The future has just begunLEAD-IN

15 Global Challenges1. How can sustainable

development be achieved for all while addressing global climate change?

2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict?

3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance?

4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes?

5. How can policymaking be made more sensitive to global long-term perspectives?

6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone?

7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor?

8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced?

9. How can the capacity to decide be improved as the nature of work and institutions change?

10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction?

11. How can the changing status of women help improve the human condition?

12. How can transnational organized crime networks be stopped from becoming more powerful and sophisticated global enterprises?

13. How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently? 14. How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be accelerated to

improve the human condition? 15. How can ethical considerations become more routinely incorporated into

global decisions?

USE OF ENGLISH

Read the text below and think of the word that best fits each spacePredicting the world we live in

Which nineteenth-century writer predicted the world we know most accurately? 'Jules Verne' would be areasonable guess, but is not the (0) correctanswer. The man who foresaw most of the technologicaladvances we take for (1)………. was a French writer, Albert Robida, (2) ……….novel 'TheTwentieth Century' appeared in 1882. Robida did not know nearly as (3)………. science as Verne but he possessed an intuitive sense of what technology would be capable of in a hundred years' time even thoughhe did not understand (4) ……….the advances would be achieved.

His successful predictions make a formidable list. He not (5) ………. foresaw radio and television butair travel and fast-food restaurants. He was also far-sighted enough not to share his contemporaries' blindfaith (6)……….progress, realising that technological advance might cause problems as well as(7) ……….life more comfortable.

In some ways, however, Robida failed to foresee (8)……….our world would be like and in each casethe error was due to his personal prejudices. When cars came (9) ………. fashion later in his life, hedisliked them so much (10)………. of their noise and fumes that he refused to revise his predictionsto include them. (11) ……….did he envisage the development of computers and the extent of theirinfluence (12) ……….every aspect of our lives today.

But his most serious errors were sociological. He was typical (13) ……….his age and social class in thinkingthat women were less intelligent than men and the working class would always be mainly employed (14) ……….servants. Though he foresaw many of the technological developments that have (15) ……….into being inour time, he could not imagine the sexual and social revolutions of the twentieth century.

READING 1: Read the text and answer the questions that follow

The challenges we face are considerable: immigration and employment, shrinking population, healthy food and clean water, safe energy and extinction of species, to name a few.

Decisions taken today may impact the future of life on this planet for decades or even centuries. Yet, the current economic systems are driven by short-term profit-making and representative democracies hardly reflect the interests of non-voting and succeeding generations. That is why it is critically important today to think and act so that responsibility for our common future becomes priority.

To meet the key global challenges for human security in the 21st centurywe also need to findsolutions on renewable energy, bio sequestration, energy sufficiency and energy security, green collar jobs, sustainable and livable cities, transport, agriculture and food, regional economies, and civil participation and democracy.

It is now accepted that the global economic picture in 2050 will look very different from today. The established G7 economies are already seeing a shift of their traditional economic power to the emerging countries, the so-called E7 of China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey.In addition to

economic change, we are going through a period of huge social transformation, as we move into a future of labour shortages, skills gaps and a world in which the educational and economic empowerment of women will become even more significant.

How can we address and accommodate these changes? What are the actions which will help us face the challenge of the future? What efforts need to be made by governments, companies and NGOs?

Topic 1 CLIMATE CHANGE

http://climate.nasa.gov/

There is now little doubt that climate change has become a reality. Glaciers are melting all over the world. Weather patterns are becoming more erratic. The IPPC forecasts increases of global mean temperatures of up to 5.8 degreesCelsius*this century and sea level rises of up to one meter. Half the world's people live within 50 km of seashores and their lives will be severely affected by flooding. Up to a million species of plants and animals could be extinct due to climate change.

*Celsius and Fahrenheit cause confusion because they are so different. 25o

Celsius is lovely, while 25o Fahrenheit is dreadful. 100o Fahrenheit is hot, while 100o Celsius would kill you instantly.

To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, you multiply by 9/5 and add 32.To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius you subtract 32 then multiply by 5/9.

Some of the figures are worth remembering:

Water freezes at 32 degrees FahrenheitWater boils at 212 degrees FahrenheitThe commonly accepted average core body temperature is 37.0 C (98.6 F). In Russia, the commonly quoted value is 36.6 C (97.9 F)

1 km is 0.6 mile (100kph=60mph)1 mile is 1.6 km (50mph=80kph)1 meter is 3.3 feet1 foot is 30.48 cm1 kilo is 2.2 pounds1 pound is 453 grams

REDING 1: Read the texts and do the assignments that follow (vocabulary units may also appear in the lead-in)

Climate Change ResearchStefan BronnimannInstitute of Geography, University of Bern, Switzerland

…The questions of whether and how climate changes and whether and how man influences climate have been debated by scientists at least since Theophrastus in the 4th century B.C. His works were translated into Latin in the Renaissance period and were influential to the thinking of scientists at that time. Two important lines of debate in the discussion on climatic change up into the 19th century concerned the impact of land-use changes on climate and progressive climate changes. In the early and mid-18th century, climate change was a subject treated by the philosophers of the enlightenment period such as Montesquieu and Hume. More scientific approaches to climate change research started in the second half of the 18th century, in line with efforts in agricultural, forestry and medical research and further advanced by scientific travelling and exchange and the availability of meteorological instruments.

A milestone in the history of climate change research and its public awareness was the theory of ice ages which had important implications for climate research in general. It required mechanisms able to explain a large change in mean temperature. This challenge was a trigger for many climate change theories, some of which have influenced the discussion until today. The theory of the CO2 greenhouse effect originated, at least partly, in the debate on the causes of ice ages. Some scientists speculated that lower concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide could have caused ice ages.

The processes considered in the 19th century to cause shorter-term climate changes were mainly solar influences and anthropogenicactivity, but volcanic forcing and themeltingof icesheetsandglaciers were also discussed. Among the anthropogenic influences on climate, the oldest topic is the effect of land-use changes. The debate on this topic became more and more popular during the 19th century when in many European countries deforestation and desertification became politically relevant. Effects of anthropogenic fossil fuel combustionon weather and climate have been considered since the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, the debates about climate change and anthropogenic influence on climate was not confinedto the scientific community, but also included political institutions and was carried out in public.

The Discovery of Global WarmingSpencer R.WeartThe Johns Hopkins University, the Eugene Lang College and Princeton UniversityFebruary 2011

Since 2001, greatly improved computer models and an abundance of data of many kinds strengthened the conclusion that human emissions are very likely to cause serious climate change. Most scientists and ever larger number of individuals, corporate entities, and government agencies at every level decided that something had to be done. They found that effective steps could be taken right now

that are not only cheap and effective, but will actually pay for themselves. For example, coal-fired power plants could be taxed in proportion to their emissions. This could be compensated by an equal decrease in other taxes, leaving government revenue unchanged. (A market-based "cap and trade" system of selling permits to emit pollution can be designed to have an equivalent effect.)

The most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time advance prosperity is to develop better technologies and practices. But a technology does not magically grow by itself. According to economic demand, research may stagnate or dash forward to solve problems with amazing speed. It can also be accelerated by direct government support.

Global warming is not a technical problem; it's a political problem.To say that strict limits on emissions are socially or politically impossible is to forget that people have made far greater changes once they set their minds to. Citizens can reconsider their personal practices, and put pressure on businesses and governments at every level.

It is now very nearly certain that global warming is upon us. It is prudent to expect that weather patterns will continue to change and the seas will continue to rise, in an ever worsening pattern, through our lifetimes and on into our grandchildren's. The question has graduated from the scientific community: climate change is a major social, economic and political issue. Nearly everyone in the world will need to adjust. Citizens will need reliable information, the flexibility to change their personal lives, and efficient and appropriate help from all levels of government. So it is an important job, in some ways our top priority, to improve the communication of knowledge, and to strengthen democratic control in governance everywhere. The spirit of fact-gathering, rational discussion, toleration of dissent, and negotiation of an evolving consensus, which has characterized the climate science community, can serve well as a model.

