5.2 Environment protection

Text 3. Business organizations

Organizations come in many shapes and sides, from the one-street trader selling fresh fruit or novelty goods to the vast multi-national companies spread throughout many parts of the world.

The shape of organization depends of course on what it does, and so it is necessary to become familiar with the three basic sectors of business activity.

The primary sector

The primary sector, or first sector, obtains the raw materials which man turns into the millions of products and articles used in daily life.

Examples of such industrial undertaking include mining, fishing, quarrying, oil extraction, forestry, agriculture, etc.

The secondary sector

Once the raw materials have been mined or harvested, they are taken to factories, where they are made into the items the public demands. Thus the secondary sector makes goods.

Some manufacturing industries are called “heavy” and others “light”. Heavy industries build the large products or machines needed by our society. Shipbuilders, for example, construct the huge tankers needed to transport oil around the world, and heavy engineering companies build the generators used is power-stations or the bulky furnaces at the heart of a steelworks.

At the other end of the scales are the light industries which work with fine components, such as the quartz watch industry, r the electronic calculator industry.

In some manufacturing processes, articles are made under one roof, from raw material to finished product. Other manufacturers make “semi-finished” goods such as sheets of steel, ready to be made into cutlery or car bodies. Yet other processes concentrate on the complicated assembly of pre-constructed parts. The motor-car industry, for example, usually buys in finished products – batteries, wheels, tyres, headlamps, etc – which are assembled into motorcars.

The tertiary sector

The third, or tertiary sector provides services to the general public.

Finished products need to be transported to shops and stores – distribution. Then the process of retailing – displaying goods in shop-windows and on counters – takes place. Some shops specialize in selling certain goods – office equipment, electrical appliances or shoes – while others, departmental stores and hypermarkets, stock an extremely wide range of goods. Indeed, the shopping trend now seems to be away from the small shop to the spacious store, with adjacent car-park and a wide choice of brands and products.

In addition to the distribution and retailing operations, the tertiary sector also includes the range of specialist services which offer help, advice or information to the consumer. Such organizations include banks, insurance, companies, employment agencies, solicitors, estate agents, doctors, plumbers, etc. In the public service field, such services include education, consumer protection, welfare services, public libraries, etc.

Inter-dependence

The complex structure of our modern society has resulted in each of the three sectors becoming dependent on the other two. Without the manufacturing and service industries, there would be no outlet for the collected raw materials. The retailer cannot sell what the manufacturer has not made. Neither retailer nor manufacturer can manage without someone to transport produces goods throughout the country. All three sectors rely on banks to secure, transfer and lend money.

Indeed, inter-dependence is the foundation of modern industrial economies – just think for one moment of all the cooperation needed to bring you your morning pint of milk or newspaper, or to produce the smart new shirt or party-dress.

Task 1. Read the text. Translate it into Russian, and render it.

Task 2. Memorize the key terms, concepts, expressions and their meaning.

shape	форма, сформировать
novelty goods	новые товары
depend on	зависеть от
be familiar with	быть знакомым
obtain	получать, достигать
undertaking	предприятие
harvest	собирать урожай
society	общество
construct	строить
bulky	объемный
scales	весы
adjacent	смежный, соседний
discard	отбрасывать за ненадобностью

Task 3. Answer the questions. Solve the problems. Do the tasks.

1. Explain in your own words “vast multi-national companies”.

2. What type of activity does an organization in the primary sector pursue?

3. Explain the difference between “light” and “heavy” industries.

4. What is a component?

5. Explain the difference between “semi-finished goods” and “pre-constructed parts”.

6. What activities are carried on in the “tertiary” or “third” sector?

7. Explain why each sector is “inter-dependent’ – relying upon the other two.

8. Select an industry in either the primary, secondary or tertiary sector and find out what it does and how it is run. When you have selected enough information, write and account explaining its activities.

9. Compose an account of your reasons for preferring a career in one of the three industrial sectors.

10. In groups, research the business activities of one of the following:

• a supermarket:

• a factory;

• a bank;

• a county hall department;

• a primary sector enterprise.

Make notes of your discoveries and then, as a group, present your findings orally to your general group.

11. Prepare your material and then give a three minute talk to your general group on:

a) Why communication may break down

b) Inter-dependence in today’s society

c) How to communicate successfully

Task 4. Speak about business organizations.

Text 4. Waste management.

People today often discard items that years ago would have been repaired or saved for other uses. In fact, many modern products (e.g., disposable razors and nonrefillable pens) are designed for a relatively short life that ends in a wastebasket.

