UNIT 6 – PATIENT EARTH

LEAD-IN

Many people in the media (and elsewhere) use the terms "climate change" and "global
warming" interchangeably, as if they were the same thing. But there are differences between the
meanings of the two terms.

Think how you can define climate change.

How is climate change different from/related to global warming?
What is the difference between weather and climate?

READING 1: Causes of Climate Change

TEXT 1

Read the text on Demography and Climate Change to define the major environmental
hazards of today.
DEMOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Jan 21st 2012
Economist print edition
There is now little doubt that climate change has become a reality. Glaciers are melting all
over the world. Weather patterns are becoming more erratic. The IPPC forecasts increases of global
mean temperatures of up to 5.8 degrees Celsius* this century and sea level rises of up to one meter.
Half the world's people live within 50 km of seashores and their lives will be severely affected by
flooding. Up to a million species of
plants and animals could be extinct due
to climate change.
The world’s human population
doubled from 1 to 2 billion between
1800 and 1930, and then doubled again
by 1975. On the 31 of October 2011, it
surpassed 7 billion. The combination of
growing populations and increasing
levels of resource consumption is
degrading and depleting the natural
resource base. At the same time
burgeoning population and industry and
the ensuing pollution have demonstrated
how easily delicately balanced
ecological relationships can be disrupted.
In recent years, the depletion of natural resources has become a major focus of governments
and organizations such as the United Nations (UN). This is evident in the UN’s Agenda 21 which
outlines the necessary steps to be taken by countries to ensure sustainability of their natural
resources. Despite mounting efforts over the past 20 years, the loss of the world's biological
diversity, mainly from habitat destruction, over-harvesting and pollution has continued. Urgent and

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decisive action is needed to conserve species and ecosystems, with a view to the sustainable
management and use of biological resources.
As the world’s population grows unsustainably, so do its unyielding demands for water,
land, trees and fossil fuels — all of which come at a steep price for already endangered plants and
animals. Most biologists agree we’re in the midst of the Earth’s sixth mass extinction event; species
are disappearing about 1,000 times faster than is typical of the planet’s history. This time, though, it
isn’t because of geologic or cosmic forces.
By any ecological measure, Homo sapiens sapiens has exceeded its sustainable population
size. Just a single human waste product — greenhouse gas — has drastically altered the chemistry
of the planet’s atmosphere and oceans, causing global warming and ocean acidification.
We can reduce our own population to an ecologically sustainable level in a number of ways,
including the empowerment of women, education of all people, universal access to birth control and
a societal commitment to ensuring that all species are given a chance to live and thrive. All of these
steps will decrease human poverty and overcrowding, raise our standard of living and sustain the
lives of plants, animals and ecosystems everywhere.

Explain, how in your understanding global warming actually works. What is a greenhouse
effect? What other factors apart from human population growth contribute to climate change?

*To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, you multiply by 9/5 and add 32.
To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius you subtract 32 then multiply by 5/9.
 Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
 Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit
 The commonly accepted average core body temperature is 37.0 C (98.6 F) (in Russia, the
commonly quoted value is 36.6 C (97.9 F)
 1 km is 0.6 mile (100kph=60mph)
 1 mile is 1.6 km (50mph=80kph)
 1 meter is 3.3 feet
 1 foot is 30.48 cm
 1 kilo is 2.2 pounds
 1 pound is 453 grams

TEXT 2
CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH

Stefan Bronnimann
Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Switzerland
…The questions of whether and how climate changes and whether and how man influences
climate have been debated by scientists at least since Theophrastus in the 4th century B.C. His
works were translated into Latin in the Renaissance period and were influential to the thinking of
scientists at that time. In the early and mid-18th century, climate change was a subject treated by the
philosophers of the enlightenment period such as Montesquieu and Hume. More scientific
approaches to climate change research started in the second half of the 18th century, in line with
efforts in agricultural, forestry and medical research and further advanced by scientific travelling
and exchange and the availability of meteorological instruments.
A milestone in the history of climate change research and its public awareness was the
theory of ice ages which had important implications for climate research in general. It required

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mechanisms able to explain a large change in mean temperature. This challenge was a trigger for
many climate change theories, some of which have influenced the discussion until today.
The processes considered in the 19th century to cause shorter-term climate changes were
mainly solar influences and anthropogenic activity, but volcanic forcing and the melting of ice
sheets and glaciers were also discussed. Among the anthropogenic influences on climate, the oldest
topic is the effect of land-use changes. The debate on this topic became more and more popular
during the 19th century when in many European countries deforestation and desertification became
politically relevant. Effects of anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion on weather and climate have
been considered since the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, the debates about climate
change and anthropogenic influence on climate was not confined to the scientific community, but
also included political institutions and was carried out in public.
Since 2001, greatly improved computer models and an abundance of data of many kinds
strengthened the conclusion that human emissions are very likely to cause serious climate change.
Most scientists and ever larger number of individuals, corporate entities, and government agencies
at every level decided that something had to be done. They found that effective steps could be taken
right now that are not only cheap and effective, but will actually pay for themselves. For example,
coal-fired power plants could be taxed in proportion to their emissions. This could be compensated
by an equal decrease in other taxes, leaving government revenue unchanged. (A market-based "cap
and trade" system of selling permits to emit pollution can be designed to have an equivalent effect.)
The most effective way to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and at the same
time advance prosperity is to develop better technologies and practices. One of such technologies is
carbon capture and storage (CCS), (carbon capture and sequestration), which is aimed at preventing
the release of large quantities of CO 2 into the atmosphere from fossil fuel use in power generation
and other industries. It is a potential means of mitigating the contribution of fossil fuel emissions to
global warming.
It is now very nearly certain that global warming is upon us. It is prudent to expect that
weather patterns will continue to change and the seas will continue to rise, in an ever worsening
pattern, through our lifetimes and on into our grandchildren's. The question has graduated from the
scientific community: climate change is a major social, economic and political issue. Nearly
everyone in the world will need to adjust. Citizens will need reliable information, the flexibility to
change their personal lives, and efficient and appropriate help from all levels of government. So it is
an important job, in some ways our top priority, to improve the communication of knowledge, and
to strengthen democratic control in governance everywhere. The spirit of fact-gathering, rational
discussion, toleration of dissent, and negotiation of an evolving consensus, which has characterized
the climate science community, can serve well as a model.

LANGUAGE FILE to Reading 1

Ex.1 In the texts, find words corresponding to the following definitions or synonymous with
the following words:

 not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable (adj)

 growing or increasing rapidly; flourishing (adj)
 a significant stage or event in the development of something (n)
 things that are likely to happen as a result of sth. (n)
 an event that is the cause of a particular action, process, or situation (n)
 a very large quantity of something, plentifulness (n)

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 make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful (v)
 sensible and careful (adj)
 adapt or become used to a new situation (v)
 trustworthy (adj)
 ability to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances (n)
 suitable or proper in the circumstances (adj)
 the holding or expression of opinions at variance with those commonly or officially held (n)

Ex.2 Fill in the gaps with the words from the previous assignment according to the context:
1. New Hampshire's commercial development activity will continue ______ to changing
supply and demand forces in 2012.
2. Geothermal electricity – generated in ______ in Iceland – would be pumped to the UK
through a ‘supergrid’ of high-voltage cables laid on the ocean floor.
3. Six astronauts are celebrating two historic human spaceflight ______ today: the first human
spaceflight and the risky first launch of NASA's space shuttle era.
4. Northern Ireland's only Confucius Institute is to celebrate the country’s ______ relationship
with China with a week of cultural events.
5. A lawmaker on Thursday said North Korea’s rocket launch will likely have negative ______
on the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region.
6. Spain urged its EU peers to be ______ when making comments about its economic woes on
Wednesday following criticism from France and Italy,
7. Higher temperatures, less rainfall, more ______ weather conditions: farmers are already
noticing changes in the global climate.
8. Last week skirmishes between troops and rebels tested a shaky ceasefire to end a 13-month
crackdown on ______ that has killed thousands.
9. Stronger global governance is needed to ______ human impacts on the earth's climate and to
ensure sustainable development.
10. Mitsubishi has a long and lucrative history of producing safe, ______, affordable and fuel-
efficient vehicles.
11. The Federal Reserve's ultra-easy monetary policy is ______ given high unemployment and
the headwinds facing the economy.
12. China on Tuesday urged Iran and the world powers to demonstrate ______ and patience,
saying it will help establish trust needed to resolve the issue peacefully.
13. Subprime mortgages and the housing bubble were the ______ that led to the financial crisis.

