© Malgorzata Grzegozek, Iwona Starmach
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INTRODUCTION
his book has been written for students of Environmental Engineering at interme- iate or upper-intermediate level of English who seek to improve their language skills Its primary goal is to present technical language in authentic texts selected from a variety of sources
The book can be divided broadly into two parts: the first one includes texts which deal with environmental issues and can be used at any stage of the language course, while the other consists of specialised texts intended for students who have already chosen their specialisations Each unit of the book consists of three parts: pre-reading activities, reading comprehension and vocabulary section Each part provides students with ample practice
through numerous exercises which can be used selectively or adapted by the teacher to the
needs of particular groups of students
The authors hope that this book will be both stimulating and enjoyable for students, and that teachers will find it a useful companion to introducing their students into the realm of technical language
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
drhab inz Jacek Schnotale, dr inz Hanna Witkowska, dr hab inz Bogdan Wolski,
prof PK for their invaluable assistance as far as technical vocabulary is concerned The authors also wish to thank mgr Elzbieta Han-Wiercifiska for her guidance and advice,
which proved to be very constructive and greatly contributed to the improvement of our work
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CONTENTS
1 NUMBERS AND SHAPES
2 HOW TO PREVENT A MELTDOWN 3 HAZY DAYS
4 SWEET DREAMS
5 SUN IN THE FORECAST 6 WIND POWER
7 FLYING OVER VENICE 8 BORN AGAIN WATERWAYS
9 THE POLLUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 10 SLIPPERY SLOPES OF KNOWLEDGE
11 GEOTECHNICAL MONITORING 12 HEAT TRANSFER IN A BUILDING 13, AIR CONDITIONING
14 SIGNIFICANT FLOODS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING
THE 20TH CENTURY — USGS MEASURES A CENTURY OF FLOODS 100 15 HUDSON RIVER DREDGING PLAN SET TO ENTER
DESIGN PHASE 16 LOOKING PEAKY
17 HYDRODYNAMIC MODELLING
Trang 7NUMBERS AND SHAPES HOW TO SAY WHOLE NUMBERS — three hundred and thirty-five / three hundred thirty five 335 (AmE) 1,700 seventeen hundred
1,721 seventeen hundred and twenty-one
1,000 a thousand / one thousand 3,000 three thousand
3,020 three thousand and twenty
3,722 three thousand, seven hundred and twenty-two
1,551,862 one million, five hundred and fifty-one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two
734407 seven, three, double four, 0, seven (telephone number, account number) 0 nought (BrE) / zero (AmE) COMMON FRACTIONS Mi} colle 0|2 Ble col le Blo
le a half / one half
a quarter / one quarter
a third / one third
an eighth / one eighth
three-quarters / three fourths
two thirds
Trang 820 two hundred and two over five hundred and sixty-one 561 a one and a half 2 af three and two thirds 3 DECIMAL FRACTIONS
0.3 nought point three / point three / zero point three (AmE)
2.201 two point two nought one / two point two zero one 315 three point one five
25.25 twenty five point two five HOW TO READ MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS Xe x<5 x>5 x<10 x210 16° 16°C 25%
x squared / x to the second power / x to the power of two
x cubed / x to the third power / x to the power of three
x to the power (of).n/x to the n
x to the power (of) n minus one / x to the n minus one
x to the power (of) minus n/ x to the minus n
the square root of x
the cube root of x
the fifth root of x the nth root of x x is not equal to | x is approximately equal to 10 x tends to nought x tends to infinity is less than five
xis greater than five
xis less than or equal to 10 xis greater than or equal to 10 R subscript x, R sub x
sixteen degrees
sixteen degrees centigrade / Celsius
Trang 9CALCULATIONS Addition a+b=c a plus b equals c Subtraction a-b=c a minus b equals c Multiplication axb=c a multipled by b equals c Division
a:b=c a divided by b equals c
In conversational style with smaller numbers you can say: 6+5=1l six and five is/ are eleven
3-1=2 one from three is/ leaves two
3x4=12 three times four is twelve
three fours are twelve
12:4=3 four into twelve is three
EQUATIONS
(a—b)(a+b)=y a minus b in brackets multiplied by a
plus b in brackets equals y
a(8—b)=x a open brackets 8 minus b close brackets
equals x
15+(a-b)_, 15 plus a minus b in brackets all over 8 a
8a equals b
x open square brackets a minus b in brackets multiplied by a plus b in brackets minus 8 close square brackets equals nought
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HOW TO DESCRIBE ANGLES
ABC is a thirty degree angle
A
B _—® é ABC is an angle of thirty degrees
AB is at an angle of thirty degrees to BC
An angle of 90° is a right angle
An angle of 180° is a straight angle
An angle of 360° is a full angle
An angle < 90° is an acute angle
An angle > 90° but < 180° is an obtuse angle
Anangle > 180° is called a reflex angle or an external angle
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ABC is an equilateral triangle
Trang 13cubic conical pyramidal cylindrical
It is rounded at one end It is pointed at one end
Tt is convex
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HOW TO DESCRIBE DIMENSIONS
How wide is the block?
What's the width of the block?
