Развитие навыков устной речи

Федеральное агентство по образованию
Государственное образовательное учреждение высшего
профессионального образования
«ЧИТИНСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»
(ЧитГУ)
Ю.А. Липка-Ким
Развитие навыков устной речи
Учебное пособие для студентов 3 курса
специальности 032301.65 - Регионоведение
Чита 2008
УДК 802,0(075)
3
ББК 81,2 Англ.я 7
____________
[б и б л и о т е к а ч и т и н с к о г о
ББК Ш 13 (Англ) я 7
v
л
гсеудлРСТВЕнног0
УНИВЕРСИТЕТА
УНИВЕРСИТЕТА
'
1ИНВ
ИНВ. № ___
613
ISBN 978-5-9293-0334-0
Предисловие
Липка-Ким, Ю.А. Развитие навыков устной речи: учеб. пособие
/ Ю А . Липка-Ким. - Чита: ЧитГУ, 2008. - 138 с.
Учебное пособие разработано в соответствии с программными
требованиями к обучению
Табл. 5 Библ. 14 найм.
В
учебном
пособии
представлены
монологические
тексты
навыкам уст ной речи
и принципам
с
лингвострановедения. Цель данной работы - расш ирение активного
упражнениями, предназначенные для развития навыков устной речи и
словарного запаса, развит ие навыков двустороннего перевода и
рендерирования.
коммуникации
на
взаимодействия
Учебное
пособие
предназначается
для
студентов
3
курса
специальности 032301.65 - Регионоведение.
студентов
с
английском
языке
человека с природой,
экологической
по
актуальным
а такж е
ситуацией
в
США,
вопросам
ознакомление
глобальных
экологических проблемах и о способах их решения.
В данном пособии представлены тексты, составленные на
ISBN 978-5-9293-0334-0
основе оригинальной американской и английской учебной и научной
литературы,
освещающие основы экологической науки, а также
Рекомендовано к изданию решением редакционно-издательского
проблемы
совета ЧитГУ
природных ресурсов, глобальное перенаселение.
Ответственный
за
выпуск
Т.Б.
Макарова,
доцент
кафедры
окруж ающей
среды:
виды
загрязнений,
истощение
Фактический материал, содержащийся в каждом тексте,
регионоведения Северной Америки ЧитГУ
сопровождается упражнениями, направленными на обработку и
Рецензенты: 1. Е.Б. Жавкина, к.филол.н., доцент кафедры
закрепление лексических единиц, грамматических структур, основных
иностранных языков ЗабГГПУ им. Чернышевского;
навыков перевода, рендерирования и резюмирования, а такж е на
2. Е.Н. Алексеева, к.филол.н., доцент кафедры
совершенствование навыков устной речи.
иностранных языков Читинского института БГУЭП
Настоящее пособие предназначено для студентов 3-го курса
специальности 032301.65 «Регионоведение», для студентов языковых
© Читинский государственный университет, 2008
© Ю.А. Липка-Ким, 2008
факультетов вузов, а также для всех тех, кто интересуется
вопросами экологической ситуации в США и в мире.
4
UNIT 1. INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
5
For Ecology, Geography is a very important discipline because of the
specific distribution o f living beings on Earth.
Text 1
Study the vocabulary.
Mathematics is crucial for Ecology, for example for the calculus,
appeal - обращаться
statistics, projections and extrapolations when Ecologists deal with specific
disintegration - распад
information about the number and distribution of species, the evaluation of
relate to - иметь отношение; связывать
biomass, population growth, extension o f communities and biodiversity,
calculus - исчисление '
and to quantify the environmental pressures at a given biome.
extrapolation - экстраполяция
Climatology and Meteorology are significant disciplines that help
species-разновидность; виды
Ecologists to understand how the variation on climatic conditions at a given
equilibrium - равновесие
region influences on biodiversity. Climatology and Meteorology help
interaction - взаимодействие
Ecologists to know how the regional or global climate increases or reduces
intimately - тесно
the probabilities of survival as of individuals as of populations and
Ecology as a science
Ecology is a branch of biological sciences dealing with the
interactions between organisms and their environment (chemical and
physical factors).
Ecology is a multidisciplinary science that appeals to Biology,
Climatology, Chemistry, Biophysics, Engineering, Mechanics, etc.
Ecology makes use of Physics because all biotic processes has to do
with the transference o f energy, as from producers, which take advantage
of light energy for producing complex organic compounds, to bacteria,
which obtain chemical energy by the disintegration of the molecular
structures of other organisms.
Ecology uses Chemistry because all the metabolic processes and
physiology o f biosystems depend on chemical reactions.
Ecology relates to Geology because biomes depend on the geological
structure of the environment.
communities in a given region, and to relate the regional climate with the
distribution of organisms on Earth.
There are many disciplines working into Ecology. We have only
mentioned the most important disciplines, those intimately related to it.
The main levels of organization in Ecology are five:
1. Individual: Individual is any living being. Individuals act
reciprocally with the environmental abiotic factors, which limit their
distribution.
2. Population: A group of individuals of a given species that live in a
specific geographic area.
3. Community: All the living beings distributed into a specific
geographical area. A community includes organisms o f different species.
4. Ecosystem: The term refers to all the abiotic factors (physical and
chemical constituents) and all the communities that established in a specific
area. Ecosystem is the aggregate of all organisms (biotic factors) living in a
6
7
community and all the nonliving (abiotic factors) with which they interact.
biota - биота, фауна и флора
There is a fine equilibrium between biotic and abiotic factors in the
interaction - взаимодействие
ecosystems.
anticipate - предвидеть, предупреждать
5.
Biosphere: It is the whole portion of Earth colonized by living
beings. Biosphere is the sum of all the ecosystems established on Earth.
readjustment - исправление
causation - причинение
magnitude -величина, важность
1. Answer the questions.
intrusion (into)- вторжение
- What is Ecology?
inextricable - сложный, запутанный
- Why is Ecology a multidisciplinary science?
population - 1) популяция (биол.); 2) население (демограф.)
- What is ecosystem?
community - сообщество
- What levels of organization in ecology do you know? What do they
cause - быть причиной, вызывать
consist of?
affect - воздействовать
damage - повреждать, причинять ущерб
2. Supply the words and word combinations from the text.
Взаимодействие’ бактерий,
химическая
реакция,
respond to - реагировать на
перенос
response to - ответ на
энергии, распад молекул, метаболические процессы, биологическая
intact - нетронутый
вариативность, климатические условия, популяция, тесно связанные
terrestrial - земной, наземный
науки, живые существа, физические и химические компоненты.
endanger - угрожать, подвергать опасности
interplay- взаимодействие
Text 2
enhance - увеличивать, усиливать
Study the vocabulary.
fuel - топливо
layer - слой
discard - сбрасывать, выбрасывать
composition - состав
penetrate - проникать
cycling - круговорот (вещества)
requisite - необходимый, требуемый
fragile - хрупкий
treat - рассматривать
fauna - фауна
flora - флора
intricately - запутанный, сложный
solid - твердый
г
9
Biosphere
ago. At present biosphere includes vast numbers of plants, animals, and
Terrestrial features and ocean basins, elements of weather and.
other life-forms of our planet, many of them are yet to be discovered.
characteristics o f climate, flora, and fauna comprise the building blocks of
Biosphere is a relatively thin life-supporting layer around the Earth
that complex mosaic called the environment. It is an overworked word that
containing living organisms, which is strongly influenced in composition,
means, the totality of things that in any way may affect an organism.
structure and energetics by the living organisms. Part o f the biosphere,
Humans exist within a natural environment— the sum of the physical
containing the highest concentration of living matter - the Earth's thin and
world—that they have modified by their individual and collective actions.
fragile "film of life" - varies from a few meters in deserts and tundra to a
Forests have been cleared, grasslands plowed, dams built, and cities
hundred meters in tropical forest regions and oceans.
constructed. On the natural environment, then, has been erected a cultural
The biosphere is a complex system of energy use and material
environment, modifying, altering, or destroying the balance of nature that
cycling. This system runs on energy flowing into it from the Sun and it
existed before human impact was expressed. This chapter is concerned with-
gives off energy (primarily as heat) to space.
the interrelation between humans and the natural environment that they
have so greatly altered and endangered.
The biosphere is an intricately interlocked system, containing all that
is needed for life, all that is available for life to use, and all that ever will be
Since the beginnings of agriculture, humans have changed the face of
available. The ingredients of the thin ecosphere must be, and are, constantly
the earth, have distorted delicate balances and interplays of nature, and, in
recycled and renewed in nature: plants purify the air; the air helps to purify
the process, have both enhanced and endangered the societies and the
the water; the water and the minerals are used by plants and animals and
economies that they have erected. The essentials of the natural balance and
are returned for reuse.
the ways in which humans have altered it are not only our topics here but
We can divide the biosphere into two parts, living and nonliving, or
are also matters of social concern that rank among the principal domestic
biotic and abiotic. The biotic part of the biosphere consisting of fauna and
and international issues of our times. As we shall see, the fuels we
flora is known to be called biota. We can further divide the abiotic portion
consume, the raw materials we use, the products we create, and the wastes
into three interrelated parts: the solid Earth or lithospherethe -
we discard all contribute to the harmful alteration of the biosphere or
reaches of the earth's crust - a few thousand feet at most, containing the
ecosphere— the thin film of air, water, and earth within which we live.
soils that support plant life, the minerals that plants and animals require to
upper
The idea of biosphere originated rather casually more than a century
exist, and the fossil fuels and ores'that humans exploit, liquid water or
ago. The concept played little part in scientific thought, however, until it
hydrosphere, and the atmosphere. It is known that the Earth contains three
was developed by the Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky. It is essentially his
main layers of the lithosphere: the crust, the mantle, and the core. The
concept of the biosphere that we accept today.
hydrosphere is the sphere of water covering and slightly penetrating the
The first living cells emerged between 4 billion and 3.8 billion years
lithosphere, composed of all the oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, streams,
10
11
springs, etc.- much of it locked in ice or earth and not immediately
relationships among living things, and between living things and other parts
available for use; The atmosphere is the gaseous envelope, surrounding the
of the environment. It is the branch of biology. Facts about ecological
Earth, some 6-7 miles (9.5-11.25 km) thick; the air.
systems are drawn from biology, geology, chemistry, physics, and other
The biosphere, therefore, consists of two inextricable components:
sciences. Originally ecology was treated as environmental biology. Modem
(1) a nonliving outside (solar) energy source and requisite chemicals, and
ecology has to deal with environmental problems caused by human
(2) a living world of plants and animals. In turn, the biosphere may be sub­
activities.
divided into specific ecosystems, which are made up of the population of
Environment* is everything around you - people, weather, animals,
organisms (biomes) existing together in a particular area and of the
plants and so on. People have always affected the environment. But the
necessary base environment of energy, air, water, soil, and chemicals. The
population growth along with emergence of industrial world economy
most important principle concerning all ecosystems: everything is
during the last two centuries has increased the magnitude, complexity and
interconnected. Any intrusion or interruption in the balance that has been
rate of these modifications. Today environment is not just modified by
naturally achieved inevitably results in dislocations and generally
human action: it is radically transformed. Global satellite observation of the
unexpected and perhaps undesirable effects elsewhere in the system. Each
Earth have revealed that about 60 % of land surface is to some extent
organism occupies a specific and essential niche, or place, within an
damaged by industrial, agricultural, and other human activities, whereas no
ecosystem. In the energy exchange system, each organism plays a definite
more than 40 % remains intact.
role; individual organisms survive because of other organisms that also live
Humankind is entering a new era in its evolution characterized by a
in that environment. The problem lies not in recognizing the niches but in
new relationship with nature. An understanding o f how the biosphere
anticipating the chain of causation and the readjustments of the system con­
works, and how it responds to the global environmental change is of
sequent on disturbing the occupants of a particular niche.
fundamental importance.
Ecology is a branch of science which treats the world of nature including its human component - at certain levels of biological
organization. It is the study of the living organisms interactions with each
♦Physical environm ent is that part o f the environment, which has to do with
nature; that part o f the environm ent which m an has not made. It is a set o f complicated
conditions in nature, w hich influence living things. Social environm ent is that part o f
other and with their environment. Particular concern of the ecologists is
with the "higher" levels of life organization: from populations to biosphere.
the environment, w hich has to do with people - their customs, roles ideas, government, ■
and other things.
The functional unit in ecology is the ecosystem because it includes all of
the interactions of communities with both their living (biotic) and their
1. Answer the questions.
nonliving (abiotic) environments.
Ecology is a multidisciplinary science. It is the study of the
- How would you define the biosphere?
12
13
Earth's surface.
- W hat d o c s the b io sp h e re coiin InI о IV
3. ...is a region of gases, airborne particles, and water vapor
- What is the biota? What is bionic?
enveloping the Earth.
- When did the first living cclls emerge on our planet?
4. ...is the solid Earth with the rocks, soils and sediments on its crust
- What are the limits of the "film of life"?
5. ... is the area of the biosphere where life is possible.
- What levels o f biological organization in nature are of particular interest
4. Transform the sentences.
for ecology?
MODEL:
- What major factor has increased the intensity and scale of the biosphere
transformations over the past two centuries?
human activities are reversible?
2. Vernadsky's concept of the biosphere is accepted today.
3. The functional unit in ecology is the ecosystem.
2. Compile correct sentences.
4. The industrial world economy has caused present-day transformation of
the molecular transformations in
the environment.
chemical reactions
Ecology
...treats...
1. The activities of living matter determine the structure, composition, and
energetics of the biosphere.
- What is meant under natural and cultural environment?
...dealsw ith...
It is the activities of living organisms that influence the
biosphere.
- Do you think the present-day biosphere transformations caused by
Physics
The activities of living organisms influence the biosphere.
the interactions of subatomic
particles
6. Find in the text the chains of synonyms. M ake up your own
Chemistry
...is concerned
the structure and functioning of the
with...
biosphere
sentences with these words.
7. Find in the text the equivalents of the following.
Земная
поверхность,
хрупкий
баланс,
взаимосвязанные
элементы, потребление топлива, неизбежный результат, разрушать
3. There are several definitions in the text. W hat are they? Complete
природный баланс, живые организмы, земная кора, мантия, ядро,
г
the sentences.
функциональная
единица,
газообразная
оболочка,
спутниковые
наблюдения.
1. ...is the layer around the Earth in which all living organisms
exist.
8. Say it in English.
2. ...is the sum total of all liquid and frozen water on or near the
1. Современная концепция биосферы была развита русским
14
15
ученым В.И. Вернадским более 50 лет назад. Биосфера - это слой
nucleic acid - нуклеиновая кислота
вокруг Земли, который содержит все "живое вещество" на нашей
to supply - снабжать, поставлять
планете. Биосфера - слой вокруг Земли, который преобразован
fossil fuel - ископаемое топливо
живыми организмами. Жизнь на Земле возникла около 3.8 миллиарда
surplus - излишек, избыток
лет назад.
turn out - оказаться
2. Биосфера - это сложная система преобразования энергии и
exceed - превышать, превосходить
круговорота веществ. Биосфера "работает " на энергии, поступающей
fix - связывать
в нее от Солнца. Толщина слоя биосферы, содержащего наивысшую
fraction - дробь, частица, доля
концентрацию живого вещества (пленка жизни), варьирует от
to decompose - разлагаться
нескольких метров до сотен метров.
appropriation - присвоение, назначение; appropriation- in-aid
3. Экология
- многодисциплинарная
наука,
основанная
на
consumption - потребление
биологии, физике химии и многих других науках. Взаимодействие
indicate - показатель, знак
человека с природой имеет глобальный и постоянный характер. Человек
to nourish - питать
воздействует на окружающую среду и изменяет ее. Биосфера отвечает
to result in - приводить к чему-либо
(реагирует) на эти воздействия
metabolism - обмен веществ
4. Сегодня окружающая среда коренным образом преобразована в
uptake - поглощение
результате деятельности человека. Около 60 % природных экосистем
by three orders o f magnitude - на три порядка
суши
sediment - осадочная порода, отложение(геол.)
в
той
или
иной
степени
разрушено
в
результате
сельскохозяйственной, промышленной и других видов деятельности
derive - происходить, получать, извлекать
человека. Не более 40 % суши еще остается нетронутой.
Prim ary production of the biosphere
Text 3
The ultimate source of biological energy is the Sun. Green plants trap
Study the vocabulary.
Sun's light and convert it into chemical energy. In the ability to synthesize
respiration - дыхание
organic compounds with energy absorbed from sunlight, green plants are
ultimate - основной, первичный
almost alone. Fortunately for other living organisms, for animals and
to trap - улавливать, поглощать
mankind, all of which live at the expense of green plants either directly or
carbohydrate - углевод
indirectly, the green plants carry on far more photosynthesis than it is
protein - белок
necessary to meet their own needs. They provide a substantial surplus,
16
which nourishes every living thing on Earth.
17
organisms. Oxygen is absorbed in the respiration process. Carbon dioxide
Fossil fuels are carbon-containing remains of plants that lived
and water are formed as a result of this process and can be used for
hundreds of millions of years ago ("fossil" comes from a Latin word for
photosynthesis again. Chemical material can circulate for an unlimited
something that has been "dug up"). The plants were buried and compressed
period of time taking part in photosynthesis or respiration. It is quite
in sediments and gradually transformed into coal, petroleum (oil), and
different with energy: it should be continuously supplied by the Sun.
natural gas - fossil fuels we extract from the Earth nowadays. In these fossil
All the energy that the plant fixes results in the formation of sugar.
fuels is a wealth o f energy from the Sun, stored in the form o f chemical
Conversely, all the sugar produced in the leaves of green plants is derived
bonds within the molecules.
from carbon dioxide and water which have been combined by solar energy.
The reaction of photosynthesis is catalyzed by chlorophyll acting
Thus it is theoretically possible to determine the entire energy uptake of
with one or more other pigments. The products of this reaction are
plants by measuring the total amount of produced organic compounds. This
carbohydrates, such as sugar (glucose), and oxygen:
quantity is called gross primary production. The rate at which plants
6C02 (Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) + 6H20 (Water from the soil) +
convert light energy to the chemical energy of organic compounds is called
gross primary productivity. Some of the sugar produced in photosynthesis
Chlorophyll
is lost immediately through respiration for the metabolic needs of plant
+ hv (Light energy)
------------>
C6Hi206 (Sugar (glucose) in plant cells) +
cells, so: Net Primary Production =
Gross Primary Production -
Enzymes
Respiration
Photosynthesis and respiration
+ 602 (Released qxygen) ■
Glucose can be converted into other energy-rich organic substances
Sunlight
Green Plants (Photosynthesis)
Oxygen, Sugar Molecules
and in this form stored; it can be combined with other sugar molecules to
-> Green Plants, Animals (Aerobic Respiration) -> Carbon
form cellulose; and it can be used for building complex molecules such as
Dioxide, Water-> Green Plants (Photosynthesis)
proteins, nucleic acids, pigments/ hormones. All the reactions are energy
Notice that sugar molecules (carbohydrates) are energy-rich
requiring. This energy is provided by using some of the sugar as energy
compounds, while carbon dioxide and water are energy-poor ones. The
source. Oxidation of sugar or any other organic substances by organisms is
portion of energy which goes into the photosynthesis is a small fraction of
called respiration:
solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface.
The average power of net primary productivity can be estimated at
Enzymes
C6H 1206 + 6 02 -- > 6 C02 + 6H20 + Usable energy.
As a result of photosynthesis, 02 is released as a by-product. In the
respiration process organic compounds break up to supply energy for living
about 0.5 W/m2. This value is by three orders of magnitude less than the
power of solar radiation at the Earth's surface (which is equal to 150
W/m2).
18
19
Why are most plants green instead of blue or red, for example? The
answer is that not all wavelengths of visible light are equally absorbed by
plants. The fact that green wavelengths are reflected indicates that they
contain little' energy useful in photosynthesis. The colors we do not see,
such as the blue and red wavelengths that are absorbed rather than reflected
- Will there be any oxygen left in the atmosphere after all the organic
matter of the biosphere is oxidized?
- When did the first photosynthetic organisms emerge?
- How would you explain the apparent excess of oxygen in the present-day
atmosphere.
by plant leaves, are those important in "green power".
Photosynthetic organisms emerged more than 2 billion years ago,
2. Name these substances.
and turned out to be a basic force of evolution. Oxygen, a by-product of
their activities, began to
02, 03, H2, C, H20, C02, C6H I206
accumulate in the atmosphere. Present-day
amount of oxygen in the atmosphere exceeds the amount that would be
necessary to decompose all organic compounds in the
biosphere
3. W ork with English-English dictionary and explain in English.
by
To catalyze, to synthesize, photosynthesis, to oxidize, enzyme.
three orders of magnitude. The reason for this seeming paradox is that
oxygen in its free form released into the atmosphere during the synthesis of
all organic substances that are deposited in sediments. Ecologists calculated
that nowadays human appropriation of the net primary production (NPP) of
the biosphere is about 40 % of the photosynthetic product on land each
year. Direct human consumption is about 4 % through plant and animal
food and firewood. Another 36 % of the NPP is taken up indirectly as crop
wastes, burning and clearing forests, creation of deserts, etc
4. Complete the sentences.
a )
is a gas without colour, smell or taste, necessary for all life, which
forms about one fifth of the air............contains hydrogen a n d ............
b )
is the smallest possible quantity of a substance that can exist
separately without losing its chemical characteristics.
c )
d )
is the natural coloring matter of living things.
is an internal secretion that passes into the blood and produces
activity in one of the bodily organs.
1. Answer the questions.
- What are the three necessary components that make up glucose in the
photosynthetic process?
- What happens as a result of glucose oxidation in the aerobic respiration
process?
- How do plants fix energy?
- What is a) gross primary production, b) net primary production?
- What is the origin of oxygen in the biosphere?
e )
is the substance which forms the chief part of all plants and trees. •
It is used to make paper, artificial silk, etc.
f)
is sugar found in fruits, grape-sugar.
g )
is the green colouring matter o f plants.
h )
is the process by which food is built up into living matter or by
which living matter is broken down into simple substances. All life
depends on it.
i)
is an organic substance, containing nitrogen, carbon, oxygen,
20
21
hydrogen and sulphur. It is an essential part of food. And is contained in
biologically.
such things as milk, eggs, beans,.........
- The atmosphere behaves like panes of glass in a greenhouse.
j) .... Is the lightest known gas, without colour, taste or smell. It bums
easily and
with oxygen to fo rm ..........
- Competition and reproduction of organisms in any population are the
main processes providing life stability.
- The ozone layer is vitally important for life on Earth.
