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VII. Read the sentences containing non-finite forms of the verb (Infinitive, Gerund, and Participle). Define their functions. Translate into Russian.

1. Reading aloud is useful.

2. Primitive people believed colors to take on mystic and religious significance.

3. Reading this text we came to know many interesting things about color.

4. The experiments made by Newton in the 17th century were of significance.

5. Our intention is getting more data on this unusual phenomenon.

6. He was the kind of person that one is happy to have known.

7. Color is and important facet of nature influencing the life of almost every creature.

8. I was surprised at seeing so many changes in the final version of his paper.

Look through the text and write out the sentences containing non-finite forms. State their functions. Translate the sentences into Russian.

VIII. Study the following sentences. Define forms of the Subjunctive Mood. Translate into Russian.

  1. But neither animals nor plants could have evolved were it not for the protection and nurturing of the ocean.
  2. If you were to travel back about some 470 million years ago, Earth would seem lifeless, inhospitable and very barren.

Read and translate the following sentences.

  1. If it were Sunday tomorrow, we should have no classes.
  2. If the text were easy, George would translate it without dictionary.
  3. If the book had been interesting I should have read it up to the end.
  4. If he were in the laboratory, he would check the results.
  5. If this project had been successful, we should have learnt a great deal about the Earth.
  6. If I had used a computer, my calculations could have been without mistakes.

 

IX. Answer the questions:

1. Where did land plants and land animals come from?

2. When did animal life appear on the Earth?

3. What was the first plant on the Earth?

4. How did the first plants evolve?

5. What increased the percentage of oxygen or carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere?

 

X. Write out the sentences expressing the main idea of the text. Give the title to the text.

 

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS.

PART I. TEXTS FOR HOMEREADING

COLOSSAL SQUID

Last month fishermen in the icy Ross Sea encountered a deep-sea giant.

Almost 20 feet (6 meters) long, with spiked tentacles and huge, protruding eyes, it was feeding on Patagonian toothfish caught on longlines set by the fishermen.

The creature was hauled aboard and taken to New Zealand for analysis. This confirmed the encounter as the first live sighting of a colossal squid.

Usually called Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, scientists who examined the Ross Sea specimen coined the term "colossal squid" to distinguish it from giant quid (Architeuthis). They say the species is the biggest and most fearsome squid known to science and could grow to 40 feet (12 meters) in length—longer than a whale. Thought to be only the second intact example ever recovered, the massive cephalopod was armed with two huge beaks and rotating hooks along its tentacles.

This latest find has revived interest in sea monster legends of old. Could it be such monsters really existed, and still exist today?



Scientists who identified the Ross Sea squid have fueled such speculation.

New Zealand squid expert Steve O'Shea, from Auckland University of Technology, has described the squid as "a true monster." He told the BBC: “Giant squid is no longer the largest squid that's out there. We've got something that's even larger and not just larger but an order of magnitude meaner."

Auckland University of Technology research associate Kat Bolstad, also talking to the BBC, added: "This animal, armed as it is with the hooks and the beak that it has, not only is colossal in size but is going to be a phenomenal predator and something you are not going to want to meet in the water."

SEA MONSTERS

Some of the earliest tales about huge, tentacled sea monsters date back to the 12th century when Norwegian seafarers described an awesome beast called a Kraken.

By the 18th century the Kraken still had a fearsome reputation. In the Natural History of Norway, the Bishop of Bergen likened it to a "floating island” adding, ‘It seems these are the creature's arms, and, it is said, if they were to lay hold of the largest man-of-war [a ship], they would pull it down to the bottom."

Over time the reputed size of these "monsters" was scaled down considerably, but stories persisted. An alleged encounter between a giant squid and a French naval vessel was the basis for Jules Verne's "squid of colossal dimensions" which was featured in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

There is also an account of sailors being attacked by a giant squid after their ship sunk during the Second World War. At least one sailor was supposedly eaten. And even this year, French yachtsmen taking part in the appropriately named Jules Verne Trophy reported that a 26-foot-long (8-meter) squid clamped itself to their boat.

An early description of what is thought to be Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni appeared in an article entitled Hunting Sea Monsters in 1953. It was, Gilbert Voss wrote, "a squid that could qualify in the most lurid deep-sea drama."

There is some truth to this observation. Whalers who once worked the southern oceans were well aware of "deep-sea dramas" played out between colossal squid and sperm whales which fed in Antarctic waters. The whalers often discovered giant squid beaks inside the stomachs of these whales.

