АЛМАТИНСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ ЭНЕРГЕТИКИ И СВЯЗИ

Кафедра Иностранные языки

АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК

ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ТЕКСТЫ

ДЛЯ РАЗВИТИЯ УМЕНИЯ ПЕРЕВОДА

Методические указания для студентов 2 курса

специальности 050717 – Теплоэнергетика, 050718 - Электроэнергетика

Алматы 2008

СОСТАВИТЕЛЬ: А.К.Садыкова. Английский язык. Технические тексты для развития умения перевода. Методические указания для студентов 2 курса специальности 050717-Теплоэнергетика, 050718-Электроэнергетика. – Алматы. - АИЭС, 2008. – 31 с.

Основное назначение данного методического указания – способствовать выработке умений анализировать и обобщать полученную информацию, а также правильно переводить английскую и американскую научно-популярную и техническую литературу. Все тексты, использованные в данном методическом указании аутентичные, имеют профессиональную направленность, не подвергались никакой адаптации и отражают современный уровень достижений в области энергетики.

1. Increased efficiency in energy use

Exercise 1. Study the following terms

1) engine – мотор, машина, двигатель

2) fluorescent lamp – флюоресцентная лампа

3) heat exchanger- теплообменник

4) inevitable - неизбежный

5) insulation – изоляция, изолирование, изоляционный материал

6) grid – сетка, решетка, решетчатое сопротивление (в нагревательных приборах), сеть низкого напряжения, энергетическая система или сеть электропередач

7) perpetual – вечный, бесконечный, бессрочный

8) power plant - энергостанция

9) prohibitive – запретительный, недоступный

10) surplus – излишек, избыток, излишний, избыточный

11) vehicle – средство (передвижения, перевозки)

Exercise 2. Translate the following words paying attention to the prefixes.

dis-: discharge, disconnect, disclose, disadvantage, disappear

in-: invisible, inaccurate, inactive, inefficient

un-: unconventional, unnecessary, unbalance, unusual, unsuitable

im-: imperfect, impossible, imperfect, immaterial

non-: non-conductor, non-metallic

ir-: irregular, irresistible

re-: renew, renewable

over - overheat

Exercise 3. Ознакомьтесь с типами определительных блоков существительного. Проверьте, умеете ли Вы переводить определительные блоки существительного.

Model 1: N + N

1) process control, operation test, size reduction, power consumption, consumption change, circuit elements, weather damage, gas transportation, transportation efficiency, energy efficiency, wind power, temperature growth

Model 2: A + N

2) electrical network, chemical form, electric vehicles, electrical plant, complex function, small device, low consumption, complex technology, several units, solar power, efficient energy, physical phenomenon, previous experiment, alternative energy

Model 3: A + N/A + N

3) electrical distribution network, alternative energy generation, powerful power grid, electrical generation plant, possible complex function, historic energy development, similar current combustion, principal application impact, internal physical properties, internal combustion engines, alternative energy generation, new expensive research

Model 4: Adv + A + N

4) extremely high cost, entirely new application, increasingly complex technology, highly important invention, correspondingly low usage

Model 5: Ving/Ved + N

Ving/Ved + A/N + N

5) industrialized countries, achieved results, decreasing number, increasing efficiency, changed operations, producing energy, predefined results, carrying capacity, improved power factor correction, existing power plants, existing electrical network, moving parts

Exercise 4. Translate the following word combinations.

1. energy development; 2. available energy; 3. heat exchangers; 4. waste warm water; 5. light-emitting diodes; 6. perpetual motion; 7. mass transportation; 8. conventional combustion engine; 9. ceramic or diesel engines; 7. small scale energy; 8. transportation efficiency; 9. electricity distribution; 10. fluorescent lamps; 11. space weather events; 12. solar wind; 13. carrying capacity; 14. natural gas pipelines; 15. coal burning power plant; 16. widespread electrical distribution network; 17. powerful power grids; 18. power requirements

Text 1. Read the text and find the endings of the following sentences in it. Translate them into Russian. Try to get the main idea of each paragraph.

1. Using heat exchangers, it is possible to recover…………..

2. Light-emitting diodes are gradually replacing……….

3. Mass transportation increases energy efficiency compared to ………….

4. Hybrid vehicles can save energy by allowing the engine to run more efficiently, regaining energy from………………………...

5. Electricity distribution ……………………...

6. Shipping is a flexible delivery technology that is used……………………

7. Grids also have a predefined carrying capacity or load that………………

8. Distributed generation permits electricity "consumers"……………....

Increased efficiency in energy use

Efficiency is increasing by about 2% a year, and absorbs most of the requirements for energy development. New technology makes better use of already available energy through improved efficiency, such as more efficient fluorescent lamps, engines, and insulation. Using heat exchangers, it is possible to recover some of the energy in waste warm water and air, for example to preheat incoming fresh water. Hydrocarbon fuel production from pyrolysis could also be in this category, allowing recovery of some of the energy in hydrocarbon waste. Already existing power plants often can and usually are made more efficient with minor modifications due to new technology. New power plants may become more efficient with technology like cogeneration. New designs for buildings may incorporate techniques like passive solar. Light-emitting diodes are gradually replacing the remaining uses of light bulbs. Note that none of these methods allows perpetual motion, as some energy is always lost to heat.

Mass transportation increases energy efficiency compared to widespread conventional automobile use while air travel is regarded as inefficient. Conventional combustion engine automobiles have continually improved their efficiency and may continue to do so in the future, for example by reducing weight with new materials. Hybrid vehicles can save energy by allowing the engine to run more efficiently, regaining energy from braking, turning off the motor when idling in traffic, etc. More efficient ceramic or diesel engines can improve mileage. Electric vehicles such as Maglev, trolleybuses, and PHEVs are more efficient during use (but maybe not if doing a life cycle analysis) than similar current combustion based vehicles, reducing their energy consumption during use by 1/2 to 1/4. Microcars or motorcycles may replace automobiles carrying only one or two people. Transportation efficiency may also be improved by in other ways, see automated highway system.

Electricity distribution may change in the future. New small scale energy sources may be placed closer to the consumers so that less energy is lost during electricity distribution. New technology like superconductivity or improved power factor correction may also decrease the energy lost. Distributed generation permits electricity "consumers", who are generating electricity for their own needs, to send their surplus electrical power back into the power grid.

Various market-based mechanisms have been proposed as means of increasing efficiency, such as deregulation of electricity markets, Negawatt power, and trading of emission rights. Smart appliances that require only intermittent use (like laundry machines and dishwashers) could be programmed to start only when demand is low at night or during sunny or windy periods of peak production in the case of solar and wind power.

While new sources of energy are only rarely discovered or made possible by new technology, distribution technology continually evolves. The use of fuel cells in cars, for example, is an anticipated delivery technology. This section presents some of the more common delivery technologies that have been important to historic energy development. They all rely in some way on the energy sources listed in the previous section.

