Английский язык методические указания по самостоятельному чтению для студентов II курса всех факультетов заочной формы обучения

Рассмотрены и рекомендованы к изданию учебно-методической комиссией гуманитарного факультета Санкт-Петербургской государственной лесотехнической академии 21 июня 2011 г.

С о с т а в и т е л ь старший преподаватель И. Е. Титенская

Р е ц е н з е н т кандидат филологических наук, доцент Л. Г. Расторгуева

Английский язык: методические указания по самостоятельному чтению / сост. И. Е. Титенская. – СПб.: СПбГЛТУ, 2011. – 28 с.

Методические указания составлены для студентов II курса заочного отделения всех факультетов, изучающих английский язык. В них собраны тексты для самостоятельного чтения со словарем, они снабжены переводом некоторых специальных или ключевых терминов. В подборку включены оригинальные тексты, охватывающие широкий круг актуальных профессиональных проблем.

Темплан 2011 г. Изд. № 187.

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SPECIALLY PROTECTED NATURE TERRITORIES

A network of specially protected nature territories plays an important role in preserving typical and unique natural landscapes, plant diversity, wildlife, and sites of natural and cultural heritage. These are the sites that are officially excluded from management regime and that are under specific nature protection management. The following categories of specially protected sites are officially in use:

state nature reserves (strict nature zapovedniks), including biosphere reserves;

national parks;

nature parks;

wildlife preserves (zakaznik);

nature monuments;

dendrological parks (arboreta) and botanical gardens;

resorts and health-care sites.

Apart from the specially protected territories, the following sites are of due importance and environmental value:

forest reserves;

forest stands of special value;

forest stands of due scientific and historical importance;

genetic reserves;

relict habitat sites populated with rare, endemic, and threatened flora and

fauna species.

These all play a crucial role in the formation of an ecological framework of a certain region. A state nature reserve (zapovednik) is the most traditional form of site protection and is clearly prioritized for biological diversity conservation. One hundred zapovedniks, with a total area of 33.5 million ha, were established in the Russian Federation by the year 2002. They stretch over the territory of 64 subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the legislation, zapovedniks are establishments for nature conservation, scientific research and environmental education.

The system of Russian state nature reserves (zapovedniks) is recognized with respect all over the world. Twenty-one zapovedniks have the international status of biosphere reserves, seven are under the jurisdiction of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage convention, ten are under the jurisdiction of the Wetlands convention of international importance, especially as being considered to be waterfowl* habitat and four zapovedniks have been awarded with European Union Diplomas. Territories, that include natural complexes and sites, that have special economic, historical and aesthetic value, that are intended for nature conservation, environmental, educational, scientific, and cultural

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purposes, and that are designed for regulated tourism, are declared as national parks. By the year 2002 there were 35 national parks in Russia with a total area of 6924.5 thousand ha.

Nature parks of regional importance fit into a rather new category of specially protected areas. They represent establishments for nature conservation and recreation that come under the jurisdiction of the subjects of the Russian Federation. At present, the national parks network is in the developmental stage, and only 30 nature parks are officially registered.

Wildlife preserves (zakaznik) are the territories of special importance for the preservation or restoration of natural complexes (or components), as well as for the maintaining of ecological balance. State zakazniks carry out nature protection functions under the regime of restricted economic activities and restricted utilization of natural resources. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation manages the majority of wildlife preserves. In addition to this, there are about 4 thousand zakazniks of regional importance.

Nature monuments are unique and irreplaceable sites of high ecological, scientific, cultural and aesthetic value, which are of natural and artificial origin. Depending on the value of the site, it can be of federal or regional importance. There are 28 nature monuments of federal importance under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Their total number at the regional level makes up more than 7.5 thousand.

There are 153 resorts with a balneological, climatic and mud-care profile in Russia. Most of them (52 resorts) are located in the Northern Caucasus.

Recreation* is an important aspect of forest use. Forest lands, accessible for walks and visits, such as nature parks, zakazniks, urban and municipal forests, are considered sites for recreational use. In no uncertain terms, all the Forest Fund lands (both covered and non-covered with forests) are considered as recreational sites and include rivers, lakes, glades, rocks, alpine meadows, roads, etc. Recreational use is defined as the utilization of the forest benefits for the recreation of people. According to the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, the forest users, when on the Forest Fund sites that are designated for cultural, health improving, tourism and sporting purposes, must undertake site improvement measures. Natural landscapes and forests have to be preserved and, therefore, fire safety rules and sanitary requirements have to be followed.

waterfowl водоплавающая дичь recreation восстановление здоровья

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A CRY OF POPLAR

Much criticism has lately been directed at poplar as a tree for urban gardening, with a short lifetime and the asthma-provoking wool usually cited as major negative factors. Why, however, has poplar grown so widespread in urban gardening? Poplar is the most diverse genus among urban gardening trees with 17 species registered in Russia. In St. Petersburg, there are both native and introduced poplar species including Berlin poplar (Populus berolinensis, roughbark poplar (P. balsamifera), Lombardy poplar (P. Pyramidalis), aspen (P. Tremula), abele (P. Alba) and Soviet poplar (P. Sowietica pyramidalis).

