yastrebova-vladykina_uchebnik_2_kursa

1)метод, способ

2)этап развития

3)мода

2.Achieving the processing power of the human brain is necessary but not sufficient for creating human level intelligence in a machine.

processing power

1)способность обрабатывать информацию

2)обрабатывающие мощности

3)процессуальные возможности

3.By 2030 we’ll have the means to scan the human brain and to re-create its design electronically. Most people don’t realize the revolutionary impact of that.

4.Current predictions overlook the imminence (неизбежность) of a world in which machines become more like humans – programmed to respond appropriately to human emotions, and humans become more like machines – our biological bodies and brains enhanced with billions of “nanobots”.

to enhance

1)усовершенствовать (расширять возможности)

2)увеличивать в размерах

3)исправлять

5.We have already started down this road: human and machine have already begun to meld. to meld

1)плавиться

2)сталкиваться

3)сливаться

6.While the combination of human-level intelligence in a machine and a computer’s inherent superiority in the speed, accuracy and sharing ability (разделение памяти) of its memory will be formidable – this is not an alien invasion. alien invasion

1)чужеродное влияние

2)чужеродное вторжение

3)вторжение инопланетян

7.What does this super technological intelligence mean for the future? There will certainly be grave dangers associated with the 21st century technologies. Consider unrestrained nanobot replication.

unrestrained replication

1)неограниченное воспроизведение, копирование

2)переполнение

3)свободная замена

8.A defect in the mechanism curtailing nanobot self-replication would endanger all physical entities, biological and non-biological alike.

to curtail

1)представлять

2)ограничивать

3)следовать за

9.These “spy” nanobots could monitor, influence and even control our thoughts and actions. In addition, authorized nanobots could be influenced by software viruses and other hacking techniques.

authorized

1)авторизованный

2)измененный

3)разрешенный к использованию

10.By the close of the next century the earth’s technology-creating species will merge with its own computational technology.

to merge

1)поглощать

2)сливаться

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3) возникать

Read the text fast and choose the ending which best sums up the main idea of each paragraph (see below the text). Live Forever

1.When Nellie contacts her friend Winston through the Internet connection in her brain, he is already, biologically speaking, dead. It is his electronic mind double, a virtual reality twin, that greets Nellie in their virtual Parisian cafe. What’s surprising here is not so much the notion that human minds may someday live on inside computers after their bodies have stopped functioning. It’s the fact that this situation is closer at hand than most people realize. Within 30 years, the minds in those computers may just be our own.

2.The history of technology has shown over and over that as the existing mode of technology exhausts its potential, a new one, which is more sophisticated, emerges to keep us moving at an exponential pace1. Between 1910 and 1950, computer technology doubled in power every three years; between 1950 and 1966, it doubled every two years; and it has recently been doubling every year.

3.Of course, achieving the processing power of the human brain is necessary but not sufficient for creating human level intelligence in a machine. But by 2030, we’ll have the means to scan the human brain and re-create its design electronically.

4.Most people don’t realize the revolutionary impact of that. The development of computers that match and vastly ex-

ceed the capabilities of the human brain will be no less important than the evolution of human intelligence itself some thousands of generations ago. Current predictions overlook the imminence2 of a world in which machines become more like humans – programmed to respond appropriately to human emotion, and humans become more like machines – our biological bodies and brains enhanced with billions of “nanobots”, microscopic robots transporting us in and out of virtual reality. We have already started down this road: human and machine have already begun to meld.

5.While the combination of human-level intelligence in a machine and a computer’s inherent superiority in the speed, accuracy and sharing ability of its memory3 will be formidable – this is not an alien invasion. It is emerging from within our human-machine civilization.

6.What does this super technological intelligence mean for the future? There will certainly be grave dangers associated with 21st century technologies. Consider unrestrained nanobot replication. The technology requires billions or trillions of nanobots in order to be useful, and the most cost-effective way to reach such levels is through selfreplication, essentially the same approach used in the biological world, by bacteria, for example. But biological selfreplication gone awry (that is, happening in the wrong way, e.g. cancer) results in biological destruction. In the same way, a defect in the mechanism curtailing nanobot self-replication would endanger all physical entities, biological or otherwise.

