FOSSIL FUELS

Fossil fuels-including coal, oil, and natural gas-are sources of energy that humans have taken advantage of over thousands of years. About 90 percent of the world's energy consumption comes from fossil fuels. These were created by the decomposition of primitive organisms, buried in sand and mud, and compressed under the weight of accumulating layers. Over millions of years, temperatures and pressures changed the organic matter into coal, oil, and gas. Deposits of these resources are now found below ground in many areas of the world.

Combusting fossil fuels with oxygen releases water, carbon dioxide, and other substances into the environment. In the case of coal, these substances include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which have been shown to be responsible for acid rain. To control these emissions, today's coal-fired power plants are equipped with scrubbers, filters, collectors, electrostatic precipitators, and other devices. Natural-gas-fired power plants release virtually no sulfur dioxide, but require controls to limit their nitrogen oxide emissions.

Smog is created by a photochemical reaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and other molecules emitted in car exhaust. To control smog, oil companies have reformulated gasoline, and automakers have designed cars that burn gasoline more cleanly and efficiently, with better filtering mechanisms. The results: tailpipe emissions from the average new car contain 95 percent less hydrocarbons than they did in the 1960s.

Global climate change is another environmental issue linked to fossil fuel use. As a greenhouse gas, the carbon dioxide released in the combustion of fossil fuels traps infrared radiation from the earth that would otherwise radiate out to space. This effect is believed to raise the heat of the earth's atmosphere. Planting more trees is one way to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, since trees need carbon dioxide as part of photosynthesis. Other greenhouse gases – like methane and carbon dioxide – come from animals and industry practices.

Oil spills in the oceans can damage coastal and marine plants and wildlife. Double-hulled tankers and rigorous safety practices are highly effective in preventing spills and limiting damage. Since 1990, more than 99.999 percent of oil delivered by tankers to the U.S. reached its destination without incident.

Вариант V

1. Перепишите и переведите предложения. Подчеркните в них Participle I и Participle II и установите их функции в предложении – определение, обстоятельство или часть глагола-сказуе-мого (см. образец выполнения № 1).

1. Testing the operation of the system, engineers used different kinds of equipment.

2. When electrified a body may repel as well as attract different objects.

3. Heat gained by one substance is heat lost by another.

4. The tides in the Penzhin Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk are the highest ones for Pacific Ocean reaching the height 13,4 metres (44 ft).

5. One of proposed variants of power station presumes installed capacity 87 GW and annual production 200 TWh of electricity.

6. One can use several modern devices while detecting and measuring radioactivity.

7. As a rule one great discovery is generally followed by numerous others.

2. Перепишите и переведите предложения. Подчеркните в них модальные глаголы или их эквиваленты (см. образец выполнения № 2).

1. Infra-red waves can be stopped by glass.

2. Nobody will be able to translate this text without a dictionary.

3. This substance is to be heated before the experiment.

4. He had to return home as he had left his bag.

5. We can think of heat as a special form of kinetic energy.

6. The Kola Bay and Sea of Okhotsk alone could produce 100 GW with tidal power stations, and the national energy potential from tidal energy can compete with current total energy production

7. New types of plastics had to be obtained for space technology.

8. The second project suggests smaller scale plant, which must use northern part of basin with higher tides.

3. Перепишите и письменно переведите на русский язык следующие предложения. Определите видовременную форму и залог сказуемого (см. образец выполнения № 3).

1. That steam in then used to turn a turbine generator to make electricity.

2. Ocean thermal energy conversion in currently being used in Japan and Hawaii in some demonstration projects.

3. To control smog, gasoline has been reformulated by oil companies, and cars have been designed that burn gasoline more cleanly and efficiently.

4. The heat of the earth`s atmosphere will be raised by this effect.

5. Industry has developed various applications for the electromagnet.

6. Newton has established his law of gravitation before 1670.

7. The application of electronics changes the entire life of the people.

8. They will be given the new data of the experiment.

9. The speaker was asked a number of difficult questions.

10. Today polymers are referred to as materials of vital importance.

4. Перепишите предложения и переведите их на русский язык, обращая внимание на разные значения глаголов to be, to have, to do (см. образец выполнения № 4) .

1. High-level radioactive waste will be dangerous for the next 100 to 1,000 years.

2. Does combusting fossil fuels with oxygen release water?

3. To control emission, coal-fired power plants, are to be equipped with scrubbers, collectors, etc.

4. We have to plant more trees to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

5. Computers can do the work more quickly and more accurately than people.

6. The goods are to be delivered by the end of June.

7. The law has to regulate relations between people who neither know nor trust each other and who are in unfamiliar situations.

8. You have to come to the language laboratory to work at your pronunciation.

9. This material does not possess elastic properties.

5. Перепишите и переведите следующие предложения, обращая внимание на неличные формы глагола (см. образец выполнения № 5).

1. Of the oil consumed in the United States, most is used in transportation.

2. To make the most of this valuable resource, energy producers are developing more efficient refining methods.

3. New techniques of locating and extracting oil from the earth are also making it possible to recover oil that was once too expensive to produce.

4. In general, about 30 percent of the oil trapped can be economically recovered by pumping.

5. As an economy becomes more developed, the energy consumed per person increases.

6. Wood was used not only for heating and cooking, but also as source of charcoal for reducing ores to metals.

7. Coal was difficult to mine with primitive tools.

8. The first fossil fuels to be used were surface deposits of asphalt, peat and coal.

6. Перепишите и переведите следующие предложения, обращая внимание на перевод зависимого и независимого причастных оборотов (см. образец выполнения № 6).

1. Having used a laser beam, scientists obtained accurate calculations of Jupiter’s temperature.

2. The engineers of our institute having developed a new type of semiconductor laser, it was tested at several plants.

3. All machines that have been built by man have some energy « loss», this energy being converted into useless heat due to friction.

4. Working with machines, sharp tools, motors one must always be careful.

5. Knowledge being the most valuable wealth of our times, the information theory became of great importance.

6. The energy used per second is proportional to the frequency.