The rectangle is 4 em long and 3 cm wide The rectangle is 4 em by 3 cm The area of the rectangle is 12 sq em A circle has dimensions of: a) diameter, b) radius, ¢) circumference The block has a height of 4 cm, a length of 5 cm and a width of 2 cm
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HOW TO PREVENT A MELTDOWN
1 Work in pairs and decide where the following terms should go
is an increase in the earth's surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in climate patterns It may cause changes in rainfall patterns leading to serious flooding in many parts of the world and a wide range of impact on plants, wildlife and humans
is produced as greenhouse gases, that are 2 natural part of the atmosphere, trap the sun's warmth on and maintain the earth’s surface temperature at a level necessary to support life Human activities like the burning of fossil fuels and land clearing are increasing the concentration of these gases Most scientists are convinced that this will trap more heat and raise the earth surface temperature
absorb heat in the atmosphere Some occur naturally while others result from
human activities If they occur naturally, they include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone Certain human activities add to the levels of their occurrence
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) generated in a variety of industrial processes
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BEFORE YOU READ
Before reading the text make sure that you understand the following words and expressions
ipour, hydrogen, carbo
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1 Read the text quickly and find out which paragraph(s) is / are about: anew ecological fuel cell car wind power global warming obtaining hydrogen from fossil fuels solar power experiments to restructure energy production Phe Oe ơ
A After decades of rancorous debate, only a handful of the most doctrinaire diehards still dispute the idea that human activity is heating up the planet All the signs seem to point that way: storms have become more intense and weather patterns more erratic; 1._a
and the rise in temperature has been greatest in polar regions and around cities These facts
dovetail’ ominously well with the theory that carbon dioxide (CO,), released by burning
coal, oil and gasoline for heat, electricity and transportation, is trapping excess energy from the sun Global warming is real — and will probably get worse
B The only way to slow it down, almost every scientist agrees, is to restructure the way we produce energy Such stopgap measures as insulation, carpooling and energy- -efficient light bulbs are all useful ways to begin curbing the burning of carbon-rich fossil fuels But in the long run, as the world’s population continues to increase and living standards rise, 2, „That's why experiments now going on in laboratories around the world are so important Ata research center outside Stuttgart, Germany, engineers at DaimlerChrysler have created a high-performance car whose tail pipe emits nothing but water vapor In a giant wind tunnel at NASA's Ames Research Center in California engineers are set to analyze air turbulence in order to make superefficient wind-power turbines In Japan scientists are perfecting paper-thin solar cells that will be cheap to produce and could turn every house into its own electricity supplier These Ventures, along with many others, are beginning to draw the outlines of a world in which energy use keeps rising and, though
fossil fuels remain an important power source, CO, levels in the atmosphere actually begin
to drop E
€, Cars like the NECAR4, housed in a lab near Stuttgart, could help make that happen This experimental vehicle, being jointly developed by Ford, Daimler Chrysler and Canada’s
Ballard Power Systems, gets its energy from hydrogen — the most abundant fuel in the
entire universe Hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels, contains no carbon atoms and thus generates
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D Fuel cells were invented in 1800s but only in the last decade have they been made small enough to fit inside a car The NECAR4, based on a Mercedes-Benz A-class compact sedan, 3 Teaches speeds of 90 m.p.h (145 km/h) and goes about 280 miles (450km) between fill-ups The first major field test of fuel-cell vehicles will take place this year in California And by 2004, DaimlerChrysler and Ford — as well as GM, Toyota and other companies — expect to be selling fuel-cell cars directly to consumers
E Ideally, the hydrogen would be produced sustainably with renewable electricity
from the sun or wind But even under the most optimistic predictions for improvements in renewable technology, the electricity required to split H,O into H and O would be prohibitively expensive So the first large-scale plants will probably wrest hydrogen from old-fashioned fossil fuels
The one danger in pulling hydrogen from fossil fuels is that it leaves carbon dioxide behind If the CO, is simply vented into the atmosphere, 4 There is an alternative though: pump it into the ground In Norway, for example, the energy company Norsk Hydro is building a power plant that will be fueled with hydrogen drawn from natural gas The CO, that’s left over will be reinjected into an oil field on the continental shelf Not only will this take the carbon dioxide out of circulation but it will also pressurize the field and make the remaining oil easier to pump out In Europe and the U.S., pumping CO, into underground aquifers has proved an effective way of keeping it out of the atmosphere
F Fossil fuels will remain an important energy source for the foreseeable future, but they will eventually run out and the world will have to switch to what environmental visionaries have been dreaming about: endlessly renewable power from wind and sun Wind is fast catching up with oil and gas in cost efficiency with the help of experiments such as the one at Ames Research Center By comparing what they learn from the wind tunnel’s smooth airflow with data from the turbulent breezes at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s test range near Golden, Colorado, engineers expect to build a new generation of superefficient wind turbines with blades well over 200ft (60m) across Efficiency doesn’t help when the wind isn’t blowing; you need to store energy generated during gales for use when the air is still The best way to do that, says Robert Williams, of Princeton University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, is to use the excess to compress air and force it into subterranean aquifers or caves