SPEAKING 1: Individual Statements

Apart from climate change what other environmental threats do we face? Make a list
of the threats in order of priority.
Choose two which in your opinion are the deadliest and get ready with a 3-minute
statement on them. You may want to use the items on Topical Vocabulary list -1 below:

 melting glaciers
 erratic weather patterns
 increase of global mean temperature
 rising sea level
 extinct species of plants and animals

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 increasing levels of resource consumption
 to degrade/deplete the natural resources
 to ensure sustainability of natural resources
 the loss of biological diversity
 habitat destruction
 over-harvesting (over-fishing)
 to conserve species
 to endanger plants and animals
 ecologically sustainable level of population

READING 2: Environmental Awareness Quiz

1. What is the most common cause of pollution of streams, rivers, and oceans?
a. Dumping of garbage by cities
b. Surface water running off yards, city streets, paved lots, and farm fields
c. Trash washed into the ocean from beaches, or
d. Waste dumped by factories?
2. Which of the following is a renewable resource?
a. Oil
b. Iron ore
c. Trees
d. Coal
3. Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth's upper atmosphere. What does ozone
protect us from?
a. Acid rain
b. Global warming
c. Sudden changes in temperature
d. Harmful, cancer-causing sunlight
4. Which of the following household wastes is considered hazardous waste?
a. Plastic packaging
b. Glass
c. Batteries
d. Spoiled food?
5. What is the most common reason that an animal species becomes extinct?
a. Pesticides are killing them
b. Their habitats are being destroyed by humans
c. There is too much hunting, or
d. There are climate changes that affect them
6. Which of the following is NOT a renewable resource?
a. Ethanol
b. Natural gas
c. Hydrogen
d. Methanol
7. Which of the following accounts for the largest percentage of total waste in developed
countries?

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a. Organic waste
b. Paper
c. Plastic
d. Glass
8. Approximately how much of global electricity output is produced from renewable
sources?
a. 1%
b. 5%
c. 8%
d. 20%
9. Vegetarian diets are more environmentally friendly than meat-based diets
a. True
b. False
10. 18% of all litter ends up in waterways
a. True
b. False
11. Air pollution causes 2 million premature deaths per year worldwide
a. True
b. False
12. Compared to people in many developing countries, North Americans use
a. 5 times as much energy
b. 15 times as much energy
c. 50 times as much energy
13. How many years did it take nature to make oil?
a. 2,000 years
b. 2 million years
c. 200 million years
14. What percent of water on earth is fresh water?
a. 23%
b. 15%
c. 8%
d. 3%
15. Hazardous waste is defined as poisonous by-products. Which of these is NOT considered
hazardous waste?
a. Batteries
b. Ethanol
c. Used computer equipment
d. All of the above
16. What percentage of the earth is covered by forests?
a. 50%
b. 12%
c. 30%
17. Earth day is observed on
a. February 16

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b. April 4
c. April 22
d. September 17

READING 3: (Global Warming vs. Global Cooling)

Pre-reading: Which in your opinion is nowadays more likely: global warming or global cooling?
Read the three texts and do the assignments that follow.

U.N. PANEL SAYS WEATHER DISASTERS ARE NEW NORM

March 29, 2012 /Associated Press
Global weirding' means nations should prepare for more extreme events
Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations
should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly natural calamities, an internal
panel of climate scientists says in a report issued yesterday.
The greatest danger from extreme weather, which some scientists are starting to call "global
weirding", is in highlу populated, poor regions of the world, but no corner of the globe — from
Mumbai to Miami — is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate
scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts.
In the past, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, founded in 1988 bу the United
Nations, has focused on the slow inexorable rise of temperatures and oceans as part of global
warming. This report is the first to look at the less common but far more noticeable extreme weather
changes, which recently have been costing on average about $80 billion a year in damage. It blames
the scale of current and future disasters on a combination of man-made climate change, population
shifts and poverty.
While all countries are getting hurt by increased climate extremes, the overwhelming
majority of deaths are happening in poorer, less developed places. That, combined with the fact that
richer countries are generating more greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, makes the
issue of weather extremes one of fairness.
Some aspects of the climate situation are clear from earlier research. As the planet warms,
many scientists say, more energy and water vapor are entering the atmosphere and driving weather
systems. The IPCC report confirmed that a strong body of evidence links global warming to an
increase in heat waves, a rise in episodes of heavy rainfall and other precipitation, and more
frequent coastal flooding.
But, while the link between heat waves and global warming may be clear, the evidence is
much thinner regarding some types of weather extremes. Scientists studying tornadoes are plagued
by poor statistics that could be hiding significant trends, but so far, they are not seeing any long-
term increase in the most damaging twisters. And researchers studying specific events, like the
Russian heat wave of 2010, have often come to conflicting conclusions about whether to blame
climate change.
Scientists who dispute the importance of global warming have long ridiculed any attempt to
link greenhouse gases to weather extremes. They claim that the weather is very dynamic, especially
at local scales, so that extreme events of one type or another will occur somewhere on the planet
every year.

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 Meanwhile, mainstream scientists agree that global warming is a problem to be taken
seriously but sometimes they are in too much of a rush to attribute specific weather events to human
causes.
Some of the documented imbalances in the climate have certainly become remarkable.
United States government scientists recently reported, for instance, that February 2012 was the
324th consecutive month in which global temperatures exceeded their long-term average for a given
month; the last month with below-average temperatures was February 1985. This March, the United
States set nearly 6,800 high temperature records. When you start putting all these events together,
it's pretty hard to deny the fact that there's got to be some climate signal. No doubt, the extreme
weather is one of the major and important types of what we would call 'global weirding.'

LANGUAGE FILE to Reading 3

Ex. 1 In the text, find the terms relating to the topic of climate change that correspond to the
following definitions. Use them in the sentences of your own.

1. conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources

2. the average temperature
3. the average weather for a particular region and time period
4. the gradual rise in the earth's temperature caused by high levels of carbon dioxide and other
gases in the atmosphere
5. a heavy colorless gas that is absorbed from the air by plants and does not support combustion
6. human activities which affect the climate
7. a very large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley
8. the change of forested lands to non-forest uses
9. the progressive destruction or degradation of vegetative cover, especially in arid or semi-arid
regions
10. a fuel that is formed in the Earth from plant or animal remains
11. the release of a substance into the atmosphere
12. gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit
radiation from the sun
13. the introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects
14. the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and depositing it in a reservoir

SPEAKING 2: Spontaneous speech

In a 2-minute statement say what in your understanding global weirding is and which
of the three scenarios (global warming, global cooling or global weirding) is the likeliest.

WRITING: a Glossary (Optional)

Using texts of Readings 1 and 3 make up a glossary of terms on Climate Change

READING 4: (Energy Efficiency)

Pre-reading: What are the major concerns and fears associated with the issue of energy efficiency?

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 Read the texts. Compare energy policy of the UK with that of the US. How
similar/different are their short and long-term perspectives? Do you think alternative energy
can be efficient? Give your examples.

TEXT 1
ENERGY SECURITY 'MORE IMPORTANT THAN CLIMATE CHANGE'
Alok Jha, green technology correspondent
Guardian.co.uk
17 September 2012
Securing the country's supply of electricity is more important than tackling climate change, a
new report from energy analysts has claimed. It warned that the UK's economy could be wrecked if
there was no action to plug the energy shortfall predicted for the next decade, with businesses going
bust and hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs.
But the report, led by Ian Fells, a veteran energy policy analyst, has been dismissed as
"naive" by Greenpeace, and "overstated" by the energy secretary. Environmentalists argued that the
report's recommendation for new coal-fired power stations went against the advice of scientists and
that the rest of the world was forging ahead with renewables.
The report said the government had to consider extending the lifespan of the UK's ageing
coal and nuclear power stations to meet the impending shortage. Otherwise, Fells warned, the UK
would be hit by repeated power cuts that would shut down public transport, reduce hospital services
and cause chaos in supermarkets and offices. "Electricity is the life blood of civilisation. Without it
we spiral down into anarchy and chaos."
Fells criticised proposed renewable energy schemes as being too optimistic in their promises
and highlighted a long-term need for new nuclear power stations and coal-fired stations that were
ready to fit carbon-capture technology to maintain future energy security in the UK.
The impending energy gap will be caused by the closure of the UK's ageing nuclear and
coal-fired power stations over the next decade. The report estimates the UK will lose a third of
electricity generating capacity in this time. Candida Whitmill, a co-author of the report, said:
"Nuclear will not be ready, renewables will not be able to cope. Gas is getting politically and
geographically dangerous to rely upon. Security of supply must take priority over everything
including climate change."
Fells said the situation was like "watching a slow-motion train crash" because government
plans to plug the energy shortfall, such as rolling out huge wind farms, were impractical and filled
with wishful thinking. Successive governments, said Fells, had failed to come up with any solutions
and criticised the current UK energy policy as "not fit for purpose", warning that there could be
severe consequences for the economy.
Fells who has long been a proponent of nuclear power, said that the upcoming crisis
required some "unpalatable" short-term fixes. "We will have to keep current nuclear power stations
going long past their sell-by date. We will probably have to keep coal-fired stations that are coming
to the end of their life. And that's no good for the environment." He also advocated building new
gas-fired power stations that could be built quickly to shore up the supply and said that the
controversial coal-fired plant in Kent would also be needed, though he said this should be made
ready to fit technology to capture carbon dioxide and store it underground.
Greenpeace chief Scientist Doug Parr criticised Fells' report for its "long standing love affair
with the technologies of the 20th century, but as time goes by [Fells'] fetish for coal and nuclear
power looks increasingly naïve. All over the world jobs are being created in the renewable energy
sector, but Britain has been left behind for too long by the negative, white flag approach to climate