Shipping is a flexible delivery technology that is used in the whole range of energy development regimes from primitive to highly advanced. Currently, coal, petroleum and their derivatives are delivered by shipping via boat, rail, or road. Petroleum and natural gas may also be delivered via pipeline and coal via a Slurry pipeline. Refined hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and LPG may also be delivered via aircraft. Natural gas pipelines must maintain a certain minimum pressure to function correctly. Ethanol's corrosive properties prevent it from being transported via pipeline. The higher costs of ethanol transportation and storage are often prohibitive.

Electricity grids are the networks used to transmit and distribute power from production source to end user, when the two may be hundreds of kilometres away. Sources include electrical generation plants such as a nuclear reactor, coal burning power plant, etc. A combination of sub-stations, transformers, towers, cables, and piping are used to maintain a constant flow of electricity.

Grids may suffer from transient blackouts and brownouts, often due to weather damage. During certain extreme space weather events solar wind can interfere with transmissions. Grids also have a predefined carrying capacity or load that cannot safely be exceeded. When power requirements exceed what's available, failures are inevitable. To prevent problems, power is then rationed. Industrialized countries such as Canada, the US, and Australia are among the highest per capita consumers of electricity in the world, which is possible thanks to a widespread electrical distribution network. The US grid is one of the most advanced, although infrastructure maintenance is becoming a problem.

Current Energy provides a real-time overview of the electricity supply and demand for California, Texas, and the Northeast of the US. African countries with small scale electrical grids have a correspondingly low annual per capita usage of electricity. One of the most powerful power grids in the world supplies power to the state of Queensland, Australia.

Exercise 8. Find in the text key words, which help you to understand the content of the text. Translate them.

Exercise 9. Define the meaning of the words and word combinations in bold type. Translate them.

Exercise 10. Read and translate the text 2. Make up a list of terms you can find in the text. Translate them into Russian.

Batteries are used to store energy in a chemical form. As an alternative energy, batteries can be used to store energy in battery electric vehicles. Battery electric vehicles can be charged from the grid when the vehicle is not in use. Because the energy is derived from electricity, battery electric vehicles make it possible to use other forms of alternative energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, or hydroelectric.

Pros

· Produces zero emissions to help counteract the effects of global warming, as long as the electricity comes from a source which produces no greenhouse gases.

· Batteries are a mature technology, no new expensive research and development is needed to implement technology.

· Current lead acid battery technology offers 50+ miles range on one charge.^[

· Batteries make it possible for stationary alternative energy generation such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, or nuclear

· Electric motors are 90% efficient compared to about 20% efficiency of an internal combustion engine.

· No new major infrastructure is needed to charge battery electric vehicles.

· Battery electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines, thus improving the reliability of the vehicle.

· Battery electric vehicles are quiet compared to internal combustion engines.

· Operation of a battery electric vehicle is approximately 2 to 4 cents per mile. About a sixth the price of operating a gasoline vehicle.

· The use of battery electric vehicles may reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, depending on the source of the electricity.

Cons

· Current battery technology is expensive.

· Battery electric vehicles have a relative short range compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.

Exercise 11. Give the possible ways of translation.

1. overhead wire; 2. high rate; 3. end-on; 4. pre-production, 5. heat treatment; 6. critical temperature; 7. time-delay; 8. high efficiency; 9. corrosion inhibitors; 7. temperature controller; 8. low velocity; 9. water chemistry; 10. horse-power motor; 11. test methods; 12. voltage-to-ground; 13. timekeeper; 14. laser; 15. submarine; 16. reverse-power delay; 17. magnetic gear

Exercise 12. Make up 6-8 sentences of your own with the terms used in the text 2.

Exercise 13. Retell the text using words and word combinations given below.

to store energy, chemical form, alternative energy, battery electric vehicles, wind energy, global warming, greenhouse gases, new expensive research, alternative energy generation, electric motors, internal combustion engine, reliability of the vehicle, gasoline vehicle, source of the electricity, fossil fuels

Exercise 14. Read and translate the following sentences paying attention to the predicates in the Passive Voice.

Present Indefinite Passive

Present Continuous Passive

is covered, are covered

is being covered

are being covered

покрыт(ы)

покрывается, покрываются

Past Indefinite Passive

Past Continuous Passive

was/were covered

was/were being covered

покрылся (лись)

были покрыты

покрывался (покрывались)

Present Perfect Passive

Past Perfect Passive

has/have been covered

had been covered

был(и) покрыт(ы)

Future Indefinite Passive

Future Perfect

shall/will be covered

shall/will have been covered

будет (будут) покрываться

будет (будут) покрыт(ы)

1. In 1948 revolutionary concept was introduced to the electronic world: a transistor was invented. 2. The use of electricity for various purposes is followed by a wider application of electrical devices. 3. The tunnels are being bored by a rotary type of shield called a “drum digger” which can work much faster than any previous type. 4. New knowledge of the stresses and strains in the tube tunnels has been obtained by special test. 5. As for accuracy of machinery processing much thought is being given to the shape and dimensions of the workpieces. 6. Special attention has been given to the problem of direct conversion if energy into electricity. 7. We shall be interested in the electrical properties of semiconductors. 8. All forces occur in pairs, which may conveniently be spoken of as action and reaction. 9. According to the latest forecast, the tunnel will have been finished next year. 10. The function of a system is influenced by variations in its intake of energy or changes in its external and internal environment.

Exercise 15. Write the précis of the text 1.

2. Future energy development

Exercise 1. Study the following terms

1) artificial - искусственный

2) consequence - последствие

3) current – текущий, ток

4) estuary - устье

5) to exploit – эксплуатировать, разрабатывать

6) fertilizer – удобрение

7) fission – расщепление, nuclear ~ деление ядра

8) fossil fuel – ископаемое топливо

9) nuclear fusion – синтез (ядер)

10) to offer – предлагать, предложить

11) plausibility (probability) - правдоподобие

12) predict – предсказывать, предсказать

13) to promote – продвигать, производить

14) sustain – поддерживать, выдерживать

15) raw materials – сырье

16) ultimately – в конечном счете, в конце концов

Exercise 2. Read the following international words and guess their meaning

hybrid, model, parallel, planet, technology, energy, investment, effect, prospect, effective, press, machine, problem, factor, reaction

Exercise 3. Translate the words of the same root. Define speech parts.

to generate - generation – generator; to add – addition; to product – production; to combine – combination - combiner; to require - requirement; to estimate – estimation; to replace – replacement; to convert – conversion; to transport – transportation; to develop - development; to offer - offer; to use – use – usage; to apply – application – appliance - applicant; to use – use – user – useful – useless; to extract – extraction; to produce - production

Exercise 4. Translate the following word combinations.

energy development; energy consumption; diverse strategies; rapid and sustainable development; energy crises; continual increase in oil consumption; existing technologies for new energy sources; renewable energy technologies; wind power and solar power; nuclear fission; harmful side effects; artificial photosynthesis; energy technologies; energy investment; wind power plant; fossil fuel resources; energy investments; fossil fuel resources; raw materials; mining reserves; world hydrocarbon production; fraudulent inventions of machines; produce useful energy; additional energy input

Text 1. Read and translate the text.

Future energy development

An increasing share of world energy consumption is predicted to be used by developing nations. Source: EIA.

