Гвоздева Пхысицс фор адванцед студентс 2011
.pdfExercise 4 (do it yourself)
Translate the sentences using the below expressions:
1.The trouble is
2.to consider somebody something
3.to depend on
4.to come up with
5.to convince
6.to replace
7.to regard
1.Дело в том, что развитие науки гораздо драматичнее.
2.Больтсмана считают одним из величайших ученых 19 века.
3.Работа Больтсмана основывалась на существовании атомов.
4.Максвелл предложил уравнения для объяснения явления электромагнетизма.
5.Противников невозможно убедить.
6.Новая теория побеждает тогда, когда вырастает новое поколение.
7.Новое поколение ученых естественно воспринимает новые
идеи.
UNIT 7
HUMAN PROGRESS
THE WAYS WE CHOOSE
“Humanity needs a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive.”
Einstein
PRE-READING TASK
Give Russian correspondence:
originally (initially), available goods (products on sale), in order to V ~ to V, instead (as opposed to), to give rise to (to lead to, to result in), for the sake of, even if (even though), to make somebody do something (to force somebody to do something), rather than (instead of), the only (single), too +Adj., the greater …….., the greater
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“LESS IS MORE”
Van Der Rohe
FYI
1.a myth – (here) an untrue idea or explanation
2.a principle – a general rule that you try to obey
Study the passage. Mind the underlined grammar points.
Science was originally invented to understand the universe. Technology was developed to increase the goods available in order to satisfy essential human needs. The main objective of technology is the quality of life for all but instead it was used to create “artificial” needs.
Technology has given rise to a dangerous myth: quantity for the sake of quantity, profit for the sake of profit, more goods, even if they satisfy only social status, even if they are unevenly distributed; more energy even if most of it is wasted; more money even if it is devalued in a mad inflationary race. The main objective of the society we live in is to make us consume. Today a nation’s importance is measured by its rate of production rather than by its intellectual contribution. With increased production as the only goal, the responsibility of nations to the environment and to future generations is abandoned.
Money is at the bottom of human relations in the present day world. Money brings power, security, comfort and entertainment. Everything can be bought and sold, even a feeling of selfrespect. Money substituted human relations with market relations. The principle of life and the goal of human existence are turned upside down. But people are too rational to change them. For the sake of profit a rational man is ready to destroy everything that blocks his way. And the greater the social status of a rational man, the greater the damage he makes. As a result we are having a highly technically developed civilization experiencing a deep moral and ecological crisis. Can anything be done to change the situation?
Vocabulary Notes
1.an objective – a goal – a purpose – an aim
2.artificial – (ant.) natural
3.evenly – equally
4.to consume – to buy
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5.the environment – nature
6.to abandon responsibility – to give up – to quit
7.to be at the bottom of a situation – to be the real cause of the situation
8.to substitute – to change something with something
9.damage – destruction
POST-READING TASK
(To be done at home in writing) I. Put in the prepositions.
1.The main objective … technology is the quality … life … all.
2.Technology has given rise … a dangerous myth: quantity ….. .. quantity.
3.Money is devalued … a mad inflationary race.
4.The main objective … the society we live … is to make us con-
sume.
5.Today a nation’s importance is measured … its rate of production.
6.Today a nation’s importance is not measured … its intellectual contribution.
7.The responsibility of nations … the environment and … future generations is abandoned.
II. Give words close in meaning. |
|
1. initial |
6. to give up |
2. products on sale |
7. single |
3. to V |
8. to result in |
4. main |
9. nature |
5. a goal |
10. to buy |
III. Give antonyms. |
|
1. to increase |
4. to use |
2. essential |
5. spiritual |
3. to buy |
6. to create |
IV. Make up simple sentences in the passive voice on the basis of
the passage using: |
|
1. to be invented |
5. to be wasted |
2. to be developed |
6. to be devalued |
3. to be used |
7. to be measured |
4. to be unevenly distributed |
8. to be abandoned |
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CLASS EXERCISES
Exercise 1 (do it yourself)
Translate the sentences.
1.Для чего была создана наука?
2.Для чего была создана техника?
3.Какова основная цель техники?
4.Как используется техника в современном мире?
5.Чем определяется социальный статус в современном мире?
6.Товары справедливо распределяются в современном общест-
ве?
7.Сколько энергии теряется?
8.Почему обесцениваются деньги?
