UNIT FOUR  

GRAMMAR: WORD ORDERIN THE SENTENCE AND ITS MESSAGE. TOPIC: MAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

STRUCTURE STUDY:
1. Different Means of Making a Certain Part of the Sentence Logically Important (Patterns 27-31).
2. "Missing" Elements (Patterns 32-36). WORD STUDY:
1. English-Russian Word Relation.
2. Word Structure (-ize, -(i)ty, -ive, -re, inter-, N -o- V, ex/out words and words including -ced-/-ceed- elements).
3. Word Meaning (challenge, common, fit, pattern, point, present, proper, subject).
4. Word Combinations.
5. Structure Words (negations, emphatic words, but, only, very, not only. . . but also, neither. . . nor, both. . . and, the. . . the).

TEXT STUDY:
Introduction.
Text A. The Biosphere: Its Definition, Evolution and Possible Future
(for class-room reading and analysis, and home translation).
Text B. The Environment: Problems and Solutions (for class-room comprehension reading).
Text С The Biosphere: Natural, Man-Disturbed and Man-Initiated Cycles (for home practice in different reading skills).
Text D. What Is What, or Definition of Terms (for class-room practice in understanding spoken English).

STRUCTURE STUDY

1. DIFFERENT MEANS OF MAKING A CERTAIN PART
OF THE SENTENCE LOGICALLY IMPORTANT

Pattern Study (27)

Pattern 27:
...it. ..bet... N*... that**
The idea of the biosphere was introduced a century ago but it was not until the mid-forties that the problem of environment was first recognized. (The problem of environment was first recognized only in the mid-forties.) Понятие биосферы было выдвинуто сто лет тому назад, но проблема окружающей среды была впервые осознана только в середине сороковых годов.
Since his early days man has always sought to increase his power over nature. And now it is the adverse effects of his produc╜tion activity that is a major challenge to man in the years to come. С первых дней своей истории человек стремится увеличить свое господство над природой. А теперь как раз вредные последствия производственной деятельности человека создают серьезную угрозу его настоящему и ближайшему будущему.

Pattern Practice (27)

Ex. 1. Read the following sentences and say which of them includes Pattern 27.

1. a) It is very important that the peculiar character of this process should be studied; b) It is the peculiar character of this process that should be studied. 2. a) It was not until the mid-forties that this problem was recognized; b) It is known that this problem was recognized only in the mid-forties. 3. a) It is believed that man is responsible for some changes in the environment; b) It is man who is responsible for some changes in the environment. 4. a) It is because of its greatest importance for the whole mankind that we consider the environmental problem; b) It is evident that we consider the environmental problem because of its greatest importance.

Ex. 2. Identify the sentences including Pattern 27 by trying their transformation into non-emphatic structures and translate them into Russian.

1. It is general experience that the solution of such a complicated problem requires joint research efforts. 2. It is the availability of liquid water in substantial quantities that was one of the conditions indispensable for development of life on the Earth. 3. It is a fact that
___________________________

* Or Prep, phr., Adv., Clause.
* * Or who, which, whose.

since his early days on the Earth man has been interfering with nature and it is this interference that is at the root of the present-day global crisis. 4. A system is in running order as long as its input and output are in balance; it is when the outflow exceeds the inflow over an extended period of time that a crisis develops. 5. It is common knowledge that talents and abilities of scientists are very valuable, possibly the most valuable natural resource for each nation and for the whole human race. 6. The rate of progress in particular fields of science exceeds that in fundamental knowledge and it is this discrepancy that is ultimately at the root of the environmental situation.

Ex. 3. Recast each second sentence using Pattern 27 to stress the logically important information.
1. Vast masses of statistical evidence have been collected. Parkinson's law has been deduced from a study of these data. 2. The processes are affected by many factors. The author will consider these factors in the next section. 3. So far experiments and theoretical studies have been carried on independently and have not interacted. The basis for further development lies in the mutual interaction of experimental results and theoretical studies. 4. The problem of environment cannot be tackled successfully within the framework of a single science. The article has been written to bring home the importance of joint research efforts.

Pattern Study (28)

Pattern 28:
. . .do_f . . .Inf._{without to...}

Until recently man treated nature as if it were inexhaustible. We do realize полу that such an approach is entirely wrong. (We now realize that such an approach is entirely wrong.) До последнего времени человек относился к природе так, как если бы она была неистощима. Теперь же мы наконец поняли, что такой подход в корне неправилен.

Pattern Practice (28)

Ex. 4. A. Identify the logically important predicate and give its Russian equivalent.
1. Everybody knows that to predict future is a most difficult task. Yet people do try to do it. 2. The small amount of oxygen dissolved in water is not included in this balance. Nonetheless, water does enter into the picture. 3. This formula is generally critisized." Yet it does describe the essential characteristics of the process. 4. The present work is essentially a study of the radio communication. Nevertheless it does provide an over-all picture of general communication behaviour.

     B. Identify the structures according to Pattern 28 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence (remember functions of the verb to do other than that of emphasis).

1. Although most of the detailed history consists of a series of blanks, we do have a time scale that seems sensible. 2. It was first thought that the air flow did not affect the measurements. But later it was found that it did cause errors. 3. There is ample proof that aesthetics and engineering can and do influence each other.
4. The alpha particles do not pass through the aluminium. The beta rays which do pass through the aluminium do not ionize gas as profusely as do the alpha particles. 5. This does not mean that chance has no role in the inventing process. Chance does act. 6. For a long time scientists did not believe the validity of the geographical data of the ancient authors. However, the archaeologists did find a number of ancient cities with the help of these data. 7. The fact that the incoming solar radiation drops off more rapidly towards the winter pole than the outgoing terrestrial radiation does mean that there is an excess in radiational heating in summer and a deficit near the winter pole.

Reading Practice (Patterns 27-28)

Text 12. 1) Read the text to yourself and be ready for a comprehension check-up.

The jigsaw-puzzle * fit of the coastlines on each side of the Atlantic Ocean must have been noticed as soon as the first reliable maps of the New World were prepared. It was as early as 1620 that Francis Bacon called attention to their striking resemblance. He did not go on, however, to suggest that the continents might once have formed a unified land mass. In the succeeding centuries suggestions to this effect were made, but they were far from being well-grounded hypotheses, as it was mainly to some postulated catastrophe, such as the sinking of the mythical Atlantis or the Great Flood that the similarity of the coastlines was ascribed.
The hypothesis of the Continental Drift which is generally accepted nowadays was first presented to scientific community in 1912, but it was not until 50 years later that it gained general currency. When this view of the earth did replace earlier ideas (in the 1960's) it was only because of conclusive evidence derived from discoveries in geophysics and oceanography.

2) Check up for comprehension.
1. Identify the dominant word group and follow it through its transformation into its equivalents. 2. What made it possible to notice the strange similarity of the coastlines on each side of the Atlantic Ocean? 3. What has been the basic idea underlying all the explanations of this similarity? 4. Why cannot we consider the earlier explanations to be well-grounded hypotheses?
5. What is the principal difference between the currently accepted hypothesis and the earlier ideas? 6. How long did it take the hypothesis of the Continental Drift to gain recognition? 7. Identify structures according to Patterns 23, 27, 28 and translate the respective sentences into Russian.
_________________________________________________________________________
* A set of irregularly cut pieces of pasteboard, wood, or the like, that form a picture or design when fitted together.

Pattern Revision (27-28)
(to be done al home in written form)

Ex. 5. A. Identify the structures according to Patterns 27 - 28 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.

1. The information available in literature is scarce, for it is only recently that we have even begun to collect the necessary figures on a national scale. 2. There are even greater uncertainties regarding the nitrogen cycle in the ocean. It is known that some marine organisms do fix nitrogen, but quantitative information is scarce. 3. In such water ways and in neighbouring ground water systems the nitrogen concentration could, and in some cases already does, exceed the levels acceptable for human consumption. 4. Many people in this country believe that it is man who is degrading and polluting his environment. 5. However, the third term of equation (5), containing entropy fluctuations, does appear to give an additional source of acoustical energy. 6. It is these interactions that are of vital concern to the study of marine toxicology, pharmacology, and pollution. Moreover, it is these interactions which affect the quality of man's marine food resources. 7. Assuming the waves do originate near the coast, lack of consistent asymmetry in the data might also be attributed to distortion. 8. It is perhaps for this reason that most of the significant experimental results have surfaced in the last five to seven years. 9. Arguments as to whether a fully developed spectrum is possible or does occur still go on. 10. In a society that has reached a certain level of industrial development the issue of environmental alteration becomes more and more acute. It is within this framework that certain actions of 100 or 200 years ago are now considered injurious.

     B. Give English equivalents of the italicized part of the sentences, using Patterns 27-28.
1. Эго явление было давно и широко известно, однако лишь недавно были сделаны первые попытки объяснить его научно. 2. Статья содержит некоторые устаревшие представления, и тем не менее она все-таки дает наиболее полное и последовательное изложение рассматриваемой проблемы. 3. Наука о космосе - одна из самых молодых, однако именно космические исследования привели к бурному развитию многих отраслей техники. 4. Человек может достигнуть и действительно достигает исключительных результатов, если его воодушевляет высокая цель. 5. К началу XX века некоторое общее представление о биосфере уже существовало, но первым, кто осознал необходимость нового подхода к ее изучению, был Б. И. Вернадский. 6. Непрерывное вмешательство человека в дела природы может вызывать, а порой и в самом деле вызывает ряд необратимых изменений в природных циклах.

Pattern Study (29)

Pattern 29:
. . .Neg. group . . .Vaux/mod . . .N₁. . .Inf.*_{without to}
Throughout history science has experienced many ups and downs but never before has man witnessed such progress in such a short time. (. . .has never before witnessed. . .) На протяжении истории наука знала много взлетов и падений, но никогда прежде человек не был свидетелем такого успеха, достигнутого за столь короткое время.
The method has been in wide use for some time but due to these shortcomings seldom does it produce satisfactory results. Метод широко используется уже в течение некоторого времени, но из-за этих недостатков он редко дает удовлетворительные результаты.

Pattern Vocabulary (29). List 14

Remember the words commonly used in Pattern 29.

seldom rarely

- редко;

never - никогда; nowhere - нигде;

b) hardly ... when scarcely ... when no sooner ... than		- как только, едва...как;
not only ... but also		- не только... но и...

Pattern Practice (29)

Ex 6. Identify the structures according to Pattern 29 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The threat to his environment is not the first major problem challenging man in the mid-20th century. Nor was it, until quite recently, the one most readily recognized. 2. Environmental research does not constitute a new separate field of science. Neither can its problems be studied comprehensively in terms of any particular science such as chemistry, biology or biochemistry. 3. With increase of productivity no longer is it necessary for everyone to be involved in food production. 4. Man is by nature an explorer. Not only must he master his environment, but he must, of necessity, extend it in an effort to gain supremacy over the unknown. 5. This was a period of such continuous flood of extraordinary ideas that hardly can one expect anything like this to happen again before long.
______________
* Or Part., Adj., N.