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change that this report represents. By proposing projects such as new coal fired power stations and
the large scale conversion of coal to liquid fuel for use in aeroplanes, Fells has finally lost the
backing of the scientific community."
Responding to the report, energy secretary John Hutton said: "Ensuring we have enough
clean and secure energy is a national priority and fundamental to our future existence and
prosperity. Ian Fells overstates the risk of the energy gap, but he also understates what the
government's already doing to secure our future supplies and increase our energy independence -
such as a tenfold increase in renewables, a renaissance of nuclear energy in the UK, and backing
clean coal technology."
He added: "That's not to underestimate the task we've got on our hands. Securing future
energy supplies for the UK is a matter of national security and so we're not going to rule out any
radical options. That's why we keep our energy infrastructure under constant review, and will
continue to take the tough decisions needed to ensure that we have reliable energy supplies in the
decades ahead."
Fells' report also suggested laying transmission lines to Norway, Germany and Denmark and
also an additional line to France. "That would mean we were properly connected up to Europe. That
would add a great deal of comfort and security, provided there was someone there to make
decisions." Greenpeace have backed a similar North Sea grid proposal.
Over the longer term, Fells wants the UK to build more nuclear power stations and also give
the go-ahead for the Severn Barrage, a tidal generation system that could produce up to 5% of the
UK's electricity needs. He defended his point that energy security was more important than climate
change: "You can't go on doing all the right things environmentally speaking if the whole of your
system has crashed - it's more important."

TEXT 2
A BLOW TO COAL
Mar 31st 2012 Economist print edition
New rules look set to speed the move from coal to natural gas
Presidents like to say that they have an “all of the above” energy policy. But it is hard to see
how one fuel, at least, has much of a future under the restrictions on emissions of greenhouse gases
from new power plants set out by the US administration this week. The proposed limit, of 454kg of
carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of electricity generated, would in practice bar the construction of
any new facilities powered by coal.
In theory, the rules make an effort to accommodate future coal-fired plants, by allowing
them to exceed the emissions cap for the next ten years, provided that they subsequently make up
the difference by installing especially effective pollution controls. That is a bureaucratic way of
admitting that the technology needed to limit emissions, by extracting carbon dioxide from power
plants’ smokestacks and storing it underground, is not yet commercially viable.
The problem is that carbon capture and storage (CCS), as the technology is known, is not
likely to be commercially viable in ten years’ time either. Thanks to new techniques that have made
it possible to extract natural gas relatively cheaply from shale beds in recent years, America’s
domestic gas supply has increased dramatically and prices have slumped. Gas is also a less climate-
threatening fuel than coal: efficient new gas plants can easily meet the proposed carbon-emissions
standard. That makes the already questionable economics of CCS seem downright implausible.
Lobbyists for the coal industry immediately declared that the current administration was
“driving up energy prices and destroying jobs”. In fact, low gas prices, along with sluggish demand

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for electricity in the aftermath of the recession, have kept power prices subdued (petrol prices are
another matter). For some time now utilities, faced with falling gas prices and the prospect of
stricter environmental regulation, have been favouring gas over coal anyway. So the new rules will
only formalise a shift that had already been under way, with little immediate economic impact.
Yet, the White House, having determined that greenhouse gases are a threat to “public
health and welfare”, is now obliged under to follow through. In addition to the rules about new
power plants, it will soon have to produce an emissions policy for existing facilities.

TEXT 3
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COSTLY, INEFFICIENT
March 26, 2012
Thomas Ryan, Guest Columnist of the Independent
Despite the pleas coming from both the left and right calling for further government
intervention in the energy industry, green and alternative energy sources are still unable to compete
with coal and natural gas. Alternative energy sources have proven to be unsustainable, costly and
detrimental to the economy, especially for working-class families.
When it comes to most issues, liberals and conservatives seem to be at odds with one
another, but for some strange reason, they both seem to be on the same side of the aisle when it
comes to our country’s energy efficiency. But why should politicians force taxpayers to invest more
in an industry that has already cost us billions and produces very little?
This obviously feeble industry, despite being propped up through subsidies, is still very
unattractive to profit hungry capitalists. The common misconception that oil tycoons are just greedy
and do not care about the environment is a gross example of benightednes. In reality, any
industrialist in a market economy would be more than happy to find, own and produce a cost-
efficient alternative to coal and oil. Any energy industry entity that discovers this alternate resource
would become immensely wealthy while reducing our oil dependency and increasing our standard
of living.
But wind, solar and biomass plants have proven to not be the answer, despite their
governmental free ride. Renewable Portfolio Standards, mandated in 24 different states, create
quotas regarding how much production must be dedicated toward alternative energy at production
plants.
RPS increases the cost of energy production resulting in higher utility costs. Combining that
with skyrocketing gas prices, it becomes obvious that the green movement is detrimental to lower
income households. It is time for the state to get out of the energy industry and let market forces and
consumers decide how we will power our homes and cars. The push for green energy has proven to
be costly, inefficient and harmful to a financially healthy environment.

SPEAKING 3: Individual Reports

Search the Internet to draft a short report on energy policy of a chosen country

READING 5: Heal the World

Read the text and word its message. Do the assignments that follow.

PATIENT EARTH

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Thomas E. Lovejoy
January 19, 2007
Even though we should know better, it is natural to regard what we grew up with as the
normal state of affairs. Indeed, every generation has a different view of "the good old days." This is
particularly troublesome with respect to the environment and nature. Without some perspective of
what might be "normal," it is hard to understand the impact we have had on our planet and what to
do about it.
At the time I turned my hand to environment and conservation, the number of endangered
species worldwide was modest. To be sure there were the first signs of more pervasive problems
heralded in Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," but they seemed amenable to straightforward and
simple fixes. Hole in the ozone layer? Find a substitute for chlorofluorocarbons. Acid rain and acid
lakes? Reduce sulfur emissions and do it economically by creating a market for sulfur trading. An
endangered rainforest? Create a
protected area.
To be truly effective in most
endeavors, including environmental
work, it is important to lift one's
gaze from the particular to assess
periodically the overall state of the
exercise. That can determine
whether and how to alter strategy as
new environmental problems
emerge and understanding deepens.
Current indicators can only
tell us about the moment, whereas
we need to be cognizant of shifting
environmental horizons — what
could well become future baselines
unless action is taken. Doing so, one can only conclude that the environmental profession has
changed from one in which simple and often local interventions would work, to one in which we
have become planet doctors. In the oceans and on land it is impossible to find a place unaffected by
human activities. We live in a chemical soup of our own making. Even in the Arctic and Antarctica,
animals accumulate toxic compounds in their tissues. Rainforests and virtually all other natural
habitats are in retreat. The number of endangered birds, mammals and plants is soaring from
multiple causes.
Perhaps as many as one quarter of all amphibian species are endangered through a strange
combination of factors, including a fatal fungal disease. With no tadpoles, some streams have
turned bright green from unconstrained algal growth. The great global cycles of carbon and nitrogen
are badly distorted, producing, among other things, climate change and acidifying oceans from
greenhouse gases plus multiple dead zones in estuaries and coastal waters. The rising temperatures
are already stressing coral reefs. In some parts of Siberia, the thawed permafrost bubbles with
methane like a Yellowstone hot spring.
While there is enough on the planet's environmental horizon to make us all want to throw up
our hands, as planet doctors we know diagnosis is just prelude to treatment.
There is a tremendous amount that can be done to right the imbalance without wrecking the
global economy. Indeed the recent Stern report on climate change, whatever its flaws, clearly