Extrapolations from current knowledge to the future offer a choice of energy futures. Some predictions parallel the Malthusian catastrophe hypothesis. Numerous are complex models based scenarios as pioneered by Limits to Growth. Modeling approaches offer ways to analyze diverse strategies, and hopefully find a road to rapid and sustainable development of humanity. Short term energy crises are also a concern of energy development. Some extrapolations lack plausibility, particularly when they predict a continual increase in oil consumption.

Existing technologies for new energy sources, such as renewable energy technologies, particularly wind power and solar power, are promising. Nuclear fission is also promoted, and each need sustained research and development, including consideration of possible harmful side effects. Jacques Cousteau spoke of using the salinization of water at river estuaries as an energy source, which would not have any consequences for a million years, and then stopped to point out that since we are going to be on the planet for a billion years we had to be looking that far into the future. Nuclear fusion and artificial photosynthesis are other energy technologies being researched and developed.

Energy production usually requires an energy investment. Drilling for oil or building a wind power plant requires energy. The fossil fuel resources (see above) that are left are often increasingly difficult to extract and convert. They may thus require increasingly higher energy investments. If the investment is greater than the energy produced, then the fossil resource is no longer an energy source. This means that a large part of the fossil fuel resources and especially the non-conventional ones cannot be used for energy production today. Such resources may still be exploited economically in order to produce raw materials for plastics, fertilizers or even transportation fuel but now more energy is consumed than produced. (They then become similar to ordinary mining reserves, economically recoverable but not net positive energy sources). New technology may ameliorate this problem if it can lower the energy investment required to extract and convert the resources, although ultimately basic physics sets limits that cannot be exceeded.

It should be noted that between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation. The peaking of world hydrocarbon production (Peak oil) may test Malthus critics.

History of predictions about future energy development

Ever since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the question of the future of energy supplies has occupied economists.

· 1865 — William Stanley Jevons published The Coal Question in which he claimed that reserves of coal would soon be exhausted and that there was no prospect of oil being an effective replacement.

· 1885 — U.S. Geological Survey: Little or no chance of oil in California.

· 1891 — U.S. Geological Survey: Little or no chance of oil in Kansas or Texas.

· 1914 — U.S. Bureau of Mines: Total future production of 5.7 billion barrels.

· 1939 — U.S. Department of the Interior: Reserves to last only 13 years.

· 1951 — U.S. Department of the Interior, Oil and Gas Division: Reserves to last 13 years.

(Data from Kahn et al. (1976) pp.94–5 infra)

· 1956 — Geophysicist M. King Hubbert predicts U.S. oil production will peak between 1965 and 1970 (peaked in 1971). Also predicts world oil production will peak "within half a century" based on 1956 data. This is Hubbert peak theory.

· 1989 — Predicted peak by Colin Campbell ("Oil Price Leap in the Early Nineties," Noroil, December 1989, pages 35-38.)

· 2004 — OPEC estimates it will nearly double oil output by 2025 (Opec Oil Outlook to 2025 Table 4, Page 12)

The history of perpetual motion machines is a long list of failed and sometimes fraudulent inventions of machines which produce useful energy "from nowhere" — that is, without requiring additional energy input.

Exercise 6. Find in the text words and word combinations given below, translate them into Russian, put questions to the sentences where these words are used, let your groupmate answer them. Then change parts.

Malthusian catastrophe hypothesis, diverse strategies, short term energy crises, oil consumption, new energy sources, renewable energy technologies, nuclear, energy production, wind power plant, fossil fuel resources, hydrocarbon production, industrial revolution, future of energy supplies, world energy consumption

Exercise 7. Retell the text using words and word combinations given in exercise 6.

Exercise 8. Insert prepositions wherever necessary: in, on, across, by, around, for, into, within, around, from, between.

Wind: A hard-blowing history

Some people may think of wind power as a new concept, but …….. fact humans have been relying …….wind for travel and power …… nearly 7,000 years. We wouldn't be where we are today (literally!) if not …… the energy derived from the wind.

In 5000 B.C., the Egyptians used saris made of bundled reeds to propel their boats up and down the Nile, and later to fan out across the Mediterranean. ……1500 B.C., Asian voyagers used sails made of leaves to power their canoes ……. the Pacific. For better or worse, wind power enabled European sailing ships to set about conquering distant lands ……. the 15th and 16th centuries.

As agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent, particularly the cultivation of wheat and other grains, wind power was used …… grinding and irrigation. Some of the first archaeological evidence of wind used for milling grain comes from Persia ……… 500 to 900 A.D. Arab geographers traveling in Afghanistan ……. 700 A.D. wrote descriptions of windmills, which resembled our modern revolving doors.

Invading Mongolian armies in the 13th century brought Persian wind technology back to China …….. kidnapping the Persian windmill builders. European Crusaders invading the same regions also brought home wind technology. Over the next 500 years, these technologies were adapted and improved causing an explosion ….. the use of windmills …… irrigation and grinding grain. Windmills were also used to saw timber, grind minerals and oil seeds, process spices and cocoa, grind pigments …… paints and dyes, and press tobacco. Wind power enabled the Dutch to drain their lowlands and build a nation that is largely below sea level.

In 1890, the Danes developed the first wind turbines to produce a commercial supply of electricity. …….. 20 years, hundreds of wind turbines had popped up ……. Europe. In the U.S., wind power brought electricity to the Great Plains. Small, isolated farms used wind turbines to charge batteries, run radios and draw water …….. deep wells. Six million windmills were built …… the U.S. …….. 1850 and 1970.

(By Jennifer Vogel

Source: E Magazine: The Environmental Magazine,

Jan/Feb2005, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p30, 1p, 1c.)

Exercise 9. Translate the following sentences paying attention to to have, to be, should, would.

1. All systems of electric operations have points of similarity. 2. It had been discovered that some elements have isotopes. 3. They had to site the auxiliary equipment between the high tension components and the driving compartment. 4. The engineer said that we should discuss the ability of the direct current motors and alternating current motors to control speed. 5. Transformers required for traction service would be specially designed to withstand the severe operating conditions. 6. It is desirable that the vehicles should reduce vibration and lessen noise. 7. An everyday example is an automobile’s cruise control system, which maintains the speed set point. 8. Controlled cooling allows the parts to be cooled at a specified rate in order to obtain desired end results. 9. We are to take certain special steps to reduce the weight of the mechanical part. 10. This is quite a natural requirement that the steel articles should be hard and strong and resist to corrosion. 11. Such defects of engine are to be regarded as quite objectionable.

Exercise 10. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the modal verbs.

1. Pressure inside the vessel is another variable that can be controlled. 2. Other helpful screen can display specific data such as input/output status of the PLC. 3. However, acceptance for these controls may create a dilemma for engineers who are more familiar with products often used in the U.S. industry. 4. Heat must have been removed from the gas to make such a change possible. 5. In order to compare the toughness of different alloys, both microstructural condition and strength level must be considered simultaneously. 6. Thus some caution should be exercised in concluding that chlorides or other environments degrade toughness. 7. It could be extended into an underground mine by working the hard rock deposits already known.

Exercise 11. Translate the text in written form.