Then, when the wind dies, the compressed air can be pulled out to help drive the turbines The technology could permit countries rich in wind resources — including China, the U.S., Denmark and Germany — to take advantage of a free, unlimited and nearly pollution-less source of electric
G On the solar-power front, the visions of 1970s-era environmentalists can still be realized, at least in part, if manufacturers could find a way to produce silicon-based photovoltaic cells more efficiently and thus drive down their high cost One strategy is to reduce the thickness of a solar cell from the current standard — about that of a piece of cardboard — to one-hundredth of that size Such thin-film cells, whose development is furthest along in Japan, will use less raw material and will be far easier to manufacture with the extraordinary purity required to make them efficient enough to be economical Beyond that, their light weight will make installation easy, permitting them to be applied as building facades or even over windows
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Since the sun doesn’t shine with equal power everywhere, even a building slathered with
solar cells will need another source of electricity One possibility: 5 During daylight, when the solar cells are operating, excess electricity could be run through a fuel cell to produce hydrogen from water At night, the fuel cell could use the hydrogen to produce electricity again
H Ideally, every factory, building, home and vehicle would have its own clean renewable power source, eliminating oil wells, coal mines, power plants and power lines — and all the environmental disruption they cause For now, though, the world has a more
urgent mission: 6 and do it in a hurry Thanks to the fuel-cell cars and more
advanced wind turbines and solar cells that are close to fruition, the global-warming
challenge seems a little less daunting than it did just a few years ago
abridged from Time, April — May 2000
I Read the text carefully and put the sentences below into the gaps The first one has
been done for you
the past decade has been by far the hottest on record
a system that uses both solar cells and a two-way fuel cell
to stop the planet from overheating these measures will not be enough
global warming will be as big a problem as ever accommodates five people plus luggage Poo Cee ist JI Find relevant information in the text and complete the table
ELECTRICITY SOURCE DISADVANTAGES SOLUTION
Hydrogen tom CO: ïs vented into the atmosphere
fossil fuels use of sun and wind as alternative
sources of energy
still very expensive Sun
sometimes not available
Wind storing energy produced during
gales
IV Answer the following questions
1 What experiments are being carried out in different countries to reduce fossil fuels consumption?
What is NECAR4 powered with and why is it safe for the environment?
Ts the author of the article optimistic? Does he think that we are able to slow down the global warming?
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INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY
IT Match the highlighted words in the text with their definitions below He new projects 2 permanently, for a long time 8 discouraging 4 plentiful, available in large quantities 5 released
6 covered with a thick layer of
i heated and agitated
8 fit together
8: successful result
If Put some of the words from exercise J into the sentences below
1 Myholiday plans perfectly with yours so we can go away together 2 Don’t worry We have supplies of food and water so we can last
here for months until some ship arrives to rescue us
3 There wasa debate about whether the student should be expelled 4 She is very successful in her career All her ideas come to =
5 When he went bankrupt he had to face the prospect of living in
poverty
6 Mary was so angry that she her fury smashing the vase
Ill Replace the expressions in bold with words from the box changing their form if necessary
All their actions seem to be chaotic as if they had no plan at all
Unfortunately we have no influence on what will happen All we can do is wait and see It’s impossible for a three-year-old to sit not moving for 15 minutes
Few people would question the fact that travel broadens your mind
If the government does not introduce measures to control the spread of the virus we
are bound to face an epidemic
The politician presented the main points of his plan to remedy the health care system
in the country
vee
ioe
Trang 20per ay V regions cell test efficiency aquifers
Nouns can be formed from different parts of speech by adding suffixes Add the suffixes
below to the words in the table to make new nouns (all the nouns can be found in the
text, the numbers of paragraphs are given) WI 8»: a WORD SUEEIX — NOUN improve para.E install para.G thick para.G science para.B predict para.E supply para.B active para.A warm para.A
Combine verbs from box A with suffixes from box B and put them into the sentences below Make the necessary spelling changes
B
-ment, -ion, ation,
ing, -ness, -ity, -er/-or
This product is the result of a of many different technologies A good should always be objective and fair in his judgement Four new were erected in the city centre
He had been out of work for a year before he found in a local factory
Good can save you a lot of money on heating bills We spent a lot of time analysing the team’s strengths and
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VII Complete each sentence with a noun made from the word given 1 When I was a student it was difficult to find suitable accommodate 2 She was surprised by the of everyone in her new company friendly 3 Writing a good story requires a lot of imagine
4, The President declared that health and will become the priorities in the policy of his government educate 5 We wished the newlyweds in their new life together happy 6 The of the magazine increased when the price was reduced to 30p circulate 7 Strict measures have been introduced to control the of water pure 8 People in our neighbourhood help one another by children to school car pool 9 The strike of nurses caused widespread to health services disrupt 10 The doctor told him that his was a result of stress and overwork tired VII What is the meaning of the phrasal verb in the sentence: “they will eventually run out” (para F)? Match prepositions in the box with other meanings of phrasal verbs made from the verb run over, down, off, out, after, y; into 1 criticise photocopy
2 gradually stop working
hit with a vehicle use up
chase meet by chance
Trang 22IX Complete the sentences below with prepositions from exercise VIL Ww os = X
Our cat was run by a car and died instantly
I think Julie is jealous of her sister She is always running her When he was 14, he ran from home
Tf you leave the headlights on for the night, the battery will run
Could you run 50 copies of this document for all the Đi bạn of the meeting?
