Тема 6.2. Защита окружающей среды

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN BELARUS

New words to learn:

 

spot (n) — пятно, место

to disappear — исчезать

desert (n) — пустыня

to fell — рубить, валить (деревья)

disaster (n) — бедствие

to expand — расширять, распускать

rate (n) — норма, разряд, сорт

extinct (adj) — вымерший (о видах животных, растений)

to estimate — оценивать

species (n) — вид, род

pollution (n) — загрязнение

obstacle (n) — препятствие, помеха

hazard (n) — риск, опасность

to dump — сбрасывать, выгружать

untreated (adj) — необработанный

recycling (n) — переработка

consumption (n) – потребление, расход

pine (n) — сосна

grove (n) — роща

trash (n) — мусор

to discard — сбрасывать

to dispose — располагать, расставлять

disposal — расположение, расстановка

solution (n) — решение

soil (n) — почва

substance (n) — вещество, материя

irrigation (n) — орошение

fertility (n) — плодородие

to weaken — ослаблять

hereditary (adj) — наследственный

boundary (n) — граница, межа

 

Exercises

 

I Translate the following expressions into Russian. Make up sentences with them.

Black spots, ecological disaster, frightening rate, extinct plants, environmental pollution, water recycling, soil pollution, health hazard, pine grove, mountains of trash, to discard the garbage.

 

II Match the words with their definitions:

 

1. to disappear	a. kind, sort
2. disaster	b. answer to a question, problem
3. species	c. the act of arrangement smth in good order
4. obstacle	d. to make or to become below the usual standard
5. to dump	e. to do out of sight, be seen no more
6. solution	f. smth in the way that stops progress or make it difficult
7. disposal	g. to put or throw down carelessly
8. substance	h. great misfortune
9. fertility	i. material, any particular kind of matter
10. to weaken	j. producing much

 

III Refer the following words to the right categories.

 

Desert, estimate, recycling, untreated, dump, extinct, solution, soil, dispose, disposal, weaken, hereditary.

 

Noun Verb Adjective

___________ __________ ______________

 

IV Restore the word order in the following sentences.

1. We, say, when, a, plant, it, is, or, animal, extinct, is, done, forever.

2. Hand, in, hand, too, often, economic, growth, go, and, environmental, degradation.

3. Facing, any, modern, Belarus, society, is, running, today, environmental, hazards, all.

4. This, problem, solution, one, to, is, recycling.

5. A, problem, soil, of, our, is, pollution, agriculture.

6. Grave, the, ecological, solution, remains, in, Belarus.

Reading for Discussion

 

For centuries, our humanism has developed in a lop-sided manner proclaiming a man the lord and the king of nature and not the child. The blank spots have practically disappeared from the Earth's geographical map, but the black spots marking deserts, felled forests and other areas of ecological disaster are expanding at a frightening rate. When a plant or animal is gone forever, we say it is extinct. It is estimated that one species-plant, animal or insect- becomes extinct every day. At that rate, within the next 20 years one-fifth of all species could be extinct. The delicate balance of nature, the very existence of life on Earth is being upset. Environmental pollution has become in recent years a great obstacle to economic growth in industrialized countries. Too often economic growth and environmental degradation go hand in hand.

Unfortunately, Belarus is running all environmental hazards facing any modern society today. The question of the rational use of water resources and their protection from pollution becomes of primary importance. Wastewaters are dumped untreated into our streams, rivers or lakes and make them polluted too. Modern technologies based on water recycling or low water consumption are some of today's answers to the problem of water pollution.

Belarus is the land of pine groves and immense fields and meadows. The beauty of our land is unique, but very often it is decorated with mountains of trash. We are running out of space in which to discard our garbage, and our current methods of disposing of it are endangering the environment, putting hectares of land out of useful circulation. Finding an ecologically safe solution to the problem of waste disposal is one of the headaches of modern civilization. One solution to this problem is recycling.

Agriculture is the chief occupation of the greater part of the population of our republic. Soil pollution is a problem of our agriculture. The primary soil pollutants are fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, when used in unreasonable quantities, and toxic substances contained in untreated waters used for irrigation. Soils, containing harmful chemicals lose their natural fertility and agricultural products produced on such soils are a real health hazard to the consumer.

In addition to all those problems, the fall-out of tons of radioactive dust that followed the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986 made 23 % of the Belarusian territory unsuitable for habitation and agricultural activity. The problem is that if taken in by the human body in different ways, radioactive elements can increase the risk of cancer, weaken the immune system and destroy its hereditary mechanism.

The ecological situation in Belarus remains grave. The problem of the consequences of that explosion at the nuclear power station is one of the most pressing.