Energy storage types

· Chemical

Some natural forms of energy are found in stable chemical compounds such as fossil fuels. Most systems of chemical energy storage result from biological activity, which store energy in chemical bonds. Man-made forms of chemical energy storage include hydrogen fuel, synthetic hydrocarbon fuel, batteries and explosives such as cordite and dynamite.

· Gravitational

Dams can be used to store energy, by using excess energy to pump water into the reservoir. When electrical energy is required, the process is reversed. The water then turns a turbine, generating electricity. Hydroelectric power is currently an important part of the world's energy supply, generating one-fifth of the world's electricity.

· Electrical capacitance

Electrical energy may be stored in capacitors. Capacitors are often used to produce high intensity releases of energy (such as a camera's flash).

· Mechanical

Energy may also be stored pressurized gases or alternatively in a vacuum. Compressed air, for example, may be used to operate vehicles and power tools. Large scale compressed air energy storage facilities are used to smooth out demands on electricity generation by providing energy during peak hours and storing energy during off-peak hours. Such systems save on expensive generating capacity since it only needs to meet average consumption rather than peak consumption.

· Flywheels and springs

Energy can also be stored in mechanical systems such as springs or flywheels. Flywheel energy storage is currently being used for uninterruptible power supplies.

3. Hydrogen economy

Exercise 1. Study the following terms

1) сombustion – горение, internal ~ engine – двигатель внутреннего сгорания

2) to convert – превращать, обращать

3) conversion – превращение, обращение

4) cumbersome – обременительный, громоздкий

5) to eliminate – устранять, уничтожать

6) emission - испускание, излучение

7) to erode – разъедать, (geol.) эродировать

8) exhaust gases –выхлопные газы

9) to handle - управлять

10) to reform – реформировать, исправлять

11) tank - цистерна, бак

12) versatile - многосторонний

13) volcanic emanation –вулканическое излучение

Exercise 2. Form nouns from the verbs by adding suffixes

- ment

Model 1: to develop – development

to develop, to replace, to arrange, to measure, to state, to require

- sion

Model 2: to convert – conversion

to divide, to include, to conclude, to decide

- ion

Model 3: to direct – direction

to react, to construct, to act, to operate, to select, to integrate

Exercise 3. Decode the following abbreviations.

1) a.c.; 2) d.c.; 3) 70 deg.; 4) e.m.f.; 5) yd.; 6) mm; 7) TV; 8) kwh; 9) 10 lb.; 11) m.p.h.; 12) psi; 13) F; 14) kv; 15) C; 16) cc; 17) m.p.h; 18) v.v.; 19) sq.

Exercise 4. Translate the following word combinations

method of steam reforming; electrolysis of water; chemical energy storage; storage batteries; internal combustion engine; direct production of exhaust gases; carbon dioxide emissions; effect of global warming; decomposition of water; volcanic emanations; to obtain hydrogen gas; to manufacture hydrogen; process of splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen; large amounts of energy; transmission of electricity; electrical network; cumbersome tanks; use platinum as a catalyst; proton exchange membrane fuel cells; battery electric vehicles

Text 1. Read and translate the text. Define the words’ meaning in bold type.

Hydrogen economy

Hydrogen can be manufactured at roughly 77 percent thermal efficiency by the method of steam reforming of natural gas. When manufactured by this method it is a derivative fuel like gasoline; when produced by electrolysis of water, it is a form of chemical energy storage as are storage batteries, though hydrogen is the more versatile storage mode since there are two options for its conversion to useful work: (1) a fuel cell can convert the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process, produce electricity, or (2) hydrogen can be burned (less efficiently than in a fuel cell) in an internal combustion engine.

Pros

· Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and entirely non-polluting, yielding pure water vapor (with minimal NOx) as exhaust when combusted in air. This eliminates the direct production of exhaust gases that lead to smog, and carbon dioxide emissions that enhance the effect of global warming.

· Hydrogen is the lightest chemical element and has the best energy-to-weight ratio of any fuel (not counting tank mass).

· Hydrogen can be produced anywhere; it can be produced domestically from the decomposition of water. Hydrogen can be produced from domestic sources and the price can be established within the country.

· Electrolysis combined with fuel-cell regeneration is more than 50% efficient.

Cons

· Other than some volcanic emanations, hydrogen does not exist in its pure form in the environment, because it reacts so strongly with oxygen and other elements.

· It is impossible to obtain hydrogen gas without expending energy in the process. There are three ways to manufacture hydrogen: 1) by breaking down hydrocarbons — mainly methane. If oil or gases are used to provide this energy, fossil fuels are consumed, forming pollution and nullifying the value of using a fuel cell. It would be more efficient to use fossil fuel directly; 2) by electrolysis from water — the process of splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using electrolysis consumes large amounts of energy. It has been calculated that it takes 1.4 joules of electricity to produce 1 joule of hydrogen (Pimentel, 2002); 3) by reacting water with a metal such as sodium, potassium, or boron. Chemical by-products would be sodium oxide, potassium oxide, and boron oxide. Processes exist which could recycle these elements back into their metal form for re-use with additional energy input, further eroding the energy return on energy invested.

· There is currently modest fixed infrastructure for distribution of hydrogen that is centrally produced, amounting to several hundred kilometers of pipeline. An alternative would be transmission of electricity over the existing electrical network to small-scale electrolyzes to support the widespread use of hydrogen as a fuel.

· Hydrogen is difficult to handle, store, and transport. It requires heavy, cumbersome tanks when stored as a gas, and complex insulating bottles if stored as a cryogenic liquid. If it is needed at a moderate temperature and pressure, a metal hydride absorber may be needed. The transportation of hydrogen is also a problem because hydrogen leaks effortlessly from containers.

· Some current fuel cell designs, such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells, use platinum as a catalyst. Wide scale deployment of such fuel cells could place a strain on available platinum resources. Reducing the platinum loading, per fuel cell stack, is the focus of R&D.

· Electricity transmission and battery electric vehicles are far more efficient for storage, transmission and use of energy for transportation, neglecting the energy conversion at the electric power plant. As with distributed production of hydrogen via electrolysis, battery electric vehicles could utilize the existing electricity grid until widespread use dictated an expansion of the grid.

Exercise 5. Make up 10 sentences of your own with the terms used in the text. Let your groupmate translate their Russian versions into English, then change the parts.

Exercise 6. Make up a plan of the text and retell it.

Exercise 7. Give the third form to the following verbs.

to achieve, to break, to combine, to condense, to consume, to convert, to deliver, to design, to establish, to exhaust, to form, to handle, to pollute, to provide, to receive, to reduce, to split, to store, to support, to transmit

Exercise 8. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the words in bold type.

1. They determined the speed of the body using a well-known formula. 2. These molecules are distinguished by the great speed at which they travel. 3. The car speeded along the road. 4. The atoms speeded by a cyclotron impart their velocity to other atoms. 5. The force influences the body which starts moving. 6. No force of gravitation influences bodies in space. 7. A lifted weight has potential energy since it can do work as it falls under the action of gravity. 8. The scientists weighed the tested piece of metal and compared its weight with that of untested ones. 9. Glass rubbed with silk is positively charged, ebonite rubbed with fur is negatively charged. 10. Like charges repel, unlike charges attract.

