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Файл:Устные темы. Учебное пособие по английскому языку для инженерных специальностей ИТТСУ ТИУ, ТМН, ТПВ, ТПЛ, ТПТ разных форм обучения
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вания природоохранного назначения, оснащение экологических лабораторий, закупка оборудования для ликвидации аварийных разливов нефтепродуктов.
12. В 2009 году на эти цели израсходовано 322,6 млн. руб. капитальных вложений.
13. В рамках проекта «Обеспечение экологической безопасности» в
2009 году построено, реконструировано и введено в эксплуатацию 9
природоохранных объектов; внедрено 3 единицы оборудования по
очистке выбросов вредных веществ в атмосферный воздух, доочистке сточных вод; поставлено: 4 передвижные экологических лаборатории на базе автомобиля «Газель», 29 комплектов аналитических
приборов и лабораторного оборудования и 24 прибора для пунктов
экологического контроля выбросов от тепловозов.
Ex 1. Memorise the text according to the plan:
Railway transport is one of the most environmentally
friendly modes of transport.
The transfer of railway transport from steam traction to
electric and diesel, which is currently carried out almost all
the train work, contributed to the improvement of the environmental situation: the influence of coal dust and harmful
emissions of steam locomotives into the atmosphere is excluded.
Further electrification of Railways, i.e. replacement of
locomotives with electric locomotives, allows to exclude air
pollution by exhaust gases of diesel engines. The main
way to reduce emissions of toxic substances by locomotives
is to reduce their formation in the engine cylinders.
The neutralization of exhaust gases and the correct operation of locomotives are important. As part of the environmental safety at Russian Railways, the following programs and
projects are being implemented:
In order to fulfill its main environmental obligations, Russian Railways is implementing an investment project "environmental safety", which includes the construction and reconstruction of treatment facilities, the purchase of plants and
equipment for environmental purposes, the equipping of envi-
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ronmental laboratories, the purchase of equipment for the
elimination of oil spill.
Within the framework of the project "ensuring environmental safety" in 2009, 9 environmental protection facilities
were built, reconstructed and put into operation; 3 units of
equipment for the treatment of emissions of harmful substances into the air, post-treatment of waste water were introduced; 4 mobile environmental laboratories on the basis of
Gazelle car, 29 sets of analytical instruments and laboratory
equipment and 24 devices for environmental control of emissions from diesel locomotives were delivers.
Text 2
Climate risks
California Bars Insurers From Dropping Policies in Wild-
fire Areas
Annotation
The main purpose of the article is to describe the prevailing attitude of insurers to the impact of wildfires in
the western part of the USA. In response to growing
climate risks, connected with increased number of
wildfires in California, insurance commissioner Mr.
Lara imposes a new policy aimed at a one-year moratorium on insurers, who drop coverage for more than 1
million policyholders in or near areas affected by wildfires. However, it has been demonstrated that this proposal is perceived ambiguously by the insurers themselves, they insist on making it easier to sell higher
premium insurances in areas with high risk of wildfire.
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The new one-year freeze is a sign of the growing financial burden caused by climate change.
As California reels from this year’s record wildfires, the
state announced on Thursday that it would prevent insurance companies from dropping homeowners for one year
in many parts of the state, a sign of the growing financial
turmoil caused by climate change.The measure, which applies to almost one-fifth of the state’s residential insurance
market, prohibits companies from canceling or refusing to
renew insurance policies for 2.1 million households in or
near areas hit by this year’s wildfires.The announcement
reflects the increasing strain that climate change has
placed on California, which had imposed a similar moratorium once before, at a smaller scale. As rising temperatures and longer droughts make wildfires more devastating, some insurers have responded to enormous financial
losses by leaving fire-prone communities. That threatens
the economies of those areas, because homes that can’t
easily be insured are harder to sell, and nearly impossible
to rebuild after a fire. California’s struggles are a preview
of the threat that climate change poses to the long-term
economic health of communities around the country. Insurers have begun pulling back from fire-prone areas in
other states across the West. And in communities near
oceans or rivers, the increasing cost of flood insurance
poses a similar risk, driving down home values and make
them harder to sell.