The dog ran the cyclist barking noisily
Tm afraid we've run of coffee so I can’t offer you any
Tran John yesterday I could barely recognise him as we hadn’t seen each other for 7 years
Translate the following expressions from the text into your language
a handful of the most doctrinaire diehards (para A) —
in the long run (para B) —
large-scale plants will wrest oxygen from old-fashioned fossil fuels (para E) — wind is fast catching up with oil and gas (para F) —
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HAZY DAYS
haze /heiz/n (a) thin fog caused by water, smoke or dust, or an effect of heat which prevents things being seen clearly @ A haze of dust hung over the field (C) @ The road shimmered with heat haze (U)
1
Work in pairs Read the dictionary entry, the title of the article and discuss the following questions:
1 What kind of days are “hazy days”?
2 What may be the reasons for “hazy days”?
3 Has there ever been a problem of “hazy days” in your area?
Traffic congestion on a highway
BEFORE YOU READ
Before reading the text make sure that you understand the following words and expressions
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
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[a]
Nature provided its own punctuation mark at the end of the Earth Summit in South Africa It took the form of a cloud of dense smog which reduced Moscow to a state of disruption Visibility was down to 100 min some areas and health warnings were issued to protect vulnerable citizens A state of emergency was declared in the Moscow region and troops were called out to help fight the forest fires which created the pollution This was a symbolic finale, for the Summit had opened with the newspaper images of Indonesian school children wearing face masks to prevent them inhaling windbome smoke emanating
from the forest and scrub fires
This year, the pollution cloud, dignified by the name “brown haze”, has smothered Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei for several weeks Scientists identified a pollution cloud up to 3 km deep stretching from India across south east Asia to southern China and covering
10 million square miles The “brown haze” blocks up to 15% of sunlight and will add its
lethal contribution to the estimated 3 million deaths a year worldwide attributed to atmospheric pollution
The worst decline in UK air quality was recorded in 1998 Friends of the Earth reported that the number of days when urban pollution exceeded official health standards rose by 20% in urban areas and by 53% in rural areas The following year, pollution levels were above health standards on average one day in every eight at rural monitoring sites and only one day in every 13 at urban sites The Department of Health estimated that up to 24,000 people a year might die prematurely because of air pollution An accusing finger was pointed at road transport and, by 1992, it was acknowledged that introducing catalytic converters and improved engine and fuel technology had led to a reduction in toxic vehicle emissions
BE]
Earlier this year, a study in the USA sought to demonstrate a link between the ozone in smog which arises from vehicle exhaust emissions and asthma Over five million people in the UK are treated for this respiratory ailment every year Asthma is characterized by breathing difficulties due to inflammation and congestion of the lungs Treatment of the
illness costs the National Health Service £850 million a year and an estimated 1,500 people
die from the disease There has been a significant increase in the number of children affected, with one in seven suffering from the disease This is a sixfold increase in less than three
years The UK currently has the highest incidence of asthma in Europe
This year’s US study made the link to vehicle emissions as contributory factor by identifying ozone as a cause Ozone is not emitted directly by vehicles but is produced by the action of sunlight on the polluting chemicals that constitute smog It irritates the respiratory system, causing impaired lung function
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[4L j
In Italy, which is beset by similar problems to the UK, a smog emergency earlier this year has led to some radical thinking Italy has one of the highest ratios of vehicles to people in the world: 32 million vehicles tor 57.5 million people Milan, situated in the country’s industrial heartland, is particularly prone to winter smog when vehicle emissions create pollution which is trapped by the surrounding mountains The city has already banned the use of cars at weekends and legislated for restricted use during weekdays Other Italian
cities, including Rome, Turin and Bologna have also imposed restrictions
In February this year, atmospheric pollution in the Lombardy region reached crisis point with levels that were five times the official limit This lasted for several weeks during
a period when there was no rainfall to disperse the smog As a result, the regional government
plans to ban the use of new petrol and diesel-fuelled cars within three years This is part of an air quality improvement plan which aims to replace traditional fuels with clean energy such as electric power, gas and hydrogen This initiative will also include promotion of public transport and car pooling While “zero carbon” vehicles are being tried out in various countries, Italy has thrown down the gauntlet to the motor manufacturing industry to produce
viable “green” vehicles by 2005 [5
Meanwhile, London is gearing up for congestion charging in February next year Road traffic in central London is expected to fall by between 10% and 15% Bus capacity has been increased to cope with an additional 14 000 passengers a day and there will be added passenger volumes on the underground and rail networks While congestion in the capital may be relieved, there will be little abatement of vehicle emissions as public transport services are expanded A development with more long-term potential is the trial operation of hydrogen-powered buses in London next year Other countries are also experimenting with low carbon vehicles and, Italy in particular, has an aggressive agenda
Meanwhile, in other parts of the globe, health is being endangered by another form of atmospheric pollution caused by fires started to clear land and by burning wood as a fuel While we struggle with the problems created by motor transport, two billion people in the developing world are condemned to an unhealthy existence because they do not have access to modern forms of energy Reliance on burning wood and animal dung for cooking generates toxic pollutants estimated to kill two million people a year Renewable energy, power from the sun and wind, is a product of nature and has the potential to save forests, protect soil from erosion and lift people out of poverty and into a healthier environment A pity then that proposals to agree targets to increase renewable energy were blocked at the Earth Summit by the USA and OPEC It seems that the oil barons were unmoved either by the plight of the poor or by the prospect of their own cities becoming permanently congested, smog-filled and hazardous to health,
abndged from Water and Environment Manager, November 2002
IT What do the following numbers or expressions in the text refer to?