Text 2. Read and translate the text.

The “Other” Waste Disposal Issue

By Brian Schimmoller

In the nuclear power industry, not all waste is created equal. High-level waste, including spent nuclear fuel, garners the most attention because of its long-term radiotoxicity. Low-level waste (LLW), on the other hand, typically flies below the radar. However, the pending closing of a critical disposal facility in South Carolina is focusing attention on the LLW issue.

Low-level waste is just what it says—waste containing lower levels of radioactivity. LLW is classified in three categories: A, B and C. Class A waste is nominally safe after 100 years, Class B waste after 300 years and Class C waste after 500 years. Nuclear power plants generate significant quantities of LLW each year, through daily maintenance activities, health and safety checkups and during plant outages. Class A waste comprises the bulk of LLW from nuclear power plants, about 85 to 90 percent.

Nuclear plant operators currently have three options for disposing low-level waste: the Energy Solutions facility in Barnwell, S.C., which currently accepts Class A, B and C waste from around the country; the Energy Solutions facility in Clive, Utah, which only accepts certain types of Class A waste and the U.S. ecology facility near Richland, Wash., which accepts Class A, B and C waste from the 11 states in the Rocky Mountain and Northwest Low-Level Waste Compact states.

In 2000, lawmakers in South Carolina initiated a plan to close the state’s doors to nuclear waste from producers outside the Atlantic Compact, which includes South Carolina, Connecticut and New Jersey. The plan goes into effect this summer. The result is that as of July 1, 2008 there will be no Class B and C disposal option for commercial LLW producers in 36 states, meaning about 15,000 cubic feet of material per year will need to find another home.

The obvious solution would be to open another waste disposal facility. In the world of nuclear power, however, the obvious solution is rarely an easy or even acceptable one. While LLW disposal is authorized and regulated according to federal law, actual disposal is a commercial matter, which adds business and economic constraints to the broader array of technical, safety and environmental issues facing waste disposal in general. Moreover, while states have known for some time that LLW disposal capacity could ultimately impact nuclear industry operations around the country, the technical need for such facilities has not overcome opposition and political inertia. Only Texas has a new LLW disposal site under license review and it will only accept waste—at least initially—from Texas and Vermont.

Facing this reality, the nuclear power plants left out in the cold as of July 1 have been taking several steps to ensure LLW disposal does not preclude sustained operation. The first order of business is to reduce the amount of waste generated at nuclear power stations. “We are evaluating a number of specific strategies to reduce the amount of Class B/C waste,” said Graham Johnson, supervising scientist with Duke Energy, which operates two nuclear plants in the Atlantic Compact and one outside the compact. Minimization strategies include operating resin demineralizers with less resin, operating some demineralizers on an as-needed basis (rather than continuously, removing filters from service earlier) and using non-metal filters, which can be processed with steam reforming, leaving very little waste material.

Waste minimization, of course, only reduces waste; it doesn’t eliminate it. With Barnwell out of the equation, out-of-compact plants will have to store LLW on-site for some period of time. How long is uncertain, but one thing is certain: nuclear operators will be getting more familiar with best practices and procedures to ensure proper on-site handling, identification, monitoring and tracking of LLW. Duke Energy already has an on-site outdoor storage facility at its McGuire Station in North Carolina, in which it could safely store LLW for the life of the station, if needed, according to Duke Energy’s Johnson.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently working to review and update guidance on extended on-site storage of LLW, with completion scheduled by end of the second quarter of 2008, according to an NRC assessment published on its Web site in October.

A third industry strategy to deal with LLW disposal relates to the distinction between Class A, B and C waste streams. Technically, these streams are segregated—physically and legally—according to the ratio of radionuclides in the streams. Those with higher percentages of longer-lived radionuclides are classified as Class B or C and are therefore buried deeper in the LLW disposal facility. Through averaging across waste streams, however, it may be possible to reclassify some amount of Class B/C waste as Class A, enabling disposal in existing facilities. The nuclear industry is investigating whether the NRC’s “Branch Technical Position” could be updated to achieve this reclassification. “It is unclear at this time if this approach will be accepted and how much waste would be a candidate for this approach,” said Johnson. “Clearly, some waste will still be Class B/C, but Duke would welcome an update to the Branch Technical Position.”

Reclassification would not negate the need for LLW disposal facilities, just as closing the nuclear fuel cycle through reprocessing would not negate the need for a high-level waste facility such as Yucca Mountain. Together with waste minimization, however, it would provide some welcome breathing room. So, although not all nuclear waste is created equal, making it more equal could have significant benefits.

Exercise 9. What other ecological problems besides the ones mentioned in the text are very important now? Discuss with your group.

Exercise 10. Write down your own opinion on all of these problems (an opinion composition).

Exercise 11. Give a written translation of the text into English.

Exercise 12. Make a report about ecological problems and the way of solving them in Kazakhstan.

Exercise 13. Translate the following extract from the article in written form. While making your translation you may use a dictionary.

В настоящее время одной из наиболее актуальных проблем является проблема энергоресурсосбережения. Одним из способов решения этой задачи является более рациональное распределение энергетических ресурсов в соответствии с потребностями потребителей на базе глубокого экономического анализа.

Основным источником энергии во всем мире является органическое топливо: природный газ, нефть и уголь. Стоимость угля всегда намного меньше цены природного газа и тем более цены легкого жидкого топлива. Однако использование твердого топлива требует дорогостоящей подготовки угля перед сжиганием, а потом еще требуется решать проблему размещения очаговых остатков (т.е. золы, шлака или провала). Всего этого не нужно при сжигании жидкого или газообразного топлива. Более того, процесс сжигания газа или мазута может быть полностью автоматизирован и, следовательно, небольшие отопительные котлы могут работать без присутствия персонала. Это значительно снижает эксплуатационные расходы. В результате, как ни странно, оказывается, что дешевле генерировать тепло за счет более дорогих топлив. В экологическом плане использование газа и легкого жидкого топлива также дает важные преимущества.

4. Solar energy

Exercise 1. Study the following terms

1) to absorb – впитывать, поглощать, всасывать, абсорбировать

2) annual – ежегодный, годовой, годичный

3) approximately - приблизительно

4) average – среднее число; on~ в среднем, средний; (v.) составлять в 5) среднем

6) to bridge – наводить, строить

7) to capture – брать, взять, захватывать

8) to harness - использовать

9) garments - предметы

10) to reduce – уменьшать, снижать, сокращать, приводить

11) roof – крыша, кровля

Exercise 2. Translate the following words paying attention to the suffixes.

physical, conversion, internal, external, appearance, solution, practical, natural, transformation, electrochemical, production, approximately, compression, friction, pollution, independently, provision, concentration, effective, toughness, compatible, significantly, optimize, capability, completely

Exercise 3. Form words using the suffixes: 1) ‘-able, -ible’; 2) ‘-er’. Translate the words.

