Кафедра белорусского и иностранных языков

Кафедра белорусского и иностранных языков - student2.ru

АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК

ПРАКТИКУМ

По одноименному курсу для магистрантов, соискателей и аспирантов

Электронный аналог печатного издания

Гомель 2006

УДК 800(075.8)

ББК 81.2Англ.я73

А74

Рекомендовано к изданию научно-методическим советом энергетического факультета ГГТУ им. П. О. Сухого

Авторы-составители: С. И. Баскакова, Л. В. Гусарова

Рецензент: зав. каф. бел. и иностр. яз. УО «Белорусский торгово-экономический университет потребительской кооперации» Т. А. Дубовцова

Английскийязык:практикум по одноим.курсу для магистрантов,соиск.и аспи-А74 рантов / авт.-сост.: С. И. Баскакова, Л. В. Гусарова. – Гомель : ГГТУ им. П. О. Сухого, 2006. – 41 с. – Систем. требования: PC не ниже Intel Celeron 300 МГц ; 32 Mb RAM ; свободное место на HDD 16 Mb ; Windows 98 и выше ; Adobe Acrobat Reader. – Режим

доступа: http://gstu.local/lib. – Загл. с титул. экрана. ISBN 985-420-452-9.

Практикум формирует навыки монологической и диалогической речи по многоплановой теме «Моя научная работа» и ряду других тем, предусмотренных программой кандидатского ми-нимума по иностранным языкам.

Предназначен для работы в группах магистрантов, соискателей и аспирантов при подго-товке к сдаче экзамена кандидатского минимума по английскому зыку.

УДК 800(075.8)

ББК 81.2Англ.я73

ISBN 985-420-452-9 © Баскакова С. И., Гусарова Л. В., составление,

государственный технический университет

имени П. О. Сухого», 2006

UNIT I. MY HIGHER DEGREE COURSE

Vocabulary

Postgraduate student – аспирант Graduate student (Am) – аспирант Undergraduate student – магистрант Trainee probationer – стажер Doctoral candidate – соискатель Doctor of Philosophy – кандидат наук Reader / Principal lecturer – доцент Senior lecturer – доцент

Associate professor (Am) – доцент Full professor (Am) – доцент Supervisor / Adviser – руководитель

Assistant lесturer – ассистент, младший преподаватель Instructor (Am) – ассистент, младший преподаватель Master thesis – кандидатская диссертация

Academic / Teaching staff – преподавательский со-

став

Faculty (Am) – преподавательский состав

Lecturer / Senior instructor – старший преподаватель Assistant professor (Am) – старший преподаватель Professor – профессор

Full professor (Am) – профессор

Emeritus professor (Am) – почетный профессор Vice rector / Chancellor / Prorector – проректор

Prorector for academic affairs – проректор по учебной работе

Prorector for research – проректор по научной работе

To prepare / Write a thesis – написать диссертацию

I'm planning to finish writing the thesis by the end of the next year.

To defend / prove / maintain a thesis – защитить диссертацию

If a thesis meets necessary requirements it will be proved at Academic Counsil.

To do smth with a high level of technical skill – делать что-либо профес-

сионально

The research will be conducted with a high level of technical skill.

To employ most suitable techniques – использовать соответствующие методы

They employ most suitable techniques and procedures of investigation.

To take qualifying exams – сдавать кандидатские экзаме-ны

Core subjects of the field – основные предметы данной области знаний

The postgraduate students will take qualifying exams in the core subjects.

To prepare research publications (articles and papers) – готовить научные публикации

Written reports – письменные доклады

Do you prepare research publications and written reports on the work carried out?

To prepare articles and papers on matters relevant to the investigation –

готовить статьи и доклады по теме диссертации

То select a promising topic – выбрать перспективную тему

The supervisor helps them to select a promising topic.

To meet smb. at regular intervals – регулярно встречаться с кем-либо То discuss the progress of work – обсуждать ход работы

You’ll meet your supervisor at regular intervals to discuss the progress of your work.

To produce significant results – дать значительные результаты

Will you produce significant results in the appointed period of time?

To review the major sections of the thesis – просматривать (читать) ос-

новные разделы диссертации

То make critical comments – делать критические замечания.

The supervisor will review the major sections of your thesis and make critical comments on each draft of the thesis.

ECONOMICS

I’m a post-graduate (undergraduate student, doctoral candidate) of the Sukhoi Gomel State Technical University. I don’t only study but also work as a teacher (instructor, assistant, trainee) at the Economics and Hu-manities Department of our University. I have not so many working hours, but I get great experience. I combine practical work with a scientific re-search. My post graduate course will last three years during which time I have to carry out an investigation and prepare a thesis on it. My higher de-gree thesis should show that the research has been conducted with a high level of technical skill. I should employ the most suitable techniques. The procedures should be of a high academic standard. I hope my work (thesis) to be an original contribution to knowledge and the results of it should be capable of practical application.

