READING Text 1 1. Read the text and do exercises after the text. AN UNNATURAL DISASTER Pressing economic and social problems have plagued the worldacute;s developing nations in the decades following World War II. The demand for natural resources, the creation of jobs, and the need for more open land to settle growing populations have led many nations to introduce deforestation programs. Although a useful short-term solution to economic problems, deforestation has disastrous consequences. Deforestation can decrease soil quality and create erosion problems, reducing rich forests to wastelands. The destruction of the tropical rain forests in Brazil threatens to alter the worldacute;s climate and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Deforestation recently led to a major disaster in Thailand. The Thai governmentacute;s 30-year policy of encouraging logging resulted in the loss of fully half the nationacute;s forests. A violent rainstorm that hit one of the deforested regions in November 1988 created flash floods on the bare, muddy hillsides. These floods killed 400 people and left thousands more injured and homeless. If the forests had remained to absorb the downpour, floods would not have threatened the valleyacute;s residents. By ignoring the consequences of their actions, Thai officials and loggers not only destroyed a vital resource but also created a disaster. Experts say the destructive floods have set the regionacute;s economy back 20 years. A) Decide whether the statements below are T (True) or F (False). If the statement is false – write the correct sentence. 1. The text describes the air pollution. 2. People need more and more land to settle down. 3. Deforestation can increase soil quality. 4. Cutting forests is dangerous for people. 5. The destruction of forests can cause the change of the climate. B) Answer the following questions. 1. What problem is described in the text? 2. What other environmental problems do you know? 3. Is the problem mentioned typical in our country and in your region? 4. Do you think our planet is in danger? Why? 5. Do you believe this problem is solvable? 6. What should everyone do to protect nature? Text 2 2. Read the text below and decide if the sentences are true or false. If the sentence is true – write (T), if the sentence is false – write (F) and write the correct variant. 1. Edison is famous for his great achievements. 2. He did not get any education at school. 3. He likes to visit a public library and read a lot of books every week. 4. Businessman bought his invention for two thousand dollars. 5. Edison considered that inspiration is more important than perspiration. EDISON Edison is known as one of the greatest inventors of his time. He invented so much that it is difficult to say which of his achievements is the greatest. He was an experimenter and a practical man more than a theoretician. Edison did not have any education. He went to school for only three months. Then he left because the teacher considered him a dull boy. His mother became his teacher. The boy loved books and his mother said that he had a wonderful memory. When he first visited a public library and saw a lot of shelves with books he decided that he would read all of them and then he would know everything in the world. He measured the shelf and decided to read a foot of books every week. In 1868 Edison built his first patented invention – an electromagnetic device. It is said that he planned to ask three thousand dollars for his invention, though he secretly decided he would sell it for two thousand if necessary He was invited to a meeting of businessmen who were interested in buying his invention, but when he was asked to name a price he was very nervous and quite unable to speak. «It is no use asking us a big price», said one of the businessmen, «we’ve already decided how much we will pay. Forty thousand dollars is our limit».
With this money Edison established a workshop and began his career as a professional inventor at the age of twenty-two. All his inventions were the result of hard work. He sometimes conducted thousands of experiments. According to him, the idea that a genius works only by inspiration was absurd. «Genius is 2 per cent inspiration and 98 per cent perspiration», he often said. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR 3. A. Match the words with their definitions. 1. environmental 2. deforestation 3. disasters 4. solution 5. greenhouse effect a. terrible accident b. gradual warming of the air c. surrounding d. answer to a question e. cutting all the trees in the area B. Choose the correct translation of the underlined word from the variants a, b or c. 1. The new road to be constructed will be the longest in the city. a) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû ïîñòðîèòü b) êîòîðûå áóäóò ñòðîèòü ñ) ñòðîèòü 2. To drive a car in a big city is very difficult. a) âîäèòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû âîäèòü ñ) áóäóò âîäèòü 3. To detect objects over a great distance a special device is used. a) îáíàðóæèòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû îáíàðóæèâàòü ñ) îáíàðóæåíèå 4. To drive a car in a big city you should know the rules. a) âîäèòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû âîäèòü ñ) âîæäåíèå 5. To detect objects over a great distance was very difficult. a) îáíàðóæèâàòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû îáíàðóæèòü ñ) îáíàðóæèâ 6. The experiment to be carried out is at great important. a) ïðîâîäèòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû ïðîâîäèòü ñ) êîòîðóþ áóäóò ïðîâîäèòü 7. To extend the main street they had to destroy some old buildings. a) ðàçðóøèòü b) äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû ðàçðóøèòü ñ) ðàçðóøåíèå TRANSLATION 4. A. Choose the correct translation of the underlined word. 1. Electrons forming an atom are in motion a) îáðàçóþùèå b) îáðàçóþò c) îáðàçóÿ 2. Developing a device, an engineer used a new method a) ðàçðàáîòêà b) ðàçðàáàòûâàÿ c) ðàçðàáàòûâàþùèé 3. Our scientists are preparing programmes for automatic devices a) ãîòîâÿùèå b) ãîòîâÿò c) ãîòîâÿ 4. Electron microscopes being very useful instruments, they are used today in many laboratories a) ÿâëÿþùèåñÿ b) ÿâëÿÿñü c) ÿâëÿþòñÿ 5. Electrons äâèæóùèåñÿ from one atom of any substance to another form the flow called an electric current a) are moving b) by moving c) moving 6. Îæèäàÿ for him I looked through the magazines lying on the table a) waiting b) is waiting c) on waiting B. Translate the sentences from English into Russian. 1. They spoke about their traveling to the North. 2. After receiving good results they stopped experiments. 3. I know of his having been appointed to a new job. 4. Substances used in the experiment gave good results 5. When analyzed, the data were confirmed 6. Having looked through all the documents and letters received that day he called his secretary. 7. They spoke about their traveling to the North. 8. After receiving good results they stopped experiments. WRITING 5. Write an abstract of the text below. SATELLITES Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives. For example, the information for weather forecast is sent by satellites. Some satellites have cameras which take photos of the Earth to show how clouds are moving. Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls. Television satellites We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another. They are usually 35,880 kilometers above the equator. Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place. This is because it is moving around the world at 11,000 kilometers per hour – exactly the same speed that the earth rotates. A satellites must orbit the Earth with its antennae facing the Earth. Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit, so there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position. This usually happens about every five or six days. Computer connections of the World Wide Web ad Internet also us satellites.