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common practice among highway agencies to have traveling crews exclusively for bridge work.

8. Подберите перевод английских словосочетаний.

9. Сделайте краткое сообщение на предлагаемые темы.

1.Types of bridges.

2.The site for a bridge.

3.The functions of bridges.

10. Расскажите о своей специальности, используя предлагаемый план.

a)the similarity of purposes of bridges and highways; the principal differences between them;

b)the types of bridges;

c)the main parts of a bridge;

d)the criterion of choosing the location of the bridge;

e)why do you want to be a bridge engineer.

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V.3. ENGINEERING PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 1. Прочитайте и выучите.

environment – окружающая среда to seem – казаться

to design – проектировать, разрабатывать commissioning – пуск, ввод в действие maintenance – обслуживание, эксплуатация stage – ступень, этап, шаг

disposal – размещение, расположение endeavours – избавление, устранение averting – предотвращение, предупреждение contamination – загрязнение, порча hazardous – опасный, рискованный assessments – отчисления

to save – спасать, сохранять to destroy – разрушать

to investigate – разрабатывать, исследовать

2. Прочитайте и переведите текст. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

It seems that engineering and ecology have nothing in common; however, nowadays people understand that all modern technologies should be “ecologised”. That is, a future specialist (an engineer-ecologist) will take part in the building process on its every stage (pre-designing, designing, commissioning and maintenance of the constructed object).

Environmental Engineering is the development of processes and infrastructure for the supply of water, the disposal of waste and the control of pollution of all kinds. These endeavours protect public health by preventing disease transmission, and they preserve the quality of the environment by averting the contamination and degradation of air, water, and land resources.

Environmental engineering is a field of broad scope that is connected with such disciplines as chemistry, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, economics, and mathematics. It was traditionally a specialized field within civil engineering and was called sanitary engineering until the mid1960s, when the more accurate name environmental engineering was adopted.

Projects in environmental engineering involve the treatment and distribution of drinking water; the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater; the control of air and noise pollution; the management of municipal solid waste and

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of hazardous waste; the cleanup of hazardous-waste sites; and the preparation of environmental assessments, audits, and impact studies.

The main task of highway and bridge construction is to save but not to destroy clean lakes and rivers. The whole world and particularly our country need specialists in this sphere. That’s why the qualification “Environmental Engineering” was created at the Highway Engineering faculty in 2001. The students study such specialized subjects as ecological law, monitoring and expertise.

Northern areas of the Omsk region are being investigated now. It is necessary to build roads and bridges there paying attention to wildlife and using environmentally friendly technologies. So, the need in such specialists as engineer-ecologists is constantly growing.

3. Подберите перевод к словам и словосочетаниям. Выучите их.

Volition, injury, law of limiting factors, overwatering, overfertilizing, pitfall, growing season, drought, restricting, application, predation, constant struggle, weeds, pests, spread, influence, altering, ripple effect, verge, evidence.

Закон минимума (ограничивающих факторов), изменение, ловушка, переизбыток удобрений, влиять, вегетационный период (сезон роста), ограничивающий, переувлажнение, хищный образ жизни, сорняки, применение, засуха, постоянная борьба, воля, вредители, распространяться, повреждение, эффект пульсации, грань, доказательство.

4.Ответьте на вопросы.

1.What does the term “Environmental Engineering” mean?

2.What disciplines are connected with this sphere?

3.When did the term “Environmental Engineering” appear? What term was used before?

4.What can you tell about the functions of environmental engineer?

5.What do you know about the history of this speciality in our academy?

6.Why does our region need such specialists as environmental engineers?

7.What is the main aim of their job in your opinion?

5.Прочитайте текст, сделайте его реферирование.

ECOSYSTEMS: WHAT THEY ARE

1. There are two "sides" in every ecosystem, the organisms on one hand and the environmental factors on the other. All the organisms – plants,

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animals, and microbes – in the ecosystem are referred to as the biota (bio, "life"). The way the categories of organisms fit together is referred to as the biotic structure. The nonliving chemical and physical factors of

of heat and cold as well as average), light, water, wind, chemical nutrients, pH (acidity), salinity (saltiness) and fire. The degree to which each is present or absent, high or low, profoundly affects the ability of organisms to survive. However, different species may be affected differently by each factor. This difference in response to environmental factors determines which species may or may not occupy a given region.

3.In any study of the abiotic side of ecology, the key observation is that different species thrive under different conditions. This principle applies to all living things, both plants and animals. Some like it very wet; others like it relatively dry. Some like it very warm; others do best in cooler situations. Some tolerate freezing, others don't. Some require bright sun; others do best in shade. Thus, a single factor – temperature, say – can be varied in a systematic way, while all other factors are kept constant. Experiments show that, as temperature is raised from a low point that fails to support growth, plants grow increasingly well until they reach some maximum. Then, as temperature is raised still further, the plants become increasingly stressed; they do less well, suffer injury and die.

4.Since the results just described apply to any and all abiotic factors, we

may be stressed or killed by overwatering or overfertilizing as well as by underwatering or underfertilizing, a common pitfall for amateur gardeners. The factor that is limiting may change from one time to another.

5. The Law of Limiting Factors was first presented by Justus von Liebig in 1840 in connection with his observations regarding the effects of chemical nutrients on plant growth. He observed that restricting any one of the many different nutrients at any given time had the same effect: it limited growth. Thus, this law is also called Liebig's Law of Minimums. Observations since Liebig's time, however, show that his law has much broader application. Beyond its application to all abiotic factors, it may be applied to biotic factors as well.

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6.In summary, the biosphere consists of a great variety of environments, both aquatic and terrestrial. In each environment we find plants, animal, and microbial species that are adapted to all the abiotic factors and also to each other in various feeding and nonfeeding relationships. Such environment supports a more or less unique grouping of organisms interacting with each other and with the environment in a way that perpetuates or sustains the entire group. That is, each environment with the species it supports is an ecosystem. Every ecosystem is interconnected with others through ecotones and through some species that cross from one system to another. At the same time, each species and, as a result, each ecosystem, is kept within certain bounds by limiting factors. That is, the spread of each species is at some point limited by its not being able to tolerate particular conditions, compete with other species, or cross some physical barrier.

7.A major concern of many environmentalists is how altering any factor, abiotic or biotic, may upset these limits and have far-reaching consequences through a ripple effect. Recognizing that everything in the biosphere is interconnected leads to the conclusion that nothing can be changed without affecting everything else to a greater or lesser degree. Obviously, humans have changed and are continuing to change things on a very large scale. What will these changes bring? Many environmentalists, including a number of scientists, promote the idea that we may be on the verge of a sudden and catastrophic "collapse of the biosphere" in which most if not all life may perish. On the other hand, cornucopians, also including a number of scientists, point out that there is no solid evidence to support such a "doomsday scenario"; much less that it is imminent. Indeed, they argue that all our experience to date should lead to the quite opposite conclusion: Humans have already caused the extinction of thousands of species and made manifold changes over most of the earth, but we and the biosphere are still doing well. Therefore, they maintain that continuing development as we have been does not pose an environmental threat.

6.Выберите один правильный ответ.

1.What is the main idea of the article?

a. The biosphere consists of a great variety of environments, both aquatic and terrestrial.

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