7.Other obvious questions are: Who is controlling the nanobots? Who else might the nanobots be talking to? Organizations, including governments, extremist groups or even a clever individual, could put trillions of undetectable nanobots in the water or food supply of an entire population. These “spy” nanobots could then monitor, influence and even control our thoughts and actions. In addition, authorized nanobots could be influenced by software viruses and other hacking techniques. Just as technology poses dangers today, there will be a great many risks in the decades ahead.

8.On a personal level, I am an optimist, and I believe in the creative and constructive applications of this technology. And I regard the freeing of the human mind from its severe physical limitations as a necessary next step in evolution.

9.By the close of the next century, the earth’s technology-creating species will merge with its own computational technology. After all, what is the difference between a human brain enhanced a trillion-fold by nanobot-based implants, and a computer whose design is based on high-resolution scans of the human brain, and then extended a trillion-fold? This may be the existential question that our own children, certainly our grandchildren, will face. But at this point, there’s no turning back. And there’s no slowing down.

/Raymond Kurzweil, Psychology Today, January / February 2000/

Choose the best ending:

1.What is surprising is

a.that Nellie can talk to her dead friend through Internet.

b.that the possibility of human minds living inside computers is so close at hand.

c.the idea that human minds may some day live inside computers.

2.The history of technology has shown that

1по нарастающей

2неизбежность

3разделение памяти

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a.every technology sooner or later exhausts its potential.

b.the power of computer technology is growing very fast.

c.a new, more sophisticated technology eventually takes over the old one.

3.In order to create human level intelligence it is necessary

a.to achieve the processing power of the human brain.

b.to scan the human brain.

c.to scan the human brain and re-create its design electronically.

4.We will inevitably live in the world in which

a.computers will exceed the capabilities of the human brain.

b.machine will become more human.

c.human and machine will become one.

5.Human-machine intelligence is

a.a logical development of human civilization.

b.impressive.

c.an alien invasion.

6.One grave danger associated with super technological intelligence is

a.unlimited nanobot replication.

b.a defect in the mechanism of nanobot replication.

c.a defect in the mechanism of biological self-replication.

7.Another danger consists in

a.uncontrolled and unscrupulous use of nanobots.

b.nanobots being added to water and food.

c.software viruses affecting authorized nanobots.

8.The author believes

a.that caution and reason will prevail.

b.that human-machine blend is a necessary step in evolution.

c.in the constructive application of the new technology.

9.By the close of the next century

a.biological intelligence will remain unchanged.

b.biological species will possess non-biological intelligence.

c.it will be difficult to distinguish between a human brain enhanced by nanobots and a computer based on scans of the human brain extended a billion-fold.

Language Work

Wh-clauses Used for Adding Emphasis

Wh-clauses can be used to emphasise certain information in a sentence. The most common of them are what-clauses; wh-clauses starting with how, why, when, etc are used more rarely.

Look at the examples from the texts of this unit. The information that is emphasised is given in italics.

Note: a different pattern is also possible:

The entire web of life is what is sustained in a sustainable community.

Ex. 18. Read the following passage which describes the thoughts and anxieties of Dr. Larch, the director of St. Cloud’s orphanage, and find the wh-clauses the author uses for emphasis.

What Dr. Larch was looking for was someone to sponsor Homer Wells. Larch wanted someone to send the boy to college, not only in order for Homer to qualify for admission to medical school but also in order to expose Homer to the world outside St. Cloud’s.

How to advertise for such a sponsor was a puzzle to Wilbur Larch. Should he ask his colleague and correspondent at The New England Home for Little Wanderers if he could make use of their large mailing list?

“Where was the society where Homer Wells could fit in?” wondered Wilbur Larch.