Now I attend seminars and colloquiums. At the end of the year I’m going to take qualifying exams in the core subjects of my field, philosophy

and foreign language. My core subject is Economics and industrial man-agement.

I’m doing research in the field of economics. It’s a great science. No wonder that people are interested in weather, health and economics. People have been interested in economics since earliest times. Economics is the social science concerned with the analysis of commercial activities and with how goods and services are produced. Every nation must organize the production and distribution of goods and services wanted by its citizens. To do this a nation’s economic system must solve four basic problems:

1. What shall be produced?

2. How shall goods and services be produced?

3. Who shall get goods and services?

4. How fast shall the economy grow?

I’m greatly interested in economics and I got interested in it when a student. Economists use scientific methods to study economic problems. Even a mathematical statement was worked out by Leon Wolras to show how each part ot economy is related to all the other parts.

Research today generally centers on understanding the relationship between various parts of the economy. Economists base their findings on observation, on case studies. Many economists emphasise the use of mathematics and statistics in testing economic theories. Their method is known as econometrics. The methods of economic analysis have been ap-plied to many problems such as education, family life, the organization of government. This method may be useful when resources available to achieve an objective are limited.

My work is primarily of practical importance. I work in close coop-eration with my colleagues. We also closely collaborate with the research-ers of other universities of our Republic and some universities of the CIS.

I work under the supervision of my adviser, Ph.D. associate profes-sor Petrov P.P. I meet him at regular intervals to discuss the progress of my work and the obtained data and get his advice in solving problems. I consult him when I encounter difficulties in my research.

He helped me to select a promising topic likely to produce signifi-cant results in the appointed period of time. I hope he will review the ma-jor sections of my thesis when it is being written. Now I’m through with the introduction and some theoretical parts of my thesis.

It’s with my supervisor’s assistance that I prepare articles and papers. I prepare research publications and written reports on the work carried out

and publish my articles in special magazines and in the «Herald of the Sukhoi Technical University».

I take part in various scientific conferences and willingly participate in scientific discussions and debates. I’m planning to finish writing my thesis by the end of the next year and prove it in the Scientific Council of… I hope to get the scientific degree of a Ph.D. in the field of…

ENGINEERING

Let me introduce myself. My name is Alex Mironov. Last year I graduated (with honours) from the Gomel State Technical University named after Pavel Sukhoi. My major is Engineering. I specialized in indus-trial electronics. My university academic program included a great numberof humanities, exact sciences and special courses. When studying at the University I did my best to acquire fundamental knowledge of my special-ity and to become a highly professional engineer. Higher education has the task to ensure the training of specialists who should combine fundamental knowledge with high professional skills. I am sure that to have high pro-fessional skills is very important for all graduates. The course of study at the University is concluded by the presentation of a diploma project, which is normally a result of independent research.

Being a student I was really interested in doing research. That is why I made reports at the annual students’ scientific conferences and was en-gaged in gathering and analyzing experimental data for my future research work.

After the graduation I chose an academic career. I think that to con-tribute to the improvement of training engineers is a very challenging and responsible job. I work at the Industrial Electronics Department and enjoy every minute of my work. Our department is headed by the associate pro-fessor Bronislav Verigo. The department I work at is (not) very large. It’s 25 staff members deliver lectures, give lab works and practical classes in anumber of special subjects for the full- and part-time students. The courses offered by our department are: microprocessors, electronic circuits, semi-conductor materials and others. The main scientific trend of our depart-ment is the development of methods and means of automation of produc-tion processes. The results of scientific research are given in the mono-graphs, published works and author certificates for inventions. The latest developments are regularly presented in the reports made at the University, national and international scientific gatherings.

I combine academic activity with doing research. Everybody knows that teaching demands life-long education. I believe that to be a highly qualified teacher is impossible without doing research and having a higher degree. After the graduation I applied for a post-graduate / master course, passed my entrance exams successfully and was admitted. The post-graduate / master course is intended to prepare persons with higher educa-tion for research and faculty posts in institutions. My post-graduate / mas-ter course will last three years / one year. It is necessary for my furtherprofessional development. Now I am a post-graduate master / research student and undertake a program of study and research under the supervi-sion of a staff member who holds a senior doctorate. S/he assists me in many ways. I meet my scientific adviser at regular intervals to discuss the progress of my work. I often consult him / her when I encounter difficul-ties in my research. The theme of my research selected with my supervi-sor’s help is very promising and may produce significant results in the ap-pointed period of time.

