Section 1. Передача имен собственных и географических названий.

Skills

which are essential for any interpreter are the following:

intuition, concentration vs dispersed attention, good memory, dominant hemisphere/ear preference.

Intuition is considered by some Russian psychologists as a simultaneous interaction between the right and left hemispheres in our brain.

Language skills can be developed and improved, but the capacity for fast and effective hemisphere exchange is more of an innate capability. But as famous Russian pedagogue Boris Nikitin states, it is never too late to learn, and a training exercise which includes “developmental non-verbal games” can help improve the professional interpreter's performance considerably. Different types of puzzle games like Rubik cubes can help the future interpreter increase the hemispheres' interaction.

The specific skill involves

• the capability for good linguistic guessing, predicting and anticipating elements in sequence. (unfinished sentences, texts with omitted letters or words)
• the ability to compose edited texts based on certain key-words (or symbols for consecutive interpreting) or good text compression.

Concentration vs Dispersed Attention. As research has shown, it is impossible to divide someone's attention between two independent actions when both require the maximum level of concentration.

Dispersed attention can be compared with light, which passes through a matte crystal and illuminates a large square. If we use lenses instead of a matte crystal, the illuminated spot with light focused on it would be considerably smaller but brighter. The concentration of attention focuses our perception on one item, while other - peripheral - objects disappear from it. Research on cerebral activity in a state of deep concentration reveals that there is no asymmetrical activity at that specific moment, and that both hemispheres work together simultaneously.

Interconnectability is defined by the speed of transition from one type of activity to another. The dispersed attention allows us to maintain several different objects within our field of attention. The more "passive" or "relaxed" a person's condition, the better the result of our "dispersed" attention activity. Self-confidence can help considerably in creating a "relaxed" condition during the process of SI (simultaneous interpreting)

Training exercises

• to introduce some "distracting" or “annoying” elements
• to work simultaneously with two different texts
• to introduce “phonetic shadowing” which involves listening to the text and repeating each sound exactly as it was heard without waiting for a complete meaning unit.
• to use "semantic shadowing", i.e. reading the text aloud while the trainer reads the same text simultaneously, introducing some new elements (changing figures, names, tenses, verbs, adjectives, etc.) with the comparison of the two texts at the end;
• To introduce “selective listening” combined with phrase shadowing or paraphrasing. The trainee is exposed to two different verbal messages. The task consists in “switching off” one of the ears through which comes the “irrelevant” message and focusing all the attention on the “relevant” verbal text. This specific training concludes either with phrase shadowing of the “relevant” incoming message or with later paraphrasing it.

Good memory.This requires skills such as instant, short, medium and long term active memory.

It is necessary to work on:

· the capacity to encode and decode texts using any symbol system (for consecutive interpreting);

· a good ear for any foreign names and toponyms; a good ear for figures and measures;

Dominant hemisphere/ear preference. There is still no official final result on a right/left ear preference for professional interpreters, but some practicing interpreters claim that removing one headphone slightly off one ear they manage to focus better on the incoming message with one ear next to the headphone and monitor their own delivery in L2 with the other, partially released ear.

Trainees in Simultaneous Interpreting may try to find his/her “comfortable ear” for each of the language combinations.

UNIT 1 - POLITICS

Section 2. Article

Jot down the key information and retell

Political science

To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States. (George W. Bush)

1.Political science is the academic subject centering on the relations between governments and other governments, and between governments and peoples It is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. Political science, as currently conceived, is a relatively new concept that dates to the nineteenth-century. Prior to this time, the study of politics in the West remained a part of natural philosophy, and it tended to focus on philosophical, historical, and institutional approaches.

2.The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) is often named as the first "political scientist," but his approach differs markedly from what is currently understood to be "political science." Aristotle primarily occupied himself with addressing what sort of political system would best enable the highest human life of eudaimonia (happiness). His method of study falls well short of what is currently considered to be scientific.

3.The ancient Indian approach exemplified in the treatise Arthashastra (written by Kautilya around 300 B.C.E.) similarly differs from the modern approach to studying politics. Kautilya discusses the importance of law, kingly conduct, foreign policy, and administrative practices in an attempt to explain that governments have the responsibility of tending to the well-being (broadly understood) of their people.

4.Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 –1527) is considered to be a founder of modern political science, he was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic.The greatest source of Machiavelli's reputation is, of course, The Prince (1532). The main theme of this short book is that all means may be resorted to for the establishment and preservation of authority -- the end justifies the means -- and that the worst and most treacherous acts of the ruler are justified by the wickedness and treachery of the governed.

5.With the 21st century, the importance of political science has increased tenfold, as what was previously scoffed as guesswork at best has time and again proved to be accurate, and with new scientific techniques, empirical outcomes can be formulated and verified. The importance of political science lies in using past behavior to successfully predict the future, the future course of a national policies and their effects on global politics and other disciplines.All this makes political science a very important field of study in a world full of political turmoil where our only hope of a better future lies in a better political system.

6.Political science is commonly divided into three distinct sub-disciplines which together constitute the field: political philosophy, comparative politics and international relations. Political philosophy is the reasoning for an absolute normative government, laws and similar questions and their distinctive characteristics. Comparative politics is the science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature and associated fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective. International relations deals with the interaction between nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational organizations.

Section 3. Memory Exercise

Ex.2.Selective Listening.