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Mainly, Larch knew, he had to get his apprentice away from Melony. Why the two of them remained together was a mystery to Wilbur Larch! They struck the doctor as a tired and loveless married couple. What tensions Melony had managed to conduct between them in the earlier years of their angry courtship seemed absent now.

* * *

Wilbur Larch loved Homer Wells – he had never loved anyone as he loved that boy, and he could not imagine enduring a life at St. Cloud’s without him – but the doctor knew that Homer Wells had to have an authentic encounter with society if the boy was going to have a chosen life at all. What Larch dreamed of was that Homer would venture out in the world and then choose to come back to St. Cloud’s. But who would choose such a thing? Larch wondered.

/from “Cider House Rules” by John Irving/

Ex. 19. Point out the sentences with wh-clauses used for emphasis. Translate into Russian.

1.What he loved about life at Ocean View was how everything was of use and everything was wanted.

2.What is not so well known is that grass roots (the ordinary people) organizations in Africa are taking action to cope with environmental change.

3.What should be done about drug-related problems?

4.What we have been doing for the past century hasn’t worked. It’s time to try something else.

5.What they (market purists) want is a dramatic shift to a policy grounded in private property rights.

6.What really offended Flora was the calm way he came out with this outrageous suggestion.

7.What science is was beautifully summarized by the philosopher Carl Popper.

8.Why consumers refused to buy the product is a subject the report ignored.

9.“Guidance is what the boy needs. Guidance is what he’ll have.”

10.How governments ultimately prepare for global ageing will also depend on how global ageing itself reshapes politics.

11.What is certain is that very many people indeed feel uneasy about their own usage of English.

Ex. 20. Restructure the sentences making the italicized parts emphatic.

Model: Adequate financing, or rather lack of it is our major concern →

What is our major concern is adequate financing, or rather lack of it.

1.It is hard to tell what changes the reform will bring about.

2.The way his speech was delivered was striking.

3.I like his plan because it is practicable and easy to implement.

4.Goleta, California, did have lemon and walnut orchards at that time.

5.The indiscriminate dumping of toxic waste is upsetting.

6.Sane environmentalists never ask people to sacrifice in the name of other creatures.

7.Ozone depletion does cause skin cancer and eye cataracts.

8.The rate at which South Louisiana is losing land to the Gulf of Mexico is alarming.

9.Our Chinese guest was shocked that Americans produce so much waste.

10.It is unbelievable that these bacteria can survive at temperatures as high as 120o C.

11.Academic linguists are increasingly interested in speech as opposed to writing.

Ex. 21. Study the use of the words effective and efficient.

“Training makes you efficient, the right training makes you effective.”

As you clearly see from this sentence it is not easy to draw distinction between the adjectives effective and efficient. The Longman Guide to English Usage defines these words as follows:

Effective emphasizes the high degree of the effect.

Efficient describes people or measures that achieve results with the least fuss and the best use of resources.

1 indicates the meanings in which the words are easily confused

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Ex. 22. Choose the right word from the pair of italicized words.

1.Since the computer system has been installed the administration has become much more (effective / efficient).

2.The boiler is working (ineffectively / inefficiently) and wasting gas.

3.Penicillin can be taken in various forms and is (effective / efficient) against a whole range of infections.

4.The current civil system cannot deal (effectively / efficiently) with mega-terrorism.

5.Charles arranged the whole thing for me with a speed and (effectiveness / efficiency) that was typical of him.

6.There is nothing quite as (effective / efficient) for scaring off wild animals as three women in the back of a Land-

7.The doctor was cheerful and (effective / efficient), which immediately made me feel more relaxed.

8.They made an (ineffective / inefficient) attempt to get the rules changed.

9.There are no doubts about the (effectiveness / efficiency) of a new drug in treating the disease.

10.He criticized the hopelessly (ineffective / inefficient) telephone system.

11.These tablets are (effective / efficient) if taken twice daily for five days.