How to manage waste in an environmentally sound manner is a complex and sometimes controversial issue. There is no single, simple solution to the solid waste problem. The use of a variety of waste management practices is recommended to reduce waste management problems most effectively and safely. There are three levels to the hierarchy of waste management: first, source reduction; second, recycling; and third, combustion and landfill.

Source reduction means reducing the amount and the toxicity of the waste that is produced. Individuals and families can participate in source reduction by buying more products that are durable and nondisposable, and more products that have fewer toxic components and less packaging. Reusing items that we usually throw out is a good way to reduce the waste disposal problem. Manufacturers have a big role to play in source reduction. They should be encouraged to produce products that have less packaging and fewer toxic components.

Recycling is the second level of waste management. Reuse of materials not only saves energy and natural resources, but it prevents potentially useful materials from being buried in landfills or burned in combustors.

Waste combustion and landfills are the third level of waste management. Combustion has two great benefits: it reduces the bulk of waste, and it also produces energy. Source reduction and recycling help to make combustion and landfills safer and more efficient by reducing both the quantity and the toxicity of waste, and by removing recyclable materials that might be difficult to burn or that could cause harmful emissions. Landfills are needed to handle waste that cannot be recycled or safely burned. Also, ash from waste combustion must be sent to specially designed landfills.

Waste reduction, recovery, treatment, and recycling processes are becoming more efficient, but no matter how efficient they become, there will be some amount of waste needing landfills. People can, however, greatly reduce this amount by becoming aware of how they contribute to the solid waste problem and by changing their habits to promote more efficient use and reuse of resources.

Task 1. Read the text. Translate it into Russian, and render it.

Task 2. Memorize the key terms, concepts, expressions and their meaning.

asphalt асфальт, битум	hard black substance that is used to make the surface of roads
blank пустое место, тире, прочерк	not written or printed on
combustion горение, сгорание	the act of catching fire and burning
Combustor средство для тушения пожара	a facility for controlled burning of solid waste to reduce its volume and weight, and, often, to produce energy
consumption потребление	act or process of using up
disposable могущий быть использованным	intended to be thrown away after use.....
dump свалка мусора	a place for throwing away waste material
durable длительный, прочный	lasting for a long time.....
emission выделение, изучение	the sending out of gas, heat, light, sound, etc
garbage мусор, отбросы	any material considered worthless or unnecessary and usually thrown away, for example, spoiled food, used containers, and broken items
graffiti рисунок, надпись, нанесенные на твердую поверхность	drawings or writing on a wall, often of a rude, humorous or political nature.....
hemp пеньки	plant used for making strong rope or a rough cloth
hierarchy иерархия	a system of organization in which the members are ranked from higher to lower
junk утиль. мануфактура	material such as glass, rags, paper, or metals that could be made into something usable
landfill место для твердых отходов	a specially engineered site for disposing of solid waste on land, constructed so that it will reduce hazard to public health and safety
latex млечный сок	a whitish substance produced by certain kinds of trees and used to make rubber
litter сор, мусор	waste materials that have been carelessly discarded in an inappropriate place
natural resources природные ресурсы	the land, forests and mineral wealth that a country possesses..
nondisposable не предназначенный для использования	not intended to be thrown away after use
nonrefillable не предназначенный для повторного заполнения	cannot be filled again
Rag лоскуты, обрезки, тряпки	an old cloth
Recyclable переработанный	is treated so that it can be used again
Recycle перерабатывать	to treat something that has already been used so that it is fit to be used again
Refillable годный для повторного заполнения	can be filled again
refuse отбросы для повторного использования	discarded material considered to have no worth or use
reusable годный для повторного использования	can be used again
reuse повторно использовать	to use again
rubbish мусор, сор. хлам	anything that is thrown out or discarded
scrap отбросы годные для переработки	discarded industrial waste material that is often suitable for recycling
scratch paper черновик	paper for preliminary or hasty writing, notes, or sketches
shred резать, измельчать	to cut or tear into small pieces
task задание	a piece of work that is assigned and has to be done
toxic components токсические ингредиенты	poisonous ingredients or parts
toxicity степень токсичности	the degree to which something is poisonous
trash отбросы. мусор	material that is considered worthless, unnecessary that is usually thrown away
unbleached небеленый (о ткани)	not made white or lighter than the natural color
waste отходы, отбросы	material that has been discarded because it has worn out, is used up, or is no longer needed, such as packaging, newspapers, used writing paper, and broken appliances

Task 3. Answer the questions. Solve the problems. Do the tasks.

1. Explain the concept «Waste Management».

2. How do people manage waste in an environmentally sound manner?

3. What does source reduction mean? Is it the first level of waste management?

4. Identify the third level of waste management?

Task 4. Comment on the problem of waste management.

Task 5. Do the test.