Ex. 7. Learn to distinguish between Patterns 28 and 29. Identify the structures according to Patterns 28 - 29 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.

1. Not only do people wish to understand nature but they also wish to master it. 2. It is also important that more and more service and auxiliary operations are being done by automatic devices: no longer does the cosmonaut have to depend on ground control for a lot of valuable information. 3. Though such projects do not involve any appreciable research and development, they do require a large supply of technically and scientifically trained personnel. 4. Even though the particular process might have been different it is quite certain that free oxygen did begin to accumulate in the atmosphere at this point. 5. Not only did Vernadsky foresee some of the adverse effects of man's production activity, but he also put forward some original ideas on our future development. 6. Although a nuclear catastrophe and the environmental crisis are quite different in character, they do have something in common.

Pattern Study (30)

Pattern 30a:
Part.*... V _{aux/ mod} ... N₁

It is sometimes argued that nature must be shaped as man requires it. Representing one of his greatest interventions into nature is the prospect that man may one day consciously alter the earth's climatic patterns. (The prospect that man may one day consciously alter the earth's climatic patterns is representing one of his greatest interventions into nature.) Иногда утверждают, что природу необходимо переделывать в соответствии с потребностями человека. Одно из величайших вмешательств в дела природы представляет собой перспектива того, что в один прекрасный день человек сознательно изменит климатическую картину земного шара.

Pattern 30 b
so/neither/nor. . .V_{aux/ mod} . . .N₁. . .

The necessity of a new approach to the environment problem is now fully realized, so is its global character. Необходимость нового подхода к проблеме окружающей среды сейчас полностью осознана, осознан и ее глобальный характер.
Biologists alone cannot solve this problem, neither can physicists. Биологи одни не могут решить эту проблему, не могут и физики.
___________________________
* Or Inf.without to Adj., Prep.-phr.

Pattern Practice (30)

Ex. 8. A. Identify the structures according to Pattern 30 and translate each second sentence into Russian.
1. We believe that this paper will interest most specialists. Of special significance is the fact that the method described is easy to apply. 2. There are several points to be considered in connection with our work. And among them is the time factor. 3. The paper covers a wide range of problems. Included in the paper are also detailed tabular data. 4. The available bibliography is very extensive. Listed below are the references to valuable sources.

     B. Identify the structures according to Pattern 30 and translate the sentences into Russian.

1. Of course, the combustion-driven vehicles present a problem in the context of the recent fuel crisis but no less important is another problem, associated with them, that of pollution. 2. From the very start of any project it is essential to make a list of jobs to be done and to assign priorities. Of still greater importance, however, is the problem of choosing the right people for the right jobs. 3. As a result, there is so-called heat pollution of such regions. Added to the effects of changing temperature - and indeed overriding it - is the accumulation of toxic wastes from human activities. 4. Among the other limitations of such power sources was the fact that they could not be readily transported and that their energy could not be transmitted over any considerable distance.

     C. Give English equivalents of the italicized part of the sentences using Pattern 30.
1. Несомненно, это очень важный вопрос, но еще более важным является точность измерений. 2. На рисунке 5 приведена схема расположения основных узлов этой модернизированной установки. 3. В данном случае еще более интересной для нас является проблема повышения эффективности каждого этапа работы в отдельности.
4. В настоящее издание также включен раздел, посвященный новейшим методикам измерений и измерительным приборам.

Ex. 9. Translate the following sentences into Russian.
1. Nevertheless the understanding of the mechanism involved slowly but steadily increases. So does our control over the side reactions. 2. The problems are not new, nor is the general outline of policy for solving them. 3. Studies such as these will naturally help, and so would a real improvement in the routine procedure. 4. No physicist untrained in biology would have ever solved the problem; neither would a biologist, without a sound physics background. 5. We cannot yet fully explain the disappearance of many ancient civilizations, nor can we write down their realiable history. 6. More attention has been paid recently to developing new sources of energy; solar power is now regarded as a reality, so is the geothermal energy.

Pattern Study (31)

Pattern 31a:
. . .Adj./Part. . . .as/though. . . N₁. . .V_f. . .

Pattern 31b:
Emph. . . .Adj./Part. . . .N₁. . .V_f. .

a) Local as (though) b) However local No matter how loca

some environmental problems may appear at first glance their solution ultimately depends on joint efforts of many countries.

Какими бы частными ни казались на первый взгляд некоторые проблемы окружающей среды, их решение в конечном счете зависит от объединенных усилий многих стран.

Pattern Practice (31)

Ex. 10. Identify the structures according to Pattern 31 and recast the sentences from 31a to 31b or from 31b to 31a.
1. The process can be easily simulated in laboratory, no matter how peculiar its mechanism may seem to a non-specialist. 2. Injurious though the experiments had proved to their health, the early researchers of radioactivity continued their investigation. 3. Intricate as the general pattern may appear at first sight the process is just a sum of elementary events. 4. No matter how annoying it may appear to us, it is a fact. 5. No matter how satisfactory this theory may seem, it is far from being convincing.

Pattern Study (32)

Pattern 32:
Ving. . .as. . . N₁. . .do;
The air pollution in large cities is a major challenge to science of the 20th century, affecting as it does the health of millions of men, women and children. (. . . as it affects . . .) Борьба с загрязнением воздуха в крупных городах является одной из первоочередных задач, стоящих перед наукой XX столетия, поскольку загрязненный воздух разрушительно действует на здоровье миллионов мужчин, женщин и детей.

Pattern Practice (31- 32)

Ex. 11. Identify the structures according to Patterns 31-32 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
     A. 1. The new model has a number of advantages over the old one operating as it does under less rigid conditions. 2. Knowing as he did the spectral theory Schroedinger could predict the connection between these two phenomena. 3. Searching for new sources of food for the expanding population of the world is a pressing problem of today affecting as it does the lives of millions of people.

     B. 1. Abundant as they may seem at present all natural resources are exhaustible in the long run if not in the short. 2. No matter how good treatment facilities may be, the effective control over pollution is often very difficult. 3. However annoying it may appear to us, judging from the history, both remote and recent, man has not always lived up to his qualification as homo sapiens. 4. The theory, however convincing it may seem to its author, requires more experimental data to corroborate it. 5. Knowing as we did the actual cause of the error we made no attempt to alter the experimental set up. 6. However, the model, spectacular though it may appear, does not fit all the experimental evidence. 7. Gloomy as his conclusion may sound the scientist, in fact, is far from being pessimistic about the future of mankind.

Reading Practice (Patterns 27- 32)

Text 13. 1) Read the text to yourself and be ready for a comprehension check-up.
Annoying as it may seem to us it is by man himself that the greatest disturbances in nature are being introduced nowadays. Since his tempering with the biological and geochemical balances may ultimately prove injurious - even fatal - to himself, he must understand them much better than he does today. Serving as a good example of our inability to control the global balance is the story of the circulation of carbon in nature. It does teach us that we had better leave the balance close to the state that existed until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Out of a simple realization of this necessity may come a new industrial revolution.

2) Check up for comprehension.
1. What is the problem under discussion? 2. Who is responsible for the greatest disturbances in nature? 3. Do we fully realize the possible consequences of our intervention in the natural balances? (Give reasons for your answer.) 4. What does the story of the carbon cycle serve to illustrate? 5. What is the author's opinion on the subject? (Indicate the elements of the text that show his assumption, prognosis and recommendation, as well as his most categorical statements and his emotional evaluation of the situation.)
3) Look through the text again and identify Patterns 27-31. Explain the author's choice in each case.
4) Suggest a title for the text.

Pattern Revision (29 - 32)
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 12. Identify the structures according to Patterns 29 - 32 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The report is hardly satisfactory. Conspicuously lacking, for example, is reliable information about the number of people actually engaged in the project. Neither do we know much about the funds allocated. 2. Incomplete though these figures are they give more information in several respects than has before been available. 3. No sooner had the electronic computer become available for non-military uses, after the end of World War II, than astronomers began to avail themselves of this new tool. 4. Hardly did the new technique become known to other researchers, when experiment after experiment produced more data to corroborate the theory. 5. Oxygen is not known among the gases so released, nor is it found as inclusions in igneous rocks. b. However, paradoxical as this may seem, the practical value of formal logic, the laws of thought and the scientific method, is very limited indeed. 7. The limit value will not be always the same, depending as it does on many factors, but it can easily be calculated for each particular case. 8. Little has been so far found out concerning the nature of the phenomenon. Nor is much likely to be discovered in the immediate future. 9. Convincing as such actual photography may be to a layman, such proofs of the reality of molecular motion are not needed by the scientific worker. 10. Now, however likely it may seem at first glance, it is not certain that this reason is the right one or at least the only one. 11. But not only do such measurements require high precision; so also does the treatment of the results obtained. 12. Speed in starting (to help the injured person) is most essential and if the first few minutes are lost, so may be the patient. 13. Spectacular though these experiments seemed at that time, the consequences of this discovery proved to be disastrous. 14. Of more importance to us is the nature of the scientist wanted today and in the foreseeable future. 15. This field does not effect the forward motion of the electrons but does act upon the transverse motion.

2. "MISSING" ELEMENTS

Pattern Study (33 - 34)

Pattern 33:
. . . (as) . . .V_f. . .
As is natural, each participant of the discussion tended to-emphasize the importance of his own subject (As it is natural. . .). Естественно, каждый участник дискуссии стремился подчеркнуть важность собственного предмета.

Pattern 34:
Conj.* . . .Part.**
Unless immediately stopped, the environmental pollution may become irreversible. Если процесс загрязнения окружающей среды не будет прекращен немедленно, он может стать необратимым.
_____________________________________________________________________________
* Conj.=if, when, while, unless, as, once, whether, though, whenever, however.
** Or Adj., N, Prep.-phr.

Pattern Vocabulary (34). List 15

Remember a few word groups which can be regarded as reduced adverbial clauses built according to Pattern 34:

if any - если хоть сколько-нибудь. . . (чего-нибудь);
if anything (anybody) - если хоть что-нибудь (кто-нибудь);
if anywhere - если хоть где-нибудь. . .
if at all - если данное действие происходит вообще. . .
if ever - если хоть когда-нибудь. . .
if not - если это не так. . .
if so - если это так. . .

few, if any little, if any

практически ничего (доcл, мало, если вообще хоть сколько-нибудь").

Pattern Practice (34)

Ex. 13. A. Use the conjunction with as many adjectives and participles as you can and give Russian equivalents of the word groups thus produced.

When viewed - при рассмотрении
contrasted, compared, discussed, considered, introduced, maintained, preserved, explored, etc.

If used - при использовании
analyzed, treated, released, fixed, converted, included, accumulated, available, possible, etc.

As opposed to - по сравнению с. . .
compared to, stated above, evidenced by, predicted, etc.