1. Work in group of three. Listen to two texts at the same time. Follow one of the text with phonetic shadowing, skipping the meaning of the second text.

2. Remember key information. Verbalize the facts obtained.

19th century	20th century
1.The 19th century (1801–1900) was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, First and Second French, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. It also marks the fall of the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans. This paved the way for the growing influence of the British Empire, Russian Empire, German Empire, the United States and the Empire of Japan	1.The 20th century is defined as the time period running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 1999. The Chinese, Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires dissolved in the first half of the century, with all but the British, French, Portuguese, and Japanese empires collapsing during the course of World War I. Russia transformed into communist state of Soviet Union which collapsed internally in 1991.
2.The Victorian era was notorious for the employment of young children in factories and mines. The first empire to abolish slavery was the Portuguese Empire, followed by Britain, who did so in 1834. America's 13th Amendment following their Civil War abolished slavery there in 1865.In Brazil slavery was abolished in 1888. Similarly, serfdom was abolished in Russia.	2.The inter-war years saw a Great Depression cause a massive disruption to the world economy. Shortly afterwards, World War II broke out, pitting the Allied powers (chiefly the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom) against the Axis powers (Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and Italy) which eventually resulted in a total victory for the Allies, at the cost of over 60 million lives. Remaining colonial empires dissolved shortly after the war.
3.The 19th century was an era of invention and discovery, with significant developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity, and metallurgy that lay the groundwork for the technological advances of the 20th century. The Industrial Revolution began in Europe. The introduction of railroads provided the first major advancement in land transportation for centuries, changing the way people lived and obtained goods. The 19th century also saw the rapid creation, development and codification of many sports, particularly in Britain and the United States.	3.Accelerating scientific understanding, more efficient communications, and faster transportation transformed the world in those hundred years more rapidly and widely than in any previous century. Rapid technological advancements, however, also allowed warfare to reach unprecedented levels of human destruction. These developments were made possible by the large-scale exploitation of fossil fuel resources (especially petroleum), which offered large amounts of energy in an easily portable form, but also caused widespread concerns about pollution and long-term impact on the environment.
4.Advances in medicine and the understanding of human anatomy and disease prevention took place in the 19th century, and were partly responsible for rapidly accelerating population growth in the western world. Europe's population doubled during the 19th century, from roughly 200 million to more than 400 million.	4.Mass media, telecommunications, and information technology (especially computers, paperback books, public education, and the Internet) made the world's knowledge more widely available to people. Advancements in medical technology also improved the welfare of many people: the life expectancy of the world increased from 35 years to 65 years.
5.The last remaining undiscovered landmasses of Earth, including vast expanses of interior Africa and Asia, were discovered during this century, and with the exception of the extreme zones of the Arctic and Antarctic, accurate and detailed maps of the globe were available by the 1890s.	5.The century saw a major shift in the way that vast numbers of people lived, as a result of changes in politics, ideology, economics, society, culture, science, technology, and medicine. It was a century that started with horses, simple automobiles, and freighters but ended with luxury sedans, cruise ships, airliners and the space shuttle.

Section 2. Article

Jot down the key information and retell

International relations

"Let us agree not to step on each other's feet," said the cock to the horse. English proverb

1.International relations is the study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations include diplomacy and diplomatic history, international law, international organizations, international finance and economics, and communications, among others. Aspects of international relations have been studied as early as the time of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. As a separate and definable discipline, however, it dates from the early 20th cent., when the first organized efforts were made to find alternatives to wars in nation-state international behavior.

2.Two schools of thought quickly developed. One looks to strengthened international law and international organizations to preserve peace; the other emphasizes that nations will always use their power to achieve goals and sees the key to peace in a balance of power among competing states. With increased importance attached to a theoretical understanding of the whole international system, there has been a growing use of concepts and modes of analysis developed in the natural sciences in an attempt to improve the verifiability and applicability of theories.

3.The study of international relations has always been heavily influenced by normative considerations, such as the goal of reducing armed conflict and increasing international cooperation. At the beginning of the 21st century, research focused on issues such as terrorism, religious and ethnic conflict, the emergence of substate and nonstate entities, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and efforts to counter nuclear proliferation, and the development of international institutions.

4.Diplomacy (from Latin diploma, meaning an official document), is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states. In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is an art of conducting relationships to gain strategic advantage without conflict or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge in a non-confrontational, or polite manner. Its use predates recorded history. Diplomacy seeks maximum national advantage without using force and usually refers to the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats

5. Modern diplomacy's origins are often traced to the states of Northern Italy in the early Renaissance, with the first embassies being established in the thirteenth century. It was in Italy that many of the traditions of modern diplomacy began, such as the presentation of an ambassador's credentials to the head of state. The elements of modern diplomacy slowly spread to Eastern Europe but the entire system was greatly disrupted by the French Revolution. After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 established an international system of diplomatic rank.

6. Diplomats played a major role in world affairs. Today we have independent consultants, think tanks, university research groups, lobbies of all sorts, NGOs, newspapers, magazines, academic journals, etc., all of them trying to have a voice in foreign policy, government has options of where and how to obtain advice. Foreign policy perimeters are set by the President and his cabinet, which is influenced by a wide range of interests from business to military interests. The commercial policy may conflict with defense policy, and ultimately the president decides if it is in the national interest to place commercial interests above security considerations.