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demonstrates that the implications of a deteriorating environment are more serious for the economy
than the cost of addressing it. Action is required in all segments of society: Government needs to
put the right incentives in place to encourage, for example, the right kinds of biofuels and other
alternate energy sources. Individual human aspiration needs to be provided choices that are
environment-friendly.
Clearly, there is an enormous role for the private sector. Happily, there are many signs that
some companies view this as an opportunity. The aluminum company Alcoa, in one of the most
energy-intensive industries, is seeking to make its Brazilian operations carbon-neutral and
sustainable in other ways as well. Generators made by Caterpillar run on methane from landfills.
Time magazine has analyzed the carbon in its product life cycle from tree harvest to disposal.
This is not the first time in our history that humanity has faced a huge and unprecedented
challenge. Environmental degradation is largely avoidable. It only requires us to take the planetary
diagnosis as seriously as our own individual annual checkups, and rise to the challenge with all of
our innate creativity.

Think about your daily routine. Make a list of the ways in which you could help the
environment by making changes to that routine.
In pairs draft a list of measures to make your region more environmentally friendly
and attractive for residents and tourists.

SPEAKING 4: Individual Reports/Presentations

Use Internet sources to speak on one of the following topics or suggest one of your own: (You
may want to present your report in the form of a Power Point Presentation)

1. Problems arising from inefficient land use

2. Problems arising from land pollution and degradation
3. Inefficient use of resources and energy crisis
4. Nuclear development and nanotechnology
5. Causes, effects and solutions of air and water pollution
6. Waste recycling. Ways to deal with hazardous waste
7. How ‘Cap and Trade’ system works
8. Ways to prevent global warming

LANGUAGE FILE

Complete the text with the words from the box and do the assignments that follow:
acid, biodiversity, contaminated, deforestation, ecosystems, species, emissions,
environmental, erosion, exhaust, drought, fertilizers, greenhouse, waste, pollution

The advances made by humans have made us the dominant (1) ………. on our planet.
However, several eminent scientists are concerned that we have become too successful, that our
way of life is putting an unprecedented strain on the Earth's (2)…………… and threatening our
future as a species. We are confronting (3) ………. problems that are more taxing than ever before,

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

some of them seemingly insoluble. Many of the Earth's crises are chronic and inexorably linked. (4)
………. is an obvious example of this affecting our air, water and soil.
The air is polluted by (5) …………… produced by cars and industry. Through (6)
…………… rain and (7) ………. gases these same (8) …………… fumes can have a devastating
impact on our climate. Climate change is arguably the greatest environmental challenge facing our
planet with increased storms, floods, (9) …………… and species losses predicted. This will
inevitably have a negative impact on (10) …………… and thus our ecosystem.
The soil is (11) …………… by factories and power stations which can leave heavy metals
in the soil. Other human activities such as the overdevelopment of land and the clearing of trees also
take their toll on the quality of our soil; (12) …………… has been shown to cause soil (13)
…………… Certain farming practices can also pollute the land though the use of chemical
pesticides and (14) …………… This contamination in turn affects our rivers and waterways and
damages life there. The chemicals enter our food chain, moving from fish to mammals to us. Our
crops are also grown on land that is far from pristine. Affected species include the polar bear, so not
even the Arctic is immune.
Reducing (15) …………… and clearing up pollution costs money. Yet it is our quest for
wealth that generates so much of the refuse. There is an urgent need to find a way of life that is less
damaging to the Earth. This is not easy, but it is vital, because pollution is pervasive and often life-
threatening.

Find words in the text above synonymous with the following:

unspoiled omnipresent
unparalleled unavoidably (x2)
extremely harmful persistent
insurmountable challenging
unaffected

Fill in the gaps using the correct form of the words given below. You will need to add
prepositions to the words that are underlined.
contaminate, danger, dispose, erode, pollute, recycle, risk, sustain, threat

I think our environment is (1) ………. many different things. We have allowed too much (2)
………. to enter our ecosystem and we are (3) ………. poisoning ourselves as a result. I think soil
(4) ………. and water (5) ………. are two of the most urgent problems that we need to deal with.
Clearly our current lifestyle is not (6) ……….. The government should educate people about
these problems and encourage us to change our habits. They need to show everyone that we are
putting the very future of our planet (7) ……….
We can make sure we don't throw (8) ………. items into our normal waste (9) ………. bins.
We can also help protect our planet by not using phosphate-based detergents; this will help to keep
(10) ………. out of our food chain.

Multiple Choice Lexical Cloze

THE FUTURE
The environmental (1)……….for the future is mixed. In spite of economic and political
changes, interest in and (2)……….about the environment remains high. Problems of acid
deposition, chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depletion still seek solutions and concerted action. Until

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

acid depositions (3)………., loss of aquatic life in northern lakes and streams will continue and
forest growth may be affected. Water pollution will remain a growing problem as increasing human
population puts additional stress on the environment. To reduce environmental degradation and for
humanity to save its habitat, societies must recognise that resources are (4).......... Environmentalists
believe that, as populations and their demands increase, the idea of continuous growth must (5)
……….way to a more rational use of the environment, but that this can only be brought (6)
……….by a dramatic change in the attitude of the human species.

1 A line B outset C outcome D outlook

2 A concern B attention C responsibility D consideration
3 A wane B diminish C depreciate D curtail
4 A finite B restricted C confined D bounded
5 A make B force C give D clear
6 A on B about C off D in

Translate the following sentences into English using your topical vocabulary units
1. Авторы исследования уверены, что сегодня Земля страдает от истощения природных
ресурсов и сильного воздействия человека на окружающую среду.
2. В последние век-полтора содержание некоторых парниковых газов в атмосфере
выросло очень сильно.
3. К числу приоритетных направлений организации относятся охрана живой природы и
естественной среды обитания исчезающих видов животных.
4. Изменение климата приведет прежде всего к таянию льдов в Гренландии и западной
Антарктиде, а также к увеличению доли углекислого газа в атмосфере.
5. Обезлесение приводит к снижению биоразнообразия, качества жизни, а также к
усилению парникового эффекта.
6. Как засухи, так и наводнения стали следствием роста средней температуры в
некоторых регионах.
7. С января 2005 года в странах Евросоюза вступила в действие внутренняя система
торговли квотами на выбросы углерода.
8. Одним из приоритетов нашей компании является применение безвредных для
окружающей среды технологий производства.
9. Новый доклад экологов свидетельствует: под угрозой полного исчезновения
находятся примерно четверть млекопитающих.
10. Охрана окружающей среды и сохранение природы должны стать одним из
приоритетов работы глав регионов.

Topical Vocabulary
climate change disrupt ecological balance
melting glaciers sustainability of natural resources
mean temperatures biological diversity
rising sea level habitat destruction
flooding conservation of species
weather pattern sustainable management of biological
extinction of species (sing., pl.) resources
degradation and depletion of natural resources land-use

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

forestry heat wave
theory of ice ages flood
greenhouse effect drought
carbon dioxide global weirding'
anthropogenic activity global warming
deforestation natural calamity
desertification tropical cyclones
fossil fuel combustion deluge
"cap and trade" system heavy rainfall
carbon capture and storage (CCS), precipitation
carbon capture and sequestration poaching

Fill in the gaps with the words from the topical vocabulary list:
1. A _____ system is a market-based approach to controlling pollution that allows national
governments to trade emissions allowances.
2. An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming _____.
3. _____ is hardly hitting the living conditions of indigenous people who consider forests as
their primary habitats.
4. _____ is a naturally occurring process that aids in heating the Earth's surface and
atmosphere.
5. The earth supports an incredible array of _____ - from Thailand’s tiny bumblebee bat to the
ocean’s great blue whale.
6. _____ can reshape the world’s coastlines and affect some of the most densely populated
areas on Earth.
7. _____ raises serious environmental concerns, particularly from greenhouse gas emissions.
8. The fact that there are too many people in the world consuming just a moderate amount of
resources is the most likely reason of the _____.
9. Of all the impacts that _____ can have on the environment, one of the most complex is the
effect on climate.
10. For the past 10 years, the world has witnessed some of the most devastating _____ and man-
made disasters on record.
11. Beneficial _____ is more likely through the arid southern Prairies during the next couple of
days before a drier _____ returns.