12.That (effective / efficient) worker gets all the work done in less time than anyone else.

Ex. 23. Fill in the gaps with the right word. Choose between (in)effective, (in)efficient and their derivatives. Use articles where necessary.

1.Under new management, the business worked with more _______, and sales increased immediately.

2.He had ___________ introduction in his presentation.

3.______________ of his speech surprised me; I didn’t expect it to be so useful.

4.As a device of emphasis the exclamation point (восклицательный знак) is of limited value. If used very occasionally, it can be ___________. But like most mechanical means of emphasis, it quickly loses ___________. It is far better to achieve stress by ___________ diction (дикция) and sentence structure.

5.What is so impressive about their society is ___________ of the public services.

6.The tablets work more ___________ if you take a hot drink after them.

7.Buses are ___________ but they pollute the air.

8.He complained that ___________ of the department was leading to poor sales.

9.The advertisements were very simple but remarkably ___________.

10.He was displeased by ___________ of the new workers / machines.

11.The club is large but its ___________ membership is only 23.

Ex. 24. Translate into English using effective / efficient or their derivatives.

Впечатляющее выступление; расторопный помощник; действенные шаги; фактический глава фирмы; умелый и исполнительный секретарь; неудачная попытка; эффективное средство от простуды; деловой и энергичный руководитель; оратор, владеющий аудиторией; неэффективные меры; хорошо организованная транспортная система; безотказно действующие механизмы (machines); безуспешные действия; действующий (о законе); продуктивная дискуссия; плодотворное сотрудничество; тщетное усилие; неумелый работник; непроизводительный труд.

Ex. 25. Give a free translation into English.

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Через 10 лет компьютер уже не будет машиной

Из разговора с писателем-фантастом Еремеем Парновым

–Как вы сами относитесь к будущему?

–Я отношусь с великим интересом. Поскольку меня прежде всего интересуют познание мира, наука. А она каждый день приносит какие-то новые результаты. В свое время я предугадал многие новинки.

–Какие?

–Ну, например, нейтронную бомбу. Световой (фотонный) компьютер. И написал (тогда это вызвало большой шум), что чемпион мира по шахматам обязательно проиграет будущему компьютеру. И точно так же я уверен, что компьютер следующего поколения выйдет таким, что к нему уже нельзя будет относиться только как к машине. К нему надо будет относиться, как к человеку.

–Вот так? И как скоро это произойдет?

–Думаю, что к 2010 году мы получим компьютер, который интеллектуально будет превосходить человеческий мозг.

–На эстраде выступают артисты, легко и быстро перемножающие в уме пятизначные номера. Это превосходство – но ведь не в определяющих вещах.

–Но в компьютер уже сейчас можно заложить всю энциклопедию. Ему уже сейчас доступны метафоры. Хотя это, конечно, будет не человеческий разум.

–А какие открытия последнего времени вам кажутся наиболее важными, способными поменять нашу жизнь?

–Сейчас это, безусловно, открытия в области биологии: клонирование, открытия, связанные с увеличением продолжительности человеческой жизни. Мне кажется, можно говорить о продлении человеческой жизни в 2–3 раза. Ближайший век – век биологии.

–А как вы думаете, в истории каких вещей можно ждать революции?

–Явление сверхпроводимости (superconductivity) может разрешить наши энергетические и транспортные проблемы. Появятся подвешенные (cushioned) поезда. Бытовые приборы необыкновенных свойств: невесомый пылесос например. И разрешатся энергетические проблемы.

–Что-то никто из экспертов в этой области нам ничего подобного по смелости не обещал.

–Но это пока наукой не завоевано.

/Е. Яковлевa, Известия, Январь 2001/

SPEAKING 2

☻ Pairwork Discussion questions:

1.Do you like the world according to E. Parnov? Do you think his predictions are likely to come true?

2.Read the following predictions made in the 1970s and say which, to your knowledge, have come true? Which are likely to come true?

