Task 8. VARIOUS FUNCTIONS OF INFINITIVE.
INFINITIVE CONSTRACTION.
Task 8.1. Identify the infinitives and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. To make a choice between these two alternatives is not an easy task. 2. To be on the safe side, take special care of the accuracy of the calculation. 3. To foresee what the future will be like requires analysis of the past experience. 4. To tell the truth, the results have no direct bearing on the problem under investigation. 5. To argue about it is not fruitful at the moment. 6. To establish cause-effect relationship between smoking and some diseases, extensive research is being carried on at several research centres. 7. To sum up, synthetic problems are studied for the possibilities which they hold for practical appUcations. 8. To put it another way, the experimental procedure must suit the purpose of the experiment. 9. To be able to forecast the future, we must begin by a thorough analysis of the past course of events.
Task 8.2. Give English equivalents of the italicized parts of the sentences.
1. Для того чтобы соответствовать цели эксперимента, метод должен быть прост. 2. Установить причинно-следственные отношения часто означает решить проблему. 3. Предвидеть будущее невозможно без анализа прошлого. 4. Говоря по правде, все ожидали совершенно других результатов. 5. Сделать выбор часто бывает самым трудным. 6. Чтобы не рисковать, проверьте аппаратуру перед экспериментом ещё раз.
Task 8.3. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The analysis has been extended (so as) to take into consideration the unavoidable by-eflfects. 2. Two hydrogen atoms combine to form a hydrogen molecule. 3. Under this assumption the equation is reduced to yield a classical relation. 4. We do not expect to solve all these problems by the turn of the century. 5. The new substance readily reacts with alkali metals to give rise to alloys with predetermined characteristics. 6. At this stage a new theory was advanced to produce a revolutionary change in our understanding of the process.
Task 8.4. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. They claim to have accounted for the effect observed. 2. He admits to have made a similar mistake in his earlier publication. 3. He was sorry to have occupied himself with the problem for so long, and not to have given it up earlier. 4. They admit to have been informed of this possibilily before the experiment. 5. Mark Twain allegedly remarked once that a classic is something which nobody wants to read but everybody wants to have read. 6. To write with precision, it is necessary to have thought logically first.
Task 8.5. Identify the structure and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The aim was to discuss the impact of scitific activity on technology. 2. If we are to achieve the aim we must confine our attention to one point only. 3. Perhaps the greatest problem at present is to get some understanding of the remarkable phenomenon o memory. 4. The original idea was to take advantage of the high temperature of the process. 5. Glass which is to be used for lenses must be almost colourless. 6. The train is to reach its destination in 52 hours. 7. The joint programme of Soviet and foreign scientists on space research is to be discussed at the next COSPAR conference. 8. Many terrigenous bacteria which have become adapted to salt water are to be found close inshore.
Task 8.6. Give English equivalents of the italicized part of the sentences.
1. Если мы хотим добиться цели, мы должны примять во внимание все источники ошибок. 2. Цель этой книги - дать обзор последних достижений в этой области исследования. 3. Наша задача заключается в том, чтобы обеспечить условия, наиболее благоприятные для работы. 4. Самое важное - это сосредоточить внимание на одном вопросе. 5. Нам предстоит подкрепить эту интерпретацию новыми экспериментальными данными. 6. Задача семинарских обсуждений заключается в том, чтобы предлагать новые эксперименты.
Task 8.7. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The consequences might be so disastrous as to exceed anything imaginable. 2. His story of the past is too personal to have any bearing on other people's experience. 3. The advantages of such an approach are evident enough to be taken for granted. 4. The experiment produced enough evidence to support the interpretation suggested. 5. The failure of the project was such as to discourage further efforts for many a year. 6. The information available was not sufficient to contribute to the clarification of the problem. 7. The assumption is reasonable enough to be valid.
Task 8.8. Translate into English.
1. Предположение было слишком неожиданным, чтобы его можно было принять без доказательств. 2. Идеи слишком опережают свое время, чтобы их можно было сразу же принять. 3. Аргументы представляются достаточно разумными, чтоб изменить ход обсуждения. 4. Данных было недостаточно, чтобы внести ясность в эту проблему. 5. Это предложение не так важно, чтобы его рассматривать на сегодняшнем заседании.