Ex.4 Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Low-input farming for cocoa, and oil palm has resulted in widespread __________
(вырубка леса) of West Africa's tropical forest area.
2. Unusually heavy __________ (осадки) for this time of year is spreading across southern
California and parts of the Southwest, including __________ - stricken (пострадавшую от
засухи) Arizona.
3. Alcoa recently announced a new pilot program focused on __________ (технологии
улавливания и хранения CO2) designed to sequester industrial carbon emissions.
4. Experts today warned that the alarming levels of __________ (загрязнения и ухудшения
состояния окружающей среды) may result in disastrous consequences in future bringing about
__________ (стихийные бедствия) like the one witnessed in Japan.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

5. Does the European Union have the right to regulate __________ (выброс парниковых
газов) from airlines and shippers using its ports and airports?
6. A federal judge has blocked a proposal to lift the __________ (вымирающие виды)
protections for wolves in Montana and Idaho.
7. China is home to some of the most magnificent wild species and plays a prominent role in
the __________ (сохранение и рациональное использование разнообразия биологических
видов нашей планеты).
8. An increase in the use of __________ (возобновляемых источников энергии) doesn't
necessarily mean the appetite for __________ (ископаемое топливо) is declining.
9. Climate contrarians proclaim that __________ (повышение глобальных средних
температур) is entirely natural and that the __________ (влияние человеческого фактора) to
global warming is negligible.
10. State officials plan to cut __________ (переработка отходов) aid to local governments
faster than expected.

WRITING: an Essay

In class write an essay: “Environmental degradation is largely avoidable”

SPEAKING 5: DEBATE

 Developed countries have a higher obligation to combat climate change than developing
countries.
 The EU should abandon nuclear energy.
 A cap-and-trade system is preferable to a carbon tax in reducing carbon emissions.
 Households should be forced to reduce energy consumption.
 Science is a threat to humanity.
 The advent of extreme genetic advancements for humans is highly welcome.

SPUTNIK MOMENT (OPTIONAL FILE)

LEAD-IN:

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 Calling this "our generation's Sputnik moment" and a "time to win the future," Obama in his
State of the Union address urged a renewed emphasis on innovation. "Now it's our turn," Obama
told a joint session of Congress. We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the
world."

How important in your opinion is science today? How important is the national strategy for
innovation? Is career in science a matter of prestige among young people in your country?

READING 1:

Read an excerpt from Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address. How can science help us
address our common problems and contribute to making the world a better place?

“…Yes, scientific innovation offers us a chance to achieve prosperity. It has offered us benefits that
have improved our health and our lives — improvements that we take too easily for granted. But, it
gives us something more. At root, science forces
us to reckon with the truth as best we can
ascertain it. Some truths fill us with awe, others
force us to question long-held views. Science
can’t answer every question, and indeed it seems
at times the more we plumb the mysteries of the
physical world the more humble we must be.
Science cannot supplant our ethics, our values,
our principles or our faith, but science can
inform those things, and help put those values,
these moral sentiments, that faith, can put those
things to work — to feed a child, to heal the sick,
to be good stewards of this Earth. We are
reminded that with each new discovery and the new power it brings, comes new responsibility. That
the fragility, the sheer specialness of life, requires us to move past our differences and to address
our common problems, to endure, and continue humanity’s strivings for a better world.”

READING 2: SCIENCE BASICS QUIZ

1. Which over-the-counter drug do doctors recommend that people take to help prevent
heart attacks?
a. Antacids
b. Cortisone
c. Aspirin
2. According to most astronomers, which of the following is no longer considered a planet?
a. Neptune
b. Pluto
c. Saturn
d. Mercury
3. Which of the following may cause a tsunami?
a. A very warm ocean current

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 b. A large school of fish
c. A melting glacier
d. An earthquake under the ocean
4. The global positioning system, or GPS, relies on which of these to work?
a. Satellites
b. Stars
c. Magnets
d. Lasers
5. What gas do most scientists believe causes temperatures in the atmosphere to rise?
a. Hydrogen
b. Helium
c. Carbon dioxide
d. Radon
6. How are stem cells different from other cells?
a. They can develop into many different types of cell
b. They are found only in bone marrow
c. They are found only in plants
7. What have scientists recently discovered on Mars?
a. Platinum
b. Plants
c. Mold
d. Water

For each statement that follows, please indicate whether it is true or false.

8. The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years
and will continue to move in the future:
 True
 False
9. Lasers work by focusing sound waves:
 True
 False
10. Antibiotics will kill viruses as well as bacteria:
 True
 False
11. Electrons are smaller than atoms:
 True
 False
12. All radioactivity is man-made:
 True
 False

READING 3:

Pre-reading: Who are Luddites? What is technophobia? What is innovation and how
important is it? What is the role of science today? How far can technology progress?

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 Read the texts. Explain and expand on the italicized word combinations. Do the
assignments that follow.

TEXT 1
THE GREAT INNOVATION DEBATE
Jan 12th 2013
The Economist
Fears that innovation is slowing are exaggerated, but governments need to help it along
WITH the pace of technological change making heads spin, we tend to think of our age as
the most innovative ever. We have smartphones and supercomputers, big data and
nanotechnologies, gene therapy and stem-cell transplants. Governments, universities and firms
together spend around $1.4 trillion a year on R&D, more than ever before.
Yet nobody recently has come up with an invention half as useful as that depicted on this
page. With its clean lines and intuitive user interface, the humble loo transformed the lives of
billions of people. And it wasn’t just modern sanitation that sprang from late-19th and early-20th-
century brains: they produced cars, planes, the
telephone, radio and antibiotics.
Modern science has failed to make anything
like the same impact, and this is why a growing band
of thinkers claim that the pace of innovation has
slowed. Interestingly, the gloomsters include not just
academics such as Robert Gordon, the American
economist who offered the toilet test of un-
inventiveness, but also entrepreneurs such as Peter
Thiel, a venture capitalist behind Facebook.
If the pessimists are right, the implications are huge. Economies can generate growth by
adding more stuff: more workers, investment and education. But sustained increases in output per
person, which are necessary to raise incomes and welfare, entail using the stuff we already have in
better ways—innovating, in other words. If the rate at which we innovate and spread that
innovation slows down, so too, other things being equal, will our growth rate.
Doom, gloom and productivity figures
Ever since Malthus forecast that we would all starve, human ingenuity has proved the
prophets of doom wrong. But these days the impact of innovation does indeed seem to be tailing off.
Life expectancy in America, for instance, has risen more slowly since 1980 than in the early 20th
century. The speed of travel, in the rich world at least, is often slower now than it was a generation
earlier, after rocketing a century or so ago. According to Mr Gordon, productivity also supports the
pessimists’ case: it took off in the mid-19th century, accelerated in the early 20th century and held
up pretty well until the early 1970s. It then dipped sharply, ticked up in late 1990s with
computerisation and dipped again in the mid-2000s.
Yet that pattern is not as conclusively gloomy as the doomsayers claim. Life expectancy is
still improving, even in the rich world. The productivity gains after electrification came not
smoothly, but in spurts; and the drop-off since 2004 probably has more to do with the economic
crisis than with underlying lack of invention. Moreover, it is too early to write off the innovative
impact of the present age.
This generation’s contribution to technological progress lies mostly in information
technology (IT). Rather as electrification changed everything by allowing energy to be used far

