THE AMAZING POWER OF NATURE

1. Now that the human race has made great technological and scientific progress and is about to clone whatever or whoever it wants, it is very easy to forget about the forces of nature. Although the images of destruction which we have seen on our television screens are horrific, they are, in fact, just the tip of the iceberg compared to what nature can really do.

2. Tornadoes, which are the fastest and most violent winds on earth, can reach speeds of over 500kph. Roofs of houses, cars, animals, buses and people have been lifted into the air in this way. Those people whose lives have been put at risk by ‘twisters’ have described how helpless they felt in the face of such power.

3. A tornado is a violently spinning column of air that can start to form during a thunderstorm, of which there are about 45,000 a day worldwide. Of course, not all thunderstorms bring about total destructions. The most destructive ones occur in India, Bangladesh and ‘Tornado Alley’ in the USA. The worst ever ‘twister’ hit this area in March 1925, when a huge tornado travelled across Missouri, Illinois and India, killing 695 people and injuring further 2,027.

4. A blizzard is another natural phenomenon which affects North America. It is a deadly mixture of wind, snow and freezing temperatures. Muscles and internal organs then fail to work when body temperatures falls below 30 C. In the USA blizzards are quite common, with winds travelling at up to 65 kph.

5. It is believed that global warming, which is caused ice caps to melt, will be the cause of more blizzards in the future. Even Britain may experience blizzards as violent as the one which hit New York, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia in January, 1996. These cities became completely paralysed when snow up to 78cm deep and weighing a total of five billion tons covered an area 800 km long.

6. Apart from causing death and injury directly, tornadoes and blizzards can also cause floods. Naturally, floods are usually caused by heavy rainfall, but whichever way they are created, they can be very destructive. The most dangerous and dramatic ones are known as flash floods. In June 1976, hot air blew north from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing huge thunderstorms to the big Thompson Gorge, where they released 25 cm of rain in six hours. All the mountain streams filled up and met at the Big Thompson Gorge. The water then flowed through the canyon, removing everything in its path, killing 139 people and causing damage worth $ 36 million. Other floods on record have developed more slowly but have been equally destructive.

7. If we choose to ignore it and believe we are the supreme rulers of the planet, we may be in for a big surprise. Remember, lightning can strike twice in the same place.

 

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА 6

ВАРИАНТ 1

I. Употребите, где необходимо, частицу to перед инфинитивом и переведите предложения на русский язык.

 

1. I can’t … go there now, I have … do my homework.

2. Make him … speak louder.

3. She asked me … read the letter carefully and … write an answer.

4. We had better … stop rest a little

5. We saw the ship … sail off.

II. Выберите эквивалент русского предложения из предложенных вариантов.

 

1. Мэри хочет обучать вас английскому.

a) Mary wants to teach you English.

b) Mary wants to be taught English.

2. Ему не нравится, когда вы его беспокоите.

a) He doesn’t like to be disturbed by you.

b) He doesn’t like to disturb you.

3. Статья должна быть переведена на испанский.

a) The article must translate into Russian.

b) The article must be translated into Russian.

4. Он сделал вид, что спит.

a) He pretended to be sleeping

b) He pretended to have been sleeping

5. Вероятно, я забыл портфель в магазине.

a) I might have left my bag in the shop.

b) I might leave my bag in the shop.

 

III. Переведите следующие предложения с инфинитивом в функции подлежащего и обстоятельства.

 

1. To drive a car in a big city is very important.

2. To run modern machines workers must be educated/

3. To solve the problem you have to make a great many experiments.

4. To get to the earth the rays of the sun have to travel during 8 minutes.

5. To calculate the age of our planet requires much knowledge in different branches of science.

IV. Переведите следующие предложения с инфинитивом и определите его функцию в предложении (подлежащее, часть сказуемого, дополнение, определение, обстоятельство, вводный член предложения)

 

1. To enter the university one have to take entrance exams.

2. To be sure, a great progress in chemistry has been made in the last few decades.

3. There are many examples to illustrate the rule.

4. Whether to take part in the conference or not has not been decided yet.

5. The latest paper by this scientist is rather difficult to understand.

 

V. Переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод инфинитива в составе сложного дополнения (Complex Object).