Section 3. Memory Exercise

The war of 1812

The main reason for the war of 1812 was America's frustration over the British interference with American shipping due to it's embargo on trade with France. For years, America tried to get the British to revoke the "Orders in Council" but finally decided the only way to prevent the interference was to go to war! So war was finally declared on June 18, 1812.What the Americans didn't know was that the British had revoked the "Orders in Council" two days before the declaration of war but it had taken two months for the news to reach Washington and it was too late. Even President James Madison himself admitted later that if he had known about the change, he would have held off on the war declaration. The War of 1812 went on for two years and ended with the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Once again, lack of communication had a huge impact. It took two months for this news to reach the battlefield resulting in one of the great land victories in American history when Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans in January of 1815.

Historic handshakes

Ex.1. Read one text. Render its meaning. Give additional information explaining the historic importance of this diplomatic action.

“This historic visit marked the beginning of the normalization period, opened the door for the development of bilateral ties, ushered in a new page in the history of relationship between the two countries and laid down the foundation for the future establishment of diplomatic relations.”

Clinton and Castro, 2000

The United States has confirmed that President Bill Clinton and the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, shook hands and exchanged a few words after a lunch during the UN's Millennium Summit in New York. The White House originally denied that a handshake had taken place, but later admitted it had occurred. The encounter on Wednesday is understood to be the first time a US president has ever shaken hands with the Cuban leader. There is no picture of the moment.

Section 2. Article

Performance art

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. (Oscar Wilde)

1. The term "Performance Art" got its start in the 1960s in the United States. It was originally used to describe any live artistic event. What are the characteristics of Performance Art? Performance Art is live and experimental. It has no rules or guidelines. It is art because the artist says it is art. Performance Art may be comprised of painting or sculpture, dialogue, poetry, music, dance, opera, film footage, turned on television sets, laser lights, live animals and fire. Or all of the above. So, there are no foreseeable boundaries for Performance Art. Performance Art is not for sale. It may, however, sell admission tickets and film rights. Performance Art may be entertaining, amusing, shocking or horrifying. No matter which adjective applies, it is meant to be memorable.

2. It's worth noting that, even though we're referencing the 1960s here, there were earlier precedents for Performance Art. The live performances of the Dadaists, in particular, meshed poetry and the visual arts. They in their turn were inspired by the ideas and works of some artists and creators like Marcel Duchamp for example. The German Bauhaus, founded in 1919, included a theater workshop to explore relationships between space, sound and light. The Black Mountain College continued incorporating theatrical studies with the visual arts. You may also have heard of "Beatniks" - stereotypically: cigarette-smoking, sunglasses and black-beret-wearing, poetry-spouting coffeehouse frequenters of the late 1950s and early 1960s. All of these were forerunners of Performance Art.

3. By 1970, Performance Art was a global term, and its definition a bit more specific. "Performance Art" can be defined as an event which implies a fusion of several artistic media and is performed in a public place as a prescribed action constituting a work of art. Performance artists see the movement as a means of taking their art directly to a public forum, thus completely eliminating the need for galleries, agents, brokers, tax accountants and any other aspect of capitalism. One of the controversial aspects of every type of performance art lies in the fact that aesthetic taste and perspective vary not only by culture but also by individual preference. Performance Art is closely related to Conceptual Art, Body Art, Happening, Action Painting, Fluxus, Flash mob and so on.

Inspiring or Degrading?

4. Just as beautiful art can inspire and ennoble, degrading art can depress and demean. The degradation of art has reached epidemic proportions. Museums feature exhibits that can best be described as cultural trash. Regardless of the form of artistic expression whether it be painting, sculpture, dance, drama, music, writing, photography, or motion pictures the emphasis has shifted from the portrayal of beauty to the exhibition of the bizarre, the blasphemous, and the obscene. There seems to be a rush within the artistic community to find the lowest common denominator and then to lower it even further.

5.Instead of artists like Michelangelo and Beethoven who dedicated their talents to the glory of God, we are plagued with artists who traffic in the lewd, the sensational, and the profane. Our society is in the grip of a spiritual crisis. Art reflects that crisis, but it also contributes to it. Our governments have contributed to the assault of art upon our godly heritage. We are now faced with the incredible scenario whereby our government takes our tax money and gives it to artists who use it to attack the very values that we hold dear! And when we object, we are accused of being censorship bigots who do not believe in freedom of speech! Art has become a tool of propaganda in the hands of anarchists who are determined to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundations of Western civilization.

Ex.2 Describe the performance action

Section 3. Memory Exercise

Kurt Vonnegut Interview

Some quotes

· “When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.”

· “I think human beings are awful animals. Let's pack it in. Let's stop reproducing. We're wrecking the place.”

· “The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”

· “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”

· “One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.”

· “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things.”

· “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.”

1. Q: You are a veteran of the Second World War?

Kurt Vonnegut: Yes. I want a military funeral when I die—the bugler, the flag on the casket, the ceremonial firing squad, the hallowed ground. It will be a way of achieving what I’ve always wanted more than anything—something I could have had, if only I’d managed to get myself killed in the war.

Q: After you were captured, you were shipped to Dresden?

Kurt Vonnegut: In the same boxcars that had brought up the troops that captured us—probably in the same boxcars that had delivered Jews and Gypsies and Jehovah’s Witnesses and so on to the extermination camps. As a private, I was shipped to Dresden...