Once realized - будучи осознанным
developed, established, started, introduced, identified, incorporated, etc.

B. Identify the structures according to Pattern 34 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The 2nd industrial revolution, as contrasted to the 1st one, aims at liberating the human mind. 2. If properly treated, these raw materials can provide us with all necessary substances. 3. Once started, the process is difficult to stop. 4. Unless otherwise stated, the pressure is atmospheric. 5. When faced with true discovery, we are not likely to respond this way. 6. When at last the patient is allowed to sleep he will probably wake after some twelve hours and show little, if any, ill-effect. 7. The accuracy of the millivoltmeter, while inferior to that of other instruments, is satisfactory for a great many industrial applications. 8. The answer, according to Ryle, is a definite "yes". If so, then the steady-state theory must be either modified or else abandoned. 9. All materials, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, normally expand when heated and contract when cooled, ignoring special cases like that of water below 4° C. 10. Gas molecules are a form of matter and possess mass, so, if in motion, they must have a definite kinetic energy.

Reading Practice (Patterns 33-34)

Text 14. 1) Read the text to yourself to see whether it is science, popular Science, or a joke.

A WOMAN AS SEEN BY A CHEMIST

Symbol: Wo
Accepted atomic weight: 120
Physical properties: Boils at nothing and freezes in a minute. Melts when properly treated. Very bitter if not used well. Occurence: Found wherever man exists.
Chemical properties: Possesses great affinity for gold, silver, platinum and precious stones. Violent reaction if left alone. Able to absorb great amounts of food matter. Turns green when placed beside a better looking specimen.
Uses: Very ornamental, useful as a tonic in acceleration of low spirits, and as an equalizer in the distribution of wealth. It is probably the most effective income reducer known. Caution: Highly explosive in inexperienced hands.

2) Check up for comprehension.
1. What is it: science, popular science, or a joke? 2. How does the author produce the humorous effect?
3) Translate the text into Russian, indicating the words and word combinations which are to be found in serious scientific writing, but are used figuratively here,
4) There is an English word woe, beginning with the same two letters as the word woman. Can you infer the meaning of this word, from the above description?
5) What was the author's purpose in using Patterns 33, 34?

Pattern Study (35 - 36)

Pattern 35:
N'1...V'_f. . .N''₁. . .V''_f

Sometimes people may think they are more efficient than they really are. Sometimes people may think that they are more efficient than they really are. Иногда у людей может сложиться впечатление, что они могут больше, чем это есть на самом деле.

Pattern 36:
. . .N'. . .И''₁. . -V_f. . .
It is sometimes difficult to foresee all the effects a new technology may produce on the environment. It is sometimes difficult to foresee all the effects which a new technology may produce on the environment. Иногда трудно представить себе то воздействие, которое новое производство, возможно, окажет на окружающую среду.

Pattern Vocabulary (36). List 16

Remember a few words commonly used with the definite" article as N' in Pattern 36.

the manner the way

- каким образом; то, как;

the moment - тот момент, когда; как только.

Pattern Practice (35 - 36)

Ex. 14. Identify the structures according to Patterns 35 - 36 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant, part of the sentence.
1. These are not rhetorical questions. We confess we do not know the answers; but we should. 2. The evidence we possess does not support the conclusion. 3. Everyday observation shows that the effect moving air produces on a body depends on the velocity of the air or the velocity of the body. 4. There are some who think we can leave the human body to regulate these matters for itself. 5. The only advantage of a lecture over the printed text is the immediate contact it offers between the lecturer and audience. 6. In what follows then, the location as well as the time an event will occur are regarded as essential features of the prediction. 7. Biologists and chemists have long been fascinated by the way evolution has selected certain elements as the building blocks of living organisms and has ignored others. 8. Now that they have electronic computers, mathematicians are solving problems they would not have dared tackle a few years ago.

Pattern Study (37)

Pattern 37:
Vaux/mod*... N₁... Inf **_{without to}

Should life be discovered on another planet it would be a monument to our age. (If life should be discovered. . .). Если бы еще на какой-нибудь планете была найдена жизнь, это явилось бы памятником нашему веку.

Pattern Practice (37)

Ex. 15. Identify the structures according to Pattern 37 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. Should the side-effects prove less injurous than predicted the efforts required to develop this protection system are not wasted anyway. 2. Were it not for some ruthless and mindless actions of man these areas would not face the fate of the Sahara region. 3. The scientific community is sure to raise the issue again, should the project be approved. 4. Could we have a few more examples to judge by, our conclusions might be more convincing. 5. The tendency would be more popular were it not for the recent dramatic history which everybody remembers only too well. 6. Should the prediction come true, there will be no lake here to speak of in about a decade. 7. Had there been something more realistic to motivate the research, our attitude towards it would have been different. 8. Should our planet become unsuitable for humanity, the fault would be ours.

* Vaux/mod=should, could, were, had, ** Or Part., Adj.

Reading Practice (Patterns 27 - 37)

Text 15.

1) Read the text to yourself and suggest a title.

      There is some reason in the belief that we are the masters of nature. Yet this very dominance of man over his environment has become the cause of ever-growing concern, on the part of scientists and general public, for what we are doing to the world we live in.

     A century ago man had very limited powers to upset the balance of nature. Now this power is multiplied annually by the advance of technology. Thinking people cannot avoid the conclusion that, should present trends continue, we may make our planet physically and psychologically unsuitable for humanity.
     In the face of this prospect many people take a defeatist view in the belief that one cannot put back the clock.
     They do not realize that il is the compulsive need for quick profits, motivating capitalism, which causes the constant revolutionizing of the modes of production, without regard to the pollution and damage it is doing to the environment. They do not realize that it is the values and attitudes within any society that determine the way it handles nature and natural resources. And only through a radical change in these values and attitudes can we hope to cope with the environmental problem.

2) Check up for comprehension
1 What is the subject under discussion? 2. What makes scientists and general public feel concerned about the way we handle nature? 3. Has the situation always been the same? 4. What is the change due to? 5. What do thinking people fear? 6. Can you explain what is meant by "defeatist view" and "put back the clock"? 7. What is the actual cause of constant revolutionizing of the modes of production under capitalism? 8. What is meant by "values and attitudes"? 9. What is the author's hope for the solution of the environmental problem?
3) Identify the structures according to Patterns 27- 37.

Pattern Revision (34 - 37)
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 16. Identify the structures according to Patterns 34 - 37 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. Once in the air water vapour may circulate locally or become part of the general circulation of the atmosphere.
2. The food we eat provides the chemicals the body needs to continue functioning.
3. There are two things at least everyone knows about medicine today.
4. If realized, the problem becomes something man can cope with.
5. Should man master this process he will get a new powerful tool to control the environment and keep it in balance and in running order. 6. In the absence of any obvious supply of free oxygen below the midwater interface in the ocean the organic matter must be attacked by anaerobes, if by any kind of bacteria. 7. There are numerous kinds of denitrifying bacteria that, if obliged to exist in the absence of oxygen, are able to use the nitrate or nitrite ion as electron acceptors for the oxidation of organic compounds. 8. Had it not been for the introduction of the internal-combustion engine shortly after the turn of the century, steam power alone would have driven the horse off the farm.

General Revision (27 - 37)
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 17. Identify the structures according to Patterns 27-37 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. Among the steps needed for the realization of such a scheme are the construction of a comprehensive model of the earth's climatic system and the development of a computational facility capable of simulating and manipulating the model. 2. The article is devoted to an attempt to trace the cycle of solar energy from the time it enters the atmosphere as sunlight until it finally finds its way back into space as heat. 3. As the population pressure builds, not only is more land brought under the plow, but also the land remaining is less suited to cultivation. 4. However that may be, at least three approaches to the problem are being pursued at present. Foremost among them is the active discussion I have referred to. 5. The amount of rock and earth man moves each year in the present industrialized regions of the world is already enormous and will continue to grow.
6. In an environment where nutrition is always adequate, where the parents are caring and where social factors are adequate it is the genes that largely determine differences between members of the population in growth and adult physique. 7. Not only does free oxygen support life; it arises from life. The oxygen now in the atmosphere is probably mainly, if not wholly, of biological origin. 8. Only about a tenth of I percent of the energy received from the sun by the earth is fixed in photosynthesis. This fraction, small as it is, may be represented locally by the manufacture of several thousand grams of dry organic matter per square meter per year. 9. Were the climate of the earth different, the distribution of carbon dioxide, oxygen and minerals might also be quite different. 10. Buried under some 2,000 square miles of the Imperial Valley are vast underground reservoirs of extremely hot water that could supply all the pure water and electric power Southern California needs for several decades. 11. Should all the people of the world count the atoms in a drop of water they would not be able to finish their work even in ten
thousand years. 12. Copper does not combine with oxygen when cold, but it does do so slowly when heated. 13. I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which when looked at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. 14. Useful as these tools are, however, it is new concept that has transformed the atmospheric sciences. 15. Not only are we unable to give a formula for individual sleep requirements, we cannot even give confident averages for the different age groups. Indirect evidence on the amount of sleep we need comes from studies of what happens when we do without it. 16. It is with the hope of at least partially satisfying this curiosity that the following discussion, brief and incomplete as it is, has been included. 17. Important as Mechnikov's discoveries were in themselves their significance is further magnified by the impetus they gave to the development of the comparative and evolutionary trend in physiology. 18. It is not the optimism about the outcome that gives impetus to the search for extraterrestrial life; rather it is the immense importance that a positive result would have. 19. The gap, if any, between resources and needs will have to be filled by nuclear energy.

Ex. 18. Grammar in proverbs. Identify the structures according to all the Patterns studied, translate them into Russian and suggest Russian sayings of similar meaning.

1. To know everything is to know nothing. 2. It is never too late to learn. 3. Talk of the devil and he is sure to appear. 4. It is no use crying over spilt milk. 5. If you want a thing well done, do it yourself. 6. The evils we bring on ourselves are hardest to bear. 7. Wait for the cat to jump. 8. When angry, count a hundred. 9. It's not the gay coat that makes the gentleman. 10. A blind man would be glad to see. 11. A fault confessed is half redressed. 12. A hard nut to crack. 13. It is a good horse that never stumbles.