1 100m (para 1)
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one in seven (para 3)
1.3% (para 3)
32 million vehicles (para 4)
between 10% and 15% (para 5) 3 4 8: 6 Il Read the text carefully and answer the following questions ly 2: 3
How did the smog in Moscow affect the city?
How big was “the brown haze” in Asia and what will be its effects?
How did the air quality in the UK deteriorate in 1998 and 1999? What was the cause of this decline?
What was the death toll estimated by the Department of Health?
How were toxic vehicle emissions reduced in the UK?
How is ozone present in urban air?
Tn what way is the situation in Italy similar to the one in the UK?
What steps were taken by some Italian cities to improve the situation?
What does an “air quality improvement plan” created by regional governments in Italy aim at?
10, How is London going to deal with the problem of road congestion?
11 What is “another form of atmospheric pollution” mentioned in the text caused by?
12 Why do you think “oil barons” from OPEC are reluctant to deal with the problem of
urban pollution?
al
pera
INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY
I Find the highlighted words in the text, match them with their definitions below and
complete the crossword (use their base forms) What are the hidden words?
1 to limit or control something in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect
Trang 27" 1 Nv w mm ge PINAR YN
to forbid, not to allow
to prepare for something too early
to introduce something such as a new law or rule
decrease, reduction
to make up, to form
thick, difficult to see through
) to be more than a number or amount of something to spread over the area and disappear
bad or serious situation or condition an illness weak or easily hurt dangerous Add the correct preposition to the following words incidence (para 3) prone (para 4) cope (para 5) attribute (para 1) access (para 6) decline (para 2) arise (para 3) die (para 3) Put the expressions from exercise II into the sentences below changing the form of verbs if necessary Scientists conducted a survey to determine the lung cancer among heavy smokers After the death of her husband she found it difficult to everyday life problems
Because of difficult situation on the market our company is experiencing a sharp profits In other words we earn less money
During the dry season in Africa many animals starvation These plants are very delicate and diseases
Numerous problems her hasty decision
The fall in the number of deaths caused by air pollution is areduction
in toxic vehicle emissions
Trang 28W_ Fill in the correct word from the list below to make expressions All the expressions de 2, a 4 3 6 V tờ ee Vi appear in the text contribution (para 1 areas (para 2) emergency (para 1) increase (para 3)
lung function (para 3) the gauntlet (para 4)
Put the expressions from exercise IV into the sentences below changing their form if
necessary
The second earthquake in the area added its to the estimated 5000 deaths caused by the first earthquake
Scientists were surprised to discover that pollution in was higher
than in urban areas
When the situation was under control the was lifted Toxic chemicals that irritate respiratory system may cause
The survey proved a in the number of children suffering tầm dyslexia
The company to its competitors by introducing a new environmentally friendly type of fuel
Compound words can be a combination of two nouns or an adjective and a noun Make compounds using words from boxes A and B and put them in the table All the compounds appear in the text
A
face, sun, health, monitoring, pollution, vehicle, catalytic, atmospheric, ‘traffic, crisis, public, trial, respiratory, renewable:
B
transport, converters, mask, light, standard, never pollution,
system, energy congestion, sites, point, emissions =
Trang 29VI Complete the sentences below with some of the compound words from the table in exercise VI Introducing in cars has contributed to the decrease in toxic substances in atmospheric air Scientists are planning a of solar-powered taxis in London next year
The pollution level doesn’t exceed the health standards at any of the š which indicates an improvement in air quality in this area
The building of the new ring-road will reduce the in the city centre The company seems to be at a because of a dramatic sales slump
recorded this year
The change from fossil fuels to is necessary if people want to prevent the greenhouse effect
in our city is excellent You can get quickly anywhere you want using the underground or buses
Ozone is produced by the action of on chemicals present in atmospheric air
VIII What is meant in the text by “unhealthy existence” (para 6)? What is the function of the prefix un- in the adjective healthy?
Look at prefixes in the box below and circle the ones that give adjectives the opposite meaning Then add the appropriate prefix to the adjectives below obedient 2 visible 4 significant 6 restricted frequent 8 honest regular 10 legible legal 12 possible correct 14 responsible polite
Translate the following expressions into your language
a state of disruption (para 1) —
an accusing finger was pointed at (para 2) —
a study in the USA sought to demonstrate the link between (para 3) — contributory factor (para 3) —
bus capacity (para 5) —
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SWEET DREAMS
Read the definition of the word ‘by-pass’ and answer the questions below
by-pass - 2 [C] @ A by -pass is a road
£ it rather than around a city to
take traffic around the edge
Is there a problem of too much traffic in your town or city? Are there any by-passes ?
Do you think that traffic congestion could be a problem outside the city?