While pursuing my programme I attend lectures, practical classes and seminars to prepare for qualifying exams in the core subjects of my field, philosophy and English. The knowledge of English will certainly help me in my scientific research since I need worldwide experience in my special field of science.

I am at the very beginning of my investigation. I have been working at the chosen problem for two years. The main stages of my investigation are: problem formulation, collecting, assessment and analyzing data and relevant information. The techniques I use in my research are as follows: comparison, analysis, synthesis, analogy and simulation. My higher degree thesis should demonstrate that the research has been conducted with a high level of technical skill and that I have employed the most suitable proce-dures and techniques. Being rather an experimentator than a theoretician I make use of various measuring and registering devices. The facilities I need for doing my research include PC with a data base analyzing system.

I regularly prepare research publications on matters relevant to my investigation and written reports on the work carried out. I also take part in various scientific conferences and do my best to submit the major sections of my thesis in time. I hope the thesis will meet necessary requirements and will be accepted by the Academic Council which will take the decision to award me the higher degree.

Questions

1. What are you?

2. Where do you work?

3. What is your special subject?

4. What field of knowledge are you doing research in?

5. Have you been working at the problem long?

6. Are you a theoretician or experimentalist?

7. Who do you collaborate with?

8. Who is the team you work in headed by?

9. Who is your personal supervisor?

10. When do you consult your scientific adviser?

11. What are the methods used in your work?

12. What do you investigate?

13. How many scientific papers have you published?

14. Do you take part in the work of scientific conferences?

15. Where and when are you going to get your higher degree?

NOTES

staff member: one of those working in an establishment, institution,organization;

to hold a senior doctorate: to hold a scientific degree which corre-sponds to the degree of Doctor of Science. NB! doctorate corresponds to the degree of Candidate of Science;

technical skill: practical knowledge and ability to conduct an inves-tigation;

the most suitable techniques: methods which are best for some par-ticular investigation;

procedure: scientifically tested order of doing things while carryingout an experiment;

to conduct research: to investigate something systematically in or-der to discover and interpret new knowledge;

written report: a written account of one’s achievements;

to prepare a paper: to prepare a scientific contribution to be read toa learned society or to be published;

Exercises

I think

If you want my opinion

1. One lover of statistics estimated the number of scholars that lived on earth from the days of Romulus till our time. He found out that 90 per cent of them are our contemporaries.

2. A century ago the number of research workers was in the thou-sands; today there are millions. It seems likely that in the third millenium every tenth inhabitant of the globe will be engaged in science.

3. Do you know how many scientific journals are published today? Fifty thousand! If their publication was spread out evenly you would be re-ceiving a new journal every ten minutes.

1.4.2. Agreement, disagreement, comment. Respond to the fol-lowing. You may use:

In addition

It should also be mentioned

1. High-speed electronic data machines are the researcher’s dream.

2. It is believed that science is an attitude, not a set of facts.

3. Scientific research has meaning only if it is done to reveal some-thing unknown or vague.

1.4.3. Explanation, comment. Respond to the following. You may use:

In other words

1. One must, obviously, reject the idea of knowing everything about all sciences: specialization has become inevitable.

2. When the natural sciences are highly developed the applied sci-ences – engineering, medicine, agronomy, etc., – are in advantageous con-ditions.

3. It is not easy to evaluate the work of a researcher in the sphere of natural sciences. It is much simpler to assess the work of an engineer.

1.4.4. Interpret the following. You may find the following phrases useful:

Additional material

Dialogue

Q: What do you do after receiving your bachelor’s degree?

A: With a bachelor’s degree you can apply to a graduate school and start working towards a master’s degree. If you have a bachelor’s degree you can also go to a professional school.

Q: What is a professional school?

A: Law and medical school are considered professional schools. If you go to a medical school it’s a four year program, basic program, and then you usually have internship. In the end you get a M.D., doctor of Medicine degree. Medical schools are run by the American Medical Asso-ciation, A.M.A. and law schools by the American Bar Association, A.B.A. It’s a three yeas program and you get a J.D., Juris Doctor degree.

Q: And if you go to a graduate school, how many years does it take to get a master’s and a doctorate?

A: I think it depends on the program and every program is different. Usually a master’s is a couple of years and a doctorate is another two or three years. Usually Ph.D. and master’s (degree) program are in the same place and you simply continue. The master’s degree is not very important, it’s a step on the way to get a Ph.D. You simply stay on the same program

and continue. But you can change. You can get a master’s degree in one place and then change schools and get a Ph.D. degree in another one.

Q: What do you know about honorary degrees?