Overall Revision
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 19. Identify the structures according to all the Patterns studied and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.
1. The most likely way the climate could be influenced by either natural or artificial means seems to be through a trigger mechanism that ultimately changes the radiation balance. 2. A way must be found to deal with the eutrophication problem because even in the short run it can have damaging effects, affecting as it does, the supply of potable water, the cycles of aquatic life and consequently man's food supply. 3. Solid particles are injected into the lower atmosphere from a number of sources, with the combustion of fossil fuels making a major contribution. 4. In this context it is being argued with increasing force that medical care is a right and not a privilege and that one class of medical care should be available to everyone. 5. All life on the earth is of course ultimately powered by the sun, and accordingly it is strongly affected by variations of the incoming solar radiation over the globe. 6. This constituted an evolutionary advance quite unlike any other known to have occurred. 7. Whenever free oxygen is available, it is energetically advantageous for an organism to use it to oxidize organic compounds rather than to use the oxygen bound in nitrate salts. 8. The final circulation pattern is determined by the interaction of the two systems, each system influencing the other in a complicated cycle of events. 9. Because of the large number of variables involved it is difficult to predict what, the world would look like without the denitrification reaction, but it would certainly not be the world we know. 10. The bulldozer and the miracle drugs may be chosen as symbols of Western man's simplistic faith that he has become the master of his destiny. Only gradually and painfully is he learning that he cannot go on working against nature if he is to survive. 11. In general, local and regional environmental problems, such as the thermal pollution of lakes and waterways, and the direct health effects of pollution on man were not considered. Nor did the study examine in any detail the problems of radioactive waste disposal. . . But the study does not stop there. It goes on to suggest what man can do about the problems he does understand and how he can acquire essential information about those he doesn't. 12. It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers and sometimes lakes, where mud and slit has been continuously deposited, that bodies and the like can be rapidly covered over and preserved. 13. Primary tropical forests are supposed to have been little, if at all, affected by man and are believed to have existed much as they are now from a very remote period. 14. If the best a skilled reader can do is to see three or four letters per second, and if he had to see every letter in order to read it he would be able to read about one word every 1.75 seconds on the average. 15. As the income levels in these countries rise, so will their demand for a diet of animal products. 16. I have never experienced that marvelous sensation, nor have I ever heard of its happening to others. 17. Not only can I not accept it, but I can hardly understand how a scientist like Nicolle could have conceived of such an idea. 18. To the scientist the value of any particular launching is the success of the experiment concluded, not just the distance reached from the earth. Nor is he concerned with putting men in the vehicle, for the instruments can be made to operate automatically and to send back their readings to earth as coded radio signals. 19. The method of successive approximation which is due to Picard furnished a mode of attack quite unlike any the student has used hitherto in solving differential equations. 20. It is inexcusable that we should fail to predict responses of nature consequent upon our own actions. 21. The moon, satellite of the earth, has already been visited and found to be totally hostile to man. The surface of Venus is too hot for us, and Mars offers little, if any, hope. The other planets are out of the question. Man, indeed,
is earthbound and we must learn to accept this inescapable circumstance however great our expectations. 22. If we had to stop producing C02, no coal, oil or gas could be burned, and all modern societies would come to a halt. The only possible alternative is nuclear energy, whose by-products may cause serious environmental effects. Also, we don't have electric motor vehicles to be propelled by electricity from nuclear energy. 23. Although by the year 2000 we expect global thermal power output to be six times the present level, we do not expect it to affect global climate. Over cities it does already create ╚heat islands╩ and as these grow larger, they may have regional climatic effects and they should be studied. 24. We naively seem to assume that by willing the means we attain the goals. If someone in a fire station got the idea that silencing the alarm-clock would be a good way of handling fires, we would classify him as a mental case. Yet this is the way we act as a human family in facing malnutrition.

WORD STUDY

i. LEARN TO RECOGNIZE INTERNATIONAL WORDS
(to be done in class)

Ex. 20. A. Recognize familiar words:
archaically [a: 'kenkali], lethal ['li :6(э)1], immune to DDT [i:'mju: n], paradoxically [,paera'doksik8li].

     B. Give two Russian equivalents of different origin. Example: to accumulate - аккумулировать, накоплять
Intervention; comfortable; qualification; total; manufacture.

C. Make up English-Russian pairs:

      D. Give Russian equivalents of the following:
a figure of speech; utilization of natural resources; intervention in natural cycles of the biosphere; provision of experimental facilities; the composition of atmospheric air; the first decade of the nineteenth century; the total content of oxygen in the biosphere.

2. LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH WORDS
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 21. Recognize the words formed according to the following patterns and give their Russian equivalents.

Pattern 18: Adj./N + -ize V
Example: minimum - минимум; to minimize - свести к минимуму.
1. The reaction is difficult to realize in laboratory. 2. To realize the possible adverse effects of production is sometimes both to preserve nature and to economize in the long run, if not in the short.

Pattern 19: Adj. + (i)ty N
Example: major - главный, крупный; majority - большинство.
1. Man's global responsibility for what is happening to his environment is generally recognized. 2. The environmental situation involves every individual and every country, because it is global. But its inescapability does not mean that the crisis is unavoidable. 3. The availability of liquid water in substantial quantities is one of the major conditions for the development of life. 4. The exceptional reactivity of six of the 16 lightest elements of the Periodic Table is at the root of most environmental problems.

Pattern 20: V + -ive Adj.
Example: to progress - продвигаться вперед, прогрессировать; progressive - поступательный, прогрессирующий.

1. The environmental crisis is of a cumulative character. 2. The explanation is not exhaustive because it ignores a most essential social factor. 3. An imaginative reader is invited to complete this picture by himself. 4. An effective alternative to burning fuels is nuclear energy. Yet it is not altogether attractive either because of the problem of radioactive wastes disposal.

Pattern 21: re- + Root
Example: to write - писать; to rewrite - переписать, написать заново.
1. Bragg made no efforts to rebuild the laboratory. 2. In this time and distance we should be able to figure out how to refuel our spacecraft. 3. The idea of a frozen man being thawed out and reintroduced to society was good science fiction reading about sixty years ago. 4. A similar crew might be put aboard a spacecraft in deep freeze, to be reconditioned at some far distant point in time. 5. At present man is replacing the earth's major ecosystems with cities and land devoted to agriculture.

Pattern 22: inter- + Root
Example: planetary - планетный, планетарный; interplanetary - межпланетный.

1. The boundary surface between two media, phases or systems is called an interface. 2. All these natural cycles are found to interact and the locus of their interaction is the biosphere. 3. The processes are intricately interdependent.

Pattern 6: N V
1. The situation is the same on land and sea; the captain landed the passengers on a small island; this may land us in a very difficult situation. 2. The sound of the counter is a measure of the film thickness; take special measures to avoid a breakdown; a device to measure ocean depths; we measure distance in outer space in light years. 3. The list of words below is not complete. The periodical table lists more than 100 chemical elements. 4. The library numbers as many as 5600 volumes. Now you are reading sentence number 4.

Ex. 22. A. Arrange the words into opposing pairs. Give their Russian equivalents according to the pattern - IN vs. EX (OUT).
Example: interior - exterior; внутренний - внешний.
internal, extrinsic, inward, inclusive(ly), outside, external, inside, exclude, output, inner, inclusion, outer, input, outward, exclusive(ly), include, exclusion, intrinsic.

     B. Give Russian equivalents of:
the interior of Africa; exterior surface; internal and external forces; intrinsic properties; extrinsic influences; inward and outward motion; inner and outer diameters; inside and outside temperatures; input and output data; to include in, or exclude from, consideration; gold inclusions in a mineral body; the principle of exclusion; from six to ten inclusive; exclusive attention.

Ex. 23. A. Group the words into families according to their spelling and meaning. Give their Russian equivalents (use the dictionary if necessary).
Proceed, excess, successive(ly), precedent, exceed, process, succeeding, precede, exceedingly, succeed, excessive(ly), proceedings, success, preceding, procedure, procession, succession.

      B. Give Russian equivalents of:
Successive approximation; the preceding chapter; to exceed the speed limit; to process information; an excess of energy; an experimental procedure; to succeed in research; many difficulties in succession.

     C. In the text below recognize the words belonging to the above families and give their Russian equivalents.
The VII International Congress on Crystallography was held in Moscow in 1966. The total number of participants was in excess of 2000. The opening session was preceded by the General Assembly to elect a new president of the Congress. The procedure was but formal as the candidate had been nominated unanimously and there had never been a precedent of a candidate not being elected under such circumstances.

The success of the discussion on protein structure exceeded all expectation. Most fruitful were the discussions carried on in between the sessions, during which time participants succeeded in making informal contacts and in exchanging views and ideas. The proceedings of the Congress were published as a separate volume, with all communications presented in the original language.

Ex. 24. Fill in the blanks with the proper words from the lists below.
1. Of all man's recent interventions in the cycles of nature the industrial fixation of nitrogen by far . . . all others in magnitude. 2. . . . run off of nitrogen compounds in streams and rivers can result in intensified biological activity. 3. The expanding need for fuel has forced man to cut forests in ... of his ability to renew them.
     to exceed, excessive, excess.

1. The problem is clear . . . for some insignificant details. 2. With a few ... all the corrections have been taken into consideration. 3. . . . where otherwise stated, our data are in good agreement. 4. Some features of this material are of . . . value. 5. The only . . . was made for the discussion of some practical questions.
     except, exception, exceptional.

3. LEARN TO DEDUCE THE MEANING
OF ENGLISH WORDS
(to be done at home in written form and to be discussed in class)

В разных употреблениях одного и того же английского слова и его производных обычно обнаруживается общий элемент смысла, который может присутствовать в нескольких разных русских словах. Выбор русского эквивалента определяется английским контекстом и нормой русского языка.

Ex. 25. Give Russian equivalents of the italicized words.
Fit - общий элемент смысла: соответствие назначению. Частотные русские эквиваленты: fit (Adj.) (при)годный, подходящий, соответствующий, годный, здоровый и т. д.; fit (N) - подгонка, соответствие и т. д.; to fit - соответствовать, годиться; приспосабливать подгонять; снабжать и т. д.

1. The paper is not fit for presentation. 2. The man in the first group became ill with the well-known symptoms, the others stayed perfectly fit. 3. An authoritarian government is subject only to such limitations as it sees fit to impose on itself. 4. He could not present the paper himself as he did not feel fit. 5. The slopes were then drawn by least square fit of the data. 6. The curve was not a perfect fit, but one could hardly expect anything better. 7. The school fits students for college. 8. The theory is expected to fit the experiment. 9. Then things began to fit into a logical pattern. 10. Evolution fitted the new species together. 11. Goethe says that life fits theory as the human body fits the cross.

Present - общий элемент смысла: наличие в данный момент в данном месте. Частотные русские эквиваленты: present (Adj.) - присутствующий, имеющийся налицо; настоящий, современный; данный и т. д.; present (N) - настоящее (время); to present - представить на рассмотрение; представлять собой и т. д.

1. The present practice cannot be tolerated any longer. 2. The present paper continues the discussion started in (1). 3. These are microorganisms that are present almost everywhere. 4. The developments of the present and of the immediate future will probably require a radical change in our approach to the problem. 5. At present there is no fundamental research being done in this laboratory. 6. For the present we have to be content with this empirical formula. 7. Each process seems to present certain difficulties. 8. Over a hundred papers were presented at this conference. 9. The arguments presented to support this point of view fail to convince me.

Subject - общий элемент смысла: подверженность внешнему воздействию. Частотные русские эквиваленты: subject to (Adj.) - подчиненный, зависимый; подверженный; подлежащий и т. п.; subject (N) - предмет, тема; предмет изучения; подданный; подлежащее и т. д.; to subject - подчинять; подвергать и т. д.

