Проверочные работы по грамматике и чтению (английский язык). Учебное пособие
.pdf1.When do the operations along a 14-mile route start?
2.How many passengers will carry five single-decker vehicles?
3.How many humans will aboard all the time?
4.What does “CAV” mean?
5.How is Scotland going to establish her credentials on the world stage?
6.What did NHTSA do in February?
7.How many vehicles did FSD Beta Technology affect?
2. Decide if these statements are True/False
1.On May 15, Stagecoach’s manned-driving vehicles will begin operations along a 14-mile route.
2.Stagecoach announced that their autonomous buses will travel along any roads.
3.Each bus is a totally unmanned vehicle.
4.Similar CAV projects are going to appear in Belfast.
5.Fully autonomous vehicles have long been a goal for major automakers and companies.
6.NHTSA announced a recall of FSD Beta technology on May 15.
7.FSD Beta technology affected over 360,000 vehicles.
61
TEXT 2
Climate change is making turbulence worse
Turbulence is irregular air movement, experienced by plane passengers as bumps and shaking. There are three basic causes of severe in-flight turbulence: terrain, thunderstorms, and air currents, says Shem Malmquist, an aeronautics instructor at the Florida Institute of Technology and a B-777 pilot. Geologic formations like mountain ranges disrupt airflow and can bring on bumps, in a process known as “mountain wave turbulence.” Thunderstorms can churn up the atmosphere and trigger “convective” turbulence in their immediate vicinity and also “near-cloud” turbulence up to tens of miles away, says Isabel Smith, a meteorologist and PhD student at the University of Reading in England. Finally, jet streams–narrow bands of fast wind that circle the globe at high atmospheric elevations–can become swirling and chaotic under the right conditions.
Some research indicates that all three drivers of turbulence could be exacerbated by climate change. Global warming isn’t making mountains bigger, but it is leading to upper-atmosphere shifts that may promote more intense air movement above mountains, according to one 2023 study published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science. That same study also found evidence that nearcloud turbulence, spurred by storms, is set to worsen with warming as well. Though more work is needed to confirm these findings, Smith tells Popular
Science. “There’s only one published paper that’s really looked at it,” she says.
Previous research has concluded that storms are generally becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change, in part because warmer air holds more moisture. As a result, Smith says she’d expect convective turbulence to become more common and extreme as well.
But the vast majority of studies of turbulence and climate change have focused on the clear-air (i.e. cloudless) turbulence associated with jet streams. And here, science going back more than a decade has repeatedly shown we’re in for a rough ride.
In a study led by Smith and published last year, she concluded that every one degree Celsius of increased warming is set to boost jetstream-related turbulence by 9%-14%, depending on the season, through 2050. Another 2023 paper from the same lab group assessed weather reanalysis data and found that the most severe type of this sort of clear air turbulence has already increased by 55% from 1979 to 2020.
Greenhouse gas emissions make Earth’s lower atmosphere much warmer because they keep heat trapped in the bottom layers. Since less heat is escaping the lower atmosphere, the upper atmosphere is actually becoming colder, as our planet’s surface warms. The result is a rapid divergence between upper and lower atmospheric temperatures.
1. Answer the following questions:
62
1.What is turbulence?
2.What are three basic causes of severe in-flight turbulence?
3.What can bring on bumps?
4.What is climate change able to do with three drivers of turbulence?
5.What is leading to upper-atmosphere shifts?
6.How much per cent of turbulence is increased warming?
7.Why do greenhouse gas emissions make Earth’ lower atmosphere much warmer?
2.Decide if these statements are True/False
1.Shem Malmquist has never worked as a pilot.
2.“Convective” turbulence occurs because of geologic formations.
3.Three reasons of turbulence can be increased by climate change.
4.Near-cloud turbulence is getting worse because of the warming.
5.A lot of studies of turbulence are focused on the cloudless turbulence.
6.The Earth temperature is getting warmer because the heat is located in bottom layers.
7.Air turbulence has slightly increased from 1979 to 2020.
63
TEXT 3
Bananas are at risk of extinction, but scientists have a plan
The bright bananas dotting your fruit bowl are in some serious trouble. A popular type of banana is facing extinction from a fungal pathogen. The disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) blocks the flow of nutrients to the fruit and makes it wilt. During the 1950s, the pathogen wiped out commercial banana crops and made one species–Gros Michel bananas–functionally extinct.
But not all is lost for this colorful fruit. New research from an international team of scientists has pinpointed the molecular mechanisms behind the microbe that destroys bananas and it opens the door to new treatments and strategies against the pathogen. The findings are detailed in a study published August 16 in the journal Nature Microbiology.
The crop failures are due to a fungal pathogen with a very long name– Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. Cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4). Abbreviated as Foc TR4, this fungus decimated several banana crops in the 1950s and wiped out one entire species, but bananas aren’t the only plants at risk.
“As a species complex, Fusarium oxysporum can infect over 100 different plant hosts,” study co-author and University of Massachusetts Amherst molecular biologist Li-Jun Ma tells Popular Science.”
Part of this virulence comes down to its genome and the ways it can change. According to Ma, each Fusarium oxysporum genome can be divided into two parts–a core genome and an accessory genome. The core genome does all of the main housekeeping functions of keeping the genome going. An accessory genome is then free to vary from strain to strain and can handle specialized functions– including the ability to infect a specific plant.
Understanding how the pathogen and its genome work on a molecular level is key for developing ways to combat it and prevent more banana species from going extinct
Over 50 years ago, the first victims of this fungal war were the Gros Michel bananas. Largely in response to banana wilt, the Cavendish variety was bred to be a disease-resistant replacement and is the most popular type of commercially available banana today. This worked for a while, but by the 1990s, there was another outbreak of banana wilt that spread from Southeast Asia to Central America.
Ma and her team have spent the last decade studying how TR4’s genome works to combat the new outbreak of banana wilt in the Cavendish banana. Surprisingly, they found that it is actually not derived from the same pathogen that wiped out crops in the ‘50s
In this new study, Ma and co-authors from institutions in the United States, China, and South Africa sequenced and compared 36 different Foc strains from all over the world. These strains include the ones that attack Gros Michel bananas. The sequences revealed that the Foc TR4 that is responsible for the current
64
outbreak of banana wilt. It also uses some accessory genes for two purposes when invading a host. These genes both produce and detoxify fungal nitric oxide.
1.Answer the questions:
1.Why is a popular type of banana facing extinction?
2.How does the disease FWB operate?
3.What species became functionally extinct?
4.What do the molecular mechanisms behind the microbe do?
5.When did Foc TR4 decimate several banana crops?
6.What are the parts of Fusarium oxysporum genome?
7.How can the banana extinction be prevented?
2.Decide if the statements are True/False
1.The one species – Gros Michel bananas is able to survive.
2.As a matter of fact the fungus wipes out only bright bananas.
3.Fusarium oxysporum can infect less than 100 different plant hosts.
4.Gros Michl bananas were the first victims of this fungal over 50 years ago.
5.Another outbreak of banana wilt spread from Southern to central America.
6.Ma and her team found that TR4’s genome was derived from different pathogens that wiped out crops in the ‘50s.
7.The Foc Tr4 is responsible for the current outbreak of banana wilt.
65
TEXT 4
Drought reveals a sunken village in Greece
After months of unusually high temperatures and drought in multiple parts of Greece, the remains of a sunken village have been exposed in Athens’ main reservoir. For the first time in more than 30 years, the ruins of homes and a school have reappeared as the water levels continue to drop.
The remnants of the village of Kallio are located in an artificial lake that is fed by the Mornos and Evinos rivers. It was submerged during the late 1970’s, when the Mornos dam was built about 124 miles west of Athens. According to the AFP, Kallio village chairman Apostolis Gerodimos told Athens New Agency (ANA) that almost 80 houses were “sacrificed” to supply Athens with water.
State water operator EYDAP says that water levels in the lake are currently down roughly 30 percent.
“The level of Lake Mornos has dropped by 40 meters (131 feet),” Yorgos
Iosifidis told AFP. Now 67 years old, Iosifidis is one of the people who had to leave his home when the area was flooded. “You see the first floor that remains of my father-in-law’s two-story house…and next to it you can see what’s left of my cousins’ house.”
