Навч_Пос_бник_Лазарева_Ковтун

1. Cell phones emit big amount of electromagnetic radiation. 2. Radio-frequency radiation has the ability to destroy human tissue. 3. Scientists still discuss the possible harm of cell phones effect. 4. Children may use cell phones without any restriction.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. How many cell phone users were there in the USA in 2001? 2. What illnesses may be caused by excessive use of cell phones? 3. What are the forms of ionizing radiation? 4. What organ is particularly vulnerable to the effect of heat?

Text 12. The Internet

забезпечення

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks linked by a broad range of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a lot of information resources and services, especially the interlinked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail.

Most traditional communications media, such as telephone and television services, are reshaped using the technologies of the Internet, giving rise to services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and IPTV. Newspaper publishing has been reshaped into Web sites, blogging, and web feeds. The Internet has enabled the creation of new forms of human communications through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking sites.

The Internet was created in the 1960s when the USA funded research projects of its military agencies decided to build forceful computer networks.

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Now the Internet has no centralized governance in either technological realization or policies for access and usage.

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much difference. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.

travellers.

Ані вітер, ані низька температура не могли зупинити мандрівників.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

1. The Internet is a global system of computer networks connected by a wide range of electronic and optical networking technologies. 2. TV programs have been transformed into Web sites, blogging, and web feeds. 3. The Internet was created as forceful computer networks in the 1960s in the USA for military purposes. 4. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are one and the same.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. What is the Internet? 2. What traditional communication media give rise to services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and IPTV? 3. What new forms of human communications were created in the Internet? 4. When was the Internet created?

Text 13. DNA Stretching Mystery is Solved

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Researchers in Europe have unravelled a mystery that has been puzzling scientists for years: what happens to a molecule of DNA when it is stretched to its breaking point.

Now Erwin Peterman and his colleagues appear to have answered the question. The researchers carried out a DNA-stretching experiment by attaching one end of each strand of a length of double-stranded DNA to a polystyrene bead. The beads could be pulled apart with a controlled and measurable force by lasers – a process called optical tweezing.

“Pulling the DNA from both ends is a bit like pulling on a jacket that has a double-ended zipper,” says Peterman. “What we found was that at the transition force the zipper starts to come apart at either end, but remains zipped in the middle. In other words, the DNA comes apart at either end, and under tension this single-stranded DNA is 70 percent longer than double-stranded DNA.”

It is a great work. It tells us about the way the structure of a single molecule is changing under tension, something we have not been able to see before. It looks as though they have solved the question, but as always it is very complicated. So this might not be the end of the story.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

1. The researchers have been stretching strands of DNA for ages. 2. The scientists have divided strands of DNA into two different parts. 3. A singlestranded DNA is as long as a double-stranded one. 4. The structure of a single molecule can be changed under pressure.

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ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. Who carried out a DNA-stretching experiment? 2. What was the DNAstretching experiment? 3. What happened to a molecule of DNA when it was stretched to its breaking point? 4. Is this experiment useful? Why?

Text 14. Status of Genetically Modified Products

Active Vocabulary:

advance because of its enormous power to transform living things. New techniques such as tissue culture, cell culture and embryo transfer, as well as various techniques of molecular manipulation, have emerged. Transgenic technologies such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are now being widely used in crop breeding and commercial production.

There are a number of actual or potential benefits from GM crops. These include:

∙Enhanced crop yield and productivity;

∙More nutritious and higher quality products;

∙Less need for pesticides and herbicides;

∙Greater efficiency in resource management;

∙Role as a bioreactor to produce raw materials for pharmaceuticals and other industries.

For critics, there are four main objections:

∙Consumers do not have enough information about GMOs.

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∙There may be potential detrimental effects from eating GM foods, while there have not yet been objective studies to identify such effects, if they exist.

∙There may be unexpected environmental problems.

∙Using of GM crops may go against certain religious beliefs and traditions.

So, rapid introduction of GM products into the market is really amazing. Many of the key technologies are in the hands of the private sector, and dominated by a few companies. The use of transgenic modification could have benefits for developing countries only, due to an affordable cost.

So, there are some more problems of using these products.

∙Many developing countries can not afford the cost of biotechnology.

∙The crop genetic improvements that are currently available are not suitable for developing countries.

∙The question is who will assist developing countries, and what type of assistance is appropriate.

Population growth and food distribution will most likely remain the two

most critical problems which mankind must face for many years to come.

Biotechnology offers the potential to reduce uncertainty in the world’s future food supply, in the face of a growing population and the limited carrying capacity of the Earth.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

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1. Transgenic technologies have been known since ancient times. 2. Genetically modified food is very useful for our body. 3. GMOs may cause plenty of environmental problems. 4. A developing country should have a fortune of money to afford the cost of biotechnology.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. What new techniques in modern biotechnology do you know? 2. What are pros and cons of GM crops? 3. What is the situation with GM products on the market? 4. How can you solve the problem of food supply for all the mankind?