1. Everything and everybody are subject to the laws of nature. 2. The principles are subject to change or elimination as new scientific facts are added to our knowledge. 3. The process is subject to fluctuations. 4. The plan is subject to governmental approval. 5. This is highly complicated and interesting subject. 6. The subject of my thesis is occupational diseases as a function of industry geography. 7. This decision is not a subject for discussion. 8. The subject-matter of the book is plasma. 9. The Lenin library has an excellent subject catalogue. 10. As a rule the subject opens the sentence. 11. He studied four subjects in his first year at college. 12. The soldiers happened to be subjects of France. 13. The idea was subjected to severe criticism and rejected. 14. To harden the metal it was subjected to intense heat.

Ex. 26. Give Russian equivalents of the italicized words.
Challenge - общий элемент смысла: нечто, стимулирующее активное ответное действие. Частотные русские эквиваленты: challenge (N) - вызов; проблема, требующая решения и т.д.; to challenge - бросать вызов; подвергать сомнению и требовать действий и т. д.

1. Environmental pollution is a major challenge to mankind in the mid-20th century. It can be met only by the joint efforts of all advanced countries, for the problem challenges man in all his activities on a global scale. 2. Designers, builders and those who supply materials for teaching have met the challenge of change by providing new and important equipment, audio-visual devices and learning ystems. 3. The years to come promise to be at least as challenging and revolutionary as the fifty years gone by. 4. It is imperative to strengthen the humanistic and intellectually challenging elements of the high school program. 5. The problem of hydrodynamics is a permanent challenge to mathematicians. 6. In his talk Dr. N. challenged the accuracy of the measurements made by his German colleagues.

Common - общий элемент смысла: присущий большинству, разделяемый многими. Частотные русские эквиваленты: общий, совместный; общественный; широко распространенный, общеизвестный, общепринятый; обыкновенный, простой и т. д.

1. The English common sense, commonplace, common noun, common man and Common Market - all have one word in common, but their Russian equivalents are absolutely different. Can you think of good Russian equivalents if common sense is ordinary practical good sense or intelligence gained by experience, not by special study (cf. "general knowledge" which is gained by study); a common noun is a noun like "river", "city" or "boy" which may be used of any object belonging to a group or class (cf. └proper noun" like the "Volga, London, John");commonplace is ordinary, not new or interesting; the common man is the ordinary man, the average man; Common Market is an economic association of several West European countries. 2. It is commonly accepted that a common language is one of the principal characteristics of a nation, although it is not uncommon for two or more nations to speak the same language. 3. It is a matter of common knowledge that there is a chemical which is commonly used by both the common man and the chemist, the former knowing it as common salt and the latter as sodium chloride.

Evidence, evident, to evidence - общий элемент смысла: свидетельство события, имевшего место ранее. Частотные русские эквиваленты: evidence - свидетельство, данные, факты, доказательства и т. д.; evident - очевидный, явный, ясный и т. д.; to evidence - свидетельствовать, показывать, служить доказательством и т. д.

1. It is evident that the evidence we possess does not support this conclusion. 2. All through the book one finds evidence of the author's deep sympathy for the reader. 3. The disagreement was evidently due to misunderstanding. 4. It is the evidence of the senses upon which both the common man and the scientist base all their conclusions. 5. The process involves violent release of oxygen as evidenced by spectroscopic analysis.

Pattern - общий элемент смысла: обобщенная модель, системность, закономерность. Частотные русские эквиваленты: pattern (N) - образец; модель; схема; структура; картина; характер и т. д.; to pattern делать по образцу, копировать и т. д.

1. There is a general pattern in practically any form of organization, systematization or generalization. Whether we consider plant growth patterns, patterns of life or patterns of animal behaviour, patterns of the winds or the pattern of the Earth's magnetic field, we deal with the same idea: something that is periodically regular and serves as a model like the pattern of the crystal lattice, something after which something else can be modelled or patterned. 2. Culture and education strongly influence an individual's pattern of thought. 3. The author traces in considerable detail the remarkable growth pattern of the industry. 4. Despite the fact that his prose is frequently patterned after examples by other masters, Bunin is far from being a derivative artist. 5. You shouldn't try to make the foreign language grammar fit the pattern of your native language.

Proper, property - общий элемент смысла: присущее, неотъемлемое. Частотные русские эквиваленты: proper - присущий, свойственный; правильный, надлежащий, должный и т. д.; property - свойство, качество; собственность и т. д.

1. It is only proper to begin our consideration with some facts of common knowledge. Each atom has the proper number of electrons to make it neutral and it is this number that determines its chemical and physical properties. Yet, properly speaking, there -are electrons which do not belong to the atom proper. These are called free electrons. 2. It is often very difficult to do things properly: to pay proper attention to one's job, to give the proper interpretation of one's results or even to say the proper thing at the proper moment.

Point - общий элемент смысла: сосредоточенность (сгусток) в пространстве, времени, изложении. Частотные русские эквиваленты: point (N) - точка; место; момент; пункт; суть, смысл и т. д.; to point указывать, показывать, свидетельствовать и т. д.

1. The lecturer was speaking on the spread of writing over the earth from its points of origin in Egypt, Mesopotamia and China. His main point that writing had come to Europe from the East was not original and left the audience indifferent. But among other things he brought up two points which aroused his listeners. He pointed to the similarity or alphabets of related languages and tried to seek an explanation from the point of view of general linguistics. Up to this point the lecture had been merely dull. Now it was misleading as well. I was on the point of leaving the room when someone said aloud. "Your last remark was not to the point, Professor, or else I don't see the point." 2. Since 1968 the bacteria level of the Potomac River has been reduced to the point where much of the river would be swimmable. 3. Much of what we do in space, much of what is expected of us, strains our technology to the breaking point. 4. Today, atomic power could support space vehicles on journeys of several years duration, but the cost at this point is still prohibitive for practical use. 5. Everything points to your being wrong. 6. If there were any flaws in their arguments they would be pointed out to them immediately.

Ex. 27. Give Russian equivalents of the italicized words proceeding from the context and using the dictionary if necessary.

A. 1. The use of the term "isotope" is commonplace. 2. An acquaintance with the terms of measurement will always be useful. 3. Up to this point we have been discussing information retrieval in general terms. 4. Division in a school year during which instruction is regularly given to students is called a term. 5. At last the administration and the union came to terms. 6. It is necessary to explain atmospheric motion in terms of hydrodynamic theory. 7. The equipment frequently consists of two registers which we may term the accumulator register and the multiplier register. 8. Some philosophers term what is beyond the limits of the universe "imaginary space".

B. 1. There are some 40,000 industrial plants in the USA that discharge into navigable waters. 2. The absorption of sunlight by the green leaves of plants keeps the plant and animal world alive. 3. A good farmer knows when to plant crops.

C. 1. A local cell of the Communist Party. 2. A battery cell. 3. A number of solar cells which produce electrical current on exposure to sunlight. 4. Root cells obtain their sugar from the green leaves of the plant; 5. The experimental cell was made of rubidium. 6. Dr. James F. Doneeli said he had produced a living cell from parts of other cells.

Ex. 28. In the texts below recognize the words that are similar in meaning and give their Russian equivalents.

A. Find six nouns meaning "размер, количество".

Never before have the scope of research and the number of people occupied in it increased as rapidly as they are doing today. The magnitude of certain projects and the size of some installations are often breath-taking, while the bulk of the information accumulated can hardly be even roughly estimated, let alone digested. And yet the extent to which processes occurring naturally can be controlled and regulated by man is very limited.

B. Find four nouns meaning "поток, течение".

The language is perpetually in flux: it is a living stream, shifting, changing, receiving new strength, losing old forms. The current of time continuously brings about a fresh flow of words.

C. Find five adjectives meaning ╚достаточный, удовлетворительный╩. So far there is no satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon.

At first sight it seemed sufficient to collect more data to corroborate the existing hypothesis. Yet as soon as one goes deep enough into the evidence it becomes clear that there are cases where the hypothesis is inadequate. And there is ample proof that these cases are all that matters.

D. Find four adjectives meaning "целый, весь".

It is only recently that the whole world has focused on the possibility of exploring space. Man has acquired a new view of our planet and this has had a tremendous impact on the entire philosophy of modern man. Of all the factors that determine man's ambitions to conquer space his ever-burning curiosity for the unknown is not the least important. And space research has already contributed much to the total knowledge of the Universe.

4. LEARN TO DEDUCE THE MEANING OF WORD COMBINATIONS
(exs 29, 30, 34 to be done in class; exs 31- 33 to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 29. Give Russian equivalents of the hyphenated word groups.
Man-disturbed cycles of the Earth's biosphere; man-initiated processes; the mid-forties of the 20th century; ever-growing advances; a self-explanatory word; the high-energy phosphate bond; a self-regulating system; man-dominated provinces; large-scale manufacture; oxygen-dependent organisms.

Ex. 30. Give Russian equivalents of the italicized words.
1. This may set in motion an avalanche of irreversible events. 2. The time factor must necessarily be taken into account.
3. The living matter was brought into being from an inorganic environment by evolution. 4. Evolution divides the resources of any location among an ever increasing number of different kinds of users. 5. No single action taken or decision made can bring about an immediate catastrophe. 6. It is the straw that broke the camel s back (English proverb). 7. The total amount of solar energy fixed on the earth sets one limit on the total amount of life. 8. We must take adequate measures in time to forestall possible unpleasant situations. 9. 20,000 is larger by an order of magnitude than 2000. 10. We do not know how much of the energy that runs the biosphere can be diverted to the support of a single species: man. 11. The changes in our environment are not likely to bring mankind to the brink of annihilation overnight. 12. It is only step by step that people come to understand some of the notions of modern science. 13. Too little do we know for certain about it to be able to foresee the final impact of our rapid technological developments on the biosphere as an abode of life.

Ex. 31. From the list below choose an adequate English word group to explain the meaning of the italicized words.

1. It took him some time to bring home the fact that the experiment was dangerous. 2. Nowadays most people find it difficult to keep pace with the information accumulating in their special field of interest. 3. It is not quite clear at the moment who will see to it that all is in balance. 4. It is not very wise of you to cut your life short by ignoring your doctor's advice. 5. The problem was to get rid of the unwanted impurities. 6. I don't quite understand what this symbol stands for. 7. It was only in this century that aluminium was produced in quantity.

to represent; to make shorter; to make clear; to take care; in large amounts; to remove; to keep up with.

Ex. 32. Make up English-Russian pairs of the word combinations equivalent in meaning.
1. In good shape; 2. by an order of magnitude; 3. apart from; 4. by no means; 5. in general; 6. in accordance with; 7. on a commercial scale; 8. as well; 9. as contrasted; 10. as to; 11. first and foremost; 12. overnight; 13. step by step.