5. Change passive construction into active.
MODEL: All meteorological processes are driven by solar energy.
- Photosynthetic organisms capture only a small fraction of solar energy
reaching the Earth's surface.
Solar energy drives all meteorological processes.
- Life activities within an ecosystem are supported by the sunlight energy.
- Much o f infrared radiation is absorbed by water vapor and carbon
dioxide.
8. Say it in English.
1. Фотосинтез - это процесс, в котором клетки зеленых
растений преобразуют энергию солнечного света в химическую
- Organic substances are produced by living organisms.
шергию органических соединений. Продуктами реакции фотосинтеза
- The reaction of photosynthesis is catalyzed by chlorophyll and other
являются богатые энергией углеводы такие как глюкоза, а также
pigments.
кислород.
2. Глюкоза используется клетками живых организмов как
6. Solve the problem.
Источник энергии при построении молекул белков, нуклеиновых
Suppose that some object is exposed to sunlight. What colour light is
reflected (rather than absorbed) if you see that the object is: a) white; b)
black; c) red?
кислот, гормонов. Эти превращения требуют энергии.
3. Процесс дыхания растений и животных - это окисление.
СЙХаров
и
других
богатых
энергией
веществ.
Энергия,
иwe побеждающаяся в процессе дыхания, используется клетками
7. Give sentences developed from the leading statem ent using such
introductory phrases as:
М1И1.1Х организмов.
4. Валовая первичная продукция — это общее количество
I hope you remember that...
It's a well-known fact that...
As you all know...
There is no doubt that...
You might know that...
The point is that...
You probably know that...
As it was mentioned before...
- Net primary production is the amount of energy left after subtracting the
respiration of plants from the total amount of solar energy that is fixed
мн'ргии, запасенной биосферой в продуцированной органике. Энергия
'ингой первичной продукции равна валовой первичной продукции,
минус шергия процесса дыхания. Существуют методы прямого
определения
первичной
продукции,
основанные
на
измерении
скорости поглощения растениями радоактивного углерода С14.
5 . Химические вещества могут циркулировать в биосфере
22
23
неопределенно долго, принимая участие или в фотосинтезе или в
The trouble began in the summer of 1971, when Times Beach hired a
дыхании. Энергия для этой циркуляции непрерывно поставляется
man to spread oil on its 10 miles of dirt roads to keep down the dust.
Солнцем.
6.
Unfortunately, his chief occupation was removing used oil and other waste
Фотосинтетические
организмы
появились
более
миллиардов лет назад. Фотосинтез оказался одной из главных сил,
предопределивших процесс эволюции. Количество кислорода в
современной биосфере превосходит на три порядка то его количество,
двух
from a downstate chemical factory, and it was a mixture o f these products
that he sprayed all over town that summer and the next. The tens of
thousands of gallons of purple sludge were contaminated with dioxin, the
most toxic substance ever manufactured.
которое потребовалось бы для окисления всех органических веществ
биосферы.
Effects of the dioxin exposure appeared almost immediately in two
riding arenas that had been sprayed. Within days, hundreds of birds and
N m all
9. Listen to the text “Energy” . Answer the questions.
- What is energy?
- In what two ways does energy work?
- What kinds of energy do you know?
animals died, kittens were stillborn, and many horses became ill and
died. Then residents began reporting a variety of medical disorders,
including miscarriages, seizure disorders, liver impairment, and kidney
cunccr. Not until 1982 did the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
nlcrtcd to high levels of dioxin in wastes stored at the chemical plant, make
и thorough investigation of Times Beach. They found levels o f the dioxin
10. Read the story of Times Beach. It is one of many that could have
compound TCDD as high as 300 parts per billion in some of the soil
been selected to illustrate how people can affect the quality of the
<
water, air, and soil on which their existence depends.
wimples: 1 part per billion is the maximum concentration deemed safe. The
ITA purchased every piece of property in town and ordered its evacuation.
Times Beach, Missouri, used to be a tight-knit, working-class
community along the Meramec River southwest of St. Louis. Now the
I
I'lnd Russian equivalents to the following.
people are gone. Empty houses and stores, abandoned cars, and rusting
itlmndoned cars
- dioxin
refrigerators stand silent. "Thanks for coming" says the sign on the Easy
muting refrigerators
- toxic substance
Living Laundromat to nonexistent customers. Wildflowers bloom on
t nntiiminate
- dioxin exposure
overgrown lawns. Flies buzz, squirrels chase each other up trees, and an
Im/iirdous waste
occasional coyote prowls the streets. Were they allowed, visitors mighl
think they were seeing an uncannily realistic Hollywood stage set. Instead,
, - stillborn kittens
medical disorders
- miscarriages
м'1/urc disorders
- liver impairment
the ghost town is a symbol o f what happens when hazardous wastes
kidney cuncer
- alert
contaminate a community.
....м ш ит concentration
-EPA
24
2. Summarize w hat the text said about
- the causes of the trouble
- the effects of dioxin exposure
- the way of solving the problem
25
Food chains and webs
O f all the solar radiation reaching the Earth, only a small fraction
(0,2-0,3 % on average) is captured and stored in organic matter by plants
(and other photosynthetic autotrophs). Then plant respiration reduces (often
by half) the energy available for other members of the ecosystem. Not all
Text 4
Study the vocabulary.
web - сеть
network - сеть
to encompass - заключать в себе
grazing food web - пастбищная пищевая сеть
tissue - ткань
fat - жир
detrital food web - детритная пищевая сеть
to incorporate - соединять
to assign - предназначать
array - ряд, множествоpredator - хищник
to digest - переваривать (пищу)
to excrete - выделять (физиол.)
humus - гумус, перегной
the energy "produced" by a green plant in its lifetime is passed along to the
consumers. Similarly, not all of the energy taken in by a herbivore during
its lifetime is available to the carnivore that consumes it. Decomposers
cycle and recycle all the biomass received from all other organisms.
Decomposers, too, are eventually decomposed.
Progressively the energy is degraded to radiant heat. Thus, there is a
one-way flow of energy into and then out of any ecosystem.
Ecologists often use the "ten percent principle" to generalize about
this energy flow. In other words, only about 10 % of the energy
incorporated into an organism at one feeding or trophic level is passed
along to the organism that consumes it. This explains why so little energy
is available beyond the fourth "link" in a typical food chain.
Many kinds of organisms obtain energy from more than one source.
Decomposers are like this; so are humans. They really are "trophic groups"
that cannot be assigned to a particular trophic level. Even so, the categories
of the trophic levels are'useful as a starting point in describing the feeding
to retain - удерживать
relationships in an ecosystem.
extinct - вымерший, исчезнувший
mollusc - моллюск
to degrade - 1) ухудшать; 2) снижать
prey - добыча, жертва .
Ecologists have learned that under natural conditions the trophic
relationships are rarely simple enough to be called a food chain. More
typically, the same food resource is part of more than one chain, especially
when the resource is at one of the low trophic levels. Such interconnected
to sustain - поддерживать
feeding relationships take the form of food webs. A food web is a network
of crossing, interlinked food chains encompassing primary producers and
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27
array of consumers and decomposers. The one-way flow of energy is
been studied for their ecological relationships and their role in ecosystems.
usually considered as proceeding through two types of interconnected food
Л little more than half o f the named species are insects, which dominate
webs: grazing and detrital.
terrestrial and freshwater communities worldwide. Biologists generally
In grazing food webs, herbivores consume living plant tissues and in
agree that the estimate of 1,4 million species is less than a tenth of the
turn are consumed by some array of carnivores. As inplants, the food
number that actually live on Earth. The number could be close to 10 million
assimilated by animals can be stored as carbohydrate, protein, or fat,
or as high as 100 million. Large numbers of new species continue to turn
transformed into relatively simple substances or rebuilt by the animal into
Up every year.
much more complex organic molecules. The energy to perform these
transformations is supplied by respiration.
Biologist Edward O. Wilson estimated that in the late 20th century at
least 27,000 species are becoming extinct each year.
The organic wastes and dead matter derived from the grazing food
web serve as food for decomposers and detritivores which make up the
I. Answer the questions.
detrital food web. Organisms o f the detrital food web are many and include
- What part of the solar radiation reaching the surface o f the Earth is
bacteria, fungi, earthworms, insects, molluscs, crabs, and others. Detritus
Morcd in organic matter by photosynthesiser?
organisms consume pieces of organic matter (leaf litter, dead materials,
What is the essence of the ten percent principle?
etc.) digest them and excrete the remainder in the form of simpler organic
molecules. Partially decomposed organic matter, called humus, helps retain
Why would the term-converter be better than the commonly used term
producer?
water-soluble ions that are released during the activities of soil bacteria and
What is a food chain, a food web?
other decomposers. Humus, being a stable part of the soil, maintains a
reserve of mineral elements essential for soil fertility.
Where does energy necessary for energy transformations in a detrital
(i>od web come from?
Many detritus organisms serve as prey for carnivores in the grazing
food system. Decomposers break down organic waste products and remains
• Wlmt is humus? Does the soil fertility depend on the humus content?
* I low many species does the biosphere currently support?
of photosynthesises and consumers to simple inorganic molecules, which
are then picked up by plants and recycled in the ecosystem.
)
<;ivc extended answers.
Great diversity of species in the biosphere along with complexity of
ecosystems
organization
are
the
most
essential
and
obligatory
characteristics providing life self-sustainability. About 1,4 million species,
including
single-celled
and
multicelled organisms of plants, animals,
fungi, bacteria, etc., have been named so far and fewer than 1 percent have
► I low do you personally depend upon producers in your everyday life (for
ftiml. medications, clothes, building materials, firewood, and other
hnuwliold utensils)?
•
live examples of occasions when you are a first, second, third-order
H iiiiu m c r.
28
29
3. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and match prey-
5. Learn the meanings of the word to sustain. Translate the sentences
predator pairs and pairs of competitors for the same food source.
with this verb paying attention to its different meanings and make up
C onstruct possible webs.
your own sentences using the vocabulary from the texts to dem onstrate
spider
fly
shark
whale
deer
wolf
snail
snake
grasshopper
seal
hedgehog
caterpillar
seeds,
butterfly
bird
fish
polar bear
fox
beetle
eagle
tiger
elephant
mouse
rabbit
cow
horse
grass
earthworm
plant leaves,
roots,
flowers
monkey
lion
Pig
plankton
all the meanings.
To sustain means
a) to hold up, to support;
b) enable to continue, keep from failing, give physical, mental or moral
strength;
c) keep up, maintain;
d) uphold, approve;
e) confirm, help to prove;
f) suffer, undergo, bear;
4. Ask questions to the following statements and give answers.
S tart your questions with the words
- We sustained an argument in spite of being tired after the long trip.
I wonder...
Could you clarify...
Could you tell me...
Have you any idea...
I'd like to know...
I'm interested to know...
- Can this light shelf sustain the weight of all these books?
- Food sustains life.
- He sustained a shock.
1. Plants store and provide energy used by the entire biosphere. (How?)
- The court sustained his claim.
2. Plants are normally green. (Why?)
3. Energy flows into and then out of an ecosystem. (How?)
4. Competition of individuals in a population is vitally important for
maintaining stable existence of any species. (Why?)
5. Today ecology has to deal with environmental problems caused by
human activity. (What sort of problems?)
6. Too little energy is available beyond the fourth trophic level in a typical •
food chain. (Why?)
6. M ake up new words using the prefix en- . translate them into
Russian and make 5 sentences with any of them, using also the
vocabulary from the texts. See the model: danger - endanger, compass
- encompass.
trap
wrap
’
able
force
sure
trust
slave
camp
courage
chain
noble
close
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31
7. Look up these words in the English - English dictionary and write
продуцентов, консументов и деструкторов. Величайшее разнообразие
out the principal meanings and derivatives.
видов в биосфере наряду с высокой степенью сложности организации
Intrusion,
to
recycle,
inextricably,
nutrients,
decomposition,
экосистем обеспечивает самоподдержание жизни на земле.
alteration, sludge, to deem.
9. Read the text. Give Russian correspondences to the words in bald
8. Say it in English.
type. Retell the text keeping the ball rolling.
1. В среднем, менее 1 % солнечной радиации, достигающей
поверхности
земли,
сохраняется
зелеными
растениями
Energy is never lost
в
If you are exhausted after a long walk, you may say that you've run
синтезированном органическом веществе. Ступени (звенья) пищевой
out of energy. But your energy has not disappeared; it was converted into
цепи называются трофическими уровнями. Первым звеном в цепи
преобразований
солнечной
энергии
в
экосистеме
являются
продуценты Первичными продуцентами являются главным образом
зеленые растения
2. Не
вся
усвоенная
организмами
одного
Когда энергия преобразуется в пищевой цепи, каждый следующий
уровень получает только около одной десятой части энергии
предыдущего трофического уровня. «Принцип
10%» объясняет,
почему трофическая цепь, как правило, имеет не более 5 звеньев.
3. Пищевая сеть - это сеть пересекающихся, взаимосвязанных
пищевых цепей. В пастбищной пищевой сети травоядные потребляют
ткани растений и, в свою очередь, потребляются хищниками.
деструкторов
и
детритоядных,
которые
образуют
детритную пищевую сеть. Деструкторы разлагают органические
соединения до простых неорганических молекул, которые снова
используются растениями.
5. Экосистемы
only be moved or changed from one form to another. This is the Law of
суши
energy after any change is always exactly the same as the total before.
Energy is really never lost; it is just converted to another form.
Energy is never lost, but it can be burnt up. Indeed, every time
energy is used, some is turned into heat. This is why you feel hot after
running and why light bulbs get hot. This matters because heat spreads
thinly in all directions. So although energy is not lost, it is dissipated and is
much harder to use again.
When wood bums, for instance, its energy is scattered through the
air and is hard to use again. A little more becomes unusable this way each
4. Детрит, произведенный в пастбищной пищевой цепи, служит'
для
slightly warmer. Indeed, it is impossible to destroy or create energy; it can
Conservation of Energy. What this means is that the total amount of
энергия,
трофического уровня, переходит к организмам следующих уровней.
пищей
heat as you walked, and left behind in the air and the ground, making them
time energy is used — so the energy available to make anything happen
(called free energy) gets less and less. Scientists use the Word entropy to
describe how much energy has become unusable. The less free energy there
is, the greater the entropy. Entropy is at a maximum when there is no free
energy left at all.
содержат
огромное
количество
32
33
Text 5
developed there for billions of years in spite of the salt. But the sea
Study the vocabulary.
dwellers had never utilized the salty water they lived in because nature had
abundance - изобилие, избыток
fitted them with a remarkable "de-salting apparatus" based on the capability
province - область, провинция (геологическая, климатическая)
evaporation - испарение
hold back the salty substances. This natural device is being studied today as
precipitation - выпадение осадков, осадки
transpiration
-
активное
of biologic diaphragms or membranes to let pure water get through but to
испарение
a promising way to make drinking water from the salty oceans for human
воды
листьями
растений,
транспирация
needs.
Water is important for living things for several reasons:
transportation - транспорт, перенос
- it is the medium by which nutrients are introduced into plants;
runoff - сток
- all of the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that go on within
detention - удержание, задержка
the living beings to sustain life must be carried on in water solutions;
polar caps - полярные шапки
- it is an important part of living tissue, either as liquid water or as part of
fresh water - пресная вода
uneven - неровный, неуравновешенный
reverse - обратное, противоположное (чему-либо)
essential organic molecules (relatively little water found in living tissues is
chemically bound: living organisms are nearly 71 % of H20 , the human
body itself is three fourth water);
aloft - наверху, в воздухе
- it serves as a means of thermal regulation for both plants and animals.
turnover - оборот, кругооборот
The following terms are used to define the ways in which water is
W ater cycle
About 1,4 billion cubic kilometers (1,4x109 Gigatons) o f water in
moved or stored within the province of the land, oceans, or atmosphere:
- evaporation: release of water as vapor into the atmosphere;
liquid and frozen form make up the oceans, lakes, streams, glaciers, and
- precipitation: release of water from the atmosphere as rain or snow;
groundwater. The oceans and seas cover roughly 71 percent o f the Earth's
- transpiration: evaporative water loss from leaves o f plants (the most
surface, with an average depth of 3,795 meters. An abundance of water in
transpiration takes place during the day);
liquid form makes the Earth unique, no other planet in the solar system has
- transportation: movement of water with winds or as surface runoff;
this feature.
- detention: temporary storage of water on land or in oceans.
Water is the medium of life: without the cycling of water
Over many millions of years, the amount of water on Earth has
biogeochemical cycles could not exist, ecosystems could not function and
remained the same. Almost 95 % of total water on Earth is chemically
life could not be maintained. Life began in the salty oceans and steadily
bound in rocks and does not cycle. O f the remainder, about 97,3 % is salt
water contained in oceans, about 2,1 % exists as ice in the polar caps and
35
34
permanent glaciers. Fresh water in lakes and streams makes up 0,036
percent, while groundwater is 10 times more abundant at 0,365 percent.
The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is sufficient to cover the
entire globe to a depth of 2,5 cm. In the atmosphere at sea level, water
vapor is present (by volume) in 0,3 % in tropical regions and in 210-5 % in
Antarctic region. Each of the above is considered to be a reservoir of water.
Water continuously circulates between these reservoirs in what is called the
hydrologic cycle.
Land approximately equals the surface runoff and makes about 1/3 of the
total water cycle over the land. Practically 2/3 of the cycle provides plants
transpiration (water flow evaporated from the Earth's surface, lakes and
rivers is negligibly small compared with the flow of transpiration). In
tropical forests up to 90 percent o f incoming solar radiation goes to
transpiration, a process so efficient that ecologists refer to tropical forests
as "rain machines". With deforestation, this vigorous recycling of water
will weaken and could lead to dramatic climate change.
The hydrologic cycle is driven by solar energy and gravity.
Evaporation, precipitation, movement of the atmosphere, and the downhill
flow of river water, glaciers, and groundwater keep water in motion
between the reservoirs and maintain the hydrologic cycle. Water is returned
1. Answer the questions.
- What features make the Earth unique in the solar system?
- Is the characteristic "medium of life" suitable for water? Why?
continually to the atmosphere by evaporation from land areas and from the
- In what physical states or phases does water exist on Earth?
surface of oceans, lakes, and streams. Large amounts are also transpired by
- What are the main processes due to which water circulates between
passing up the root system of plants and then through the leaves into the
different reservoirs?
atmosphere. This system of circulation brings water back to land and
- What percent does the fresh water make up of all cycling water?
oceans, after it is released from the atmosphere as precipitation - either rain
- What part of total water cycle flow over the land is provided by the
or snow. The rate of cycling between surface and atmosphere is very rapid.
transpiration of green plants?
Water molecules do not stay aloft for more than ten days, on average, so
- What are the major reasons for combating deforestation worldwide?
the turnover rate is rapid for the airborne part of the cycle. Water released
- How would you explain the paradox: the abundance o f water on Earth,
as precipitation remains on land for about 10 to 120 days, depending on the
on the one hand, and the shortage of water for human needs, on the other
season and where it falls. Then some of it evaporates or is transpired by
hand?
plants or is carried by rivers and streams to seas and the cycle begins again.
Plants actively recycle the rainwater back to the atmosphere. The
2. Transform the following words into negative adding appropriate
total power of plant transpiration is 3xl03TW (1 Terawatt = 1012 Watt).
prefixes: in, im, ir, un, a, non. Make possible word combinations
This power is about, thirty times more than the total power of
using these words. Example: reversible - irreversible - irreversible
photosynthesis in the biosphere, and it is of the same order of magnitude as
changes o f environment
wind power or power of oceanic waves. Net gain of water from Oceans to
Sufficient, even, natural, biotic, limited, direct, living, organic,
37
36
океанов обладают замечательной способностью обессоливать воду,
stable, correct, protected, possible, regular, finite, reversible.
необходимую для их жизнедеятельности. Они делают это с помощью
3. Translate the following phrases into Russian and use them in the
специальных биологических мембран, которые пропускают молекулы
поды, но задерживают молекулы соли.
sentences of your own.
Up to now, shortly after, every now and then, by (toward) the end of
3. Количество воды в тканях живых организмов составляет
fhe century, from this time on, at about the same time, as early as 1800,
около 70 процентов. Вода является средой для
well before, day in and day out, over many years, most recently, most of
химических реакций, протекающих в живом организме.
сотен тысяч
the time, in the very long (short) run, throughout the 20th century, in the
4. Около 97 % воды, циркулирующей в водном круговороте,
course of a few million years, within the next few years, for a while, within
составляет соленая вода океанов. Вода, существующая в виде
the span of 200 years.
полярных льдов и в других ледниках, составляет около двух
процентов. Пресная вода озер и рек составляет 0,036 %, в то время как
4. Find in the text the English words and phrases corresponding to the
подземных вод в 10 раз больше.
5. В среднем, молекулы воды остаются в атмосфере около
Russian equivalents.
Дождевая вода, испарение воды растениями, обитатели морей,
десяти дней, а затем выпадают на землю в виде дождя или снега.
пар, на три порядка выше, приблизительно, поступающие солнечное
Транспирация - это процесс активного испарения воды листьями
излучение,
растений. Общая мощность транспирации растений составляет 3x10/3
обезлесевание,
грунтовые воды, солнечная
система,
приспособление, земной шар, корневая система растений.
t
Тераватт. Транспирация зеленых растений обеспечивает примерно 2/3
кругооборота воды над сушей.
5. Say it in English.
1. Океаны покрывают 71 % поверхности Земли. Суммарный
6. Listen to the text “The Universal Thermodynamic Laws”. Answer
объем воды в океанах, морях, озерах, реках и ледниках равен 1,4x10/9
the questions.
км3 (1,4x10/9 Gt). Средняя температура земной поверхности равна
- Who developed the idea of entropy?
15°С, поэтому вода на Земле существует в трех физических
- Why does a steam engine work?
состояниях - жидком, твердом (лед) и газообразном (пар). Обилие
- Does the energy move from high to low or vice versa?
жидкой воды на Земле делает ее уникальной среди других планет
- What is the first law of thermodynamic?
солнечной системы.
- What is the second law of thermodynamic?
2. Первые живые существа на Земле появились в океане
примерно 3.8 - 3.9 миллиарда лет назад. Обитатели соленых вод
- What is it said in the text about the idea of Heat Death?
Notes: entropy 1) measure of disorganization or degradation in the
38
Universe that reduces available energy; 2) tendency of available energy to
или/и продукты его жизнедеятельности. Образовавшись естественным
путем, биосфера превратила продукты своей жизнедеятельности в
dwindle.
техносферу.
