Exercise 2. Make up your own questions
1. Canberra is Australia`s largest inland city.
2. Its population is over 345,000.
3. The growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World wars and the Great Depression.
4. Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court and numerous government departments and agencies.
5. The Australian Capital Territory is now self-governing.
Exercise 3. Complete the sentences from the text.
1. Following an international contest…
2. The city is located…
3. As the seat of the…
4. As the city has…
5. The Griffin`s plan…
6. The growth and development…
7. The city`s design…
Exercise 4. Translate into Russian.
1. Canberra is Australia`s largest inland city.
2. The Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin were invited to construct Canberra in 1913.
3. There is Australian National University where young people can get a higher education in Canberra.
4. There are significant areas of natural vegetation in Canberra.
Exercise 5. Translate into English.
1. Город расположен в 280 км на юго-западе от Сиднея.
2. В Канберре находится здание Парламента.
3. Уровень безработицы в Канберре ниже, чем в других городах Австралии.
4. Офицеры Австралийской армии получают образование в Королевском Военном Колледже.
5. Рост и развитие Канберры были прерваны 2ой мировой войной.
Text D
OTTAWA
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, a municipality and the second largest city within the province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley, the fourth largest city in Canada is also the political capital of the country. The city lies in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Connected by several bridges to its Quebec neighbour, the city of Gatineau on the northern shores of the Ottawa River, the two cities and surrounding areas are designated the National Capital Region (NCR). Though governed by separate municipal governments, the federal lands within the region are administered by the National Capital Commission (NCC), a federal crown corporation charged with the responsibility of planning and managing the federal government's interests in the NCR.
In 2006, the city of Ottawa had a population of 812,129, making it the fourth-largest municipality in the country and second-largest in Ontario. The Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area had a 2006 population of 1,130,761, making it the fourth-largest census metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada. The National Capital Region which encompasses Ottawa, Gatineau and surrounding suburbs and towns has an estimated population of 1,451,415. In 2009 Ottawa-Gatineau's population was estimated at 1,220,674, making it the fifth-largest CMA in Canada. Ottawa has the 2nd highest quality of living of any city in the Americas, and 14th highest in the world according to the "Mercer Human Resource Consulting Quality of Living Survey". It is also considered the 3rd cleanest city in the world by Mercers 2010 eco-city ranking.
Ottawa as the capital
On December 31, 1857, Queen Victoria was asked to choose a common capital for the Province of Canada (modern day Ontario and Quebec) and chose Ottawa. While Ottawa is now a major metropolis and Canada's fourth largest city, at the time it was a sometimes unruly logging town in the hinterland, far away from the colony's main cities, Quebec City and Montreal in Canada East, and Kingston and Toronto in Canada West.
The Queen's advisers suggested she pick Ottawa for many important reasons: first, it was the only settlement of any significant size located right on the border of Canada East and Canada West (today Quebec and Ontario), making it a compromise between the two colonies and their French and English populations; second, the War of 1812 had shown how vulnerable major Canadian cities were to American attack, since they were all located very close to the border, while Ottawa was then surrounded by dense forest far from the border; third, the government owned a large parcel of land on a spectacular spot overlooking the Ottawa River. Ottawa's position in the back country made it more defensible, while still allowing easy transportation over the Ottawa River to Canada East, and the Rideau Canal to Canada West. Two other considerations were that Ottawa was at a point nearly exactly midway between Toronto and Quebec City (500 kilometres (310 mi)) and that the small size of the town made it less likely that politically motivated mobs could go on a rampage and destroy government buildings, as happened in the previous Canadian capitals. The Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal network meant that Ottawa could be supplied by water from Kingston and Montreal without going along the potentially treacherous US-Canada border. At the time of the decision, the Ottawa to Prescott railway had already been in operation for 2 years. Thus another factor in the advisement was the knowledge that Ottawa would soon have railway connections to Toronto and Montreal via Brockville (by 1859 it turned out) and thus access to other connecting rail lines in Canada and the United States in the very near future. Thus Ottawa would still be relatively isolated and thus defensible but yet would soon be more easily accessible by water and rail which would be essential for a permanent capital.
In 1866, the legislature was finally moved to Ottawa, after a few years of alternating between Toronto and Quebec City.