1. В промышленном масштабе; 2. а также; 3. в хорошей форме; 4. по сравнению; 5. на порядок величины; 6. помимо; 7. никоим образом; 8. в общем; 9. что касается; 10. в соответствии с; 11. постепенно; 12. первое и самое главное; 13. за одну ночь, сразу.

Ex. 33. Give Russian equivalents of the following (use explanations and illustrations as a guide).
In this particular field they are far ahead of other researches, having made a much earlier start (far ahead - well in advance).
This particular matter can be registered far outside the terrestrial atmosphere (far outside - beyond the limits of).

So far we have made little progress here (so far - to this point or extent).
This tendency is certainly to the benefit of science of the world (to the benefit (of) - for the good of, in the interest of).
It was not so easy to get at the root of the trouble (to find out what was the real cause) (at the root - at the source or origin).
You must complete the preliminary experiment in time to be able to continue the work (in time - not late, early enough).
You will learn how to do it in time (in time - sooner or later; after the passing of an indefinite period of time).
It was rather easy to fit the pieces together but it was difficult to keep the entire system in running order (in running order in good working condition).

Ex. 34. Give Russian equivalents of the V+Adv. combinations.
1. Whatever man takes from nature he must put back in some form or other, to keep it in balance. 2. We do rot know what brought about the catastrophe. 3. It is man's interference with nature that has singled him out from the rest of the animal world. 4. Our intention is to go on with the work, and we would like you to join in.
5. I'll be waiting for you, so tell me when you are through with your work. 6. We were all looking forward to hearing his lecture. 7. A spaceship can be considered to be a small volume of the biosphere nipped off and projected temporarily into space.

5. REVISE IF YOU FORGET
(to be done at home in written form)

Ex. 35. Read the text concentrating on the negative prefixes, words and word groups. Give Russian equivalents of the italicized words.

There is no accounting for tastes. Nobody can explain why some people go into astronomy, others are interested in chemistry, still others are absorbed by archaeology. Yet there is something in com mon in all these inclinations and preferences, and this is man's eternal curiosity about the unknown, his burning desire to know something which has never been known before, to do something no one has ever done before. This inexhaustible drive for the new and unknown is a basic human characteristic, and it is due to the greatest Unknown in the universe - man's brain.

How does it work? There is no one who would not wish to know the answer. Why does it work differently for different people? Why can some people do what others cannot, and vice versa? To most questions like these we have no answers yet. Nor can we hope to get them soon unless we find ways to model the brain structure and simulate its operation more accurately than is now possible. It is not until we have a computer of comparable storage capacity that this will be possible. For the problem is so complex not only because its solution would involve a multidisciplinary approach by many researchers, but also because it requires studying the instrument with the instrument itself.

Ex. 36. Read the text, identify the emphatic and emphasized word groups and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.

" Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well." Whoever said this originally was perfectly right. For whenever and wherever we come upon something that is not done properly we feel annoyed no matter what it is: a poor book, an ugly building, a tasteless dinner or inaccurate measurements. Everybody would seem to agree with this, as far as somebody else's work is concerned. But are we equally critical of everything done by ourselves?

Ex. 37. Identify the elements contrasted or restricted by means of "but" and give Russian equivalent of but.
1. The attempts to give a brief characterization of the process were numerous, but so far all of them have failed. 2. All these threatening changes in our environment are wrought by no one but man himself. 3. The disturbances in the nitrogen cycle are but one example of adverse impact of man's production activities on nature. 4. All these terms but the noosphere are self-explanatory.

Ex. 38. Identify the element restricted by means of "only" and give Russian equivalents of only.

1. Many of these fine details are visible under favourable conditions only. 2. The only two species which have been compared by all of these methods are chimpanzees and humans. 3. Joint efforts of all sciences and all countries is the only way to solve the environmental crisis. 4. It is only step by step that we approach this critical point.

Ex. 39. Identify the element intensified by means of "very" and give Russian equivalent of very.

1. The discovery came at the very time when most researchers engaged in the work were about to give it up. 2. All this has been done for the very opposite reason. 3. The experimental approach is very nearly the same as that introduced in the thirties. 4. Such studies require very detailed information concerning the processes at work.

Ex. 40. Read the sentences, state the function of either (neither) and give their Russian equivalents.

1. Neither explanation fits all the experimental evidence. 2. It is possible to make further analysis on the basis of the results obtained by either of the two methods. 3. As neither process seems to be completely excluded оn theoretical grounds, it is also possible to conceive of a third possibility. 4. The protons and the neutrons involved in the process of fission do not disappear. They do not become smaller either. 5. The possibility of a radical alteration of the climatic pattern is not excluded either. 6. They did not study the problem of wave propagation thoroughly. Neither did they make any exact calculations.

Ex. 41. Identify complex conjunctions and give their Russian equivalents.

1. Unfortunately, our difficulties in developing a new device will not only be related to, but will also greatly influence, the experiments under way. 2. Moreover, the more you learn, the easier it is for you to learn still more. 3. A student of English may have looked upon his work either as a tedious but necessary preliminary to the passing of an examination or as an interesting linguistic study. 4. The question to be decided was whether the gas contained any carbon either free or combined. 5. The suggestion is both attractive and interesting but the work is not sufficiently advanced for any definite opinion to be made. 6. If it were not for friction you could neither walk nor stop, if you were moving. 7. This theory should hold whether localized or mobile adsorption is assumed. 8. The author brings to this book the unusual qualifications of not only being thoroughly familiar with the material discussed but of having a broad understanding of its specific use to help solve regional geologic problems. 9. This discrepancy which is not important in the calculation being made here is probably due to both a variation in the properties of the photosurfaces and an experimental error. 10. Whatever the nature of the metal, the slower the rate of cooling the larger will be the size of the crystal after solidification. 11. To compare human and chimpanzee genes, one compares either homologue proteins or nucleic acids. 12. Neither the addition of heat nor the combination with air increases the weight of metal.

TEXT STUDY
(to be done in class)

I. Read the introduction to yourself and answer the questions: What is the subject at issue? Why has it become the focus for many sciences? What aspects of the problem are being discussed? What is the purpose of comparing the Earth with a spaceship?

INTRODUCTION

Now, after flights of science and fancy to other worlds, let us come back to the Earth, the object of most sciences, the origin of life, intelligence and civilization. It is sometimes compared nowadays to a spaceship with a closed ecological system. The comparison is not intended as a figure of speech, but rather to bring home the fact that the resources present in the system must be recycled if the system is to provide for the needs of the creatures that live on this planet. The problem at issue - man and his environment - has now become the focus for most sciences not because it is fashionable, as Freeman Dyson puts it, but because of its great significance for the whole of mankind. The discussion below is based on articles published in "Scientific American" and includes the following items: A. The Biosphere: Its Definition, Evolution and Possible Future. B. The Environment: Problems and Solutions. C. The Biosphere: Natural, Man-Disturbed and Man-Initiated Cycles. D. What is What, or Definition of Terms.

II. Give Russian equivalents of: a closed system; the comparison is not intended as a figure of speech.

III. Find the words equivalent to: довести до сознания; актуальная проблема; по выражению Дайсона.

Text A. The Biosphere: Its Definition, Evolution and Possible Future
(to be done in class and continued at home)

I. Look through the text concentrating on the words related to the word biosphere in meaning and write down a plan, either in English or in Russian (time limit - 10 min.).

1. The idea of the biosphere was introduced into science rather casually almost a century ago by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess, who first used the term in a discussion of the various envelopes of the earth in the last and most general chapter of a short book on the genesis of the Alps published in 1875. The concept played little part in scientific thought, however, until the publication, first in Russian in 1926 and later in French in 1929 (under the title "La Biosphere"), of two lectures by the Russian mineralogist Vladimir Ivanovitch Vernadsky. It is essentially Vernadsky's concept of the biosphere, developed about 50 years after Suess wrote, that we accept today. Vernadsky considered that the idea ultimately was derived from the French naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck, whose geochemistry, although archaically expressed, was often quite penetrating.

2. The biosphere is defined as that part of the earth in which life exists, but this definition immediately raises some problems and demands some qualifications. At considerable altitudes above the earth's surface the spores of bacteria and fungi can be obtained by passing air through filters. In general, however, such "aero-plankton" do not appear to be engaged in active metabolism. Even on the surface of the earth there are areas too dry, too cold or too hot to support metabolizing organisms, the only exception being technically equipped human explorers, but in such places also spores are commonly found. Thus, when viewed as a terrestrial envelope, the biosphere obviously has a somewhat irregular shape, inasmuch as it is surrounded by an indefinite "parabiospheric" region in which some dormant forms of life are present. Today, of course, life can exist in a space capsule or a space suit far outside the natural biosphere. Such artificial environments may best be regarded as small volumes of the biosphere nipped off and projected temporarily into space.

3. What is it that is so special about the biosphere as a terrestrial envelope? The answer seems to have three parts. First, it is a region in which liquid water can exist in substantial quantities. Second, it receives an ample supply of energy from an external source, ultimately from the sun. And third, within it are interfaces between the liquid, the solid and the gaseous states of matter. Important as these three conditions for the existence of a biosphere may be in terms of historical evolution it is not the history that we are concerned with at this point but rather what the future developments are likely to be. . .

4. Without taking too seriously any of the estimates that have been made of the expectation of the life of the sun and the solar system it is evident that the biosphere could remain habitable for a very long time, many times the estimated length of the history of the genus Homo, which might be two million years old. As inhabitants of the biosphere we should regard ourselves as being in our infancy. Many people, however, are concluding on the basis of mounting and reasonably objective evidence that the length of life of the biosphere as an inhabitable region for organisms is to be measured in decades rather than in hundreds of millions of years, with the fault being entirely that of our own species. It would seem not unlikely that we are approaching a crisis that is comparable to the one that occurred when free oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere.

5. Admittedly there are differences. The first photosynthetic organisms that produced oxygen were probably already immune to the lethal effects of the new poison gas we now breathe. On the other hand, our machines may be immune to carbon monoxide, lead and DDT. But we are not. Apart from a slight rise in agricultural productivity caused by an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is difficult to see how the various contaminants we are polluting the biosphere with could form the basis for a revolutionary step forward. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that when the eucaryotic cell * evolved in the middle Pre-cambrian period **, the process very likely involved an unprecedented new kind of evolutionary development. Presumably if we do want to continue living in the biosphere we must also introduce unprecedented processes.

6. The necessity of quite a new approach to the biosphere was realized by Vernadsky as early as the mid-forties. For not only was he the founder of modern biogeochemistry but he was also a man of deep scientific penetration and insight who could foresee the unavoidable long-range impact of production activities of man on the biosphere. According to him man has become a geological and biological factor by far exceeding everything that preceded him throughout evolution, the rate of his intervention in nature steadily increasing. Yet it was with optimism that he looked ahead when he wrote: "I think we undergo not only a historical but also a planetary change as well. We live in a transition to the noosphere." By "noosphere" Vernadsky meant the envelope of mind that was to supersede the biosphere, the envelope of life. Unfortunately the quarter-century since those words were written has shown how mindless most of the changes wrought by man on the biosphere have been. Nevertheless Vernadsky's transition in its deepest sense is the only alternative to man's cutting his life-time short by millions of years.