Социальная сфера - это часть окружающей среды, связанная с
7. Translate the text into English.
человеком. Она составляет предмет изучения большого цикла
Окружающая среда
Экология
-
это
наука
о
взаимоотношениях
сообществ
организмов с окружающей средой. В этом плане можно говорить об
социальных
(общественных)
наук
-
психологии,
экономики, истории, культурной антропологии и др.
экологическом подходе в разных науках как естественных, так и
социальных.
Окружающая среда - это всё, от чет мы зависим: предметы и
явления,
которые
нас
окружают (важно учитывать
причинно-
UNIT 2. ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. REVIEW.
Text 1
следственные связи). Окружающая среда может быть разделена
Study the vocabulary.
условно на естественную и искусственную (или видоизменённую, или
to undergo - подвергаться
антропогенную, или техногенную). Грань, разделяющая эти два вида
implacably - неумолимо
окружающей среды, исключительно тонка, и их взаимопроникновение
breakdown - крушение
повсеместно.
species - виды
Окружающая среда в пределах планеты может быть разделена
human species - человеческий род
на особые сферы, называемые геосферами, которые на нас (человека)
on the brink of extinction - на грани исчезновения
воздействуют. К ним относятся литосфера (каменная оболочка земли,
to undermine - подрывать
она же называется корой), гидросфера (жидкая, водная оболочка) и
equilibrium - равновесие
атмосфера (газовая оболочка).
famine - голод
На человека также воздействует ближний и дальний космос:'
greenhouse effect - парниковый эффект
лунные и солнечные затмения, приливные явления в гидросфере,
dumping grounds - свалки
излучения солнца - северное (полярное) сияние, магнитные бури и др.
sewage - сточные воды
Земля состоит из следующих геосфер: ядро, мантия, земная
»
to dispose - избавиться
acid rain - кислотные дожди
кора.
Существует особое
естественное
образование,
называемое
биосферой. Это пространство, в котором существует живое вещество
depletion - истощение
exhausting resources - истощение ресурсов
социологии,
41
40
on Earth possible.
backwardness - отсталость
Every year the world economy discharges 200 millions tons of
to diminish - уменьшать, сокращать
carbon monoxide (CO) into the atmosphere; along with more than 50
Ecological Problems
millions tons of various hydrocarbons, approximately 150 tons of sulphur
Huge strides in science have been made in this century. The world is
dioxide (S02), which returns to us in the form of "acid rains", 120 millions
undergoing a rapid and profound scientific and technological revolution.
tons of ash, etc. added to this must be thermal, radioactive, noise and other
But still the world is threatened by pollution, pillage and war. The human
types of pollutions.
Air pollution is one of the greatest risks of human health and the
race must cooperate to save itself.
Mankind is now experiencing what is probably the worst crisis in its
environment. It turns clear air into hazy smelly air that harms health, kills
history. Implacably and with growing speed, nature is moving towards a
plants and damages property. While often invisible, pollutants in the air
total ecological breakdown, with the atmosphere, soil and water becoming
create smog and acid rain, cause cancer or other serious health problems,
as polluted as they can be.
diminish the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, and contribute
There have been such activities in conquering nature that the world's
to the potential for world climate change. For example, some gases
economic activity has begun to exert a great influence on the biosphere
including CO and methane, allow sunlight to reach the ground, but prevent
than the natural processes in it. Mankind has ruined 2000 millions hectares
the sunlight's heat from rising out of the atmosphere and following back
of arable land throughout its history. This is 50 % more than is now in use.
into space. This development is called a greenhouse effect, may cause
The spread of deserts, mining and construction takes away up to 7 million
average temperatures to rise.
hectares every year. Deserts and semi-deserts already account for more
The oceans are an important part of our environment. It was once
than a third of the Earth's surface. Forests are disappearing at a speed of 20
thought the oceans were so large that we could not harm them. For this
hectares a minute, while rain forests, one of the main sources of oxygen,
reason they were used as dumping grounds. Today, there are few places in
are shrinking at an annual rate of 1 %. The volume of oxygen in the
the oceans that have not been polluted with sewage and garbage. Another
atmosphere is decreasing by 10 000 millions tons a year; if that continues
kind of ocean pollution is pollution by oil. Possibly the most serious
there will be the shortage of it by the middle of the 21st century.
pollution of the oceans is by chemicals. Few chemicals are dumped directly
In the last 60 years 76 species of animals and several hundreds
species of plants have disappeared. And
dozens of species of mammals
and birds are presently on the brink of extinction. This is not only leading
into the oceans. Many chemicals are waste products from factories, which
sometimes are dumped into streams, rivers and lakes. Besides, the
chemicals that pollute air also reach and pollute the oceans.
to the loss of an extremely valuable genetic stick but it is also undermining
People use fertilizers and pesticides to grow more and better crops.
the fragile mechanism of the equilibrium in nature which makes life itself
Pesticides destroy weeds and insects that harm crops. But pesticides and
43
42
large amounts o f fertilizers also harm bacteria and other helpful organisms
- How can people solve the existing problems?
in the soil. Much damage to soil results from erosion. Erosion is the
wearing away of soil. Careless farming methods are a major cause of
2. Explain the following phenomena.
erosion. The most visible forms of soil pollution are solid wastes. People
- greenhouse effect
- deforestation
throw away billions o f tons of solid materials each year. Solid wastes
- erosion
- exhausting resources
present a serious problem because most of the methods, used to disposed of
- acid rains
- extinctions of plants and animals
them, results in some type of damage to the environment. Thus we may say
- ozone depletion
- desertification
that the environmental problems such as acid rain, the greenhouse effect,
deforestation,
ozone
depletion
and
so
on
are
by-products
- global warming
of
industrialization. The efforts of all the countries must be joined by long­
term peaceful cooperation to head off these global problems.
The global ecological problems include: pollution, overpopulation
3. Make up sentences on the text with gerunds. Use the following verbs.
Avoid, result in, prevent from, risk, include, postpone, blame
somebody for, succeed in, depend on, deny, give up, keep on.
and exhausting resources. To solve the problems man should overcome the
backwardness o f developing countries, end famine, preserve energy
4. Find in the text the English words and phrases corresponding to the
resources, protect the environment, preserve the world peace and prevent
Russian equivalents.
the nuclear war. These problems are global because they affect not only'
Научно-техническая революция, войны и грабежи, разрушить
individual nation, regions or continents, nor simply one social and political
хрупкий баланс равновесия в природе, экологическая катастрофа,
system but the whole world. These problems may be solved only by joint
оказывать влияние на биосферу, на протяжении всей истории,
efforts of all countries.
невидимые загрязнители, виды млекопитающих, пахотные земли,
генетический род, выбросы угарного газа, вызывать рак и другие
1. Answer the questions
заболевания, удобрения,
- Why is it said in the text that nature is moving towards a total ecological
ресурсов, автомобильные выбросы.
уменьшение озонового слоя, истощение
breakdown?
- What global ecological problems exist now and why do we call them
5. Render into English.
global?
- What changes in the environment have been already made in the course
Глобальные проблемы нашей эпохи
Ныне
на рубеже двух столетий, человечество
вплотную
of industrialization?
столкнулось с острейшими глобальными проблемами современности,
- What impact and in what way do people exert on water, air, soil?
угрожающими самому существованию цивилизации и даже самой
45
44
жизни на нашей планете. Неспособность предвидеть и предотвратить
отрицательные
последствия
научно
-
технической
революции
возможность решения всем остальных.
В представлении некоторых западных ученых взаимосвязь и
угрожает ввергнуть человечество в экологическую или социальную
взаимообусловленность
глобальных
проблем
образуют
некий
катастрофу.
порочный круг неразрешимых для человечества бедствий, из которого
Глобальные проблемы нашей эпохи - закономерное следствие
либо вообще нет выхода, либо единственное спасение состоит в
всей современной глобальной ситуации, сложившейся на земном
немедленном прекращении экологического роста и роста населения.
шаре. Для правильного понимания происхождения, сущности и
Такой подход к глобальным проблемам сопровождается различными
возможности их решения необходимо видеть в них результат
пессимистическими прогнозами будущего человечества.
предшествующего всемирно-исторического процесса во всей его
На современном этапе развития человечества столкнулось, быть
объективной противоречивости. Это положение, однако, не следует
может, с наиболее горячей проблемой - как сохранить природу и себя,
понимать банально и поверхностно, рассматривая современные
поскольку никто не знает, когда и в каком виде может произойти
глобальные проблемы как просто разросшиеся до планетарных
экологическая катастрофа. Но это время уже близко, а человечество
масштабов традиционные в истории человечества локальные либо'
еще даже близко не подошло к созданию общемирового механизма
региональные противоречия, кризисы или бедствия. Глобальные
регулирования природопользователя, но продолжает уничтожать
проблемы современности порождены, в конечном счете, именно
колоссальные дары природы. Нет сомнения, что изобретательный
всепроницающей неравномерностью развития мировой цивилизации.
человеческий ум в конце, концов все же найдет им замену. Но вот
Все глобальные проблемы современности тесно связаны друг с
другом и взаимно обусловлены, так что изолированное решение их
человеческий
организм,
выдержит
ли
он,
сможет
ли
он
приспособиться к ненормальным условиям жизни?
практически невозможно. Статистические расчеты показывают: если
бы ежегодный прирост населения в развивающихся стран был таким
же, как в развитых, то контраст между ними по уровню дохода на
6. Read the text and do the tasks.
Environm ental Pollution
душу населения сократился бы к настоящему времени. До 1:8 и мог'
Environmental pollution is a term that refers to all the ways by which
бы оказаться в сопоставимых размерах на душу населения вдвое
people pollute the surroundings. People dirty the air with gases and smoke,
выше, чем сейчас. Однако, сам этот демографический взрыв в
poison the water with chemicals and other substances, and damage the soil
развивающиеся
их
with too many fertilizers and pesticides. People also pollute their
культурной
surroundings in various other ways. For example, they ruin natural beauty
отсталостью. Неспособность человечества развить хотя бы одну из
by scattering junk and litter on the land and in the water. They operate
глобальных проблем самым отрицательным образом повлияет на
machines and motor vehicles that fill the air with disturbing noise. Nearly
сохраняющейся
странах,
как
считают
экономической,
ученые,
социальной
обусловлен
и
46
everyone causes pollution in some way.
There are several kinds of environmental pollution. They include air
pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and pollution caused by solid
wastes, noise, and radiation. Badly polluted air can cause illness, and even
death. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life. Pollution of soil
reduces the amount of land available for growing food. Environmental
pollution also brings ugliness to our natural beautiful world.
Everyone wants to reduce pollution. But the pollution problem is as
47
- ways to reduce pollution
Task 3. M ake up dialogues. Imagine that
you are on the beach. There are a lot of junk and litter, scattered around
you, oil spots on the water, dead fish.
- you have a picnic outside the town. There are a lot of junk and litter,
solid wastes, damaged car.
- you go to the forest to pick mushrooms. The forest is cut down, there are
a lot of junk and litter, plastic bottles and rusty cans.
complicated as it is serious. It is complicated because much pollution is'
caused by things that benefit people. For example, exhaust from
automobiles caused a large percentage of all air pollution. But the
automobiles provide transportation for millions of people. Factories
discharge much o f the material that pollutes air and water, but factories
provide jobs for people and produce goods to satisfy their needs.
7. Dear students read the following information about how to write a
summary. Good summarizing skills are essential for success in writing,
and are crucial in preparing to write research papers and essays. You
need these skills because summarizing is efficient and it helps you
distinguish between more and less im portant m aterial.
Thus, to end or greatly reduce pollution immediately, people would
have to stop using many things that benefit them. That is why people
choose to reduce pollutions gradually. Scientists and engineers work to find
ways to lessen the amount o f pollution that such things as automobiles and
factories cause. Governments pass and enforce laws that require businesses
and individuals to stop, or cut down certain polluting activities.
Task 1. Give Russian equivalents to the following:
Summary
A summary is a brief account that contains the main points of
something. Some examples that you hear or see almost everyday are news
reports given on the radio to TV. Students often have to write summaries of
books they have read. Writing a summary lets you, or your teacher, know
how much you understood of what you read or saw. Summaries are a great
way to remember what has happened.
A summary is a shortened version of the original. The main purpose
To scatter junk and litter, to reduce pollution, to cause pollution, to
discharge pollutants, to lessen the amount of pollution, to cut down,
exhaust from automobiles, marine life.
Task 2. Summ arize w hat the text said about:
of such a simplification is to highlight the major points from the genuine
(much longer) subject, e.g. a text, a film or an event. The aim is to help the
audience get the gist in a short period of time.
When you write a summary, you first look for the most important
- ways of polluting the surroundings
ideas. Then, you put all the main ideas together, in a logical order.
- kinds o f environmental pollution and their effects on nature and people
It starts with a lead, including title, author, text type and the main
48
idea of the text. It has a clearly arranged structure and is written in a
49
7. Make a sum m ary of the following text.
logical, chronological and traceable manner. In contrast to a resume or a
review, a summary contains neither interpretation nor rating. Only the
opinion of the original writer is reflected - paraphrased with new words
without quotations from the text. Unlike a retelling, a summary has no
dramatic structure and is written in present tense or historic present.
Because summaries should be significantly shorter than the original, minor
facts have to be left out. In summaries only indirect speech is used and
depictions are avoided. Summaries of books or dissertations present the
major facts in common scientific language and should be about from a half
up to one page long.
Helpful vocabulary
to deplore - сожалеть
deplorable - плачевный, прискорбный
comply with - подчиняться, соблюдать
deadline - срок, крайний срок
vicious circle - порочный or заколдованный круг
to be ripe - наступать (о времени)
vertebrate - позвоночное животное
invertebrate -беспозвоночное животное
to squander - расточать, растрачивать
The secret to writing a good and concise summary is to first outline
the article or paper you are interested in summarizing. Read the article
carefully and look for the main point. Make a list of the most important
points in the article. You would advance easily from there. Break downeach important point into smaller ideas. Finally break each smaller idea into
examples. You do not have to use examples, it would depend on the size of
your summary.
Remember - you cannot summarize material until you understand it
fully, and you cannot write a successful paper until you summarize your
research material. There are no shortcuts on the way to success.
To write a good summary you should
- read the text and formulate the main statement
- reread the text and underline important ideas and arguments according to
the main statement
- introduce the author and title of the work in the opening sentence
- mention the important facts in chronological order
- check that your summary reflects the original conclusion
Outlines of a Crisis
The environmental crisis can be divided into three main categories:
overpopulation, depletion and pollution.
Pollution: Fouling the Land, W ater and Air. In the spring of 1983
atmospheric scientists flying over the Arctic made the first measurements
of a thick orange-brown layer of industrial air pollution covering more than
six miles into the atmosphere. In 1989 US astronauts returning on a space
shuttle flight deplored the filthy blanket of air encircling the earth.
In 1988, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced that more than 60 American cities fail to comply with clean air
standards, even though the standards have been eased and the deadlines for
meeting federal standards have been extended repeatedly since the Clean
Air Act was first passed in 1970. As a' result, tens of millions of Americans
breathe unhealthy air.
Air pollution in our cities and surrounding suburbs is the most visible
sign of the pollution crisis. Far more widespread, and perhaps more
dangerous, are the problems of acid deposition, global warming, and
50
51
stratospheric ozone depletion.
widespread habitat destruction - that is destroying the homes o f ccountless
In the United States, excessive demand and poor land management
species. Pure population pressure and excess consumption lie behind
practices are currently destroying our land at a surprising rate depleting a
resource depletion. But wasteful industrial processes that squander
crucial renewable resource. Two of the major problems are erosion and
resources and produce excessive pollution are also at the root of our
desertification, the formation of desert in once productive and healthy land.
environmental crisis. Despite the many steps taken worldwide to defuse the.
We currently lose 5 million hectares (1,25 million acres) of farmland will
crisis, problems continue and grow worse.
disappear in just 300 years!
Even renewable resources, which have the capacity to regenerate,
But we are not alone. Worldwide, 6 million hectares (15 million
can be depleted if demand exceeds replenishment. Countless examples
acres) of cropland, pasture, and rangeland become desert each year. One-
exist. Stands of ancient trees, the old growth forests, which support such
third of the world's cropland is currently eroding faster than it can be
magnificent trees as the giant redwood of California and the Sitka spruce of
replaced.
Oregon and Washington, are turned into picnic tables, decks, lawn
Nowhere is the vicious circle of depletion more evident than in the
furniture, and siding for houses. Ancient trees from Oregon and
tropical rain forests. Once covering an area the size of the US, tropical rain
Washington are being exported to Japan at an alarming rate and at
forests have been reduced by at least one-third, perhaps as much as onehalf. At least 11 million hectares (27 million acres) of tropical rain forest
fall each year. At the current rate of destruction, half of the forests of the
Ivory Coast of Africa will be destroyed in next 10 years. Two-thirds of the
world's species inhabit the tropics. Rampant deforestation will inevitably
drive many of these species to extinction.
that the plants, microorganisms, and invertebrates, and the rate of
extinction climbs to an alarming one species every day! With continued
growth
and
economic
development,
being depleted because of over harvesting.
Overpopulation: Too Many People. In 1990 the world's population
exceeded 5,3 billion, and it was swelling at a rate of 1,7 % a year. This rate
may not seem very high but it would mean a doubling of our numbers in
only 41 years. By the time you retire, 10 billion people could inhabit the
Today, one vertebrate species disappears every nine month. Add to
population
ridiculously low prices. Numerous species of plants and animals are also
especially in
the
biologically rich tropics, biologists fear that the rate of extinction could
climb to one species every hour by the end of this decade. A million
species could succumb to humankind's massive global colonization
between 1980 and 2000.
Tropical deforestation is a symptom of a pervasive problem -
earth. Despite several decades of agricultural research aimed at increasing
the food supply, one of every three person living in the poor, developing
nations is unable to find enough to eat. Worldwide, twelve million people
die of starvation each year, and thirty million more perish from diseases
made worse by hunger. Most startling, in the areas hardest hit by hunger,
population is doubling every 17 to 30 years!
This explosion of world population is an outgrowth of the industrial
age. Three key factors.are to blame: increased food production, disease
control, and better sanitation. These advances greatly increased the survival
53
rate of newborns, but this great change occurred in many countries without
make the needed changes on the scale required.
any decrease in the number of births. As a result, populations worldwide
Several pollutants produced by modem industrial societies are
have exploded. Most experts agree that until people start having fewer
believed responsible for global warming. They absorb heat leaving the
children, especially in the poorer nations, population will continue to soar,
earth and radiate it back, thus warming the earth. Many scientists predict
and problems of depletion and pollution will worsen.
that global carbon dioxide levels could double in the next four decades,
Depletion: Eroding the Basis of Life. As world population
raising average global temperature by two to five degrees Celsius.
continues to increase, many resources necessary for human survival -and
This increase in global temperature would dramatically alter our
the survival of the millions of species that share this planet with us - are
planet's climate. Much of the USA and Canada, computer models
falling into short supply. Consider firewood: A rural Indian peasant needs
suggested, would be warmer and drier. The productive agricultural plains
only a few pieces of wood each day for cooking. But throughout India
states might become too dry to support dry-land farming. The USA and
millions o f poor people venture form their homes in search of the tiny
Canada, both major exporters of food, could find themselves short of food
ration of wood that will get them through the day; such actions add up to an
alarming total. Forests around many villages have been-stripped of dead
limbs. When dead wood is gone, villages turn to live trees. As live trees
fall, peasants are forced to forage farther and farther from their home
villages. The circle of destruction widens.
In India and other poor countries of the world, many people spend
the majority of their waking hours in search of fuel. In an attempt to
compensate for the shortages, many villages now bum dried cow dung.
Although this practice satisfies the short-term demand for fuel, it robs the
farmland on which they depend o f an important source of fertilizer.
The earth's supply of nonrenewable resources - those that cannot be
regenerated, such as oil, silver, and coal - is finite, or limited. As
populations swell and demand increases, nonrenewable resources fall more
quickly into short supply. Time is running out for oil, the life blood of our
modem industrial society. Many of us will see the end of the oil supply
within our lifetimes. The time is ripe for charting new paths, converting to
renewable fuels, and practicing conservation, but little is being done to
for their own populations. A global warming trend would melt polar ice
caps and glaciers, raising the sea level 200 to 300 feet, thus flooding up to
20 % of the world's land mass. Florida and most of the US coastal cities
would be under water. New York and Los Angeles could be completely
flooded.
Farmland, already suffering because of over rainfall, would shrink as
the US population moved inland.
Modern society is as careless with its land and water as it is with its
air. Each year, American factories produce an estimated 250 to 270 million
metric tons of waste considered hazardous waste by state and federal
standards - over a ton of hazardous waste for every man, woman, and child.
Until quite recently, 90 % of that waste ended up in our waterways,
landfills, and groundwater. 111-concei.ved and irresponsible waste disposal
practices have left a legacy of polluted groundwater and contaminated land.
Clearing them up could cost as much as $100 billion
Another pollution problem is the millions of leaking underground
storage tanks that are contaminating the nation's precious groundwater.
54
Containing petroleum by products, toxic, chemical, and hazardous wastes,
these tanks deteriorate over time. A tiny leak can contaminate millions of
liters of groundwater in a single day! No one knows how much
groundwater is currently contaminated in the US, but a 1981 EPA study
showed that 28 % of 950 cities with populations over 10 000 had some
contamination.
55
UNIT 3. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Text 1
Study the vocabulary.
disperse - рассеивать
incinerate - испепелять; incinerator - мусоросжигательная печь
solvents - растворители
Many lakes and rivers have been cleaned up in the last two decades
in the USA and abroad by placing controls on the most visible pollutants,
such as raw sewage and industrial effluents. However, many invisible,
cancer-causing substances still pollute these waterways. In some areas, they
are causing an epidemic of cancer in fish and threatening the health of
people who regularly consume fish. Truly, we are poisoning ourselves and
leaving a legacy o f ill health for our children.
respiratory ailment - распираторные заболевания
cadmium - кадмий
lead - свинец
to suspend - подвешивать
stagnant air - застоявшийся
soot - сажа
induce - вызывать, побуждать
6. M atch the columns.
to succumb
to shrink
A ir pollution
to pollute
*
contaminate
to foul
to perish
to forage (for)
dirty
deteriorate
to risk, to dare
filthy
to look for
to venture
to become smaller
Truly clean air has probably never existed. There are substances that
pollute the air without the aid of humans. Ash from volcanic eruptions,
marsh gases, smog from forests fires, and wind-blown dust are natural
sources of air pollution.