The original Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa was destroyed by fire on February 3, 1916. French urban planner Jacques Greber was hired to work on a master plan for the National Capital Region (the Greber Plan). Jacques Greber was the creator of the National Capital Greenbelt, as well as many other projects throughout the NCR. The House of Commons and Senate were temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, currently the Canadian Museum of Nature, located about 1 km (1 mi) south of Parliament Hill on McLeod Street at Metcalfe Street. A new Centre Block was completed in 1922, the centrepiece of which is a dominant Gothic revival styled structure known as the Peace Tower which has become a common emblem of the city.
On September 5, 1945, only days after the end of World War II, Ottawa was the site of the event that many people consider to be the official start of the Cold War. A Soviet cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, defected from the Soviet embassy with over 100 secret documents. At first, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) refused to take the documents, as the Soviets were still allies of Canada and Britain, and the newspapers were not interested in the story. After hiding out for a night in a neighbour's apartment, listening to his own home being searched, Gouzenko finally persuaded the RCMP to look at his evidence, which provided proof of a massive Soviet spy network operating in western countries, and, indirectly, led to the discovery that the Soviets were working on an atomic bomb to match that developed during the Manhattan Project.
In 2001, the old city of Ottawa (estimated 2005 population 350,000) was amalgamated with the suburbs of Nepean (135,000), Kanata (85,000), Gloucester (120,000), Rockcliffe Park (2,100), Vanier (17,000) and Cumberland (55,000), Orleans (84,695), and the rural townships of West Carleton (18,000), Osgoode (13,000), Rideau (18,000), and Goulbourn (24,000), along with the systems and infrastructure of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, to become one municipality. Before 1969 and the creation of Ottawa-Carleton, the city of Ottawa was part of Carleton County. The August Ontario Civic Holiday, which is called Simcoe Day in Toronto and Peter Robinson Day in Peterborough, is named Colonel By Day in Ottawa.
Text E
WELLINGTON
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is home to 389,700 residents.
The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the seat of the Wellington Region – which in addition to the urban area covers the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. The urban area includes four cities: Wellington, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about half of Wellington's population; Porirua on Porirua Harbour to the north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities; Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt are largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley.
In 2008, Wellington was classified as a Gamma World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University. The 2010 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world. In 2011 Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 named Wellington as fourth in its Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011, referring to the New Zealand capital as the "coolest little capital in the world".
New Zealand's capital
In 1865, Wellington became the capital city of New Zealand, replacing Auckland, where William Hobson had placed the capital in 1841. The Parliament of New Zealand had first met in Wellington on 7 July 1862, on a temporary basis, but Wellington did not become the official capital city for three more years. In November 1863, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Alfred Domett, places a resolution before Parliament (meeting in Auckland) that "... it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait." (In the Cook Strait region, that is – not in the ocean.) Apparently, there had been some concerns that the more highly populated South Island (where the goldfields were located) would choose to form a separate colony in the British Empire. Several Commissioners invited from Australia (chosen for their neutral status to help resolve the question) declared that Wellington was a suitable location because of central location in New Zealand and its good harbour. Parliament officially met in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865. At that time, the population of Wellington was just 4,900.
As the national capital, Wellington is the location of the highest court of New Zealand, the Supreme Court. The historic former High Court building has been enlarged and restored for the use of the Supreme Court.
Government House, the official residence of the Governor-General, is in Newtown, opposite the Basin Reserve. Premier House, the official residence of the Prime Minister, is in Pipitea on Tinakori Road.
Тема 11: Экология
Text A
ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
Since ancient times nature has served man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on.
Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up. The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises. The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Belarussia was also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and people's health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Belarussian and other nations.
Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries - members of the UNO - have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organisation Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment. But these are only the initial steps and they must be continued to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations.
Greenpeace
In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference.
Their mission was to ‘bear witness’ to US underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, a tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, which is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions. Amchitka was the last refuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles, peregrine falcons and other wildlife. Even though their old boat, was intercepted before it got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of public interest. The US still detonated the bomb, but the voice of reason had been heard. Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.
Today, Greenpeace is an international ecological organization that has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national as well as regional offices in 41 countries. Its headquarters are based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Greenpeace is a non-profit organization and nongovernmental. It unites people of different colours living in different continents and speaking different languages. The common mission of this organization is preserving life on the earth in its full variety.
Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments, corporations or political parties but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants. Greenpeace does not support any political party. Nevertheless, its members carry on a dialogue with all political forces and struggle for approving and passing laws for the welfare of our environment.
As a global organization, Greenpeace focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversity and environment. It campaigns to stop climate change, save the oceans, stop whaling, say no to genetic engineering, stop the nuclear threat, eliminate toxic chemicals.
The goal of Greenpeace is to expose environmental criminals, and to challenge government and corporations when they fail to live up to their mandate to safeguard our environment and our future.
Britain's Ecological Activity
Mankind for a long time believed that, whatever we did, the Earth would remain much the same. Now we know that it is untrue. Nature is under threat. One country's pollution is every country's problem. So we all need to work together to safeguard our environment. . We have a moral duty to look after our planet and pass it to the future generations in good order. That does not mean trying to halt economic growth. We need progress to give us the means to live better and healthier lives. We must not sacrifice our future well-being for short-term gains, nor pile up environmental debts which will burden our children. There are real threats to our planet we have to take great care of. Prevention can often be a better and cheaper means than cure. The Government is doing its best to work out international solutions through such organisations like the United Nations, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Community.
The British Government aims:
to preserve and enhance Britain's natural and cultural inheritance;
to encourage the more prudent and efficient use of energy and other resources;
to make sure that Britain's air and water are clean and safe, and that controls over wastes and pollution are maintained and strengthened where necessary.
The world's population doubled between 1950 and 1987. That means more mouths to feed, and that demands more agricultural land. That in turn can lead to deforestation and soil erosion. By burning forests, draining wet lands, polluting water courses and overfishing mankind is rapidly driving many species to extinction. The Government is supporting international efforts for a global agreement to protect species of plant and animal life. The Government is also supporting projects to conserve endangered species of wildlife.
Britain attaches particular importance to the environmental policy of the European Community. Much has already been achieved: since Britain joined, the Community has adopted some 280 environmental measures, including far-reaching legislation to combat acid rain, to reduce pollution from cars and industry, to conserve wildlife and to ensure public access to information about the environment.
Vocabulary
To live in harmony with – жить в гармонии с
To increase – увеличивать
To pollute – загрязнять
To breathe – дышать
To suffer from – страдать от
To dry up – высыхать
To spark – искрить, дать искру
To detonate – взрывать, детонировать
To accept donations – принимать пожертвования
To focuse – быть в центре внимания, сосредоточиться
To be under threat – быть под угрозой
To eliminate – устранять, очищать
To expose – подвергать, выставлять
To safeguard – охранять
To halt – останавливать
To sacrifice – жертвовать, приносить в жертву
To enhance – усиливать, повышать
To encourage – ободрять, поощрять
To drain – истощать
Ecology – экология
A source – источник
Environment – окружающая среда
Interference – вмешательство
Industrial enterprises – промышленные предприятия
A by-product – побочный продукт
Dust – пыль
Harmful substances – вредные вещества
Oxygen balance – кислородный баланс
A rare specy – редкий экземпляр
Destruction – уничтожение, разрушение
Ozone layer – озонный слой
Interaction – взаимодействие
Damage – ущерб
Consequences – последствия
An explosion – взрыв
Security – безопасность
UNO – Организайия Объединенных Наций
An earthquake – землетрясение
A refuge – убежище, пристанище
A sea otter – морской бобр
An eagle – орел
A peregrine falcon – сокол
Wildlife – живая природа
Flurry – шквал
A sanctuary – святилище
A supporter – сторонник
Headquarters – штаб квартира
Mission – миссия
A contribution – вклад
Grants – дотация, субсидии
Welfare – благосостояние
Biodiversity – биологическое разнообразие
Toxic chemicals – токсические химикаты
Well-being – благосостояние
Prevention - предотвращение
A solution – решение
Inheritance – наследство
Wastes – отходы
Deforestation – обезлесение
Soil erosion – разъедание почвы
Extinction – вымирание
Legislation – законодательство
Acid rain – кислотные дожди
Access – доступ
Ancient – древний
Smoky – дымный
Vast – обширный
Nuclear – атомный
Worldwide – всемирный, мировой
Non-profit – невыгодный
Crucial – решающий
Prudent – благоразумный, предусмотрительный
Forever - навсегда
For the sake of – во благо