Find in the text words corresponding to the following definitions or synonymous with the following words:

a significant stage or event in the development of something(n) things that are likely to happen as a result of sth. (n) an event that is the cause of a particular action, process, or situation(n) a very large quantity of something,plentifulness(n) to stop changing or progressing, become inactive or dull(adj) sensible and careful (adj) adapt or become used to a new situation(v) trustworthy (adj) ability to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances(n) suitable or proper in the circumstances(adj) the holding or expression of opinions at variance with those commonly or

officially held(n)

Find in the text terms relating to the topic of climate change that correspond to the following definitions:

the capture and storage of the atmospheric greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by biological processes

conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources the average temperature the average weather for a particular region and time period a warming effect felt on Earth’s surface, produced by greenhouse gases a heavy colorless gas that is absorbed from the air by plants and does not

support combustion human activities which affect the climate a very large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley the change of forested lands to non-forest uses the progressive destruction or degradation of vegetative cover, especially in

arid or semi-arid regions a fuel that is formed in the Earth from plant or animal remains the release of a substance into the atmosphere gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that

absorb and re-emit radiation from the sun the introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or

poisonous effects

USE OF ENGLISH: Complete the text with the words from the box and do the assignments that follow

Acid, biodiversity, contaminated, deforestation, ecosystems, species, emissions, environmental, erosion, exhaust, drought, fertilizers, greenhouse, waste, pollution

The advances made by humans have made us the dominant (1) ………. on our planet. However, several eminent scientists are concerned that we have become too successful, that our way of life is putting an unprecedentedstrain on the Earth's (2)…………… and threatening our future as a species. We are confronting (3) ………. problems that are more taxingthan ever before, some of them seemingly insoluble. Many of the Earth's crises are chronicand inexorablylinked. (4) ………. is an obvious example of this affecting our air, water and soil.

The air is polluted by (5) …………… produced by cars and industry. Through (6) …………… rain and (7) ………. gases these same (8) …………… fumes can

have a devastating impact on our climate. Climate change is arguably the greatest environmental challenge facing our planet with increased storms, floods, (9) …………… and species losses predicted. This will inevitably have a negative impact on (10) …………… and thus our ecosystem.

The soil is (11) …………… by factories and power stations which can leave heavy metals in the soil. Other human activities such as the overdevelopment of land and the clearing of trees also take their toll on the quality of our soil; (12) …………… has been shown to cause soil (13) …………… Certain farming practices can also pollute the land though the use of chemical pesticides and (14) …………… This contamination in turn affects our rivers and waterways and damages life there. The chemicals enter our food chain, moving from fish to mammals to us. Our crops are also grown on land that is far from pristine. Affected species include the polar bear, so not even the Arctic is immune.

Reducing (15) …………… and clearing up pollution costs money. Yet it is our quest for wealth that generates so much of the refuse. There is an urgent need to find a way of life that is less damaging to the Earth. This is not easy, but it is vital, because pollution is pervasive and often life-threatening.

Consider how you would answer these questions.1 What do you think is the greatest environmental threat we face today?2 What can the government do to help protect the environment?3 What can we do as individuals?

Find words in the text synonymous with the following:

unspoiled unparalleled extremely harmful insurmountable unaffected omnipresent unavoidably (x2) persistent challenging

Use a dictionary to check the different forms of the words in the box as well as the prepositions used with them. Then complete the answers to the questions using the correct form of the word in brackets. You will need to add prepositions to the words that are underlined.

Contaminate, danger, dispose, erode, pollute, recycle, risk, sustain,threatI think our environment is (1) ……….many different things. We have

allowed too much (2) ……….to enter our ecosystem and we are (3) ………. poisoning ourselves as a result. I think soil (4) ……….(erode) and water (5) ……….are two of the most urgent problems that we need to deal with.

Clearly our current lifestyle is not (6) ……….. The government should educate people about these problems and encourage us to change our habits. They need to show everyone that we are putting the very future of our planet (7) ……….

We can make sure we don't throw (8) ………. items into our normal waste (9) ………. bins. We can also help protect our planet by not using phosphate-based detergents; this will help to keep (10) ………. out of our food chain.

Multiple Choice Lexical ClozeThe Future

The environmental (1)……….for the future is mixed. In spite of economic and political changes, interest in and (2)……….about the environment remains high. Problems of acid deposition, chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depletion still seek solutions and concerted action. Until acid depositions (3)………., loss of aquatic life in northern lakes and streams will continue and forest growth may be affected. Water pollution will remain a growing problem as increasing human population puts additional stress on the environment. To reduce environmental degradation and for humanity to save its habitat, societies must recognise that resources are (4).......... Environmentalists believe that, as populations and their demands increase, the idea of continuous growth must (5)……….way to a more rational use of the environment, but that this can only be brought (6)……….by a dramatic change in the attitude of the human species.

1. A line A outset A outcome A outlook

2. B concern B attention B responsibility B consideration

3. C wane C diminish C depreciate C curtail

4. D finite D restricted D confined D bounded

5. E make E force E give E clear

6. F on F about F off F in

READING 2: Read the text and word its message

Patient EarthThomas E. Lovejoy January 19, 2007Even though we should know better, it is natural to regard what we grew up

with as the normal state of affairs. Indeed, every generation has a different view of "the good old days." This is particularly troublesome with respect to the environment and nature. Without some perspective of what might be "normal," it is hard to understand the impact we have had on our planet and what to do about it.

At the time I turned my hand to environment and conservation, the number of endangered species worldwide was modest. To be sure there were the first signs of more pervasive problems heralded in Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," but they

seemed amenable to straightforward and simple fixes. Hole in the ozone layer? Find a substitute for chlorofluorocarbons. Acid rain and acid lakes? Reduce sulfur emissions and do it economically by creating a market for sulfur trading. An endangered rainforest? Create a protected area.

To be truly effective in most endeavors, including environmental work, it is important to lift one's gaze from the particular to assess periodically the overall state of the exercise. That can determine whether and how to alter strategy as new environmental problems emerge and understanding deepens.

Current indicators can only tell us about the moment, whereas we need to be cognizant of shifting environmental horizons — what could well become future baselines unless action is taken. Doing so, one can only conclude that the environmental profession has changed from one in which simple and often local interventions would work, to one in which we have become planet doctors. In the oceans and on land it is impossible to find a place unaffected by human activities. We live in a chemical soup of our own making. Even in the Arctic and Antarctica, animals accumulate toxic compounds in their tissues. Rainforests and virtually all other natural habitats are in retreat. The number of endangered birds, mammals and plants is soaring from multiple causes.

Perhaps as many as one quarter of all amphibian species are endangered through a strange combination of factors, including a fatal fungal disease. With no tadpoles, some streams have turned bright green from unconstrained algal growth. The great global cycles of carbon and nitrogen are badly distorted, producing, among other things, climate change and acidifying oceans from greenhouse gases plus multiple dead zones in estuaries and coastal waters. The rising temperatures are already stressing coral reefs. In some parts of Siberia, the thawed permafrost bubbles with methane like a Yellowstone hot spring.

While there is enough on the planet's environmental horizon to make us all want to throw up our hands, as planet doctors we know diagnosis is just prelude to treatment.

There is a tremendous amount that can be done to right the imbalance without wrecking the global economy. Indeed the recent Stern report on climate change, whatever its flaws, clearly demonstrates that the implications of a deteriorating environment are more serious for the economy than the cost of addressing it. Action is required in all segments of society: Government needs to put the right incentives in place to encourage, for example, the right kinds of biofuels and other alternate energy sources. Individual human aspiration needs to be provided choices that are environment-friendly.

Clearly, there is an enormous role for the private sector. Happily, there are many signs that some companies view this as an opportunity. The aluminum company Alcoa, in one of the most energy-intensive industries, is seeking to make its Brazilian operations carbon-neutral and sustainable in other ways as well. Generators made by Caterpillar run on methane from landfills. Time magazine has analyzed the carbon in its product life cycle from tree harvest to disposal.

This is not the first time in our history that humanity has faced a huge and unprecedented challenge. Environmental degradation is largely avoidable. It only

requires us to take the planetary diagnosis as seriously as our own individual annual checkups, and rise to the challenge with all of our innate creativity.