Text 15. The Big Future of Nanotechnology

Active Vocabulary:

Nanotechnology deals in the realm of the nearly invisible. The word comes from the Greek nanos, meaning “dwarf”. But by most accounts, the technology’s potential is anything but small. Scientists and engineers can now physically work with materials at the atomic level to create stain-proof fabrics, scratch-resistant paints and longer-lasting tennis balls. And researchers say new medical diagnostic tools and smaller, more efficient fuel cells and batteries based on nanoscience are on the way.

From computer chips invisible to the naked eye to microscopic machines that seek out and destroy cancers inside the human body, a lot of scientists argue that the potential of nanotechnology could be endless, but not without controversy.

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“If we can get a nanoparticle into a cell, that might prove to be a new and useful drug delivery device,” says Ms. Kulinowski, Executive Director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University. “On the other hand, it might prove to be a toxin to the cell either by punching a hole in the cell membrane or otherwise disrupting the cell’s function”.

Whether the benefits of nanotechnology outweigh the risks will determine the future of what many researchers hope will be the world’s next industrial revolution.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

1. Nanoparticles are very big. 2. Nanotechnology has a great potential. 3. There is no need to use nanotechnology in medicine. 4. Nanotechnology is a step to the industrial revolution.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. What does the word nanos mean? 2. At what spheres of industry can you use nanotechnology? 3. Why is nanotechnology useful? 4. How do nanoparticles influence the cells?

Text 16. The Greenhouse Effect

Active Vocabulary:

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The light from the sun comes in, and the greenhouse gases trap some of the heat radiated from the Earth. It’s an energy balance. The more heat that comes in or the more heat that is trapped, the higher the energy balance is. The bigger the ice fields, the lower the Earth’s energy balance.

A fundamental error is being spread that, because a global warming gas is transparent to a large amount of the incoming radiation from the sun, it cannot have much effect in terms of warming the planet. This is an error that ignores a real-world fact that incoming radiation is converted to longer wave-lengths as it impacts the atmosphere and the planetary surface. It is these longer wavelengths that are then blanketed from escaping back into space. If it were not for this wave-length conversion (mechanism), the greenhouse gases (GHGs) would not be causing the rise in the level of the Earth’s energy balance.

The energy balance for the Earth is about 33° Centigrade higher than it would otherwise be if there was no greenhouse effect. The average temperature on Earth is about 16° Centigrade. Thus, it would be more like -17° Centigrade, if there were no greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and, therefore, no greenhouse effect. The best estimate is for climate sensitivity to be 3°С. Values substantially higher than 4.5° C cannot be excluded.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

1. Energy balance depends on heat level. 2. GHGs can not cause the rise in the level of the Earth’s energy balance. 3. The average temperature on Earth is about 18° Celsius. 4. The best temperature for climate is 3° F.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

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1. What is an energy balance? 2. What error information is spread all over the world? 3. What is the difference between a greenhouse effect and a global warming? 4. Is there any danger in the greenhouse effect?

Text 17. Essential “Green” Metals are being Thrown Away

Active Vocabulary:

That old cellphone gathering dust in your cupboard could help the economy go green, if only you could get round to recycling it. A UN report published last week says that too many of the rare metals that are essential for green technologies are locked up in old gadgets we throw away or forget about.

The report, from the United Nations Environment Programme, examined the recycling rates of 60 metals. Globally, 34 of them have recycling rates below 1 per cent, while only 18 have rates above 50 per cent. Among the least-recycled metals are tellurium and gallium – which are used in solar cells – and lithium, a key component of the batteries in electric cars – which is also found in cellphone batteries.

These metals are not yet in heavy use, but will be crucial over the next few decades. While we are unlikely to run out of them in the near future, recycling those already in use is less energy-intensive than mining, offering a way to make the green technologies that rely on the metals even greener.

“Most metals can be used over and over again,” says leading author Thomas Graedel of Yale University. But this doesn’t happen, partly because electronic devices are not designed with recycling in mind, and partly because people hang onto their old gadgets for years. This hoarding mentality may be

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influenced by privacy concerns associated with selling or recycling old electronics that store personal information.

Part of the solution is to collect more metals for recycling, but Graedel says we also need to update our recycling technology. At the moment, about 70 per cent of the metal sent for recycling gets lost during the process.

І. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.

1. UN specialists discovered that some rare metals are thrown away together with food wastes. 2. Gallium is used in producing electric car batteries. 3. Cellphone batteries contain Lithium. 4. During the recycling process, about 50 per cent of rare metals are lost.

ІІ. Answer the following questions.

1. What technologies use most of rare metals? 2. What investigation concerning rare metals was made under the United Nations Environment Programme? 3. Why aren’t rare metals recycled on a large scale?

Text 18. Robots

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