electricity?

   5. What do you call the device which changes chemical energy into elec­trical energy?

   6. What is the difference between a battery and a generator?

   7. What may coal be replaced by in future?

   8. What installations produce steam in the icebreaker Lenin?

   9. What electrical devices do you use?

   10. What forms of energy do you know?

4. Arrange the words given in Columns 1 and 2 in pairs of antonyms:

   1	2
   possible	past
   useful	impossible
   to construct	to find
   present	useless
   largest	limited
   unlimited	smallest
   to increase	to destroy
   to lose	to decrease

5. Fill in the blanks with prepositions:

   1. Electricity plays an important part ... our everyday life.

   2. It is difficult to imagine now how people could do ... electricity.

   3. As my friend lives near the institute he usually goes there ... foot.

   4. I often go ... bed late ... night.

   5. One form ... energy can be changed ... another form.

   6. Only a little part ... solar energy is used directly ... present.

Vocabulary

nucleus – ядро

to split – расщеплять

nuclear fission – ядерное деление

explosion – взрыв

uranium fuel – урановое топливо

core of a nuclear reactor – активная зона ядерного реактора

control rods – управляющие стержни

to absorb neutrons – поглощать нейтроны

radioactive substance – радиоактивное вещество

to get rid (of) – избавиться (от)

waste – отходы

disastrous effect – гибельное воздействие

to suffer – страдать

to adopt – выбирать

Text

Nuclear power provides us with electricity. It uses the energy stored in the nucleus in the centre of atoms. In some very heavy atoms the nucleus can be split into two smaller parts. This process of nuclear fission releases an enormous amount of heat, which is used in nuclear power engineering.

The process of nuclear fission is very dangerous. So much energy is produced that there can be an explosion, and this is what happens in an atom bomb. In a nuclear power station, fission is controlled so that energy is produced without explosions. The uranium fuel forms the core of a nuclear reactor. Special control rods can be raised or lowered into the uranium. These rods, made of cadmium or boron, absorb neutrons. This slows the reaction.

The fuel in a nuclear reactor is very radioactive. It produces a lot of dangerous radiation which is extremely harmful to all living things. Some of the radioactive substances produced by the reactor remain dangerous for thousands of years. Getting rid of this dangerous nuclear waste safely is a serious problem.

A nuclear reactor cannot explode like an atom bomb but an accident at a nuclear power station can have disastrous effects over a large area. In 1986 a major accident at Chernobyl nuclear power station in the then USSR released radioactive substances into the atmosphere. Winds carried them across Europe, and rains washed them down to earth. There was an increase in the amount of radiation, grass and crops became radioactive. People living near Chernobyl have suffered very much, and some have died.

Nuclear power could provide electricity for hundreds of thousands of years, but is it safe? Should we build more nuclear power stations and increase the chance of terrible accidents? The problem is that, without nuclear power, it will be difficult to provide enough electricity for all future needs. Some people say that we have to accept the risks. Others say that the risks are too great: we should find other ways of generating electricity or adopt a simpler lifestyle that requires less electricity.

Uranium is a metal which provides the fuel for most nuclear power stations. A special type of uranium is used, called U-235 (it has 235 neutrons in its nucleus). When a neutron hits this nucleus, it splits into two smaller nuclei. This process of nuclear fission produces invisible radiation, called gamma rays, and two or three high-speed neutrons shoot out. These neutrons can break up Other U-235 atoms, releasing more neutrons and more energy; and so the process continues. This is called a chain reaction.

Exercises

1. Answer the following questions.

   1. For what do people use nuclear power?

   2. Why can the process of nuclear fission be dangerous?

   3. What is the function of special control rods in a nuclear reactor?

   4. How harmful was the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986?

   5. Do you think we should accept the risks to provide enough electricity for the future needs?

   6. Is nuclear power a good choice?

   7. Do you know any other sources of energy?

2. Translate from Russian into English.

   1. В процессе ядерного деления высвобождается огромное количество тепла, которое используется в ядерной энергетике.

   2. На атомных электростанциях процесс ядерного деления контролируется таким образом, чтобы выделение энергии не сопровождалось взрывом.

   3. Некоторые радиоактивные вещества, образующиеся в реакторе, остаются опасными на протяжении тысяч лет.

   4. Ядерный реактор не взрывается подобно атомной бомбе, однако авария на атомной станции может произвести разрушительный эффект на огромной территории.

   5. Ядерная энергия является хорошим источником электричества на сотни тысяч лет, но вопрос в том, насколько это безопасный источник.

   6. Не поискать ли нам другие способы производства электроэнергии, или же выбрать такой стиль жизни, который не требует большого ее потребления?

Vocabulary

wave-power plant – электростанция, работающая на энергии морской волны

have never looked better – никогда не выглядели более обнадеживающими

at least – по крайней мере

shaped by years of trial and error – созданные в результате многолетних испытаний и ошибок

to be in the vanguard of – быть в авангарде, возглавлять

Text

Two concrete blocks on the bottom of the sea off the north coast of Scotland are all that is left of the world's first attempt to build a commercial wave-power plant.

When the large yellow 2 megawatt generator was wrecked by waves that were meant to power it, hope died. But the dream of using wave power to generate endless "clean" electricity hasn't faded.

Wave power is not easily obtained. Researchers had a number of other devices ready to be tested in the water. They learnt lessons from the power plant mentioned above which was wrecked, just as they had from other disappointments. They revised their designs and created new ones. Today, the prospects for wave power have never looked better. For the first time, independent analysts think that the electricity which could be produced from wave power will cost less than that produced from new nuclear and coalfired stations.

At least 15 wave-power generators are planned across the globe: nine in Europe, four in the Far East, one in the US and one in India, eight of them should be producing energy by 2000. All are robust, realistic designs, shaped by years of trial and error.

Some international experts on wave power think it could supply more than 10 per cent of the world's electricity and help to solve shortages of drinking water by desalinating sea water. Inspired by this prospect, researchers in Britain have been in the vanguard of wave power research.

Exercises

1. Ask and answer. Work in pairs. One completes the question, the other gives an answer.

   1. Where was the first commercial wave-power plant ____?

   2. What was wrecked by ____?

   3. What dream ____?

   4. What is the price of the electricity ____?

   5. Where are 15 wave-power generators ____?

   6. What do inter national experts ____?

   7. How do they think to solve ….?

   8. What is going on in Britain?

2. Here are some useful words from the text. Can you remember the sentences you saw each word in? Make similar to the original sentences.

• on the bottom

• wave-power plant

• was wrecked by waves

• ready to be tested

• will cost less

3. Read and translate the text.

Indicate whether the answer to each of the questions is Yes or No: