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Файл:Scientific English. Учебно-методическое пособие для подготовки аспирантов к сдаче кандидатского минимума по иностранному языку
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5.5. SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS
Text 1
Europe is beginning a new series on Europe‘s past. Each issue will look at
the ―golden age‖ of a particular country, a period during which it made a lasting
contribution to European history and culture.
Andrew Cowley of the Economist begins the series with a look at one of
the great theorists of the British industrial revolution.
THE INVISIBLE HAND
Adam Smith and the discovery of modern economics
By the middle of the last century, England was unchallenged as the
world‘s great economic power. The first phase of the first industrial revolution
was over. By substituting machines for human skill, steam for human and
animals force, English entrepreneurs brought about a shift from handicrafts to
mass manufacturing, and in so doing gave birth to a modern economy. Within
two lifetimes, English society had been transformed: an Englishman of 1750 was
closer to one of his grandchildren.
The problem was that England in the 1840`s was also a country in crisis.
A series of bad harvests had reduced demand for the goods being churned out by
the new industries. Their producers could not find enough foreign markets to sell
excess production, so were forced to sack their workers. Unemployment was
made worse by one-third between 1801 and 1831. Despite all its economic
achievements, the mass of England‘s people was living in object poverty.
England‘s ruling elite was split by a fierce debate on how a country could be so
rich but its people so poor, and how to solve this problem before it set off a
revolution. For support and ideas, the leaders of this debate turned to a group of
thinkers, known as ―economists‘‘.
Today most people have a hard time understanding what economists are
talking about, but everyone knows that an economist is a specialist in a
recognized branch of academic knowledge. At the beginning of the 19th century,
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the term was nothing like as specific. In England, it was applied to anyone who
approached problems by putting every argument and doctrine, on whatever
subject, to the test of facts.
It was no coincidence that England gave birth to the first industrial
revolution and what has since become known as the classical school are Adam
Smith‘s ―Wealth of Nations‖ (published in 1776), David Ricardo`s ―Principles
of Political Economy and Taxation‖ (1817), and James Mill‘s ―Political
Economy‖ (1821). Together these books set out a view of political economy
based on three ideas: while their predecessors had seen agriculture and land as
the sole source of wealth, the classical economists emphasized manufacturing
and labour; they believed that free competition benefited society as a whole; and
they opposed government interference in the economy as, more often than not, it
only upset the natural process of wealth creation.
Of these books, the most important is that by Adam Smith. It is the first
great classic of economic theory (2860).
Text 2
SEARCHING THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
The memory of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is preserved by many
cheerful customs in various parts of Great Britain, and by one dignified
ceremony that takes place in London before the Opening of Parliament.
This is the searching by a detachment of Yeomen of the Guard of the
cellars under the Palace of Westminster, either on the evening before the
Opening or, more usually, on the morning of the day itself. The Yeomen, in their
scarlet and gold uniforms, come from the Tower of London to the Princess`
chamber in the House of Lords and there, in the presence of a number of the
Palace officials, they are given old candle-lanterns to use during the ceremony.
As soon as the order to search has been received, they set out on a prolonged
tour of the basements, vaults, and cellars below the building. Carrying their
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lighted lanterns in their hands, and firmly ignoring the existence of the very
efficient electric lighting, they search every cranny and crevice, every corner and
conceivable hiding-place, to satisfy themselves that no gunpowder barrels,
bombs, or infernal machines have been anywhere concealed with intent to blow
up Sovereign, Lords, and Commons. When they have proved by personal and
most careful inspections that all is well, a message is sent to the Queen, the
Yeomen are given some well earned refreshment and return whence they came,
and Parliament is then free to assemble without fear of disaster.
It needs hardly be said that the safety of the reigning monarch, ministers,
peers, and elected members of Parliament does not really depend upon this
picturesque last-minute ceremony. Nevertheless, there was a night in 1605 when
it did so depend upon a grimly earnest and quite unpicturesque search through
the multifarious cellars that then underran the Palace of Westminster, and it is
this event which the modern ceremony is traditionally supposed to
commemorate. In fact, there does not seem to be any real evidence for the
connection. Some authorities think that regular inspections of the cellars did not
begin until the time of the Popish Plot scare in the latter half of the 17th century.
However that may be, there is no doubt that the ceremonial search made by the
Yeomen of the Guard before the State Opening of Parliament is as much a
reminder of the Gunpowder Plot for most people as any bonfires blazing and
rockets soaring heavenwards on the night of November 5th.
Notwithstanding the candles, the search now made is a real one, and
certainly any secret enemy of the Queen and Parliament would find it hard to
conceal any material evidence of evil intentions from the keen eyes of the
Yeomen of the Guard (2673).
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Text 3
SPACE DEBRIS
The popular saying, ―You have to pay for everything‖, indirectly points to
the fact that man should plan and think over his behaviour in his world to avoid
undesirable, costly problems in the future. Such is the case in space exploration.
It goes without saying that the ―contribution‖ of space exploration to increased
pollution of Earth‘s ecology is infinitesimally small compared to nuclear power,
coal and oil mining, heavy metallurgy, ―Big Chemistry‖, and the like. But
everything lies ahead. Space exploration began with the launching of the first
satellite on October 3, 1957. More than 35 years of space exploration have
generated a new problem: space debris. The space debris phenomenon alarms
people in all developed countries.
What lies at the heart of this problem? At present, a lot of disabled
artificial satellites are circling round our Earth. The Earth‘s orbits also include
many fragments of antennae, solar batteries and small particles, which form up
so-called clouds and clusters, which are especially dangerous for orbital flights
of space crafts and satellites. One should not forget that the space includes
gaseous and dusty particles. The micron-size particles are not dangerous in low
orbits (up to 1000 km), as they burn out in solid layers of the atmosphere from
friction. However high orbits (over 20.000 km) and Geostationary Orbits
(36.000 km) are a different matter. Any satellite launched into such an orbit
slowly moves about the point of liberation, which in turn makes one rotation
within 24 hours. It ―hovers‖ over one and the same point of the Earth‘s equator.
If the Earth were completely round, then any Geostationary Satellite would
hover over the same point of the Earth, where it had been launched. This
explains how communication satellites, TV satellites and the like operate. The
very existence of space debris increases the chance of collisions with active
satellites of manned space vehicles.
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Consequently the long-term evolution of high orbital fragments and
particles of space debris are now monitored.
Ordinary radio-technical monitoring systems are useless here. They may
be valid for only low-orbit monitoring. Two factors impede monitoring over
Geostationary Orbits (GSO): the height of the orbit and a great deal of dielectric
objects, which don‘t reflect radio waves. Here we see the need for optical
methods of observation. Russian scientists have achieved great success and are
world leaders in this field. They have pioneered scientific monitoring of outer
space with the help of unique specially designed astronomical telescopes. They
study the optimal location of monitoring stations on the Earth‘s surface and the
mode of operation of their equipment.
Cosmic mechanics involves the evolutionary study of the movement of
cosmic objects, based on the physical peculiarities of forces inducing this
movement. Russian astronomers have understood the special need for light
pressure in the evolution of space debris. The light pressure phenomenon was
discovered by the Russian physicist P. Lebedev in 1897. Today, the study of
light pressure influence on space debris will lessen the danger of collisions
between satellites or manned space vehicle with some fragments or particles of
space debris (3260).
Text 4
PRESERVE FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN
Not that long ago it seemed that man, the Master of the Universe, can
make rivers flow back, create artificial seas and turn deserts into blossoming
gardens... We believed the Marxist doctrine that man cannot wait for fruits of
Mother Nature and should take them himself.
But it turned out that by changing Mother Nature we simply destroyed it.
The very death of the extremely beautiful and deep Aral Sea, literally before our
own eyes demonstrated the results of our ignorance the elementary laws of life.
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The Chernobyl disaster became a sinister warning of a forthcoming apocalypse.
It is crystal clear that the preservation of life and ecology troubles are worldwide problems. These problems came to the foreground. If water is undrinkable,
food is inedible and air cannot be inhaled, then you must agree that all other
problems are meaningless... It‘s safe to say that the very activity of the
Committee of the Supreme Soviets on ecology and rational use of raw materials
aims to preserve forests, lakes and clean rivers. In a nutshell we must preserve
them for our grandchildren and great grandchildren...
It goes without saying that the ecological problem is complicated.
Vladimir Varfolomeev, Chairman of the Ecology Committee, maintains that this
problem remains most acute. ―Current technology does not correspond, as a rule,
to ecological standards. Various violations of state and technological disciplines
intensify harmful technical effects on Mother Nature. On the whole managers of
enterprises try to make both ends meet to pay employees and do not engage in
environmentally-sound activities... Tots put profits. Consequently the Committee
tries to create a powerful legislative body, which can prevent illegal ecological
actions.
It should be noted here that the law of the Russian Federation on the
―Protection of the Environment‖ became the source of such legislation. This law
stipulates the compliance of all enterprises, institutions, organisations, Russian
citizens, foreign legal entities and individuals to strict legal principles. Some of
these principles are: a guarantee of ecological principles suitable for life, labour
and rest of the population, rational use of raw materials and the prevention of
fatal damage to the environment and humanity. This law enforces responsibility
on the breaking of any environmental rules, including material and criminal
damage... This law should meet state ecology expertise, which approves all
enterprises dealing with design, building and reconstructing - so in Ryazan
region the ecology expertise rejected half the draft new buildings and objects
under reconstruction. Now the Ecology Committee is devising a package of
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―Nature-Resources laws‖. The first law from this package is the law in the
―Mineral Resources‖ and the recent ―Fundamental laws of the Forestry of the
Russian Federation''. Both these laws put an end to the totalitarian power of
central ministries and its branches. The basis of many regional budget may be
formed from forestry fees, rental fees together with payments for the use of
mineral resources and other raw materials. Local authorities will be able to use
the local forestry fund, and block any arbitrary exploitation of petrol, gas and
what not...
One should focus on the law on the ―Fundamental laws of the Forestry of
the RF‖. Raw materials will sooner or later be exhausted, but the forest itself can
last for millions of years, provided that we ensure its replenishment.
The ―Fundamentals‖ stress that the forest is both the place of our abode
and our benefactor. It is also the source of valuable materials, including lumber,
pulp and other building materials. If the Russian people call its soil ―Dear
Mother‖, the forest should be called ―Dear Father‖. Life without oxygen
produced by the forest would have been inconceivable. The forest feeds us and
gives us clothings. In short its importance for man cannot be overestimated.
Consequently ―Fundamentals‖ proceed from such principles as the forest‘s
afforestation. These principles stipulate the maintenance of an annual balance
between the cutting of standing timber and its afforestation on a given territory.
Thus, so-called ―calculated timber failing sites‖ are determined by special
research bodies and discussed with state managerial forestry bodies. Any acted
cutting of standing timber is prohibited.
The Ministry of the Forestry must supervise afforestation, protect and
guard the state forests. State bodies monitoring the forestry may not deal with
state timber purchasing. Licenses for timber purchasing are issued by local
authorities in compliance with the terms of forestry demands. The Chairman of
the Subcommittee on the Natural Resources Committee of the Russian
Federation Yuri Sergeev maintains: "The provision of rights for local authorities
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to choose a forest's user and rent the forest fund will increase the responsibility
of the local authorities for any social and economic consequences of such
decisions for their territories and thus prevent the dispersal of the forest's
users…"It will, in the long run, preserve for our children and grandchildren birch
groves, pine forests, oak-groves and cedar forests (5210).
Text 5
SEARCH FOR "NEW ENERGY"
The creation of Peter's Academy of Sciences constituted the starting point
of academic sciences in Russia. Peter the Great founded the Academy in 1724.
Like everything else in Russia the Science was extremely centralized:
fundamental research was carried out in Moscow and St. Petersburg, home to the
largest universities and academic centres. Historians quite rightly assert that
dramatic scientific developments occurred at the turn of the last century.
Academician Vladimir I. Vernadsky (1863-1945) was one of its pioneers.
He was the universal scholar, philosopher, naturalist and historian. The
world-known scholar Vernadsky was endowed with unique talents, able to set up
scientific communities, organizations and scientific bodies in any situation.
On graduating from Petersburg University in 1923, Vernadsky decided to
go round the world and thereby fulfil a dream. Staritskaya changed his set plans.
She did not cede to him straight away. She felt uneasy that she was two years
and a half older than her suitor. He wrote numerous letters to win her over. In
one letter he clearly predicted their future connubial life: "...I clearly see the road
I'm destined to follow: scientific, social and publicist. My activities will vary. At
any rate my creative work should rule out all infatuations and connubial dramas
which often affect people who are not frank and whose heads are empty enough
to suffer these misfortunes".
They married three months after his proposal. Their connubial life lasted
57 years. Natalia Egorovna died during the war in 1943. Vernadsky lived
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another two and a half years.
He contributed to biochemistry's development as a science. Vernadsky set
the basis for science on the biosphere and neosphere. The sphere of the intellect
oriented science to a cosmic disposition. He contributed greatly to certain walks
of geology, namely mineralogy.
He rendered great services to Geology, from a study of rare elements and
their role in science to a search into "new energy"/ a nuclear one. Throughout his
life, Vernadsky was a real scholar, dreamer and artist. He wrote his wife: "I'm a
dreamer. It is in my blood. I'm aware that I can be fascinated with something
false, delusive and be lost in a labyrinth of my illusions... Very few daydreamers and scholars manage to perform something in their lives. Consequently
I think I may be a good for nothing miserable. In those desperate days, I feel
frustrated owing to my inability to do anything. I bitterly endure my nonentity.
At that moment I don't want to be a scientist. I want to be somebody else... I feel
that if I become convinced that I'm unable to be all my millions of dreams, I will
be ready to devote myself body and soul to the humanities philosophy,
jurisdiction or some other social activity..."
In 1922 Vernadsky returned to St.Petersburg and created the Radium
Institute. He was appointed its director.
Vernadsky predicted the colossal importance of radium and other
radioactive elements, radiating a "new type" of energy, emitting of heart for the
Earth's evolution.
The actual study of radioactive process enabled Vernadsky to determine
the age of minerals from the period of radioactive decay. He thereby formulated
the fundamental principles of radiology. This science allowed him to determine
the absolute age of our Earth, Solar System and the Universe as a whole.
Let me now advance a hypothesis of my own. I am sure that Vernadsky
was convinced that the human soul was everlasting and indestructible. His
definition of the "Neosphere" implied an energetic notion. Vernadsky re-
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interpreted this notion in terms of cooperation between nature and the human
society. According to Vernadsky, human activity becomes a determined factor of
evolution. In other words, the Neosphere forms the condition for the biosphere
and puts it on the COSMIC level. It turns the biosphere into a structural element
of the outer space.
In our days, science has started linking the peculiarities of the universe
with man's existence as an observer. This is an entropy principle. This principle
maintains that man was created by God the Almighty in a world with beneficial
natural laws. We should preserve life and bring it about in conformity with the
laws of society and Nature. Vladimir Vernadsky, the great naturalist, entrusted
us with this task (4300).
Text 6
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The English language is derived from Germanic, which is derived from
Indo-European, but it is not definitely known how, when, or even where IndoEuropean began. Ever since the Elizabethan Age the number of people speaking
English as their first language, or mother tongue, has grown rapidly. Today,
however, several languages are adding speakers at a faster rate - Spanish will
soon have more speakers than English.
Nevertheless, the situation and prospects enjoyed by English have never
seemed better. For several years now English has been accepted in virtually
every part of the world as the preferred second language - the language that two
people will turn to when they cannot understand each other‘s tongue. It is no
accident that the leaders of France and Germany speak to each other in English,
and the English language shows no sings of losing its international preeminence.
Origins
English carries the story of its origin as an independent language in its
name. The ―Engl‖ - part of the word goes back to the Angles, a Germanic tribe
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