2.5. Употребление артикля с неисчисляемыми существительными

Имена существительные вещественные употребляются без артикля в следующих случаях:

• Когда речь идет о веществе в общем смысле:

  Water is necessary for life.	Вода необходима для жизна.
  Salt can be obtained from sea water.	Соль можно получать из морской воды.

• Когда одно вещество противопоставляется другому:

This steamer burns oil (not coal).	Этот пароход работает на нефти (не на угле).
Diamond is harder than glass.	Алмаз тверже стекла.

Имена существительные вещественные употребляются c определенным артиклем, когда речь идет об определенном количестве данного вещества, а именно:

• Когда из контекста ясно, о каком количестве вещества идет речь, обычно имеется в виду все вещество:

  The powder was dissolved in a small amount of water.	Порошок растворили в небольшом количестве воды.
  The ice is too thin here.	Лед здесь очень тонок.

• Перед названием вещества, имеющего при себе определение, выделяющее его из всего вещества, имеющегося в природе:

  The new plastic possesses unique properties.	Новый пластик обладает уникальными свойствами.
  The gas exhausted by this plant pollutes the air.	Газ, выделяемый этим заводом, загрязняет воздух.

• Если определение выражено прилагательным в превосходной степени:

This machine part is made of the strongest steel.	Эта деталь изготовлена из самой прочной стали.
This was the best wine I have ever tasted.	Это было самое лучшее вино, которое я когда-либо пробовал.

Существительные отвлеченные – названия признаков, действий, понятий, состояний, чувств, явлений и т.п., например: information, motion, feeling, confidence, disaster, development, science etc. – употребляются без артикля, когда речь идет о понятии в общем смысле:

The goal of the conference is to share knowledge, information and the best technologies.	Целью конференции является обмен знаниями, информацией и лучшими технологиями.
Change is often accompanied by complications.	Изменения часто влекут за собой осложнения.

С определенным артиклем существительные отвлеченные употребляются, когда они имеют при себе определения:

The collaboration between two companies started six years ago.	Сотрудничество между двумя компаниями началось шесть лет назад.
The goal of the project is to help managers optimize the performance of their computing systems.	Цель проекта – помочь менеджерам оптимизировать работу их компьютерных систем.

Неопределенный артикль с отвлеченными существительными употребляется, когда речь идет о разновидности явления, качества или чувства, а неопределенный артикль в этом случае имеет значение некий, такого рода. Существительные в этом случае часто имеют определения :

This technology is a driving force for raising productivity, economy and improving people’s life.	Эта технология является движущей силой для увеличения производительности, экономии и улучшения жизни людей.
The company has an excellent reputation on the world market.	Компания имеет отличную репутацию на мировом рынке.

 Запомните устойчивые выражения, употребляемые с неопределенным, определенным артиклем или без артикля.

Неопределенный артикль
a few	несколько	it’s a pity	жаль
a little	немного	as a result	в результате
at a speed of	со скоростью	as a mater of fact	на самом деле
at a time	за один раз	to have a good time	хорошо провести время
for a long time	в течение долгого времени	to have a mind	намереваться
in a loud / low voice	громким / тихим голосом	to have a look	взглянуть
on a large / small scale	в большом / малом масштабе	to have a headache	испытывать головную боль
all of a sudden	внезапно	to take a seat	сесть
to be in a hurry	спешить	to go for a walk	пойти гулять
to be at a loss	быть в растерянности	to have a cold	быть простуженным
a lot of, a great / good deal of, a number of	много
Определенный артикль
in the morning	утром	on the whole	в целом
in the afternoon	днем	the other day	на днях (в прошлом)
in the evening	вечером	to go to the theatre / cinema	пойти в театр / кино
in the night	ночью	to play the piano / the violin	играть на пианино / скрипке
what is the time?	который час?	to tell the time	сказать, который час
the day before yesterday	позавчера	to tell the truth	говорить правду
on the left / right	слева / справа	to pass the time	проводить время
in the country	за городом	to run the risk	подвергаться риску
on the one (other) hand	с одной (другой) стороны
Без артикля
at night	ночью	to be in bed	лежать в постели
by day	днем	from morning till night	с утра до вечера
day by day	день за днем	from day to day	со дня на день
at home	дома	in time	вовремя
at work	на работе	in debt	в долгу
at sunset	на закате	in demand	в спросе
at first sight	с первого взгляда	on demand	по требованию
by train	поездом	in sight	в поле зрения
by air	воздушным путем	in fact	в действительности
by sea / land	морем / по суше	in conclusion	в заключение
by mail	по почте	on board a ship	на борту корабля
by heart	наизусть	on deck	на палубе
by chance	случайно	on credit	в кредит
by mistake	по ошибке	on sale	в продаже
by name	по имени	day and night	день за нем
by order of	по приказу	from time to time	время от времени
by means of	посредством	to play football / tennis	играть в футбол / теннис
at dinner / breakfast	за обедом / завтраком	to take part	принимать участие
at table	за столом	to take care of	заботиться
to go to school	ходить в школу	to shake hands	пожать руки
to be in town	быть в городе	to have dinner / breakfast	обедать / завтракать
to go to bed	ложиться спать	to declare war	объявлять войну