9.Какова основная цель современного общественного устройст-
ва?
10.Чем определяется значение нации в том мире, в котором мы живем?
Exercise 2 (class activity) A Round Table Talk
Student A asks the first question (ex. 1), student B answers it and addresses the second question to students C.
Exercise 3 (in groups)
Do you share the author’s point of view? This is what the great minds think.
Study the quotations and say which ones you agree with.
1.“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” (Abraham Lincoln, American president)
2.“The best system is to have one party govern and the other watch.” (Lincoln)
3.“The political system works because it is united minority acting against a divided majority.” (Durant)
4.“Equal rights for all, special privileges for none.” (Thomas Jefferson, the author of the American constitution)
5.“No man is wise enough, or good enough to be trusted an unlimited power. Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads.” (Colton)
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6.“How can a man be said to have a country when he hasn’t right to a square inch of it? (George)
7.“I don’t believe in principle, but I do in interest.” (Lowell, American poet and diplomat)
9.“Crime does not pay ….. as well as politics.” (Alfred Neumann)
10.“Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it.” (Buckle)
11.“If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law.” (Brandeis, French writer)
12.“Property is theft.” (Proudhon, French philosopher and econo-
mist)
13.“Many commit the same crime with a different result. One gets a cross for his crime; another one a crown.” (Juvenal, Roman philosopher)
14.One law for the poor, another one for the rich. (Saying)
15.“It is the duty of the government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.” (Gladstone, English politician)
16.“Behind every fortune there is a crime.” (Honore de Balzac, French writer)
17.“The weaker the state, the more numerous are its laws.” (Tatsites, 55 AD, Roman historian)
18.“Laws are like cobwebs which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” (Jonathan Swift, English writer)
19.“America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete in a whole week.” (Evan Escarp)
20.“Great people are they who think that spiritual is more important than the material.” (Emerson, American essayist and philosopher)
Vocabulary Notes
1.a contempt – (ant.) respect
2.a property – valuable things
3.a theft – the act of stealing
4.a fortune – a very large amount of money
5.a cobweb – the net which a spider makes for catching insects
6.a wasp – an insect with yellow and black stripes across its body which can sting like a bee but does not produce honey
7.a hornet – a large wasp
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UNIT 8
SCIENCE − PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP
“For changes to be made in the right direction, the public needs to have a basic understanding of science.”
Stephen Hawking
PREREADING TASK Study some grammar points.
I. The words in italics show the attitude of the speaker to the idea he expresses.
S is likely to V = probably (вероятно) S is unlikely to V = hardly (вряд ли)
We use two variants.
1.It is likely that the world we live in will change dramatically in the next hundred years.
2.The world we live in is likely to change dramatically in the next hundred years.
Study the sentences.
1.Going through a black hole is unlikely to be a popular and reliable
method of space travel.
2. The realization that I had an incurable disease that was likely to kill me in a few years was a bit of a shock.
II One is a personal pronoun and can be used as the subject of the sentence = You
You don’t translate it.
Study the sentences.
1.Even if one wanted to, one could not put the clock back to an early
age.
2.The only way we could detect dark matter would be by its effect on the expansion of the universe. One can determine how fast the expansion is slowing down by measuring the speed at which distant galaxies are moving away from us. The point is we are observing these galaxies in the distant past, when light left them on its journey to us. One can plot a graph of the speed of the galaxies against their brightness or magnitude, which is a measure of their distance from us.
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III. We can use without + Ving to show how something happens.
Study the sentence.
1.Many science programs on TV present scientific wonders simply as magic without explaining them and showing how they fit into the framework of scientific ideas.
IV. N + to V (to be + V3) – an infinitive after a noun characterizes it and expresses an action that must be done or can be done in the future.
Study the sentences.
1.“There are books to be read and thrown away; there are books to be read and put on the shelf; and there are some few to be read and digested” (Seneca)
2.These are the data to be verified.
3.When we look for life on Mars, we need an astrophysicist to characterize the environment, the chemist to understand the chemistry of the soils, the geologist to understand the rock formations, the biologist and a paleontologist.
4.Genetic engineering and computers are the two developments most likely to change the way we live. = Genetic engineering and computers are the two developments which are most likely to change the way we live.