In St. Petersburg, a wide-scale poplar planting program was underway in the period from the late 1940's until the early 1960's, which allowed the city to restore quickly its green dressing after the World War II. Although hygrophilous* and photophilous*, poplar cannot live in hydromorphic* soils. During the vegetation season, poplar synthesizes a large amount of phytoncides, effectively removing dust from air (up to 50 kg per season).

In the 1970's, however, poplar was regarded a non-promising genus of little value, and poplar selection was suspended – mostly, due to the fact that poplar requires permanent beheading to maintain its decorative properties. If not beheaded, poplar produces capsules containing numerous seeds named poplar wool.

Regarding the wool as an allergen is incorrect. The wool does not contain blossom dust of its own. But it absorbs industrial and blossom dust that produces allergy.

Decorative properties of poplar are also often affected by poplar leaf miner* (Lithocolletis populifoliella Tr.) and willow leaf beetle. With a loose texture of its wood, poplar is also easily damaged by decay that makes it sensitive to windfall*. This was another factor to ground the decision to cut poplars in the city. Many experts, however, argue that the decision was wrong, claiming that poplar is one of the best genera to resist conditions of the urban environment. Poplars are capable of withstanding the load even in industrial areas – in Yaroslavl-based oil refineries*, for instance.

Problems of the high speed of growth, tree windfall and fructification may be solved by preventive crown trimming.

Several years ago, specialists staged an experiment, rejuvenating in March mid-aged poplars along a busy highway. A mere 2% of the poplars did not survive rejuvenation, while the remaining trees burst into leaf by mid-summer. Tree beheading delays fructification for five to six years.

The extraction of thousands of heavy trees considerably effects St. Petersburg's environment, especially as poplars exist in areas where no other trees can live due to soil pollution and fatigue.

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In addition, poplar cutting, stump extraction, and planting of new trees are a very expensive and time-consuming project, for newly planted trees begin to fully function in 7 to 10 years

Many countries pay special attention to poplar cultivation. France, Italy, Germany and other countries even run specialized research institutes.

Most poplar species are extremely diverse. There are thousands of both natural and artificial hybrids, including hundreds of varieties for urban gardening with exceptional decorative qualities. Hybrids of abele (P. Alba) and Bolle' poplar (P. Bolleana), for instance, have white leaves and gorgeous pyramidal crowns, while Soviet poplar does not even produce the wool.

For this reason, St. Petersburg experts should revise the problem and estimate whether or not the city requires poplars on its streets.

HAZEL

Hazel is wildly distributed throughout much of Europe, from Britain and Scandinavia eastwards to Ural Mountains in Russia and as far south as Spain, Italy and Greece. It also occurs in Morocco, Turkey, Iran and Caucasus region. Within this large range its distribution is uneven and it typically grows as an understory* component of deciduous* forest, especially with oaks, although it also occurs with conifers.

Hazel is a member of the birch family of trees and can grow to a height of 10 meters. Typically it has a number of shoots or trunks branching out at, or just above, ground level, and this growth habit has led to some people referring to it as a bush rather than a tree, because it doesn’t meet the strict definition for a tree to have a single stem that is unbranched near the ground. The leaves of hazel are roundish in shape, with a point at the end, and are about 10 cm across. Leaf edges are doubly serrate or double toothed, and the leaves are hairy, which gives them a rough texture. Hazel is deciduous, with new leaves appearing in April and turning a bright yellow before being shed in October. Male flowers are in the form of catkins*, which are pale in colour and up to 5 cm long. They open in February, when hazel and other deciduous trees are all leafless, so they are one of the first obvious signs of spring in the forest. The female flowers are tiny red tufts*, growing out of what look like swollen buds, and are visible on the same branches as the male catkins. Pollination is by wind. Hazel is self-incompatible –

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successful pollination only occurs between different trees, as a single tree cannot pollinate itself. Fertilized female flowers grow into nuts which are up to 2 cm in size and occur in clusters of 1 to 4. The nuts ripen to a brown colour in September and October, with the nut itself enclosed by a tough woody shell. The nuts are distributed by red squirrels, woodpeckers* and, after falling to the ground, by other small rodents. Most of the nuts are consumed by these dispersers, but some of those which are hoarded for winter, or are overlooked, germinate and grow the following spring.

SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

The state has owned and managed forests in Russia for almost two centuries. During this time a powerful bureaucratic apparatus (employing about 250 thousand people) has developed and no country in the world can compete with Russia in the numbers of various forest officials.

Russian forest industry also takes the first place in many aspects. The forest industry enterprises employ about 800 thousand people. Each year they log some 150 million cubic meters of timber and in the 1960's this figure was twice as big. Only six countries (USA, China, India, Indonesia, Canada and Brazil) outlog* Russia (some 30 years ago Russia was the leader). What gives Russia these enormous logging* amounts?