 Caution is the parent of safety.

 – Doctor! Doctor! I think I need glasses!

– You certainly do, Madam. This is a fish and chip shop.

Exercise 2.1. Insert articles where necessary.

1. Who is ___ best footballer in ___ world? 2. My brother works in ___ large garage in ___ Brighton. He is ___ engineer. 3. Did you enjoy ___ party you went to on ___ Saturday? 4. ___ Earth moves round ___ Sun. 5. I had ___ cup of coffee and some toasts for ___ breakfast this morning. ___ coffee was delicious. 6. Could you switch off ___ TV? Nobody is watching it. 7. What is ___ capital of ___ Great Britain? – ___ London. 8. What do you think of John? – He is ___ very friendly person. 9. Have you passed ___ exam on physics? 10. These young men are ___ post-graduates. 11. He asked his teacher for ___ advice about ___ topic of ___ article. 12. She is ___ vegetarian. She doesn’t eat ___ meat or ___ fish. 13. ___ children need ___ love and ___ care. 14. ___ English drink a lot of ___ tea. 15. ___ Pacific Ocean is ___ largest ocean in ___ world.

Exercise 2.2. Insert articles where necessary.

1. ___ particles penetrated ___ vessel walls. 2. This substance dissolves in ___ water. 3. ___ heating accelerates ___ chemical reaction. 4. ___ Dr. Smith studies ___ crystal properties. 5. Usually he works with ___ assistant. 6. He comes to ___ work early in ___ morning and starts to check ___ instruments. 7. There is ___ difference between ___ results. 8. Out-of-date instruments cause ___ lot of complications in ___ research. 9. ___ problem is closely related to ___ photosynthesis in ___ aquatic plants. 10. ___ material we study sometimes exhibits ___ unusual properties. 11. ___ method significantly reduces ___ energy losses. 12. Each atom has ___ electron cloud in ___ normal conditions. 13. We determine ___ pressure with ___ gauge. 14. ___ experiment will be completed in ___ week. 15. These experiments are designed to study ___ nature of ___ viral action on ___ cells.

Exercise 2.3. Translate into English.

1. Прошлым летом я отдыхал в маленьком городке в Крыму. 2. Дом, в котором мы жили, стоял на берегу Черного моря. 3. В докладе он упомянул факты, которые подтвердили наши предположения. 4. Я только что получил электронное письмо с приложением. В приложении содержится перечень документов для конференции. 5. Какой-то человек ожидает вас в вестибюле на первом этаже. 6. Какой прекрасный день сегодня! 7. Это довольно простой текст. 8. Мы добирались до аэропорта на автобусе. 9. Не торопитесь! Поезд отправляется только через полчаса. 10. Дверь открылась, и в комнату вошел молодой человек. 11. Расстояние от Земли до Солнца – 150 миллионов километров. 12. Время бежит так быстро! 13. Молекула воды состоит из трех атомов. 14. Время от времени проверяйте свой почтовый ящик. Я пришлю Вам приглашение на конференцию. 15. Вода, которую я поставил в морозильник, превратилась в лед.

Exercise 2.4. Insert articles where necessary.

__ one day during ___ Second World War I was called down to ___ Washington to see Vannevar Bush. He told me that Harold Urey, of ___ Columbia, wanted to see me in ___ connection with ___ diffusion problem that had to do with ___ separation of ___ uranium isotopes. We were already aware that ___ uranium isotopes might play ___ important part in ___ transmutation of ___ elements and even in ___ possible construction of ___ atomic bomb, for ___ earlier stages of this work had come before ___ war and had not been made in ___ United States. (from “Moral problems of a scientist. The atomic bomb” by Norbert Wiener)

Exercise 2.5. Insert articles where necessary.