1) to transfer, to value, to compare, to avail, to convert, to melt

2) to transform, to work, to lecture, to read, to write, to discover, to transmit

Exercise 4. Translate the following word combinations.

solar energy, solar resources, wind and wave power, solar energy technologies, conversion of sunlight, thermal devices, annual average radiation, average atmospheric conditions, reduce radiation, atmospheric convection, evaporation and condensation of water vapor, products of photosynthesis, worldwide energy consumption, commercial, industrial, agricultural and transportation sectors, flexibility of solar energy, solar-designed buildings

Text 1. Read and translate the text.

Solar energy

Solar energy is energy from the Sun in the form of heat and light. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the Sun, along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for over 99.9% of the available flow of renewable energy on Earth. Solar energy technologies harness the sun's heat and light for practical ends such as heating, lighting and electricity. These technologies date from the time of the early Greeks, Native Americans and Chinese, who warmed their buildings by orienting them toward the sun.

Solar power is used synonymously with solar energy or more specifically to refer to the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This can be done with photovoltaics, concentrating solar thermal devices and various experimental technologies.

About half the incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by water and land masses, while the rest is reradiated back into space (values are in PW =10¹⁵ W). Annual average radiation at the top of the atmosphere (above) is markedly higher than at Earth's surface (below). The black dots represent the land area required to replace the total primary energy supply with electricity from solar cells.

Earth continuously receives 174 petawatts of incoming solar radiation at the upper atmosphere. When it meets the atmosphere, 6 percent of the radiation is reflected and 16 percent is absorbed. Average atmospheric conditions (clouds, dust and pollutants) further reduce radiation traveling through the atmosphere by 20 percent due to reflection and 3 percent via absorption. These atmospheric conditions not only reduce the quantity of energy reaching the earth's surface, but also diffuse approximately 20 percent of the incoming light and filter portions of its spectrum. After passing through the atmosphere, approximately half the radiation is in the visible electromagnetic spectrum with the other half mostly in the infrared spectrum (a small part is ultraviolet radiation).

The absorption of solar energy by atmospheric convection (sensible heat transport) and evaporation and condensation of water vapor (latent heat transport) powers the water cycle and drives the winds. Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an average temperature of 14 °C. The small portion of solar energy captured by plants is converted to chemical energy via photosynthesis. All the food we eat, wood we build with, and fossil fuels we use are products of photosynthesis. The flows and stores of solar energy in the environment are vast in comparison to human energy needs.

· The total solar energy available to the earth is approximately 3850 zettajoules (ZJ) per year.

· Oceans absorb approximately 2850 ZJ solar energy per year.

· Winds can theoretically supply 6 ZJ of energy per year.

· Biomass captures approximately 1.8 ZJ of solar energy per year.

· Worldwide energy consumption was 0.471 ZJ in 2004.

The upper map on the right shows how solar radiation at the top of the earth's atmosphere varies with latitude, while the lower map shows annual average ground-level insolation. For example, in North America, the average insolation at ground level over an entire year (including nights and periods of cloudy weather) lies between 125 and 375 W/m² (3 to 9 kWh/m²/day). At present, photovoltaic panels typically convert about 15 percent of incident sunlight into electricity; therefore, a solar panel in the contiguous United States, on average, delivers 19 to 56 W/m² or 0.45 - 1.35 kWh/m²/day.

There are many technologies for harnessing solar energy. Applications span through the residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and transportation sectors. Solar energy can be used to produce food, heat, light and electricity. The flexibility of solar energy is manifest in a wide variety of technologies such as cars, calculators, etc.

Solar design can provide practical lighting, comfortable temperatures, and improved air quality by tailoring building orientation, proportion, window placement, and material components to the local climate and environment. As climate varies by region so too will the features of solar-designed buildings.

Exercise 5. Read the text again and find sentences where the following terms are used. Translate them into Russian.

solar energy, renewable energy, solar energy technologies, conversion of sunlight, photovoltaics, average radiation, photosynthesis, solar panel, solar design

Exercise 6. Comprehend the information given in the text 1. Give your reasons.

Exercise 7. Read and translate the text 2 without a dictionary. Retell the text in detail and then give its summary.

Solar Cells: The New Light Fantastic

A novel and inexpensive material that ekes current from even the weakest rays could someday make the world a cleaner, greener place

One day last July, Ted Sargent was typing away in his office at the University of Toronto when a graduate student rushed in. His excited visitor explained that he had just shone infrared light invisible to the human eye onto a tiny sample of a special material Sargent and his researchers had developed, and the sample actually converted the light into energy. Always the skeptic, Sargent asked, "Did you turn the [overhead] lights off?"

Soon, however, it became clear that this research group had stumbled onto something big. Sargent and his team describe their discovery the world's first plastic solar cell able to absorb infrared light in the February issue of the prestigious industry journal Nature Materials. Their little sample could bring about a sea change in the energy industry, perhaps making solar energy so cheap that it becomes a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Solar cells in commercial production today are expensive, around $6 per watt. To understand what that means, consider this: If you install $600 worth of solar cells, you can power a typical light bulb for 25 years, figures Ron Pernick, co-founder of renewable-energy consultancy Clean Edge in San Francisco. That's about twice the cost of coal-based electricity.

To bridge that price gap, scientists have long attempted to develop so-called plastic solar cells. Essentially, they're a thin film that can be manufactured through a much cheaper process, one analogous to a newspaper printing press. They can be flexible and light. Plastic solar cells can also, potentially, be simply sprayed onto any surface. That wall, roof, or consumer electronics case becomes a solar-energy collector. Goodbye, ugly solar-panel roofs. Goodbye, lead storage batteries.

Welcome, walls, cars, MP3 players, even shirts doubling as electricity generators. A person could, potentially, unfurl a roll of such plastic solar cells in a field and create a huge solar farm in a matter of minutes, says Sargent. The beauty of plastic solar cells is that they do away with the costly installation required for traditional, heavy solar panels.

What's more, materials containing organic molecules decompose when heated. So, theoretically, such organic-based plastic solar cells will have a life span that's a lot shorter than today's mainstream solar cells, which are guaranteed to function for more than 25 years. Still, Sargent says his material has withstood being heated to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) without disintegrating. Plus, a dirt-cheap plastic solar cell that can last for, say, three to five years, will find its uses particularly in consumer-electronics devices, which typically aren’t designed to last longer, anyway.

It will probably take Sargent and the industry up to 10 years to get this technology to become a significant commercial product. But many venture capitalists and solar-cell companies believe it's worth the wait. "I view this work to be groundbreaking," says Josh Wolfe, managing partner at New York-based venture-capital firm Lux Partners. "There's an opportunity for a disruptive breakthrough technology with major social implications." Indeed, with its potential to be used in power-generating garments, the day may not be that far off when the term "power suit" takes on a whole new meaning.

(Source: Business Week Online, 1/31/2005, pN.PAG)

Exercise 8. Ask questions to the following sentences and let your neighbor answer them.

1. Semiconductors find wide application in designing electronic counters, because they react to all kinds of radiations. (Where?; Why?)

2. On the downside, today's plastic solar cells are highly inefficient. They only convert about 6% of the sunlight that hits them into energy. (What?; Why?)

3. Semiconductor material used in regular solar cells requires particularly intense solar power, found in visible sunlight but not infrared light, for electrons to be knocked out of place. (What?; Where?)

