Английский язык. Практикум по чтению научно-технических текстов

5.Сельское хозяйство может привести к вырубке леса под влия- нием увеличения роста населения.

6.Попытки рационального природопользования направлены на изменение процедуры сдачи лесов в аренду.

3. Conversation Practice

Ex. 8. Agree or disagree with the statements given below, using the appropriate phrases. Explain your choice:

1.Forest uses can be divided into three groups.

2.The main aim of conservation is to prevent the neglect and destruction of forests.

3.Consumptive uses include watershed protection, wildlife and fish habitat, recreation and aesthetic uses.

4.The objectives of conservation have not changed for years at all.

5.In the late 1800s, forests were protected from fire by the establishment of harvesting regulations.

6.Forests have been used for consumptive purposes in tropical regions.

7.One of the solutions to the deforestation problem is the determination of forest management goals with the use of local people.

Ex. 9. Make up 10 questions about the text in writing and then ask each other in class.

Ex. 10. Make up the plan of text A. Retell text A using the plan and the word combinations given below:

consumptive and nonconsumptive uses of forest; its use fluctuates with the cost of alternative energy source; the cellulose fibers in wood; byproducts of pulp and paper production; destructive distillation; conservation; species migrate; to become weakened and infected by; unintentional destruction of forests; long-term processes; to destroy the stand; from clearing; to grow seedlings on a large scale; deforested areas; forests have shifted from; the planting of trees in croplands and pastures; has gained support; the virgin forests; a constant watch; detrimental effects; to turn the tide; the demise of forests.

4. Grammar. The Gerund. A Complex

with the Gerund

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The meanings of the forms of the Gerund

1. The Indefinite Gerund denotes:

1)a simultaneous action;

2)a prior action after:

a)the verbs to remember, to forget, to excuse, to forgive, to thank, to deny;

b)the prepositions on, upon, after, without.

E.g. Do you mind my joining the group?

Вы не против, если я присоединюсь к группе?

They remember seeing the film of the ecology in Australia.

Они помнили, что смотрели фильм об экологии в Австралии.

After leaving school, he entered the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys.

После окончания школы он поступил в МИСиС.

2. The Indefinite Gerund Active denotes passive meanings after:

1)the verbs to want, to need, to deserve, to require;

2)the adjective worth.

E.g. The students deserve praising as they have managed with a very difficult task. – Студенты заслуживают похвалы, поскольку они справились с очень сложной задачей.

The lecture is worth attending. – Лекцию стоит посетить.

3. The Perfect Gerund denotes a prior action.

E.g. He admitted having made the same mistake again. – Он признал,

что сделал снова ту же ошибку.

The use of the Gerund

The Gerund is generally used after:

1)the verbs to avoid, to deny, to enjoy, to mind, to fancy, to postpone, etc.;

2)the verbal phrases to burst out, to give up, to go on, to keep on, to put off, etc.;

3)the verbs + prepositions to accuse smb of, to suspect smb of, to speak of, to think of, to complain of, to insist on, to depend on, to rely on, prevent from, etc.;

4)the word groups with the prepositions to be fond of, to be guilty of, to be proud of, to be sure of, to be pleased at, to be surprised at, to be astonished at, to be busy in, to be angry with, to be tired of, to be sorry for, etc.

The Gerund can be rendered into Russian by a noun, an infinitive, by

деепричастие, by a subordinate clause.

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The functions of the Gerund

The Subject. Learning rules without examples is difficult. – Учить правила без примеров трудно. It’s no use discussing the main points of the report without the speaker. – Бесполезно обсуждать основные по-

ложения доклада без докладчика.

The Part of the Predicate (the predicative). Living is believing. –

Жить – значит верить. What he likes best in the world is learning something new every day. – Что он любит больше всего на свете – так это узнавать что-нибудь новое ежедневно.

The Object. The student denies failing the experiment. – Студент от- рицает, что не справился с опытом. He insisted on being listened to at the conference (a prepositional object). – Он настоял на том, чтобы его заслушали на конференции.