Work in pairs Imagine the authorities are planning to build a highway in your
neighbourhood How would you react? Present your arguments eee 7 J_ niuy / | táne/ / sioBkton ipnafÍ Breeri / —EToptroft Strest a Iketshail St Margaret ⁄ Z Homersfield, Maraaret” «„ A road map of the area of Broome and Ellingham
BEFORE YOU READ
Before reading the text make sure that you understand the following words and expressions
CHECK YOUR UNDRESTANDING
1 Read the text quickly and explain the title Sweet Dreams
A A by-pass for Broome and Ellingham has been on the cards for over thirty years Residents had campaigned long and hard to gain relief from the stress caused by constant traffic passing through their villages What is now an old section of the Al43 twisted through the villages, creating a severe bottleneck and an accident black spot at the bridge over Broom Beck
B The preferred route for the by-pass ran through the flood plain of the Waveney
Valley, part of which is designated as a Broads Authority area with equal status to that of a National Park The route involved sensitive environmental and health issues including
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the landscape of the Waveney Valley itself and the local ecology The safety of water
supplies was a major concern as the road would impinge on the catchment area from
which Essex and Suffolk Water draw water to serve Bungay and the surrounding area
2
C A public enquiry backed the route proposed by Norfolk County Council subject to protective measures detailed in a comprehensive environmental statement Ninety-eight percent of local residents were in favour and the Broads Authority lent its weight to the proposal providing that environmental requirements were met The residents could see an end to their misery and for Norfolk County Council, the by-pass represented the missing link in the chain to complete the A143
D To protect the inner zone of the water catchment, an impermeable membrane was
laid under the road Covering an area of approximately 16,000m* this ensured that no polluting surface run-off would enter the ground This protection was simply christened “the nappy” by site engineers The water company was particularly concerned about possible pollution affecting borehole supplies during construction work Water quality was monitored continuously at 15 boreholes for 18 months prior to the start of the construction
]
E Additional protection measures included five lagoons designed as a part of a road surface water drainage system These are lined pits with a capacity of 50, 000 litres equipped with a shut-off valve to contain any Contaminants arising from hazardous spills on the road
a
F The by-pass runs through an area rich with wildlife, including otters, owls, bats, snakes and lizards The provisions of the EU Habitat Directive were strictly observed and a license obtained from DEFRA for permission to disturb the otter population Once habitats were identified specialists were employed to trap and re-locate particular species, creating fenced-off areas cleared for construction work to proceed Otters received particular consideration because of their territorial nature As they only spend part of their time in water and dislike turbulent conditions, runways were created for them, which allowed them to roam freely
The environmental plan was to replace anything that was lost due to construction work Consequently, areas of natural woodland were reinstated with planting of willow,
beech, alder, oak and hazel
511
G Because the road is built on a flood plain, it was constructed 1.0 to 1.5 m above the valley floor, with careful landscaping to ensure that the carriageway is mostly hidden from view This is partly achieved by roadside bunding enhanced with trees The trees also give protection to owls in flight which are forced to fly high over the roadway
Trang 32I Once construction of the by-pass started, Jackson Civil Engineering, with help from County Council site staff, involved people from the local communities of Broome and Ellingham in the scheme Parties of children from the schools at Ellingham and Ditchingham
visited the site and worked on school projects, including posters depicting the benefits of
the new road
BE]
J When the completed by-pass was opened in February of this year, the public turned
out in their hundreds to celebrate the event Apart from the quiet returned to the two villages gy by re-routing the road, the requirement of the planning approval to use a “low noise” surface material, further reduces noise levels
TL ]
K Overall, the by-pass cost between 6 and 7 million pounds, with some 10% of that spent on environmental measures This is the largest percentage of expenditure on a scheme related to overall cost undertaken by Norfolk County Council It represents a good investment not only in terms of road improvement and alleviation of public concerns about traffic but there is the added value of road associated with environmental amenity
abridged from Water & Environment Manager, November 2002
Il Read the text carefully and answer the following questions
1 Why did the residents of Broom and Ellingham fight for a by-pass to be built in their area?
What important issues were considered when planning the route for the by-pass?
| What was the attitude of local people? What was “the nappy”?
How often was water quality monitored and why? What additional protection measures were taken? How was the otter population protected?
What is the role of trees planted on roadside bunding?
How was the soil used in road construction “recycled”? What was the benefit resulting from such policy?
10 How were the local people involved in the construction of the by-pass?
11 What were the costs of the by-pass construction? Do the benefits resulting from the by-pass outweigh the costs incurred?