According to Iosifidis, this is the second time that Kallio has reappeared. In the 1990s, the village was also visible after a similar period of drought.
While Greece is no stranger to heat waves, drought has worsened this year. According to preliminary data from the national observatory, the country saw its mildest winter and hottest July ever recorded. The issue has been compounded by low precipitation in the area. Authorities have called on the roughly 3.7 million inhabitants of the Attica region surrounding Athens to conserve water. Additionally, EYDAP has tapped into other reservoirs near Athens.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece must improve its water management, while discussing reconstruction works following last year’s destructive floods in neighboring Thessaly. In September 2023, Storm Daniel dumped roughly one year’s rainfall in only a few hours in some areas.
About 85 percent of Greece’s water is used for irrigation and Prime Minister
Mitsotakis also said the country must build more dams.
In 2023, previously submerged ancient rock carvings were visible in parts of Brazil for the first time since 2010 due to a drought. The petroglyphs have depictions of animals and other natural objects and were located on the shores of Rio Negro. This archeological site known as the Ponto das Lajes is near where the Rio Negro and the Solimoes river flow into the Amazon River.
In 2022, Europe saw its worst drought in at least 500 years, with rivers across the continent seeing low water levels. Several World War II era warships were uncovered in the Serbian portion of Europe’s Danube River. A circle of dozens of megalithic stones dating back to 5,000 BCE was exposed in a corner of the Valdecanas reservoir in Spain.
66
Haunting “hunger stones” also turned up across Europe that summer, with markings that showed the water levels from other previously dry times. Some of these stones came with grim warnings, including one found in the Elbe. The stone near the town of Decin in the northern Czech Republic, read “If you see me, then weep.”
1.Answer the following questions:
1.Where were the remains of a sunken village found?
2.Where are the remnants of the village of Kallio?
3.What was built about 124 miles of Athens?
4.What is the per cent of water level in the lake according to state water operator EYDAP?
5.What is about 85 percent of Greece’s water used for?
6.When did Europe see its worst drought in at least 500 years?
7.Where was a circle of dozens of megalithic stones exposed?
2.Decide if the statements True/False:
1.The artificial lake is fed by the Mornos and Evinos rivers.
2.The level of Lake Mornos has dropped by 40 feet.
3.In the 1990s, the village was also visible after a similar period of time.
4.According to Prime Minister, Greece’s water management has been improved.
5.Less dams should be built.
6.The worst drought in Europe was in 2022.
7.In 2023 previously submerged ancient rock carvings were visible in parts of Argentina.
67
TEXT 5
This climate crisis map shows how vulnerable your neighborhood is
If you’ve been wondering what climate change means for your neighborhood, you’re in luck. The most detailed interactive map yet of the United States’ vulnerability to dangers such as fire, flooding, and pollution was released on Monday by the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University.
The fine-grained analysis spans more than 70,000 census tracts, which roughly resemble neighborhoods, mapping out environmental risks alongside factors that make it harder for people to deal with hazards. Clicking on a report for a census tract yields details on heat, wildfire smoke, and drought, in addition to what drives vulnerability to extreme weather, such as income levels and access to health care and transportation.
The “Climate Vulnerability Index” tool is intended to help communities secure funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law President Joe Biden signed last summer. An executive order from Biden’s early months in office promised that “disadvantaged communities” would receive at least 40 percent of the federal investments in climate and clean energy programs. As a result of the infrastructure law signed in 2021, more than $1 billion has gone toward replacing lead pipes and more than $2 billion has been spent on updating the electric grid to be more reliable.
“The Biden Administration has made a historic level of funding available to build toward climate justice and equity, but the right investments need to flow to the right places for the biggest impact,” Grace Tee Lewis, a health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement.
According to the data, all 10 of the country’s most vulnerable counties are in the South, many along the Gulf Coast, where there are high rates of poverty and health problems. Half are in Louisiana, which faces dangers from flooding, hurricanes, and industrial pollution. St. John the Baptist Parish, just up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, ranks as the most vulnerable county, a result of costly floods, poor child and maternal health, a list of toxic air pollutants, and the highest rate of disaster-related deaths in Louisiana.