Our ancestors considered the Earth's resources to be boundless and endless. Their greed, egoism, ignorance, criminal neglect, lack of ecological education is responsible for creating ecological tragedies. We are wiser because we have to. It took us a lot of time to understand that ecological problems do not respect national boundaries and that the Earth is our common and the only home. We should never forget that we all live in a single, closed and delicately balanced ecological space. No amount of law making will make any difference to the quality of environment, unless each one of us plays our own part. The first step in playing that part is to know what your rights and responsibilities are.

 

Agree or disagree with the following statements. Prove them.

 

1. Our humanism proclaims a man the lord and the king of nature and not a child.

2. Economic growth and environmental degradation are different things.

3. Modern technologies based on water recycling are today's answer to the problem of water pollution.

4. The solution of waste problem is recycling.

5. Industry is the chief occupation of the greater part of the population of our republic.

6. The ecological situation in Belarus is normal.

7. We must remember that we live in a single, closed and delicately balanced ecological space.

 

Answer the following questions:

 

1. What can you say about ecological situation in Belarus?

2. What should be done to create a system of ecological security?

3. What can you do to keep our environment safe and clean?

Тема 6.3. Компьютеризация и Интернет.

Грамматическая тема: Согласование времен.

 

The Future and the Internet

 

Study the words and word-combinations.

 

embrace — включать

survive a nuclear war — выжить в ядерной войне

path — путь

stay in touch — поддерживать связь

knock down — поражать, выводить из строя

search — искать

retrieve — получать

recreation — отдых

exchange — обмен, обмениваться

transactions — сделки

access — доступ

transfer — передавать

local — местный

variety — разнообразие

portion — часть

represent — представлять

select — выбирать

broadcast live — передавать в живом

compete — соревноваться

mankind — человечество

miraculous — поразительный

profound — глубокий, важный

wired — компьютеризированный

environment — окружающая среда

instant — мгновенный

source — источник

independent — независимый

replace — заменять

penetrate — проникать

rapid — стремительный

cure — лечить

would-be — возможный

to say nothing — не говоря уж

it’s high time — давно пора

addiction — пристрастие

threaten — угрожать

violence — насилие

predict — предсказывать

do harm — наносить вред

do good — приносить пользу

sophisticated — зд. сложный

alarming — тревожный

complex — сложный

individual — зд. человек

benefit — выгода, польза

increase — увеличивать

potential — возможность

chaos — хаос

in the vicinity — вблизи

providing — при условии, если

disaster — катастрофа, бедствие

certain — некий

inevitability — неизбежность

ensure — гарантировать

suspicious — подозрительный

make sure — убедиться

completely — совершенно

 

I. Match the synonyms.

 

embrace rest

search computerized

retrieve include

recreation possibility

transfer humanity

select look for

mankind transmit

wired fast

rapid get

would-be complex

predict damage

do harm human

sophisticated choose

individual forecast

potential catastrophe

disaster possible

 

II. Complete the sentences, translating the words in brackets into English.

 

1. It’s possible that nobody (не выживет в ядерной войне).

2. The Internet is (источник) of information and knowledge.

3. There exists a possibility that computers (заменят) books.

4. The Internet (проник) into all the spheres of our life.

5. (Давно пора) to pay attention to the negative influence of the Internet on children.

6. In the future computers will be used to create (более сложные) computers.

7. Computers help people (поддерживать связь) with each other.

8. There is a certain (неизбежность) that technology will become extremely complex.

 

III. Read and translate the text.

The Internet and Its Future

 

The Internet, a global computer network that embraces millions of users all over the world, began in the United States in 1969 as a military experiment. It was designed to survive a nuclear war. Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest path available from one computer to another. Because of this, any two computers on the Internet will be able to stay in touch with each other as long as there is a single route between them. This technology is called packet-switching. Owing to this technology, if some computers on the network are knocked out (by a nuclear explosion, for example), information will just route around them. One such packet-switching network already survived a war. It was the Iraqi computer network, which was not knocked out during the Gulf War.

Millions of people around the world use the Internet to search for and retrieve information on all sorts of topics in a wide variety of areas including the arts, business, government, humanities, news, politics and recreation. People communicate through electronic mail (e-mail), discussion groups, chat channels and other means of informational exchange. They share information and make commercial and business transactions. All this activity is possible because tens of thousands of networks are connected to the Internet and exchange information in the same basic ways.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a part of the Internet. But it's not a collection of networks. Rather, it is information that is connected or linked together like a web. You access this information through one interface or tool called a Web browser. The number of resources and services that are part of the World Wide Web is growing extremely fast. In 1996 there were more than 20 million users of the WWW, and more than half the information that is transferred across the Internet is accessed through the WWW. By using a computer terminal (hardware) connected to a network that is a part of the Internet, and by using a program (software) to browse or retrieve information that is a part of the World Wide Web, the people connected to the Internet and World Wide Web through the local providers have access to a variety of information. Each browser provides a graphical interface. You move from place to place, from site to site on the Web by using a mouse to click on a portion of text, icon or region of a map. These items are called hyperlinks or links. Each link you select represents a document, an image, a video clip or an audio file somewhere on the Internet. The user doesn't need to know where it is, the browser follows the link.