Think about your daily routine. Make a list of five ways in which you could help the environment by making changes to that routine

In groups draft a plan to make your region more environmentally friendly and attractive for residents and tourists.

Think about: rubbish removal / improved recyclingpedestrianisation / cycle pathbetter and cheaper public transporttreeplanting and more green areas

READING 3

Read the following texts about environmental destruction and efforts to prevent it. Answer questions that follow with a word or short phrase.

The Carbon Storage Trust aims to counteract the Greenhouse Effect by planting forests all over the world to absorb carbon dioxide. Companies whose products are responsible for carbon emissions can redress the balance by taking part in the scheme and as an inducement to them to participate, consumers will be encouraged to give preference to those that carry a Climate Care label. The forestry projects will be carefully monitored to ensure that they are beneficial to local people. They will generally be sited on poor land since planting trees on cultivated land would almost always result in their being cut down again in the future to meet the demand for food. A further aim of such projects is to promote biodiversity by saving species from extinction.

What does 'redress the balance' mean?

The Carbon Storage Trust was set up to try to slow down the devastation. While environmental groups view the aims of the Carbon Storage Trust favourably, they have so far given only guarded support to its projects. They are concerned that companies may regard them as an easy way out, salving their consciences, instead of being forced to face up to reality and accept that carbon dioxide emissions must not only be balanced, but reduced. In the eyes of environmentalists, if no further action is taken, the sole achievement of the projects will be to have put off the evil day, not to have prevented it. They believe there must be international co-operation both to develop afforestation and simultaneously to set targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions that would be fair to all countries.

What does 'them' refer to?What would companies be doing if they were 'salving their consciences'?

TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO ENGLISH USING YOUR TOPICAL VOCABULARY UNITS

1. Авторы исследования уверены, что сегодня Земля страдает от истощения природных ресурсов и сильного воздействия человека на окружающую среду.

2. В последние век-полтора содержание некоторых парниковых газов в атмосфере выросло очень сильно.

3. Изменение климата приведет прежде всего к таянию льдов в Гренландии и западной Антарктиде, а также к увеличению доли углекислого газа в атмосфере.

4. Обезлесение приводит к снижению биоразнообразия, качества жизни, а также к усилению парникового эффекта

5. Как засухи, так и наводнениястали следствием роста средней температуры в некоторых регионах.

6. С января 2005 года в странах Евросоюза вступила в действие внутренняя система торговли квотамина выбросы углерода.

7. Одним из приоритетов нашей компании является применение безвредных для окружающей средытехнологий производства.

8. Новый доклад экологов свидетельствует: под угрозой полного исчезновения находятся примерно четверть млекопитающих.

Topic 2 POPULATIONISSUES

READING 1: SKIMMING

Cities of the FutureToday's "Mega-cities" are Overcrowded and Environmentally StressedAugust 31, 2005 We take big cities for granted today, but they are a relatively recent

phenomenon. Most of human history concerns rural people making a living from the land. But the world is rapidly urbanizing, and it's not at all clear that our planet has the resources to cope with this relentless trend. And, unfortunately, most of the growth is occurring in urban centers ill-equipped for the pace of change.

The world's first cities grew up in what is now Iraq, on the plains of Mesopotamia near the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first city in the world to have more than one million people was Rome at the height of its Empire in 5 A.D. At that time, world population was only 170 million. But Rome was something new in the world. It had developed its own sophisticated sanitation and traffic management systems, as well as aqueducts, multi-story low-income housing and even suburbs, but after it fell in 410 A.D. it would be 17 centuries before any metropolitan area had that many people.

The first large city in the modern era was Beijing, which surpassed one million population around 1800, followed soon after by New York and London.

But at that time city life was the exception; only three percent of the world's population lived in urban areas in 1800.

The rise of manufacturing spurred relocation to urban centers from the 19th through the early 20th century. The cities had the jobs, and new arrivals from the countryside provided the factories with cheap, plentiful labor. But the cities were also unhealthy places to live because of crowded conditions, poor sanitation and the rapid transmission of infectious disease. Deaths exceeded births in many large European cities until the middle of the 19th century. Populations grew, then, by continuing waves of migration from the countryside and from abroad.

In the first half of the 20th century, the fastest urban growth was in western cities. New York, London and other First World capitals were magnets for immigration and job opportunity. In 1950, New York, London, Tokyo and Paris boasted of having the world's largest metropolitan populations. By then, New York had already become the first "mega-city," with more than 10 million people.

In the postwar period, many large American cities lost population as manufacturing fled overseas and returning soldiers taking advantage of the GI Bill fueled the process of suburbanization. Crime was also a factor. As an example, riot-torn Detroit lost 800,000 people between 1950 and 1996, and its population declined 33.9 percent between 1970 and 1996.

Meanwhile, while many American cities shrank, population around the world was growing dramatically.You've heard of the "birth dearth"? It's bypassing Dhaka, Mumbai, Mexico City and Lagos.While developed countries are losing population because of falling birth rates and carefully controlled immigration, population in the developing world is exploding.

Today mega-cities already suffer from a catalog of environmental ills: level of pollution is threatening, there are major fresh water challenges, residents, crowded into unsanitary slums are subject to serious disease outbreaks. But for many internal migrants, cities offer more hope of a job and better health care and educational opportunities, so people keep moving to cities, imposing even more pressure on their infrastructure and resources, leading to social disintegration and horrific urban poverty.

Brainstorm to answer the following questions: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of living in a big city? What amenities should a city offer its residents and commuters? What challenges do contemporary cities face?How do immigrants influence the life of big cities?Are you happy to be living in a big city? Give your personal reasons.

USE OF ENGLISH: PRACTICE

New York shows way for urban renaissanceIt's not (1) ………. pleasant to live in New York in the hot days of August.

The grime on the sidewalk has really begun to reek. The tourist hordes remind you (2) ………. little room you have.

By next year, according to the United Nations, more than half the world's population will for the first time live in towns and cities. New York's population growth is not spectacular. It's (4) ………. line with the growth of London, which is adding around 90,000 each year, 40,000 from natural expansion and a (5) ………. 50,000 from inward migration.

But other cities have been growing (6) ………. faster even than New York or London - Madrid, where the foreign population has multiplied four times in about six years, and Istanbul, where the population has increased tenfold since 1950.

Cities may also be growing because individuals (7) ………. consumers want to live there. People now want to live in dense areas because dense areas offer (8) ………. people want to consume - opera, sports teams, art museums, varied cuisine.

The number of these "consumer immigrants" is (9) ……….small compared with the hundreds of thousands of poorer economic migrants who traditionally head to the inner (10) ………..

Complete the text with suitable adjectives given below (more than one adjective may be possible).

adequate, basic, booming, catastrophic, decent, enormous, pressing, staggering

MegacitiesThe world's population is (1) ………., no more so than in its cities. Today,

there are 21 megacities, each containing more than 10 million inhabitants, three-

quarters of them in developing nations. By 2020, there are expected to be at least 27 megacities. Such a (2) ………. rate of urbanisation brings its own problems, especially in developing nations, where the majority of the megacities will be found.

Employment and educational opportunities are the main attraction of urban centres. But hopes for a better life are often dashed as overpopulation puts an (3) ………. strain on the infrastructure of the cities and their ability to provide (4) ………. necessities such as clean water and a place to live.

Many rural migrants fail to find (5) ………. work, and therefore cannot afford (6) ………. housing. In some megacities up to 50 per cent of the residents live in slums. This problem is (7) ………. with the United Nations predicting that half the world's population will be living in cities by next year. If the infrastructure within those cities does not grow at the same rate the result will be (8) ……….

READING 2: SKIMMING

The demographic challenge in EuropeBy KarolyLorant

The estimated world population in Christ's time was around 200 million and it hardly changed during the centuries that followed. When Columbus discovered the New World there were only 450 million people, the average yearly growth rate in the first 15 centuries of our Lord was 0,1% which meant stability for the contemporary societies. The population began to accelerate in the 18th century, when, partly as a result of improved nutrition and the impact of new discoveries in medical science, like smallpox vaccination, the defeat of cholera, germ theory of disease, the discovery of the pathogen of tuberculosis and so on, there was a decrease in the crude death rate of the population, while the birth rate remained relatively high.

