Vocabulary

1 replenish снова наполнять, пополнять

2 precipitation осадки

3 discharge сток

4 evaporation испарение

5 seepage просачивание, инфильтрация

6 input ввод

7 watershed водораздел, бассейн реки

8 quantity количество

9 storage capacity ёмкость

10 permeability водопроницаемость

11 beneath внизу

12 timing выбор определённого времени

13 rate доля, коэффициент, пропорция

14 affect влиять, воздействовать

15 water lost потеря воды

16 devastating опустошительный, разрушительный

17 velocity скорость

18 available доступный

19 intermittent скачкообразный

20 throughout повсюду, в продолжение

21 average средний

22 augment увеличивать, прибавлять

23 negligible незначительный

Exercises

1. Guess the meaning of the words.

naturally, oceans, system, factors, reservoirs, characteristics, local, proportions, human activities, constructing, draining, channelizing, total, users, collect, period, importing, canal, practice

2. Translate the following word combinations:

replenish the reservoir; replenish surface water; natural input; heavy precipitation; precipitation rates; discharge to the oceans; evaporation rates; sub-surface seepage; surface water system watershed; total quantity; storage capacity of artificial reservoirs; the permeability of the soil; beneath the Earth’s surface; the proportions of water lost; devastating impact; increase runoff quantities and velocities; water available at any given time; an intermittent need for water; throughout the year; the average stream flow; augment artificially; negligible quantities of water

3. Match the word and its synonym.

replenish discharge seepage quantity rate affect devastating beneath velocity available intermittent throughout negligible

slow leaking through proportion, percentage fill up again destructive speed at hand irregular everywhere below insignificant amount influence release

4. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. The discharge of water from the reservoir is carefully controlled.

2. There was water seepage through the roof of the tunnel.

3. This reservoir was limited in its storage capacity to meet the growing demand for water.

4. This graph shows a trend of decreasing storage capacity during the first half of the year, and then increasing or stabilizing during the second half of the year.

5. The effects of tornadoes are devastating.

6. In physics, velocity is speed in a given direction. Speed describes only how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity gives both the speed and direction of the object's motion.

7. Permeability in fluid mechanics and the earth sciences is a measure of the ability of a porous material to allow fluids to pass through it.

8. You should use one of the numerous websites that are available for researching precipitation rates.

9. The effect was too negligible.

Text a Sources of Fresh Water Surface Water

Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, and sub-surface seepage.

Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its watershed, the total quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors. These factors include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs, the permeability of the soil beneath these storage bodies, the runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of the precipitation and local evaporation rates. All of these factors also affect the proportions of water lost.

Human activities can have a large and sometimes devastating impact on these factors. Humans often increase storage capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often increase runoff quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing stream flow.

The total quantity of water available at any given time is an important consideration. Some human water users have an intermittent need for water. For example, many farms require large quantities of water in the spring, and no water at all in the winter. To supply such a farm with water, a surface water system may require a large storage capacity to collect water throughout the year and release it in a short period of time. Other users have a continuous need for water, such as a power plant that requires water for cooling. To supply such a power plant with water, a surface water system only needs enough storage capacity to fill in when the average stream flow is below the power plant's need.

Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water from another watershed through a canal or pipeline. It can also be artificially augmented from any of the other sources, however in practice the quantities are negligible. Humans can also cause surface water to be "lost" (i.e. become unusable) through pollution.

Tasks

1. Find in the text the sentence in which it is said that…

1). …вода на поверхности Земли естественным образом пополняется за счёт осадков.

2). …общее количество воды также зависит от многих других факторов.

3). …все эти факторы также влияют на пропорции потери воды.

4). …люди часто повышают количество потоков воды и их скорость путём мощения участков земли и направления этих потоков в русла.

5). …важно учитывать количество воды, доступной в данное время.

6). …другие пользователи, такие как электростанции, постоянно нуждаются в воде для охлаждения.

7). …люди, загрязняя воду, могут стать виновниками того, что вода будет «утеряна».

2. Put the sentences in the right order according to the text.

1). Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation.

2). These factors include storage capacity, the permeability of the soil, the runoff characteristics of the, the timing of the precipitation and local evaporation rates.

3). Other users have a continuous need for water.

4). All of these factors also affect the proportions of water lost.

5). Some human water users have an intermittent need for water.

6). Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation, the total quantity of water in that system also depends on many other factors.

7). Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland.

8). Human activities can have a large and sometimes devastating impact on these factors.

9). Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water from another watershed through a canal or pipeline.

10). Humans can also cause surface water become unusable through pollution.

3. Fill in the gaps choosing the words from the box. Translate the sentences.

affect, velocities, discharge, intermittent, watershed, devastating, replenished, augmented, seepage

1). Surface water is naturally … by precipitation.

2). Surface water is naturally lost through … to the oceans, evaporation, and sub-surface ...

3). Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its …, the total quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors.

4). All of these factors also … the proportions of water lost.

5). Human activities can have a large and sometimes … impact on these factors.

6). Humans often increase runoff quantities and … by paving areas and channelizing stream flow.

7). Some human water users have an … need for water.

8). Natural surface water can be … by importing surface water from another watershed through a canal or pipeline.

4. Answer the questions.

1). What is surface water?

2). How is surface water naturally replenished and lost?

3). What does the total quantity of surface water depend on?

4). Do these factors also affect the proportions of water lost?

5). What impact can human activities have on these factors?

6). Is the need for water the same for all users?

7). How can natural surface water be augmented?

5. Summarize the text using the following beginnings:

The text reports on…

The text touches upon…

A careful account is given to…

It is reported that…

Much attention is given to…

The text points out that…

The text deals with the problem of…

The text provides information on…

The text defines the phenomenon of…

The text covers such points as…

6. Read text B and find in the text the sentences in which it is explained why a sub-surface water source may become saline.