 

1. I know him to be an experienced writer.

2. During the experiment we saw the temperature fall rapidly.

3. Everybody was waiting for him to announce his decision.

4. They consider themselves to be right.

5. Do you expect the documents to be signed tomorrow?

 

VI. Переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод инфинитива в составе сложного подлежащего (Complex Subject).

 

1. There happened to be a surgeon among them.

2. The radius of our orbit is believed to be increasingly very slowly.

3. The experiment is believed to be a failure.

4. Light is to be considered as some kind of wave motion of electromagnetic origin.

5. He is unlikely to come to the meeting tomorrow.

VII. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на тип инфинитивной конструкции, и определите этот тип (Complex Subject or Complex Subject).

 

1. He heard somebody mention his name at the last meeting.

2. They are certain to cope with the problem facing them.

3. This pipeline is thought to be built next autumn.

4. We want you to see the new university building.

5. The engineers of the plant are said to have constructed a new device.

 

VIII. Прочитайте текст и письменно переведите 2 и 4 абзацы текста.

 

OLYMPIC GAMES

1. Why are the Olympic Games so called? Why is the Greek word "stadium" understood by people who speak different languages? Why always sportsmen from Greece open a holiday?

2. Why do they bring Olympic fire from Greece? The first Olympic Games took place in Greece, in the city of Olympia, in 773 BC. (before the new era) in honor of the god Zeus. In Olympia there were beautiful white buildings, there was a large stadium, several schools where athletes could engage. Once in four years Olympia hosted the most famous sports competitions in Olympia. Thousands of men, old people, children from cities and villages came to Olympia. Many people came on foot. Only men and boys from Greece could participate in the competition. Each Greek city sent athletes to the competitions. The Olympic flame was burning for five days, the Olympic Games continued for five days, and there was a holiday in Greece. The Olympic Games united all Greek cities, wars ended, and peace ensued in the country. Every city was waiting for news from Olympia. And in Olympia itself at the stadium thousands of people watched the competitions and knew how to "hurt" in the same way as millions of people "get sick" in the stadiums now, in our time. Five days later people left and athletes left Olympia, athletes returned home to their cities. Olympic winners were welcomed as heroes. They sang songs about them and wrote poems.

3. Time has destroyed Olympia. Only in 1875, scientists found this place on earth. Then they decided to resume the Olympic Games again. The first "new Olympic Games" took place in 1896 in their homeland in Greece. Just like 2000 years ago, they take place every four years. These competitions unite people. Their symbol is peace and friendship.

4. The Olympic Games are great sporting events. In different countries, athletes dream of participating in the Olympic Games, because these are not just competitions, but big holidays for young people from Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. The Olympic Games occur every four years. Thousands of people come to the city where games are played. Everyone is waiting for the holiday. And here comes the first day. People gather at the biggest stadium. They stand in the stands and look to where athletes should come from. Music is playing. Athletes from different countries come to the stadium. And always ahead are athletes from Greece. And then one of the sportsmen appears at the stadium. He has an Olympic flame in his hands. Many people in different countries carried this fire from Greece. And now the best sportsman of their country, in which the Olympic Games are taking place, brought it to the stadium. The Olympic flame is burning. A white Olympic flag is hoisted, on which five rings are blue, black, yellow, red and green. In each national flag there is one of these colors. Athletes leave the stadium. The next day, competitions begin. They last for several days, and there are always a lot of athletes involved in them. "The main thing is not to win, the main thing is to participate," they say about the Olympic Games around the world.

 

IX. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.

 

1. When did the first Olympic Games take place?

2. Who could take part in the competition?

3. How long did the competition last?

4. How did the winners of the Olympic Games meet?

5. Why do athletes dream of participating in the Olympic Games?

6. How often do the Olympic Games take place?

7. Why are there five rings of blue, black, yellow, red and green colors on the Olympic flag?

8. What is the main slogan of the Olympic Games?

 

X. Прочитайте текст и переведите письменно 1 часть текста.

 

YELLOW STORK

1. They say that once lived in Fuzhou, one poor student. He was so poor that he could not even pay for a cup of tea. His name was Mi. He would have died of hunger, if not for one master of tea. He pitied Me and drank, and fed it for free. But one day, Mi came to the master and said:

- I'm leaving. I do not have the money, and I can not pay for everything I drank and ate here. But I do not want to be ungrateful. Here look!