A: I don’t know much about that. But I do know that my college gives honorary degrees. For example at the graduation ceremony when I got my bachelor’s degree they awarded some very accomplished elderly man a Doctor of letters degree. It’s an honorary degree and it means that the institution recognizes that person.

Q: What is the most important division at an American university? A: It’s a department. But you don’t belong to a department, you’re a

student and have a major. Your major is in one department and usually your advisor is also in that department. So the department requires certain courses. In order to major you have to do these certain courses. Perhaps a quarter or a half of your courses are in the direction of your major depart-ment.

Q: Could you name the positions which are occupied by the univer-sity teachers?

А: О.К. I’ll start with the bottom. A private institution can hire any-one. The lowest rank is instructor. Actually he teaches anything they need. I think the assistant professor is the next highest. Usually when you hire an assistant professor that’s someone who is likely to be on a tenure track.

That’s a lower rank and it’s assumed you eventually would achieve a higher rank. They do anything, they do whatever the department decides. An assistant professor usually has a master’s degree. Now when there are so few university jobs they are usually people who have almost a Ph.D., people who are writing their dissertations or are close to a Ph.D. and it’s assumed they will finish their Ph.D. They couldn’t move up until you get your Ph.D. You really have to have it before you get an associate professor or full professor.

Q: What is a tenure position?

A: Each department has some tenure positions which are life-time positions. It’s an academic protection. You can’t fire that person. An asso-ciate professor who after a number of years has done his Ph.D. is consid-ered for tenure. Say, there are four tenure positions and someone is retired and if you’re considered qualified enough you get tenure. It is a very long and difficult process because the college or university is committing itself to you, to that person. And if you don’t get tenure, and you’re turned down, you usually quit and go to another university.

Q: It is important not only what position you have but also where you work?

A: That’s right. Each organization, basically, runs its own show. A major university, Berkeley, for example has its own research organizations connected with the university. If you’re associated with the university you may have an academic title or simply be a part of the research organization at Berkeley. I think in a lot of areas you’re considered important and ac-complished if you’re a senior associate at Berkeley research institute. Be-cause Berkeley is very important. Because Berkeley is a big name. Every field has its big names.

Text

Science is not a licensed profession, and to be counted as a scientist one need not be a Doctor of Philosophy ... But a scientist without a Ph.D. (or a medical degree) is like a lay brother in a Cistercian monastery. Gen-erally he has to labor in the fields while others sing in the choir. If he goes into academic life, he can hope to become a professor only at the kind of college or university where faculty members are given neither time nor fa-cilities for research … A young scientist with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree will probably have to spend his time working on problems, or prices of problems, that are assigned to him by other people and that are of more practical than scientific interest. Wherever he works, the prospects are slight that he will be given much autonomy and freedom. Having a Ph.D. or its equivalent – a medical degree plus post – graduate training in research – has become in fact, if not in law, a requirement for full citizen ship in the American scientific community.

To be successful as a scientist, it is important not only to have earned it at the right place. From the standpoint of rightness, American universi-ties may be divided into three groups. The first is made up of those institu-tions to which the term «leading» may appropriately be applied. They in-clude Chicago, Cal Tech, the University of California at Berkeley, Colum-bia, Harvard, Illinois, M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Michigan, Princeton, Stanford, Wisconsin, Yale, and perhaps two or three others. These are the universities whose professors get the biggest research grants, publish most scientific papers, serve in the most important govern-ment committees, win most of the scientific prizes, and are most likely to be acknowledge as leaders in their fields ... Ranking just below these twelve are universities like Minnesota and Indiana and U.C.L.A. (Univer-sity of California at Los Angelos), where scientists and scholars of interna-

tional renown are also to be found, but not in such dense clusters as at Harvard or Berkeley ... This is not to say that first – rate scientists are to be found only at first-rate universities – or that there are no second-rate peo-ple at Berkeley and M.I.T. But the brightest students, like the brightest professors, tend to be found at the leading universities.

Although possession of Ph.D. is supposed to signify that a scientist has learned his trade as a researcher, it is now very common for young sci-entists to continue in a quasi-student statue for a year or two after they get their doctorates ...

Older scientists as a rule are very happy to take on postdoctoral stu-dents. The postdoctoral, as he is sometimes called, is like an advanced graduate student in that he does research under the general direction of on older man. But he usually needs much less direction, and he can therefore be much more helpful to an experienced scientist who is eager to see his work pushed forward as rapidly as possible ... Postdoctoral trainees can have the further advantage of serving a professor as a middleman in his dealings with his graduate students. For young scientists themselves, a year two of postdoctoral study and research has many attractions. For some it’s a chance to make up for what they didn’t learn in graduate school. For scientists whose graduate training has been good, the chief advantage of doing postdoctoral research is that it gives them a couple of years in which they can put all their effort into research. A postdoctoral fellowship can also be a relatively tranquil interlude between the pressures and intellectual restrictions of life as a graduate student, and the competition and distrac-tions of life as an assistant professor. Many scientists go abroad, not be-cause the training they get will necessarily be better than they would get in the United States, but because a postdoctoral fellowship gives them a chance to travel – often for the firat time in their lives.

