Speaking:

Exercise 7. Make an abstract of two texts, using key vocabulary and tell about:

1. what is earthquake;

2. what does it cause;

3. what are the consequences for people and buildings;

4. how is it possible to avoid great losses;

5. how do the people behave during quake.

Checklist for Section I:

1. How is Participle I translated into Russian in the function of adverbial modifier of manner?

2. What are the abstract nouns?

3. What are the earthquake consequences?

4. What can the earthquake result in?

5. Section II

Grammar: Passive Voice.

Word-formation: suffixes –ity, -ance.

Speaking: Forecasts.

Learn the pronunciation and meaning of the words:

prediction	предсказание, прогноз
precursor	[prI:'kə:sə]	предшественник, предвестник
accurate	['ækjurIt]	точный, правильный
forecast	предсказание, прогноз
prank	[præŋk]	выходка, проделка, шутка
clairvoyant	[klɛə'vɔIənt]	ясновидящий
incredulous	[In'kredjuləs]	недоверчивый, скептический
imminent	['ImInənt]	близкий, надвигающийся, грозящий, нависший
upheaval	[ʌp'hI:vəl]	сдвиг (изменение, нарушение)
disturbance	[dIs'tə:bəns]	нарушение, волнение
core	[kɔ:]	ядро, центр
fluctuation	[¸flʌktju'eIʃn]	колебание
procedure	[prə'sI:dʒə]	методика

Vocabulary development: word building:

Exercise 1. Translate the original and derivative words, using a dictionary:

verb	noun (abstract)	noun (person)	adjective
to prank	prank	-	prankish
-	procedure	-	procedural
to predict	prediction	predictor	predictive
-	-	precursor	precursory
-	accuracy	-	accurate
to forecast	forecast	-	-
to fluctuate	fluctuation	-	-
-	incredibility incredulity	- -	incredible incredulous
-	imminence	-	imminent
to upheaval	upheaval	-	-
to disturb	disturbance	disturber	-
-	clairvoyance	clairvoyant	clairvoyant

Text The prediction of hurricanes and earthquakes

On September 9, 1999 a rather puzzling fax came in to the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, signed by Tula State University Professor Oleg Martynov: “Since August 3 of this year, precursors of a powerful earthquake have been observed in an area with the following geographic coordinates: 40 N 28 to 30 E. Should your government get Turkish meteorologists and seismologist to contact us, we will be able to provide an accurate forecast about the time and the coordinates”.

Embassy officials decided that it was some kind of prank, but called the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Pay no attention – these are charlatans”, the ambassador was assured. A week later Turkey was shaken by a natural catastrophe. Turkish journalists rushed to Tula to interview the clairvoyant professor. Martynov asked them to draw their government’s attention to the fact that more earthquakes should be expected in a month’s time. On November 12, 1999, Turkey unfortunately saw that the scientist’s second forecast was also accurate.

The pattern was repeated with Greece. A storm warning to the incredulous government arrived on September 2, while five days later the country was shaken. Prof. Martynov has more than a dozen officially confirmed forecasts: Azerbajan, Bulgaria, France, Great Britain, Italy, etc.

Prof. Martynov receives signals about imminent meteorological and seismic upheavals from the invented instrument, a steel drum packed with sensitive antennas. The instrument is called a broad-band gradientometer, which records disturbances in the gravitational equilibrium between the earth’s core and its atmosphere every second. Sensors show fluctuations on the video display terminal, and with some decoding procedure, the professor says, it is quite easy to determine the time and place of an upcoming hurricane, typhoon, oк some other devastating natural phenomenon.

In the course of his studies, Martynov came to conclusion, that the earth’s gravitational balance is periodically disturbed, but our planet recovers the equilibrium. However, cataclysms continue to occur.