___ scientists have invented ___ plastic solar cell that can turn ___ sun’s power into ___ electrical energy, even on ___ cloudy day. ___ plastic material uses ___ nanotechnology and contains ___ first solar cells able to harness ___ sun’s invisible infrared rays. ___breakthrough has led ___ theorists to predict that ___ plastic solar cells could ___ one day become five times more efficient than ___ current solar cell technology. Like ___ paint, ___ composite can be sprayed onto ___ other materials and used as ___ portable electricity. ___ sweater coated with ___ material could power ___ cell phone or ___ other wireless devices. ___ hydrogen-powered car painted with ___ film could potentially convert enough energy into ___ electricity to continually recharge ___ car’s battery. ___ researchers envision that one day ___ “solar farms” consisting of ___ plastic material could be rolled across ___ deserts to generate enough clean energy to supply ___ entire planet’s power needs. “___ sun that reaches ___ Earth’s surface delivers 10,000 times more energy than we consume,” said Ted Sargent, ___ electrical and computer engineering professor at ___ University of ___Toronto. Sargent is one of ___ inventors of ___ new plastic material.

Exercise 2.6. Insert articles where necessary.

___ story tells that ___ two friends were walking through ___ desert. During some point of ___ journey they had ___ argument, and ___ one friend slapped ___ other one in ___ face. ___ one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in ___ sand: “TODAY ___ MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN ___ FACE.”

They kept on walking until they found ___ oasis, where they decided to take ___ bath. ___ one, who had been slapped, got stuck in ___ mire and started drowning, but ___ friend saved him. After ___ friend recovered from ___ near drowning, he wrote on ___ stone: “TODAY ___ MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY ___ LIFE.”

___ friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, «After I hurt you, you wrote in ___ sand and now, you write on ___ stone, why?”

The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in ___ sand where ___ winds of ___ forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in ___ stone where no ___ wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in ___ sand, and to carve your benefits in ___ stone.

Exercise 2.7. Insert articles where necessary.

His ___ name was Fleming, and he was ___ poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out ___ living for ___ his family, he heard ___ cry for ___ help coming from ___ nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to ___ bog. There, mired to his waist in ___ black muck, was ___ terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved ___ lad from what could have been ___ slow and terrifying death.

___ next day, ___ fancy carriage pulled up to ___ Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. ___ elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as ___ father of ___ boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

“I want to repay you,” said ___ nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.”

“No, I can't accept ___ payment for what I did,” ___ Scottish farmer replied, waving off ___ offer. At that moment, ___ farmer’s own son came to ___ door of ___ family hovel.

“Is that your son?” ___ nobleman asked. “Yes,” ___ farmer replied proudly.

“I’ll make you ___ deal. Let me take him and give him ___ good education. If ___ lad is anything like his father, he’ll grow to ___ man you can be proud of.”

And that he did. In ___ time, ___ Farmer Fleming’s son graduated from ___ St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in ___ London, and went on to become known throughout ___ world as ___ noted Sir Alexander Fleming, ___ discoverer of Penicillin.

___ years afterward, ___ nobleman’s son was stricken with ___ pneumonia.

What saved him? ___ penicillin.

___ name of ___ nobleman? ___ Lord Randolph Churchill.

His son’s name? ___ Sir Winston Churchill.

Exercise 2.8. Insert articles where necessary.

___ six consecutive days of ___ spring ___ rain had created ___ raging river running by ___ Nancy Brown’s farm. As she tried to herd her cows to ___ higher ground, she slipped and hit her head on ___ fallen tree trunk. ___ fall knocked her out for ___ moment or two. When she came to, Lizzie, one of ___ her oldest and favorite cows, was licking her face. ___ water was rising. Nancy got up and began walking slowly with Lizzie. ___ water was now ___ waist high. ___ Nancy’s pace got slower and slower. Finally, all she could do was to throw her arm around ___ Lizzie’s neck and try to hang on. About 20 minutes later, Lizzie managed to successfully pull herself and Nancy out of ___ raging water and onto ___ bit of ___ high land, ___ small island now in ___ middle of ___ acres of ___ white water.

