Wood and the technology of wood drying (Древесина и технологии сушки древесины). Учебно-методическое пособие

ability to adjust to the exact shape of the body part, an advantage over polyurethane or polyethylene gloves.

Wood Economy in Canada & USA

There is a close relation in the forestry economy between these countries, they have many tree genus in common, and Canada is the main producer of wood and wooden items destined to the USA, the biggest consumer of wood and its byproducts in the world. The water systems of the Great Lakes, Erie Canal, Hudson River and Saint Lawrence Seaway to the east coast and Mississippi to central plains and Louisiana allows transportation of logs at very low costs. In the west coast the basin of the Columbia River has plenty of forests with excellent timber.

Canada

The agency Canada Wood Council calculates that in the year 1999 in Canada, the forest sector employed 850,000 workers, making around $74 billion of value in goods and services. For many years products derived from trees in Canadian forests had been the most important export items of the country. In 2001, exports around the world totaled some $44.1 billion – the single largest contributor to Canadian trade balance.

Canada is the world leader in sustainable forestry management practices. Only 120 million ha (28% of Canadian forests) are currently managed for timber production while an estimated 32 million ha are protected from harvesting by the current legislation.

USA

Cherry: has a hardwood prized for its high quality in grain, width, color, and rich warm glow. The first trees were carried to the lands surrounding Rome (Latium) from Armenia. In the United States, most cherry trees are grown in Washington, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California and Oregon. When cherry tree flower, they make several among the most appreciated landscapes in Japan.

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Cedar: this genus is conifers of the panaceas family, originating from high mountain areas from Carpathians, Lebanon, Turkey to Himalaya. Their scented wood make them suitable for chests and closet lining. Cedar oil and wood is known to be a natural repellent to moths. Actually are planted in western and southern USA, mostly for ornamental purposes, but also for the production of pencils.

Douglas-fir: is a native tree of the United States west coast, with records in fast grow and the reaching of high statures in brief time. It has the ability to grow in mountains till the height of 1,800 meters. Their wood is used for construction, for homebuilt aircraft, for paper pulp, and also as firewood.

Hybrid poplar is being investigated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for genetic engineering in order to obtain a tree with a higher content of cellulose and a lower content in lignin, in such a way that the extraction of bioethanol (useful as a fuel) could be easier and less expensive.

Walnut: It is prized furniture and carving hardwood because of its colour, hardness, grain and durability. Walnut wood has been the timber of choice for gun makers for centuries, including the Lee Enfield rifle. It remains one the most popular choices for rifle and shotgun stocks.

Wood Economy in the Caribbean and Central America

Mahogany: has a straight grain, usually free of voids and pockets. The most prized species come from Cuba and Honduras. It has a reddish-brown color, which darkens over time, and displays a beautiful reddish sheen when polished. It has excellent workability, is available in big boards, and is very durable. Mahogany is used in the making of many musical instruments, as drums, acoustic and electric guitars' back and side, and luxury headphones.

Wood Economy in Europe

Italy

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The species that are ideal for the many uses in this type of economy are those employed by arboriculture, that are very well known for their features and the need for certain types of ground and climates.

Fraxinus: being a lightweight wood is easy to transport, as firewood burns easily, grows in damp environments like those present in river flooding areas, stands pollution of water and air.

Larix: in Italy it grows at high altitudes around mountain tops, its timber stand sudden climatic change, from icy winds to high temperatures in sunny afternoon summers, it is excellent for use in the building of exposed structures as bridges, roofs, etc.

Stone pine: "Mediterranean pine" could be the noble emblem of many coastal areas in Italy, originally giant forests of pines extended from the mouth of the Tiber River until Liguria and Provence in France, over soils with high salinity, not very apt for agriculture. Its trees produce a vast amount of dry branches that can be burnt, cones (used for Christmas decoration) and needle-like foliage that can be burnt, or used as mulch. Oils and resins can be used in scents and ointments. The pinoli are useful elements in Italian cooking (along with basil are tritured to make pesto sauce). Currently, "progress" has brought to a severe reduction of this magnificent tree extension, and in many places cheap beach buildings; car-parking and semi-abandoned areas have taken their place.