UNIT II. TEXTS

SCIENCE IN THE MODERN WORLD

NOTES

a new conception of nature: a new way of understanding nature;

to enlarge perspectives: to give better possibilities to understand, tosee, to judge;

to alter the habits of daily life: to change the conditions in whichpeople live, i.e. their housing, clothing, food;

to give new possibilities for speculation and wonder: to enable(scientists) to advance new theories concerning nature and to feel amazed at what one comes to see, understand;

the marriage of science and technology: the close union betweenthe two;

a general feature: a universal, common characteristic;a striking thing: smth. that attention, of great interest;to be succeeded by smth.: to be followed by smth.;

atom smashing: the splitting into parts of certain atoms to free theirpowerful forces;

to integrate different disciplines: to join two or more differentbranches of science so as to form a whole;

the domain of applied disciplines: the sphere of those branches ofscience which bring about new technology;

the problems facing mankind: the problems which need considera-tion and action by all the peoples of the world.

RESEARCH INSTITUTE

NOTES

technician: a highly qualified specialist not doing research;supporting personnel: staff members who assist researchers in their

investigations;

to utilize laboratory facilities: to make good use of the laboratoryequipment;

pilot plant facilities: machinery used at an experimental plant;scientific facilities: all the equipment which is necessary for success-

ful research;

a research and development scheme: a plan or project for researchand its implementation;

a research library: a library housing scientific and technical litera-ture in the field;

a noteworthy discovery: a discovery which deserves to be noted;a well-known discovery: a discovery known to many;

a famous scientist: a scientist who is well-known;an eminent scientist: a distinguished scientist;remarkable achievements: important achievements;

the universal language of science and technology: the languagewhich is understood by all scientists.

Questions to the text:

1. How do you address foreign guests if you happen to receive them at your institution?

2. Is it advisable to speak about academic traditions?

3. What do international scientific links ensure?

SCIENTIFIC GATHERINGS

Look at the questions below and then read the passage to find the an-swers. Read as quickly as you can and do not worry about anything except the answers you need to find.

1) How do scientists coordinate research?

2) When do scientists usually get an opportunity to share and ex-change opinions and information?

3) What are the benefits of informal contacts?

4) What are the aims of laboratory and institute colloquiums?

5) What opportunities does a laboratory colloquium provide? Scientific gatherings play an important part in coordinating research.

National and international conferences and symposia in all fields of sci-ence and the humanities are held regularly all over the world. Plenary ses-sions and section meetings, seminars and workshops give scientists an op-portunity to share and exchange opinions and information, to verify their scientific ideas, and to advocate their views. The participants present their papers and listen to papers and reports read by others on the latest devel-opments and the state of the art in their field. They can take part in the dis-cussions that follow and express their point of view.

No less important for the participants are informal contacts with their colleagues from other research centres, when a scientist can unhurriedly discuss a given problem with an expert in his field, argue with his scien-tific opponent, find out the details of some experimental procedure. The best opportunity for personal contacts is provided by social events.

Another type of a scientific meeting is the laboratory or institute col-loquium where members of the staff and guest speakers make reviews of the developments in the field and report the progress of their research. Their successes and failures are thoroughly discussed. The speakers expect criticism or approval, advice and help. The colloquium gives an opportu-nity to evaluate the place and importance of one’s effort in science, it im-proves the capacity to criticize one’s own work, admit error and respect the point of view of others. It provides a personal exchange of views which is essential for any science student.

NOTES

to hold a conference: to hold a meeting for interchanging views;symposium: a conference at which a particular topic is discussed by

various speakers;

seminar: a discussion group on any particular subject;

workshop: a seminar emphasizing exchange of ideas and practicalmethods;

colloquium: a meeting for discussion;

event: an item in a programme of a scientific gathering; a scientificprogramme includes such events as plenary sessions, section meetings, seminars, workshops, round-table talks, etc.;

a social programme includes such events as dinners, receptions, ex-cursions, tours, etc.;

the state of the art: the level or position at a given time, especiallyat present, of generally accepted and available knowledge, technical achievement in a particular field;

the humanities: the branches of learning concerned with literature,history, philosophy, etc.