4. Plastic solar cells are also terribly expensive. They can cost 10 times more than the traditional, semiconductor solar cells. (What?; How many times?)

5. A constant temperature can be maintained by means of semiconductors irrespective of the surrounding temperature changes. (What?; By means of what?)

6. By burning wood which has accumulated the same amount of solar energy (as received by photocells) we obtain but fractions of one per cent of electric power. (By means of what?; How many per cent?)

Exercise 9. Comprehend the information given in the text 2. Write the summary of the article.

Exercise 10. Give a written translation of the extract beginning with “Solar cells in commercial production …….” and ending “installation required for traditional, heavy solar panels”. While making translation you may use a dictionary.

5. Water power

Exercise 1. Study the following terms.

1) basin – бассейн, водоем

2) to deliver – доставлять, доставить; ~from

3) to derive – извлекать, извлечь; ~ from происходить

4) installation – установка, сооружение

5) pump – насос, (v.) качать, ~out выкачивать

6) shatter – разбиваться, разбиться, разрушать

7) submerge – погружать, затоплять

8) perception – восприятие, понимание

9) pontoon – понтон, ~ bridge понтонный мост

10) tidal – приливно-отливный, приливная волна; ~wave приливная волна

Exercise 2. Translate the following international words.

thermal, dam, project, conservation, gas, to illustrate, mechanical, process, effect, ideal, degradation, condensation, atmosphere, standard, to absorb, phase, collision, hydro system, turbine, vertical, kinetic energy, commercial prototype

Exercise 3. Read and translate the following word combinations.

motive energy; slow flowing stream of water; moderate sea swell; hydroelectric energy; large-scale hydroelectric dams; micro hydro systems; hydroelectric power installations; damless hydro systems; energy in waves; tidal power captures energy; underwater plant; small wind turbine; ocean thermal energy conversion; energy generation method; reverse of desalination; Lake-bottom water; cyclic heat engine; submerged pipes; blue energy

Text 1. Read the text and find the English equivalents for: гидроэлектрическая энергия, энергия приливов и отливов, микро гидросистемы, энергия волны, маленькая ветровая турбина, циклический тепловой двигатель, кинетическая энергия, голубая энергия, опреснение воды

Water power

Energy in water (in the form of motive energy or temperature differences) can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy.

There are many forms of water energy:

· Hydroelectric energy is a term usually reserved for large-scale hydroelectric dams. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana.

· Micro hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS). There are many of these installations around the world, including several delivering around 50 kW in the Solomon Islands.

· Damless hydro systems derive kinetic energy from rivers and oceans without using a dam.

· Wave power uses the energy in waves. The waves will usually make large pontoons go up and down in the water, leaving an area with reduced wave height in the "shadow". Wave power has now reached commercialization.

· Tidal power captures energy from the tides in a vertical direction. Tides come in, raise water levels in a basin, and tides roll out. Around low tide, the water in the basin is discharged through a turbine.

· Tidal stream power captures energy from the flow of tides, usually using underwater plant resembling a small wind turbine. Tidal stream power demonstration projects exist, and the first commercial prototype will be installed in Strangford Lough in September 2007.

· Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature difference between the warmer surface of the ocean and the colder lower recesses. To this end, it employs a cyclic heat engine. OTEC has not been field-tested on a large scale.

· Deep lake water cooling, although not technically an energy generation method can save a lot of energy in summer. It uses submerged pipes as a heat sink for climate control systems. Lake-bottom water is a year-round local constant of about 4 °C.

· Blue energy is the reverse of desalination. This form of energy is in research.

Exercise 4. Write out specific terms used in the article and translate them into Russian.

Exercise 5. Explain the meaning of the following.

motive energy, wave power, wind turbine, flow of tides, desalination, cyclic heat engine, large pontoons, hydroelectric dams, flowing stream of water, underwater plant

Exercise 6. Ask 10 questions to the text and let your groupmate answer them. Then change the parts.

Exercise 7. Translate the following expressions into English. Use them in your essay.

1) Настоящая статья охватывает широкий круг проблем.

2) В данной статье (работе) дан сравнительный анализ…..

3) В данной работе мы представим…….

4) Эта проблема требует детального изучения.

5) Суть проблемы заключается в следующем……

6) Другие вопросы рассматриваются как……

7) В решении проблемы……….

8) Данная точка зрения разделяется……..

9) Изучение данной проблемы позволило сделать вывод……

10) Необходимо принять во внимание…….

Exercise 8. Translate the following text in written form. Time for translation – 15 min.

The New Sea Power

Ocean waves may seem like a fanciful source of energy. But two new power plants now look certain to shatter that perception. In August a 750-kilowatt power plant off the coast of the Orkney Islands in Scotland began delivering ocean-wave power for the first time to the local electricity grid. Built by Edinburgh-based Ocean Power Delivery, the plant consists of four linked floating cylinders about 150 meters long; they use wave motion to drive a hydraulic pump and turn a turbine. A second plant, nearing completion in Sydney, is a single vertical cylinder, partly submerged. As the water level rises and falls, it pushes the air in the cylinder through a turbine. Energetech, the Sydney manufacturer, expects to send 500 kilowatts to Australia's grid in December at a cost of eight cents per kilowatt hour about half the Scottish plant's rate. Ray Alcorn, head of electrical engineering at Energetech, says ocean power is about a decade behind wind and solar.

(By Fred Guterl and William Underhill

Source: Newsweek, 9/20/2004, Vol. 144 Issue 12, pE4, 1/3p, 1c.

Item Number: 14392968)

Exercise 9. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the use of gerund and gerund constructions.

1. By analyzing this data, new cycles containing modified variables can yield better results in less time. 2. The method of controlling basic vacuum furnace process parameters has definitely changed over years. 3. The materials bring their own economies by cutting steel sheet into car doors. 4. Their aim is finding new ways to utilize this first-class polymer in light industry. 5. This feature provides a convenient method for saving the return information and passing arguments between subroutines. 6. The controlling motive-power unit carries a computer, programming equipment, and devices for sensing train and wayside conditions and location.

Exercise 10. Find some additional material devoted to the problems raised in the text and write a short report in English.

Exercise 11. Translate the following extract into English.

Природные воды содержат в своем составе целый ряд химических элементов и соединений, многие из которых препятствуют использованию воды в хозяйственно-питьевых и промышленных целях. Длительное употребление питьевой воды с излишней концентрацией таких элементов как фтор, железо, марганец приводит к различным заболеваниям человека, повышенное содержание этих элементов в воде отрицательно воздействует на растительный и животный мир.

Марганец является чрезвычайно важным элементом в организме человека и животных, но его повышенное содержание крайне вредно для здоровья. Попадая в организм, марганец реагирует с рядом химических элементов, образуя соединения, которые депрессируют ферменты.

Повышенное содержание марганца в воде придает ей металлический или вяжущий привкус, при контакте с воздухом – окраску. Такая вода причиняет неудобства в быту, присутствие в воде марганца может способствовать развитию в трубах, теплообменных аппаратах, водораспределительных сетях, водоразборной арматуре марганцевых бактерий, продукты жизнедеятельности которых вызывают уменьшение сечения, а иногда их полную закупорку.

