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благосостояние

2. Прочтите и переведите текст:

ETHICAL SYSTEM

Building a sustainable society requires a new set of beliefs – an appropriate ethical system – because our attitudes toward nature determine how we interact with the environment. Today many people operate with a frontier mentality based on three main ideas: (1) the world has an unlimited supply of resources for human use, (2) humans are apart from nature not a part of nature, and (3) nature is something to overcome. These attitudes toward nature stem in part form Judeo-Christian teachings and in part from biological imperialism – the tendency for all organisms to convert as much of the environment into themselves and their offspring as possible.

The roots of the attitude that there is always more are easily seen. For most of human history, population size has been small in comparison with the earth’s resources supplies. There always has been more, until recently.

The frontier mentality is behind contemporary human thought. It is composed of the following attitudes:

Apathy. Many people, while understanding that the earth is finite, remain apathetic about the course of modern society. Involved in their own lives, they see resource limitations and pollution as problems for which someone else must take responsibility. Apathy is effortless, noncontroversial, and cheap.

Self-centred view. The average man and woman in the street often take a self-centered view. Their economic and noneconomic welfare governs their actions: what kinds of homes they buy, what size cars they buy, how much luxury they surround themselves with, and so on. Replacing the self-centered approach to life with the global environmental prospective is the main task of environmental education.

Feelings of insignificance. Being just one of billions of people on earth is an excuse many of us use for our wasteful ways. There you have it: feelings of insignificance create many of our problems and keep us from solving them. We need to develop the understanding that there are billions of people and their actions, taken together can make or break us.

Restricted space-time values. Most people’s problems are restricted to self, family or community. With regard to time, most people concern themselves with the present or near future. This restricted view, though very natural, can be harmful to modern society in the light of the rapid rate of change of the population, resources and pollution.

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Technological optimism. Many of our today’s concerns are the result of the unbridled development and careless application of technology. In pursuing what some perceive as the “limitless” resources of our planet, newer and often more damaging technologies continue to be developed. Many of our problems stem from undying optimism in the power of technology to solve our problems.

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

новая направленность убеждений, отдельно от природы, причина такого отношения, брать на себя ответственность, действия современного общества, ограничение ресурсов, не давать решать (проблему), экологическая перспектива, быть озабоченным настоящим, неограниченные ресурсы, придерживаться мнения, окружать себя роскошью, то, что нужно победить.

5.Найдите в тексте синонимы к следующим словам: substitute, unlimited, future, careless, contemporary, children, use, limited.

6.Опишите, как вы лично понимаете различные виды отношения к экологическим проблемам:

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апатия, эгоцентрическое отношение, ограниченные пространственновременные ценности, чувство незначимости, технологический оптимизм.

7. Прочитайте диалог и определите предмет разговора:

a) inorganic chemistry; b) new chemicals exhibition; c) plastics; d) greenhouse effect.

SUSAN: I just can't help thinking of things made from plastics as imitations, as cheap substitutes.

GILES: If by “cheap” you mean less expensive, then you’re quite right. For example, that new watering can we bought for the garden.

SUSAN: Yes, it did cost less than a metal one. GILES: Do you remember why we bought it?

SUSAN: I liked the nice bright yellow colour. But you can buy coloured metal ones, too.

GILES: Ah! But with plastics, the colour goes all the way through, because the pigments are mixed in with raw materials. They don’t have to be painted like metal. And ...

SUSAN: Can I interrupt your chemical lecture for a second? It doesn’t matter anyway. The result’s the same!

GILES: No, it isn’t. Take a watering can, or a child’s toy, or even something you use in the kitchen, like your washing-up bowl. What happens when they’re knocked against something hard?

SUSAN: You mean if they’re metal? GILES: Yes.

SUSAN: I suppose, after a while the paint becomes chipped. All right, I see the point. With plastics the colours won’t chip off.

GILES: But do you remember another reason why we decided to buy a new watering can?

SUSAN: Yes, certainly. The old one was so rusty. There were holes in the bottom... I see. Plastics don’t rust like metal.

GILES: Exactly. Are you beginning to feel more kindly towards plastics? SUSAN: I’ve nothing against them, Giles, but they are used instead of the original materials, so that makes them substitutes, doesn’t it?

GILES: Do you remember what Mrs. Harvey said? SUSAN: Who?

GILES: The plastics expert, you know, the chemist, in the recording I made at the exhibition.

SUSAN: Oh, yes.

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GILES: And, incidentally, my tape recorder wouldn’t be so small or so light if it weren’t for the fact ...

SUSAN: I see what you mean: if it wasn’t made of plastics.

GILES: You’re learning. I’ll just run the tape back to the right place. I think this is where it is. Listen.

(On the tape recorder.)

GILES: ... people who call them substitutes.

MRS. H: Oh, yes, some still do but they’re quite wrong, Mr. Newton. Plastics are materials in their own right. Cheapness is not the only factor that makes them acceptable to industry. Before it can replace any other material – like wood, metal or a natural fabric – a plastics material must have a performance that is at least comparable to whatever was previously used.

SUSAN: And I suppose sometimes they’re even better.

MRS. H: Frequently, particularly when the properties of the materials are adjusted, or even created, to suit the specific requirements of the end product.

GILES: What sort of properties?

MRS. H: The degree of rigidity or flexibility, for example: resistance to acids, insulating qualities, ability to withstand sudden changes of temperature. Oh, the list is endless because the plastics industry is being continually asked to recommend or develop materials for such a wide variety of new uses.