All sorts of things are available on the WWW. One can use Internet for recreational purposes. Many TV and radio stations broadcast live on the WWW. Essentially, if something can be put into digital format and stored in a computer, then it's available on the WWW. You can even visit museums, gardens, cities throughout the world, learn foreign languages and meet new friends. And, of course, you can play computer games through WWW, competing with partners from other countries and continents.

Just a little bit of exploring the World Wide Web will show you what a lot of use and fun it is.

Computers and the Internet open before the humankind miraculous possibilities. The Internet and its technology continue to have a profound effect in the exchange of information. Today’s students are going to graduate in a wired world. They are going to have to collect and analyze information and do business in an environment where there will be instant multimedia access. People will have a variety of information and knowledge sources in a manner that is simple and easy; independent of time and place or subject. Books, magazines and newspapers will be replaced by the Internet and computers. They are penetrating into every sphere of human activities. Rapid transactions among businessmen are a reality and in future they will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Computers will drive cars and trains, fly planes, cure the sick, design buildings, vehicles and spaceships. We will do our shopping with their help, find our would-be husbands or wives, to say nothing of our recreation and entertainment. Even at present you can watch films, visit museums and play games on computers. So it’s high time to think about the dangers that computers may bring about along with all the possibilities listed above that computers and the Internet can give us.

Psychologists and parents are greatly worried about children’s computer addiction. The computer is not only a source of knowledge, it threatens a child’s health. Another problem is that some Internet sites are absolutely immoral, they deal with violence, sadism, children’s pornography. So, nobody can predict now, whether the Internet will do more harm than good in the future.

Computers are a relatively new invention. The first computers were built fifty years ago and it is only in the last 30 or so years, that their influence has affected our everyday life. Personal computers were introduced as recently as the early 1980s. In this short period of time they have made a tremendous impact on our lives. We are now so dependent on computers, that it is hard to go into a bank, when their main computer is broken. Just try to appreciate the chaos that would occur if computers were suddenly removed world-wide.

In the future computers will be used to create bigger and even more sophisticated computers. The prospects for this are quite alarming. They will be so complex, that no individual could hope to understand how they work. They will bring a lot of benefits, but they will also increase the potential for imaginable chaos. They will, for example, be able to fly planes and they will be able to coordinate the movements of several planes in the vicinity of an airport. Providing all the computers are working correctly, nothing can go wrong. If one small program fails, it will end in disaster.

There is a certain inevitability that technology will progress and become increasingly complex. We should, however, ensure that we are still in a position where we are able to control technology. It will be all too easy to suddenly discover that technology is controlling us. By then it might be too late. So, it's very important to be suspicious of the benefits that computers will bring and to make sure that we never become totally dependent on a completely technological world.

 

IV. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following phrases.

 

1) глобальная компьютерная сеть

2) как военный эксперимент

3) благодаря этой технологии

4) делиться информацией

5) подобно паутине

6) расти чрезвычайно быстро

7) иметь доступ

8) представлять собой документ, образ, видеоклип

9) компьютерный формат

10) открывать чудесные возможности

11) источники информации

12) компьютерная зависимость

13) приносить много пользы

14) координировать полёт нескольких самолетов

15) внезапно обнаружить

16) полностью зависеть

 

V. Detect which sentences are false. Correct them.

 

1. The Internet was designed to win a nuclear war.

2. Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest route possible.

3. The packed — switching technology was used during the Gulf War.

4. People use the Internet only to search for and retrieve scientific information.

5. Tens of hundreds of networks are connected to the Internet and exchange information in the same basic ways.

6. The WWW means the World White Web.

7. The number of resources and services that are part of the WWW is not growing any more.

8. All sorts of things are available on the WWW.

9. Today’s students are going to graduate in a computerized world.

10. Computers can’t help us rest and entertain.

11. The Internet has no disadvantages.

12. There is no need to be suspicious of the benefits that computers will bring.

 

VI. Answer the questions to the text.

 

1. Where and when did the Internet begin?

2. How long will any two computers be able to stay in touch with each other?

3. What do people use the Internet for?

4. How do you access the Internet?

5. What do we call “hardware” and “software”?

6. What is available on the WWW?

7. Name the possibilities that computers open before mankind.

8. Why are psychologists and parents greatly worried?

9. What will computers be used for in the future?

10. Should we ensure that we are still in a position to control computer technology?