Normally theses pollutants are of low volume and they are widely
dispersed throughout the atmosphere. On occasion, a major volcanic
eruption may produce so much dust that the atmosphere is temporarily
altered. In general, however, the natural sources of air pollution do not have
7. Make up word combinations with the word fou l corresponding to
the Russian phrases.
Скверная погода, противный запах, нечистый воздух, скверное
настроение, преступление.
a significant, long-term effect on air, which is able to cleanse itself.
Far more important than naturally occurring pollutants are the
substances that people cause to be discharge into the air. These pollutants
result primarily from burning fossil fuels (3Л of all air pollutants) and other
materials. Fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) are burned in power plants that
56
57
generate electricity, in many industrial dust plants, in home furnaces, and in
given place. Those over which people have relatively little control are
cars, trucks buses, and airplanes. Industrial processes other than fuel
climate, weather, wind patterns, and topography. These determine whether
burning, incinerating solid wastes, forest and agricultural fires, and the
pollutants will be blown away or not. Thus a city on a plain is less likely to
evaporation of solvents account for most of the remaining pollutants.
experience dangerous effects than is a city in a valley.
Perhaps the best known air pollutants and the most dangerous to
Some areas are particularly likely to suffer from photochemhal
health are sulfur oxides, which come primarily from burning fossil fuels.
smog, which is created when oxides of nitrogen react with the oxygen to •
They cause industrial smog, which is associated with respiratory ailments
form nitrogen dioxide. In the presence of sunlight, nitrogen dioxide reacts
in humans. When unusual weather conditions cause the smog to remain
with hydrocarbons from automobile exhausts and industry to form new
over an area for several days, the result may be a disaster. For example, in
compounds, such as ozone. A key ingredient of smog, ozone causes
1952, London, England, experienced an acute episode of such pollution, as
coughing and breathing problems, especially among asthmatics. Warm, dry
a result of which 4000 more people died than normal.
weather and stagnant air prom ote ozone (ironically, the same chemical
Sulfur oxides are also largely responsible for a phenomenon
that in the upper atmosphere shields the earth from the damaging effects of
popularly known as acid rain. Acid rain is a term for pollutants, chiefly
ultraviolet radiation). The chemical reaction that produces ozone takes a
oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, that are created by burning fossil fuels and
few hours, and by that time air currents have carried the pollutants away
that change chemically as they are transported through the atmosphere and
from the city. The coal based industries in Europe produce sulfate, carbon,
fall back to earth as acidic rain, snow, fog, or dust. Acid rain also coats the
and other pollutants that air transported by air currents to the land north, of
ground with particles of toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and lead.
the Arctic Circle, where they result in a contamination known as Arctic
The effects of acid precipitation on water bodies, forests, wildlife,
haze. Discovered 25 years ago, Arctic haze is more than just aesthetically
and buildings are deadly. Acid rains have been linked to the disappearance
troubling. It has the potential to affect climates worldwide. Particles of soot
of fish in thousands of streams and lakes. Atmospheric acid has rendered
both in the air and on the ground absorb the sun's radiation, effectively
the soil less fertile, damaging crops and reducing rates of forest growth.
holding heat in the atmosphere. This could cause ice to melt and hinder ice
One can see its corrosive effects on m arble and limestone sculptures and
formation in the sea, altering weather patterns.
buildings and on metals such as iron and bronze.
Other factors that affect the type and the degree of air pollution at a
It is difficult to control the emissions of dangerous particles. They
given place are the levels of urbanization and industrialization. Population
can remain suspended in the air for days or even weeks. The increase of
densities, traffic densities, the type and density of industries, and home
particles in the atmosphere may have a long term effect on the climate by
heating practices all help to determine the kinds of substances discharged
reducing the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth's surface.
into the air at a single point. In general, the more urbanized and
Many factors affect the type and the degree of air pollution found at a
industrialized a place is, the more responsible it is for pollution.
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59
In recent years, researchers have begun to realize that air pollution has
that constant exposure to low levels of polluted air damages lungs,
effect on the major factors that control the temperature of the earth’s
increasing the incidence of such respirator ailments as pneumonia,
surface, but how much of an effect is not yet known.
emphysema, and asthma. Increases in certain cancers and in heart disease
On the other side of the heat balance sheet is the "greenhouse" effect.
may also turn out to be related to air pollution.
The burning of fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and it
WHAT CAN, YOU DO TO REDUCE AIR POLLUTION?
slows down the reradiation of heat from earth back into space, acting as
- Properly maintain your car to regulate polluting emissions.
glass in a greenhouse does to heat up the climate. The more CO, there is in
the atmosphere, the higher the temperatures on earth should be.
check its posted fuel efficiency and seek the most "clean" car in the size
Also contributing to global warming are emissions from a family of
synthetic
chemicals
developed
in
1931
and
- Consider buying fuel-efficient cars. When buying a car - new or used -
known
as
Chlorofluorocarbons (CUCs). The CFCs are eating away the earth's
stratospheric ozone layer, which shields all forms of life on earth from
sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Commercially valuable, CFCs are
used as coolants for refrigerators and air conditioners, as aerosol spray
propellants, and as a component in foam packaging material. Because CFC
emissions disperse rapidly throughout the atmosphere, the problem of
ozone-layer depletion is global. As increased UV levels penetrate to the
lower atmosphere, ozone depletion is likely to produce an increase in skin
cancers and respiratory ailments, reduce crop and fishery yields, and, as
noted, contribute to global warming.
The effect of air pollution on plant life has been well documented.
Chemicals washed out of the air by rain and snow, contaminate soil and
water. Acid rains and smog have caused extensive crop damage and the
reduction of yields in some areas. Long-term changes in climate induced
by air pollution would, of course, have important secondary effects on
vegetation. The short-term effect o f air pollution on human health has been
evidenced on a number of occasions. Highly polluted air can be lethal. The
long-term effect of most pollutants is less well understood. It is possible
category that meets your needs.
- Be energy efficient - make sure that lights and appliances are turned off
when not in use. Use energy efficient light bulbs. Replacing a common
incandescent light bulb with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb
saves 45 watts and 157-kilowatt hours. Purchasing energy-efficient
appliances will also aid in conserving energy use. Conserving electricity
reduces air pollution caused by power plants.
- Use mass transit or carpool to work. Carpools and public transportation
reduce the number o f cars on the road and miles driven.
- Plan ahead. Organize your trips. Driving fewer miles will help reduce air
pollution. Combine several errands into one trip. Avoid driving during peak
traffic periods when stop-and-go traffic is at its worst. This will not only
save your gas but will also reduce the wear and tear on your car. Try
walking or bicycling for short errands and leisure activities.
- Keep air conditioners and refrigerators in good running order (CFCs in
them can leak out and damage the ozoije layer).
- Check your house for radon and other pollutants.
- Discourage smoking indoors.
- Reduce use of pesticides.
- Get a professional to assess the risk associated with lead-based paint.
60
- Ensure proper ventilation in your home.
61
Describe the phenomena of Arctic Haze, "greenhouse" effect, global
- Reduce waste. When you make purchases, consider using products that
warming.
are durable, reusable, or use less packaging. Recycle and compost potential
- Why are the densely populated areas much more polluted than the areas
wastes before they become part o f the waste stream. Such actions help
with fewer people?
reduce the pollutants that might reach the air during the manufacturing
- In what ways can you personally reduce air pollution?
process or during the collection and processing of wastes for incineration or
landfill disposal.
2. Give Russian equivalents to the following expression.
When environmental scientists talk about air pollution, they talk in
Changes in climate induced by air pollution; constant exposure; toxic
terms of millions of tons of pollutants. It is not easy to relate such figures to
heavy metals; stagnant air; to hinder ice formation; evaporation o f solvents;
the smoke that comes out of your chimney or the exhaust coming out of
to absorb the sun's radiation; marble and limestone sculptures.
your car. However, even small sources of pollution, when added to
hundreds or thousands of other small sources, do harm the environment and
3. Dear students read the following piece of inform ation about how to
are dangerous to your health. If we all do share to reduce air pollution, the
make a rendering.
benefits will be tremendous:
Rendering is a very effective exercise to develop ability to express
- If 190,000 car owners started to get regular tune-ups, they will keep
your thoughts and feelings in written English. It’s a trans-reproduction of a
some 90 million pounds o f carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Russian text. It is not a translation of the text but a brief account of the
- If each commuter car carries one more passenger, 600,000 gallons of
essential information of the original.
gasoline will be saved and 12 million pounds of carbon dioxide will be kept
out of the air.
You should read the piece twice and convey the main idea in
English. When practicing rendering you will have to recall English words
and structures for the native equivalents to be faithful to the original.
1. Answer the questions.
- What is meant under the natural air pollution? Is it as dangerous as
pollution caused by people?
- How do sulfur dioxides get into the atmosphere? In what way do they
affect people and the environment?
It requires a good knowledge of the structure, which is specific: it
has an introduction, essence and conclusion.
In the introduction it is necessary to state the problem and review the
latest issues to cover the subject.
In the essential part one should make an adequate rendering of the
- What are effects o f acid precipitation?
text, therefore observe English phraseology and topical vocabulary; make
- Why is it difficult to control the emissions of dangerous particles?
the idea clear.
As for conclusion, your appreciation and estimation o f the facts
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63
mentioned above is to be given. It's the logical ending which makes
порядка 15 других опасных веществ - ацетальдегид, бензол, 1,3-
rendering finished and complete. It demonstrates the student's ability to
бутадиен, кадмий, никель, селен, цинк, медь, свинец, стирол,
sum up the information and the ability to express his own point o f view on
формальдегид, акролеин, ксилолы, толуол. Часть из них -
the problem.
называемые
тяжелые
металлы.
Они
обладают
так
способностью
накапливаться в живых организмах, увеличивая свою концентрацию,
4. Render the text into English.
что, в конечном счете, начинает представлять опасность для здоровья
• Болезни плохой экологии
человека. Содержание кадмия, например, в организме жителей
Когда, например, заядлых курильщиков пытаются убедить, что
крупных городов может оказаться в десятки раз выше, чем у жителей
курить вредно, они возражают: «Жить вообще вредно!» И, кажется,
сельской местности. К характерным «кадмиевым» болезням горожан
они правы. Жизнь людей без вредных привычек тоже частенько
относятся
сокращают онкологические, кардиологические, желудочно-кишечные,
недостаточность. «Помогают» автомобилям разрушать наше здоровье
эндокринные, легочные и другие заболевания. Они появляются вроде
экологически грязные производства — в Сибири, например, вблизи
«ниоткуда», просто оттого, что мы ходим, дышим, спим, пьем и едим.
заводов в 50 процентах случаях обострения хронических заболеваний
Врачи видят их первопричину в плохой экологии, то есть в
органов дыхания врачи обвиняют именно плохой воздух.
окружающей человека среде, им же загрязненной. Где же конкретно
таится опасность, и как ее избежать? Попробуем разобраться.
«По
данным
экспертов
ВОЗ,
причинами
возникновения
гипертония,
ишемическая
болезнь
сердца,
почечная
В выигрышном положении оказываются жители сельской
местности
в
отдалении
от
промышленных
предприятий
или
теплоэлектростанций, где сжигается углеводородное топливо. В
злокачественных новообразований в 80-85 % случаев являются
городах
факторы внешней среды».
кондиционеры, очищающие воздух от пыли и сажи. Однако надо
Источники
теплоэлектростанции,
красителей,
загрязнения
производства
катализаторов,
цемента.
воздуха:
автомобили,
минеральных
Болезни:
удобрений,
онкологические,
органов дыхания, кровообращения, нервной системы.
Автомобили -
главный поставщик в наши легкие оксида
углерода. Он препятствует абсорбированию кровью кислорода, что
частично
спасают
«спальные
районы»
и
мощные
знать, что при прохождении воздуха через фильтр и систему
охлаждения-нагрева
могут
полностью
уничтожаются
ионы,
оказывающие благоприятное воздействие на человека. Если ваш
кондиционер
не
имеет
кондиционирования
специального
воздуха
агрегата,
дополнительно
который
его
после
ионизирует,
необходимо приобрести ионизатор.
ослабляет мыслительные способности, замедляет рефлексы и в
особых случаях может стать причиной потери сознания и смерти.
Кроме СО, с выбросами автотранспорта в атмосферу поступают
5. Give English equivalents to the following words and expressions.
Вредные
привычки;
онкологические,
кардиологические,
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65
желудочно-кишечные, эндокринные, легочные и другие заболевания;
tree rings, levels of aragonite, etc. demonstrate that the last Climate Change
факторы
was given some 580, 000 years ago.
внешней
среды;
теплоэлектростанции,
производства
минеральных удобрений, красителей, катализаторов, цемента; легкие;
As we compare a graphic of the Global Warming related to an
оксид углерода; абсорбирование кислорода кровью; потери сознания;
anthropogenic influence over the graphics made from the observations of
выбросами автотранспорта; кадмий, никель, селен, цинк, медь,
the natural change, we find that it is very likely that the natural influence is
свинец;
the primary and main component of the Global Warming.
тяжелые
предприятия,
где
металлы;
сжигается
в конечном
счете;
углеводородное
промышленные
топливо;
мощные
кондиционеры, очищающие воздух от пыли и сажи.
One indication to recognize this fact is the almost-null fluctuations of
El Nino and La Nina occurrences by means of the Global Warming. We
have found that El Nino у La Nina streams have not been influenced by the
6. Make a sum m ary of the following text.
Global Warming. However, we have found that the dramatic weather
CLIMATE CHANGE
manifestations in some land areas, as thunderstorms, cyclones, twisters,
Is it real that humans and only humans are responsible of the Global
heavy snowing, hailstorms, etc., are normal phenomena boosted up
Warming? It is true that human activities have contributed to the
radically by the pressure of deforestation and the alteration of the
phenomena. For example, Methane is produced by degradation of cattle-
topography by incontrollable cropping and the excessive growth of the
droppings, residual waters, corpses and organic waste. Carbon Dioxide is
urban areas.
produced by burning fossil fuels like oil, gas, gasoline, and carbon. Nitrous
Oxide is produced by rich-Nitrogen fertilizers used on crop lands.
However, human industry also produces some aerosols that mitigate
the Radiative forcing. For example, S 0 2 (Sulfur Dioxide) can offset
Another indication is the high uncertainty of the available data to
understand the radiative forcing and the unpredictability o f the radiative
forcing itself as to attribute the problem to an unprecedented rise of Carbon
Dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
warming by 40 %. S 0 2 reacts with Oxygen in the atmosphere to form S 0 3
Since 1980, our Sun is sending more intense radiation to Earth by an
(Sulfur Trioxide), which is also an aerosol that mitigates the Greenhouse
anomaly in the number of solar figurations (Benson, 2001), which
Effect; thus, humans are not the final guilty on the Global Warming event.
coincidentally has been more intense on the warmer years (1998, and
Also, we have found that clouds, ocean surface and reflective lands
can reflect radiant energy toward space alleviating troposphere warming.
In spite of a human industry influence on Climate Change, we have
detected through observations that the Climate Change is a natural
phenomenon. Climate Changes has been happening every 100 thousand to
200 thousand years. Measurements made of Oxygen isotopes, coral reefs,
2005). If our main supply of heat and other types of energy is our Sun, and
if our Sun has been more active through the last two decades, it is coherent
and adjusted to the scientific validation that we concluded that our planet
has been hit more intensely by the Cosmic Radiation, and much more
logical it is that Earth has been receiving more heat waves than usual. I do
not find another realistic basis, since at other times we have suffered the
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67
same heating up; for example, during the Medieval Age. However, we have
to eliminate - выбрасывать, ликвидировать
had periods of intense cold when the atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
animal manure - навоз
concentration has been in levels five or more times higher than nowadays,
excess (chemicals) - избыток, излишек (химикатов)
and periods of overheating in geologic periods when the concentration of
algae- морская водоросль
Carbon Dioxide was by far in lower than at present. Scientifically, all about
deleterious - вредный
a connection between the globe temperature and the atmospheric C 0 2
leak - течь; leak oil - пропускать масло/ нефтепродукты
concentration is not as sure as some people say.
to seep out - вытекать, сочиться
From 1999 the atmospheric C 0 2 concentration has not changed
much; what is more, it has been alternatively increasing and diminishing;
oil spills - розливы нефти
shallow water- мелководье
nevertheless, the variability in the tropospheric temperature has been
gradually
increasing
IN
THE
NORTHERN
HEMISPHERE.
W ater Pollution
The
The supply of water is constant; the system by which it is
comparison between the two variables is not possible and they do not agree
continuously circulated through the biosphere is called the hydrologic
indisputably, as IPCC has been claiming. There is not "a forceful" test on
an anthropogenic effect on the Climate Change and the Global Warming.
The real overwhelming facts are a feature of the anomaly in the solar
cycle. In that cycle, water may change form and composition, but under
natural environmental circumstances, it is marvelously purified in the
recycling process and is again made available with appropriate properties to
activity and in an anomalous increase in the energy of the Intergalactic
the ecosystems of the earth. Evaporation and transpiration (the emission of
Cosmic Rays that strike on Earth (Decker, Gumett, Kurth, Stone, 2005).
water vapor from plants) are the mechanisms by which water is
redistributed. Water vapor collects in clouds, condenses, and then falls
Text 2
again to earth. There it is reevaporated and retranspired, only to fall once
Study the vocabulary.
more as precipitation.
sediment - осадок
to dispose of - избавиться, освободиться от чего-либо
saline - соляной, солевой;
salinity - соленость
to assimilate - усваивать
to disperse- разбрасывать, рассыпать
to overwhelm - затоплять, заливать, переполнять
subsidence- падение уровня воды, оседание грунта
Because the need for water will continue to grow as the world
population increases, .many scientists fear a coming water crisis.
Agriculture currently accounts for almost 80 % of all the water used by
r
people, most of it for irrigation.
Urbanization and industrialization also place growing demands on
water supplies. Some 150 tons (40,000 gallons) of water are used to
produce a ton of steel; 250 tons are needed to make a ton of paper. As more
and more countries industrialize, pressure on the water supply will increase.
68
69
People's dependence on water has long led to efforts to control its
assimilate, and disperse such substances in the amounts in which they
supply. Such manipulation has altered the quantity and the quality of water
naturally occur. Only in rare instances do natural pollutants overwhelm the
in rivers and streams.
cleansing abilities o f the recipient waters. What is happening now is that
.
To prevent flooding, to regulate the water supply for agriculture and
the quantities of wastes discharged by humans often exceed the ability of a
urban settlements, or to generate power, people have for thousands of years
given body of water to purify itself. In addition, humans are introducing
manipulated rivers by constructing dams, canals, and reservoirs. Although
pollutants such as metals or inorganic substances that cannot be broken
they generally have achieved their purposes, these structures can have
down at all by natural mechanisms, or that take a very long time to break
unintended environmental consequences. These include reduction in the
down.
sediment load downstream, followed by a reduction in the amount of the
As long as there are people on earth, there will be pollution. Thus the
sediment available for crops and fish; an increase in the salinity of the soil;
problem is one not of eliminating pollution but of controlling it. This is
and subsidence.
particularly true in the technologically advanced countries. The more de­
As a general definition, environmental pollution by-humans means
veloped the country, the more resources it uses and the more it pollutes.
the introduction into the biosphere of wastes that, because o f their volume
Agriculture is a •chief contributor of excess chemicals to water
or their composition or both, cannot be readily disposed of by natural recy­
bodies. Pollution occurs when nitrates and phosphates that have been used
cling processes. In the case o f water, the central idea is that pollution exists
in fertilizers and that are present in animal manure drain into streams and
when water composition has been so modified by the presence o f one or
rivers, eventually accumulating in ponds and lakes. Scientists have
more substances that either it cannot be used for a specific purpose or it is
estimated that as many as one third of the medium and large-sized lakes in
less suitable for that use than it was in its natural state. Pollution is brought
the United States have been enriched by nutrients. These lakes can be
about by the discharge into water of substances that cause unfavorable
characterized by weed growth, large masses of algae, fish kills, rapid
changes in its chemical or physical nature or in the quantity and quality of
accumulation of sediments on the lake bottom, and water that has a foul
the organisms living in the water. Pollution is a relative term. Water that is
taste and odor. Another agricultural source of chemical pollution is animal
not suitable for drinking may be completely satisfactory for cleaning
wastes, especially in countries where animals are raised intensively. It is
streets. Water that is too polluted for fish may provide an acceptable
estimated that animal wastes in the United States total about 1.5 billion tons
environment for certain water plants.
per year.
Human activity is not the only cause of water pollution. Leaves that
fall from trees and decay, animal wastes, oil seepages, and other natural
phenomena may affect water quality. There are natural processes, however,
to take care of such pollution. Organisms in water are able to degrade,
Worldwide, agriculture probably contributes more to water pollution
than does any other single activity, but in developed countries, industry is
equally culpable. In the United States, about half the water used daily is
used by industry. Many industries dump organic and inorganic wastes into
70
bodies of water. These may be acids, highly toxic minerals such as
mercury, or toxic organic chemicals.
Organisms not adapted to living in water that is so much
contaminated die; the water may become unsuitable for domestic use or
irrigation; or the wastes may reenter the food chain, with deleterious effects
on humans.
71
dissolved minerals seep into nearby water bodies.
Finally, a host of pollutants derives from the activities associated
with urbanization. Water runoff from urban areas contains contaminants
from garbage, animal droppings, litter, vehicle drippings, and the like.
Sewage can also be a major pollutant, depending on how well it is treated
before being discharged. Many communities still don't have adequate
The main industries that contribute to the chemical pollution of water
are the petroleum industry, the nuclear industry, and mining. One kind of
sewage-treatment facilities.
Another kind of water pollution is thermal pollution. It occurs when
ocean pollution often makes headlines in newspapers when it happens - It is
pollution by oil. Much of the world's supply of oil is pumped from the earth
far from where it is used. Most of this oil is transported across oceans in
ships called tankers. Sometimes tankers leak oil. They may even break
apart in storms. The oil they carry is spilled on the oceans. Some oil spills
are not accidents. Tankers that are nearly empty are sometimes cleaned at
sea. Waste oil they carry is pumped out onto the water. Leaks from
water that has been heated is returned to the environment and has adverse
effects on the plants and animals in the water body. Many plants and fish
cannot survive changes of even a few degrees in the water temperature.
They either die or migrate; the species that depend on them for food must
also either die or migrate.
There is a problem of groundwater pollution. Unlike surface waters,
groundwater lacks natural cleansing properties; it can remain contaminated
underwater oil wells are another source of pollution. In many parts of the
world oil wells have been dug in shallow water near shorelines. Pipes from
these wells sometimes leak. Oil may also seep from around these pipes. Oil
for centuries.