In efficiency of timber use Russia lags far behind. One cubic meter of timber in Russia gives products worth ten times less than, say, in Scandinavian countries. From each cubic meter of timber forest sector employees receive salaries 20 times lower than in other countries. In other words, to produce a unit of finished product Russian forest industry logs 10 times more timber than in neighboring Finland.

Types of cuttings applied in Russian forestry are also far from being perfect, at least from the standpoint of environmental protection. Over 80% of timber in Russia is logged in clear cuttings and in most forests clear cuttings are permitted in large areas (over 50 ha). These logging practices cause largest possible damage to the environment and in large areas ancient forests are replaced with birch and aspen forests. The total annual clear cutting* area in Russia is 20 times bigger than the territory of Moscow. Logging carried out in the last 100 years have largely exhausted accessible and most productive forests in Russia, which results in that many forest industry companies are facing shortages of accessible high quality timber*.

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The outcome is quite obvious: poor forest settlements of jobless people, salaries that at best are enough to provide water and bread, out-of-date machinery and back-breaking labor conditions of forest industry employees. And more: constant lack of funds on forest protection and conservation resulting in regular forest fires, piles of litter along forest roads, illegal logging, no funds on normal reforestation and young forest maintenance.

It is rather difficult to improve the existing situation. First of all, it is necessary to understand that logging should not be growing (this what «forest generals» from the Natural Resources Ministry want). It should efficiently use what is cut. More cutting is already impossible in Russia: economically accessible forests have been largely exhausted, while cutting remote northern and Siberian forests will only result in more losses. And it is a must that considerable investments should go to restoration and maintenance of valuable forests. Otherwise, in 10 to 20 years Russian forest industry will die. Russia should reject exports of round timber (this is where Russia is taking the first place) as this type of export brings profits only to those countries that process this timber afterwards. Not all agree to the above, though: round timber exports «feed» lots of officials as most unregistered incomes come from this type of exports (in round timber exports it is very difficult to determine precisely the quality and price of exported timber at the customs*).

FORESTS OF WASHINGTON STATE

Forests cover over half of Washington’s land area. Of the 23 million acres of forestland in the Evergreen State, 16.2 million acres are classified as commercial forests. All of Washington’s forestlands contribute to the state; whether the forest is managed primarily to provide wood products, recreational opportunities, or wildlife habitat depends essentially on who owns it. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all forestland in Washington are owned or managed by governments–federal, state, local, and tribal. The U.S. Forest Service is by far the largest government manager in Washington State, overseeing eight national forests in Washington State covering 9.2 million acres of forestland. Their management emphasis has changed in recent years from multiple use including commercial timber harvests to primarily wilderness preservation, protection of scenic areas, provision of wildlife habitat, and creation of recreational opportunities. Almost no timber is available for commercial harvest in the

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national forests in Washington. The State of Washington Department of Natural Resources is the second largest government manager, overseeing 2.1 million acres of forested trust lands throughout the state.

Thirty-six percent of Washington’s forests are privately owned. More than half of this private forestland is managed by forest products industry companies. These forestlands are called «managed» or «working» forests and primarily produce timber* for multiple wood products. The remainder of Washington’s forests is owned by non-industrial entities including small family tree farmers or private individuals.

Pulp and Paper Products

The pulp and paper sector is strongly integrated with other manufacturing sectors of the forest products industry because it depends on wood residues for its raw material* inputs. Since pulp and paper production* requires large amounts of water and electricity, resource-abundant Washington provides an advantageous environment for this sector. As of 1999, there were 34 pulp and paper mills with 9,014 workers in Washington.

In 2003, 4.17 million tons of paper and paperboard* were produced in Washington, comprising 4.7 percent of the total U.S. production. This industry sector brings a significant amount of value added to the state. Recently, paper mills have increased their use of recycled pulp*, with 26 percent of paper products produced in Washington from recycled materials. Typically the pulp and paper industry is broken down into three sectors: newsprint, paper and paperboard, and market pulp.

Newsprint is a high volume product manufactured with high yield* and recycled pulps. Over a million tons of newsprint is manufactured in Washington State each year. A majority of this product is used in North America but several hundred thousand tons are sold into the Asian markets.

Washington’s paper and paperboard production is 2.5 million tons annually. Paper is used for writing, computer printing, books, and magazines. Paperboard (a stiff cardboard composed of layers of paper) is usually used for packaging. Market pulp is wood pulp produced for sale rather than for internal use in manufacturing paper products. It is usually a bleached kraft* pulp that is used in producing fine papers and tissues. Market pulp makes up 4.0 million tons of Washington’s annual production.

Examples of just a few of Washington State Forest Products:

Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser is an international forest products company which grows and harvests trees; manufactures, distributes and sells forest products, including logs, wood chips, building products, pulp, paper and packaging and engineered wood

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