For 1990 – 2000

–A road sign of the future is likely to read “No wheeled vehicles on the highway”. Cars without wheels will float on air, bringing about the passing of the wheel. /Arthur C. Clarke, a writer of science fiction/

–“Slave robots are likely to appear. It also may be possible to devise a way for a disembodied brain to be kept alive so that it can give instruction to a robot which will act as its body”.

–By 2000 it might be possible to inject new knowledge into the brain, and brain-computer links are likely to have been devised. /Desmond King-Hele, an authority on earth satellites/.

–If man has not found ways to deal with environmental problems such as water and air pollution by 1998, it will be too late. “The future is not determined and lies in our own hands.” /Margaret Mead, an anthropologist/

–In the year 2000 people will throw out inexpensive appliances rather than repair them because repair and maintenance costs will have risen so much. /Herman Khan, an economist/

No Dates Given

–“The first intelligent computer will be the last machine man will need to make – and quite possible the last that he’ll be permitted to make.” /Arthur C. Clarke/.

–Science will someday be able to preserve people after death.

–Brain transplants will probably never be possible.

–Science will be able to reprogram gametes1 by changing the composition of the nucleic acids that determine heredity, thus modifying the embryo at its start. /Jean Rostand, a biologist/.

1 a type of cell which joins with another cell, starting the development of a baby or other young creature

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/from the People’s ALMANAC by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace/

☻ Comment on the following:

Invention doesn’t always come up roses. James Watt’s steam engine generated an Industrial Revolution that gave us a democracy of possessions – and overpopulation, acid rain, disappearing forests, tattered ozone layer and Scud missiles.

Medical miracles lengthen our lives and take national welfare provisions to the edge of crisis.

 WRITING 2

Joining sentences

Connecting Words and How to Punctuate Them

I.If you join two independent clauses without connecting words, use a semicolon (точка с запятой).

The environment today is at a critical stage; it has reached a crisis point.

The George Bush climate change plan is not a climate policy; it’s a polluters’ charter.

II. You can join two independent clauses using Coordinating adverbs.

If you use one of these words, place a semicolon before it and a comma after it.

Ecological literacy is critical for the survival of humanity; therefore, it will be the most important component of education at all levels.

Systems thinking is at the forefront of science; however, people still find it difficult to understand.

III. Subordinate conjunctions.

If a subordinate conjunction starts a sentence, there is a comma after the introductory phrase.

After exploring living systems, the scientists saw the world in a new way. Unless we take action right away, marine species will start going extinct. Whether you live downtown or uptown, the air pollution will affect you.

IV. Coordinating conjunctions.

If you join two independent clauses using coordinating conjunctions, place a comma before a conjunction.

Ecological education will be the most important component at all levels, for it will be critical for the survival of humanity.

Note: Comma is not necessary if the conjunction joins two verbs, not two clauses.

People will understand the basic principles of ecology and will be able to embody them.

V. Transitional phrases.

Use them between paragraphs to create a logical flow in your writing; use them within paragraphs, too. They usually begin a sentence and are followed by a comma.

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We must build and nurture sustainable communities. After all, our long-term survival depends on sustainable development.

(“After all” is used in persuading; it suggests “this is a strong argument that you haven’t taken into consideration.”)

The intellectual tradition of systems thinking is about 100 years old. Even so, it has still not taken hold in the mainstream culture of developed countries in the West. (even so = despite this)

Ex. 26. Analyse the sentences and put the right punctuation mark where necessary.

1.Mars probably had an atmosphere[] and the surface bears witness to the ancient, massive volcanoes. But at some point our neighbouring planet lost an atmosphere[] and became an icy desert.

2.Mars probably had an atmosphere[] at some point it lost it[] and became an icy desert.

3.Mars probably had an atmosphere[] however[] at some point it lost it and became an icy desert.

4.If life exists on Mars[] it is most likely microscopic.

5.Life is most likely microscopic[] even if it exists on Mars.