Because the sources of pollution are so varied, the water supply in
any single area is often affected by diverse contaminants; this diversity
is less dense than seawater. Since oil does not mix with water, it floats on
the surface. A barrel of oil spreads out over many square meters. Floating
complicates the problem of controlling water quality.
oil coats plants or animals on the surface. Many sea birds are killed when
HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO
- Avoid dumping wastes into the water.
their feathers are coated with oil. Floating oil can keep some sunlight from
- Recycle the waste of oil from your car.
entering the water. It also keeps air from touching the surface of the water.
- Plant and landscape your yard (to minimize rainwater runoff and soil
The nuclear industry has caused some water pollution when
radioactive material has seeped from the tanks in which the wastes have
been buried, either at sea or underground. Surface mining for coal, iron,
copper, and other substances contributes to contamination of the water
supply through the wastes generated. Rainwater reacts with the wastes, and
erosion).
Limit use of pesticides.
r
- Divert rain from paved surfaces onto grasses.
- Properly dispose of litter arid animal wastes.
- Dispose of solvents, paints, and pesticides according to their labels.
- Organize a stream cleanup and monitoring project.
72
Did you know?
A dripping faucet with a 1/16-inch hole wastes 100 gallons of water
a day. High flow showerheads spew water out at 6-10 gallons of water a
minute. An open faucet will waste 5 gallons of water every two minutes
while you shave or brush your teeth. Get involved! Be water-efficient!
State level:
73
2. Give Russian equivalents to the following expressions.
Petroleum industry; oil seepages; deleterious effects on humans: a
foul taste and odor; supply of water; evaporation and transpiration;
hydrologic cycle; the composition of water; to alter the quantity and the
quality of water in rivers; nuclear industry; mining; oil wells; a host of
pollutants; water runoff;- sewage-treatment facilities; a dripping faucet.
- reduce lead, pesticides and microbiological contaminants in drinking
water;
- reduce ocean dumping o f industrial wastes and sewage sludge;
3. Read the text “Hydropow er Negatives” and comment on the pros
and cons of hydropower stations.
- reduce agricultural chemicals in ground water;
- discover new technologies to clean up water pollution problems.
Helpful vocabulary
Hydrogen sulfide - сульфат водорода
Stench -вонь, зловоние
1. Answer questions
Hiacinth - гиацинт
- What is the phenomena of hydrologic cycle?
Impoundment - запруда
- Tell about natural pollution. Is it dangerous for the environment?
To hasten - ускорять, подгонять
- What is environmental pollution by-humans?
Fern - папоротник
- Do you think that scientists’ fear of a coming water crisis is well
Plague - бедствие, бич, чума, мор
grounded?
Snail - улитка
- Do humans take into consideration environmental consequences when
Schistosomiasis - шистосомаз, бильгарциоз
they manipulate water bodies to achieve their purposes?
Drastic - крутой, решительный, резкий
- How do chemicals get into water bodies and what are the possible
То silt up - заиливаться
consequences of it?
- In what way do industries pollute water?
Hydropower Negatives
Generation of hydroelectric power in developing nations has the
- What can you tell about the pollution of water by a) oil, b) radioactive
potential to bring those areas plentiful energy for economic growth. The
material, c) sewage?
great tropical river systems have a sizable percentage of the world's
- Why is groundwater pollution considered to be a problem?
- How can problem of controlling water quality be solved?
undeveloped power potential. Excluding the Amazon itself, the tributary
rivers of the Amazon Basin of South America have a total energy potential
of 100,000 megawatts, the equivalent of oil wells eternally producing 5
74
million barrels a day. The Zaire of Africa and Salween of Asia are other
rain forest rivers with great power potential.
Tropical rain forests have proved to be a particularly difficult
environment for dam builders, however, and the dams often carry a heavy
75
Tocantins River in the Amazon Basin of Brazil has flooded more than 760
square miles (2000 km2) of forest. During periods of reservoir drawdown,
up to 340 square miles (880 km2) of ideal mosquito breeding area will be
exposed.
ecological price. The creation of Brokopondo in Suriname in 1964 marked
the first large reservoir in a rain forest locale. Without being cleared of their
potentially valuable timber, 570 square miles (1480 km2) of dense tropical
forest disappeared underwater. As the trees decomposed, producing
hydrogen sulfide, an intolerable stench polluted the atmosphere for scores
of miles downwind. For more than two years, employees at the dam wore
gas masks at work. Decomposition of vegetation produced acids that
corroded the dam's cooling system, leading to costly continuing repairs and
Finally, the expense, the human disruption, and the environmental
damage all may be in vain. Deforestation of river banks and clearing of
vegetation for permanent agriculture may result in accelerated erosion,
rapid sedimentation of reservoirs, and drastic reduction of electrical
generating capacity. The Ambuklao Reservoir in the Philippines, built with
an expected pay-back period of 60 years, now appears certain to silt up in
half that time. The Anchicaya Reservoir in Colombia was almost totally
filled with silt within
10
years of its completion.
upkeep.
Water hyacinth spreads rapidly in tropical impoundments, its growth'
4. Render into English.
hastened by the rich nutrients released by tree decomposition. Within one
Химическое загрязнение природных вод
year of its completion, a 50-square-mile (130 km2) blanket of the weed was
afloat on Lake Brokopondo, and after another year almost half the reservoir
was covered. Another 170 square miles (440 k m ) were claimed by a
floating fern, Ceratoptens. Identical problems have plagued other tropical
power projects.
Impacts on humans are as great and as serious as those on the
Всякий водоем или водный источник связан с окружающей его
внешней средой. На него оказывают влияние условия формирования
поверхностного
или
подземного
водного
стока,
разнообразные
природные явления, индустрия, промышленное и коммунальное
строительство, транспорт, хозяйственная и бытовая деятельность
человека. Последствием этих влияний является привнесение в водную
environment. In many nations, settlement is concentrated along the very
среду
rivers most promising for power development. The Aswan High Dam in
ухудшающих качество воды. Загрязнения, поступающие в водную
Egypt displaced 80,000 residents; the Lake Volta project in Ghana forced
среду, классифицируют по-разному, в зависимости от подходов,
the relocation of 75,000. Tropical reservoirs have expanded the breeding
критериев и задач. Так, обычно выделяют химическое, физическое и
areas for snails that spread schistosomiasis, a disease causing potentially
биологические загрязнения. Химическое загрязнение представляет-
fatal damage to liver, kidneys, and other organs. Malaria, too, typically
собой изменение естественных химических свойств воды за счет
increases following river impoundments. The Tucurui Dam on the
увеличения содержания в ней вредных примесей как неорганической
новых,
несвойственных
ей
веществ —
загрязнителей,
76
77
(минеральные соли, кислоты, щелочи, глинистые частицы), так и
органической
природы
(нефть
и
нефтепродукты,
органические
остатки, поверхностноактивные вещества, пестициды).
и
морских
вод
являются
разнообразные
загрязняются бытовыми отходами. Особенно ощутимо загрязнение в
нодоемах с замедленным течением или непроточных (водохранилища,
Основными неорганическими (минеральными) загрязнителями
пресных
неудовлетворительной эксплуатацией водные бассейны и почва
химические
соединения, токсичные для обитателей водной среды. Это соединения
мышьяка, свинца, кадмия, ртути, хрома, меди, фтора. Большинство из
них попадает в воду в результате человеческой деятельности.
Тяжелые металлы поглощаются фитопланктоном, а затем передаются
по пищевой цепи более высокоорганизованным организмам.
озера). Разлагаясь в водной среде, органические отходы могут стать
средой
для
патогенных
организмов.
Вода,
загрязненная
органическими отходами, становится практически непригодной для
иитья и других надобностей. Бытовые отходы опасны не только тем,
что являются источником некоторых болезней человека (брюшной
гиф, дизентерия, холера), но и тем, что требуют для своего
разложения много кислорода. Если бытовые сточные воды поступают
Среди вносимых в океан с суши растворимых веществ, большое
значение для обитателей водной среды имеют не только минеральные,
биогенные элементы,, но и органические остатки. Вынос в океан
в водоем в очень больших количествах, то содержание растворимого
кислорода может понизиться ниже уровня, необходимого для жизни
морских и пресноводных организмов.
органического вещества оценивается в 1300-3801 млн т/год. Сточные
воды, содержащие суспензии органического происхождения или
растворенное органическое вещество, пагубно влияют на состояние
водоемов. Осаждаясь, суспензии заливают дно и задерживают
развитие или полностью прекращают жизнедеятельность данных
микроорганизмов, участвующих в процессе самоочищения вод. При
гниении данных осадков могут образовываться вредные соединения и ■
отравляющие вещества, такие как сероводород, которые приводят к
загрязнению всей воды в реке.
5. Give English equivalents to the following word combinations.
Оказывать
промышленное
170. Всего 33, 273.
и морские воды, химические соединения,
замедленным
строительством
очистных
сооружений
или
их
обитателей водной среды,
мышьяк, свинец, кадмий, ртуть, хром, медь, фтор, растворенное
органическое
вещество,
органические
разложение.
Text 3
Study the vocabulary.
В связи с быстрыми темпами урбанизации и несколько
коммунальное
соли, кислоты, щелочи, глинистые частицы, нефтепродукты, пресные
а) нефтепродукты 26, 563; Ь) фенолы 0, 460. Отходы производств
синтетических волокон 5, 500; растительные органические остатки 0,
и
строительство, подземные водостоки, вредные примеси, минеральные
сооружения,
Количество загрязняющих веществ в мировом стоке млн т/год:
влияние,
Ridge - горный хребет, борозда
Trench - канава, ров
пагубно,
сероводород,
отходы,
патогенные
очистные
организмы,
78
Subsidence - оседание грунта
Depression - впадина, углубление
Slag - шлак
79
A human activity that affects both the landscape and the nature of the
soil is agriculture. By design or by accident, people have brought about
many changes in the physical, chemical and biochemical nature of the soil
Pulp - бумажная/ древесная масса
Pest - паразиты, вредители
Water treatment facilities - очистные сооружения
То ban - запрещать
and altered its structure, fertility, and drainage characteristics. Two forms
of abuse of the world's soil that have noticeably diminished its amount and
productivity are depletion and erosion. Soil depletion simply means that the
soil has lost some or all of its vital nutrients through crop removal. The soil
Soil and Soil Pollution
People have affected the earth wherever they have lived. Whatever
we do, or have done in the past, to satisfy our basic needs has had an
impact on the landscape. To provide food, clothing, shelter, transportation,
and defense, we have, cleared the land and replanted it, rechanneled
waterways, and built roads, and cities. We have mined the earth's resources,
logged entire forests, terraced mountainsides, even reclaimed land from the
sea. The nature of the changes made in any single area depends on what
was there to begin with and how people have used the land.
Although we tend to think of landforms as "givens," created by
natural processes over millions of years, people have played and continue
to play a significant role in shaping the physical landscape. Pits, ponds,
ridges and trenches, subsidence depressions, canals, and reservoirs are the
chief landform features resulting from excavations. Surface mining, which
involves the removal of vegetation, top soil, and rocks from the earth's
surface in order to get at the resources underneath, has perhaps had the
greatest environmental impact. Excavation in one area often leads to the
creation, via dumping, of landforms nearby. Both surface and subsurface
mining produce tons of waste and enormous spoil piles. Carried by wind
and water, dust from the wastes pollutes the air, and dissolved minerals
pollute nearby water sources.
has been "mined," crop yields drop, plants are weakened, and their nutritive
value is reduced.
The depletion of humus (organic matter essential to hold water in the
soil), deforestation, the plowing of hillsides, overgrazing, and other acts of
land resource exploitation accelerate erosion by preparing the thin layer of
productive soil for the erosive forces of wind and running water. Erosion
has turned vast areas into useless dust bowls. As much as 5 % of the
world's deserts may have been caused not by climate but by human abuse
of the land. It has been estimated that on a worldwide basis, erosion affects
about 14 million acres (5,7 million hectares) per year. Like most processes
erosion has secondary effects. The top soil contains millions of tons of
agricultural chemicals, making erosion borne silt one of the biggest
pollutants of the water system. Irrigation, a component of agriculture for
thousands o f years, has led to excessive salinity (salinization) of the soil in
many parts of the world, particularly in arid and semiarid areas. These
regions
are
naturally
salty
because
evapo-transpiration
exceeds
precipitation. Because irrigation water tends to move slowly, and thus to
evaporate more rapidly, the salts carried in the water are absorbed into the
ground.
Solid wastes are probably the most visible forms o f pollution. People
throw away billions of tons of solid material each year. Much of this waste
80
81
ends up littering roadsides, floating in lakes and streams, and collecting in
ugly dumps. Examples of solid wastes include junked automobiles, tires,
refrigerators, and stoves; cans and other packaging materials; and scraps of
metal and paper. Such solid pollutants are most common in the heavily
populated areas in and near cities. Piles of animal wastes, and of slag and
other wastes from mining processes, pollute much land away from cities.
Solid wastes present a serious problem because most o f the methods
used to dispose of them result in some type of damage to the environment.
When the wastes are put into open dumps, they ruin the attractiveness of
the surrounding areas. Dumps also provide homes for disease-carrying
animals, such as cockroaches and rats. Some solid wastes can be destroyed
by burning them. But burning produces smoke that causes air pollution.
When wastes are dumped in water, they contribute to various forms of
water pollution. Most solid wastes are disposed o f in open dumps. But in
many areas, especially near large cities, the land available for dumping is
running out. In the meantime, the production of solid wastes is increasing
rapidly. In addition, more and more wastes that are difficult to dispose of or
are being produced. Tin and steel cans that rust and can be absorbed by the
soil are being replaced by aluminum cans that stay in their original state for
many years. Paper and- cardboard packaging that decays easily is being
replaced by plastics that will not decay and that give off harmful gases
when burned.
Some soil has been too badly eroded to support crops any more. In
most areas, effective programs to prevent pollution could greatly improve
environmental conditions.
the use of materials that pollute. These approaches may result in much less
convenience and much higher costs however.
The reprocessing of waste products for reuse is called recycling.
Many kinds of wastes can be recycled. Some, including cans and
newspapers, can be used over and over again for the same purposes. Cans
can be melted down and used to make new cans. Old newspapers can be
turned into pulp and then made into clean newsprint. Other materials, such
as glass bottles and automobile tires, can be reused for other purposes.
Ground-up glass can serve as an ingredient in road-building materials. Old
tires can be melted down in a special process in which they give off
valuable chemicals, such as oil and gas.
New technological developments do much to control pollution
caused by older technology. An important development in agriculture is the
use of biological controls instead of pesticides. Biological controls involve
the use of various types' of insects and bacteria to control pests. Other new
developments have improved the effectiveness of water treatment facilities
and provided various new ways to dispose of solid wastes.
Restrictions on the use of materials that pollute can be extremely
effective in controlling pollution. But the restrictions may also cause
inconvenience and require changes in ways of life.
The use of some harmful materials has been stopped or reduced
without major problems resulting. For example, the United Slates
government has banned the use of the dangerous pesticide DDT for all
except essential purposes. Farmers have found other less harmful pesticides
to replace DDT.
Several different approaches can be used to control pollution. Waste
products can be saved and used again. New technological developments
can help prevent pollution from older ones. Restrictions can be placed on
1. M ake an outline of the text and get ready to speak on each item.
82
83
2. Paraphrase the following.
Every organization that either uses or produces radioactive materials
To mine the earth's resources, to log entire forests, to terrace
mountainsides, to reclaim land from the sea, to replant land, to rechannel
waterways, soil depletion, humus, deforestation, to plow hillsides, diseasecarrying, animals, recycling.
generates low-level waste. Nuclear power plants produce about half the
total low level waste in the form of used resins, filter sludges, lubricating
oils,
and
detergent
wastes.
Industries
that
manufacture
radio
pharmaceuticals, smoke alarms, radium watch dials, and other consumer
goods produce low-level waste consisting of machinery parts, plastics, and
3. M atch the columns.
organic solvents.
Excavations
- supplying land with water from
Irrigation
channels
Erosion
- black or brown earth made by the
Surface mining
decay of leaves and other vegetable
Humus
matter
Precipitation
High-level waste is nuclear waste with a relatively high level of
radioactivity. It consists primarily o f spent power reactor fuel assemblies termed "civilian waste" - and waste produced as a by-product of the
manufacture of nuclear weapons, or "military waste."
No satisfactory method for disposing of hazardous waste has yet
digging out or being dug out
been devised. Some wastes have been sealed in protective tanks and
dumped at sea. However, the tanks may be moved from the original
dumping site by strong currents and may be crushed by water pressure,
Text 4
causing leakage o f the wastes. Over 47,000 drums of radioactive wastes
Study the vocabulary
were dumped into the ocean 35 miles (56 km) west of San Francisco in the
to seal - запечатывать, запаивать, плотно закрывать
life expectancy - продолжительность жизни
period 1946-70. Recent .investigations have shown that some o f the drums
have been crushed, contaminating sediment in the area with plutonium.
to phase out - ликвидировать
Even without such physical damage, the life expectancy o f the containers
to contend - утверждать, заявлять
must be presumed to be far shorter than the half-life o f their radioactive
to cease - прекращать(ся)
contents.
feasible - вероятный
Other radioactive wastes have been placed in tanks and buried in the
Hazardous waste
earth. By 1976, 75 million gallons of liquid high-level waste and 51 million
The EPA has classified more than 400 substances as hazardous,
posing a threat to human health or the environment. Industrial wastes have
grown steadily more toxic: currently about
materials are considered hazardous.
10
% of industrial waste
cubic feet o f low level waste were stored at nine locations in the United
States. At least one of these storage areas, that at Hanford, Washington, has
experienced leakages, with seepage of one half million gallons of highlevel waste into the surrounding soil.
84
Another method of waste disposal, used for chemicals as well as for
radioactive wastes, has been to inject them into deep steel- or concrete
lined wells. Because underground injection poses a threat of groundwater
85
- Enumerate the usual ways of hazardous wastes disposal. How far are
they secure?
- Suggest your own ways of disposal.
contamination and may contribute to earth tremors, the injection of wastes
into or above strata that contain aquifers is being phased out. The most
common method of disposal of low-level waste is in landfills, often the
local municipal dump, where the waste chemicals may leach through the
soil and into the groundwater. By EPA estimates, the United States
2. By EPA estimates, the United States contains at least 25,000 legal
and illegal dumps with hazardous waste: as many as 2000 are deemed
potential ecological disasters. Find some additional inform ation on the
same issue in Russia and in your region in particular.
contains at least 25,000 legal and illegal dumps with hazardous waste: as
many as 2000 are deemed potential ecological disasters. Some scientists
contend that a safe dump exists only on paper, that even following the fed­
eral government's suggested guidelines for the best possible hazardous
waste landfill will yield an insecure one.
Solid waste will never cease to be a problem, but its impact on the
environment can be lessened by reducing the volume of waste that is
generated, reducing the production o f toxic residues, halting irresponsible
dumping, and finding ways to reuse the resources that it contains. Several
methods of reuse are being explored, to different degrees in different
3. Translate the following sentences from the text.
- Because
underground
injection poses
a threat
of groundwater
contamination and may contribute to earth tremors, the injection of wastes
into or above strata that contain aquifers is being phased out.
- Some scientists contend that a safe dump exists only on paper, that even
following the federal government's suggested guidelines for the best pos­
sible hazardous waste landfill will yield an insecure one.
- The conversion of the wastes into fuels or into compost, a low grade
fertilizer, is feasible if there is a market for those products.
countries. The conversion of the wastes into fuels or into compost, a low
grade fertilizer, is feasible if there is a market for those products. Likewise
many materials in the waste, excluding plastics or textiles, can be recycled
4. Suggest as many synonyms to the following words as you can.
To contend, to cease, feasible, to deem, to halt.
and probably will be once the costs are shown to be economical. Until then,
current methods of waste disposal will continue to pollute soil, air, and
water.
5. Study the following expressions and compile your own sentences in
English with each of them.
to pose an obstacle - ставить преграду
1. Answer the questions.
- What wastes are considered hazardous and why?
- Define the low-level waste and high level waste.
to pose (no) hazard to life -(не) представлять опасность для жизни
to pose as a hero - ставить из себя героя
to pose an argument - излагать аргумент
86
87
to pose a threat to the course of peace - представлять угрозу для дела
200-300 километров в сторону от существующего сегодня места, мы
мира
не имели бы проблем ни с озером Карачаем, ни с рекой Течей.
to pose a question - ставить вопрос
Дело в том, как подчеркнул на семинаре представитель
to pose a threat г представлять угрозу
Минресурсов РФ, что "в России много закрытых водоносных
горизонтов, которые сами по себе куда опаснее промышленных
6. Translate the following words and word combinations.
отходов,
закачиваемых в них".
Таковы,
например, горизонты,
Водоносные горизонты, промышленные отходы, toxic waste,
заполненные сильно солеными водами, фактически - рассолами.
захоронения отходов, detergent waste, атомные электростанции, storage
Кроме того, не стоит забывать, что нефтяные или газоносные
areas,
отходы,
горизонты существуют миллионы лет без всякого ущерба для
исследование, to generate low-level waste, плутоний, представлять
экологии и занимают площади в десятки квадратных километров.
угрозу, strong currents, органические растворители, smoke alarms.
Полигон "Северный" - это несколько квадратных километров.
товары
широкого
потребления,
высокоактивные
Правда,
7. Render the text.
радиоактивные
ПОЛИГОН "СЕВЕРНЫЙ": ЖИТЬ МОЖНО, ПИТЬ НЕЛЬЗЯ
"Для специалистов нет сомнений в эффективности метода
глубинного захоронения жидких радиоактивных
выступивший
отходов", - заявил
на - семинаре главный гидролог государственного
геологического предприятия "Гидроспецгеология" Андрей Шипулин.
Как это ни парадоксально звучит для неспециалиста, но,
оказывается,
подземные
захоронения
-
это
по
глубинные
пласты,
в
которые
закачиваются
отходы, здесь заполнены не рассольными водами. В
этом и состоит, по мнению международных экспертов, главная
опасность:
необходимо
исключить
в
будущем
возможность
использования этих пластов в качестве источника питьевой воды.
Исследования по проекту RAD были выполнены по наиболее
вероятному нормальному сценарию развития ситуации (геологические
условия остаются неизменными), а также по нескольким возможным
определению
аварийным сценариям. Одним из гипотетических сценариев был как
природоохранный способ хранения большого количества отходов. На
раз тот, когда загрязненная вода была бы использована в качестве
семинаре в ЦНИИ атоминформ, например, приводились такие данные:
питьевой.
если бы не был в свое время создан полигон "Северный", то
радиоактивность на Земле в целом была бы выше сейчас в 2-3 раза.