II. Paragraph Study

Read paragraph 1.
1. Follow the dominant noun through its transformations into its equivalents and state the main idea of the paragraph. Enumerate the contributors and their respective contributions to the concept of the biosphere chronologically. Find the sentence carrying the main point of the paragraph and explain what served you as a guide. 2. Translate the last sentence into Russian.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
* The eucaryotic cell - эукарпотичеекая клетка, развитие которой считается одной из самых великих биологических революций, происшедших на Земле (организм способный к существованию в сильно окисленных условиях).
** The middle Precambrian period - середина докембрийского периода (1,2-1,4 миллиарда лет назад), период перехода к новым формам жизни, существующим на основе кислородного обмена.

Read paragraph 2.
1. Identify the topic sentence. Follow the dominant nouns life and a part of the earth through their transformations into their equivalents and words of related meaning and see how the definition of the biosphere is elaborated. 2. Find the words which mean: споры грибов; активный обмен веществ; заторможенные формы жизни. 3. Give Russian equivalents of: it demands some qualification; at considerable altitudes; to be engaged in active metabolism; temporarily.

Read paragraph 3.
I. Follow the word biosphere through its transformations into pronouns and specify the concept of the biosphere concentrating on' the logical predicates of sentences 3, 4, 5. 2. Give Russian equivalents of: ample supply; interfaces; in terms of historical evolution; but rather; what the future developments are likely to be.

                                                                (to be continued at home in written form)

I. Read the text again without consulting the dictionary. Identify the structures according to Patterns 12, 27 - 36 and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.

II. Paragraph Study (consult the dictionary if necessary).

Read paragraph 4.
1. Find the words indicating time and copy them out. Copy out the topic sentence of the paragraph. Explain the author's choice of modal verbs. 2. Copy out the words equivalent to: измеряется десятилетиями; который можно сравнить. 3. Give Russian equivalents of: the estimates of the expectation of the life. . .; many times the estimated length; as being in our infancy.

Read paragraph 5.
1. Copy out the words from the last sentence of paragraph 4, which are opposite in meaning to the word differences. Copy out the names of the substances the author refers to as the new poison gas and the various contaminants. State the difference between the two crises, either in English or in Russian.

Read paragraph 6.
Copy out the words from the last sentence of paragraph 5 to which the phrase the necessity of a new approach is related in meaning and which show the connection between the two paragraphs. Copy out the topic sentence of the paragraph.
III. Translate into Russian the last part of the text beginning with the words "It would seem not unlikely".

Text B. The Environment: Problems and Solutions
(to be done in class)

I. See if you remember: to seek; to bring to; far ahead; to single out; to be at the root; an adverse impact; to bring to the brink of annihilation; in good shape; in running order.

II. Look through the text and write an outline of three sentences (a sentence per paragraph), either in English or in Russian (time limit - 10 minutes).

1. Should any one attempt a brief characterization of the present-day environment problems he would find it beyond the' competence of an individual scientist. For the environmental situation has long become a subject of separate and joint research efforts of biologists, chemists, and biochemists who have to combine their knowledge with the information supplied by students of geology, oceanography and meteorology, with experts in sociology, psychology and philosophy hurriedly joining in. Yet, if stated briefly, one of the causes of the present-day environmental situation should be sought in the lack of a balanced development of particular fields of knowledge, and of an adequate picture of the intricately operating whole which is our planet. The rapid and ever-growing advances in certain highly specialized fields have brought mankind far ahead of our general fundamental knowledge of the long-range effect of some technological developments, spectacular though they may appear, especially of their interplay and interdependence. It is man's intervention in nature that has singled him out from the rest of the animal world since his early days. It is this very intervention that has landed him nowadays in this highly technological world of ours, with the rate of progress in particular applied fields being faster than that in our fundamental knowledge of the general operation of the Earth. It is precisely this discrepancy between the two rates which seems to be at the root of most of today's problems. This is by no means an exhaustive explanation, ignoring as it does, the social factor.

2. The threat to his environment is a second major problem man is faced with in the mid-20th century, the first being a menace of a nuclear catastrophe. What is so peculiar about the environmental problem when compared to the other one? Surely not its global character and everybody's involvement. A nuclear catastrophe, as seen nowadays by practically everybody everywhere, would inevitably involve every country, no matter how small or big it is and would concern every individual, whatever secluded life he might be living. Should it happen, its inescapability is too obvious to be disputed. So is its explosive character. In contrast to this, the environmental crisis is of a cumulative nature. It is just the obscure and intricate pattern of the interaction of all factors that makes it so dangerous. For no single action taken, or decision made, can bring about an immediate catastrophe, nor could there be the last straw or the last step that would set in motion an avalanche of irreversible and immediate events leading to the ultimate gloomy end. It is only step by step that we approach the critical point, were there such a thing as "point" in this context.

3. Consequently, what is needed first and foremost is that we realize the possible adverse impact of the long-range effects of our actions, however noble the motives may seem to us at present on the entire human race. Out of this realization may come an entirely new approach to the problem, the new approach as proclaimed by Vernadsky of the biosphere governed and operated in accordance with the laws of the human mind. Next comes the urgent need for basic research to get more profound knowledge of the cause-effect relationship, the time factor necessarily taken into account, in the whole realm of human environment, both natural, man-disturbed and man-initiated. Fundamental and irreversible as they may often be, the changes in our environment are not likely to bring mankind to the brink of annihilation overnight. It would take us some time yet to reach there. So let us use the time for learning how to preserve our planet in good shape and in running order for an indefinitely long time.

III. Paragraph Study.

Read paragraph 1.
1. Identify the topic sentence. Try to identify the words which may be somehow associated with the idea expressed by "characterization". Identify four cases of contrast or comparison (use attributes as your guide), to be able to state one of the causes of the present-day environmental problems. 2. What is meant by "the intricately operating whole"? 3. Find the words equivalent to: недостаточно равномерное развитие конкретных областей знания и правильного представления о сложном взаимодействии процессов, происходящих внутри единого целого. 4. Give Russian equivalents of: spectacular though they may appear; it is this very intervention that has landed him. . .; ignoring as it does.

Read paragraph 2.
1. Follow the words a nuclear catastrophe and the environmental problem through their transformations into pronouns. Compare the characteristics of a nuclear catastrophe and of the environmental crisis to see their common and different features. Stale the main idea of the paragraph. 2. Find the words equivalent to: невозможность скрыться от; характер постепенного нарастания; скрытый и сложный механизм взаимодействия. 3. Identify the words used by the author to express the idea of "danger"; "inescapability"; "cumulative nature"; "critical point". 4. Give Russian equivalents of: no matter how small or big it is; whatever secluded life he might be living; should it happen; for no single action taken, or decision made, can bring about. . .; an avalanche of irreversible and immediate events.

Read paragraph 3.
1. Identify the topic sentence. State the most urgent needs of the situation. 2. What is meant by "the new approach", "to reach there" and "the time?" 3. Give Russian equivalents of: first and foremost; however noble the motives may seem to us; to bring mankind to the brink of annihilation overnight; it would take us some time yet to reach there.

IV. Read the text again and suggest a title to each paragraph.

Text C. The Biosphere: Natural, Man-Disturbed and Man-Initiated Cycles
(to be done at home in written form)

I. 1. Read the text without consulting the dictionary, pencil-mark the words that you do not understand. Divide the text into three parts and a con. elusion and suggest a title for each part. 2. Identify the structures according to Patterns 12 (9 strs), 27 (4 sirs), 29 (3 strs). 30 (4 sirs), 31 (2 strs), 32 (1 str.), 34 (5 sirs), 36 (2 sirs), 37 (2 strs) and give Russian equivalents of the relevant part of the sentence.

1. When considered dynamically, the biosphere appears an arena of complex interactions among the essential natural cycles of its major constituents, with continuous fluxes of these constituents entering the biosphere, or being released by it. Once brought into being by evolution from an inorganic environment, the living matter has profoundly altered the primitive lifeless earth, gradually changing the composition of the atmosphere, the sea, and the top layers of the solid crust both on land and under the ocean. Since then, were one to ascribe a single objective to evolution it would be the perpetuation of life. This is the single end the entire strategy of evolution is focused on, with evolution dividing the resources of any location, including its input of energy, among an ever increasing number of different kinds of users, which we recognize as plant and animal species.

2. What are the chemical elements that prove to be the essential constituents of the biosphere? The periodic table lists more than 100 chemical elements. Yet as defined by ecologists the biosphere is the locus of interaction of only four of them: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, these four being numbered 1, 6, 7 and 8 in the periodic table. Although dealing handsomely with much of the chemistry of life, this definition turns out to be a little too restrictive, ignoring as it does, the biochemical role of sulfur and phosphorus. But when enlarged to include these two, it does not go any farther up the table than element No. 16. Thus, it is a fact that most problems, the environmental ones anyway, arise from the exceptional reactivity of six of the 16 lightest elements, with the first four actually forming protein molecules, sulfur being the "stiffening" in protein and phosphorus supplying the "high-energy bond", the universal fuel for all biochemical work within the cell.

3. If the biosphere is to continue in running order, the biologically important materials must undergo cyclic changes so that after utilization they are put back, at the expense of some solar energy, into a form in which they can be reused. So far it has been nature that saw to it that the whole arrangement went on smoothly, all cycles being governed by complex mechanisms that were fitted together and held the whole in balance. Yet during the few last decades the intervention of man in the natural cycling of that unique compound we call living matter, has been going on on an unprecedented scale and at an unprecedented rate. Never before has nature been tempered with in such a drastic and not infrequently, irreversible way, with both immediate consequences and ultimate implications not even vaguely foreseeable. For too little do we know for certain about the way nature has been self-regulating for millions of years since life began, and too many variables are involved, to be able to foresee the final impact of our rapid technological development on the biosphere as an abode of life.

4. Thus, what is now recognized as a threat to our environment is caused primarily by disturbances either in the natural cycles of the six essentials, or in the energy cycle of the biosphere, energy being the driving engine of all life processes.

5. To cite but a few examples of such man-disturbed cycles of the biosphere let us consider very briefly the energy cycle. The energy that sustains all living systems is solar energy as fixed in photosynthesis and held briefly in the biosphere before being reradiated into space as heat. It is solar energy that moves every living thing on the earth. The total amount of solar energy fixed on the earth sets one limit on the total amount of life, with the patterns of flow of this energy through the earth's ecosystems setting additional limits on the kinds of life on the earth. Increasing at an unprecedented rate now is the fraction of the total energy required by expanding human activities, which, paradoxical as it may seem, make large segments of it less useful in support of man. Not only is man replacing the earth's major ecosystems with cities and land devoted to agriculture, but leakage of toxic substances from man-dominated provinces of the earth is reducing the structure and self-regulation of the remaining natural ecosystems. The trend is progressive. Easily available to man is a smaller and smaller fraction of the earth's fixed energy, and an unavoidable question arises as to how much of the energy that runs the biosphere can be diverted to the support of a single species: man.

