Английский язык для студентов-бакалавров технических факультетов. English for the Undergraduates of Engineering. Учебное пособие

C.What are the weak points of solar panels?

D.Why do far-away areas remain unlit at night?

E.What is the advantage of sun-powered lamps?

TEXT 2 Solar Light by Night

1. Most people living in towns consider it a usual thing that streets are lit at night. But streets lights need a power supply therefore distant areas with no source of electricity remain in the dark until the sun comes up again.

2. With new appliances now offered by several British firms, many distant places could be lit with solar-powered street lights. It may seem strange that the lamps can use the power of the sun which shines by day when the lamps are needed at night, but they work by using energy accumulated during the day from a solar panel. The solar panel produces electricity which charges a battery. When the sun goes down, the battery power is then used for lighting. Each lamp has its own panel so the system can be used for one individual light or a number of them.

3. In the south of Saudi Arabia a motorway tunnel miles from any power supply is lit day and night by solar-powered devices. The solar panels provide power during the day and charge batteries which accumulate enough power to light the tunnel at night. The generation of electricity by batteries is still expensive but the advantage of sun-powered lamps is that they can bring light to areas distant from any other power supply.

4. There is one more advantage of solar power: not only it is unlimited, but also its use does not pollute the environment. That is why it is very important to develop devices which make it possible to transform solar power into mechanical or electric forms of power.

1.14. Find words in Text 2 which mean the following.

a.A piece of equipment that uses energy from the Sun to create power for a building.

b.To put electricity into a piece of electrical equipment such as a

battery.

c.To make air, water, or land too dirty and dangerous for people to use in a safe way.

d.To make a place brighter by giving it light.

e.An object that fits into something such as a radio, clock , a car etc and supplies it with electricity.

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1.15. Make a sentence out of the two parts.

1.Distant places remain unlit at night

2.The solar panel produces electricity

3.Street lights use energy

4.Nowadays scientists are designing devices

5.Solar-powered lamps provide distant areas with light a. that enable to convert solar energy into electrical one.

b. despite the fact that electricity production by batteries is extremely

dear.

c.which a solar panel has accumulated during the day.

d.because of lack of power supply.

e.which charges a battery.

1.16.Write a summary about the efficiency of solar power using the information from Text 2 and your own ideas.

1.17.a) Scan the text and complete the gaps with the words that are derived from the words on the right;

applications: the electric light and electric telegraph. The practical use

improved and its power increased. But the principle of operation still remains the same.

b) Pick out the main ideas from the passage. 1.18. Answer the following questions.

1.What traditional energy sources are used nowadays?

2.What are their drawbacks?

3.Do countries use energy from alternative sources? If so, what are these sources? In what way are they effective and environmentally-friendly?

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1.19. Read the text. Why did Edison say,” Don’t watch the clock.”? How does his advice characterize him?

A Great Citizen of the World

Every day lots of people visited Thomas Alva Edison’s laboratories in Orange, New Jersey. Some of them were young inventors who went to study, but many more of them were tourists. They came from all parts of the US and from other countries as well.

One day a very important citizen from Great Britain visited Edison’s factories, taking with him his young son who was eight years old. They spent many hours in great workshops looking at hundreds of useful inventions.

Before leaving the laboratories the man went to the office of the main building. Giving his business card to the person in charge, he asked “May I speak to Mr. Edison, please?” The employee looked at the card and then answered “Wait a minute, please, I’ll see.” Soon he returned and said”, Come this way, please. Mr. Edison will see you.”

The father and the son went into the great inventor’s workroom. “Mr. Edison”, said the Englishman, “I brought my young son here to see what the world’s greatest citizen has done. I want this day to help him all his life. Will you please shake hands with him and say something that he will remember?”

Mr. Edison took the boy’s hand. He laid his other hand on the child’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. “My boy”, he said, “ don’t watch the clock.”

1.20. Read Text 3 and find the appropriate heading to each passage. One heading is odd.

1.Traditional energy sources

2.Advantages and disadvantages of wind power stations

3.Combinations of different power stations

4.Our planet and alternative energy sources

5.Wise solution of energy issue

6.Research of the cutting edge method to produce electricity using solar

power

7.Development of wind farms

8.Geothermal power stations

9.Renewable sources of energy

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TEXT 3

Non-traditional Renewable Sources of Energy

It is known that much is being done in the world today for the development of non-traditional sources of energy. Without them the Earth cannot support its present population of 5 billion people and probably 8 billion people in the 21st century.

Now we are using traditional power sources, that is, oil, natural gas, coal, and water power with the consumption of more than billion barrels per year. It is evident that these sources are not unlimited.

That is why it is so important to use such renewable sources of energy as the sun, wind, geothermal energy and others. Research is being carried out in these fields.