6.As human values are not natural laws[] they can change.

7.However[] human values can change[] they are not natural laws.

8.After all[] these numbers are projections, not predictions. But this is exactly why we must focus on these projections[] for they call attention to the paramount questions.

9.The U.S. vigorous engagement to control its own titanic greenhouse output would help get the Kyoto protocol enacted[] instead[] the U.S. has withdrawn from the protocol altogether.

10.Costa Rica and other countries saw the profit they would make from cattle farming[] so they began to cut down their rainforests.

Ex. 27. Analyse the sentences and punctuate them.

1.Systems theory entails a new way of seeing the world it also entails a new way of thinking.

2.Ecosystems are highly nonlinear they don’t maximize their variables but optimize them.

3.Things go in circles they don’t go in straight lines.

4.The point is to be sustainable it’s not quantity that counts, but quality.

5.You can’t take a photograph of the web of life it is a network of functional, nonmaterial relationships.

6.An ecosystem generates no waste the waste of one species is the food of another.

7.After all there is but one race – humanity.

8.Few countries have been able to formulate adequate strategies to control the volume of the waste produced. Moreover there are precious few methods of effective waste disposal and each has its own drawbacks.

9.The problem doesn’t go away it merely relocates.

10.Methane in the atmosphere breaks down in about 10 years (compared to over 100 years for carbon dioxide) so it is a relatively minor environmental problem.

11.The human waste in Calcutta, India, is channeled into the lakes around the city it fertilizers the growth of aquatic plants the fish feed on these plants. The fish that feed on them is an important source of food for the population of Calcutta.

12.Unfortunately the Clinton administration never demonstrated a sustained commitment to foreign policy. As a result Clinton failed to define a new internationalism for the United Stated thus letting historic opportunities slip away.

Ex. 28. Punctuate the sentences in the passages below.

I. Climate change is one of the most serious issues facing our planet. Unless we take action to combat global warming [] it could cause dramatic changes in the weather. In fact [] it is likely to bring famine, flooding and disease on a global scale. For example [] many heavily populated regions, such as the Nile delta, the Netherlands and Indonesia, would be permanently flooded. Moreover [] some islands, such as the Maldives in the Pacific, might disappear completely.

II. How can we combat global warming? The most important way is to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by industry and motor vehicles. Incidentally [] the US is responsible for one quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, from 4 per cent of the world population. They must cut massively on them [] however [] the changes would be expensive and inconvenient to implement.

III. However[] systems theory tells us that the essence of life doesn’t lie in the molecules[] but in the patterns and processes in which these molecules are involved. The basic patterns of life are configurations of relationships between

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biological processes[] and these relationships and processes are nonmaterial. They involve matter[] of course[] but a relationship is something nonmaterial[] a process is something nonmaterial.

Ex. 29. Read the texts and punctuate them.

I. War devastates any country but its impact is the most dramatic in developing countries. Children become orphans healthy young men and women become cripples food and water supplies are cut off houses schools and hospitals are destroyed communication systems fail.

II. While the longevity revolution represents a miraculous triumph of modern medicine and the extra years of life will surely be treasured by the elderly and their families pension plans and other retirement benefit programs were not designed to provide these billions of extra years of payouts.

As life spans increase fewer babies are being born.

Unless their fertility rates rebound the total populations of Western Europe and Japan will shrink to about one-half of their current size before the end of the 21st century.

Global aging and attendant labour shortages will therefore ensure that immigration remains a major issue in developed countries for decades to come. Culture wars could erupt in Europe over the balkanization of language and religion electorates could divide along ethnic lines and émigré leaders could influence foreign policy.

The forecasts are nightmarish though there are a few exceptions. In Australia, total public retirement costs are expected to rise only slightly and they may even decline in Britain and Ireland. This fiscal good fortune is not due to any special demographic trend but to timely policy reforms.