Удаление жидких радиоактивных отходов в глубокие пласты не
применялось на ПО "Маяк", поскольку геологические условия
По нормальному сценарию дозы радиоактивного загрязнения в
любом случае на несколько порядков величины ниже современного,
официально принятого предела допустимой дозы для населения -
1
м3в/год.
расположения предприятия не подходили для использования этого
Оценка сценария землетрясения в зоне полигона "Северный"
метода. Специалисты уверены: будь "Маяк" расположен буквально на
показала, что этот сценарий вряд ли кончится загрязнением реки
89
Енисея. Дело в том, что приток воды на реке Енисее настолько
мощный, что разбавит любые нуклиы, достигающие реки, до очень
низких уровней.
Результаты
рассматриваемом
сценарии
миграции
показывают,
радионуклидов
что
время
в
переноса
фильтрационного
окна
даже
при
весьма
низких
значениях коэффициента задержки превышает 10 тыс. лет. Но
основная
Light pollution has been brought to our attention primarily by
astronomers who are increasingly unable to view the night sky. Many of
моделирования
подземными водами радионуклидов от зоны захоронения до так
называемого
Light Pollution
часть
радиоактивности
представлена
средне-
и
короткоживущими нуклидами. Большая их часть распадется до
уровня, определяемого российскими стандартами для питьевой воды
менее чем за 1ООО лет. •
our most important research observatories built over the past century are
severely compromised today. It is now at risk of being unable to continue
many key types of research due to light pollution. About 2,500 individual
stars should be visible to the human eye in an unpolluted sky. In a typical
suburb with moderate illumination, only 200 to 300 stars are visible. And
in cities we can usually see only a few dozen. The reason for this is that the
light pollution competes with the light from the stars. Even in a rural
village, artificial light is likely to be twice the brightness of the night sky;
in a typical suburb, light pollution may exceed the night-sky brightness
fivefold, and in a moderate-size city the difference is 20- to 25-fold. Light
Text 5
Study the vocabulary
artificial- искуственный
fivefold - впятеро
pollution is the upward and outward distribution of light, either directly
from fixtures or from reflection off the ground or other surfaces. Glare is
direct light shining from a fixture (luminaire) that makes it difficult to see
or causes discomfort. Light trespass describes the shining of light onto
intrusive - вторгающийся
neighboring properties when that light is intrusive or objectionable. Sky
hatchling - только что выливувшийся
glow refers to the composite illumination coming from towns, cities, and
warbler - певчая птица
nocturnal - ночной
robin - дрозд
other developed areas—it is the yellowish glow you see in the sky when
you look from a relatively dark area toward a nearby town or city.
In addition to looking at light pollution as an impact on others, it can
larva - личинка
also be thought of as a symptom of wasted energy. It is light that isn't going
mating -спаривание
where it is needed. The Internationa] Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in
dormancy - состояние покоя
Tucson, Arizona estimates that about a third of the light we use out-of-
to warrant - гарантировать
doors escapes into the night sky where, instead of providing useful
susceptibility - восприимчивость, предласположенность
illumination, it causes glare, light trespass, and sky glow.
footcandle - единица освещенности, световая единица
Among the most common sources of light pollution are streetlights
90
that fail to deliver all of their light downward, outdoor security lights
around buildings, billboard illumination directed upward onto the signs
(some missing the signs altogether and a lot o f the rest reflecting off the
signs), landscape illumination directed upward or outward, and light
escaping from inside buildings at night (including office buildings that are
left fully lit for cleaning, and convenience stores that FPEFoperate at night
with extremely high illumination levels).
Ecological and Health Risks of Light Pollution. The ecological
impacts of light pollution have been studied extensively in a few situations,
yet hardly at all in others. The most extensive research has been done on
nesting sea turtles along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Four species
of sea turtles nest along these coasts, all of which are either endangered or
threatened: the loggerhead, green, leatherback, and hawksbill turtles. Sea
turtle nesting occurs between May 1 and October 31. Female sea turtles go
91
are apparently the most affected by light pollution, probably due to their
pattern of migrating at night at low altitude. The report Collision Course:
The Hazards of Lighted Structures and Windows to Migrating Birds,
published by WWF - Canada (Toronto, 1996), examines the impact of
lighted structures and windows on migrating birds. "In the dark, and
especially in foggy or rainy weather," according to the report's authors, "the
combination of glass and light becomes deadly. Confused by artificial
lights, blinded by weather, and unable to see glass, birds by the hundreds
and even thousands can be injured or killed in one night at one building."
Illuminated structures often "trap" nocturnal migrants. Light pollution
reflecting off of low clouds may contribute to the disorientation, according
to professor Sidney Gauthreaux of Clemson University.
From 1993 through 1995, volunteers in Toronto recorded 100
different species killed or injured by flying into buildings at night. A single
ashore to dig nests in the sand and lay eggs. When bright artificial light is
building in Chicago, which was checked daily by volunteers during the
present, females may avoid coming ashore altogether, or they may become
migrating seasons, killed 20,697 birds over a 14-year period—an average
disoriented, wandering onto roads where they are killed.
of 1,478 per year. A smokestack at an Ontario Hydro power plant near
Sea turtle hatchlings, which almost invariably hatch at night,
Bath, Ontario killed a total of 22,779 birds between 1972 and 1982. The
instinctively head toward light. Before the advent of electric lighting, the
birds were attracted by floodlights; once those lights were replaced with
sea's surface was brighter than inland because of the moon's reflection on it
strobe lights, the numbers of migrating birds killed dropped to just a few
or from bioluminescence, and sea turtles evolved to follow that light. Due
per year.
to light pollution, hatchlings often head in the wrong direction. They may
In addition to death and injury from flying into illuminated
wander great distances along shore (exposing themselves to predation), or
structures, the daily cycles of some birds are being altered by light
head inland toward lights and get run over by vehicles. In one tragic case in
pollution. According to the book Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Arthur
Florida, about 500 tiny green sea turtle hatchlings followed the light of an
Upgren, birds that sing at dawn are sometimes tricked by streetlights: "The
abandoned beach fire to their charry deaths.
British Trust for Ornithology estimates that at any given hour on any given
The impact o f light pollution on migrating birds has also been
examined in some detail. Small migrating songbirds, especially warblers,
night, 10,000 English robins are serenading a false dawn."
Insects are also affected by outdoor lighting. Lepidopterists
92
93
(scientists who study moths and butterflies) have long blamed outdoor
NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Researcher Neil Yorio was
lighting for declines in several species of North American moths,
trying to grow wheat and potatoes together—as potential food sources for a
particularly satumiids (the giant luna, cecropia and polyphemus moths) in
space station—but found that the long day length required for optimal
the northeastern United States, though few if any detailed studies have been
wheat production blocked tuber formation in potatoes. Subsequent
done. It is unknown whether the lights interrupt mating, kill individuals
experiments found that irradiance levels as low as 3 footcandles (fc) block
directly, or have other effects. It appears that populations of some moths
tuber formation. Whether extended "day length" from light pollution in
are affected more than others. Also, some species may have adapted to
urban and suburban areas might be killing off trees, shrubs, and certain
bright lights as a selection strategy (i.e., individuals who were less affected
flowering plants by delaying dormancy is not known, but it is certainly a
by outdoor lights tend to survive and pass on their genes). An article in a
real possibility that warrants further investigation.
newsletter of the Astronomical Society of Wakabadai (Japan) describes
Even human health may be affected by light pollution—or rather, by
ecological impacts of artificial light on fireflies, noting impacts of light on
the absence of long enough periods of darkness. At issue is the influence of
firefly communication, mating and larva. Due perhaps to the spiritual
light on hormone production. An article in the July 3, 1993 edition of
significance of fireflies in Japanese culture, the Japanese Environment
Science News suggests that nighttime illumination can affect estrogen
Agency and the Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan are working on
levels in women, which in turn can increase susceptibility to breast cancer.
guidelines to stop light pollution, according to the newsletter.
According to the article, the high incidence of breast cancer in highly
Plants can also be affected by light pollution, though little research
industrialized nations could result from the higher lifetime dose of
has been done on this issue. It is well known that certain frequencies and
estrogen. One theory is that bright lights somehow restrict the brain's
intensities of light regulate the development and flowering of plants—a
nocturnal production of melatonin, which is a regulator o f estrogen
process referred to as photoperiod response. "Many trees and shrubs go
production. Whether such a connection between light levels and breast
dormant and lose their leaves in response to shortening days," explains
cancer (or other human health impacts) will be borne out by future research
plant physiologist Dr. Winslow Briggs of the Carnegie Institution of
is unknown. Nor is it clear whether the levels o f light we are exposed to
Washington in Stanford, California. "Extending the day length (or
through light pollution are high enough to affect hormone production.
interrupting the night) will prevent—or at least delay—that response." He
Engineering
Society
of
North
America
is
working
on
told EBN that there are sycamores in the Central Valley towns of California
recommendation standards for outdoor lighting that will, for the first time,
that don't properly lose their leaves when they are too close to streetlights.
clearly address light pollution. Because the regulation of light pollution is a
While not all plants respond to photoperiod, those that do can be
relatively new issue that few people have thoughtabout, it is often possible
affected by very low light intensities, according to Briggs— well within the
for a single individual or small group of individuals to bring about very
range of outdoor lighting. This is borne out by research being done by
significant change. When local planning commissions and residents
94
95
understand the issues oflight pollution and the advantages and ease of'
avoiding it, most are fairly receptive, though companies and lobbies
involved with outdoor advertising may be vocal in opposition to new
regulations.With passage of its stringent lighting regulations, Sanibel
Island, on the Gulf Coast o f Florida, now has no streetlights, and at night
the municipality is as dark as some o f the most remote observatories. In
Tucson, a city of 600,000, you can now see the Milky Way from the center
of downtown.
- What is light pollution?
- What are the causes o f the light pollution?
- What are the common sources oflight pollution?
- In what way does light pollution affect a) nesting sea turtles; b) birds; c)
insects; d) plants; e) humans?
- Are there any recommendation standards for outdoor lighting?
- What are the ways of reducing light pollution?
Final Thoughts. While few people other than astronomers—and
perhaps poets— have given much thought to light pollution, it is an easy
problem with easy solutions. Remember, light pollution equals waste.
2 .
Explain in English the following words.
Glare, light trespass, sky glow, hatchlings, warblers.
Eliminating waste saves money. Overlighting a space generally costs more
both up-front and during operation—though specifying more, lowerwattage luminaires in a parking lot may increase first cost.
Any way you look at it, controlling light pollution is a winner. The
building owner or occupants get better light, generally at lower operating
3. Study the expressions with the verb to affect and compile sentences
of your own with each of them using the information from the text.
adversely affect - негативно сказаться;
affect detrimentally - пагубно отразитья на;
cost. By reducing electricity use (through lowering light levels and
affect emotionally - волновать, трогать;
directing that light where it is needed), fossil fuels are saved and the
affect the character - порочить репутацию;
pollution associated with generating that electricity is eliminated. Finally,'
remember that light pollution is a lot different from PCB pollution in our
rivers or CFC pollution in the upper atmosphere. Once the lights are turned
affect the interest - затрагивать интересы
It doesn’t affect me immideately - это меня непосредственно не
касается
off or properly directed, the light pollution ends—there are no residuals that
we have to clean up.
4. R ender the text.
Световое загрязнение
By solving our light pollution problem, more o f us may be able to
appreciate the night sky—and work to ensure clear skies and a clean
environment.
В отличие от других видов загрязнения о световом в России
практически
ничего
неизвестно:
никакие
эксперименты
не
проводятся, численность зверей, которые попадают в " световые
1. Scan the text and answer the following questions.
- Why can’t we see all the stars in the night sky?
ловушки", неизвестна.
То ли дело в том, что в России ночью темно, то ли не до того. А
96
тем
временем,
оказывается,
97
речь
идёт
уже
о
новом
виде
экологической катастрофы, причём разрешить эту проблему вряд ли
вообще
представляется
цивилизации
в
возможным,
заповедные
зоны
так
как
основным
проникновение
признаком
имеет
электрификацию.
здравомыслящий гражданин. А тем временем...
полностью меняет среду обитания всех ночных существ и ведёт к
гибели птиц, земноводных, насекомых и млекопитающих— ночных
хищников.
Маленькие морские черепашки, которые вылупляются в песке и
Атлантические побережья в период появления потомства полны
от воды направлении и гибнут от обезвоживания или голода.
Дело в том, что они ориентируются по отражённому водой
свету луны и звёзд — ночью берег должен быть темнее воды, а ползут
черепашки на свет. Теперь же всё изменилось — свет берега
Начнём с насекомых, которые чрезвычайно чувствительны к
освещению и жизнь которых— короткая, но насыщенная, так или
зависит
от
который
света.
Известный
толкает
бабочек
смертельный
к
огню,
"эффект
убивает
их
миллионами и миллиардами. Австрийские учёные посчитали, что'
одна световая
черепашки.
маленьких трупиков черепашек, которые ползут в противоположном
Тем временем, оказывается, искусственный свет в ночное время
очарования",
Вторая группа существ, которые оказались в ловушке — жабы и
в обычных условиях ползут ночью в воду, перестали ориентироваться.
Сомнительно, что акцию "Выключи свет" поддержит хоть один
иначе,
время брачных игр и продолжения потомства.
реклама из трёх букв за год убивает 350 ООО
насекомых.
заглушает свет воды. Природный магнетизм света для новорожденных
созданий настолько велик и связан с выживанием, что известны
случаи, когда черепашки заползали в горящий на пляже костер и
сгорали заживо.
Теперь о лягушках. Большинство из них являются существами,
ведущими ночной образ жизни — именно ночью они охотятся,
размножаются и питаются. Приблизительно 3500 разновидностей
А ведь тончайшее восприятие света насекомыми делает их
лягушек живут в земной среде, в водной или в древесной, и каждая
зависимыми даже от фазы Луны. Кроме того, многие виды,
особь обладает разнообразием способов визуальной адаптации к этим
дезориентированные ночным освещением, не способны вести себя
адекватно — добывать пищу и воспроизводиться, что тоже сокращает
видам среды обитания.
Распространение ночных источников освещения влечёт за собой
их численность и — по "пищевой цепочке" — численность тех, кто
как позитивные последствия для лягушек, так
ими питается, параллельно нарушая ритмы и объёмы опыления. Ведь
Например, около источников света много насекомых, которыми
известно, что малейший перекос в экосистеме ведёт к колебанию всей
лягушки питаются. С другой стороны, свет привлекает в поисках
цепочки: порванное звено крушит целостность.
пищи и тех, кто питается самими лягушками, ведь они становятся
Даже если они не гибнут, притягиваясь к источнику света,
насекомые расходуют свою энергию в бессмысленном полёте, упуская
и
негативные.
видны в ночи. Разновидности жаб, которые могут размножаться
только в кромешной тьме, перестают это делать совсем.
98
99
В "зоне повышенного риска" оказались ночные саламандры,
естественный природный ритм, что приводит к падению численностей
некоторые виды рыб — например, лосось, сельдь, пескарь и многие
некоторых видов— например, львов и тигров, чья ночная охота
другие.
затрудняется.
Ещё одна группа существ, гибнущих от света чаще других, —
Этот драматичный феномен, который пока в мире серьёзно не
птицы. Раньше перелётные птицы ориентировались по созвездиям,
воспринимается,
теперь
световое загрязнение,
же
светлое
марево
городов
сбивает
систему
птичьей
получил
название
"Light
pollution" —
и страна, которая претендует на звание
навигации. Стаи резко меняют курс и направляются к светящимся
"Главный световой загрязнитель планеты"— это, конечно, США.
высотным зданиям, башням, маякам и ярко освещённым судам.
Именно здесь уже организовано несколько центров борьбы со светом,
Дезориентированные,
которые работают под лозунгом "Выключи свет!".
они
бьются
об
оконные
стёкла,
стены,
иллюминаторы, прожекторы и землю.
Орнитологи
перестают
тёмные небеса" и большинство её членов— астрономы, которые
воспринимать препятствие на своём пути и на скорости 75 км/час
заявляют, что жители мегаполисов лишены возможности увидеть в
(скворец) или
ночном небе 2,5 тысяч звёзд, вместо которых получают слабые
120
считают,
что
Наиболее крупная называется "Международная ассоциация за
ослеплённые
птицы
км/час (чирок-свистунок) врезаются в препятствие.
Ежегодно только в США гибнет около 4 миллионов мигрирующих
птиц при столкновении с освещенными башнями телекоммуникаций.
Лишь одно высотное здание Чикагского выставочного центра
ежегодно уносит жизни около 1 500 мигрирующих птиц.
изображения нескольких десятков звёзд.
Эффективных способов борьбы со светом пока н ет— правда,
считается, что манипуляции с освещением могут снизить риск жертв:
так некоторые предлагают освещать маяки и башни снаружи — такой
Городские птицы также страдают от искусственного освещения.
В ярко освещённых скверах и парках они вьют гнезда осенью, а не
весной, и птенцы замерзают или умирают от голода.
свет не ослепляет и дает более-менее реалистичные представления о
расстоянии, размерах и масштабах птичьего препятствия.
Кроме
того,
борцы
со световой грязью
рекомендуют
Млекопитающим не легче. На границе штата Техас установлены
фокусировать свет и делать его фрагментарным — чтобы световые
прожекторы, которые освещают приграничную зону, используемую
пятна нескольких больших объектов не расплывались в одно. Они
нелегальными
прожекторов,
требуют, чтобы фонари и прожекторы освещали какую-то конкретную
установленных на протяжении всей границы практически сделал
зону, причем луч никогда не должен быть направлен в небо без
непригодной среду обитания оцелотов— маленьких диких котов —
необходимости. Главный принцип борцов со световой грязью — Dark
ночных хищников
Sky (чёрное, или тёмное, небо).
иммигрантами.
Яркий
свет
Особи, которые ведут ночной образ жизни, вынуждены,
скрываясь от искусственного ночного освещения, нарушать свой
"Самое
прекрасное —
это
иметь возможность
показывать своим детям звездное небо", — говорят они.
в тишине
100
5. Give
the
equivalents
to
the
101
following
words
and
word
combinations.
Проводить
ловушки,
disrupt - разрушать
juxtaposition - сопоставление
эксперименты,
заповедные
зоны,
численность
искусственное
зверей,
освещение,
световые
ночные
хищники, чувствительный к освещению, тончайшее восприятие света,
ночные источники освещения, размножаться, дезориентированные
adverse - неблагоприятный
hum - гул
ambient - окружающий
lodge complaint - заявлять жалобу
птицы, особи.
Noise Pollution
6. Using the vocabulary from this chapter make up 5 sentences in
Noise pollution is displeasing human or machine created sound that
English to practice back translation. Your sentences should contain the
disrupts the environment. The dominant form of noise pollution is from
fillowing structure: “It was not untill .... th at (when)” (только;
transportation sources, principally motor vehicles.
только после; только тогда, когда)
The main source of most noise worldwide is generated by
transportation systems, principally motor vehicle noise. It also includes
Text 6
aircraft noise and rail noise. Hybrid vehicles are the first innovation within
Study the vocabulary.
the last
mitigation - уменьшение
Poor urban planning may also give rise to noise pollution, since
sonar-звуковойЖ гидролокатор
juxtaposition of industrial to residential land uses, for example, often
sap - иссушать
results in adverse consequences for the residential acoustic environment.
ordinance - постановление
100
years to achieve significant widespread noise source reduction.
Besides transportation noise, other prominent sources are office
threshold - пороговый
equipment, factory machinery, appliances, power tools, lighting hum and
trespass - нарушать границу
audio entertainment systems. Furthermore, with the popularity of digital
uneven - неравный
audio player devices, individuals in a noisy area might increase the volume
finch - зяблик
in order to drown out ambient sounds. Construction equipment also
tinnitus - шум в ушах
produces noise pollution.
cochlear - кохлеарный
Noise from recreational vehicles has become a serious problem in
irreversible - необратимый
rural areas. ATVs, also-known as quads, have increased in popularity and
amplifie - усиливать
are joining the traditional two wheeled dirt motorcycles for off-road riding.
distraction - безумие, отвлечение
The noise produced by these vehicles is particularly disturbing due to the
102
wide variations in frequency and volume.
Principal noise health effects are both health and behavioral in
nature. The following discussion refers to sound levels that are present
within 30 to 150 meters from a moderately busy highway. Sound is a
particular auditory impression perceived by the sense of hearing. The
presence o f unwanted sound is called noise pollution. This unwanted sound
can seriously damage and affect physiological and psychological health.
For instance, noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression,
hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, and other harmful
effects depending on the level of sound, or how loud it is. Furthermore,
stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems, whereas
tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic
attacks.
Noise pollution constitutes a significant factor of annoyance and
distraction in modem artificial environments. The meaning listeners
attribute to the sound influences annoyance, so that, if listeners dislike the
noise content, they are annoyed. What is music to one is noise to another. If
the sound causes activity interference, noise is more likely to annoy (for
example, sleep disturbance). If listeners feel they can control the noise
source, the noise is less likely to be annoying. If listeners believe that the
noise is subject to third-party control, including police, but control has
failed, they are more annoyed. The inherent unpleasantness of the sound
causes annoyance. If the sound is appropriate for the activity it is in
context. If one is at a race track the noise is in context and the
psychological effects are absent. If one is at an outdoor picnic the race track
noise will produce adverse psychological and physical effects.
A 2005 study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas
households are willing to pay approximately four Euros per decibel per
103
year for noise reduction.
Noise and other loud sounds can have a detrimental effect on animals
by causing stress, increasing risk of mortality by changing the delicate
balance in predator-prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with
their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction
and in navigation. Very significantly, acoustic overexposure can lead to
temporary or permanent loss of hearing.
The most significant impact o f noise to animal life is the systematic
reduction of usable habitat, which in the case of endangered species may be
an important part of the path to extinction. Perhaps the most sensational
damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species o f beached
whales, brought on by the extremely loud (up to
200
decibels) sound of
military sonar.
Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called
Lombard vocal response. Scientists and researchers have conducted
experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarinedetecters are on. If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice will be
masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be
warnings, finding o f prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one
species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species' voice, causing
the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder.
Ships may be mistaken by creatures for their predator and of course,
either protect themselves, attack, or run away. If they attack, humans might
have financial loss, but running away will have an even more deadly result.
After they run away several times, it will become part o f its habit and start
ignoring it. When their natural predators come, they will stay and think that
it's the boat.
Zebra finches become less faithful to their partners when exposed to
104
105
traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by
selecting "sexy" traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other
activities and thus lead to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.