One of the most promising researches is the development of power stations with direct transformation of solar energy into electricity on the basis of photo-effect. It was Russia that was the first in the world to develop and test a photoelectric battery of 32,000 volts and effective area of only 0.5 sq.m., which made it possible to concentrate solar radiation. This idea is now being intensively developed in many countries.

However, the efficiency of a solar power station is considerably reduced because of the limited time of its work during the year. But it is possible to improve the efficiency of solar power stations by developing different combinations of solar power stations and traditional ones – thermal, atomic and hydraulic. Today some engineers are working at the problem of developing electric power stations with the use of a thermal –chemical cycle. It will operate on products of the transformation of solar energy, whereas the “solar” chemical reactor uses CO2 and water steam of the thermal power station. The result is that we have a closed cycle.

In Kamchatka there are geothermal power stations operating on hot water-steam mixture from the depths of about a kilometre. In some projects water will be heated by the warmth of mountains at a depth of four – five km.

It is planned that plants working on the energy of the solar heat provided by the sun will be built on a larger scale. That different wind farms are being developed is also well-known. These wind farms can be small (of several kilowatts) and large powerful systems.

It is important that all these advances in developing new sources of energy and improving the old ones help to solve the energy problem as a whole and they do not have negative effects on the environment.

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Exercises

1.21. Complete the sentences using the information from Text 3.

1. Nowadays countries use traditional energy sources, that is, ………. . 2. Geothermal power stations operate on ……………………. .

3. Solar power is immediately converted into electricity …………. . 4. Plants which work on the energy of the Sun ………….. .

5. A photoelectric battery ……………………………………………. .

1.22. Complete the table.

Fossil fuels

Renewable energy sources Types of power stations

1.23. a) Identify what parts of speech these words are;

1.Consume, consumer, consumption, consumerism, consuming

2.Different, differ, difference, differentiate

3.Transformation, transformer, transform

4.Consider, considerable, considerably, consideration

5.Improve, improving, improvement, improved

b) Paraphrase the words in italics by their synonyms from

Ex. 1.23 а).

1.The region has a weak transport infrastructure that is becoming better step by step.

2.The city has grown substantially.

3.Many newer cars have a much lower fuel use.

4.This will lead to a clear distinction between management and workforce.

5.The new light bulbs use less electricity.

c) Replace the words in italics by their opposites.

1.Though the capital investment, that is the initial cost of building the nuclear power station, is rather high, the cost of generating electricity from a nuclear power station is relatively moderate.

2.There is a limited supply of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal on the earth.

3.Cheap impure coal produces much more CO2 than coal of high quality.

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4. It is obvious to everyone that an old inefficient power plant causes no damage to the environment.

1.24. Develop the following points using the information from Text 3 and your own ideas.

1. Humankind cannot but exploit non-traditional energy sources in order to survive.

2. Fossil fuels are a non-efficient energy source.

3. The best solution of energy problem is combination of all types of power stations.

1.25. a) Read the dialogue using the sentences given below;

A:………………………………………………………………………

B:That’s excellent. How have you managed that?

A:Mainly because …………………………………………………… .

B:What does that exactly mean?

A:Well, we use the exhaust gases from our printing presses to provide energy to heat our dryers.

B:What other sources of energy do you use?

A: We don’t use any fossil fuels. ……………………………………. . We’re hoping to use even more energy from alternative sources in the

future – perhaps even wind power.

1.we’ve invested in a heat recovery system.

2.Most of our power comes from hydro-electric plants.

3.We’ve managed to reduce our energy consumption in our factory by about 15 percent in the last two years.

b) How would you entitle the dialogue? Reason your choice. 1.26. Discuss these questions before you read Text 4

1.Have you ever had a power cut? If yes, when and where?

2.How did you deal with this problem?

3.Has Russia ever suffered from the energy lack?

4.What countries face the energy crisis these days?

5.How do they try to solve the problem?

6.What do you associate with the word “nuclear”?

7.Do you consider nuclear energy to be efficient and reliable?

8.Does nuclear power have any competing sources of electricity? Which ones?

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1.27. Check you understand these words.

to outstrip, growing demand, waste, safe, to dispose of, reprocessing, competing, significant, to bury, to recycle, windmill, to pursue new technologies, emission, to deal with, minor incidents, disaster

1.28 a) Read Text 4 and match phrases 1-4 with gaps a-d in the text.

3.such as windmills, solar, water, coal, nuclear power and natural gas. _____

4.so what will a new nuclear reactor look like? _______

TEXT 4

Electric Demand Has Outstripped Supply

In times of growing demand, the world needs new electricity generators. The problem is these generators have become very expensive to operate and, what is more, experts state that fossil fuel supplies are limited.