In response to growing climate risks, state officials
have intervened to stop insurers from leaving high-risk
areas. In December, California’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, for the first time imposed a similar one-year moratorium on insurers dropping coverage
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for more than 1 million policyholders in or near areas
affected by wild fires. Mr. Lara’s office declined to
make him available for an interview. In a statement, he
said the new policy “gives millions of Californians
breathing room and hits the pause button on insurance
non-renewals while we take additional steps to expand
our competitive market.” Still, the state’s ability to
shield homeowners from the consequences of climate
change is limited. The moratorium cannot be extended,
which means that insurers who want to stop offering
coverage in high-risk areas will eventually be able to do
so. Insurers have said that if the state wants them to
keep doing business in those areas, officials must make
it easier to allow insurance companies to charge higher
premiums, reflecting what they say is the true risk from
wildfires. A bill that would have allowed insurers to
take those steps, including justifying rate increases using computer models that predict future risk, failed to
pass the state legislature this year after consumer
groups said it would impose an unfair burden on homeowners. In a statement, two groups that represent insurers, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Personal Insurance Federation of California, did not take a position on the moratorium. The
groups said that more frequent wildfires bring a higher
risk of property damage, “and we need to adapt to this
new reality.” “It is important that we work together on
solutions that increase insurance availability in high-
fire risk areas and protect against insurer insolvency,”
the statement added. People who lose access to private
insurance can still buy coverage from a high-risk state
program called the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements plan. But that coverage is typically more expensive and covers fewer types of damage. The state’s
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longer-term strategy involves encouraging local officials to reduce exposure and vulnerability to wildfire,
through tougher building codes or rules about managing the vegetation around homes. “If we don’t want to
be in this position every year, we have to reduce the
risk to lives and homes,” Mr. Lara said. But the most
promising changes tend to be restrictions on home construction in vulnerable areas. And those restrictions
provoke strong pushback in California, where high
housing prices have left many people struggling to find
homes they can afford, creating pressure to keep building in high-risk areas. Carolyn Kousky, executive director of the Wharton Risk Center at the University of
Pennsylvania, described the new moratorium as a temporary measure that would not solve the underlying
problem of growing climate risk. “This problem’s not
going to go away. That raises a lot of questions about
how we’re building and where we’re building,” Dr.
Kousky said. “Clearly the market needs something
much beyond this.”
PART 2
Innovatics
Text 1
What is Innovation?
(the example of the American economy).
Innovation is the process of creating new technologies and
using them in the economy. Economists usually use a very
broad definition of technology, so when we are talking about
innovation, we are not just thinking about new machines or
inventions, but any new way of doing things.
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Innovation is quite the buzzword these days. Businesses and
governments talk about the power of innovation, universities
present themselves as engines of innovation, and cities jockey
to create innovation hotspots like Silicon Valley in San Francisco. The rhetoric about innovation can be a bit over the top
at times, but the process of developing and implementing new
technologies really is quite important for economies. Technology is a big factor for explaining why some countries are
richer than others, and for determining how fast the economy
grows, or if it grows at all.
Innovations do not just fall out of the sky or hit mad geniuses in the middle of the night. Countries make large investments into researching new ideas and developing those
ideas into economically useful things. Some countries, like
Israel and South Korea, devote over 4 percent of their national income to research and development.
Investment in research and development was usually either done by the government or by private companies. But
now, it is fairly common for governments to invest directly in
companies doing exciting research. For example, since 2008,
the US has invested heavily in companies developing clean
energy technologies—including the Tesla Motor company.
Economists have long fought about how much the government needs to do to promote innovation—a lot of them think
it should only fund basic research which no company would
have an incentive to do on its own; others think it should play
a much more active role.
But increasingly, economists find it more helpful to look at
the big picture of how the research at universities and government labs connects with companies in the private sector.
They call this is the ‘systems of innovation’ approach, as it
sees new technologies as coming not from a single company
or inventor, but from the interactions between countless organizations and individuals. The iPhone is a great example of
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how a system of innovation works; while Apple rightly gets
credit for designing the innovative phone, much of the technology that makes the phone possible including the internet,
GPS, touchscreens and voice recognition technology, was developed with government money.
Given the noticeable effects on efficiency, quality of life, and
productive growth, innovation is a key factor in society and
economy. Consequently, policymakers have long worked to
develop environments that will foster innovation and its resulting positive benefits, from funding Research and Development to supporting regulatory change, funding the development of innovation clusters, and using public purchasing
and standardisation to 'pull' innovation through.
For instance, experts are advocating that the U.S. federal government launch a National Infrastructure Foundation, a nimble, collaborative strategic intervention organization that will
house innovations programs from fragmented silos under one
entity, inform federal officials on innovation performance
metrics, strengthen industry-university partnerships, and support innovation economic development initiatives, especially
to strengthen regional clusters. Because clusters are the geographic incubators of innovative products and processes, a
cluster development grant program would also be targeted for
implementation. By focusing on innovating in such areas as
precision manufacturing, information technology, and clean
energy, other areas of national concern would be tackled including government debt, carbon footprint, and oil dependence. The U.S. Economic Development Administration understand this reality in their continued Regional Innovation
Clusters initiative. In addition, federal grants in R&D, a crucial driver of innovation and productive growth, should be
expanded to levels similar to Japan, Finland, South Korea,
and Switzerland in order to stay globally competitive. Also,
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such grants should be better procured to metropolitan areas,
the essential engines of the American economy.
Ex. №1. Translate the following sentences and from Russian into English:
1. Инновация - это процесс создания новых технологий и их исполь-
зования в экономике.