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

from where it was generated, computing and communications technologies transform lives and
businesses by allowing people to make calculations and connections far beyond their unaided
capacity. But as with electricity, companies will take time to learn how to use them, so it will
probably be many decades before their full impact is felt.
Computing power is already contributing to dramatic advances far beyond the field of IT.
Three-dimensional printing may cause a new industrial revolution. Autonomous vehicles, like the
driverless cars produced by Google, could be common on streets within a decade. The performance
of human prosthetics is rapidly catching up with that of natural limbs.
And although it is too soon to judge how big a deal these inventions will turn out to be,
globalisation should make this a fruitful period for innovation. Many more brains are at work now
than were 100 years ago: American and European inventors have been joined in the race to produce
cool new stuff by Japanese, Brazilian, Indian and Chinese ones.
Spend a penny—or two
So there are good reasons for thinking that the 21st century’s innovative juices will flow fast.
But there are also reasons to watch out for impediments. The biggest danger is government.
When government was smaller, innovation was easier. Industrialists could introduce new
processes or change a product’s design without a man from the ministry claiming some regulation
had been broken. It is a good thing that these days pharmaceuticals are stringently tested and factory
emissions controlled. But officialdom tends to write far more rules than are necessary for the public
good; and thickets of red tape strangle innovation. Even many regulations designed to help
innovation are not working well. The West’s intellectual-property system, for instance, is a mess,
because it grants too many patents of dubious merit.
The state has also notably failed to open itself up to innovation. Productivity is mostly
stagnant in the public sector. Unions have often managed to prevent governments even publishing
the performance indicators which, elsewhere, have encouraged managers to innovate. There is vast
scope for IT to boost productivity in health care and education, if only those sectors were more open
to change.
The rapid growth in the rich world before the 1970s was encouraged by public spending on
infrastructure (including in sewage systems) and basic research: the computer, the internet and the
green revolution in food technology all sprang out of science, where there was no immediate
commercial aim. Wars provide the sharpest example of the innovative power of government
spending: astounding new developments in drone and prosthetic technology—let alone the jet
engine—are a bittersweet testament to that. Even in these straitened times, money should still be
found for basic research into areas such as carbon capture and storage.
For governments that do these things well—get out of the way of entrepreneurs, reform their
public sectors and invest wisely—the rewards could be huge. The risk that innovation may slow is a
real one, but can be avoided. Whether it happens or not is, like most aspects of mankind’s fate, up
to him.

TEXT 2
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
Dec 17th 2009 the Economist
Why is the modern view of progress so impoverished?
In the rich world the idea of progress has become impoverished. Through complacency and
bitter experience, the scope of progress has narrowed. The popular view is that, although
technology and GDP advance, morals and society are treading water or, depending on your choice

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

of newspaper, sinking back into decadence and barbarism. On the left of politics these days,
“progress” comes with a pair of ironic quotation marks attached; on the right, “progressive” is a
term of abuse.
The idea of progress forms the backdrop to a society. In the extreme, without the possibility
of progress of any sort, your gain is someone else’s loss. If human behaviour is unreformable, social
policy can only ever be about trying to cage the ape within. Society must in principle be able to
move towards its ideals, such as equality and freedom, or they are no more than cant and self-
delusion. So it matters if people lose their faith in progress. And it is worth thinking about how to
restore it.
Modern science is full of examples of technologies that can be used for ill as well as good.
Think of nuclear power—and of nuclear weapons; of biotechnology—and of biological
contamination. Or think, less apocalyptically, of information technology and of electronic
surveillance. History is full of useful technologies that have done harm, intentionally or not.
Electricity is a modern wonder, but power stations have burnt too much CO2-producing coal. The
internet has spread knowledge and understanding, but it has also spread crime and pornography.
German chemistry produced aspirin and fertiliser, but it also filled Nazi gas chambers with Cyclon
B.
The point is not that science is harmful, but that progress in science does not map tidily onto
progress for humanity. In an official British survey of public attitudes to science in 2008, just over
80% of those asked said they were “amazed by the achievements of science”. However, only 46%
thought that “the benefits of science are greater than any harmful effect”.
From the perspective of human progress, science needs governing. Scientific progress needs
to be hitched to what you might call “moral progress”. It can yield untold benefits, but only if
people use it wisely. They need to understand how to stop science from being abused. And to do
that they must look outside science to the way people behave.

TEXT 3
SMARTER PLANET
December, 19th 2011
Steve Hamm
Every year IBM predicts the future of technology via the IBM 5 in 5 initiative–our forecast
of five innovations that will help transform aspects of modern life, making the planet smarter,
within the next five years. We assess not just the availability of a new technology but also the
likelihood of its large-scale adoption.
This year’s predictions:
 People power will come to life
 You will never need a password again
 Mind reading is no longer science fiction
 The digital divide will cease to exist
 Junk mail will become priority mail
Making this kind of prediction is difficult. (In fact, to me, sadly, the one about eliminating
the digital divide seems impossible.) So, every year, IBM researchers stick out their necks. Which is
risky. “A lot of people wait for things to happen. It’s rare than an organization says: this is a big
change, and it’s coming,” says IBM Fellow Bernard Meyerson.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 Why do they do it? In addition to the PR value, we complete this exercise annually because
it makes IBMers think hard about what’s possible and to strive to make it so. Simply put, the
process of choosing the predictions and defending them is good for us.
Meyerson, who plays a role in the annual exercise, says the most useful thing about the
process is that it requires IBMers to think holistically about innovation. They can’t consider science
and technology in a vacuum. They also have to think deeply about social trends, market conditions
the willingness of people to pay for cutting-edge technologies. That’s the kind of thinking that can
transform inventions into high-impact innovations.
We’ve been issuing the Next 5 in 5 predictions for the past six years. So, how are we doing?
Mindful of the difficulty, and considering the fact that for most of the predictions less than five
years have passed, we’ve done pretty well.
Two of the first year’s predictions, for instance, have pretty much come true:
We will be able to access healthcare remotely from just about anywhere in the world.
Today, through telemedicine, patients can connect with physicians or specialists from just about
anywhere via inexpensive computers and broadband networks. Doctors can view x-rays and other
diagnostic imagery from thousands of miles away.
Technologies the size of a few atoms will address areas of environmental importance.
Nanotechnology is now used in countless fields and industries, including agriculture, biotechnology
and sensor networks, enabling us to understand and interact with the natural environment like never
before.
Predictions from other years have panned out as well. A couple of examples:
You will have a crystal ball for your health. Thanks to advances in genetic research and
high-performance computing it is now possible to affordably decipher an individual’s entire
genome. This makes it possible for physicians to alert people to medical conditions they might fall
prey to, and it clears the pathway, eventually, to truly personal medicine.
You will talk to the Web…and the Web will talk back. Today, speech recognition and mobile
communications technologies make it possible for people to talk to the Internet using their
computers or mobile phones, be understood, and listen to automated voices that are responsive to
their needs.
The Next 5 in 5 initiative got its start in an IBM Innovation Jam in 2006. The seed goal was
to get the entire company thinking about grand challenges. “If you give people a grand challenge
you push them to really innovate,” says Meyerson. “That’s when extraordinary things can happen.”
IBM has played a significant role in each of these breakthroughs. So, it’s working.

SPEAKING 1: Team work + Individual reports

1. Give short coherent answers to the following questions:

What is the role of science, technology and innovation in the economy?
What is the role of science in innovation?
Has the environment for innovation changed?
How can governments improve the environment for innovation?
What is the role of government in funding science?
http://www.oecd.org/science/sci-tech/1918259.pdf
2. Say, where in your opinion the next R&D breakthroughs will come from.
3. Get ready with a 3-5-minute statement on the most anticipated discovery of the 21 st
century.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

PROFICIENCY FILE

Open Cloze
PREDICTING THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
Which nineteenth-century writer predicted the world we know most accurately? 'Jules
Verne' would be a reasonable guess, but is not the (0) correct answer. The man who foresaw
most of the technological advances we take for (1) _______ was a French writer, Albert Robida,
(2) _______ novel 'The Twentieth Century' appeared in 1882. Robida did not know nearly as (3)
_______ science as Verne but he possessed an intuitive sense of what technology would be capable
of in a hundred years' time even though he did not understand (4) _______ the advances would be
achieved.
His successful predictions make a formidable list. He not (5) _______ foresaw radio and
television but air travel and fast-food restaurants. He was also far-sighted enough not to share his
contemporaries' blind faith (6) _______ progress, realising that technological advance might cause
problems as well as (7) _______ life more comfortable.
In some ways, however, Robida failed to foresee (8) _______ our world would be like and
in each case the error was due to his personal prejudices. When cars came (9) _______ fashion later
in his life, he disliked them so much (10) _______ of their noise and fumes that he refused to revise
his predictions to include them. (11) _______ did he envisage the development of computers and
the extent of their influence (12) _______ every aspect of our lives today.
But his most serious errors were sociological. He was typical (13) _______ his age and
social class in thinking that women were less intelligent than men and the working class would
always be mainly employed (14) _______ servants. Though he foresaw many of the technological
developments that have (15) _______ into being in our time, he could not imagine the sexual and
social revolutions of the twentieth century.