Governments up until the 1970s viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather
than an environmental problem. In the United States there are federal
standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments
1. Answer the questions.
- What is noise pollution?
- What are the main sources of noise pollution?
- What are the principle noise health effects?
- In what situations do people get annoyed of noise?
- Hoe does noise pollution influence animal life?
typically have very specific statutes on building codes, urban planning and
roadway development. In Canada and the EU there are few national,
- How does government regulate noise pollution? Are these methods
effective? Why?
provincial, or state laws that protect against noise.
Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and
indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a
2. Explain the meaning of the words and w ord combinations in
English.
general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set
out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of
Local authorities, ordinance, whale, navigation, decibel, two wheeled
dirt motorcycles, innovation, usable habitat, artificial environment.
the day and for certain activities.
Most city ordinances prohibit sound above a threshold intensity from
trespassing over property line at night, typically between
10
p.m. and
3. Express your agreement or disagreement with the following
6
a.m., and during the day restricts it to a higher decibel level; however,
1. Mitigation is making voyages on water or traveling through the air
2. Whale is a small singing bird
enforcement is uneven. Many municipalities do not follow up on
complaints. Even where a municipality has an enforcement office, it may
3. Distraction is something that holds the attention and is annoying
and unwelcome.
only be willing to issue warnings, since taking offenders to court is
4. Navigation is the way in which a thing is distributed.
expensive.
Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation
between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by
country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in
particular the police. Noise pollution often persists because only five to ten
percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. Many
people are not aware o f their legal right to quiet and do not know how to
register a complaint.
5. Finch is a large fish-like animal which lives in the sea.
6. Noise pollution cannot bring harm to anybody.
7. Government should pay much attention to solve the problem of
noise pollution as it is very profitable.
8.
Submarine is a light boat moved by one or more paddlers
9. Lombard vocal response is the reaction o f species to noise.
10. The main source of most noise worldwide is generated by
transportation systems, principally motor vehicle noise. It also includes the
106
107
noise of moving snails.
11.
model for roadway noise, that is capable of addressing local topography,
Only five to ten percent of people affected by noise lodge a
formal complaint.
meteorology, traffic operations and hypothetical mitigation. Costs of
building in mitigation is often quite modest, provided these solutions are
sought in the planning stage of a roadway project.
4. Find in the text the English phrases corresponding to the Russian
equivalents.
engines, which was pursued vigorously in the 1970s and 1980s. This
Транспортная
система,
жилой
район,
неблагоприятные
последствия, строительное оборудование, частота звука, потеря слуха,
глубокая
Aircraft noise can be reduced to some extent by design of quieter jet
депрессия,
забывчивость,
смертность,
городские
постановления, правонарушитель, обратиться с жалобой в суд,
нарушать границу, военный гидролокатор.
strategy has brought limited but noticeable reduction of urban sound levels.
Reconsideration of operations, such as altering flight paths and time of day
runway use, have demonstrated significant benefits for residential
populations near airports. FAA sponsored residential retrofit (insulation)
programs initiated in the 1970s has also enjoyed widespread success in
reducing interior residential noise in thousands of affected residences
5. Make a sum m ary of the following text.
Noise mitigation
The sound tube in Melbourne, Australia, designed to reduce
roadway noise without detracting from the area's aesthetics.
across the United States;
Exposure of Industrial noise on workers has the longest history of
scientific study, having been addressed since the 1930s. This scientific
studies have emphasized redesign of industrial equipment, shock mounting
There is also technology that has been applied with the aim of
assemblies and physical barriers in the workplace. Innovations have had
mitigating or containing noise as much as possible, provided that it has a
considerable success; however, the costs of retrofitting existing systems is
sufficiently localized source.
often rather high.
Roadway noise is the most widespread environmental component of
Radio spectrum pollution is the straying of waves in the radio and
noise pollution worldwide. There are a variety of effective strategies for
electromagnetic spectrums outside their allocations that cause problems for
mitigating adverse sound levels including: use of noise barriers, limitation
some activities. It is a specialised form of light pollution, and of particular
of vehicle speeds, alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of heavy
concern to radio astronomers.
duty vehicles, use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce
braking and acceleration, innovative tire design and other methods.
6. Render the text.
Thousands o f case studies in the U.S. alone have been documented starting
Шумовое загрязнение окружающей среды и его
in 1970, indicating substantial improvement in roadway planning and
влияние на здоровье человека
design. The most important factor in applying these strategies is a computer
С
ростом
урбанизации
шум
стал
постоянной
частью
108
человеческой
жизни,
одним
городской Среды. Усиление
из
109
существенных
шумового
загрязнителей
через зеленую изгородь. Кроме того, движение кустарников и
фона свыше предельно
деревьев, вызванное ветром, создает приемлемый маскировочный
допустимых величин (80 дБ), характерное для современной жизни,
шум.
опасно не только с позиций профессиональной вредности: оно
Шум свыше 110 дБ ведет к так называемому "шумовому
представляет собой опасность для физического и психического
опьянению". Шумовое опьянение - одна из причин успеха рок-музыки
здоровья населения. Потенциальный материальный ущерб от потери
(уровень шума иногда достигает 130 дБ).
слуха, вызываемый шумом, в промышленности больше, чем от
любого другого профессионального заболевания.
Шум
умственной
Итак, что же такое акустический шум? Вот определение шума,
приводит,
к
активности,
сердечно-сосудистых
повышению
неврозам,
заболеваний
утомляемости,
ухудшению
и
снижению
зрения,
т.д. Шумовое
росту
загрязнение
взятое из Советского Энциклопедического Словаря: "Шум - это
присутствует не только на улице, работе, но и дома. Отчасти поэтому
беспорядочные звуковые колебания разной физической природы,
жители крупных городов чаще страдают сердечными заболеваниями,
характеризующиеся случайным изменением амплитуды, частоты. В
атеросклерозом - болезнью сосудов и нарушениями нервной системы.
быту - звуки, мешающие восприятию речи, музыки, отдыху, работе.
Разработаны нормы допустимых шумов. Так, допустимый шум у стен
Шум оказывает вредное воздействие на организм человека".
жилых домов днем 50 дБ, а ночью 40 дБ.
Шум измеряется в БЕЛАХ (Бл), но удобнее пользоваться
кратными БЕЛУ единицами ДЕЦИБЕЛАМИ (дБ): 1 дБ=0,1 Бл. Для'
Шум,
как экологический
фактор
приводит
к
15% всех
профессиональных заболеваний.
измерения уровня шума используют приборы-шумомеры различных
марок. Основным источником шума в городе является транспорт (60-
7. Read the text about other types of pollution and discuss it in the
80 %).
class.
В
свободном
поле
интенсивность распространения
звука
O ther Types of Pollution
уменьшается, пропорционально квадрату расстояния от источника. На
Visual pollution is the term given to unattractive or unnatural visual
распространение шума могут оказывать влияние также погодные и
elements of a vista, a landscape, or any other thing that a person might not
климатические факторы, определяющие поглощение звука воздухом и
want to look at. Commonly cited examples are advertisements, billboards,
распространение
сила ветра,
houses, automobiles, traffic signs, road-signs, highways, roadways, litter,
температурные градиенты, атмосферная турбулентность, туман и
graffiti, overhead power-lines, utility poles, contrails, skywriting, buildings
снег. Зеленый пояс деревьев или кустарников вокруг источников
and weeds. These are usually considered visual pollution when placed in a
помогает
местность:
landscape or surrounding where the person seeing them thinks that they do
высокочастотный характер звука понижается при его прохождении
not fit. For example big billboards in a countryside village or graffiti on an
звука: температура и
изолировать
от
шума
влажность,
окружающую
110
old eighteenth century house can be seen as visual pollution.
Radio spectrum pollution is the straying of waves in the radio and
electromagnetic spectrums outside their allocations that cause problems for
some activities. It is a specialized form of light pollution, and of particularconcern to radio astronomers.
111
yields in the short run. But they may have adverse consequences in the long
run as may the deliberate elimination of a presumed destructive animal
species.
Whenever we modify the vegetation in an area, we affect plant and
animal populations and soils. Thus soil in the tropics exposed by defoliants
to wind and sun may be completely altered structurally and chemically, and
UNIT 4. EXHAUSTING RESOURCES.
become less productive. If herbicides kill microorganisms in the soil, the
soil ecology is affected. We are learning that the food chain is part of an
Text 1
interlocking web; to touch one strand of the web is to set off reverberations
Study the vocabulary
deliberate - преднамеренный
adverse - неблагоприятный
elimination - удаление, устранение
reverberation - отражение
extinction - исчезновение
to jeopardy - рисковать, подвергать опасности
to subject to - подвергать чему-либо
<
dredging - выемка грунта
crustaceans - ракообразные
to poach - браконьерничать
rodenticide - пестицид против грызунов
deforestation - вырубка лесов
to be on the brink o f extinction - быть на грани исчезновения
in the rest.
Humans have caused the extinction of some plants and animals and
have placed many other species in jeopardy. We have overhunted and
overfished, for food, fur, or sport. Jaguars, buffalo, passenger pigeons,
whales, and hundreds of other animals have been thoughtlessly exploited.
Around the world, about 20,000 species of flowering p la n ts-10% of the
world's flora—are endangered or threatened with extinction. In the United
States, 15 % of the approximately 400 native mammals are in the Rare and
Endangered Species list maintained by the national government and
updated yearly.
We have also destroyed animals by disrupting the habitats in which
they live. One of the main causes of extinction has been the alteration of
habitats for wildlife. By clearing forest land, draining wetlands, extending
farmland, and building cities, people modify or destroy the habitats in
Destruction of Plants and Animals
One of the ways in which humans have affected plants and animals
is through deliberate destruction. When people clear an area to plant crops,
spread defoliants in a war or use herbicides, they are destroying vegetation.
Herbicides are chemical weed killers designed to increase agricultural
which animals have lived. Often the animals can simply move elsewhere,
but not always. Tidal marshlands have been subjected to dredging and
filling for residential and industrial development. The loss of such areas
reduces the essential habitat of waterfowl, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
Many waterfowl breed in coastal marshes and use them for rest during long
112
113
migrations. The whooping crane has been virtually eliminated in this,
warm areas where the rainfall is 2 0 0 centimeters or more per year, which
country, partly because the marshes in which it lived were drained; its
allows broad - leaved eve green trees to flour. The trees typically sort into
comeback, sought by breeding programs in the United States and Canada,
three or more horizontal lagers (the tallest being 30 meters or more from
is still uncertain.
the ground). Together the tree crowns of the several lagers admit little
Many people fear that as countries in Africa and South America
sunlight to the forest floor, inhibiting the development of undergrowth and
become more industrialized and more urbanized and expand their areas
leaving large spaces through which it is relatively easy to walk. Among the
under cultivation, there will be an increasingly negative impact on wildlife.
most species - rich habitats on the earth is tropical rain forest in northern
It is already known that in Africa, wild animals are vanishing fast, the
Costa Rica.
victims of habitat destruction, hunting and poaching, starvation, and
Deforestation is occurring at a rapid rate around the world. In Costa
disease. As selected animal species decline in numbers, balances among,
Rica as well as in parts of South America, rain forest is often cut and the
species are upset and entire ecosystems are disrupted.
land fenced in and converted to pasture. Unlike temperate forest, where
Perhaps the worst ecological disaster now facing humankind is the
nutrients accumulate in the soil, tropical forest typically have poor quality
destruction of the world's rain forests. Found primarily in Central and
soil. Consequently, within two or three years after being cleared, soil that
South America, the Zaire River basin of Africa, and Southeast Asia,
once supported dense vegetation becomes too nutrient - poor to provide
tropical rain forests are the most biologically diverse places on earth, but
much grass for grazing cattle. Another example of large - scale logging
some 40
operations are mountain ranges in the state of Washington.
000
square miles ( 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 km2) are being destroyed every year.
Corporate cattle and timber operations are responsible for some of the loss,
Already the forest has been reduced to approximately 55 % of its
but the major cause o f deforestation is clearing the land for crops.
original cover, and it is being further reduced at a rate in excess of
Unhappily, soil erosion and the loss of fuel supplies associated with,
square kilometers a year. The global loss that results from deforestation
deforestation create hardships for already poor people.
could be as much as from 4 000 to
6
1 0 0 ,0 0 0
000 species a year.
Humans have also affected plant and animal life by poisoning or
Although the impact of habitat destruction is most severely felt in
contamination. In the last several years, we have become acutely conscious
tropical rain forest, where species diversity is so high, it is also felt in other
of the effect of insecticides, rodenticides. and herbicides, known
regions of the planet, particularly where extensive forest clearing is taking
collectively as biocides' The best-known and most widely used has been
place. In the US alone, some 60.000 ac/es of ancient forests are being cut
DDT, although there are now thousands of compounds in use.
per year, mostly for lumber that is then exported to Japan and other
Rain Forests and Deforestation. More than half of the species on
countries. Most severely affected are the national forests of the Pacific
the earth live in moist tropical forests, popularly referred to as rain forests.
Northwest, from which some 5.5 billion board - feet of timber were
Occupying only
harvested in 1987, and Alaska’s Tongass National Forests, where as much
6
percent of the land surface these ecosystems are found in
114
as 50 % of the most productive forestland has been logged since 1950.
115
3. Read the following article and do the tasks.
Although reforestation in these areas is possible, the process of regrowth
may last
100
years more.
Wild species in tropical forests are among the most important
resources available to humankind. People utilize them not only for food.
Wild plant and animal species also represent vast reservoirs of valuable
products. For example, Catharanthus roseus, a little plant yields two
alkaloids and other organic substances. Those are extremely effective
against Hodgkin’s disease and leukemia. The income from these substances
alone exceeds $
100
million a year.
Helpful vocabulary
enactment - введение в действие, постановление
resurrection - восстановление
condemn - браковать, осуждать
detractor - критик, недоброжелатель
woodpecker - дятел
darter - окунь
foe - противник
overlay - присоединение
Recent studies indicate that even with limited knowledge of world
species and only a modest effort more income can often be extracted from
sustained harvesting o f natural forest products than from clear - cutting for
timber and agriculture.
Threatened-species threat
The U.S. Endangered Species Act, a key to wildlife protection, did
not come into being to save the magnificent ivory-billed woodpecker —
although its enactment memorialized that and all other species believed to
be extinct. In 1973, when President Nixon signed the act, the ivory-bill was
1. Scan the text for answers to the following questions.
- How do people destroy vegetation, birds and animals? Do they do it
deliberately?
thought to have met the fate of the passenger pigeon and the dodo; the last
ivory-bill sightings had been in the '30s.
This year's sighting of the huge and brilliant woodpecker — a
- In what way can the countries in Africa and South America expose a
dramatic resurrection - makes clear the value of efforts to preserve
negative impact on wildlife?
endangered species. The presumed-extinct ivory-bill appeared in an
- Why rain forests destruction is considered a worst ecological disaster?
Arkansas swamp that had been protected from logging as a designated bird
- What are the consequences of deforestation?
habitat.
- What regions of the US have been suffered from extensive forest
The Endangered Species Act honors the interconnectedness of all
clearing?
life: It condemns the human destruction of plant and animal species not
- How can we preserve rare species and use recourses efficiently?
only as aesthetically and morally wrong, but also as dangerous to the
human species. The act has effectively defended all species under threat -
2. Find some additional information about any plants or animals
including the Algodones sand jewel beetle and the Shivwits milk vetch,
which are on the brink of extinction. Present this inform ation in class.
lacking though they may the splendor of the ivory-billed bird.
116
The strength of the law is its basis in science. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and associated scientists observe plants
117
Black-Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
and animals in the field to determine whether their species are threatened,
and, if they are, what to do to save them from extinction. These peer-
Caribou (Rangifer caribu)
reviewed data form the policies to protect species.
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Yet the law has its detractors. Remember the snail darter and spotted
Rhinoceros (Diceros bicomis and Rhinoceros unicornis)
owl, made figures of fun by Endangered Species Act foes? Animals and
plants are threatened by development, resource extraction and many other
As them, there are 3649 species in danger of extinction.
human activities —not to mention pollution -- but these activities have their
Tasks:
advocates in Congress. To weaken the law, these legislators seek to
1. Tell about Endangered Species Act. Do you support it?
interject economic and political criteria into the scientific ones that are used
2. Comment on the statement “The human destruction of plant and animal
to formulate Endangered Species Act policy.
species is not only aesthetically and morally wrong, but also dangerous to
Now new legislation -- the protective-sounding Threatened and
the human species.”
Endangered Species Recovery Act, of 2005 -- would impose a bureaucratic
overlay to reduce the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act.
4. R ender the text.
The chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and
Хомо виноватый
Water is Lincoln Chafee, with one of the strongest pro-environment voting
records. But he will be under pressure to produce a "compromise" bill. He
should resist all such pressure.
To defend America's wildlife, the Endangered Species Act must
До середины XIX в. дальневосточная тайга была естественной: в
лесах зверя было несчитано, в долинах рек и озер птицы немеряно. С
конца XIX в. началось хищническое истребление тайги и ее
обитателей. Тогда же начались пожары, обретшие губительную силу с
stand.
HERE IS A SHORT LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES:
середины XX в.
В
Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus)
1998
г.
на территории Хабаровского края
сложилась
чрезвычайная экологическая ситуация,из-за лесных пожаров в течение
Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)
5 месяцев. По оценкам специалистов, 1350 лесными пожарами в крае
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
было пройдено
Whooping Crane (Grus americana)
2 ,1
млн га лесной площади, огнем было повреждено
более 125 млн м3 леса. Общий ущерб от потери только лесов разных
категорий защитности и назначения составил 4,4 млрд руб., затраты
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum)
на тушение пожаров - около
100
млн руб.
118
119
Лесными пожарами причинен ущерб 95 особо охраняемым
природным территориям. Частично выгорели лесные площади в 5
пожара - свыше 74000 руб.
Почему возникают лесные пожары? Тайгу поджигают при
государственных природных заповедниках и 10 заказниках. Пожары
лесозаготовках
прошли по местам традиционного проживания коренных народностей
возникает вблизи лесных поселков и деревень. Причина огня в 80 %
- нанайцев, ульчей, орочей, нивхов. В воздушную среду было
случаев - люди (или входящие в лес с целью просто отдохнуть, или
выброшено около 9 млн т загрязняющих веществ. Ущерб от этих
работающие в тайге). Нередко тайга начинает гореть вдоль железной
выбросов составил 825 млн руб.
дороги.
и
сельскохозяйственных
палах,
огонь
нередко
Нанесен был колоссальный ущерб биоразнообразию экосистем
За последние пять лет объем древесины, поврежденной на
края. По различным оценкам, от огня погибло до 50 % птиц,
корню лесными пожарами по вине человека, составил свыше 143 млн
гнездящихся на земле, включая промысловых, уничтожено 10...30 %
кубических метров. Ее таксовая стоимость в современной оценке
видов млекопитающих, включая три вида животных, занесенных в
составляет 1 млрд руб. Надо помнить: на пройденных пожарами
Красную книгу. На значительных площадях леса потеряли свои
площадях накапливается огромная масса усыхающей древесины
водорегулирующие
(50...80 т/га) и, если не принять повышенные меры противопожарной
заболачиванию
свойства.
обширных
Обезлесивание
участков
и
приводит
иссушению
к
склонов,
безопасности, в ближайшие годы катастрофа неизбежна.
обмелению водоемов и водотоков с изменением в них качества вод и
температурного режима, что крайне ухудшает состояние рыбных
5. M ake up a sum m ary of the following text.
ресурсов и мест их нереста.
Общий
экологический
Helpful vocabulary
ущерб,
причиненный
природному
amply - достаточно
комплексу Хабаровского края от лесных пожаров 1998 г., составил
temper - умерять
более
augmentation - увеличение
6
млрд руб.!
По уровню горимости 2001 г. в Хабаровском крае можно
waste piles and tailings - отвалы грунта и отходы
отнести к категории «ниже средней». Тем не менее, в крае было
recovery technology - технологии восстановления
зафиксировано 514 лесных пожаров, охвативших территорию в 76,5
abundant - обильный изобильный
тысячи гектаров. Общий ущерб, причиненный лесными пожарами в
replenish - пополнять
2000
г., составил свыше 150 млн руб., включая расходы на их тушение
M ineral resources and sustainability
в сумме 8,2 млн руб. Средняя площадь одного лесного пожара в 2000
Discovery of dozens of gold, copper, and uranium deposits over the
г. составила около 150 га, а затраты на его тушение - около 16000 руб.
last several decades amply demonstrate the rewards of technically sound
Для сравнения: в засушливом 1998 г. средняя площадь одного лесного
exploration. Mineral exploration and mine development, in effect, create
120
wealth (reserves) even as resources are extracted. Undiscovered mineral
resources have little value until they are discovered and developed. But this
optimistic picture must be tempered by the fact that there is increasing
competition for the area available for exploration and reserve augmentation
121
the process by which reserves are replenished. Ultimately, recycling must
play a major role in our use of metals, but we have much to learn about the
problems and practices of recycling. This area needs research, ideas, and
education.
at least within the borders of the United States. Second, technological
change sustains mineral production. Technological improvements in
mining and mineral processing reduce costs and permit profitable mineral
Reserves are minerals that are known to exist and can be produced at a
profit with current technology under prevailing economic conditions.
production from previously uneconomic, mineralized rock. Minerals can be
extracted from rock that otherwise would either remain in the ground or in
6. Render the text.
waste piles and tailings. For example, the “micron” gold deposits in
П ричины экологического кризиса
Nevada and Utah, which currently dominate U.S. gold production, rely on
В литературе в качестве причин экологического кризиса
recovery technology that had not been perfected twenty-five years ago. The
рассматривается рост населения Земли и его научно-технической
available evidence suggests that additions to reserves through discovery
мощи. Основные причины деградации биосферы - чрезмерное изъятие
and technologic change have more than offset reductions through depletion
живых и
of existing mines over the last several decades. Third, even when a mine is
техногенными отходами человеческой деятельности.
минеральных
ресурсов
планеты и ее отравление
physically depleted, recycling can be thought of as an extension of primary
Биосфера может сохранять устойчивость при изъятии примерно
mining. Recycling is, in fact, an important source of many metals. Fourth, a
до 1 % чистой первичной ее продукции. Извлечение биопродукции из
scarce resource can sometimes be replaced by a more abundant substance.
естественного кругооборота веществ разрушает системные связи в
For example, aluminum can replace copper in long distance transmission
пищевых
power lines.
биоценозов.