Energy comes from many different sources, a) _________. Natural gas is the most popular fuel for power plants but also the most expensive (gas prices have increased substantially in the last years). “There has not been a better time for nuclear power for the last 25 years”, said an energy expert.

So, is it time for nuclear reactors? Maybe, but there are obvious problems. Reactor waste can remain dangerous for thousands of years and many countries have not yet decided what to do with it. b) ________ . The world has not yet found safe places to dispose of the waste, and reprocessing is not only an expensive technology but also dirty.

What to do with used nuclear fuel is a technical and political problem, which has become one of the most delicate issues of the nuclear safety debate. c) __________ Some well-known companies have designed simpler

reactors, and safer because there are fewer things that can go wrong. Nuclear energy supporters say that with better design, the new

generation of reactors will be less expensive to operate than the competing sources of electricity.

On the other hand, environmentalists support investments in clean technologies based on renewable sources like wind and solar. But, so far, those sources are not significant compared with demand.

d) ___________, and many researchers are pursuing new technologies, which will have to deal with pollution issues – especially emissions linked to global climate change.

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Meanwhile, many reactors have been in service with a low record of minor incidents, and are producing more power than ever. However, there were some serious nuclear accidents, for example, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, or in Three Mile Island, or Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan.

b) Sum up the main ideas of Text 4.

1.29. The following statements refer to one or more of these categories. Tick off the right column(s) in the table below.

1.To keep our air clean, we have built power stations that burn natural

gas.

2.Alternatives like solar and wind are only available when the generating source is in operation (that is when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing at the right speed).

3.Let’s face the facts. The only thing that is becoming greener in California, is the pockets of our politicians.

4.Energy producers have lowered energy production to increase prices.

5.The only answer to our power problems is nuclear energy.

Technology

Politics

Economics

Environment

1.30. Match the beginnings 1 -5 with their endings a – e to make sentences.

1.31. Read the newspaper item and fill in the gaps with the appropriate form of the verb in brackets.

RIO DE JANEIRO, JULY 5th

In response to the energy crisis, last Tuesday Brazil 1) __________

(begin) at least six months of obligatory electricity rationing. Brazilian

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people are furious. “We 2) ___________ (grow up) in a land of abundance. We 3) ___________ (need) to be re-educated”, said a shop-assistant, “at home we 4) ___________ (watch) TV without lights on”. “We are in the dark at the palace”, the president said, “and we 5) __________ (turn off) the outside illumination.”

1.32. a) Read and translate the verbs. What does prefix outmean?

to weigh – to outweigh, to strip – to outstrip, to sell – to outsell, to live – to outlive, to do – to outdo, to fox – to outfox, to grow – to outgrow

b) Fill in the blanks with the suitable verb from Ex. 1.23 а) in the correct form.

1.His general theories __________ those of his contemporaries.

2.Company bosses feel that they ________ their original market.

3.The possible benefits ________ the risks involved.

4.The kids were trying to ________ each other.

5.Nowadays demand for organic food ___________ supply.

6. Last month this businesswoman ________ her competitors in e- commerce.

7. I’m dead sure this spy ________ all his enemies.

1.33. Complete the chart.

The world’s most serious nuclear power stations disasters

1.34. Write a report about your country. These questions will help you.

1.What are the main types of fuel or processes which are used to generate energy in Russia?

2.What is the major source of energy?

3.How many atomic power plants are there in Russia?

4.Where are they located? Are they in service? How will you assess the nuclear safety of these power plants?

5.How do we dispose of the nuclear waste in our land?

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Unit 2. Laser

Warm-up

1.What is laser?

2.Is it a discovery or an invention?

3.What capacities does laser possess?

4.In what areas can laser devices be applied?

Practise the pronunciation of the following words.

dʌzn], surface [ ʹsə:fıs], entire [ ınʹtaıə], subsequently [ ʹsʌbsıkwəntlı]

Read and guess the meaning of the following international words.

stimulation [ stimjuʹleıʃn], emission [ ıʹmıʃn], radiation [ reıdıʹeıʃn], intensive [ ınʹtensıv], material [ məʹtıərıəl], substance [ ʹsʌbstəns], thermonuclear [Ɵə:mouʹnjuklıə], reaction [rı ʹækʃn], energy [ʹenərdȝı], physical [ʹfızıkl], pulse [ pʌls], potential [pə ʹtenʃl], industrial [ ınʹdʌstrıəl], complex [ ʹkompləks], fraction [ frækʃn], distance [ ʹdıstəns], operate [ ʹopəreıt]

Words and word combinations to be memorized

unamenable adj – неподатливый; heat-resistant – жароустойчивый;

to conduct experiments – проводить опыты; to meet demands – удовлетворять спрос;

to encode complex signals – кодировать сложные сигналы; put into effect – внедрять, реализовывать;

there is no doubt – без сомнения;

Read the text, translate it into Russian.

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