LIFE ON MARS
Speculation about life on Mars began, like so much speculation, with the ancient Greeks.
For them, as for us, it formed part of a larger question: Are there intelligent life forms elsewhere in
the universe, and if (1) ………., are they anything like us?
As (2) ………. as Christians believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe, interest
(3) ………. such matters (4) ………. out but revived in the nineteenth century. The reason why
discussion began to focus (5) ………. Mars was that Italian astronomers claimed there were lines
on the surface, which they called canali or channels. When the word was translated (6) ……….
English as 'canals', implying that they had been artificially constructed, the stage was set for all
kinds of hypotheses.
After the astronomers came the novelists, (7) ………. all the young H G Wells, who
portrayed the Martians as ruthless invaders in The War of the Worlds. The success of Wells' novel
(8) ………. Rise to a host of imitations, (9) ………. them an early work of Edgar Rice Burroughs,
later the creator of Tarzan. Burroughs' Mars was inhabited not only by monsters (10) ………. also
by beautiful princesses who gave birth by (11) ………. eggs.
Since a spacecraft landed there in J 997, Mars has once again been in the news. (12)
………. always, public interest is aroused by the hope that life might be found there. So far such
speculation remains wishful (13) ………. and one cannot help wondering why it should seem

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

important to us. The answer may be that we (14) ………. it comforting to imagine that we are not
(15) ………. in the universe.
WHAT DNA CAN TELL US ABOUT THE PAST
DNA is the substance from which all life as we know it is derived. But how (0) long can
it survive? Is it out of the (1) ………. to think of recreating a creature from DNA found in the
remains of one? The discovery of traces of DNA in an animal known (2) ………. the quagga, a
cross (3) ………. a horse and a zebra that became extinct in the last century, was the starting point
for a series of investigation of this type.
The initial excitement has (4) ………. down a little since subsequent research has
demonstrated that however well preserved a creature's remains may be, the upper limit for the
survival of DNA is about 100,000 years and using it to (5) ………. a quagga back to life is the stuff
of fantasy. Yet the discovery can be used to provide (6) ………. to many questions about prehistory
that have troubled archaeologists.
For example, as a result of extracting DNA from the remains of a Neanderthal, scientists
have (7) ………. the conclusion that it belonged to a different species and we are not its
descendants. Another problem concerns the inhabitants of Easter Island in the South Pacific. In this
case, the DNA evidence of ancient human remains does not bear (8) ………. the theory that they
came from South America but nor does it prove that they were from South East Asia, the alternative
suggestion (9) ………. forward.
It might be imagined that these new scientific techniques would (10) ……. an end to
traditional archaeological research but this is very (11) ………. from being the case. (12) ……….
the contrary, they provide a basis (13) ………. many further projects, if we (14) ………. into
consideration the hundreds of samples of hair, bone and tissue containing DNA in museums that
can be analysed to throw (15) ………. on the unsolved mysteries of the past.

THE DANGER OF DISSENT

Some would argue that, in matters (1) …………… great public importance, scientific
dissent should be silenced. It can, it is true, (2) …………… harm. When AIDS first (3)
…………… its ugly head, no one knew what caused it. Gradually, the virus responsible was
isolated, identified and then attacked successfully with drugs (4) …………… specifically to (5)
…………… its reproduction. A few scientists, though, refused to (6) …………… the evidence and
some politicians used their arguments to (7) …………… inaction.
Now this newspaper believes that global warming is a serious threat, and that the world
needs to take steps to try to (8) ……………….. it. That is the job of the politicians. But we do not
believe that climate change is a certainty. There are no certainties in science. Prevailing theories
must be constantly tested (9) ……………. evidence, and refined, and more evidence collected, and
the theories tested again. That is the job of the scientists. When they stop questioning orthodoxy,
mankind will have given up the (10) …………… for truth. The skeptics should not be silenced.

Gapped Sentences

1. Shell is poised to become the first oil major to sign a deal to _____ natural gas in the
Kurdish region of Iran.
Brutal interrogation methods and even executions are allegedly used by the security services
to _____ information about insurgents.
Read this _____ from an information booklet about the work of an airline cabin crew.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 2. MyTravel, the embattled tour operator, is understood to be preparing to _____ back its retail
division by shedding senior staff and closing up to 260 shops.
There is now a consensus among politicians of all parties that it is time to face up to the
_____ of the problem in the public finances.
To _____ fish at home, start to_____ from tail to head with the back of a table knife.
3. The menu will be ready as soon as you _____ up your computer
In the United States, a _____ camp is a military training camp for new recruits, with strict
discipline.
Alice was not just the smartest girl in the class; she was the best dancer, to _____
4. Gerry was seen as a computer wizard capable of debugging convoluted _____ in his sleep.
It was as if the speaker’s words contained a concealed _____ that only we were picking up.
Remember to dial the area _____ if you are phoning from outside Nottingham.
5. As with any complex project, it’s a _____ of getting the right mix of skills.
In the brain, the cerebral cortex is a layer of grey _____ lying above each cerebral
hemisphere.
Helping him to escape had not been a minor _____ and he knew that if these people were
caught they would be punished.
6. Though she was an exacting boss at work she could never put her _____ down in the affairs
of her family.
There is a mounting dissent between the participants in the deal over who should _____ the
bill for the technology needed.
Put your best _____ forward and work on the assumption that there is an acceptable solution
to every problem you are likely to face.
Word formation

Today, of course, we face more complex challenges than we have

ever faced before: a medical system that holds the promise of (1)
…………… new cures and treatments -- attached to a health care system lock
that holds the potential for bankruptcy to families and businesses; a system
of energy that powers our economy, but simultaneously (2)…………… our danger
planet; threats to our security that seek to exploit the very (3)............... and connect
openness so (4)…………… to our prosperity. essence
And if there was ever a day that reminded us of our shared stake in
science and research, it's today. We are closely monitoring the emerging
cases of swine flu in the United States. And this is obviously a cause for
concern and requires a (5)…………… state of alert. But it's not a cause for height
alarm. The Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public
health emergency as a (6)…………… tool to ensure that we have the caution
resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively. And
this is one more example of why we can't allow our nation to fall behind.
(7)……………, that's exactly what's happened. Federal funding in fortune
the physical sciences as a portion of our gross domestic product has fallen by
nearly half over the past quarter century.
Our schools continue to trail other developed countries and, in some
cases, developing countries. Our students are (8)…………… in math and perform
science by their peers in Singapore, Japan, England, Hong Kong, and Korea,

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

among others. And we have watched as scientific integrity has been
undermined and scientific research (9)…………… in an effort to advance policy
(10)…………… ideological agendas. determine

Key Word Transformation

1. It’s only after a week that you begin to feel relaxed here.
home
You won’t begin to feel ……………….. gone by.
2. He is almost certain to leave before we get there.
arrive
By the time ………………..left.
3. The inhabitants were far worse-off twenty years ago than they are now.
nowhere
The inhabitants are ……………….. were twenty years ago.
4. I just had to tell him how much I enjoyed meeting him.
pleasure
I just had to tell him ……………….. him.
5. The intentions of the last government were far clearer than the present one’s
like
The present government’s ………………. the previous one.
6. We will of course take into account her comparative youth
allowances
We will of course………………. comparatively young

READING 4:

Read the text. Do the assignments that follow

COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY

Has the present lived up to the expectations of

the past? Throughout the ages people have tried
to predict what life in the twenty-first century
would be like. Many science-fiction writers did
manage to predict the influence the computer
would have on our world. Some even imagined
that it would take over our lives, develop a
personality, and turn on its creators.
To some extent they were right, especially when
it comes to children and cyber addiction. One
constant prediction was that, thanks to
computers and machines, the time devoted to
labour would diminish. Even in 1971, in his
book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler envisaged a
society awash with 'free time'. The author noted that time at work had been cut in half since the turn
of the previous century and wrongly speculated that it would be cut in half again by 2000.
However, our gadget-filled homes are a tribute to the various visions of the future: the microwave
oven, internet fridges with ice-cube dispensers, freezers, video monitors, climate control,

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

dishwashers, washing machines, personal computers, wireless connections and cupboards full of
instant food. These may no longer be considered cutting-edge but they have matched, if not
surpassed, visions of how we would live. The domestic robot never quite happened, but if you can
phone ahead to set the heating and use a remote control to operate the garage door, they may as well
be redundant.
The car, of course, has failed to live up to our expectations. It has been given turbo engines, DVD
players and automatic windows, but its tyres stick stubbornly to the road. Why doesn't it take off?
The past promised us a flying car in various guises. In 1947 a prototype circled San Diego for more
than an hour but later crashed in the desert. Some 30 patents for flying cars were registered in the
US patent office last century but none of these ideas has been transformed into a commercially
available vehicle.
At least communication technology in this digital age hasn't let us down. Even in the most remote
areas people have access to some form of communication device. The introduction of the telephone
last century changed our world, but today's mobile phones and the virtual world of the Internet have
revolutionised it.