wr
CAINS
MIL Read the text again and put the following sentences into the gaps The first one has
been done for you
a Wetland areas are recreated and over 16 hectares of planting, included 28 000 trees and shrubs
b The protection of wildlife under the provisions of UK and European legislation was also an important consideration
c The lagoons create a natural feature with plants to echo the surrounding landscape
d The road carried 9000 vehicles during the working day, 13 to 14% of which were
heavy goods vehicles
Trang 33ga
Acceptable parameters were agreed with Essex & Suffolk Water and monitoring
continued during construction
A noticeable feature of the posters was the emphasis on noise reduction, with pictures of children asleep in their beds
INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY 1 Ts 2 + BS e ge ÐỆA: 2 Mỏ Rộ kê
Unscramble the following words from the text
IL KN (para C) missing element
AV VEL (para E) a part of device that opens and shuts to control the flow of water passing through it
A PET (para H) a substance formed from decaying plants under the surface of the ground
BAHAITT (para F) natural surroundings, home of animals or plants
ALEIVATIN OL (para K) relief, comfort
ABC K( para C) support
LA PIN (para B) an area of flat land
ARO M (para F) walk around freely
Find the highlighted words in the text, match them with their definitions and complete
the crossword What is the hidden word? 1 10 m
describing or showing in pictures
a place in a road where traffic cannot pass easily
followed obeyed
an amount of something that can be put into a container dangerous to human health and environment
the way along which vehicles are to travel
Trang 34
8 not allowing liquid or gases to pass through
9 official actions taken to deal with a particular problem
10 an area of land considered in terms of how attractive it is to look at 11 the area that a river or lake gets water from
IIT Put the words from exercises I and HM into the following sentences changing their form
if necessary
1 The tank has a total of 60 litres
2 The scientists proved that there is a between smoking and lung cancer 3 chemicals that got out of the sunken tanker polluted the sea water
and may cause damage to the environment
4 He wrote another book everyday life in Medieval Europe
5 Because of many construction works being carried out in the city, the crossing of the two main streets has become a real
6 The scientists are monitoring all rivers from the lake's to prevent the pollution of water in the lake
7 This device has got a(n) membrane, so the water cannot get inside
8 The new bill has been by environmentalists They are strongly in favour of passing it
9 The inlet and exhaust in this engine are located in the cylinder head 10 can be used as burning material instead of coal, or mixed with soil
to help plants grow well
11 The beauty of the island’s was breathtaking 12 Stronger are needed to combat crime in our city IV Complete the gaps with correct prepositions
1s the cards (para A)
2 impinge (para B)
3 subject (para C)
4 prior (para D) 5 due (para F)
V_ Complete the sentences with the expressions from exercise IV
1 The architect's new city plan must be review by local council
2 In view of the political scandal more resignations are
3 The plants died lack of water
4 Because of recent bomb threats every parcel should be examined its entering the building
Trang 35
VI Prefixes often change the meaning of a word For example the prefix re- means once
again in the verb re-locate Can you find any other words with prefix re- in the text? Look at the list of prefixes below and complete the table Give your own examples MEANING | EXAMPLE Te- | again or back | re-locate former | many after | against | between of or by oneself small | too much | half, | | under | two or twice
VII Complete the sentences below with prefixes from exercise VI
My alarm clock is out of order, and so I slept this morning
My teacher told me to write my homework as I had made too many mistakes If you don’t understand the word in a foreign language you can look it up in a _ lingual dictionary
He works too much He is definitely worked 5 Have you read his biography? It’s very interesting
6 This is a -purpose tool You can use it for all kinds of repair 7 Economic conditions in war Europe were very difficult
8 Ferrero beat Gonzales in five sets in the quarter-finals and got to the — finals 9 The building was divided into two major parts and each part was further
divided into smaller ones
10 You have to go to the national airport to catch a plane to a foreign country
ws
aa
VIII The verb lend occurs in many idiomatic expressions Find one of them in the text
(para C) and try to figure out its meaning from the context Then complete the expressions below with the words given
lend — help someone do something
—listen to someone, especially in a sympathetic way lend — let someone borrow it from you
Trang 36Ix >2 r« wn x
Put the expressions from exercise VIII into the following sentences
None of her books really being made into a film T can’t carry all these bags by myself Could you 3
The Prime Minister’s opinion presented yesterday their plans It's always nice to have a friend who is willing to and hear all about your problems
Tam reluctant to as people often forget to give it back Translate the following expressions from the text into your language
an accident black spot (para A) —
heavy goods vehicles (para A) —
under the provisions of UK and European legislation (para B) —
otters, owls, bats, snakes and lizards (para F) —
the valley floor (para G) —
willow, beech, alder, oak and hazel (para F) —
parties of children (para I) —
Trang 37
SUN IN THE FORECAST
Discuss the following questions in pairs
1 Do you think that solar technology plays an important role in the world’s economy?
Try to justify your answer
iv Look at the list of factors below and tick the ones that you consider important for the use of solar technologies Why are they important?
geographical location climate
landscape
environmental policy of a country cost of building a solar plant cost of energy produced country’s economic situation
Rime
ae
SS
3 Whatis the future of solar technology? In which situation are its prospects better? a when the solar facilities are big and are used for mass production of heat and
energy
b when the solar facilities are small and are used in an individual household, a farm or a small enterprise
BEFORE YOU READ
Before reading the text make sure that you understand the following words and SXUTSSBHS
{Solar ‘power ‘plant, electricity | grid, photovoltaic panels, rows of ‘parabolic mirrors,
trough technology, steam, molten salt, eos ]
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Read the text quickly and answer the following questions
What kind of problems do renewable energy companies encounter?
What is the difference between the Mojave plant and the Solar Tres plant?