The population reached one billion in the turn of the 19th Century, and the yearly growth rate remained almost unchanged in the next 130 years hovering around 0,6%. The real population blow-up came in the middle of the 20th Century, when the results in medical science began to spread in the Asian, African and Latin

American countries. The average growth rate reached the yearly average of 2% which – in a generation's time – doubled the world population.

The negative demographical tendencies are present in the whole of Europe including its eastern part with the states of the former Soviet Union and the symptoms are rather similar.From the second half of the 19th century, the yearly growth rate of population in the present European Union oscillated between 0,5 and 1%. However, this trend changed dramatically in the 1960’s and within one generation the growth rate

slowed down to zero. Even the natural growth (the difference between death and birth number) turned into negative and only the net immigration made the population grow. Looking for the reasons we will discover that against the fact that there was some improvement in the death rate while the average life span became longer too, these tendencies were unable to balance the steadily deteriorating total fertility rate. Total fertility rate is the average number of children that a woman, in all her lifetime, will give birth to. This ratio was around 2,66 in the beginning of the 1960’s and fell back to 1,46 by the end of the 1990’s.

The decrease in total fertility rate is a global phenomenon. However while the total fertility rate in the developing countries – against a substantial fall – remained well above the critical 2,1 level which is required for the simple reproduction of the population, in the developed world, the rate of 1,46 is not enough to maintain the current society. This rate, in the long run when its impact will fully prevail, produces a yearly decrease of 1% in the population.

Parallel to this, the so called old age dependency rate (the ratio of the population over 65 years to the population aged between 15-64 years) will reach 47% against the current 24% which means that the burden on the working age population to keep the pensioners will be doubled.

Global migrationDuring the 1950s, most Western European countries still registered a

negative migration balance. Some countries (for instance Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) lost a substantial number of their citizens emigrating for economic reasons overseas as well as to other European countries.

Western European countries began to "import" guest workers in the early 1960’s to fill jobs Europeans would not consider. These guest workers came mainly from the Mediterranean (to France) and from Turkey (to Germany).

Most European countries closed their doors to labour immigration in the 1970s, following the first Arab oil embargo and the subsequent economic downturn, yet some 500,000 immigrants – primarily family reunification cases – and 400,000 asylum seekers arrive in Western Europe each year.

Over the past 15 years, the number of people crossing borders in search of a better life has been rising steadily. At the start of the 21st Century, one in every 35 people is an international migrant.

Global migration affects almost every state – they are all either sending, transit and/or receiving countries for migrants. While the major countries of emigration are in the developing world, western industrialised countries absorbed only about 40% of the world's migrants, the remaining part settling also in developing countries or the former Soviet Union.

Most of those who have left their countries of origin are motivated by a desire for better opportunities. But there are also millions of people who have been forced to migrate for fear of persecution. The current waves of immigrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa are linked much more to the worsening conditions in these countries, than with labour shortages in Europe.

At the end of 2002, 10.4 million people around the world had refugee status, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. A further one million applied for asylum that year or had their applications still pending.

As regards intra-European mobility, however, despite the progress made in removing obstacles to the free movement of people in the EU, its levels are very low. The most important barriers are the lack of language skills and the problems with opportunities for dual careers.Still, the level of push-pull migration is rising, basically due to insufficient manpower in the cities.

Immigration swells Europe's ranksBy James Kanter International Herald TribuneJune 9, 2006

International migration is advancing so rapidly that the number of foreign-born workers in Spain increased six-fold over the last ten years, according to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

But many migrants in Europe still are experiencing difficulties in finding jobs, a signal that integrating immigrants into host countries is a major political and economic challenge.Employment for both past and recent arrivals in many countries, and even for their offspring, is not as favorable as in the past.Barriers of language and skills contribute to some migrants' difficulties, but the fact that public sector jobs are closed to certain categories of foreigners in most European OECD countries also is a factor.

Managing migration and employment has become an international priority and a major headache for politicians, particularly in Europe.Many countries have rapidly aging populations at a time when younger members of society have diminishing interest in both manual work and some highly skilled jobs, obliging governments to open areas from building trades to the sciences to greater inflows of immigrant workers.But governments also see newcomers as a political liability if the migrants are perceived by voters as a drain on national resources or as driving down wages.

What were the prevalent demographic tendencies in the past? What are the basic reasons for migration today?Explain and expand on the following:But governments also see newcomers

as a political liability if the migrants are perceived by voters as a drain on national resources or as driving down wages.

VOCABULARY WORK

birth dearthcrudedeathratebirthratenaturalgrowthnet immigration/migration balance (positive/negative)fertility ratesending/receivingcountryabsorb migrantsasylum seekerslabour shortagesto have refugee statusapply for asylumguest workersfamily reunificationintra-Europeanmobilitydual career

TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO ENGLISH USING YOUR TOPICAL VOCABULARY UNITS

1. Согласно данным управления, показатель чистой миграции стабильно рос с декабря 2008 года.

2. Поток беженцев с начала 90-х годов стихийно усиливался и никак не регулировался принимающей стороной.

3. Маятниковая миграция является результатом несоответствия размещения производства и расселения людей.

4. За последние пять лет чистая миграция в Великобритании выросла на 36%

5. По оценкам экспертов, чтобы заместить интенсивно стареющее население, в Беларусь нужно ввезти 10 миллионов мигрантов.

6. Рождение более двух детей на одну женщину указывает на рост населения и снижение среднего возраста населения по стране.

USE OF ENGLISH PRACTICE

Ageing, challenges, compounded, declining, elderly, factors, implications, migrating, population, present, rates, trends

Statistics show that in many countries the population will decline in the next 50 years. The population of these countries will also age rapidly. What effect will this have on those countries?

If current (1) …………… continue, then in some countries the (2) …………… is expected to dwindle within the next 50 years. This problem is (3) …………… by the fact that not only is the number of inhabitants diminishing, but they are also growing older. This (4) …………… population will bring its own (5) …………… At (6) …………… there are sufficient younger people to earn money and pay taxes to support the (7) …………… However, within 50 years this will not be the case. There are several possible (8) …………… contributing to this problem. First, birth (9) …………… in these countries are clearly falling. Second, there could be an increase in the number of people (10) …………… away from these areas.The ageing and (11) …………… population is expected to have important (12) …………… for the labour force and the quality of everyday life.

READING 3: Working with two texts

Read the following texts about the elderly, answer the questions with a word or short phrase.

Generation GapNot long ago, while talking to a group of men, none of whom was much

over 50, I was amazed to discover that they were all looking forward to retiring from work. They seemed to ignore what was obvious to me, that retirement, if it takes place at a statutory age such as 60 or 65, implies that society in general no longer considers you capable of pulling your weight and believes you should be pensioned off. In short, it is a sign that you are getting old, with all that that entails.

What it entails is bound to vary from person to person and in most societies, where women outlive men by about seven years on average but nevertheless retire earlier, the period is likely to be much longer for them. The financial circumstances in which people retire also vary but even those who are fortunate enough not to have to rely on the Government to provide for them usually need to fall back eventually in one way or another on the goodwill of their relations.

Old age brings with it a host of problems, physical and psychological, and these are likely to be a cause of friction if elderly people are in close contact with younger generations. On the whole, the problems tend to be more acute when the causes are not immediately evident. If Grandfather or Grandmother has to use a stick when walking or wears a deaf aid, teenagers will readily appreciate it and for the most part be happy to lend a steadying arm or repeat what they have just said. It is much more difficult for them constantly to bear in mind that the short-term memory of old people is prone to lapses; they may have perfect recall of an incident from childhood but fail to retain for more than a few minutes the details of your arrangements for the following day. And it is enough to try the patience of a saint when they indignantly refuse all offers of help but make it obvious that they cannot be trusted to be left to their own devices so that you stand by on tenterhooks, restraining the impulse to interfere but ready to leap to their assistance at a moment's notice.