LANGUAGE FILE to Reading 4

Ex. 1 Look at the statements below. See which of them are true. Give your reasoning
by citing the text.
1. A modern problem proves that computers are dominating our lives in some way
2. Alan Toffler's predictions have been proven true
3. Household gadgets today have been a disappointment
4. We have enough gadgets now to make robots unnecessary in the home
5. Today's cars have fulfilled all predictions
6. The mobile phone and the Internet have changed our world for the better

Ex. 2 Now match the words in the text with these definitions and fill in the gaps with
the words:

1. Dependency
2. guessed
3. be greater than expected
4. unwanted
5. a machine invented for a specific purpose (x 2)
6. relating to computers
7. the first working example of a machine
8. computer
9. almost real
10. very modern

1. The Philippines’ burgeoning gaming industry may _____ Singapore’s $5.6-billion gaming
market by 2018 on the back of favorable local demographics.
2. Hitachi recently announced the development of provably secure _____ signature technology
based on the use of biometric information.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

 3. Internet _____ is known as an impulse control disorder and can be similar to a gambling
problem.
4. India will soon have a _____ security policy that will ensure preventive measures against
computer crime and fraud.
5. A _____ imaging technique will help fire-fighters see through flames, and thus locate and
rescue people trapped at the spot.
6. Some districts are not only encouraging students to bring the _____ to school, they are using
them and other _____ — laptops, tablets, even Nintendo — in class.
7. A kilometre of overhead cable came down and brought train services between London and
Scotland to a _____ standstill.
8. One in seven workers 3.5m employees has been made _____ since the start of the recession.

Ex. 3 Match a word from box A with a word from box В and use the compound words to
complete the sentences below.

A. automatic, cyber, remote, silicon, wireless, labour

B. chip, connection, control, pilot, space, saving

1. The invention of the _____ made watching television an even more passive experience.
2. In my view the dishwasher is one of the greatest _____ devices.
3. People often talk about emails and text messages being lost in _____ as if it were a real
place.
4. Even flying a plane has been automated now. The _____ is used for most of the flight.
5. The invention of the _____ meant that computers could be much smaller.
6. I can access the Internet from anywhere in my house because my laptop has a _____.

WRITING: a Summary

THE FUTURE IS NOW

By Joel Achenbach
April 13, 2008; The Washington Post

The most important things happening in the world today won't make tomorrow's front page. They
won't get mentioned by presidential candidates or Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly or any of the
other folks yammering and snorting on cable television. They'll be happening in laboratories -- out
of sight, inscrutable and unhyped until the very moment when they change life as we know it.
Science and technology form a two-headed, unstoppable change agent. Problem is, most of us are
mystified and intimidated by such things as biotechnology, or nanotechnology, or the various other-
ologies that seem to be threatening to merge into a single unspeakable and incomprehensible thing
called biotechnonanogenomicology. We vaguely understand that this stuff is changing our lives, but
we feel as though it's all out of our control.
What's unnerving is the velocity at which the future sometimes arrives. Consider the Internet. This
powerful but highly disruptive technology crept out of the lab (a Pentagon think tank, actually) and
all but devoured modern civilization -- with almost no advance warning. The first use of the word
"internet" to refer to a computer network seems to have appeared in this newspaper on Sept. 26,

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

1988, in the Financial section, on page F30 -- about as deep into the paper as you can go without
hitting the bedrock of the classified ads. The scientists knew that computer networks could be
powerful. But how many knew that this Internet thing would change the way we communicate,
publish, sell, shop, conduct research, find old friends, do homework, plan trips and on and on?
It's not just us mortals, even scientists don't always grasp the significance of innovations.
Tomorrow's revolutionary technology may be in plain sight, but everyone's eyes, clouded by
conventional thinking, just can't detect it. So where does that leave the rest of us? In technological
Palookaville.
Science is becoming ever more specialized; technology is increasingly a series of black boxes,
impenetrable to but a few. Americans' poor science literacy means that science and technology exist
in a walled garden, a geek ghetto. We are a technocracy in which most of us don't really understand
what's happening around us. We stagger through a world of technological and medical miracles.
We're zombified by progress.
Our ability to monkey around with life itself is a reminder that ethics, religion and old-fashioned
common sense will be needed in abundance in decades to come. How smart and flexible and
rambunctious do we want our computers to be? Let's not mess around with that Matrix business.
Every forward-thinking person almost ritually brings up the mortality issue. What'll happen to
society if one day people can stop the aging process? Or if only rich people can stop getting old?
It's interesting that politicians rarely address such matters. The future in general is something of a
suspect topic . . . a little goofy. Right now we're all focused on the next primary, the summer
conventions, the Olympics and their political implications, the fall election. The political cycle
enforces an emphasis on the immediate rather than the important.
And in fact, any prediction of what the world will be like more than, say, a year from now is a
matter of hubris. The professional visionaries don't even talk about predictions or forecasts but
prefer the word "scenarios." When Sen. John McCain, for example, declares that radical Islam is the
transcendent challenge of the 21st century, he's being sincere, but he's also being a bit of a
soothsayer. Environmental problems and resource scarcity could easily be the dominant global
dilemma. Or a virus with which we've yet to make our acquaintance. Or some other "wild card."
Some predictions are bang-on, such as sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke's declaration in 1945 that there
would someday be communications satellites orbiting the Earth. But Clarke's satellites had to be
occupied by repairmen who would maintain the huge computers required for space
communications. Even in the late 1960s, when Clarke collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the
screenplay to "2001: A Space Odyssey," he assumed that computers would, over time, get bigger.
We have built into us an idea that tomorrow is going to be pretty much like today, which is very
wrong.
The future is often viewed as an endless resource of innovation that will make problems go away --
even though, if the past is any judge, innovations create their own set of new problems. Climate
change is at least in part a consequence of the invention of the steam engine in the early 1700s and
all the industrial advances that followed.
Look again at the Internet. It's a fantastic tool, but it also threatens to disperse information we'd
rather keep under wraps, such as our personal medical data, or even the instructions for making a
fission bomb.
We need to keep our eyes open. The future is going to be here sooner than we think. It'll surprise us.
We'll try to figure out why we missed so many clues. And we'll go back and search the archives,
and see that thing we should have noticed on page F30.

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda

Palookaville is a 1995 motion picture about a pair of trio burglars and their dysfunctional family of
origin. It is a comedy about bumbling buddies who decide to live a life of crime. But there's a
problem: the only thing they know about being criminals is what they've seen on TV so you can
imagine the problems they encounter when planning their big score

READING 6

With the advent of new technology there have been many semantic changes: some
words have changed their meaning, a lot on “new” words appeared. In the text “We are
Survivors”, find the words the meaning of which has changed. See if you know both their
“original” and the “new” meaning. If you don’t, consult the dictionary. Note that many of the
words are stylistically coloured.

YOU ARE SURVIVORS!

(for those born some time ago)
You were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastics,
contact lenses, DVDs and Frisbees. You were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams
and ball point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners … and
before man walked on the moon. You got married first and then lived together (how quaint can you
be?). You thought ‘fast food’ was what you ate at Lent, a ‘Big Mac’ was an oversized raincoat and
‘crumpet’ you had for tea. You existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, and
when ‘sheltered accommodation’ was where you waited for a bus.
You were before day-care centers, group homes and disposable nappies.
You never heard of FM radio, key boards, artificial hearts, yoghurts and young men wearing
earrings. For you ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness, a
‘chip’ was a piece of wood or a fried potato,
hardware meant nuts and bolts, and software wasn’t a
word.
‘Made in Japan’ meant junk, pizzas, McDonalds and
instant coffee were unheard of. In your day,
cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’ was
mown, ‘coke’ was kept in a coal house, and a ‘joint’
was a piece of meat. ‘Rock music’ was
grandmother’s lullaby, ‘Eldorado’ was an ice cream, a
‘gay person’ was life and soul of the party and
nothing more, while ‘aids’ just meant beauty
treatment, wooden legs or help for someone in
trouble.
You, who were born a long time ago, must be a
hardy bunch when you think of the way in which the
world has changed and the adjustments you have
had to make. But … by the grace of God … you have survived!!

Graduation Course Ekaterina D. Prodayvoda