And he took a piece of yellow chalk from his pocket and drew a yellow stork on the wall. The stork was just as alive.

"This stork," said Mi, "will bring you ten times more money than I owe." Every time people gather in your tea room, you must clap three times. Then the stork will come off the wall and will dance. But you should never make a stork dance for one person. If you make him dance for one person, he will dance for the last time.

2. The next day, when a lot of people gathered in the tea-room, the owner clapped his hands three times, and the stork came off the wall and began to dance. The guests were surprised and did not believe their eyes. Since then, the tea room has always attracted a lot of visitors and the owner has become very rich.

But one day a rich man went into the tea-room. He came to look at the storks, of which he heard a lot. He put a lot of money on the table and forced the master to drive out all the people from the tea-room.

"I want to look at the stork alone," he said. The owner saw the money and forgot what the student told him. He clapped his hands three times, and the stork came off the wall. He looked unhappy and sick. He danced only one dance and went back. The owner was angry, shouted, but could do nothing.

And at night someone knocked at the door of the tea-room. The master opened the door and saw: there was a student Mi and was silent. Then student Mi took a pipe out of his pocket, played on it and went away. The stork came off the wall and went after him. Since then, no one has ever seen a student Mi and his yellow stork.

 

ВАРИАНТ 2

I. Употребите, где необходимо, частицу to перед инфинитивом и переведите предложения на русский язык.

 

1. Let me … help you with your work.

2. She ought … take care of her health.

3. You must make him …practice … playing piano at least two hours a day.

4. He was seen … leave the house.

5. I am very tired. I would rather not … go out this evening, if you don’t mind.

 

II. Выберите эквивалент русского предложения из предложенных вариантов.

 

1. Почему ты ушел и не попрощался со мной.

a) You could say goodbye to me.

b) You could have said goodbye to me.

2. Питер рад, что его пригласили на вечеринку.

a) Peter is happy to have invited us to the party.

b) Peter is happy to have been invited to the party.

3. Наши дети любят, чтобы им читали.

a) Our children like to read

b) Our children like to be read to.

4. Она хочет, чтобы ее информировали о его приезде.

a) She wants to be informed of his arrival.

b) She wants to be informed of his arrival.

5. Она должно быть подготовилась очень хорошо.

a) She must be studying very well.

b) She must have studied very well.

 

III. Переведите следующие предложения с инфинитивом в функции подлежащего и определения.

 

1 To drive a car in a big city one must be an experienced driver.

2. To run modern machines workers must be very educated.

3. To solve this problem you have to make great many experiments.

4. To avoid the accident the cars had to move slowly.

5. To find the mass of the electron numerous experiments had to be made.

 

IV. Переведите следующие предложения с инфинитивом и определите его функцию в предложении (подлежащее, часть сказуемого, дополнение, определение, обстоятельство, вводный член предложения)

 

1. To give a true picture of the surrounding matter is the task of natural science.

2. He is to prepare the income statement by Monday.

3. They are happy to have passed all the exams successfully.

4. The first scientist to discover this phenomenon was Lavoiser.

5. Laws were not made to be broken, laws were made to stay within.

 

V. Переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод инфинитива в составе сложного дополнения (Complex Object).

 

1. They noticed him leave the room.

2. They thought us to be experienced enough to carry out the work.

3. Examination with X-rays has shown the halogen even in the solid state to possess diatomic molecules.

4. They found radon to be three times as heavy as hydrogen.

5. One may safely expect this prediction to be quite reliable.

 

VI. Переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод инфинитива в составе сложного подлежащего (Complex Subject).

 

1. The delegation was expected to arrive the next day.

2. They seemed to have quite forgotten their quarrel.

3. Many buildings were reported to have been damaged by the fire.

4. The weather can’t be expected to change tomorrow.

5. They are unlikely to complete the work in time.

 

VII. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на тип инфинитивной конструкции, и определите этот тип (Complex Subject or Complex Subject).

 

1. I hope you won’t think it very odd for a perfect stranger to talk to you like this.

2. The construction of that building is supposed be completed in a week.

3. Air was considered by the ancients to be an element.

4. Heat was for a long time thought to be an invisible all-pervading fluid.

5. The chemist wants the reaction to go as nearly to completion as possible.

 

VIII. Прочитайте текст и письменно переведите 2 и 4 абзацы текста.