Task 8.9. Distinguish indefinite and perfect infinitives. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. The history of the last 30 years shows him to have done very well. 2. We know him to have established a school of his own. 3. We do not expect him to throw away an opportunity like this. 4. We know him to have objected to this style of research on previous occasions. 5. They considered all water on the surface of this planet to have been liberated by volcanic action.
Task 8.10. Distinguish active and passive infinitives. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. This allowed him to follow the rules. This allowed the rules to be followed. 2. This information enabled the scientist to make a forecast for the next few years. This information enabled forecasts for the next few years to be made. 3. This analysis permitted them to tackle the problem directly. This analysis permitted the problem to be tackled directly.
Task 8.11. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. What enabled the scientist to do so well with this disastrous situation? 2. They could not tolerate other people taking up the problem which they had been investigating for so long. 3. At that time the project, later to be taken over by another laboratory, was still in progress. 4. After a long discussion and argument they still could not agree as to what might be the best way to provide an atmosphere necessary for research. 5. He was always the first to take up a complicated problem and the last to give it up. 6. It is highly desirable to get these values checked before another series of experiments. 7. Instead of having astronomers watch the stars go around each other, why can we not take a ball of lead and a marble and watch the marble go toward the ball of lead? 8. The first section of each article will be devoted to a short summary of the history of the problem, to be followed by a review of the modern advance. 9. Philosophy is a distinct science with its own clearly defined subject matter to be studied in the same specific way as that of any other science. 10. On assuming the body with the mass M to be acled upon by force F, let us calculate acceleration. 11. Later we find Shakespeare using this style in prose dialogue; sometimes merely in caricature, but at other times quite seriously. 12. An important point to he dealt with in the next chapter is different techniques of data-processing. 13. It is sometimes very difficult to get people to agree upon most obvious things, although the things to be agreed upon may be generally accepted as urgent. 14. One can hardly expect a true scientist to keep within the limits of one narrow long-established field, leaving most fascinating problems to be found on the frontiers, out of the scope of his inquiry. 15. Good management means getting things done rather than doing things. 16. This amounts to assuming the rate of our knowledge growth to depend on the amount of knowledge already accumulated. 17. It is time to pause at this stage of the story to have the reader realize its significance for the evolution of physical thinking. 18. At that time the scientist reported to have observed an unusual luminescence during his experiments with cathode tubes.
Task 8.12. Translate the following into English.
1. Большинство ученых ожидает, что в ближайшие годы молекулярная биология сделает новые успехи. 2. Мы не смогли заставить его согласиться на изменение условий эксперимента. 3. Ваш руководитель хочет, чтобы вы сосредоточили свое внимание на одной задаче. 4. Я не ожидаю, что он извлечет из этого урок. 5. Он всегда первый берется за такие проблемы. 6. Желательно, чтобы эти измерения были проверены до начала новой серии опытов. 7. Мы часто видим, как биологи заимствуют методы не только у физиков, но и у химиков. 8. Мне трудно об этом спорить. 2. Им важно подкрепить теорию дополнительными экспериментальными данными. 3. Физикам важно поддерживать контакт с биологами. 4. Ребенку необходимо учиться на собственном опыте. 5. Нам часто трудно угадать, каким будет будущее. 6. Естественно, что на такой анализ затрачивается около года. 7. Необходимо, чтобы реакция была ускорена. 8. Чтобы две молекулы вступили в реакцию, они должны столкнуться.
Task 8.13. Identify the structures and give the Russian equivalents.
1. Science is known to affect the lives of people. 2. Molecular biology is expected to dominate other sciences. 3. The results of these experiments are found to overlap. 4. The data are assumed to correlate with the present theory. 5. Some people seem to be disappointed in science. 6. He happens to work at the same problem. 7. The work is likely to contribute to the solution of the problem. 8. He is sure to argue about it. 9. He is said to have graduated from Oxford University. He is said to avoid all sorts of arguments. 10. They seem to have taken advantage of the favorable conditions. He seems to mention the problem in the last chapter of his book. 11. He appeared to have lost interest in physics altogether. The story may appear to be oversimplified. 12. He is known to have established a school of his own. This scientist is known to be keeping in touch with the latest developments in his field of research. 13. He does not appear to be concerned with the problem. 14. He was not expected to spoil the sample. 15. The human body is not likely to tolerate such temperature. 16. He is not believed to represent the majority. 17. The idea does not seem to be remarkably advanced. 18. The discussion is not claimed to cover the whole range of present-day research.