Why was the writer surprised by the attitude of the men he was talking to?

What does “pulling your weight” mean?

For the elderly, moving house, either from one neighbourhood to another, or even more markedly, selling the house and moving in with the family of a son or daughter, is productive of very great stress that the young frequently fail to understand, since for them change is generally exciting and desirable. Many features of old age that irritate the young, such as a resistance to change, are really a way of disguising failing powers. Old people may be unwilling to alter a familiar routine because the admission that they might be unable to cope would mean a loss of cherished independence.

The best way of achieving harmony within a household where an elderly person lives with younger generations is to try to achieve some kind of balance. The household must revolve around the active members and it is dangerous to allow respect for the aged to degenerate into allowing the old person to rule the roost. A great deal can be achieved by making them feel needed, allowing them to do useful jobs that are not beyond their capacity, but perhaps the most important factor of all is to show them that you care for them, that they matter and are not just in the way. Even here, however, there are risks to be avoided. Waiting on them hand and foot is potentially a source of friction almost as bad in the long run as the tense atmosphere that commonly results when a daughter or daughter-in-law is obliged to take in her mother or her husband's purely out of a sense of duty. The happy family will be one where the middle-aged, who are likely to bear the heaviest responsibility and require the most patience, know when to intervene kindly and when to let their parents get on with whatever they are straggling to do.

What does 'rule the roost' mean?What do you understand by the phrase 'waiting on them hand and foot'?

Orally summarise in your own words as far as possible, the main problems likely to arise when elderly people live in the same household as younger generations and say how they are best overcome

DEBATES ON IMMIGRATION

Below you may find arguments in support of the idea thatgovernments in rich countries should relax the laws controlling immigration. Study them and offer your counter arguments

People are being kept in unbearable poverty by immigration laws that bar them from pursuing work in the countries where it is available. By allowing them to work in rich countries we improve not only their situation but via remittances that of their family and home country. People are already entering developed countries for work illegally in enormous numbers. This brings with it dangers that can be stopped by legalisation.

Illegal immigrants are exploited by employers who don’t follow regulations on pay or conditions. They pay no tax. They often become involved in prostitution or crime because they are marginalised. The smuggling of immigrants into rich countries allows them to be exploited by the gangs who do it and there have been a number of casualties in the process. Regulation is vital and only legalisation allows it. Rich countries are in a demographic crisis with an ever decreasing working population to support pensioners. The EU needs 14million new people of working age each year to maintain the worker/pensioner balance. Even Germany has had to reduce its generous pension system. Developing countries are in the opposite situation and almost all immigrants are of working age and they will ease this demographic strain. Rich countries that have boomed in the 90’s are short of both skilled and unskilled workers who are kept out by stringent immigration law. There are unfilled places for skilled workers in 70% of companies throughout Europe and finding people willing to perform basic manual jobs is increasingly difficult. No economy can grow when there are no workers to keep up with demand. Immigration makes the whole economy bigger and everyone richer in the long term. This is good for the global economy because it brings workers to where infrastructure and knowledge are. It also allows rich countries to compete better and stops companies moving abroad to lower pay and regulation countries. Lots of the biggest multinationals have specifically lobbied for a free market in labour so that they can reap the efficiency benefits. They after all pay little attention to national borders. Immigrants are generally seen to be extremely keen to work and work hard in their new country. The drive to emigrate is a drive from a wish to do well and tends to translate itself into achievement.

Topic 3 THE SPUTNIK MOMENT

LEAD-IN

Calling this "our generation's Sputnik moment" and a "time to win the future," Obama in his second State of the Union address urged a renewed emphasis on innovation. "Now it's our turn," Obama told a joint

session of Congress. We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world."“…Yes, scientific innovation offers us a chance to achieve prosperity. It has offered us benefits that have improved our health and our lives — improvements that we take too easily for granted. But, it gives us something more. At root, science forces us to reckon with the truth as best we can ascertain it. Some truths fill us with awe, others force us to question long-held views. Science can’t answer every question, and indeed it seems at times the more we plumb the mysteries of the physical world the more humble we must be. Science cannot supplant our ethics, our values, our principles or our faith, but science can inform those things, and help put those values, these moral sentiments, that faith, can put those things to work — to feed a child, to heal the sick, to be good stewards of this Earth. We are reminded that with each new discovery, and the new power it brings, comes new responsibility. That the fragility, the sheer specialness of life, requires us to move past our differences and to address our common problems, to endure, and continue humanity’s strivings for a better world.” Barack Obama

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2011/jan/28/predictions-future-science-video?intcmp=239

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2011/feb/04/science-future-predictions

SCIENCE BASICS QUIZ

Which over-the-counter drug do doctors recommend that people take to help prevent heart attacks?1. Antacids2. Cortisone3. Aspirin

According to most astronomers, which of the following is no longer considered a planet?1. Neptune2. Pluto3. Saturn4. Mercury

Which of the following may cause a tsunami?1. A very warm ocean current2. A large school of fish3. A melting glacier4. An earthquake under the ocean

The global positioning system, or GPS, relies on which of these to work?

1. Satellites2. Stars3. Magnets4. Lasers

What gas do most scientists believe causes temperatures in the atmosphere to rise?1. Hydrogen2. Helium3. Carbon dioxide4. Radon

How are stem cells different from other cells?1. They can develop into many different types of cell2. They are found only in bone marrow3. They are found only in plants

What have scientists recently discovered on Mars?1. Platinum2. Plants3. Mold4. Water

For each statement that follows, please indicate whether it is true or false. If you don't know or aren't sure just skip to the next one.

The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years and will continue to move in the future: True False

Lasers work by focusing sound waves: True False

Antibiotics will kill viruses as well as bacteria: True False

Electrons are smaller than atoms: True False

All radioactivity is man-made: True

False

READING 1

Onwards and UpwardsDec 17th 2009 the Economist

Why is the modern view of progress so impoverished?

In the rich world the idea of progress has become impoverished. Through complacency and bitter experience, the scope of progress has narrowed. The popular view is that, although technology and GDP advance, morals and society are treading water or, depending on your choice of newspaper, sinking back into decadence and barbarism. On the left of politics these days, “progress” comes with a pair of ironic quotation marks attached; on the right, “progressive” is a term of abuse.

The idea of progress forms the backdrop to a society. In the extreme, without the possibility of progress of any sort, your gain is someone else’s loss. If human behaviour is unreformable, social policy can only ever be about trying to cage the ape within. Society must in principle be able to move towards its ideals, such as equality and freedom, or they are no more than cant and self-delusion. So it matters if people lose their faith in progress. And it is worth thinking about how to restore it.

Modern science is full of examples of technologies that can be used for ill as well as good. Think of nuclear power—and of nuclear weapons; of biotechnology—and of biological contamination. Or think, less apocalyptically, of information technology and of electronic surveillance. History is full of useful technologies that have done harm, intentionally or not. Electricity is a modern wonder, but power stations have burnt too much CO2-producing coal. The internet has spread knowledge and understanding, but it has also spread crime and pornography. German chemistry produced aspirin and fertiliser, but it also filled Nazi gas chambers with Cyclon B.

The point is not that science is harmful, but that progress in science does not map tidily onto progress for humanity. In an official British survey of public attitudes to science in 2008, just over 80% of those asked said they were “amazed by the achievements of science”. However, only 46% thought that “the benefits of science are greater than any harmful effect”.

From the perspective of human progress, science needs governing. Scientific progress needs to be hitched to what you might call “moral progress”. It can yield untold benefits, but only if people use it wisely. They need to understand how to stop science from being abused. And to do that they must look outside science to the way people behave.

Get ready to make a 4 to 5-minute speech on one of the questions below:

How have the lives of ordinary people been affected by recent scientific advances? In what areas are scientific discoveries likely to be made in the near future? Should scientific research be subject to tighter governmental controls?Give your own examples proving that modern science is full of technologies that can be used for ill as well as good

Extend the following strings of collocations, translate them into Russian:

Narrow scope, circumstances, bounds, victory…To tread water, in smb.'s steps…Restore faith, someone to office…Spread knowledge, crime, rumours…Yield benefits, a loss, to temptation, no result…

READING 2

Read this article and then look at the statements below. See which of them are true. Give your reasoning by citing the text.