/from “Gray Dawn: The Global Aging Crisis” by Peter Peterson/

Ex. 30. Write a paragraph on what can be done locally about global environmental problems. Use compound sentences and transitional phrases. Mind the punctuation.

WRITING AN ESSAY – REVISION

Ex. 31. Study the following list and add the missing information. (for reference use part I Writing 2 and part II Writing 1).

Points to remember

1.Make a list of the points for and against before you start to write

2.Never write an argument for or against without …………………...

3.Start each paragraph with a key sentence which …………………...

4.Do not use short forms or strong personal expressions in ………………………..essays. I think or I believe should only be used in the final paragraph where you can give your opinion.

5.Make use of suitable connectives:

To introduce points: Firstly/………./…………; One advantage of... is / One disadvantage of ...

is,……………………………. etc.

To add more points: Secondly…………., ……….,a further advantage of... is, etc. To make contrasting points: However /………./…………/………../ Conversely, etc. To conclude: To sum up, /…………/…………/ ………….

To express opinion: In my opinion, I got a strong impression, …………………………

To present the other side of the argument: Contrary to what most people believe, ………………………..

Which phrases are suitable only in an essay expressing opinion?

Ex. 32. Read the following paragraphs and decide which can serve as introduction or conclusion to the topics in ex. 33.

I. The daily avalanche of technological innovations that make our lives easier and at the same time more complicated puts most people in a vexed mood – like the depressive who gets time out from his clinic and goes to the beach for a few days. He sends his psychiatrist a postcard. The message he writes might well have come from any of us, a reflection of technology’s effect on our lives: “Having a wonderful time. Why?”

II. If we didn’t take a chance at all, then there could be no new technologies of any kind, or any applied science; and that, taken all in all, would be a bad thing. But we should always bear in mind how vast is the scope of our ignorance; that there is always a chance of disaster that may be quite different in kind from anything can yet be conceived, and far bigger.

III. We are entering a worrying new world where some people will be cloned while others will be rendered immortal, and yet others will have their intelligences and appearances changed. Should society discourage scientists from proceeding with their research?

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IV. The possible benefits of scientific research are huge. Trying to block research for ethical or other reasons can deprive the mankind of long-awaited cures for lethal diseases. As long as we can reserve the scientists their freedom but allow them no power, then we should extract the maximum benefits with the minimum of risks.

Ex. 33. Write an essay (200 words) on one of these topics. Decide first which is argumentative and which is expressing opinion.

1.Technological innovations: pros and cons.

2.The world would be a better place to live in if scientific and technological endeavour slowed down.

3.Should scientific research be discouraged for ethical reasons?

Developing Communicative Skills: oral and written presentation

☻ Project work

Environmental Degradation that Kills People

1.Write a survey report “Environmental pollution and human health”.

2.Make a presentation “The Endangered Planet”.

Stage 1. Team work (3-4 students).

1.brainstorm: analyse the data on p. 636-637 (AppendixIV). Concentrate on :

1)causes of pollution-related illnesses and deaths

2)geography of environmental problems

Stage 2. Individual work.

1.write an account of the data

2.write an introduction and a conclusion.

Stage 3. Team work.

1.Compare the introductions, accounts (main body) and conclusions written by the team members

2.Decide on the final “product” (in case of disagreement the team leader has the final say)

Stage 4. Individual work

Student 1: writes the final version of the survey “Environmental pollution and human health”

Student 2: prepares an oral presentation “The Endangered Planet-I” (for useful hints see p. 200-203, p. 394-396). Make use of the Fact File “Portrait of a Beleaguered Planet” on p. 637 and other sources of information.

Student 3/4: prepare(s) an oral presentation “The Endangered Planet-II” (for useful hints see p. 200-203, p. 394-396). Make use of the Fact File “The Aral: a Sea of Misery” on p. 637 or other sources of information.

Stage 5. Presentations in class. A contest for the best presenter.

1.Listening, making notes in assessment sheets.

2.Asking and answering questions

3.Discussion time: choosing the winner.

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