1595

УРОК 6

1. Прочтите данные из текста слова по транскрипции:

84

2. Прочтите и переведите текст:

ACID RAIN

Industrialization brought with it the combustion of high-sulphur coal and oil and the smelting of sulphide ores, particularly in the heavily industrialized urbanized temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Human activity accounts for roughly 10 times more sulphur being injected into the atmosphere than natural sulphur emissions from sources such as volcanoes. The combustion of sulphur produces sulphur dioxide, which enters the atmosphere, combines with oxygen, and yields sulphur trioxide. This in turn combines with atmospheric moisture to produce sulphuric acid, which precipitates as highly corrosive acid rain.

Measurements of the acidity of rain and snow reveal that in parts of eastern North America and north-western Europe precipitation has changed from a nearly neutral solution at the beginning of the industrial era, two centuries ago, to a diluted solution of sulphuric and nitric acid. In the most extreme cases, rain has had the acidity of vinegar. Current research efforts in North America and Europe are directed toward determining both the direct and indirect effects of increased amounts of acids in the environment.

Acid rain is especially harmful to aquatic organisms because it lowers the water’s pH value. In seawater, the damage comes from nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen acts as a nutrient that promotes the growth of algae, which blocks out sunlight and depletes the water of dissolved oxygen. As a result, aquatic plants and animals suffocate. There has been a widespread increase in nitrate levels in the oceans along with higher concentrations of toxic metals, including arsenic, cadmium, and selenium. The main factors contributing to this increase are fertilizer and pesticide runoff and acid rain, which dissolve heavy metals in the soil.

Some soils become so acidic they can no longer be cultivated. Plants are damaged by the adverse effects of acid on foliage and root systems. Acid precipitation is destroying the great forests of North America, Europe, China, and Brazil. Resorts and wilderness areas are losing much of their natural beauty because of acid rain.

Acid rain is possibly the most well-studied and the least acted upon of any pollution problems. The basic chemistry that turns industrial and motor vehicle emissions into acid rain is well understood. Governments, however, are slow to require expensive mandatory emission controls because companies might lose their competitive edge due to the costly investments.

85

3.Ответьте на вопросы на основе текста:

1)What did industrialization bring with it?

2)How much more are there man-made sulphur emissions compared with natural ones?

3)How is acid rain produced?

4)How has the acidity of rain and snow changed over the last two centuries?

5)What is acid rain especially harmful to?

6)In what way is it harmful to them?

7)What is the other reason for high nitrate levels in the sea?

8)How does acid rain affect forests?

9)Why is the problem of acid rain the least acted upon?

4.Прочтите, переведите однокоренные слова и составьте с ними предложения:

из-за кислотного дождя, недавние исследования, изучено лучше всего, водные растения, обязательный контроль за выхлопами, не торопиться требовать, способствовать росту корневой системы, неблагоприятное воздействие, измерение влажности, атмосферные осадки, разведенный раствор, терять конкурентоспособность, понятен, естественная красота, возделывать почву, с более высокой концентрацией, с большим числом промышленных предприятий, в результате, горение серы, высокие инвестиции.

86

6. Найдите в тексте синонимы к следующим словам:

harmful, expensive, to contribute to, approximately, because of, to show, to produce, to react.

7. Выберите одно из созвучных слов для правильного перевода:

1)root, roof (крыша);

2)lower, lawyer (нижний);

3)dew, due (роса);

4)reveal, release (отпускать);

5)precipitation, perspiration (осадки);

6)owe, ore (быть должным);

7)smelt, melt (плавить);

8)runoff, playoff (сход);

9)acid, acrid (едкий).

Грамматика. Причастия.

Формы причастия

Причастие – неличная форма глагола, которая обладает свойствами глагола, прилагательного и наречия.

8. Поставьте данные глаголы по смыслу в форму причастия: blow, call, invite, live, offer, read, ring, sit, study, work.

Переведите предложения:

1)I was woken up by a bell ……… .

2)A lot of people ……… to the party cannot come.

3)Life must be very unpleasant for people ……… near busy airports.

4)A few days after the interview, I received a letter ……… me the job.

5)Somebody ……… Jack phoned while you were out.

6)There was a tree ……… down in the storm last night.

7)When I entered the room it was empty except for a young man ………

by the window ……… a magazine.

8)Ian has got a brother ……… in a bank and a sister ……… economics at the University.

87

9. Вставьте соответствующие однокоренные слова в текст:

10.Определите слово по его дефиниции:

1)It is formed, inter alia, by incomplete combustion of organic materials and thus present not only in industrial, domestic and motor vehicle exhaust and flue gases but also in cigarette smoke and the fumes from grilling meat. Classed as air-toxic components.

2)These gases are treated as a sum value by exhaust gas legislation (Euro 2 and 3 standards). The first is a colourless and odourless gas, which, in the presence of oxygen, is rapidly converted into the second. The second is a reddish-brown, acrid gas. Contribute to the formation of acid rain and are partially responsible for the formation of ground-level ozone. They are formed from atmospheric nitrogen during all combustion processes.

3)A colourless and odourless gas which is virtually harmless to humans in the presence of sufficient oxygen. It is a greenhouse gas some 290 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

11.Сделайте устное сообщение по тексту на темы:

1)Acid rain production.

2)Acid rain damage.