Poplar: in Italy is the most important species for tree plantations, is used for several purposes as plywood manufacture, packing boxes, paper, matches, etc. It needs good quality grounds with good drainage, but can be used to protect the cultivations if disposed in windbreak lines. More than 70% of Italian poplar cultivations are located in the pianura Padana. Constantly the extension of the cultivation is being reduced, from 650 km² in the 80's to current 350 km². The yield of poplars is about 1,500 t/km² of wood every year. The production from poplars is around 45-50% of the total Italian wood production.

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In the history of art poplar was the wood of choice for painting surfaces as panels, as in Renaissance (The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci). Because of this reason, many of the products with the highest added values, extremely expensive, are made with wood from the humble but durable poplar.

Because of the presence of tannic acid, poplar cortex was often used in Europe for the tanning of leather.

Portugal

Oak for cork: are trees with a slow growth, but long life, are cultivated in warm hill areas (min. temp. > -5°Celsius) in all the west area of Mediterranean shores. Even if the production as stoppers for wine bottles is diminishing in favor of nylon stoppers, in the sake of energy saving granules of cork can be mixed into concrete. This composites have low thermal conductivity, low density and good energy absorption (earthquake resistant). Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m³), compressive strength (1–26 MPa) and flexural strength (0.5–4.0 MPa)[24]. Because of this cork can be used as thermal isolation in buildings (as well in its natural form and as a mixture), useful also as sound insulation. In the shoe industry cork is used as soles and insoles. In the world there are 20,000 km² of cork oak plantations, and every year are extracted around 300,000 tons of cork, 50% in Portugal, 15,000 in Italy (12,000 in the island of Sardinia). The advantage of this natural industry is that the extraction of cork from layers outer to the cortex does not kill the tree.

Wood Economy in Scandinavia & Russia

Birch: is a genus with many species of trees from Scandinavia and Russia, excellent for acid grounds. They act as pioneer species in the frozen border between taiga and tundra, are very resistant to periods of drought and icy conditions. The species Betula nana has been identified as the ideal tree for the acid grounds of the sides of sloped mountains, also in southern Europe, with soils poor in

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nutrients, where these trees can be used to restraint landslides. From birch tree can be extracted Xylitol, a natural sweetener.

[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_economy#Wood_economy _per_nation.2Fcontinental_area]

7. Complete the following table.

8. Give the English equivalents of the following:

использовать в качестве удобрения; уменьшить глобальное потепление; слоновая кость; ценные породы дерева; производство бумаги и картона; являться крупнейшим в мире производителем и потребителем; быть устойчивым к лесным пожарам и засухе; эфирные масла; являться мировым лидером в области лесного хозяйства; твердая порода древесины; береза; тополь; кедровое масло; грецкий орех

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9. Two meanings are given for the word in bold type in each sentence. Decide which meaning fits:

1.The main source of the lumber used in the world is forests.

a)someone or something that supplies information;

b)the place something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something.

2.The country that possesses the greatest area of forest is

Russia.

a)an area of land that has its own government, army, etc.;

b)land which is not in towns, cities or industrial areas and is either used for farming or left in its natural condition.

3.Brazil has a long tradition in the harvesting of several types of trees with specific uses.

a)relating to one thing and not others; particular;

b)clear and exact.

4.The villagers cultivate mostly maize and beans.

a)to prepare land and grow crops on it, or to grow a particular crop;

b)to try to develop and improve something.

5.The mixture of flour, water and yeast is then left in a warm place for four hours.

a)a type of medicine which has to be shaken before being used;

b)a substance made from a combination of different substances, or any combination of different things.

6.Solid wood furniture is much more sturdy and durable than chipboard furniture.

a)made of wood;

b)a hard substance which forms the branches and trunks of trees and which can be used as a building material, for making things, or as a fuel.

7.It was the first time we had set foot on foreign American

soil.

a)the material on the surface of the ground in which plants grow;

b)a country.

10. Translate from Russian into English:

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1.Раньше древесину использовали в основном как топливо.

2.За последние 80 лет древесина нашла широкое применение как в строительстве (в виде круглого и пиленого материала и плит; фанеры и др.), так и для производства целлюлозы и древесной массы, спирта, уксуса, дрожжей и других видов продукции.

3.Ценность различных пород древесины заключается в их прочности, долговечности и неповторимости рисунка.

4.Такая древесина используется для изготовления красивой мебели, паркета, дверей, различных предметов интерьера.

5.В России наиболее распространены следующие породы дерева: дуб, вишня, бук, груша, розовое дерево, махагони, грецкий орех.

6.Сосна - наиболее распространенное дерево хвойной породы.