“We know that our community is not prepared at all for emergencies, the federal government is not prepared, the local parish is not prepared,” Jo Banner, a community activist in St. John the Baptist, told Capital B News.
Even in cities where climate risk is comparatively low, like Seattle, the data shows a sharp divide. North Seattle is relatively insulated from environmental dangers, whereas South Seattle — home to a more racially diverse population, the result of a history of housing covenants that excluded people on the basis of race or ethnicity — suffers from air pollution, flood risk, and poorer infrastructure.
Similar maps of local climate impacts have been released before, including by the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, but the new tool is considered the most comprehensive
68
assessment to date. While it includes Alaska and Hawai‘i, it doesn’t cover U.S. territories like Puerto Rico or Guam. The map is available here, and tutorials on how to use the tool, for general interest or for community advocates, are here.
1.Answer the following questions:
1.What was released on Monday?
2.What does a report on census tract include?
3.What is the aim of the “Climate Vulnerability Index”?
4.What law was signed by Biden last summer?
5.Which communities will receive about 40% of federal investments?
6.Where are the high rates of poverty and health problems?
7.What natural disasters may take place in South Seattle?
2.Decide if the statements True/False
1.The fine-grained analysis covers not less than 70,000 census tracts.
2.“Disadvantaged communities” would receive 40 % of the federal investments in educational problems.
3.More than $2 billion was spent on updating lead pipes.
4.Louisiana may be in danger from flooding, hurricanes and industrial pollution.
5.New Orleans is considered to be not so vulnerable county.
6.Climate changes are rather small in Seattle.
7.North Seattle is relatively insulated from environmental dangers.
69
TEXT 6
This very sweaty robot measures how heat affects humans
Researchers at Arizona State University are employing a breathing, perspiring, humanoid robot to study extreme temperatures’ effects on the body— including, yes, butt sweat. But as uncanny as ANDI (and its rear end) may look, the device could help experts better devise products, methods, and treatments to keep populations safe as the planet continues its dangerous, climate changeinduced warming patterns.
Aside from such visible, sometimes socially awkward physical signs of heat stress, there’s actually a lot that experts still don’t know about humans’ biological reactions to high temperatures. But researchers like Jenni Vanos, an associate professor in ASU’s School of Sustainability, can’t simply plop test subjects into dangerously extreme heat scenarios and observe the dire effects. “There are situations we know of… where people are dying of heat and we still don’t fully understand what happened,” Vanos said in a recent statement. “ANDI can help us figure that out.”
Funded by a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Grant and custom-built by Thermetrics, ASU’s ANDI is one of only two currently deployed at a research institution. It’s also the first thermal manikin capable of being used outdoors, thanks to a novel internal cooling channels. Within this unique system, cool water circulates throughout ANDI’s “body” to keep its overall temperature low enough to endure extreme heat, while sensors measure numerous variables influencing human perceptions of heat, such as sun brightness and air convection.
These perceptions are as varied as humans’ health and body types are— something ANDI can easily accommodate. “We can [enter] different BMI models, different age characteristics and different medical conditions,” said Ankit Joshi, an
ASU research scientist and lead operator of ANDI. Joshi offers a diabetes patient, who has different thermal regulation abilities as a healthy person, as an example.
“We can account for all this modification with our customized models.”
ASU’s ANDI generally resides in the aptly-named “Warm Room,” a chamber built to simulate heat-exposure scenarios seen in regions around the world, which includes factors such as wind, solar radiation, and temperatures as high as 140-degrees Fahrenheit. Within the Warm Room, ANDI can accurately measure human sweating mechanics such as changing core and skin temperatures.
Outside the Warm Room, however, ANDI is reportedly getting a walking buddy. Over the summer, the research team will pair the manikin with the nonhumanoid MaRTy, ASU’s biometeorological heat robot. Both machines will stroll through ASU’s (very hot) campus, with MaRTy measuring the heat that hits a body, while ANDI can record how a body reacts to said temperatures.
There is no single solution to adapting to rising temperatures, and researchers are well aware of this. “We’re trying to approach this from a very
70