6. Or take another example - the disturbance of the nitrogen cycle. Although man and other land animals live in an ocean of air that is 79 per cent nitrogen, their supply of food is limited more by the availability of fixed nitrogen than by that of any other-plant nutrient. By fixed is meant nitrogen incorporated in a chemical compound that can be utilized by plants and animals. Naturally this is done by the comparatively few organisms that have the ability to convert the element to a combined form. Of all man's recent interventions in the cycles of nature it is the industrial fixation of nitrogen that far exceeds all the others in magnitude. Before the large-scale manufacture of synthetic fertilizers and the wide cultivation of the nitrogen-fixing legumes one could say with some confidence that the amount of nitrogen removed from the atmosphere by natural fixation processes was closely balanced by the amount returned to the atmosphere by organisms that convert organic nitrates to gaseous nitrogen. Now one cannot be sure that the denitrifying processes are keeping pace with the fixation processes. Nor can one predict all the consequences, were nitrogen fixation to exceed denitrification over an extended period. We do know that excessive run-off of nitrogen compounds in streams and rivers can result in "blooms" of algae and intensified biological activity that deplete the available oxygen and destroy fish and other oxygen-dependent organisms, the process known nowadays as eutrophication.

7. Added to the natural cycles of the biosphere are man-initiated processes which may also be regarded as cycles of the biosphere, namely the production food and materials on a commercial scale. For as soon as these commodities began to be produced in quantity their production, utilization and disposal have become comparable with the cycling of natural essentials, and a challenge to mankind. To take but one example of the problems involved, think of the urgent need to get rid of all steel in use after its utilization. If properly cycled, all metal, glass, paper, fabrics and the like could provide raw materials for different industries. From a purely technological point of view man could in principle live comfortably on a combination of his own trash and the leanest of earth substances by processing tons of rock to obtain a gram of a useful mineral. Such a way of life would create new problems, because under those circumstances man would become a geological force transcending by orders of magnitude his present effect on the earth. Different as the world might become from the present one, there is no reason a priori why it would be necessarily unpleasant. 8. Man has it in his power technologically to maintain a high level of industrial civilization, to eliminate deprivation and hunger and to control his environment for many millenniums. His main danger is that he will not learn enough quickly enough and that he will not take adequate measures in time to forestall situations that will be very unpleasant indeed.

II. Paragraph Study (consult the dictionary if necessary).

Read paragraph 1.
1. Keeping in mind the definition of the biosphere, follow the dominant noun through the paragraph and state the main idea of the paragraph, either in English or in Russian. 2. Copy out the words equivalent .to: возникнув в ходе эволюции; единая цель; виды растений и животных. 3. Give Russian equivalents of: major constituents; to enter the biosphere; to be released by; to alter profoundly; the solid crust; the perpetuation of life; different kinds of users.

Read paragraph 2.
1. Copy out the beginning of the topic sentence of the paragraph. 2. Give Russian equivalents of: although dealing handsomely with much of the chemistry of life; the environmental ones anyway; the universal fuel for all biochemical work within the cell.

Read paragraphs 3 and 4.
1. Copy out the beginning of the topic sentence of the paragraph. 2. Copy out the words equivalent to: об этом заботилась сама природа; вся система в целом; никогда раньше природа не подвергалась такому кардинальному и нередко необратимому преобразованию. 3. Give Russian equivalents of: in running order; to undergo cyclic changes; to put back; to fit together; on an unprecedented scale; immediate consequences and ultimate implications; too many variables are involved.

Read paragraph 5.
1. Follow the dominant noun through its transformations into its equivalents and pronouns and state the main problem arising as a result of the disturbance of the energy cycle. 2. Give Russian equivalents of: the patterns of flow of this energy; large segments; leakage of toxic substances. . . is reducing the structure; the trend is progressive.

Read paragraph 6.
1. Follow the dominant noun through its transformations into its equivalents and pronouns and state the main problem arising as a result of the disturbance of the nitrogen cycle. 2. Find the words equivalent to: в природе; происходят с той же скоростью, что и. . .; слишком большой сток; уменьшает содержание кислорода в воде. 3. Give Russian equivalents of: the availability of; the ability to convert the element to a combined form; to exceed in magnitude; over an extended period.

Read paragraphs 7 and 8.
State one of the main problems arising in connection with man-initiated processes.

III. Translate paragraphs 7 and 8 into Russian.
IV. Make up a list of words that you have looked up in the dictionary and give their contextual Russian equivalents.

Text D. What Is What, or Definition of Terms
(to be done in class)

1. Mr. A. Nowadays we very often hear about the threat to man's environment, and quite a few terms associated with the subject have entered the everyday vocabulary of newspapers, radio and TV
Mr. B. Which words do you mean?
2. Mr. A. Well, such as ecosystem, ecology, biota, biosphere and some others. Are you sure the lay public has a clear idea of what they stand for?
Mr. B. Not always, perhaps, and should I be asked to define them, I would find it rather difficult.
Mr. A. Why so?
Mr. B. Because when intended for a layman, all definitons are simplified and thus inaccurate.
Mr. A. But don't you think that only when expressed in a popular form do some things become clear to those who explain them?
Mr. B. So they do, sometimes, that's true. As to our subject, it would be proper, perhaps, to begin by stating what ecology deals with.
3. Mr. A. I know it's a branch of biology, but as to its particular subject, I am not sure I know what it is.
Mr. B. Well, it is the relations between plants and animals and their non-living environment, that is, their "house", "eco" coming from Greek and meaning "house".
Mr. A. Then, an ecosystem is. . .
Mr. B. . . .a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment. Serving as good examples of ecosystems are forest, tundra, lakes, rivers, etc.

4. Mr. A. Then, if extended to include man and his environment, a modern city can also be regarded as an ecosystem, artificial though it may be.
Mr. B. So it is, by ecologists. Also of Greek origin is the word biota originally meaning life. Now it has come to stand for the animal and plant life of a region or a period. As to the biosphere, it is defined in the previous text. Connected with it in the present context are also the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.
5. Mr. A. The first two words - the atmosphere and the hydro sphere - are common enough to require no definition. I don't suppose the same is true of the lithosphere.
Mr. B. Neither do I. Here again, the first part of the word is borrowed from Greek and means "stone", the lithosphere being actually the crust of the earth, the source of all mineral resources.
6. Mr. B. Now, are we through with our list of what is what? Mr. A. Just one more question, if you don't mind. I don't quite
understand what is meant by the noosphere, or the envelope of mind.
Mr. B. Nor is it widely used. More common and self-explanatory, perhaps, is the word "biotechnosphere", which means the same: man's attempts to regulate and control the biosphere in accordance with the laws of nature, and to his own benefit.
Mr. A. Yes, now I see what it is. Thank you.

Tape 1. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them:
I. threat - - угроза; 2. environment - окружающая среда; 3. terms - термины; 4. everyday vocabulary - повседневный словарь.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 1 and answer the questions:
1. What does the speaker mean by "the subject"? (Key: the threat to man's environment.) 2. What new terms have entered the everyday vocabulary of newspapers, radio and TV? (Key: ecosystem, ecology, biota, biosphere and some others.)

IV. Listen to the passage, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Tape 2. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them:
I. lay public - неспециалисты; 2. layman - неспециалист, дилетант; 3 inaccurate definitions - неточные определения; 4. il would be proper было бы уместно.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 2 and answer the questions:
1. When are all definitions simplified and inaccurate? (Key: when intended for a layman.) 2. When do things become clear to those who explain them? (Key: when expressed in a popular form.) 3. Is the above statement always true? (Key: It is sometimes true.) 4. What does speaker В define first? (Key: what ecology deals with.)

IV. Listen to the passage, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Tape 3. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them.:
I. non-living environment - неживая среда; 2. it comes from Greek - оно происходит из греческого языка; 3. interaction - взаимодействие; 4 a community of organisms - некая совокупность организмов.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 3 and answer the questions:
1. What is the particular subject of ecology? (Key: the relations between plants and animals and their non-living environment.) 2. What equivalent of the non-living environment is used? (key: "house".) 3. What does the word eco mean? (Key: "house".) 4. What is ecosystem? (Key: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.) 5. What are the examples of ecosystems? (Key: forest, tundra, lakes, rivers etc.)

IV. Listen to the passage, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Tape 4. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them:
I. artificial - искусственный; 2. though - хотя; 3. it has come to stand for - оно стало означать (употребляться вместо. . .); 4. region - район.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 4 and answer the questions:
1. What is extended to include man and his environment? (Key: the definition of an ecosystem.) 2. How do ecologists treat a modern city? (Key: as an artificial ecosystem.) 3. Is a definition of biosphere given here? (Key: No, it is not. It is defined in the previous text.) 4. What language does the word biota come from? What does it mean? (Key: from Greek, it means "life"). 5. What word has come to stand for "the animal and plant life of region or period"? (Key: the word "biota".) 6. What is connected with the biosphere in the present context? (Key: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.)

IV. Listen to the passage, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Tape 5. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them:
1. to require - требовать; 2. the same is true of ... - то же самое справедливо; 3. to borrow from Greek - заимствовать из греческого языка;
4. the crust of the earth - кора земли; 5. the source of mineral resources - источник полезных ископаемых.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 5 and answer the questions:
1. Why do the words atmosphere and hydrosphere require no definition? (Key: they are common enough.) 2. Do the speakers agree that the lithosphere requires a definition? (Key: Yes, they do.) 3. What does the word litho mean? (Key: stone.) 4. What is lithosphere? (Key: It is the crust of the earth, the source of all mineral resources.)

IV. Listen to the passage, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Tape 6. I. Listen to the following words and expressions and remember them:
I. to be through with - закончить что-либо; 2. if you don't mind - если вы не возражаете; 3. envelope - оболочка; 4. self-explanatory - самоочевидный; 5. to his own benefit - на свое собственное благо.

II. Listen to the words and expressions again and repeat them after the speaker. Write them down.

III. Listen to passage 6 and answer the questions:
1. Is a definition of the noosphere given? (Key: No, it is not.) 2. What words reveal the meaning of the noosphere? (Key: the envelope of mind.) 3. Do the words noosphere and biotechnosphere have the same meaning? (Key: Yes, they do.) 4. What do the above words mean? (Key: man's attempts to regulate and control the biosphere in accordance with the laws of nature, and to his own benefit.)

IV. Listen to the passage again, sentence by sentence, and repeat them after the speaker.

Laboratory Work

Listen to the dialogue, write it down, hand it over to your teacher for checking up. Learn it by heart.