The Attribute. He was born with the gift of winning hearts. – Он ро- дился с даром покорять сердца. The professor saw no harm in being asked a few questions. – Профессор не видел никакого вреда в том, чтобы ему задали несколько вопросов.

The Adverbial Modifier. The language develops slowly through a

number of epochs by modifying its vocabulary and grammar. – Язык раз-

вивается медленно на протяжении ряда эпох, изменяя свой словарь и грамматику. After having read hundreds of books in physics, the student came across one that made him think himself. – После того как студент

прочитал сотни книг по физике, он натолкнулся на одну, которая заставила его задуматься.

Ex. 11. Identify the Gerund in Text A.

Do grammar exercises 24–29 from Chapter 2.

Ex. 12. Do the pre-reading tasks. Answer the following questions:

a)what do you know about the greenhouse effect?

b)do you think the greenhouse effect is useful for the environment?

Text B

Greenhouse Effect

The Earth’s atmosphere acts as the glass walls and the roof of a greenhouse in trapping heat from the Sun. Like the greenhouse, it is largely transparent to solar radiation but it strongly absorbs the longer wavelength radiation from the ground. Much of this long wave radiation is remitted downward to the ground, with the paradoxical result that the Earth’s sur-

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face receives more radiation than it would if the atmosphere were not between it and the Sun.

The absorption of long wave (infrared) radiation is effected by small amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and ozone in the air and by clouds. Clouds actually absorb about one-fifth of the solar radiation striking them but unless they are extremely thin, they are almost completely opaque to infrared radiation. The appearance even of cirrus clouds after a period of clear sky at night is enough to cause the surface air temperature to increase rapidly by several degrees because of radiation from the cloud.

The greenhouse effect is most marked at night and usually keeps the diurnal temperature range below 20 ºF. Over dry regions such as New Mexico and Arizona, however, where the water vapor content of the air is low, the atmosphere is more transparent to infrared radiation and cool nights may follow very hot days.

Modern civilization affects weather in many ways. The great industrial centers of the world are plagued with haze and smog due to effluents from factories and combustion of hydrocarbons. Haze and smog affect the heat radiation budget of the atmosphere as well as precipitation processes. Aerosols discharged by metal foundries act as freezing nuclei and strong evidence now appear for such inadvertent weather modifications. While the combustion of hydrocarbons causes formation of smog in large urban areas, a more subtle climate modification takes place on a global scale. The combustion process not only liberates aerosols but also carbon dioxide gas, an important constituent of the air. The more carbon dioxide released, the warmer climate becomes. It would have profound influences on weather and climate. Glaciers and ice caps would melt and coastal cities might become inundated.

While influence on ecological systems appear to be often exaggerated in view of the great natural variability of weather, socioeconomic considerations are important. Fog dispersal methods at airports enable many passengers to travel, effective hail suppression would save millions of dollars and rainmaking would be the least expensive answer to the water dilemma of modern civilization. However, as interests of individuals differ, rainmaking may be a blessing to one and blight to another, socioeconomic considerations are therefore important at a time when weather modification is still in its infancy.

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Ex. 13. Complete the following statements by choosing the answer, which you think the best. Explain your choice.

1.The absorption of infrared radiation is effected: a) solar energy;

b) combustion of hydrocarbons; c) ozone in the air.

2.The appearance of cirrus clouds after a period of clear sky at night is enough:

a) to decrease the temperature by 20 degrees;

b) to increase the temperature by several degrees; c) to change the temperature a lot.

3.The greenhouse effect is most marked:

a)in summer;

b)at night;

c)in March.

4.The combustion of hydrocarbons causes formation of smog: a) all over the world;

b) in small rural areas; c) in large urban areas.

5.If glaciers and ice caps melt:

a)big cities may be flooded;

b)cities near the shore may be flooded;

c)all the cities in New Mexico and Arizona may be flooded.

Ex. 14. Work out five types of the questions to each sentence given below.

1.The Earth’s atmosphere acts as the glass walls and the roof of a greenhouse in trapping heat from the Sun.

2.Clouds actually absorbs about one-fifth of the solar radiation.

3.The greenhouse effect usually keeps the diurnal temperature range below 20 ºF.