GILES: Do they succeed?

MRS. H: More often than not. In fact, there are so many types of plastics with so many unique properties, they frequently provide answers to unsolved engineering problems.

GILES: On behalf of our journal let me express my deepest gratitude to you, Mrs. Harvey, for such a brilliant explanation.

MRS. H: My pleasure.

(Giles stops the tape recorder.)

GILES: Well, Susan?

8.Ответьте на вопросы по диалогу:

1.Who are the speakers?

a)two students and a professor of chemistry;

b)three research workers;

c)a journalist, his wife and a chemist;

d)three factory workers.

2. Why did they buy a new watering can?

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a)because Susan liked the colour;

b)because Giles liked the shape;

c)because Giles and Susan liked the material;

d)because Susan likes plastics.

3. Who is Mrs. Harvey?

a)a guide; b) a plastics expert; c) their neighbour; d) their friend.

4. When did they meet Mrs. Harvey?

a)at a lecture;

b)at an exhibition;

c)at a plastics factory;

d)while buying a watering can .

5.What properties of plastics were not mentioned? a) resistance to acids;

b)hardness;

c)insulating properties;

d)ability to withstand sudden changes in temperature.

6.What things made from plastics were mentioned?

a) threads; b) toys; c) tubes; d) sheets.

Грамматика. Косвенная речь.

Если слова автора стоят в прошедшем времени, то при переводе предложения из прямой речи в косвенную в косвенной речи употребляются только формы прошедшего времени.

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Глаголы, которые могут употребляться в косвенной речи:

1) Глаголы, после которых that может опускаться:

agree (соглашаться), mention (упоминать), notice (замечать), promise (обещать), say (говорить), think (думать).

2) Глаголы, после которых требуется объект:

assure (уверять), advise (советовать), convince (убеждать), inform (информировать), persuade (уговаривать), reassure (успокаивать), remind (напоминать), tell (говорить, приказывать).

3) Глаголы, после которых не требуется объекта:

acknowledge (признавать), answer (отвечать), argue (возражать), assume (допускать), believe (полагать), complain (жаловаться), consider (считать), declare (заявлять), deny (отрицать), expect (ожидать), feel (чувствовать), find (находить), report (сообщать), reply (отвечать), warn (предупреждать).

9.Напишите 10 повествовательных предложений из диалога

вкосвенной речи.

10.Составьте собственный диалог по ситуациям:

1) An interview of a famous environmentalist.

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2)Two scientists are discussing the future of science.

3)Two postgraduate students are speaking about fraud in their laboratory.

11.Внимательно прослушайте диалог своих товарищей и передайте его в косвенной речи.

12.Письменно изложите свои рассуждения по следующему вопросу:

A company is going to give some money either to support the arts or to protect the environment. Which do you think the company should choose? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer

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УРОК 11

1. Прочтите данные из текста слова по транскрипции:

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2. Прочтите и переведите текст:

ECONOMICS

Economics is a science that concerns itself with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. It is in many ways an applied science, for it helps society solve 3 fundamental problems: 1) what commodities it should produce and in what quantity, 2) how should it produce its goods, and 3) for whom it should produce them. In a command economy, in which government dictates production and distribution goals, decisions are left to bureaucrats. In a market economy, prices, supply and demand are the factors for decision-making. Most economies are mixed having features of both.

Economics use a variety of measures to study the nation's output. The most widely used is the general nation produce (GNP). The GNP is the value of the national output of goods and services. It gives a general picture of the relative wealth of nations and the living standards of their people. However, it fails to take into account some of the ill effects of the economy, such as damage from pollution. Economists then devised a new economic measure, the net economic welfare (NEW) that subtracts the negatives. Nations should reduce the difference between GNP and NEW.

Economics plays an important role in pollution control, one form of resource management. One of the chief goals of society is to achieve the maximum reduction of pollution, which yields the maximum benefit, at the lowest cost. This can be done by cost-benefit analysis, but determining the true cost of pollution including all externals, can be quite difficult. In addition, cost determinations are impossible for many free services, such as recreation, watershed protection, and oxygen production.

Resource management is significantly affected by economics in many ways. The most important economic variables that govern the resource use are 1) time preference, a measure of one’s willingness to give up current income for greater returns in the future; and 2) opportunity cost, the cost of lost money-making opportunities.

Who pays the cost of pollution control is an issue of heated debate. In reality there are times when consumers should pay; when new plants are being built the cost of pollution control should be included into prices. In older industries now under new laws and regulations, however, the taxpayers should at least help bear the burden.

Historically, pollution control has been enforced by punitive measures, mostly fines. It is said that environmental regulations and laws delay projects, increase the cost of doing business, decrease productivity,

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and ultimately cost society jobs. Careful studies show that these claims are true but taken out of proportion. After all, accidents such as oil spills, for example, cost companies far more than preventive measures.

3.Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1)What are the three fundamental problems that economics helps to solve?

2)What is the difference between command and market economy?

3)What measures can evaluate the nation’s output? How can we differentiate them?

4)How are environmental study and economics interdependent?

5)How does a decrease in supply affect price?

6)In your opinion, who should pay the cost of pollution control?

7)Why do price increases generally result in an increase in supply?

8)What is the major weakness of the law of supply and demand?

9)Why do you think population growth is economically beneficial?

10)How do time preference and opportunity costs affect the ways in which people manage natural resources?

11)What are the main goals of a sustainable economy? In your view, is it a practical alternative to current economic system? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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

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