Q: In Slaughterhouse-Five, you write about the firebombing of Dresden. Why didn’t you wish to testify?

Kurt Vonnegut: I had a German name. I didn’t want to argue with people who thought Dresden should have been bombed to hell. All I ever said in my book was that Dresden, willy-nilly, was bombed to hell.

Q: A couple of months later came Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Vonnegut: The most racist, nastiest act by this country, after human slavery, was the bombing of Nagasaki. Not of Hiroshima, which might have had some military significance. But Nagasaki was purely blowing away yellow men, women, and children. I’m glad I’m not a scientist because I’d feel so guilty now.

2. Q: What do you think of the efficacy of people turning out at protests and marching?

Vonnegut: I’m an old guy, and I was protesting during the Vietnam War. We killed fifty Asians for every loyal American. Every artist worth a damn in this country was terribly opposed to that war, finally, when it became evident what a fiasco and meaningless butchery it was.

Q: What’s your take on George Bush?

Kurt Vonnegut: We have a President who knows absolutely no history, and he is surrounded by men who pay no attention to history. They imagine that they are great politicians inventing something new. In fact, it’s really quite old stuff: tyranny. But they imagine they’re being creative.

Q: In 1946, Hermann Goering said at Nuremberg, “Of course, the people don’t want war.... But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.” Does it work the same way in the United States?

Vonnegut: Of course it does. Bush wouldn’t know what I’m talking about because he isn’t responsive to history, but now we’ve had our Reichstag Fire. After the First World War, Germany was trying to build a democracy. Then when the Reichstag, the legislature, was burned down in 1933, this was seen as such an emergency that human rights had to be suspended. The attack on the World Trade Towers has allowed Bush and his gang to do anything. What are we to do now?

Q: So what’s the old man’s game, then?

My country is in ruins. So I’m a fish in a poisoned fishbowl. I’m mostly just heartsick about this. There should have been hope. This should have been a great country. But we are despised all over the world now. I was hoping to build a country and add to its literature. That’s why I served in World War II, and that’s why I wrote books.

3. Q: Shaw, who you’ve described as a hero of yours, was also a socialist.

Vonnegut: It’s perfectly ordinary to be a socialist. It’s perfectly normal to be in favor of fire departments. There was a time when I could vote for economic justice, and I can’t anymore. I cast my first vote for a socialist candidate—Norman Thomas, a Christian minister.

Q: Christianity pervades your spirit.

Vonnegut: Well, of course. It’s good writing. I don’t care whether it’s God or not, but the Sermon on the Mount is a masterpiece, and so is the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In 1844, Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” He might as well have said, “Religion is the aspirin of the people.”

Q: We live in a very visual world today. Do words have any power left?What about the importance of reading books?

Vonnegut: It’s hard to read and write. To expect somebody to read a book is like having someone arrive at a concert hall and be immediately handed a violin and told to go up onstage. It’s an astonishing skill that people can read, and read well. Very few people can read well. To stare at horizontal lines of phonetic symbols and Arabic numbers and to be able to put a show on in your head, it requires the reader to perform. If you can do it, you can go whaling in the South Pacific with Herman Melville, or you can watch Madame Bovary make a mess of her life in Paris.

Q: Tell me the reasons you’ve been attracted to a life of creation, whether as a writer or an artist.

Kurt Vonnegut: I’ve been drawing all my life, just as a hobby, without really having shows or anything. It’s just an agreeable thing to do, and I recommend it to everybody. I always say to people, practice an art, no matter how well or badly you do it, because then you have the experience of becoming, and it makes your soul grow.

Section 2. Article

Jot down the key information and retell

Catchy and Trendy Business

Sports is the toy department of human life. Howard Cosell

The world of sport is continually changing over the years, and the use of technology is just one of those areas that have made an impact on many sports in the modern day. Sporting technologies are man-made means developed to reach human interests in a particular sport. One criticism of the use of technology is that it can slow down the speed of the game, but on the other hand for many people it makes watching it more enjoyable to see the correct decisions being made. Most professional sports in the United States have long used instant replay and other high-tech aids to help referees make the right call. Hawk-eye is the name of a computer and camera system which traces a ball's trajectory. It is being used in international cricket and tennis, and many other sports are also looking at making use of this technology.

Sports gear such as clothing and footwear should be user-friendly and include valuable properties such as strength, flexibility, density, thickness, durability, resistance to moisture and more importantly cost. Footwear is generally considered more for comfort and injury avoidance rather than performance enhancement, whereas clothing such as the full body suits used in swimming are often claimed to rationalise the competitor’s performance times. Sporting equipment such as the composite tennis racket has been created in order to provide enhanced ball speed, and reduce the potential vibration that can lead to a condition known as tennis elbow.

3. The carbon-fiber vaulting pole, javelins with spiral tails, golf balls with special dimple patterns, stiffer carbon-fiber tennis rackets, bicycles with new types of wheels all lead to "further and faster." Where should this end? How about electronically guided darts, heat-seeking missiles for grouse-shooting, solar-energy-enhanced bicycles, and terrain-following golf balls that automatically find the lowest local elevation on a putting surface (the bottom of the hole)? Can we ensure that people are competing and not the advanced materials?