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4.Haze and smog affect the heat radiation budget of the atmosphere.

5.The combustion process liberates both aerosols and carbon dioxide gas.

Ex. 15. Answer the following questions, then retell text B.

1.What is largely transparent to solar radiation?

2.Where is the atmosphere more transparent to infrared radiation? What does it mean?

3.Does modern civilization affect weather? How?

4.Do aerosols discharged by metal foundries act as freezing nuclei or not?

5.Socioeconomic considerations are not important at a time when weather modification is still in its infancy, are they?

Ex. 16. Translate the following texts in writing using a dictionary.

Text С

Ecosystems

Many ecologists study communities in the context of an ecosystem, which includes interactions involving mineral cycling, energy flow, and population control. The study of ecosystems facilitates a functional approach to ecology.

One of the major aims of ecological research is to determine how organisms retain and recycle the minerals within an ecosystem. All minerals used by organisms are important, but some, such as those rich in nitrogen and phosphorous, are used in larger amounts, or may be less available than others.

The second functional aspect of ecosystems is energy flow. In the 1920s, Charles Elton pointed out that there was a pyramid of trophic (food) levels: the base of the pyramid was composed of producers; above them were a smaller number of herbivores and a still smaller number of carnivores. Ecosystem ecologists prefer to express these relationships by the amount of energy passing through each of the trophic levels in a given period of time. In ecosystems, all energy comes from the Sun. Only 1 to 20 % of this energy is passed on to herbivores, and a similar energy loss occurs at each higher trophic level.

Energy is lost at each trophic level for several reasons: heat is created as chemical bonds are changed into mechanical energy or other forms; energy is used for metabolic processes (especially respiration); the organisms at one trophic level are not completely utilized by those at the next higher level; and food passing through animals' digestive tracts is not completely digested. For example, only about 10 % of the leaves of trees,

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and even less of the roots and stems, are eaten by insects. Much of the energy that does not pass through herbivores or carnivores eventually passes through scavengers and decomposers.

The amount of energy stored in a given unit of time by green plants as a result of photosynthesis is called primary productivity. The amount of energy stored by animals in a given unit of time is called secondary productivity. The percentage of energy that passes from one trophic level to the next is called ecological efficiency.

The third major ecological function is population regulation. One of the functions of herbivores is to control plant populations. Predators and parasites may also serve as controls over organisms they eat. Insects that prey on other invertebrates may indeed control their prey, which often cannot escape or hide. With larger animals, such as foxes and rabbits, the situation is much more complex; the control of rabbits, for instance, may involve densityindependent factors such as severe winters and drought, as well as density-dependent controls such as predators and parasites.

Text D

What Is Sustainable Development?

Just the political will to achieve ‘sustainable development’ is not a panacea for all our environmental problems. This is more obvious now – after the Johannesburg 2002 meeting – than 15 years ago, when the concept of sustainable development was introduced as an issue in science and politics. Although even then, it was clear that this concept had been constructed primarily as a work-in-progress attempt to take account of equivalent – but different – social, economic, ecological, physical, and cultural goals when making decisions about developments.

Because of the risk of adverse side effects and the interaction between social, economic, ecological, physical, and cultural developments within societies, decision makers involved in regional development should not consider these aspects in isolation. Rather, they should consider a region as a socio-environmental system (SEnS), i.e., as an object to be steered. Consequently, the information needed for steering in the direction of a sustainable development is actually the information on society's opportunities to fulfill needs and wants: which goals can be reached, how can they be reached, and when can they be reached

Decision making for sustainable development requires, therefore, both a value-oriented approach, in which the present needs and wants of the people involved are considered, and a resource-oriented one focused on

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the availability of socioeconomic and environmental resources to take into account future needs. Needs and wants of the people, within as well as outside the SEnS, may be relevant

To put this double approach into practice, the people's involvement and their needs and wants should be identified and related to items of a SEnS. It can be argued that universal lists of needs and wants are helpful as a starting point for seeking out a SEnS' relevant items for goal setting. First, because they provide, in general, a kind of framework to prevent missing items. Second, because the list itself can be used as a checklist of concrete items that might be relevant. The basic needs can be used in that way as it emphasizes, for example, the need for energy, food, education, income, employment, and a sound environment. However, although useful, universal lists are not the final solution in development procedures. The problem is that they cannot be specific enough for the development of a specific region or country because the relevant items will obviously depend on both the region considered and the individual people involved in the development of that region.