Computers and technology

Has the present lived up to the expectations of the past? Throughout the ages people have tried to predict what life in the twenty-first century would be like. Many science-fiction writers did manage to predict the influence the computer would have on our world. Some even imagined that it would take over our lives, develop a personality, and turn on its creators. To some extent they were right, especially when it comes to children and cyberaddiction. One constant prediction was that, thanks to computers and machines, the time devoted to labour would diminish. Even in 1971, in his book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler envisaged a society awash with 'free time'. The author noted that time at work had been cut in half since the turn of the previous century and wrongly speculatedthat it would be cut in half again by 2000.

However, our gadget-filled homes are a tribute to the various visions of the future: the microwave oven, internet fridges with ice-cube dispensers, freezers, video monitors, climate control, dishwashers, washing machines, personal computers, wireless connections and cupboards full of instant food. These may no longer be considered cutting-edgebut they have matched, if not surpassed, visions of how we would live. The domestic robot never quite happened, but if you can

phone ahead to set the heating and use a remote control to operate the garage door, they may as well be redundant.

The car, of course, has failed to live up to our expectations. It has been given turbo engines, DVD players and automatic windows, but its tyres stick stubbornly to the road. Why doesn't it take off? The past promised us a flying car in various guises. In 1947 a prototypecircled San Diego for more than an hour but later crashed in the desert. Some 30 patents for flying cars were registered in the US patent office last century but none of these ideas has been transformed into a commercially available vehicle.

At least communication technology in this digitalage hasn't let us down. Even in the most remote areas people have access to some form of communication device. The introduction of the telephone last century changed our world, but today's mobile phones and the virtualworld of the Internet have revolutionised it.

1. A modern problem proves that computers are dominating our lives in some

way

2. Alan Toffler's predictions have been proven true

3. Household gadgets today have been a disappointment

4. We have enough gadgets now to make robots unnecessary in the home

5. Today's cars have fulfilled all predictions

6. The mobile phone and the Internet have changed our world for the better

Now match the words in the text with these definitions.

1. guessed2. be greater than expected3. a machine invented for a specific purpose (x 2)4. relating to computers5. a screen that images can be seen on6. the first working example of a machine7. an adjective used to describe anything related to8. almost real9. computers10.very modern

Match a word from box A with a word from box В and use the compound words to complete the sentences below

A. automatic, cyber, remote, silicon, wireless, labour

B. chip, connection, control, pilot, space, saving,

1. The invention of the …………… made watching television an even more passive experience.

2. In my view the dishwasher is one of the greatest …………… devices.3. People often talk about emails and text messages being lost in ……………

as if it were a real place.4. Even flying a plane has been automated now. The …………… is used for

most of the flight.5. The invention of the …………… meant that computers could be much

smaller.6. I can access the Internet from anywhere in my house because my laptop has

a ……………

WRITING: SUMMARY

The Future Is NowBy Joel AchenbachApril 13, 2008;The Washington PostThe most important things happening in the world today won't make

tomorrow's front page. They won't get mentioned by presidential candidates or Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly or any of the other folks yammering and snorting on cable television.They'll be happening in laboratories -- out of sight, inscrutable and unhyped until the very moment when they change life as we know it.

Science and technology form a two-headed, unstoppable change agent. Problem is, most of us are mystified and intimidated by such things as biotechnology, or nanotechnology, or the various other-ologies that seem to be threatening to merge into a single unspeakable and incomprehensible thing called biotechnonanogenomicology. We vaguely understand that this stuff is changing our lives, but we feel as though it's all out of our control.

What's unnerving is the velocity at which the future sometimes arrives. Consider the Internet. This powerful but highly disruptive technology crept out of the lab (a Pentagon think tank, actually) and all but devoured modern civilization -- with almost no advance warning. The first use of the word "internet" to refer to a computer network seems to have appeared in this newspaper on Sept. 26, 1988, in the Financial section, on page F30 -- about as deep into the paper as you can go without hitting the bedrock of the classified ads. The scientists knew that computer networks could be powerful. But how many knew that this Internet thing would change the way we communicate, publish, sell, shop, conduct research, find old friends, do homework, plan trips and on and on?

It's not just us mortals, even scientists don't always grasp the significance of innovations. Tomorrow's revolutionary technology may be in plain sight, but everyone's eyes, clouded by conventional thinking, just can't detect it. So where does that leave the rest of us? In technological Palookaville.

Science is becoming ever more specialized; technology is increasingly a series of black boxes, impenetrable to but a few. Americans' poor science literacy means that science and technology exist in a walled garden, a geek ghetto. We are

a technocracy in which most of us don't really understand what's happening around us. We stagger through a world of technological and medical miracles. We're zombified by progress.

Our ability to monkey around with life itself is a reminder that ethics, religion and old-fashioned common sense will be needed in abundance in decades to come. How smart and flexible and rambunctious do we want our computers to be? Let's not mess around with that Matrix business.

Every forward-thinking person almost ritually brings up the mortality issue. What'll happen to society if one day people can stop the aging process? Or if only rich people can stop getting old?

It's interesting that politicians rarely address such matters. The future in general is something of a suspect topic . . . a little goofy. Right now we're all focused on the next primary, the summer conventions, the Olympics and their political implications, the fall election. The political cycle enforces an emphasis on the immediate rather than the important.

And in fact, any prediction of what the world will be like more than, say, a year from now is a matter of hubris. The professional visionaries don't even talk about predictions or forecasts but prefer the word "scenarios." When Sen. John McCain, for example, declares that radical Islam is the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, he's being sincere, but he's also being a bit of a soothsayer. Environmental problems and resource scarcity could easily be the dominant global dilemma. Or a virus with which we've yet to make our acquaintance. Or some other "wild card."

Some predictions are bang-on, such as sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke's declaration in 1945 that there would someday be communications satellites orbiting the Earth. But Clarke's satellites had to be occupied by repairmen who would maintain the huge computers required for space communications. Even in the late 1960s, when Clarke collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay to "2001: A Space Odyssey," he assumed that computers would, over time, get bigger.We have built into us an idea that tomorrow is going to be pretty much like today, which is very wrong.

The future is often viewed as an endless resource of innovation that will make problems go away -- even though, if the past is any judge, innovations create their own set of new problems. Climate change is at least in part a consequence of the invention of the steam engine in the early 1700s and all the industrial advances that followed.

Look again at the Internet. It's a fantastic tool, but it also threatens to disperse information we'd rather keep under wraps, such as our personal medical data, or even the instructions for making a fission bomb.

We need to keep our eyes open. The future is going to be here sooner than we think. It'll surprise us. We'll try to figure out why we missed so many clues. And we'll go back and search the archives, and see that thing we should have noticed on page F30.

Palookaville is a 1995 motion picture about a pair of trio burglars and their dysfunctional family of origin. It is a comedy about bumbling buddies who decide to live a life of crime. But there's a problem: the only thing they know about being criminals is what they've seen on TV so you can imagine the problems they encounter when planning their big score

READING 3

Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word.

Life on MarsSpeculation about life on Mars began, like so much speculation, with the

ancient Greeks. For them, as forus, it formed part of a larger question: Are there intelligent life forms elsewhere in the universe, and if(1) ………., are they anything like us?

As (2) ………. as Christians believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe, interest(3) ………. such matters (4) ………. out but revived in the nineteenth century. The reason whydiscussion began to focus (5) ………. Mars was that Italian astronomers claimed there were lineson the surface, which they called canali or channels. When the word was translated (6) ………. English as 'canals', implying that they had been artificially constructed, the stage was set for all kinds of hypotheses.

After the astronomers came the novelists, (7) ………. all the young H G Wells, who portrayed theMartians as ruthless invaders in The War of the Worlds. The success of Wells' novel (8) ………. Riseto a host of imitations, (9) ………. them an early work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, later the creatorof Tarzan. Burroughs' Mars was inhabited not only by monsters (10) ………. also by beautifulprincesses who gave birth by (11) ………. eggs.