Even though it was about ___ noon, ___ sky was so dark and ___ rain and ___ lightning so bad that it took ___ rescuers another two hours to discover Nancy. ___ helicopter lowered ___ paramedic, who attached Nancy to ___ life-support hoist. They raised her into ___ helicopter and took her to ___ school gym, where ___ Red Cross had set up ___ emergency shelter.

When ___ flood subsided two days later, Nancy immediately went back to ___ “island.” Lizzie was gone. She was one of ___ 19 cows that Nancy lost. “I owe my life to her,” said Nancy sobbingly.

Exercise 2.9. Insert articles where necessary.

Japan, ___ country of ___ islands, extends along ___ Pacific coast of ___ Asia. ___ main island is ___ Honshu, and ___ country has three other large islands – Hokkaido to ___ north and ___ Shikoku and ___ Kyushu to ___ south. More than 4,000 smaller islands surround ___ four largest. ___ modern transportation system connects ___ main islands, including ___ Seikan Tunnel linking Honshu to Hokkaido – ___ world’s longest railroad tunnel at 54 kilometers (33 miles). ___ Japan’s high-speed trains (known as ___ shinkansen, or bullet trains) connect ___ major urban areas.

About 73 percent of Japan is mountainous, and all its major cities, except ___ ancient capital of ___ Kyoto, cling to ___ narrow coastal plains. Only ___ estimated 18 percent of ___ Japan’s territory is suitable for ___ settlement – so ___ Japan’s cities are large and densely populated. Tokyo, ___ capital, is ___ planet’s largest urbanized area at 36 million. However, Tokyo has ___ worrisome environmental history of ___ destructive earthquakes and tsunamis ( ___ seismic sea waves). ___ major earthquake in 1923 killed ___ estimated 143,000 people.

One of ___ most traditional and isolated societies on ___ Earth when ___ Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed ___ American fleet into ___ Tokyo Bay in 1853, Japan is democratic and outward-looking today. Among ___ top three exporters of ___ manufactured goods, ___ nation has ___ second largest economy after that of ___ U.S.

Exercise 2.10. Insert articles where necessary.

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

___ people have put together many lists of ___ seven ancient wonders of ___ world. But this “seven wonders” list celebrates ___ monumental engineering and construction feats of ___ 20^th century. It was chosen by ___ American Society of ___ Civil Engineers.

Empire State Building. Finished in 1931, it towers 1,250 ft over ___ New York City. Until ___ first tower of ___ World Trade Center was finished in 1972, it was ___ world’s tallest building.

Itaipu Dam. Built by ___ Brazil and ___ Paraguay on ___ Parana River, ___ dam is ___ world’s largest hydroelectric power plant. Completed in 1991, it took 16 years to build this series of ___ dams whose length totals 7,744 m. It used 15 times more concrete than ___ Channel Tunnel.

CN Tower. In 1976, ___ tower became ___ world’s tallest freestanding structure. It looms about one-third of ___ mile high (1,815 ft) above ___ Toronto, Canada. ___ glass floor on ___ observation deck lets you look 342 m down to ___ ground.

Panama Canal. It took 34 years to create this 50-mile-long canal across ___ Isthmus of Panama. ___ amount of ___ digging required and ___ size of its locks helped make it ___ most expensive project in ___ American history at that time – and ___ most deadly: about 80,000 people died during construction (___ most from ___ disease).

Channel Tunnel. Known as ___ Channel, it links ___ France and ___ England. It is 31 mi long, and 23 of those miles are 150 ft beneath ___ seabed of ___ English Channel. ___ high-speed trains whiz through its side-by-side tubes.

Netherlands North Sea Protection Works. Because ___ Netherlands is below sea level, ___ series of ___ dams, floodgates, and surge barriers have been built to keep ___ sea from flooding ___ country during ___ storms. ___ biggest part of ___ project was ___ two-mile-long moveable surge barrier across ___ estuary finished in 1986. It is made of 65 concrete piers each weighing 18,000 tons. It has been said that ___ project is nearly equal in scale to ___ Great Wall of ___ China.

Golden Gate Bridge. Connecting ___ San Francisco and ___ Marin County in 1937, for many years this was ___ longest suspension bridge in ___ world. ___ Experts thought that ___ wind, ___ ocean currents, and ___ fog would make it impossible to build. It took about four years to complete ___ beautiful 1.2-mile-long bridge. It is held by 80,000 mi worth of steel wire, and ___ cables that link ___ two towers are 36.5 inches in diameter – ___ biggest ever made.