Содержание марганца строго ограничено в воде, используемой в бумажной, текстильной, пищевой, химической и других отраслях промышленности. Именно поэтому ГОСТ 2874-82 "Вода питьевая" регламентирует безвредное содержание марганца в воде 0,1 мг/дм³.

(А.Е.Идрисова)

6. Wind power

Exercise 1. Study the following terms.

1) deploy – развертываться, развернуться

2) energy grid – энергетическая сеть

3) to evolve – развиваться, развиться

4) intermittency – прерывистость

5) to mitigate – смягчать, смягчить

6) outfit – снаряжение, набор (set of things)

7) prominent – выпуклый, видный, выдающийся

8) renewable – возобновляемый

9) throw – бросать, кидать, сбрасывать

10) windmill – ветряная мельница

11) viable – жизнеспособный, осуществимый

Exercise 2. Complete the following sentences with either ..(or), neither ..(nor), both …and, because of, still, since

1. The cost of the control system, both in the equipment needed and in staff, is obviously great. 2. Neither of these models fits the data. 3. The Greeks could neither understand their observations in the field of electricity nor make any use of them. 3. Because of the heavy but balanced internal stresses, tempered glass cannot be cut or deeply scratched, nor can deeply figured glass be tempered satisfactorily. 4. This forms the starting point either for purification and direct counting or for chemical conversion to carbon, acetylene, methane, depending on the laboratory. 5. Both of these factors affect the intrinsic plasticity. 6. As mentioned in the introduction above, crystallized materials may still have desirable characteristics. 7. This is as expected, since the amorphous alloys have no work hardening capacity.

Exercise 3. Read and translate the following word combinations.

environmental concerns; modern wind turbines; power output of a turbine; wind speed; offshore and high altitude sites; wind farms; renewable energy technology; global energy; wind resources; deployed turbines; an average quantity of electricity; favorable wind regimes; seasonal wind fluctuations; long-term technical potential of wind energy; total current global energy production; 40 times current electricity demand; ground-based or airborne wind turbines; wind strengths; 1000 MW of conventional wind generation capacity; energy storage techniques; greenhouse gases;

Text 1. Read the text and translate it into Russian. Try to get the main idea of each paragraph.

Wind power

Control of the global wind-power market is up in the air. As political and environmental concerns surrounding fossil fuels mount, wind has become one of the world's fastest-growing energy sources. Affirming the sector's mainstream appeal, major industrial outfits have jumped in and are throwing their weight around in a space previously dominated by specialized European companies.

Airflows can be used to run wind turbines. Modern wind turbines range from around 600kW to up to 5 MW of rated power, although turbines, with rated output of 1.5–3 MW, have become the most common for commercial use; the power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases dramatically. Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms.

Wind power is the fastest growing of the renewable energy technologies, though it currently provides less than 0.5 percent of global energy. Over the past decade, global installed maximum capacity increased from 2,500 MW in 1992 to just over 40,000 MW at the end of 2003, at an annual growth rate of near 30 percent. As wind power has become more prominent and viable, several public schools are incorporating sustainable wind power into the energy grid of their school in order to cut power costs. Due to the intermittency of wind resources, most deployed turbines in the EU produce an average quantity of electricity that would be equivalent to 25 percent of the hours in a year working at nominal capacity (a capacity factor of 25 percent), but under favorable wind regimes some reach 35 percent or higher. Capacity factors are a function of seasonal wind fluctuations and may be higher in winter. It would mean that a typical 5 MW turbine in the EU would have an average output of 1.7 MW.

According to Danish group BTM Consult, which monitors renewable energy, worldwide wind-energy capacity has grown an average of 15.8% annually for the past five years. Although it still probably amounts to less than 1% of worldwide energy use, demand remains intense. This should be the time that Vestas and companies such as Spanish group Gamesa, which have been pillars of the industry's growth in Europe, have been waiting for. But while they were instrumental to growth in Germany and Spain (the two countries with the highest generating capacity) and Denmark (which is estimated to derive 20% of its electricity from wind farms), the companies' success in larger countries is less assured.

GE is providing more than 60% of the approximately 2,500 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity expected to be installed in the U.S. this year. The American Wind Energy Assn (AWEA). AWEA, a trade group, projects that at the end of 2005 the U.S.'s wind energy capacity will be about 9,200 MW, enough to power roughly 2.5 million homes.

In large part this power is generated by windmills with a generating capacity between 1 and 3 MW each. However, the word "windmill" barely seems adequate to describe these generators, with blades 131 feet long attached at a hub 250 feet above the ground, and they are not universally popular.

Wind strengths near the Earth's surface vary and thus cannot guarantee continuous power unless combined with other energy sources or storage systems. Some estimates suggest that 1,000 MW of conventional wind generation capacity can be relied on for just 333 MW of continuous power. While this might change as technology evolves, advocates have suggested incorporating wind power with other power sources, or the use of energy storage techniques, with this in mind. It is best used in the context of a system that has significant reserve capacity such as hydro, or reserve load, such as a desalination plant, to mitigate the economic effects of resource variability.

Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. This could require large amounts of land to be used for wind turbines, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. Offshore resources experience mean wind speeds of ~ 90% greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy. This number could also increase with higher altitude ground-based or airborne wind turbines.

Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases during operation, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

(By Alex Halperin

Source: Business Week Online, 11/21/2005, pN.PAG, 00p.

Item Number: 19022479)

Exercise 4. Write out specific terms used in the article and translate them into Kazakh/Russian.

Exercise 5. Read the whole text again. Name the main problems mentioned in it. Name the main ways of solving problems touched upon in the article and translate them into English. Make theses to the article.

Exercise 6. Discuss the text with your group in a form of a dialogue.

Exercise 7. Read the text without a dictionary. Try to get the main idea. Retell its main content.

Where the Wind Blows

As wind turbines become larger and more efficient, utilities may want to start erecting them everywhere. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be) not every site is suitable for these behemoths. Most modern wind turbines can produce power economically only when the average wind speed exceeds 15.5 miles per hour.

Meteorological records show there aren't too many places that fall into that category, but those wind readings are taken close to the surface. What about 20 or more stories up, where the turbines turn? Stanford University civil engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson has developed a means of extrapolating wind speeds at a height of 80 meters from surface weather records. Applying the method to more than 8,000 locations around the world, Jacobson has created a map of the global wind potential.

According to the calculations, only about 13 percent of locations have wind speeds high enough to make wind power profitable. Indeed, large swathes of Asia and South America have virtually no wind potential. But even as sparse as the resource is, Jacobson calculates that wind power generated at these high-speed areas could generate the energy equivalent of 54 billion tons of oil a year; or five times the world energy demand.

(By Jeffrey Winters

Source: Mechanical Engineering, Sep2005, Vol. 127 Issue 9, p12, 1/2p, 1 map.

Item Number: 18180646)

Exercise 8. Give a written translation of the text into English.

Exercise 9. Discussion “Renewable sources of energy”. Compare the wind, solar energy and energy of water.

Exercise 10. Find some additional material devoted to the problem raised in the texts and write a report in English.