Since a spacecraft landed there in J 997, Mars has once again been in the news. (12) ………. always,public interest is aroused by the hope that life might be found there. So far such speculation remainswishful (13) ………. and one cannot help wondering why it should seem important to us. Theanswer may be that we (14) ………. it comforting to imagine that we are not (15) ………. inthe universe.

What DNA can tell us about the pastDNA is the substance from which all life as we know it is derived. But how

(0)longcan it survive?Is it out of the (1) ………. to think of recreating a creature from DNA found in the remains of one?The discovery of traces of DNA in an animal known (2) ………. the quagga, a cross (3) ………. a horse and a zebra that became extinct in the last century, was the starting pointfor a series of investigation of this type.

The initial excitement has (4)………. down a little since subsequent research has demonstrated thathowever well preserved a creature's remains may be, the

upper limit for the survival of DNA is about 100,000years and using it to (5) ……….a quagga back to life is the stuff of fantasy. Yet the discovery can beused to provide (6) ………. to many questions about prehistory that have troubled archaeologists.

For example, as a result of extracting DNA from the remains of a Neanderthal, scientists have (7) ………. the conclusion that it belonged to a different species and we are not its descendants. Another problem concerns the inhabitants of Easter Island in the South Pacific. In this case, the DNA evidence of ancient human remainsdoes not bear (8) ………. the theory that they came from South America but nor does it prove thatthey were from South East Asia, the alternative suggestion (9) ………. forward.

It might be imagined that these new scientific techniques would (10) ……. an end to traditionalarchaeological research but this is very (11) ……….from being the case. (12) ………. thecontrary, they provide a basis (13) ……….many further projects, if we (14) ………. intoconsideration the hundreds of samples of hair, bone and tissue containing DNA in museums that can beanalysed to throw (15) ………. on the unsolved mysteries of the past.

VOCABULARY WORK

InnovationsPeople were asked to the little technical innovations that have quietly entered - and improved - our lives over the last 20 years. Here are some of their replies.

I never carry much 'real money' and I hardly ever even write a cheque. I just put a piece of plastic in a slot, enter my PINand take out the cash!

You're more likely to have to swipe a cardthan use a traditional key these days. Remember when you had to rush out of work to get to the bank in your lunch hour? I never need to go into a bank today. Online bankingis fantastic.

My music collection used to take up a whole wall of my room. Now I've got far more music storedon my little MP3 player.

How did people manage without mobile phones? And I love all the extra bits. I love being able to downloadnew ringtones!

Wireless hotspotsare fantastic - I can easily get online using my own laptop. I travel a lot and it's great to be able to remote access my email.

Remember when you had to get off the sofa to switch channelson your black and white TV? Now you turn your huge flat-screen TVon and off by remote control!

High-definition TV-the picture is fantastic compared with before. I use SATNAVin the car all the time - much easier than looking at a paper

map.Technology in business

Scientists and technologists are pushing back the frontiers of knowledge every day. Scientists publish their findings and those findings are developed into commercial applications. We have become very skilled at harnessing technology in all sorts of creative ways. New cutting-edge design is transforming our daily lives and our businesses. But even with the technology we are already familiar with things do not always run smoothly. There can be difficulties installing equipment and hardware can suffer from wear and tear. More serious are viruses, which can cause systems to crash and lead to the loss of important data. A power cut can cause machinery to lose power and production may be halted until power is restored. If computers have to be shut down for even a short time, it can cause a variety of problems, all of them costly.

Correct the collocation errors in the sentences that follow using the italicized words and word combinations in the texts above. In some sentences there is more than one error.

1) If you switch off your computer without shutting it properly, you may lose data.

2) I didn't expect everything to run gently in my new job but I didn't imagine it would be quite so difficult as it was.

3) Alex had some technical problems initiating his new computer equipment.4) The company is famous for its cutting-side design.5) If they'd serviced their machines regularly, they wouldn't have had to halt

producing.6) Vic dreams of making a discovery that would help to push out the frontiers

of science.7) Scientists usually publicise their findings in academic journals.8) There was a power break this morning. The power went off at ten and it

wasn't restorated till midday.9) Urs loves pure research but his brother is more interested in the application

of research to practical projects and in harassing new technology for commercial ends.

10) They carried out researches over a ten-year period and finally published their finding this month

USE OF ENGLISH PRACTICE

Gapped Sentences 1. Shell is poised to become the first oil major to sign a deal to ……………

natural gas in the Kurdish region of Iran.Brutal interrogation methods and even executions are allegedly used by the security services to …………… information about insurgents.Read this …………… from an information booklet about the work of an airline cabin crew.

2. MyTravel, the embattled tour operator, is understood to be preparing to …………… back its retail division by shedding senior staff and closing up to 260 shops.To …………… fish at home, start to …………… from tail to head with the back of a table knife.There is now a consensus among politicians of all parties that it is time to face up to the …………… oftheproblem in the public finances.

3. The menu will be ready as soon as you …………… up your computerIn the United States, a …………… camp is a military training camp for new recruits, with strict discipline.Alice was not just the smartest girl in the class; she was the best dancer, to ……………

4. Gerry was seen as a computer wizard capable of debugging convoluted …………… in his sleep.It was as if the speaker’s words contained a concealed ………… that only we were picking up.Remember to dial the area …………… if you are phoning from outside Nottingham.

5. As with any complex project, it’s a …………… of getting the right mix of skills.

In the brain, the cerebral cortex is a layer of grey …………… lying above each cerebral hemisphere.Helping him to escape had not been a minor …………… and he knew that if these people were caught they would be punished.

6. Though she was an exacting boss at work she could never put her …………… down in the affairs of her family.There is a mounting dissent between the participants in the deal over who should …………… thebill for the technology needed.Put your best …………… forward and work on the assumption that there is an acceptable solution to every problem you are likely to face.

Word formationToday, of course, we face more complex challenges than

we have ever faced before: a medical system that holds the promise of (1)…………… new cures and treatments -- attached to a health care system that holds the potential for bankruptcy to families and businesses; a system of energy that powers our economy, but simultaneously (2)…………… our planet; threats to our security that seek to exploit the very (3)............... and openness so (4)…………… to our prosperity.

And if there was ever a day that reminded us of our shared stake in science and research, it's today. We are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States. And this is obviously a cause for concern and requires a (5)…………… state of alert. But it's not a cause for alarm. The Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public

lock

dangerconnectessence

height

health emergency as a (6)…………… tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively. And this is one more example of why we can't allow our nation to fall behind.

(7)……………, that's exactly what's happened.Federal funding in the physical sciences as a portion of our gross domestic product has fallen by nearly half over the past quarter century.

Our schools continue to trail other developed countries and, in some cases, developing countries. Our students are (8)…………… in math and science by their peers in Singapore, Japan, England, Hong Kong, and Korea, among others. And we have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research (9)…………… in an effort to advance (10)…………… ideological agendas.

caution

fortune

perform

policydetermine

Open ClozeThe Danger of Dissent

Some would argue that, in matters (1) …………… great public importance, scientific dissent should be silenced. It can, it is true, (2) …………… harm. When AIDS first (3) …………… its ugly head, no one knew what caused it. Gradually, the virus responsible was isolated, identified and then attacked successfully with drugs (4) …………… specifically to (5) …………… its reproduction. A few scientists, though, refused to (6) …………… the evidence and some politicians used their arguments to (7) …………… inaction.

Now this newspaper believes that global warming is a serious threat, and that the world needs to take steps to try to (8) ……………….. it. That is the job of the politicians. But we do not believe that climate change is a certainty. There are no certainties in science. Prevailing theories must be constantly tested (9) ……………. evidence, and refined, and more evidence collected, and the theories tested again. That is the job of the scientists. When they stop questioning orthodoxy, mankind will have given up the (10) …………… for truth. The skeptics should not be silenced.

READING 4: READ and DISCUSS

The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought

or cold tolerance, pest or disease resistance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain these traits as well.

The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need.

Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods. Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns.

Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.