4. In those sports incorporating individuals with a particular disability, there are a variety of methods in which assistive technology can be applied. Governments are placing increasing importance on the development of assistive technology for disabled persons, both as a matter of civil rights for these persons and the desire to make them more independent and productive members of society. For example, modifications to buildings can be made to make them wheelchair accessible, specialised equipment can also be produced and training to sports members can be offered in order to give specific assistance to those with a disability.

5. The Olympic Games started with a principle of amateur competition with those who practiced a sport professionally considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a hobby. Grassroots sport is a popular phrase which covers the amateur participation in sport at lower levels, normally without pretension towards higher achievement, and is in line with the "sport for all" mentality, where enjoyment is the primary reason for participation. The use of modern technologies in sport may mean that competition at the uppermost level is only affordable to the leading top athletes due to the potential high costs of specialised sports equipment. In the meantime, the Olympics remain a rich man’s festival and a profitable business with more and more investors invading in this field.

Section 3. Memory Exercise

Ex.1. Train these phrases using "snowball” technique.

The 2012 Olympics

1. Bookmakers expect record gambling on the 2012 Olympics after the opening ceremony prompted a flood of bets on event mastermind Danny Boyle receiving a knighthood - and confusion over wagers laid on who would light the Olympic flame.
2. But in the end, seven young athletes selected by seven British Olympians lit the flame in unison, causing divides in the bookmaking ranks over how to handle the bet.

Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen smashed the world record to win the gold medal in the women's 400 metres individual medley on Saturday, while Australia were surprise winners in the women's 4x100 metres freestyle final.

The 16-year-old unleashed an incredible sprint over the concluding freestyle leg to stop the clock at four minutes 28.43 seconds and became the first woman to break a long-course world record since the ban on polyurethane bodysuits at the end of 2009.

World number one Roger Federer survived a scare in his opening Olympics singles match against Colombia's Alejandro Falla before prevailing 6-3 5-7 6-3 on a packed Wimbledon Centre Court to book his place in the second round.

China's Wang Mingjuan extended a 10-year unbeaten international record to win gold in the first women's weightlifting event of the London Games, giving the Chinese female team a perfect start in their defence of four Olympic titles.

Section 2. Article

Jot down the key information and retell

Science is referred to as a system of objective knowledge obtained through deep researches done by the human being. There are a number of branches of science, out of which earth science, physical science and life science are the major branches. These three are considered as pure sciences. The earth science involves the study of structure and composition of the earth. The physical science is associated with the nature and behavior of energy and matter. Astronomy involves the study of the universe beyond the earth. Life science is also known as biology, which deals with the study of evolution, development, distribution, structure, origin and function of the living things. Other branches of science are associated with the practical application of result of scientific activity.

2. There are no qualms in accepting the fact that science is the biggest revolution ever to planet Earth. Science is applied in every field and every aspect of life. With the help of scientific inventions and techniques, we have got all the latest facilities and high living standards. It's the science, with the help of which human being has reached beyond the space and stepped on the Moon and sent a spacecraft to Mars. However, a normal human being has no idea to what extent has this field advanced today. As the saying goes, every rose has its thorns, and here we have a comprehensive review of the adversities this revolution has brought about.

3. Environmental Impacts. Environmental issues are the biggest concern that planet Earth is facing. Depleting ozone layer, increased global warming, reduced vegetation, climate change, animal extinction... and the list goes on and on! It is the development of industries and establishment of plants that has harmed everyone on the planet. Industrial areas, urbanization, etc. are some areas of scientific advancements, but the price is too high to be ignored.

4. Health Impacts. Medical science is no less than a blessing to mankind. Medicines produced all over the world are perceived to be a foolproof cure to a person's illness. However, there are some negatives associated with medical science too. Today, excessive consumption of drugs can lead to death. Moreover, incorrect consumption of any dosage may lead to fatal maladies, cure of which is next to impossible. Where medical science has advanced to an unbelievable extent, it entangles with itself perils of all kinds, and just a slight ignorance may prove to be a matter of life and death.

5. Technological Impacts. Technology might have made our daily life easier, but it has rendered health issues as well. Tremendous reliance and dependence on electronic gadgets, appliances, and most importantly, computer technology has made human life so lethargic that people are witnessing old age much before they are actually supposed to. With zero physical activity, science might have proven its mettle as an amazingly efficient service to its users, but has got the world adversely hooked to it!
(By Veethi Telang)

Section 3. Memory Exercise

Ex.1. Work in pairs. Listen to the sentence and translate.

1.

• Babies are born with more bones than adults have: around 300. Adults have 206.
• В России, человек которому есть 20 лет, но нет 21 скажет, что ему 20 лет, а в Америке и Европе - что ему 21 год.
• The 7 billionth human was born on October 31, 2011.
• На голове блондинов (и блондинок) в среднем по 150.000 волос, на голове брюнетов (и брюнеток) - по 100.000.
• Just one person in a room adds 37 million bacteria to the air every hour.
• Землетрясение в китайской провинции Шэньси в 1556 году забрало 830 000 человеческих жизней менее чем за три часа.
• It took radio broadcasters 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million, television 13 years, and the Internet just four years.