12.Составьте диалог-интервью на основе текста, опираясь на следующие положения:

 Кислотные дожди (кислые дожди) – атмосферные осадки (в т. ч. снег), подкисленные (рН ниже 5,6) из-за повышенного содержания в воздухе промышленных выбросов, главным образом SO2, N02, НСl

88

и др.

В результате попадания кислотных дождей в поверхностный слой почвы и водоемы развивается подкисление, что приводит к деградации экосистем, гибели отдельных видов рыб и других водных организмов, сказывается на плодородии почв, снижении прироста лесов и их усыхании.

Кислотные дожди особенно характерны для стран Западной и Северной Европы, США, Канады, промышленных районов Российской Федерации, Украины и др.

13.Прочтите текст и проверьте его усвоение с помощью

теста:

Water on the Earth is being recycled continuously in a process known as the hydrologic cycle. The first step of the cycle is the evaporation of water in the oceans. Evaporation is the process of water turning into vapour, which then forms clouds in the sky. The second step is the water returning to the Earth in the form of precipitation: either rain, snow, or ice. When the water reaches the Earth's surface, it runs off into the rivers, lakes, and the ocean, where the cycle begins again.

Not all water, however, stays on the surface of the Earth in the hydrologic cycle. Some of it seeps into the ground through infiltration and collects under the Earth’s surface as ground water. This ground water is extremely important to life on the Earth, since 95 percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans and too salty for human beings or plants. Of the five percent on land, only 0.5 percent is above ground in rivers or lakes. The rest is underground water. This ground water is plentiful and dependable, because it doesn’t depend on seasonal rain or snow. It is the major source of water for many cities. But as the population increases and the need for water also increases, the underground water in some areas is getting dangerously low. Added to this problem is an increasing amount of pollution that seeps into the ground water. In the future, with a growing population and more toxic wastes, the hydrologic cycle we depend on could become dangerously unbalanced.

89

d)population increase.

14.Письменно изложите свои рассуждения по следующему вопросу:

A company has announced that it wishes to build a large factory near your community. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new influence on your community. Do you support or oppose the factory? Explain your position.

УРОК 7

1. Прочтите данные из текста слова по транскрипции:

90

91

2. Прочтите и переведите текст:

OZONE DEPLETION

Satellites that monitor the zoomed concentration in the upper atmosphere have discovered that the ozone layer is being depleted. Every September and October since the late 1970s, a giant hole, about the size of the continental United States, opens up in the ozone layer over Antarctica. The ozone depletion is believed to have a chemical origin. It is also believed that the chemicals are man-made.

The amount of chlorine monoxide, which destroys ozone molecules, was found to be 100 times the normal level in the Antarctic stratosphere. Polar stratospheric clouds composed of frozen water and nitric acid crystals help chlorine destroy ozone by fostering certain chemical reactions. For this reason, there is no comparable Arctic ozone hole because temperatures there are not cold enough to allow the cloud crystals to form.

Ozone is produced in the upper stratosphere, between 30 and 45 kilometers in altitude, when oxygen molecules absorb solar ultraviolet radiation. When the chemical bond ruptures, it produces ozone, an unstable molecule of three oxygen atoms along with a single oxygen atom. Ozone then decays back to an oxygen molecule and an oxygen atom within the ozone layer. Certain chemicals that are released into the stratosphere directly compete for the free oxygen atoms in the ozone layer and interfere with ozone production. The mechanisms by which ozone is destroyed are based on chemical chain reactions. One pollutant molecule might destroy many thousands of ozone molecules before being transported to the lower atmosphere, where it can no longer do any harm.

The concentration of ozone in the ozone layer is uneven. It is affected by the seasons, latitude, and strong weather systems that penetrate the stratosphere. If ozone finds its way to the lower levels of the atmosphere, it is destroyed before reaching the ground. This is fortunate because ozone also happens to be highly toxic when near the surface. It can irritate the eyes and lungs if it is present in the lower air.

Ozone plays a very important role in shielding the Earth from harmful shortwave ultraviolet radiation. Without this shield, life could not exist on the Earth’s surface. Even a slight increase in ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer and cataracts, have harmful effects on plants and animals, and exacerbate pollution problems such as smog and acid rain. The continued depletion of the ozone layer and the accompanying high ultraviolet exposure could reduce crop productivity and aquatic life. Primary

92

producers, upon which ultimately all life on Earth depends for its survival, will be especially hard hit.

3.Исправьте утверждения, опираясь на текст:

1)Ozone is produced in the lower stratosphere.

2)Cold arctic temperatures allow the cloud crystals, to form.

3)The ozone depletion is of extra-terrestrial origin.

4)Ozone can irritate the nervous people if it is present in the lower air.

5)Ozone shields the Earth from harmful shortwave infrared radiation.

6)The continued depletion of the ozone layer could increase crop productivity and aquatic life.

7)The ozone in the ozone layer is evenly concentrated.

8)The ozone layer is affected by the seasons, latitude, and neglectful attitude.

9)Primary producers will survive owing to the depletion of the ozone layer.

10)Fortunately, ozone finds its way to the lower levels of the atmosphere.

11)Oxygen molecules release solar ultraviolet radiation.

12)Certain chemicals that are released into the stratosphere promote ozone production.

4.Прочтите, переведите однокоренные слова и составьте с ними предложения:

гигантская дыра, внутри озонового слоя, неравномерная концентрация, рак кожи, недостаточно холодный, химическая связь,

93