7.Лиственница имеет красновато-коричневатый, иногда буроватый оттенок и отличается высокой прочностью (прочнее дуба) и влагостойкостью.

8.Древесина кедра не отличается высокой плотностью и прочностью, обладает стойкостью против гниения, имеет сильный специфический запах, хорошо колется.

9.Дуб отличается высокой прочностью, твердостью, стойкостью против гниения, способностью к гнутью, имеет красивую текстуру и цвет.

10.Древесина грецкого ореха является лучшим материалом для мозаичных работ.

Section 2.

REVISION GRAMMAR EXERCISES

1. Form Participle I and Participle II of the following verbs:

to carry, to be, to follow, to make, to find, to begin, to see, to think, to become, to mean, to know, to understand, to invent, to discover, to change, to transmit

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2. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the use of Continuous Tenses:

1.I was listening to the record at the phonetic laboratory when my friend came in and asked me to help him with the translation.

2.They are leaving for London on Wednesday.

3.I shall be listening to the music all day tomorrow.

4.He is always making mistakes in his dictation.

5.My friend was meriting the essay from 9 o’clock in the morning till one in the afternoon.

6.I am translating the text now.

7.On Thursday I shall still be working on the text.

8.Now they are organizing another kind of work at their laboratory.

3. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the use of Perfect Tenses:

1.By the end of the previous term the students had mastered the necessary lab techniques.

2.By the end of the year they will have settled all the problems and begin their tests.

3.He has already returned to Moscow.

4.I have known him since 1980.

5.I have never been to Kiev.

6.Have you ever been to Kiev?

7.The scientists of our laboratory had been carrying out experiments for several years before they got positive results.

8.Our engineers had been testing the new device for some months before it was put into service.

9.They will have been carrying out this work until they get the necessary data.

4. Open the brackets using the correct tense form:

1.Our scientists (to develop) new units for these repeaters now.

2.This laboratory (to develop) new experiment.

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3.The Research Branch of the Engineering Department (to develop) a small experimental exchange which will use many integrated circuits.

4.Our laboratory (to carry on) experiments with polymers during the summer.

5.Before they began developing this system they (to develop) a new type of filter for it.

6.We hope that we (to develop) this device by the end of the year.

7.The post office (to carry out) trials with the type of TV system during the summer.

8.They (to develop) the filter for about six months before they found out some mistakes in their calculations.

Section 3.

SHORTENING OF WORDS

In the process of communication many words or word-groups become shortened. The shortening of words consists in substituting a part for a whole. Among shortenings distinctions should be made between abbreviations, clippings and blending.

1.Abbreviations are made up of the initial sounds or syllables of the words. There are two ways to read and pronounce abbreviations:

-as a succession of the alphabetical readings of the constituent letters:

B.B.C. – British Broadcasting Corporation T.V. – television

-as a succession of sounds, as if abbreviations were ordinary words: NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

laser – light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

2.Clipping consists in the cutting off of one or several syllables of a word. Words can be shortened at the end (lab from laboratory); at the beginning (phone from telephone); some syllables can be omitted in the middle (Maths from Mathematics)

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3. Blending is the method of merging parts of words into one

word:

racon = radar + beacon – радиолокационный мая transistor = transfer + resistor – транзистор

EXERCISES

1. Guess the meaning of the following international words:

phenomenal, technology, national, economy, sector, structural, capital, role, nation, communication, system, information, traditional, debate, corporation, client, distance, international, coordinate, arena, organization, operator, parallel, product, tendency, universal, type, alternative, business, market, situation, office, fact, proportion

2. Use a dictionary and translate the following shortened words:

ITU, BASIC, CCITT, d.c., FORTRAN, IBM, i.e., etc., INTELSAT, kHz, NASA, p.m., UNESCO, MNO, IBU

3. Explain how the following shortened words were formed, give their Russian equivalents:

ABC, BS, V-day, N-bomb, intercom, COMECON, INMARSAT, sub, lab, prof, doc, chute, phone, X-rays, technicolour

4. Arrange the synonyms in pairs:

a)crucial, ultimate, awareness, invest, emerge, benefit, mobile, pervasive, disparity, to be engaged in, to set up, significance, scope, facilitate, in respect of;

b)spreading, knowledge, put money in, appear, critical, advantage, last, moving, establish, inequality, make easy, importance, range, to be busy (with), as regards.

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