• У сороконожки вовсе не обязательно 40 ножек. У разных видов сороконожек(точнее, многоножек) от 30 до 400 и выше ног, причём это число может быть разным даже у особей одного вида.
• It has been found that the Hawaii islands are moving at a speed of 10 cm/year towards Japan. This is due to the fact that Japan and Hawaii lie on separate tectonic plates.
• Одна из причин гибели языков — неравномерное распределение их по числу носителей. Так, 80 % населения планеты знает лишь 80 языков. При этом 3,5 тыс. языков приходится на 0,2 % жителей Земли.
• The loudest sound produced by any living creature on earth is 188 decibels. The sound produced by The Blue Whale has been detected 560 miles away from source.
• Если число 111 111 111 умножить на самого себя, то получится интересное число 12 345 678 987 654 321
• Insects called fleas are capable of jumping up to 130 times the height of their own body.
• Длительность полного солнечного затмения не превышает 7,5 минут; полного лунного затмения - 104 минут.

• The total length of blood vessels present in human body is approximately 62,000 miles.
• В Долине смерти, самом сухом и горячем месте на земном шаре, живет свыше 15 видов птиц, 40 видов млекопитающих, 44 вида пресмыкающихся, 12 видов амфибий, 13 видов рыб и 545 видов растений.
• Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean has the deepest part on the earth. Depth of this part is 10,916 m.
• За последние 500 лет масса Земли увеличилась на миллиард тонн за счет космического вещества.
• Length of the Hubble Telescope is 13.1 m. This telescope weighs 12 tons and its total cost is 2.1 billion.
• Несмотря на то, что некоторые люди имеют в социальных сетях сотни и тысячи друзей, эффективно взаимодействовать средний человек способен не более чем со 150 контактами.
• If underwater turbines could harness just 1/1000 of the energy of the Gulf Stream's current, they could power 7 million homes.

Section 1. Перевод реалий

Реалии – это предметы и явления, отражающие особенности жизни и быта определенного народа. Благодаря соприкосновению культур, многие реалии приобретают стабильные эквиваленты в принимающей языке. (спонсор, гамбургер, рэкет). Именно переводчик представляет впервые реалию иноязычной аудитории.

В принципе, все способы, используемые в переводческой практике для передачи реалий, можно свести к четырем

1.Транскрипция транслитерация (хай-фай – система с высокой точностью звука; дайджест – краткий обзор периодической литературы,)

2.Калькирование (Salvation Army – Армия Спасения, skyscraper – небоскреб,)

3. Приблизительное соответствие (baby-sitter – приходящая няня, Grand Old Party – республиканская партия)

4. Описательный перевод (bread line – очередь безработных за получением бесплатного питания)

Упражнение 1. Переведите на русский язык.

1. Не went to the telephone and placed a person-to-person call, collect, to Mrs. Evelyn Hollenbach.

2. "Peace and prosperity" remains the GOP's best theme.

3. A radio was playing country music.

4. He became a public relations agent for General Electric, New York.

5. In the U.S. Labor Day is always celebrated on the first Monday in September.

6. On Saturday night Slim took the young man to a beer hall for a few drinks and a game of darts.

7. The customs officer asked me to step into the office. I entered the room where the Stars and Stripes stood shoulder to shoulder with the Union Jack.

8. "By the way, that is your green Ford at a parking meter outside, isn't it?" - "Yes, why?"

"There's a traffic warden putting a parking ticket on it."

9. The 180-ton ship «Mayflower,» carrying the Pilgrim Fathers to their new life across the Atlantic, left England on September 6th, 1620.

10. About 4,600 years ago — or may be more — the Stone Age inhabitants of Britain started building an enormous stone structure. This structure is now called Stonehenge, and it is near Salisbury, in the South of England.

Section 2. Article

Jot down the key information and retell

First, it is unfair to blame scientists for the undesirable results of their findings if they themselves do not put the findings in large scale application. Just like a piece of brick can be used to build house or to murder someone, the effect of scientific discovery is not up to its finders but users, like politicians, businessmen, and investors in most cases. For instance, we should not blame the scientists in the Manhattan Project for the disastrous results of atomic explosion but the politicians in the White House who decided to use it in war. If all the responsibilities went to the scientists, not the actual utilizers, it would give those abusers excuse to continue their misbehaviors, while innocent scientists become their scapegoat.

Besides, were the scientists asked to be accountable for all the possible negative outcomes of their discoveries, it will undoubtedly hind the progress of science and even our society. The process of scientific research can be compared to exploration into a dark and gloomy cavern. The experiments and researches are just like leaders of the team with torches in hand, lighting up the darkness. And who knows what in the dark? It may be treasures, yet sometimes snakes or even monsters. Likewise, scientific discovery is sometimes controversial and unfavorable. If explorers are required to be responsible for every step they move on, undoubtedly, they would become overcautious and even scared to make progress.

Admittedly, some scientific findings have already shown unfavorable impacts when discovered by scientists. For example, soon after it was discovered, scientists have recognized the formidable power of nuclear fission. In such cases, however, scientists can remind people its negative consequences. Many responsible scientists in the Manhattan Project, including Robert Oppenheimer, the Father of Atomic Bomb, wrote report to warn politicians to use the atomic bomb cautiously in war. Thus, that scientist should not be blame for the harmful effects of their discoveries does not follow that they are entirely irrelevant to the application of such discovers. Conscious scientists are always there to assume their social responsibilities. While we should put reasonable requirements and expectations on scientists, scientists themselves do have the obligations to remind people about negative consequences of their discoveries.

