Английский язык

11. A recently noticed phenomenon that could lead to the potential loss of diversity among the sturgeon species is the hybridization that has occurred between sturgeon from the Black Sea and those in the Caspian Sea. This has come about through the connection now possible via the Don-Volga Canal. The Canal also permits the accidental introduction of exotic species from the Black Sea and, via ballast water discharge, from the world s water. While its precise effects are currently hard to evaluate, it is a cause of concern.

12. Coastal wetlands attract a variety of birds that are prolific throughout the year in and around the Caspian, with their numbers swelling enormously during the migration seasons when many species visit the extensive deltas, shallows and other wetlands. It is at these times that ecologically-motivated visitors could be guided into carefully selected vantage points and allowed to experience the beauty and the bounty of protected ecological resources. Such ecotourism, carefully planned and managed, has tremendous potential both as an income earner and as an excellent mechanism to educate and inform the interested public, whether they are local or foreign visitors. Terrestrial flora and fauna are quite diverse as well, and include several thousand flowering plants, with a rate of endemicity locally reaching 20 %. A similar range of diversity is seen among insects, reptiles, birds and mammals.

c) Socio-economic features

13. The Caspian basin, together with the Ural Mountain chain, is considered the boundary between Europe and Asia and has seen centuries of commerce along ancient caravan routes such as the Great Silk Road. The current total population around the Caspian is estimated at about 5million, with the main urban centers concentrated on the western and southern shores. In the west, Baku is the largest city on the Caspian coast, with a population of 1.7 million. The balance of the Caspian basin population resides in cities or towns ranging in size from 20,000 to 670,000, plus about 1, 000,000 rural inhabitant and. In 1995, the annual GNR per capita was as follows: Azerbaijan US$1240; Iran US$2030; Russian US$3470; Turkenistan US$1440. As such, all Caspian countries qualify for GEF assistance.

14. The principal economic activities in the Caspian basin are fisheries, agriculture, petroleum production and related downstream industries. The sea contains over 80 % of the world's sturgeon stock as well as substantial stocks of other commercially valuable species. Revenues to the littoral countries from sturgeon, including caviar, are thought to total US$6 billion annually. Rice and vegetable cultivation and cattle and sheep husbandry are the prime agricultural activities in the catchment area. Oil exploration and production are increasing along the northern and eastern shelves of the Caspian and are already well established in the Baku and Tenghiz regions. Oil production is expected to increase substantially over the next few years, with several western companies and consortia bidding for concessions.

EXERCISES:

1.Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and word – combinations:

территориальная водная масса; объем воды; так называемые Бояровские бугры; отражение измерения глубины; в естественных условиях, колебание на поверхностном уровне, жизненные ресурсы, водная среда, обеспечивать ценные экономические ресурсы, обнаруживаемый на Байкале, недавно замеченные явления, экзотические виды, трудно оценить, причина серьезного беспокойства, мотивированные посетители, тщательно планированный и управляемый, источник дохода, просвещать и информировать заинтересованную общественность, зеленая флора и фауна, выращивание риса и овощей, скотоводство и овцеводство.

2. Translate into Russian paying attention to the pattern Noun + Participle I and Participle II.

The Caspian sea, called the jewel of two continents; body of water, encompassing; Apsheron threshold, connecting zhiloi island; the west part of the delta, flowing south; Caspian waters mix rapidly, causing a marked increase; rise in water level, bearing in mind the levels … prevail around its perimeter, resulting in a significant degree of biological diversity, such ecotourism, carefully planned and managed.

3. Translate is English:

1. Около 130 больших и малых рек впадают в Каспий, почти все из них впадают в северное и западное побережье.

2. Средняя соленость составляет выше 1/3 морской воды.

3. Значительный объем воды протекает через пролив длиной 8 км. скоростью 50-100 см/ сек.

4. В 1980 году пролив был прегражден дамбой, после чего Кара Богаз Коль лишился, воды Каспийского моря.

5. аиболее выпуклой физической характеристикой Каспия – это постоянное колебание его поверхностного уровня.