Fifth, and more broadly, even when a mine is physically depleted, its
цепочках
и
обедняет
видовой
состав
естественных
Таким образом, одна из причин и составляющих экологического
value may persist if an appropriate portion of the proceeds are invested in
кризиса
human capital (such as education or health care) or man-made physical
потребления человечеством продукции биосферы над допустимым
capital (such as infrastructure or technology).
для стабильных биосистем уровнем. г
состоит
в
примерно
двадцатикратном
превышении
Mineral reserves represent only a small portion of the mineral wealth
Ресурсный кризис распространяется также и на минеральные
of the earth’s crust. Reserves are like inventory—they are continually'
ресурсы, обеспечивающие, в основном, социальные потребности
replenished from previously uneconomic or undiscovered mineralization.
общества. В течение последнего века было добыто минеральных
What should be of concern is not the limited extent of reserves, but rather
ресурсов
в
10
раз больше, чем за всю предшествующую историю
122
123
человечества. Мы вошли в период, когда
ресурсов
Земли уже
недостаточно, чтобы обеспечить приемлемый жизненный уровень
всему населению. «Все ресурсы Земли конечны» - один из законов
экологии, подтверждающий неотвратимость их исчерпания. Уже
сегодня ощущается нехватка платины, золота, цинка и свинца, а
большинства ресурсов хватит только на 50... 150 лет.
При
анализе
ситуации
следует
значительное подорожание исчезающих
учитывать
ресурсов, добываемых все
значительного роста цен на нефть и газ в ближайшие десятилетия
очевидна.
и
разложением
веществ
цепочкой
организмов: продуценты-консументы-редуценты. Но человек взял
только функцию синтеза - производства товаров. Природа оказалась
неспособной выполнять функцию разложения выбросов предприятий,
возросших в тысячи раз, а также не поддающихся разложению- новых
промышленность США производит свыше 50 000 наименований
химических веществ, изобретенных людьми (пестициды, пищевые
добавки, косметика, удобрения...), но сведения о вредности имеются
только для 5.. .25 % из них.
В первую десятку отходов - загрязнителей окружающей среды
на
быструю
замену
ископаемых
материалов
искусственными не очень реальны, так как от изобретения до
полномасштабного промышленного производства проходят десятки
лет. Например, энергия термоядерного синтеза осваивается уже более
50 лет, а положительный результат в ближайшие десятки лет
нереален. Гипотеза оптимистов: «в технике и технологиях есть
бесконечный резерв по производству новых ресурсов» опровергается
законами природы и опытом развития технологий.
многократным увеличением количества отходов. Промышленные
отходы — основной продукт деятельности человечества. Ежегодно на
планете добывается более
100
примерно 5-10 %. В результате нарушаются огромные участки
поверхности суши, вытесняются из своих экологических ниш виды
растений и животных, нарастает загрязнение среды обитания.
биосфере
углерода, сернистый ангидрид, оксиды азота, фосфаты, ртуть, свинец,
нефтепродукты, пестициды, радионуклиды. К особому виду отходов
человеческой деятельности можно отнести электромагнитные и
акустические поля (ионизирующие излучения, широкий диапазон
радиоволн, шум, инфра- и ультразвук). Их мощность и воздействие на.
людей в течение столетия возросли в десятки-сотни тысяч раз.
Ламарк (1809г.): «Можно, пожалуй, сказать, что назначение человека
заключается в том, чтобы уничтожить свой род, предварительно
сделав земной шар непригодным для обитания».
млрд т ископаемых, но в конечную
продукцию в длинной цепочке производств из них перерабатывается
в
по классификации Курьера ЮНЕСКО входят углекислый газ, оксид
Отравление человеком своей среды обитания предвидел Ж.Б.
Добыча ископаемых ресурсов и их переработка сопровождаются
Равновесие
синтезом
веществ и ксенобиотиков (вредных для живого веществ). Например,
неминуемое
глубже от поверхности и дальше от мест потребления. Тенденция
Надежды
согласованным
всегда
поддерживалось
7. Give English equivalents to the following w ords and word
combinations.
Экологический
минеральных
системно
нехватка
кризис,
чрезмерное
изъятие
живых
и
ресурсов, чистая первичная продукция, пищевая цепь,
золота,
цинка
и
свинца,
искуственные
материалы,
124
промышленные отходы, экологические нишы, виды растений и
животных, продуценты, консументы, редуценты, электромагнитные и
акустические поля, широкий диапазон.
125
of food. This meant that they could have no permanent residence, for they
had to follow the game herds and travel to wherever fruits, seeds, or tubers
were ripe. Not only did their nomadic existence prevent them from storing
more food than they could carry with them, but most of their foods did not
lend themselves well to more than a few days or weeks of preservation. An
UNIT 5. OVERPOPULATION
Text 1
abundance of food in the summer or autumn did not ward off the specter of
starvation in the winter. Shelters were crude and temporary. Exposure to
Study the vocabulary.
the elements must have taken its toll, especially in colder climates. The
tuber - клубень
necessity to roam through woods or meadows to find food and clothing
nomadic - качевой
exposed humans to attacks by carnivorous animals from whom they could
disseminate - распространять
goiter - зоб
protect themselves only by the sticks or stones at hand or whatever crude
implements they had fashioned.
scurvy - цинга
Death rates were high, and the average life expectancy was less than
25 years. It is not surprising that the injunction to he fruitful and multiply is
Read the text. M ake up an outline of it and get ready to speak on each
item.
well rooted in human culture. If the prehistoric birth rate had not equaled
the high death rate, the human species eventually would have become ex­
The Overpopulation Problem
The human population problem had its origins primarily in the
lowering of the death rate by decreasing environmental resistance rather
than in the raising o f the birth rate, although a decrease in environmenlal.
resistance may have the. effect ofraising the birth rate. No other species has
managed to manipulate its environment. In prehistoric times, environmental
resistance very nearly equaled the human biotic potential. Once the human
species had evolved and established itself throughout the world, its
population leveled off at an estimated 5 million individuals. The total world
population then was less than that of any of several of the major
metropolitan areas today.
History of the Problem. The people first were hunters and gatherers
tinct. As it was, the birth rate exceeded the death rate so slightly that the
population growth rate in prehistoric times probably was only a minute
fraction of 1 per cent.
The first major lowering of the death rate came with the development
of agriculture, especially the raising of cereal grains. Unlike hunting and
gathering, most forms of agriculture permit the establishment of permanent
residences. Villages sprang up in which not only a common store of food
could be saved against lean times, but i'deas could grow, be preserved, and
exchanged among the residents. The importance of the fanning of cereal
grains cannot be overemphasized. Not only do these crops lend themselves
to relatively long storage, thus decreasing the danger o f famine, but they
also are highly concentrated energy sources. The amount of human effort
126
127
required to raise a given amount of food in the form of cereals was much
most spectacular epidemics of this time was the black plague that ravaged
less than that required to hunt wild game animals or to gather wild fruits.
Europe during the middle of the fourteenth century, killing one out of every
Animals were domesticated; their meat, milk, and hides were immediately
three persons and wiping out some villages entirely.
available and did not need to be hunted down. Some leisure was permitted
The Renaissance (fourteenth to sixteenth centuries) was, as its name
the farmer, and clever minds devised more efficient ways of farming and
suggests, a rebirth -a cultural rebirth. Knowledge increased, and learning
the means of extending agriculture into desert or semidesert areas. Plows
was held in great respect. The groundwork was laid for new discoveries
and other implements were invented. The labor of large domestic animals,
and inventions. New interests arose in the sciences as well as in the art, and
such as cattle, supplemented that of humans. Canals were built to bring
information could be disseminated by means of the newly invented printing
water to areas otherwise too dry to farm. Not only did production of
press.
essentials on the farm reduce the number of dangerous trips into forest and
One of the products of the post-Renaissance period, when perhaps
field, but as agriculture spread and wild areas were reduced, large predators
500 million (a half billion) persons lived on the earth, was the microscope.
became less common in settled areas. The new agricultural revolution grew
It made visible to the human eye organisms whose existence previously
like a positive feedback system? With new improvements producing more
had
leisure time that could be reinvested by using it to make more
of disease. After many years of study, their full significance was realized,
improvements. All of these reduced the environmental resistance to the
and new methods of treating disease could be devised and tested. The effect
human biotic potential, and as the death rate fell, the growth rate rose. More
of these began to be felt in the nineteenth century and continues
babies were likely to survive to adulthood and to produce a new crop of
Immunizations, quarantines (practiced in earlier times, but now used with
babies with equal or better chances of survival. Fortunately the logarithmic
greater understanding), antibiotics transfusions, transplants, and pesticides
growth of the ancient population was at a low rate; probably it did not
are only a few of the factors that have decreased the death rate of the
exceed 0.05 per cent (which corresponds to doubling every 1,400 years),
human species, increased its life expectancy, and increased its growth rate.
yet it was sufficient to bring about a population of nearly
been
unsuspected. Among them were the bacteria and other agents
today.
million at the
Over the last few hundred years, improved methods o f transportation
time of Christ. From then until the Renaissance the growth rate was an
and communication have made their contributions to population growth.
estimated 0.07 per cent (doubling every 1,000 years). During all this time
Medicines now can be rushed within a few hours to almost any place on
food was more abundant than it had been before the ancient agricultural
earth where they are needed. Physicians may diagnose diseases and
revolution, but widespread famines were not unknown from time to time.
prescribe treatment by telephone, thereby saving lives of people that they
Medical knowledge had not advanced much beyond what it was in the
might not otherwise be able to reach. Fruits, vegetables, meats, and sea­
ancient world. Wherever population densities were high, epidemics were
foods can be transported to almost any market in fresh condition; this
more likely to take high tolls and to reduce the population again. One of the
permits a more varied diet and reduces the likelihood o f a mineral or
200
128
vitamin deficiency. Previously goiters were seen in persons living inland
129
can support.
far from the seacoasts where sea-foods rich in iodine could he found, and
scurvy was common where citrus fruits were rare.
As a species man is dependant upon agriculture to survive. Vital land
and resources needed to support agriculture are decreasing, putting pressure
The present rise in the growth rate began slowly in the sixteenth and
on science to develop new technology to sustain the growing population.
seventeenth centuries, then gathered momentum in the eighteenth and
Eventually, science will not be able to keep up with the growing demand
nineteenth centuries, and reached explosive proportions in the present
and we will have to turn to the real issue, controlling population, rather
century. Frighteningly, the rate of growth still is increasing. The present
than trying to keep up with the growing and seemingly never ending
rate is an unprecedented 1,9 % for the world as a whole; at this rate the
demand. Twenty-six billion tones of arable topsoil vanish from the world’s
population doubles every 37 years. The United Nations' most optimistic
cropland every year (2004). According to Lou Dobbs, in an article in U.S.
and most pessimistic projections into the future estimate the world of the
News & World Report, “the U.S. population increases by 3 million each
year 2000 to have a population of from 5,5 to 7 billion persons.
year and losses 3 million acres of farmland annually” (2003). That’s an
average of about 2 acres a minute. At that rate, The U.S. will not be able to
Text 2
export food at all by 2025. Not only is farmland lost due to increases in
Study the vocabulary.
population, resources necessary for agriculture are also lost.
exponential - показательный
In the past 50 years world water demand has tripled (2004). Aquifer
curb - обуздать
depletion is a serious problem in the United States, Canada, and Australia;
influx - приток propitiate т примирять; успокаивать
the three largest grain exporters in the world. Loss of water resources are a
attributable - относящийся
major problem in grain producing countries as water is essential for the
quotient - коэффициент; фактор
production o f crops. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates
Negative Effects of Overpopulation
The global human population has been growing exponentially since
1,000 tons o f water is needed to produce one ton of grain (2004). As many
as
2 .7
billion people will live in regions facing severe water scarcity by
the invention of agriculture 10 to 12 thousand years ago. We are currently
2025 (2004). This loss of water increases 2 fold from not only the demand
adding 77 million people to the globe annually (2004). In the last 25 years
of a growing population, but also from pollution caused by the populous.
global population has grown by 2 billion. Unlike efforts to mandate
As population centers and industry requires more water, essential food
recycling or set fuel-efficiency standards, where laws and regulations can
production will suffer.
be put into place, there are no clear “action items” that will have near-term
As population rises, the amount of pollution that destroys our
impacts on slowing human population growth (2004). If global population
resources multiplies. At least 5 million children die each year from
continues to rise, the human species will reach the limits of what our planet
waterborne diarrheal diseases and
1 .1
billion people in developing
130
131
countries are subject to high levels of air pollution (2004). As many as
50000 people go to hospitals each year in the U.S. because of air pollution.
Cities use the resources and waste disposal capacity o f an area many times
its size in the surrounding countryside. New York’s “garbage barge” is one
example of this (2004). Even if output of pollutants is reduced, with a
growing population, the number of polluters will rise.
decline. Six hundred million people in developing countries do not have
shelter
and
840
million
are
malnourished.
because any attempt would be seen as racist and un-American. Even
without a steady influx of immigrants, the world population would be on
the rise, as the worldwide fertility rates would still be above the
replacement rate.
CURRENT EFFECTS OF OVERPOPULATION. Due to the
With pollution and water loss on the rise, quality of life will also
adequate
actually stabilize or decline (2004). It is difficult to curb immigration
opening out of human settings, 16 million hectares of forest are chopped
down each year.
Worldwide
The accelerated growth of the human populations has propitiated the
unemployment affects nearly one-third of the global workforce; about one
destruction of natural habitats of many species. People are invading the
billion people. Nearly 3 billion people, half of the world’s population,
habitats of those species, replacing them to inhospitable places and
subsist on less than 2$ per day. One billion people lack access to any form
condemning the native species to the extinction.
of health care (2004). As population continues to grow, more and more
people will have to endure the hardships of a declining quality of life.
In order to put this into perspective, the United States has the third
highest population in the world, behind China and India. With over 298
The speed of extinction of plants and animals attributable to human
activities is
1 0 ,0 0 0
times faster than the natural quotient.
About 5 million people die every year from illnesses associated to
organic wastes.
million people in the U.S., we are feeling the effects here at home.
Too dense human communities produce tons of solid wastes (organic
Overpopulation is even affecting our education. Schools in many cities are
and inorganic waste) daily, consume large quantities of energy and emit
becoming increasingly overcrowded. Some states are even facing a facility
more pollutants to the environment.
shortage crisis. With so many students and so few teachers and facilities,
our quality of education will fall. Hospitals are also suffering. Hundreds of
emergency rooms have had to close over the past decade because of budget
shortfalls. The ones that do remain to stay open are overburdened (2003).
Water necessities will increase to 20 % by 2025. Approximately, one
half of wetlands around the world have been lost since 1900.
In USA, consumption of materials (wood, metals, synthetics, etc.)
has grown 18-fold since 1900.
As the population in the U.S. continues to rise, even our quality of health
The Ozone layer has been gradually ruined by the effect of the CFCs.
care will decline. Unlike developing countries though, the main factor for
The concentration of CFCs has been increased as the human population has
rise in population in the U.S. is not the fertility rate, but immigration.
grown, and the thickness of the Ozone layer has been lesser to the extent
In the United States today, the main reason for growth is because of
that a hole in the layer has been formed. Scientists have found that there are
immigration. Without immigration, the population in the U.S. would
other emissions derived from human activities, which have contributed to
132
the depletion of the ozone layer.
The ultimate problem affects the entire globe, no one country can fix'
133
мирового населения потребовалось более 60 лет. Но следующее
удвоение
it alone. In the world today, all countries interact on an economic level and
have an effect on each other. A global strategy to curb population growth
needs to be put into place otherwise the current problems that we face
today are only going to worsen.
(6
млрд) произошло всего через 39 лет (1999 г.)
А ведь каждый человек потребляет большое
количество
различных природных ресурсов. Мало того, этот рост приходится,
прежде всего, на слабо или недостаточно развитые страны. Однако
они
ориентируются
на
развитие
государство,
где
уровень
благосостояние очень высоко, а количество потребляемых каждым
1. Answer the questions.
жителем ресурсов огромно. Если представить, что все население
- What will happen if global population continues to rise?
Земли (основная часть которого сегодня живет бедно, а то и голодает)
- What effects does the growth of population expose to agriculture?
будет иметь уровень жизни как в Западной Европе или США, наша
- Does the loss of water decrease only because o f the demand of the
планета просто не выдержит. Но и полагать, что всегда большинство
growing population?
землян
- Is there any coincidence between growth o f population and pollution?
несправедливо, негуманно и несправедливо. Быстрое экономическое
- What changes in quality life will the growth of population bring?
развитие Китая, Индии, Мексики и ряда других многонаселенных
- What spheres have already suffered from the rise of population in the
стран опровергаем такое предположение.
US?
будет
прозябать
в
нищете,
невежестве
и
убожестве
Следовательно, выход один - ограничение рождаемости с
- What is the main reason o f population growth in the US?
одновременным уменьшением смертности и повышением качества
- Why is it difficult to reduce immigration in the US?
жизни.
- What are the current effects of overpopulation?
- Why do we need to curb population growth? Or why not?
Однако ограничение рождаемости наталкивается на множество
препятствий. Среди них реакционные общественные отношения,
огромная роль религии, поощряющей многодетность; примитивные
общинные
2. Render the text.
Проблема перенаселения планеты
формы
хозяйствования,
при
которых
многодетные
выигрывают; неграмотность и невежество, слабое развитие медицины
и т. д. Следовательно, отсталые страйы имеют перед собой тугой узел
Число землян растет стремительно. 35...40 тыс. лет назад на
Земле насчитывалось всего около 1 млн. представителей Homo
sapiens. В 1900 г. численность населения превысила 1,6 млрд чел., а к
1960 г. она достигла 3 млрд чел. Это значит, что для удвоения
сложнейших проблем. Однако сплошь и рядом в отсталых странах
правят те, кто собственные или племенные интересы ставит выше
государственных. Невежество масс используют для своих корыстных
целей (в том числе войн, репрессии), роста вооружений и т.д.
134
135
Проблемы экологии, перенаселения и отсталости напрямую
связаны и с угрозой возможной нехватки продовольствия в недалеком
будущем.
Увеличение
использования
минеральных
удобрений,
ядохимикатов и др. ведет к ухудшению экологической обстановки и
все большей концентрации вредных для человека веществ в пище. С
другой стороны, развитие городов и техники выводит из оборота
много
плодородных
земель.
Особенно
вреден
недостаток
качественной питьевой воды.
inhospitable regions by the advance of городских areas; pollution is a
problem that is increasing gradually because we are using more cars.
Развитие промышленности is not paying attention to проблемы
окруж ающей среды because of потребностей увеличивающегося
населения.
The human перенаселение has been credited to разнообразным
факторам, as увеличение продолжительности ж изни, the absence of
В данный момент эффективным и возможным способом
решения проблемы перенаселения является жёсткая демографическая
политика.
natural enemies, повышение уровня жизни, and the accessibility to get
better goods.
Every year, население мира увеличивается более чем на 81 млн .
Примером может служить КНР. Целью самой многолюдной
страны
severe. Некоторые виды животных исчезли or forced to live in
было
приостановить
прирост
населения.
От
человек. Every 10 years почти 1 миллиард ж ителей are added to the
world’s population.
административных мер (вплоть до стерилизации) КНР перешла к
пропагандистским и экономическим мерам. В результате годовой
прирост населения снизился, стал ниже среднемирового.
Такую же политику проводят Индия, Бангладеш, Пакистан,'
Шри-Ланка, Индонезия и др. Однако здесь демографическая политика
проходит менее успешно.
3. Make a conventional translation.
Перенаселение is a term that refers to a condition by which the
плотность населения enlarges to a limit that provokes the ухудшение
окружающей среды, качества жизни, or a population collapse.
Термин
плотность
населения
обозначает
the number of
inhabitants dwelling in a specific area, for example: 100 жителей на
квадратный километр.
Влияние o f human populations на окруж ающую среду has been
Final Discussion
Get ready to speak on the topic "Negative side-effects of
Progressive Evolution.” Read the text. Generate your own ideas.
'
136
137
LITERATURE
1. Положенцев, Б.И. Introduction to Ecology: учеб. пособие для
студентов, учащихся старших кл. сред, школ и гимназий / Б.И.
Положенцев.-СПб.: Химера, 1999. - 96 с.
2. Energy and Environment: The Great Contemporary Issues. Amo'
Press,-N .Y ., 1978.-373 p.
CONTENTS
Unit 1. Introduction to Ecology
Text 1. Ecology as a science...........................................................4
Text 2. Biosphere.............................................................................8
Text 3. Primary production of the Biosphere................................ 14
3. Getis, A. Introduction to Geography / A. Getis, J. Getis, J.
Text 4. Food chains and webs........................................................ 24
Fellmann.- Wm. C. Brown Publishers. - Dubuque, IA, 1981. - 426 p.
Text 5. Water Cycle.................................................................. ......32
4. Danzer, G.A. Land and People. A World Geography / G.A. Danzer,
A.J. Larson.- Scott, Foresman and Company - Dallas, Texas, 1982. 640 p.
5. Rahn, J.E. Biology: The Science of Life / J.E. Rahn.- Collier-
6.
Text 1. Ecological Problems...........................................................40
Unit 3. Environm ental Pollution
Text 1. Air pollution............................................................... ........ 55
Macmillan Publishers. London: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.;
Text 2. Water Pollution........................................................... ....... 66
N.Y, 1974 .-4 7 0 p.
Text 3. Soil and Soil Pollution............................................... ........77
Фомин, С.К. Последовательный перевод (Английский язык).
Text 4. Hazardous waste......................................................... ....... 82
Книга преподавателя : учеб. пособие / С.К. Фомин. - М.: ACT:
Text 5. Light Pollution............................................................ ....... 88
Восток-Запад, 2006. —351 с.
Text 6. Noise Pollution............................................................ .......100
7. Население и общество [Электронный ресурс] : бюллетень. —
Режим доступа: www.demoscope.ru
8.
Unit 2. Ecological Problems. Review
Правда.Ру [Электронный ресурс]: газета. - Режим доступа :
www.pravda.ru
9. Membrana [Электронный ресурс] : интернет-журнал. - Режим
Unit4. Exhausting Resources
Text 1. Destruction of Plants and Animals....................................110
Unit 5. Overpopulation
Text 1. Overpopulation Problem....................................................124
Text 2. Negative Effects of Overpopulation.......................... ...... 128
доступа: www.membrana.ru
f
1 0 .www.stopextinction.org
11
.www.studentweb.uwvo.edu
1 2 .www.biocab.org
1 3. www.pespmc 1 .vub.ac.be
14.www.wikipedia.org
L iterature.................... ....................................................................... .......136
Contents.............................................................................................. .......137
Юлия Александровна
Липка-Ким
Развитие навыков устной речи
Учебное пособие
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