Section 3. Memory Exercise

Ex.1. Read a group of sentences to make sure that all collocations are clear to you. Read/listen to scientific phrase and repeat it. (10 phrases one after another)

1. We hope that this will enable us to answer these questions before long.

A short time later, a new pulse of volcanic activity occurred above the hot spot.

Today, the trend is to integrate small digital computers into the outlying parts of power control systems, such as telemetering systems.

If broken lumps of rock were the essential characteristic of the lunar surface, the same would be true for radio signals, which emphatically it is not.

Traces of lead are almost ubiquitous in nature (or are universal in occurrence)

Some of the difficulties involved in (or encountered when, or met with in) applying transistors to line transmission can be seen from...

The public's desire to have new generating stations located well outside populous areas comes into conflict with the desire not to disfigure the countryside with overhead...

The first units are unlikely to become operational until early next year.

More and more high-efficiency plants are coming into service.

This film can be applied to photographs and printing of every description (or of all kinds).

2. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the rocks.

It is a common practice to carry out a numerical analysis before entering upon an experimental investigation.

Native gold and platinum are among the minerals extensively extracted from such deposits. Differential equations are divided into ordinary and partial equations according to the number of independent variables.

The free electrons are accelerated to velocities large enough to knock fixed electrons from (or out of) their parent atoms....

The hot combustion products escape (or pass, or are discharged, or are exhausted, or are rejected) into the atmosphere.

The welded component is automatically ejected from the machine onto the main line conveyor. Remove (or Unscrew, or Take out) the four screws the back of the meter and use them to secure the adaptor plate to the meter.

This permits the application of such coating to existing piping without its removal from service.

Kepler's three laws could be deduced from Newton's theory of gravitation.

Both steam engine and hand gear should be disengaged.

3. This casts some doubt upon the usefulness of that theory.

Such practice will put unnecessary strain on the instrument and cause excessive wear on the threads. Some of the components responsible for the allergic reaction to bee sting have been identified.

One of the objectionable features of the Bohr model of the atom was the assumption of quantized energy states for the electron.

As boiling continues, the liquid volume decreases until all the liquid has boiled away.

The motor will be shut down automatically.

An air-traffic controller needs a device that can swiftly and accurately pick out the unique identification signal assigned to each aircraft.

The vane must be completely withdrawn from between the nozzles.

There is a wide variety of enclosure sized both standard and custom built (or made to order).

These operations can be done (or performed, or carried out, or executed) under pressure.

4. The transistors are acting (or serving, or functioning, or operating) as switches

The more complex, highly evolved (or advanced, or developed) species are found in rocks overlying those containing simpler, less advanced species.

Satellite communications over the last quarter of a century have gained widespread acceptance in long-distance telephony.

In the field of organic chemistry the combustion reactions are of great utility.

The metal industry uses silicon carbide extensively.

As a survey paper, it covers the field broadly.

It is also possible to learn much about... by an experimental approach [or experimentation)].

The valley ranges in width from 30 to 60 km.

Making its initial appearance to the general public at the exhibition was the hydraulic system.

Decreasing the size of the devices reduces the distance between gates, resulting in a shorter propagation delay.

5.There is much still to be learned (or that we need to learn) about superconductivity in organic materials.

We have still a long way to go toward understanding how the planets came into being.

Scientists are still a long way from creating living molecules in the laboratory.

These hormones are vitally important in the regulation of many phases of metabolism.

The assembly resembles a squirrel cage, except that the disks are tilted with respect to each other at an angle of eight degrees.

Lacking a satisfactory theory of the phenomenon, the first questions to be answered are necessarily very simple ones.

Changes of climate that may have occurred throughout the past few tens of thousands of years... Structural bonding is rapidly taking its place along with bolting, rivetting, welding, and brazing as a method of...

This idea gained wide(spread) acceptance (or recognition).

These starters have become firmly established as the most advanced...

Ultimately what we can do here on the Earth will be limited by the same laws that govern the economy of astronomical energy sources.

6. We have to meet exacting (or stringent, or rigid) requirements.

These compounds react with water to give (or giving) simple hydrocarbons.

The properties of water in biological systems have engaged our attention primarily because of our interest in cell membranes.

The machine requires practically no maintenance apart from electrode...

Each apprentice looks after three automatics

We have not yet addressed the specific question of where and how magmas are generated.

The behaviour of the dashpot is conditioned by the viscosity of the oil used.

The usefulness of this gypsum depends upon the fact that it...

Common to both systems are the problems of corrosion and scale deposition.

This screen is acknowledged to be among (or one of) the most efficient devices available.

An isolated hydrogen atom can be treated (or considered, or regarded, or seen, or commonly thought) as a composite boson.

Hawking highlights

STEPHEN HAWKING is one of the world's greatest physicists, famous for his work on black holes. When he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease aged just 21, Stephen Hawking was only expected to live a few years. His condition means that he can now only communicate by twitching his cheek. He will be 70 this month, and in an exclusive interview with New Scientist he looks back on his life and work (04 January 2012)

1. What has been the most exciting development in physics during the course of your career?
COBE's discovery of tiny variations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background and the subsequent confirmation by WMAP that these are in excellent agreement with the predictions of inflation. The Planck satellite may detect the imprint of the gravitational waves predicted by inflation. This would be quantum gravity written across the sky.

