The Problem of Environmental Protection

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Environmental protection is the main problem facing humanity nowadays. The image of a sick planet has become firmly established in public mind lately. Ten years ago the word “ecology” hardly meant anything for the majority of people, but today we can’t help bearing it in our minds.

The poisoning of the world’s land, air and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilization. It probably produces fewer headlines than wars, earthquakes and floods, but it is potentially one of the history’s greatest dangers to human life on earth. If present trends continue for the next several decades, our planet will become uninhabitable.

Overpopulation, pollution and energy consumption have created such planet- wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains, droughts and the global warming that is believed to be caused by the greenhouse effect. Scientists in many countries are very much concerned about drastic changes in weather patterns. The worst drought, the mildest winter and the most devastating hurricanes have become typical in those parts of the world where they used to be a rare occurrence. What is the reason for people getting so much worried about the state of environment?

The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is the following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, nothing will be able to live in the seas.

Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years from now.

Air pollution is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is life threatening-equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same is true for Mexico City and 600cities of the former Soviet Union.

Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substances. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. An even greater environmental threat is nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.

People begin to realize that environmental problems are not somebody else’s. They join and support various international organizations and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening- perhaps we’ll be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world and all of us with it.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the main problem facing humanity nowadays?

2. What is one of the history’s greatest dangers to human life?

3. When will our planet become uninhabitable?

4. What is the reason of massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains, etc.?

5. Are there drastic changes in weather patterns? What are they?

6. What is on the brink of extinction?

7. Is air pollution a very serious problem?

8. What is the main reason for greenhouse effect and acid rains?

9. Will we be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world?

UNIT 3. SCIENCE

The concept of science

Science is a sphere of human activity which function is development and theoretical ordering of objective knowledge of the validity; one of forms of public consciousness. During historical development the development of science turns to productive force of a society and the major social institute. Concept “science” includes both activity on reception of new knowledge, and result of this activity – the sum of the scientific knowledge received to the given moment forming in aggregate a scientific picture of the world. The term “science” is used also for a designation of separate branches of scientific knowledge

The direct purposes of the Science – the description, an explanation and a prediction of processes and the phenomena of the validity making a subject of her studying on the basis of laws opened by her, in a broad sense – theoretical reflection of the validity.

Vocabulary

sphere сфера

development развитие

theoretical ordering теоретическое обоснование

validity действительность, законность

consciousness сознание

productive force производительная сила

concept термин

to include включать

reception получение

a sum сумма, количество

the scientific knowledge научные знания

to form in aggregate picture of the world формировать общую

научную картину мира

designation конструирование, формирование

separate branches отдельные отрасли (науки)

purpose цель

description описание

explanation объяснение

prediction предсказание

in a broad sense в широком смысле

reflection отражение

Exercises

I. Read and translate the text.

II. Look through the vocabulary. Make up a situation or

Sentences using the words.

III. Learn the words and be ready to write a dictation.

IV. Translate from English into Russian.

Sphere of human activity, theoretical ordering of objective knowledge, form of public consciousness, the major social institute, the result of the activity, the given moment, scientific knowledge, the direct purposes, the basis of laws, the validity.

V. Translate from Russian into English.

Функция, на протяжении исторического развития, главный социальный институт, деятельность, закон, феномен,, картина мира, новые знания, использовать, также, научное знание, предмет, изучение, открытые наукой, теоретический.

VI. Answer the following questions.

1. What is science?

2. Can you tell the function of science?

3. What does concept “science” include?

4. For what purpose is the term “science” used?

5. Enumerate the direct purposes of the science.

VII. Combine the following sentences.

1. the, to, force, of, and, social, science, the, of, historical, turns, productive, society, major, institute, during, development, a.

2. is, of, scientific, the, “science”, also, for, of, branches, knowledge, a, designation, term, used, separate.

3. purposes, the, an, direct, the, and, explanation, the, a, description, of, science, prediction, the, of, phenomena, the, of, validity, and, processes.

VIII. Retell the text.

Structure of a science.

The scientific disciplines forming in the set system of a science as a whole, rather conditionally it is possible to subdivide into 3 big groups -natural, public and the engineering science differing in the subjects and methods. The sharp side between these subsystems is not present - a number of scientific disciplines borrow intermediate position. So, for example, on a joint technical and social studies there is an industrial art, between natural and engineering science - bionics, between natural and social studies - economic geography. Each of the specified subsystems, in turn, forms system in the various ways the coordinated, subject and methodical communications of separate sciences that does a problem of their detailed classification of the extremely complex and completely not decided about one today.

Alongside with the traditional researches spent within the framework of any one branch of a science, problem character of orientation of a modern science has caused wide expansion of the interdisciplinary and complex researches spent by means of several various scientific disciplines which concrete combination is defined by character of a corresponding problem by a life. An example of it is research of problems of the wildlife management, taking place on a crossroads of engineering science, biology, sciences about the Earth, medicine, economy, mathematics, etc. Such problems arising in connection with the decision of large-scale enterprises, and social problems, are typical for a modern science.

Vocabulary

Discipline дисциплина

as a whole в целом

to subdivide подразделять

to differ различать

sharp точный

to borrow занимать

specified специальный

in turn в свою очередь

detailed подробный

alongside совместно

research исследование

enterprise предприятие

Exercises

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