Make up a list of arguments for and against genetic engineering

Render the text that follows in EnglishЧеловечество давно использует генную инженерию для получения

генетически модифицированной продукции. При этом более 95% продукции получают из растений, которые являются прекрасными объектами для изучения, особенно соя, кукуруза, хлопок, картофель и многие другие.

Сегодня получены образцы растений, в которых содержатся антигены некоторых вирусов, что позволяет вакцинировать население от многих заболеваний. Возможно обогащение продуктов растительного происхождения витаминами, микроэлементами и минеральными веществами. Появились растения, способные защитить себя от насекомых и сорняков – повышается урожайность, качество, понижается себестоимость продукции.Существуют ГМ овощи и фрукты способные переносить заморозки и засуху, которые в обычных случаях уничтожили бы урожай.

Максимальное количество генетически модифицированных растений выращиваются на территории США (соя, кукуруза, хлопок и другие), на их долю приходится 63% мировых объемов производства «новых» растений, а потребителями являются развивающиеся страны.

Трудно предсказать последствия использования измененных продуктов за счет природных, глобальных факторов воздействия, а тем более отклик человеческого организма на успехи генной инженерии. Выращивание и

употребление в пищу генетически модифицированных организмов (ГМО) сопровождается несколькими рисками. Экологи опасаются, что генетически измененные формы могут случайно проникнуть в дикую природу, что приведет к катастрофическим изменениям в экосистемах.

Например, сорняки могут получить от ГМО ген устойчивости к вредителям и пестицидам. Тогда размножение сорняков будет неконтролируемым. Саморегуляция в экосистемах нарушится.

Кроме экологических рисков, связанных с проблемами выращивания ГМО, существуют пищевые риски. Употребление трансгенных продуктов вызывает у многих людей аллергические реакции. Сорта растений, устойчивые к пестицидам могут накапливать вредные веществаи вызывать отравление приупотреблении в пищу.ГМ-растения подвергают риску экологический баланс в природе и могут негативно повлиять на здоровье чеовека.

READING5 With the advent of new technology there have been many changes during

the latter part of the twentieth century. As well as new words, some words have changed their meaning.

You Are Survivors!(for those born some time ago)

You were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastics, contact lenses, DVDs and Frisbees. You were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ball point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners … and before man walked on the moon. You got married first and then lived together (how quaint can you be?). You thought ‘fast food’ was what you ate at Lent, a ‘Big Mac’ was an oversized raincoat and ‘crumpet’ you had for tea. You existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, and when ‘sheltered accommodation’ was where you waited for a bus.

You were before day-care centers, group homes and disposable nappies.You never heard of FM radio, key

boards, artificial hearts, yoghurts and young men wearing earrings. For you ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness, a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or a fried potato, hardware meant nuts and bolts, and software wasn’t a word.

‘Made in Japan’ meant junk, pizzas, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of. In your day, cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’ was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in a coal house, and a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat. ‘Rock music’ was grandmother’s lullaby, ‘Eldorado’ was an ice cream, a ‘gay

person’ was life and soul of the party and nothing more, while ‘aids’ just meant beauty treatment, wooden legs or help for someone in trouble.

You, who were born a long time ago, must be a hardy bunch when you think of the way in which the world has changed and the adjustments you have had to make. But … by the grace of God … you have survived!!

READING 4

How to live foreverJan 3rd 2008 The Economist

It looks unlikely that medical science will abolish the process of ageing. But it no longer looks impossible

“In the long run,” as John Maynard Keynes observed, “we are all dead.” True. But can the short run be elongated in a way that makes the long run longer? And if so, how, and at what cost? People have dreamt of immortality since time immemorial. They have sought it since the first alchemist put an elixir of life on the same shopping list as a way to turn lead into gold. They have written about it in fiction, from Rider Haggard's “She” to Frank Herbert's “Dune”. And now, with the growth of biological knowledge that has marked the past few decades, a few researchers believe it might be within reach.

To think about the question, it is important to understand why organisms—people included—age in the first place. People are like machines: they wear out. That much is obvious. However a machine can always be repaired. A good mechanic with a stock of spare parts can keep it going indefinitely. Eventually, no part of the original may remain, but it still carries on, like Lincoln's famous axe that had had three new handles and two new blades.

The question, of course, is whether the machine is worth repairing. It is here that people and nature disagree. Or, to put it slightly differently, two bits of nature disagree with each other. The paradox is that the individual's evolved desire not to age is opposed by another evolutionary force: the disposable soma (the ancient Greek word for body). The soma's ultimate role is to get the organism's genes, into the next generation. And if evolutionary logic requires the soma to age and die, so be it. Which is a pity, for evolutionary logic does, indeed, seem to require that.

The argument is this. All organisms are going to die of something eventually. That something may be an accident, a fight, a disease or an encounter with a hungry predator. There is thus a premium on reproducing early rather than conserving resources for a future that may never come. The reason why repairs are not perfect is that they are costly and resources invested in them might be used for reproduction instead. Often, therefore, the body's mechanics prefer lash-ups to complete rebuilds—or simply do not bother with the job at all. And if that is so, the place to start looking for longer life is in the repair shop.

One man who has done just that is Aubrey de Grey. Dr de Grey, who is an independent researcher working in Cambridge, England, is a man who provokes

strong opinions. He believes that anti-ageing technology could come about in a future that many now alive might live to see.

Vision or mirage, Dr de Grey has defined the problem precisely. Unlike most workers in the field, he has an engineering background, and is thus ideally placed to look into the biological repair shop. As he sees things, ageing has seven components; deal with all seven, and you stop the process in its tracks. He refers to this approach as strategies for engineered negligible senescence (SENS).

One way that might let people outlive the limit imposed by disposable somas is to accept the machine analogy literally. When you take your car to be serviced or repaired, you expect the mechanic to replace any worn or damaged parts with new ones. That, roughly, is what those proposing an idea called partial immortalisation are suggesting. And they will make the new parts with stem cells. The thing about stem cells of all types, which makes them different from ordinary body cells, is that they have special permission to multiply indefinitely. Supporters of partial immortalization, also known as regenerative medicine, seek to use stem cells to grow replacements for tissues and organs that have worn out.

Neither prevention, nor repair, is truly ready to roll out. But there is one other approach, and this is based on the one way of living longer that has been shown, again and again, in animal experiments, to be effective. That is to eat less.

From threadworms to mice, putting an animal on a diet that is near, but not quite at, starvation point prolongs life—sometimes dramatically. No one has done the experiment on people, and no one knows for sure why it works. But it does provide a way of studying the problem with the reasonable hope of finding an answer.

You would, of course, have to wish a lot for a long life to choose to starve yourself to achieve it. Extrapolating from the mouse data, you would need to keep your calorie intake to three-quarters of the amount recommended by dieticians.

The reason for believing that prolonged life is an evolutionary response to starvation rather than just a weird accident is that when an animal is starving the evolutionary calculus changes. An individual that has starved to death is not one that can reproduce. Even if it does not die, the chance of it giving birth to healthy offspring is low. So, the billion-dollar trick would be to persuade the body it is starving when it is not. That way people could live longer while eating normally. They might even, if the mechanism can truly be understood, be able to reproduce, as well.

In this connection, the most intriguing story is with the French paradox. This is the fact that the French tend to eat fatty diets rich in red meat but to have the survival characteristics of those whose diets are lean and vegetarian. Some researchers link this with their consumption of red wine which activates sirtuins that forces the existing copies to produce more protein than normal, and life is prolonged.

That said, the logic of the disposable-soma theory is profound. Even working with its grain may do no more than buy a few extra years of healthy living. Researchers hope that next few years will see further discoveries and improved life-extension technologies based on them.

The chances are that it will not work. But hope springs eternal. Woody Allen once said, “I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” If any researcher manages to beat evolutionary history and achieve his goal, he might get to do both.

Cross out the one word in each list that is NOT a synonym for the word in capitals.

1. PROBLEM difficulty, dilemma, benefit, challenge, obstacle2. SOLUTION answer, key, remedy, resolution, setback3. WORSEN compound, deteriorate, enhance, exacerbate4. IMPROVE advance, aggravate, flourish, progress, reform5. CHANGE acclimatise, adapt, adjust, amend, linger, modify, transform