2. Einstein referred to the cosmological constant as his "biggest blunder". What was yours?
I used to think that information was destroyed in black holes. But the AdS/CFT correspondence led me to change my mind. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.

3. What discovery would do most to revolutionise our understanding of the universe?
The discovery of supersymmetric partners for the known fundamental particles, perhaps at the Large Hadron Collider. This would be strong evidence in favour of M-theory.

How to improve your memory

"I have such a bad memory." "I'm terrible at names." "My memory is appalling." How often do you hear people describe their bad memories as if they were beyond their control?Yet there are a number of tried and tested techniques for improving your memory; you can learn to be better at it.We spoke to the memory man himself, Tony Buzan, author of more than 80 books on the subject, and asked him whether some people are simply naturally more forgetful than others.He's says nothing could be further from the truth."If you are 'simply forgetful' it simply means that you're not using your memory. It's the same as being physically unfit or unhealthy; it's within your power to change. Everyone can improve their memory. Absolutely and definitely."

How memory works

There are 100 billion neurons that make up your brain. Yes, 100 billion. These are wired up to one anther through thousands of connections, known as synapses.Your memories form when certain connections are strengthened by your experiences. This can even be recreated artificially; scientists can give an electrical impulse to a pair of neutrons and that allows the two of them to communicate more easily.

Maximising your memory

So how can you go about improving your memory? Tony recommends using his MindMap technique as a memory aid when you're trying to absorb lots of information, perhaps when you're studying for an exam.

He's written a number of books on his Mind Map technique, including 'The Most Important Graph in the World', which is published next month.The principles behind Mind Mapping suggest that trying to cram information through dull, linear note-taking actively prevents your mind from absorbing information.Instead, students should create branches of information coming off a central idea, adding images and exclamations, and making connections and associations. If you're worried about drawing this, there's a free trial of some Mind Map software available on his website.However, most people don't need to cram information for exams, they simply struggle with sudden forgetfulness, does that sound more familiar? Perhaps you sometimes go into rooms and can't remember why, or forget the groceries you need to pick up. So how can you improve your day-to-day memory? Tony says it's about making a conscious decision to form good memory habits, and changing the way you think about goals and targets. This applies even to small goals such as adding shopping to your list."You have to focus on what you want to do. Picture the outcome you want so that you have a target, you have to consciously imagine your goal. This will massively improve your brain's memory power."He argues that with the right amount of effort, you could see improvement in your memory within just a few hours.

A case in point

Proof that you can train your memory to near-superhuman levels is Dominic O'Brien, eight times World Memory Champion. This is a man who broke a world record in 2002 by memorising the order of a random sequence of 54 packs of playing cards — that's 2808 individual cards.He wasn't born with this ability; Dominic began training in 1987. Unfortunately, the secret is hard work: "I think a lot of it is practice and motivation," he explains."But I think most people can do this if they really tried, although whether everyone could get to championship sort of level I don't know"It's a great exercise for your brain… You don't have to be born with skill, just practice, but it does require an open mind."Dominic believes that there are many benefits to improving your memory, beyond simply forgetting less."We now know that if you train your working memory, it increases fluid intelligence, which is what gives you the ability to reason and solve new problems."Tony agrees: "As you train your memory, you become simultaneously more creative on all levels and fascinatingly, less stressed. It's because you're not trying to remember in linear ways, which isn't how your mind works."He has one final motivating reason for people to follow Dominic's example: "I'm happy to say that modern science is now indicating that if you train your memory, your physical brain cells make more connections and you get a more powerful brain." A more powerful brain, less stress and remembering all your groceries? Motivation indeed.

TEXT 3

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Astana became capital of Kazakhstan in 1997
• City is becoming known for striking modern architecture with a mass of strangely futuristic structures.
• President of Kazakhstan has played large role in shaping the capital and the city’s design shows Kazakhstan's ambition and desire to distance itself from the Soviet legacy.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A tip leads police to a suspect they say is connected with an airport shooting
• Two other suspects, police officers accused of killing fellow officers, remain at large
• Authorities say the officers opened fire after fellow officers tried to arrest them in a drug investigation

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

· Robert Russell's 1967 Austin-Healey was stolen in 1970 in Philadelphia

· He tracked it to a dealership in East Los Angeles

· Authorities in Philadelphia and Los Angeles helped to return the car to its rightful owner

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• For America, opening of the Arctic region could cheapen price of gas and products from Asia
• Shell is planning to drill 70 miles north of Alaska to see whether 27 billion barrels of oil are there
• If we want the U.S. to remain strong and dominant in the world, look to the north

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По данным соцопроса, после «перезагрузки» Обамы отношение россиян к США улучшилось("Bloomberg", США)

1.Согласно опросу, опубликованному сегодня, за последние три года, которые Барак Обама занимает пост президента страны, мнение россиян о США улучшилось.
В соответствии с результатами соцопроса, разосланными сегодня государственным Всероссийским центром изучения общественного мнения (ВЦИОМ), 55% респондентов ответили, что их отношение к США можно охарактеризовать как положительное или очень положительное, в то время как всего 29% оценили свое отношение как негативное.

2.Процент россиян, одобрительно относящихся к США, вырос на 33% с момента опроса осенью 2008 года, проведенного через месяц после столкновения России с грузинской армией, по