In which countries is solar research carried out?
lil
A High in the Mojave Desert, 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles, lies a vast field of mirrors Crisscrossing rows of glass and metal, glinting in the sunlight, cover a full square mile of dirt It’s not some bizarre fun-house experiment or a grotesque exhibit of Hollywood
Vanity; It’s a fully operational array of power plants churning out an average of 180
megawatts of electricity, and offering a glimpse of a world in which the grid’s electricity comes from the sun
Trang 38the sun over a broad area, concentrating it and using it to produce electricity on the same
scale as centralized coal, hydro or nuclear power plants — hundreds of megawatts at a time Several pilot plants have been operating in California, some for decades, but so far they
haven’t had enough volume to force costs down to competitive levels
C That may soon change Spain is drawing up plans for a pioneering 15-megawatt
plant South Africa, Italy, Australia and India are expected to follow with much larger
plants Capable of generating more than 100 megawatts each If at least some of these
projects are completed, costs could come down from the current 15 cents a kilowatt-hour
for the Mojave plant to 8 cents per kWh in the next eight to ten years, says Bill Gould,
project manager for energy systems at Nexant, a renewable-energy firm That would goa long way toward closing the gap with gas and oil, which now cost as little as 4 cents per
kWh “The first plants will be expensive.” says Craig Tyner of Sandia National Laboratories
“But as we build them the costs will come down.”
D The Mojave plant, owned by Kramer Junction Company (KIC), is one of the world’s
first commercial solar power plants, with five Solar Electric Generating Systems (SEGS)
supplying electricity to southern California The basic component of a SEGS plant is a row of parabolic mirrors that reflect sunlight onto a pipe filled with oil The oil heats up and is used to produce steam, which turns an electrical turbine Assemble a few dozen rows of these trough-mirrors, and you've gol capacity to generate 30 megawatts of power, enough for half a small town, The 180 megawatts from the five SEGS plants came in handy during California's energy crisis last summer, when oil and gas price shot up to 50
cents per kWh “Suddenly, we were quite the deal,” says Scott Frier, KIC’s general manager The problem with trough technology, though, is that the oil loses its heat too quickly
When the sun goes down, so does the power SEGS require supplementary generators that run on natural gas at night and when it gets cloudy
E Within the next two years an international consortium, including the Spanish company Ghersa and Saint-Gobain of France, will break ground on a new plant called Solar Tres Its design uses molten salt instead of oil Since salt holds more heat longer than
oil, it can drive turbines through the night The technology has been demonstrated in a 10-
-megawatt pilot plant in the Mojave Desert Concentric rings of mirrors direct sunlight up to a tank of molten salt When the stuff is hot enough, some goes straight to a generator to produce steam, while the rest is stored for use at night The 15-megawatt Solar Tres plant would be the first long-term commercial power production project that uses the tower
design Since the electricity is expected to be costly — close to 20 cents per KWh — the
Spanish government plans to subsidize the plant
F The next big thing — dish systems — is already in the works The building block of such a plant is a parabolic mirror, shaped like a satellite dish, that reflects sunlight onto asmall generator suspended in front The heat drives a turbine Demonstration projects for dish systems are slated! to go up later this year in both Arizona and South Africa Theoretically a dish configuration would produce more energy per acre than other solar concentrating plants — that is, if engineers could figure out a good way of linking many dishes together
G, Although the United States still sponsors most solar research, the biggest potential market is in dry, equatorial climates Italy is spending €120 million to study how best to
Trang 39
plants that use solar trough technology and natural gas in Egypt, India, Mexico and Morocco What would really give solar plants a kick in the pants is a rise in oil and gas prices and a shortage of fossil fuels Should that happen, it’s a safe bet the sun will still be shining
abridged from Newsweek, April 8 / April 15, 2002
Il Read the text carefully and mark the sentences as true or false
1 The stereotype of solar power is a flat panel on the roof of a house
2 Panels are capable of providing enough energy for a household irrespective of weather conditions
3 The production of solar energy is still much more expensive than the production of gas and oil energy
4 There are no prospects in the immediate future to lower the costs of solar energy 5 A few dozens rows of parabolic mirrors have got the capacity to produce enough
power for a small town
6 During California's energy crisis solar energy became less expensive than energy from oil and gas
7 Oil holds heat longer than salt
8 To be able to produce energy on a larger scale engineers are looking for a way to link many parabolic mirrors together
9, Countries with dry equatorial climates have the best potential for solar energy production
Trang 40
Big solar-power that concentrate the sun’s may one day feed the grid They consist of a number of angled which focus sunlight onto a tank of salt that sits atop a tower The salt gets hot and causes the to boil The boiling water tums into which drives a turbine generator and generates power
INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY
Nv
ww
SAW
Eo
Find the following expressions in the text, try to guess their meanings from the context and choose the correct answer
costs could come down (para C)
a costs could increase b costs could decrease
came in handy (para D)
a were extremely useful b were completely useless
prices shot up (para D)
a prices became suddenly higher b prices were lowered
were quite the deal (para D) a, were a bargain
b were too expensive will break ground (para E)
a will start something completely new
b will damage something so it cannot be used figure out a good way (para F)
a change the method
b invent a good method
hybrid plants (para G)
a old-fashioned types of plants
b plants producing power from both the sun and gas give a kick in the pants to (para G)
a slow down the development of
b speed up the development of
Match the highlighted words in the text with their definitions
to make something change from one form to a different one = to gather a large number of things in one place
very unusual or strange
provided in addition to something that already exists
something that you put in a public place for everybody to see to produce large quantities of something