Give Russian correspondence:
in a dry and uninteresting manner (way), rather than (instead of), so (thus – therefore), moreover (more than that), although (though), in terms of (through, by means of), in the form of, anyway (in any case), to provide (to be), the way (how), to realize (to understand), as (since, for), by far (so far, up till the present moment), in a responsible way, actual (real), Rather (when we use rather we introduce a correction)
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE
Study the passage. Mind the underlined grammar points.
What can be done to give the public the scientific background it needs to make informed decisions on subjects like acid rain, the greenhouse effect, nuclear weapons and genetic engineering? Clearly, the basis must lie in what is taught in schools. But in school science is presented in a dry and uninteresting manner. Children learn science by rou-
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tine to pass examinations rather than by careful thought, so they don’t see its relevance to the world around them. Moreover, science is often taught in terms of equations. Although equations are a concise and accurate way of describing mathematical ideas, they frighten most people. Scientists and engineers, however, tend to express their ideas in the form of equations because they need to know the precise values of quantities.
Anyway, the science people learn in schools could provide the basic framework. But the rate of scientific progress is now so rapid that there are always new developments that have occurred since one was at school or university. I never learned about molecular biology or transistors at school, but genetic engineering and computers are the two developments most likely to change the way we live. Popular books and magazines articles about science could help, but even the most successful popular books are read only by a small proportion of the population. Only television can reach a truly mass audience. There are some very good science programs on TV, but others present scientific wonders simply as magic, without explaining them or showing how they fit into the framework of scientific ideas. Producers of television science programs should realize that they have a responsibility to educate the public, not just to entertain it.
What are the science-related issues that the public will have to make decisions on in the near future? By far the most urgent is that of nuclear weapons. A nuclear war could mean the end of all human life on earth within days. It would only take a computer error to trigger a global war. It is very important that the public realize the danger and put pressure on all governments to agree to large arms cuts. The major powers have behaved in a reasonably responsible way, but one cannot have such confidence in minor powers like Libya, Iraq or Pakistan. The danger is not so much in the actual nuclear weapons that such powers may soon possess. Rather the danger is that a nuclear war between two minor powers could draw in the major powers with their enormous arsenals.
Stephen Hawking
Vocabulary Notes
1.thought – reasoning
2.relevance – connection
3.concise – laconicsizable – compact
4.They tend to express – they usually express
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5.a value is a particular number or quantity that can replace a general expression such as x or y.
6.a framework – a structure
7.a rate – a speed – we use a rate when speaking about processes
8.a power – a state
POST-READING TASK
(To be done at home in writing) I. Analyze the passage.
1.Make up a list of information channels through which the public could be given scientific background.
2.Evaluate the pros @ cons of each information channel.
II. Add another sentence using so …
1.Children learn science by routine to pass examinations rather than by careful thought, so …….
2.Scientists need to know the precise values of quantities, so
………………
3.The rate of scientific progress is now extremely rapid, so
……………….
4.Even the most successful popular books are read only by a small proportion of the population, so ……………….
III. Formulate questions.
1.Children do not see the relevance of science to the world around
them. (Why?)
2.Popular science books are read by a small proportion of the population. (Why?)
3.Only television can reach truly mass audiences. (Why?)
4.Many science programs present scientific wonders simply as magic. (Why?)
IV. Cut down the paragraphs to the topical sentences, make necessary changes and write a summary. Use some introductory words: Hawking is sure that; He thinks, considers, believes; He is afraid that; He doubts that; in his opinion, He takes the view
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CLASS EXERCISES
Exercise 1 (in pairs)
You have been present at the lecture given by Hawking in Spain. Exchange your opinions using your summary as the basis.
Exercise 2 (in groups)
To test the scientific background you have, answer the questions.
1.What are acid rains caused by?
2.What is the greenhouse effect caused by? Does it affect the climate change? Why?
3.What does genetic engineering deal with?
4.What is the most urgent science-related issue that the public will have to make decisions on?
5.In what way would the major powers behave in case of a conflict.
Exercise 3 (do it yourself)
In your own words write another sentence which, in your opinion, may be the cause of the previous one, and compare the sentence formulated by you with the one written by the author.
1.Unfortunately, the basis to give people scientific background can’t lie in what is taught in schools because …
2.Children do not see the relevance of science to the world around them because …
3.Science is often taught in terms of equations because …
4.Equations frighten most people because …
Exercise 4 (in groups) A Round Table Talk
Student A asks the first question of post-reading task III, student B answers it and addresses with the next question to student C.
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