NOTES

to protect the environment: to preserve it by keeping it safe fromdanger, damage, change or loss;

to recognize a problem as global: to acknowledge that the problemaffects the whole world and all peoples;

to improve people’s quality of life: to achieve a high standard ofliving;

to command the resources of nature: to have the resources of na-ture at one’s service, to be able to use them;

to achieve continual material progress: to provide all people withmore material comforts;

to maintain environmental values: to keep the environment safe,healthy, in good condition;

to make new demands on the resources of the Earth: to exploitthem more and more extensively;

to harness forces: to get control over them;

to pollute air, water, soil: to make them dangerously impure or un-healthy for use;

last but not least: coming at the end, but not least in importance;irrespective of the differences in their social systems: not taking into

account, not paying consideration to the differences in their social systems.

RECYCLING

The term «recycling» can imply various methods of reprocessing secondary materials and reusing all sorts of products: household, waste packaging materials, even industrial waste. Either the government or local trade associations may organize such schemes. The aim, however, is one and the same – to create a survivable society. In Japan recycling is no whim or fad, but generally accepted part of everyday life.

A poll in 1994 showed that more than 82 % of housewives living in the capital agreed that some nature conservation measures should be taken now, i. e. before, it is too late, which demonstrates people’s real concern at an impending crisis. However, as to what action to take 60 % of those asked agreed to cooperate only «if this does not call for financial expendi-ture» and 65 % said they would cooperate provided «this would not cause them extra inconvenience». These figures could by no means be called en-couraging but they do shed some light on one of the reasons hindering the introduction of a recycling programme, namely lack of information.

Information is necessary for people to become aware of the urgency of establishing a community capable of reprocessing its waste. To find out what needs to be done and what challenges the community faces, more in-formation is required. Even if numerous groups of residents are organized to collect empty cans, tins or milk cartoons, this may prove very ineffec-tive if they act on their own. To pool the efforts of individuals and local bodies, it is necessary to provide an information network. A veritable «re-cycling community» will not come into being unless the efforts of people, businesses and government are coordinated.

BUSINESS CIRCLES JOIN IN

Nowadays the greatest obstacle to industrial recycling is the excess of expenditure over income. In addition to certain obligatory recycling, an economic system must be provided which would make it financially advantageous to re-use materials. Industries are gradually introducing methods of evaluating «total use» of an article. This involves the manufacturer assessing the overall impact of his product on the environment, taking all factors into account from the selection of raw materials to the moment when all consumer value has been exhausted.

Industry has also manifested an interest in the call made by the University of the United Nations Organization for «zero emission», i.e. total elimination of the discharge of noxious substances during the manufacturing process. A new law came into force in the spring of 1997 requiring manufacturers and retailers to ensure that packaging materials are recyclable. Other measures being examined by the government are a system for resale of the rights to emit noxious substances and the introduction of a tax on the burning of oil, coal, natural gas and other fuels which produce carbon dioxide during combustion.

Looking at basics, it is easy to see that the whole of our eco-system functions on the principle of constant recycling. Sea water evaporates to form clouds which fall to earth in the form of rain. Grass and trees convert carbon dioxides, taken in from air and water, into the oxygen so essential to animal life. Plants are a vital link in the food chain, supporting animal life and contributing to the constant enrichment of the soil. However, the earth’s recycling system is ruined by petroleum hydrocarbons and other pollutants, which harm the environment and which do not revert to soil. In other words it is extremely important that all efforts be directed at restoring the natural balance of the planet’s ecological system.

POOLING EFFORTS

In 1997, a document was adopted in the Japanese city of Kyoto, which came to be known as the Kyoto Protocol. It reflected the desire of states, aware of the global threat of climate warming, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Protocol sets countries individual emission targets.

By now the Kyoto Protocol has been signed by more than 80 states (all developed countries and nearly all CIS countries) while nearly 40 have ratified it.

Under the protocol, developed countries and transitional economies are to reduce greenhouse emissions at least 5 percent by 2008- 2012, to return to the 1990 level, assumed as basic. The cuts are not equal. Say, the United States, Japan, and EU member states must cut back emissions 7 percent, 6 percent, and 8 percent below the 1990 level. Russia’s commitments are relatively mild: It does not have to reduce emissions, but during five years (from 2008 to 2012) it has no right to exceed their current level. Within the protocol framework, Russia has to monitor and control emissions and emission targets as well as regulate emission targets. To this end, a national emission control system is to be put in place and a special registration center is to be set up.

The Kyoto Protocol is the first international document to use a market mechanism in addressing global environmental problems. Its international cooperation tools are based on the premise that climatic effects do not depend on the place of greenhouse gas emission while greenhouse gases in existing concentrations are not harmful to human health. These are known as Kyoto flexibility mechanisms.