2. Экономисты обычно используют очень широкое определение тех-
нологии, поэтому, когда мы говорим об инновациях, мы думаем не
только о новых машинах или изобретениях, но и о любом новом способе ведения дел.
3. Риторика об инновациях порой может быть несколько излишней,
но процесс разработки и внедрения новых технологий действительно
очень важен для экономики.
4. Технология является важным фактором для объяснения того, почему одни страны богаче других, а также для определения того,
насколько быстро растет экономика или растет ли она вообще.
5. Страны делают большие инвестиции в исследование новых идей и
превращение этих идей в экономически полезные вещи. Некоторые
страны, такие как Израиль и Южная Корея, выделяют более 4 процентов своего национального дохода на исследования и разработки.
6. Инвестиции в исследования и разработки, как правило, осуществлялись либо правительством, либо частными компаниями. Но сейчас
правительства довольно часто инвестируют непосредственно в компании, проводящие интересные исследования. Например, с 2008 года
США инвестировали значительные средства в компании, разрабатывающие экологически чистые энергетические технологии, включая
компанию Tesla Motor Company.
7. Экономисты долго спорили о том, сколько нужно инвестировать
государству для стимулирования инноваций. Многие из них считают,
что оно должно финансировать только фундаментальные исследования, которые ни у одной компании не было бы стимула делать самостоятельно; другие считают, что государство должно играть гораздо
более активную роль.
8. Но все чаще экономисты находят более полезным взглянуть на
общую картину того, как исследования в университетах и государственных лабораториях связаны с компаниями в частном секторе.
Они называют этот подход " системой инноваций’, поскольку он рассматривает новые технологии как исходящие не от одной компании
118
или изобретателя, а от взаимодействия между бесчисленными организациями и отдельными людьми.
9. IPhone - отличный пример того, как работает система инноваций; в
то время как Apple справедливо получает кредит за разработку инновационного телефона, большая часть технологий, которые делают
телефон возможным, включая интернет, GPS, сенсорные экраны и
технологию распознавания голоса были разработана на государственные деньги.
10. Учитывая заметное влияние инноваций на эффективность, качество жизни и рост производительности труда, они являются ключевым фактором развития общества и экономики.
11. Следовательно, директивные органы уже давно работают над
созданием условий, способствующих инновациям и получению от
них положительных результатов, от финансирования исследований и
разработок до поддержки изменений в регулировании, финансирования развития инновационных кластеров и использования государственных закупок и стандартизации для "вытягивания" инноваций.
12. Например, эксперты выступают за то, чтобы федеральное правительство США создало национальный инфраструктурный фонд, организацию стратегического вмешательства, которая будет размещать
инновационные программы из разрозненных источников под одной
структурой, информировать федеральных чиновников о показателях
эффективности инноваций, укреплять партнерские отношения между
промышленностью и университетами и поддерживать инициативы
инновационного экономического развития, особенно для укрепления
региональных кластеров.
13. Поскольку кластеры являются географическими инкубаторами
инновационных продуктов и процессов, то для их реализации также
будет направлена программа грантов на развитие кластеров.
14. Сосредоточившись на инновациях в таких областях, как прецизионное производство, информационные технологии и чистая энергетика, можно было бы заняться другими областями национальной
озабоченности, включая государственный долг, углеродный след и
нефтяную зависимость.
15. Кроме того, федеральные гранты на НИОКР-важнейший фактор
инновационного и производственного роста-должны быть расширены до уровня, аналогичного уровню Японии, Финляндии, Южной
Кореи и Швейцарии, чтобы оставаться конкурентоспособными в
глобальном масштабе.
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Text 2
What is innovation management?
To begin with, we first need to take a look at what innovation management actually is.
Innovation management, as a term, is also a source of much
debate. Some argue that the very definition of innovation
means that it can’t be managed, whereas others are stout be-
lievers in building systems and processes for the purpose of
creating more innovation. As you can probably guess, the re-
ality isn’t as black and white. So, let’s first take a step back
and consider what the term means.
Innovation and ideas start here
The Merriam-Webster dictionary simply refers to innova-
tion as being “the introduction of something new”. This isn’t
the same as simply inventing something new, such as a product, as it also needs to be launched and introduced to the
world.
“Innovation management” thus refers to handling of all the
activities needed to “introduce something new”, which in
practice means things like coming up with ideas, developing,
prioritizing and implementing them, as well as putting them
into practice, for example by launching new products, or by
introducing new internal processes.
By simply looking at the definition, it’s easy to demystify
the term. Innovation management is simply the process of
coming up with and introducing new things and developing
the business, one way or the other.
Innovation management is simply the process of coming up
with and introducing new things and developing the business,
one way or the other.
As is evident from the definition, there’s an endless variety
of different kinds of innovations. This is the root cause for
many of the disagreements related to innovation: people often
use the generic term when they really are referring to a small
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