Английский язык. Учебно-методическое пособие к практическим занятиям для биологов бакалавриата и магистратуры

4. Copy out of each paragraph the sentences containing the most important information.

5. Express the main idea of the whole text in English.

UNIT VII

New words and expressions:

surround – окружать

accompany – сопровождать

owing to – из-за, по причине, вследствие

underestimate – недооценивать

confident – уверенный

benefit – польза, выгода

outweigh – перевешивать

harm – вред

experience – опыт

throe – муки, агония

reverse – изменять

rectify – исправлять

appeal – взывать, обращаться

proposal – предложение

caution – осторожность, предупреждение

disrupt – сорвать

cause – причинять, вызывать, заставлять

collapse – падение, крах, провал

Read the international words and give their Russian equivalents:

scale, negative, human, massive, planner, engineer, radical, result, experience, hydrological, period, process, correct, complex, management, collapse.

Conclusions

The Aral Sea and surrounding region has suffered large scale negative environmental change accompanied by major economic losses and human suffering over the past 4 decades owing to development of massive irrigation works. Soviet planners and engineers in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s underestimated both the range and severity of these consequences. They were confident that the socio-economic benefits of irrigation development outweigh any harm that might result.

What lesson can be learnt from the Aral Sea experience?

1) Once a large hydrological system such as the Aral Sea basin is in the throes of radical change, it is very difficult, costly and requires a lengthy period to reverse the process (i. e. it is much easier to create such problems than to rectify them).

2) Simplistic and, at first glance, appealing proposals to correct complex water management problems in the Aral Sea basin quickly (e. g. through rapid and massive cuts in irrigation to free water for the Aral Sea) should be approached with caution as they may so disrupt the economy as to cause its collapse.

From "Surviving Together" P.P.Micklin, Ph.D.

EXERCISES:

1. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following wordsandword-combinations:

большие экономические потери, за последние 4 десятилетия, переоценить, быть уверенным, социально-экономическая выгода, перевесить, с осторожностью.

2. Form verbs from the following nouns and translate them into

Russian:

change, loss, suffering, development, irrigation, work, planner, weight, result, creation, appeal, proposal, correction, management, cut, freedom, approach, cause.

3. Translate this text in written form.

4. Make up 10 questions connected with the Aral Sea problem.

5. Use the following suggested topics for discussion:

1. Environmental consequences of the Aral Sea recession.

2. Economic consequences of the Aral Sea recession.

3. Future of the Aral Sea.

4. My specialty – applied ecology.

6.Read the texts again and make a report about the Aral Sea problem.

UNIT VIII

New words and expressions:

effect – следствие, действие, эффект

blast – взрывная волна, струя

leak – утечка, течь, просачиваться

allowable – допустимый

facility – оборудование, приспособление

topsoil – верхний слой почвы

scrap – остатки

strew (strewed, strewn) – разбрасывать

disintegrate – разлагаться

deformity – уродство

rim – край

disability – неспособность, бессилие

Read the international words and give their Russian equivalents:

nuclear, test, resident, radioactive, radiation, radionuclides, atmosphere, cubic, region, portion, territory, toxic, specialist, dose, material, nitrates, identify, locate, local, substance, atomic, import, crater, airplane, infection, national, incident, psychiatric, chemical, medical, medicines, socially, global, civilian, military, active, control, utilize, operate, official, period, polygon, metal.

FACING THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR TESTING

TRYING TO SAVE NATURE AND HUMAN LIFE

Many global environmentalists have heard of the effects on the civilian population of the nuclear testing that took place over several decades in Semipalatinsk. Few, however, are aware of the other five military testing sites in Kazakhstan. The conditions in the Kapustin Jar region are described here.