Professor Paul Rodhouse, head of biological sciences at the British Antarctic Survey, says whalers also noted deep scars and circular marks around the heads of their quarry.

WHALE STORIES

However, Rodhouse is quick to scotch stories about such squid killing and even eating sperm whales.

"Whalers could see the damage these squid caused so it was well known what was going on, but the stories got elaborated and expanded on," he said, whales that go into Antarctic waters to feed on these creatures are the larger bulls. These are very powerful predators and my guess is they would be able to capture even the biggest squid."

Richard Ellis also believes such stories have been blown out of proportion.

"This creature, like Architeuthis, is probably a deep-water dweller”, he said. "What earthly—or oceanic—reason would a squid have for attacking a ship? I think both these squids are fish-eaters. The long tentacles of Architeuthis and the hooks of Mesonychoteuthis support this contention, and do not indicate any predilection to attack whales, people or ships."

Rodhouse is more concerned about the colossal squid than the fate of humans who may encounter one. In particular, he is worried about the recent influx of fishing vessels into Antarctic waters that target Patagonian toothfish. He says the fish is a major prey species for colossal squid.

"The fish can grow to over 2 meters (6 feet) but it's being overfished in many parts of the southern ocean," he said. "Toothfish and these squid form ðart of a deep water ecosystem that we know virtually nothing about—yet we are already exploiting it with commercial fisheries."

At least the colossal squid isn't likely to join toothfish on the seafood menu. Calamari as big as car tires might sound an appetizing idea, but jumbo-sized squid usually contain high levels of ammonia and their meat is said to taste like floor cleaner.

(For National Geographic News April 23, 2003)

 

 

CAN VITAMINS BEAT BACK THE KLLERS?

 

 

Vitamins, garlic and fish oils have all been suggested as aids to a longer life. Can fighting disease really be so simple?

 

Scientists from research centers all round the world claim that foods containing anti-oxidant vitamins can protect the public from developing cancer and might also slow down the growth of early tumors. The long list of other beneficial effects included protection against heart disease, cataracts and the effects of smoking, the delaying of ageing and slowing the progress of Parkinson’s disease.

The latest research reinforces what many experts in disease patterns have long suspected — that a Mediterra­nean-type diet rich in fish, garlic, olive oil and with plenty of fruit and vegetables can prevent premature death from the leading killer diseases. a report published in The Lancet last week revealed that a diet rich in fatty fish has a protective effect on the heart. This study from the Medical Research Council's Epidemiology Unit in Cardiff found that men with heart disease who ate two or three kipper meals a week had a lower death rate from all causes than those who reduced their dietary fat intake or increased the amount of fiber they ate.

Fatty fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, salmon, halibut and trout are high in two essential fatty acids, EPA and DHA. These are known to have a thinning effect on the blood, making it less likely to form clots in the blood vessels.

Fish oils are also believed to have a lowering effect on blood fats. The Cardiff researchers conclude that men with heart disease may reduce their chances of dying prematurely by adding 12 ounces of oily fish to their diet each week.

But this was not the only good news on the nutrition front. It was announced that garlic pills may also reduce mortality among heart disease patients. Studies in West Germany have shown that garlic treatment reduced the death rate by half and the number of non- fatal heart attacks by a third. As with fish the effects are thought to result from a lowering of blood cholesterol and a thinning of the blood.

The British researchers are impressed by the growing evidence of the protective effects of the nutrients contained in fruit and vegetables.

Vitamins are anti-oxidants, vitamin C, vitamin D and beta-carotene. Vitamin C is found in cauliflower , potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, Brussels, sprouts and citrus fruits and vitamin E in vegetable oils, corn oil, sunflower oil, margarine, wheat germ, nuts, whole grains and leafy green vegetables.

Beta-carotene is known as a pro­vitamin because it is partially con­verted to vitamin A in the body. Unlike vitamin A itself, large quanti­ties are not harmful. It is found in carrots, cress, spinach, broccoli, tom­atoes, mangoes, melons, apricots, peaches and oranges.

Anti-oxidant vitamins are said to prevent illness by canceling out the effects of free radicals. These are highly unstable oxygen molecules believed to cause cell damage and possibly promote both cancer and the laying down of fatty deposits in the arteries.

About 178,000 people die of heartdisease and 160,000 of cancer in the U K each year. The concept of reducing the toll of Britain's big two killers simply by eating more sensibly is enticing, but is it really possible? And if so, what other dietary measures should people take to protect their health?

 


Date: 2016-01-03; view: 2301


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