Task 8.14. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. On such occasions the scientist was looked upon as representing the scientific community. 2. From this point of view the study can be regarded as contributing to fundamental knowledge. 3. Practically, the problem can be considered as given up. 4. The theory was counted upon as correlating with all the existing data. 5. He was deeply disappointed with the final results which turned out to be not what he had expected. 6. Some scientists occupy themselves primarily with problems likely to have direct bearing on the lives of people. 7. The data found to correlate with more than one interpretation, they attempted to approach the problem from a different viewpoint. 8. The scientist reported to have spent five years on the problem finally gave it up. 9. The danger of oversimplifying the problem seeming (to be) quite real, they changed the line of their attack. 10. By that time younger people thought to be brilliant physicists had left the laboratory.
Task 8.15. Identify the structures and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. For scientific development to be of benefit for man, scientists must occupy themselves with problems that have direct bearing on our lives. 2. Molecular biologists are known to borrow their techniques from other sciences, mainly from physics. 3. How the application of his discovery will affect man is sometimes rather hard for the scientist to foresee. 4. The author devoted a special chapter of his book to what may be expected to dominate the science scene in the near future. 5. The method of inductive reasoning known to be established by Bacon leads from observation to general laws. 6. His idea was fruitful enough for others to take it up and develop it further. 7. For an original idea to be a product of one man's genius is quite natural. But for an idea to be transformed into a product, many people's effort is required. 8. Some people say that biology rather than physics is likely to be the central ground of scientific advance during the remainder of our century. 9. There appear no reasons for anybody to object to this style of research.
Task 9. Read the text to yourself and be ready for a comprehension check-up.
To speculate about the future is one of the most basic qualities of man. It involves two aspects: one is to forecast what the future development will be and the other is to determine in what approximate period of time it is going to take place. To make such a prognosis means to learn from the past experience and to extrapolate the knowledge into the future. Recently, however, the rate of change has been so great as to make it difficult to learn from experience, at least as far as the time factor is concerned. To take but one example, a prediction of man's possible landing on the Moon around the turn of the century was made as late as 1961, only 8 years before the actual event! So, to be on the safe side, we had better leave time to take care of itself, and concentrate our attention on what the future may be like. There is yet another problem involved: are we to accept submissively any possible course of events, or are we to work for a future most suited for most people? The choice is to be made, at different levels, by every individual and by every society.
What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry or any other science? What are their special methods of thinking and acting? What qualities do we usually expect them to possess? To begin with, we expect a successful scientist to be full of curiosity - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually directs his attention towards problems which have no satisfactory explanation, and his curiosity makes him look for the underlying relationships even if the data to be analysed are not apparently interrelated. He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective. Furthermore, he is not only critical of the work of others, but also of his own, since he knows man to be the least reliable of scienrific instruments.
And to conclude, he is to be highly imaginative since he often looks for data which are not only complex, but also incomplete.
Task 9.1. Check up for comprehension.
1. What are the two aspects of speculation about the future? 2. What are the two steps of any prognosis? 3. Why has it been so difficult recently to make any predictions concerning the future development? 4. What example is cited to illustrate the difficulty? 5. Does the author make any suggestions concerning this difficulty? Why does he suggest this? 6. What dilemma are we faced with and what choice is to be made by every individual and every society? 7. What are Russian equivalents of: before the actual event, leave time to take care of itself, what the future may be like? 8. What qualities do we expect to find in a successful scientist? 9. Why do we say that a successful scientist is full of curiosity? 10. Why is it difficult to see the underlying relationships? 11. Why is he critical of his own work? 12. Why is it necessary for him to be highly imaginative? 13. Give a Russian equivalent of the title and of the data analysed and the data to be analysed.
Task 10. Read the text.