In Russia, up to 98 percent of all emissions of the main greenhouse gas, CO, result from the burning of fossil fuel coal, natural gas, and oil products. This means that the problem of reducing emissions is a problem of energy efficiency and energy saving. Russia’s technological potential for energy efficiency and energy saving has been tapped only fractionally whereas EU countries or Japan have virtually exhausted theirs. So it is far cheaper to implement a particular project and reduce emissions in Russia than in the majority of developed countries.

KINDS OF POLLUTION

There are several kinds of environmental pollution. They include air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and pollution caused by solid wastes, noise, and radiation.

All parts of the environment are closely related to one another. The study of the relationships among living things, and between living things and other parts of the environment, is called ecology. Because of the close relationships, a kind of pollution that chiefly harms one part of the envi-ronment may also affect others. For example, air pollution harms the air. But rain washes pollutants out of the air and deposits them on the land and in bodies of water. Wind, on the other hand, blows pollutants off the land and put them into the air.

Air pollution turns clear, odorless air into hazy, smelly air that harms health, kills plants, and damages property. People cause air pollution both

outdoors and indoors. Outdoor air pollution results from pouring hundreds of millions of tons of gases and particulates (tiny particles of liquid or solid matter) into the atmosphere each year. Indoor air pollution results from many of the same substances found outdoors. But indoor pollutants can present a more serious problem because they tend to build up in a small area from which they cannot easily escape. Cigarette smoke is a familiar indoor air pollutant.

Most air pollution results from combustion (burning) processes. The burning of gasoline to power motor vehicles and the burning of coal to heat buildings and help manufacture products are examples of such proc-esses. The pollutants range from small amounts of colorless poison gas to clouds of thick black smoke.

Weather conditions can help reduce the amount of pollutants in out-door air. Wind scatters pollutants, and rain and snow wash them into the ground. But in many areas, pollutants are put into the air faster than weather conditions can dispose of them. In crowded cities, for example, thousands of automobiles, factories, and furnaces may add tons of pollut-ants to a small area of the atmosphere each day.

One serious result of air pollution is its harmful effect on human health. In cities throughout the world, long periods of heavy air pollution have caused illness and death rates to increase dramatically.

ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE

During recent generations, the world depended mostly on hydroelec-tric power. Governments built dams across rivers, forming large lakes and putting thousands of acres of land under water. More and more people ob-ject to hydroelectric power because it seriously changes the balance of na-ture.

Thermonuclear power, or nuclear power, comes from the splitting of atoms. It is a widely used and inexpensive form of energy. However, it is possibly the most dangerous because there are health risks from radiation.

Coal, one type of fossil fuel, is one of the dirtiest kinds of energy used. Other fossil fuels that come from the earth are petroleum products: gasoline, which is used for most vehicles, and natural gas, which is used for some vehicles, but mostly for heating and cooking.

Alcohol, quite commonly used as fuel in Brazil, comes from one of Brazil’s main crops, sugar cane, which is easily processed into alcohol. Methane gas, another source of fuel, comes from garbage, but it is not widely used. Geothermal energy provides most of heat and hot water in Iceland. Other sources of energy include the wind and the sun. In many

parts of the world the sun fulfills many energy needs. Solar panels heated by the sun produce electricity. Solar energy already provides many homes with heat and hot water.

What about future sources of energy? NASA proposed a plan to use solar-powered satellites to capture the power of the sun in space, where the sun shines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The plan would provide low-cost, nonpolluting energy for the entire world. An additional energy source to be developed is fusion energy, the process that powers the sun and the stars. Nuclear fusion, or fusion, represents an unlimited source of energy. Although these sources of energy seem easily available, their high cost is a problem. They are expensive to develop. As a result, they are not as widely used as cheaper forms of fuel.

If the world population increases as expected, resources for those kinds of energy we use today may be insufficient. We will have to look closer at different energy sources, such as fusion and solar power.

POLLUTION BY INDUSTRY

Pollution by industry is of several kinds, pollution of the air by harmful or unpleasant gases, and pollution of water, whether salt or fresh, and whether by land-based industry or by ships, pollution of the land, whether by the products of industry or by dereliction. These three: pollu-tion of air, water and land, are perhaps the types of pollution most com-monly associated with industry.

Pollution is today out of all proportion a more serious problem that it was in the nineteenth century. There are three fundamental reasons: scale of operation, complexity of the processes involved, and pace of change.

National boundaries rarely look more out of date than in the context of atmospheric pollution. The Swedes complain convincingly that their atmosphere is polluted by both the Norwegians and the Germans. The only answer at present is international agreement on control at source.

Water pollution illustrates the linked factors of complexity of indus-trial process and rate of technological change.