The need for energy, for example, is universal. However, which kind of energy is needed (say, for cooling or heating now and in the future) depends on where a region or country is located. Moreover, visa versa, the region's qualities determine the possibilities to meet the specific energy demands. Furthermore, a universal list cannot be sufficient if it does not include people's opinions about what they consider as valuable practical measures and realistic time schedules in the actual development.

After all, these people are the ones who are the actors in steering land use and putting sustainable development into practice. Therefore, sustainable development requires a debate between the people involved or their representatives intended to bring about agreement on the list of needs and wants and – derived from that – the development goals and the SEnS' available opportunities to meet them.

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Chapter II. GRAMMAR PRACTICE

THE PASSIVE VOICE

Ex. 1. Translate the following word combinations paying attention to the adverbial modifiers of time:

1)possible methods of pollution control are generally presented, the land is usually reclaimed, plant life and animal life are now influenced, the distribution of water and land is generally considered, air and water elements are also threatened by, it is annually planned;

2)all were obtained two years ago, the characteristics were determined by the epoch with several cold phases, the hydrological situation was characterized by, the most massive impact on the water resources was caused by, several watercourses were interrupted last year;

3)the surface had been modified before, the area covered by the surface water had been negligible before, numerous wetlands had been formed by that time, large amounts of acid material had been transported into the lake before, the utilization had been planned by the last year, some of the watercourses which had already been shifted were diverted back;

4)the deposits of metals have already been mined, the land has not yet been recultivated, the body has been affected by, since the last century it has been intensively exploited, the effort has been applied, some ways of improving the atmosphere have been created, fishing ponds have already been set up;

5)the problem is being discussed, the area is being relatively fast recovered, the enormous amounts of groundwater are being discharged now into the watercourses, the development of the post mining lakes is being governed now by;

6)water has to be removed from the substrate, decisions have to be made, the consequences should be reduced, the ways have to be selected, the groundwater should be observable, these forms can be found.

Ex. 2. Read word combinations

1. which can be predicates:

are known from, a very common problem, is dependent on, will lead to, is shown, has been resulted, when compared to, is closely interrelated, focusing on different aspects, present various approaches;

2. where subjects: а) act; b) are acted upon:

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papers deal, mining activities affect the environment, metal impact has been examined, present results of investigation, the primary settlement is described, relations between site conditions and species could be determined, without ecological knowledge, new landscapes cannot be achieved, post-mining areas provide for excellent case studies, these postmining lakes will be a dominant feature, the development of post-mining lakes is governed mainly by.

Ex. 3. Choose the correct form of the verb. Translate the sentences.

1. In these post-mining areas the water surface area (is remarkably increased, remarkably increases, is being remarkably increased) when compared to the former natural landscape. 2. The first two papers (deal, are dealt, is dealt) with the problem of classification. 3. Young mining waters often (lack, are lacked, has lacked) organic matter. 4. In Germany, large areas (have mined and recultivated, have been mined and recultivated, has been mined and recultivated). 5. The rising groundwater and its infiltration into the pits (leads, is lead, lead) to acidic lakes. 6. Then biological reference conditions have (to establish, to be established, to have established) as an ecological potential. 7. For more than a century Britain (has been developing, has been developed, was being developed) policies to protect the environment against pollution from industry and other sources. 8. Vegetative establishment (achieved, is achieved, has achieved) by direct aerial seeding of a mix of grass, shrub and tree species. 9. Human civilization (is depended, is being depended, depends) on ecological services extracted from Earth’s biosphere. 10. Britain supports the work of many agreements under which more than 50 wetland sites (have identified, have been identified, identified). 11. Nowadays great attention (is paid, is being paid, is paying) to the problem concerning water and air pollution control.

Ex. 4. Choose the correct translation of the following English sentences.

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