The field of marine pollution presents an even more worrying exam-ple. People think of the oceans as limitless, and assume that what lives in it is somehow inexhaustible. The truth is, marine biologists tell us, that some 90 per cent of that richness is concentrated in something like 1 per cent of ocean areas those nearest the coast. The Mediterranean coastal strip, once so rich in marine life, is already dying. A similar situation exists in the Pa-cific and Atlantic Oceans and their seas.

According to some estimates, about 6 million tons of oil are dumped into the world oceans, mostly as the result of the cleaning of oil tankers. Thus the pollution of the world ocean has become a global problem.

The only really safe solution to the problem of oil pollution is not to ship oil on or under the sea.

The right «long-term», ecological answer is, of course recycling of waste products – liquid, solid and gaseous – to create new products or use-ful energy. What is needed is a fiscal policy, which will make it worth-while for industry to search out every opportunity for recycling.

PRESSING PROBLEMS

Atmospheric pollution raises problems of several types. First, there are local problems due to the production of smoke and offensive gases by factories. Secondly, there are regional problems created by industrial ag-glomerations which may spread title same harmful effects over whole ar-eas. Thirdly, there are some types of pollution, such as those arising from nuclear explosives, which cover a considerable portion of the globe. And lastly, there appeared one more type of pollution which is threatening the globe as a whole.

Recent scientific research suggests that the protective layer of ozone around our planet is under severe attack. Alarm bells were sounded in 1982 when researchers in the Antarctic first identified a yawning hole over the Antarctic where the ozone layer is thinnest. This was the first sign of a hole. Five years later it was reported that the hole had grown to an area the size of the United States.

The appearance of the Antarctic hole has intensified the search for a cause. Strong evidence now suggests that it is the growing industrial use of chlorine compounds called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which is responsible.

According to measurements recorded by the US Environmental Pro-tection Agency one chlorine atom has enough kinetic energy to destroy 100,000 molecules of ozone. In its «worst prediction scenario» NASA claims that air ever-thinning ozone layer could eventually allow a more harmful form of radiation, known as Ultra Violet C, to hit the earth. Labo-ratory experiments have shown that Ultra Violet C can penetrate cells in the body and irreparably damage the nucleic acids and proteins which are the building blocks of life.

There is the need for an international agreement that would com-pletely stop CFC production.

PROTECTION OF WATER

The water and the air are the most important elements in physical and chemical processes on the surface of the earth. Resources of river, lake and underground fresh waters are distributed very unevenly on the continents.

Shortage of water in different areas of the world is due not only to uneven distribution of water resources but also to its more varied and in-tensive use.

The Law on Conservation of Nature of the Republic of Belarus states that all rivers, lakes and underground waters are to be protected from de-pletion and pollution as water supply resources, a source of energy and means of treatment. Rivers and lakes are also used as transport routes, fisheries, hunting areas and recreation sites.

It is obvious that the exploitation of water resources is extremely varied at the present time. It should be added that the scope of water re-source exploitation is growing rapidly due to population growth, fast de-velopment of industry and expansion of irrigated land area.

An enormous amount of water is used in industry. It has been esti-mated that industry consumes about 85 percent of the water in cities. This leaves about 15 percent for the daily needs of the people.

There are two ways to redistribute river water by means of reservoirs and through canals.

Reservoirs help irrigate agricultural land, improve water transport, supply large enterprises, cities and other populated areas with water fisher-ies and form the basis for recreation and tourist zones.

Canals are important not only for redistributing water but also as transport routes. As such they are artificial rivers built by mighty excavat-ing machines.

Supplies of underground waters are considerable, and, therefore, their rational use helps to compensate for moisture shortages.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The poisoning of the world’s land, air, and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilization. It probably produces fewer headlines than wars, earthquakes and floods, but it is potentially one of history’s greatest dangers to human life on earth. If present trends continue for the next sev-eral decades, our planet will become uninhabitable.

Overpopulation pollution and energy consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming that is believed to be caused by the greenhouse ef-fect.

The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is al-ready nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink

of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas.

Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for-ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years from now.

Air pollution is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is life threatening – equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former So-viet Union.

Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substances. These emis-sions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main rea-son for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.

An even greater environmental threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.

People are beginning to realize that environmental problems are not somebody else’s. They join and support various international organizations and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening – perhaps we’ll be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world and all of us with it.

CONTENTS

UNIT I. MY HIGHER DEGREE COURSE.............................................................. 3

UNIT II. TEXTS............................................................................................................... 25

UNIT III. SUPPLEMENT TO UNIT II

(PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT)........................................................ 31

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АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК

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Электронный аналог печатного издания

Авторы-составители: Баскакова Светлана Ивановна ГусароваЛюдмила Всеволодовна

Редактор Л. Ф. Теплякова