3. Translation into Russian

1. Oceans, seas, and other bodies of salt water are interconnected, forming a single world ocean that is usually divided into four main parts — the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans.

2. The world ocean helps determine climate and shapes landforms.

3. The waters of the ocean are in constant motion. The most important movements are caused by the circulation of ocean currents and by tides.

4. Generally ocean water moves because its different parts have different temperatures. Just as some parts of the earth’s land surface are colder than others, so some parts of the world’s ocean surface are colder than others. These differences in water temperatures bring about a general mixing, or circulation, of ocean water.

5. Spectacular landforms, including the continental shelf and slope, the oceanic ridge, oceanic trenches, and the abyssal plains, lie beneath the ocean.

6. Ocean waters hold a wealth of food resources. They are part of a complex food chain built on plankton.

7. Over 5 million people make their livings by fishing.

8. One tidal power plant has already been built in France.

9. Many problems, such as territorial disputes, overfishing, and pollution, cloud the future use of the world ocean. Such problems arise from the absence of universally accepted rules governing ownership of the ocean and its resources.

10. The world’s nations recognize the ocean’s importance and are continually seeking solutions to territorial disputes and other potential problems.

4. Complementary texts

OCEAN SHIPPING

The ocean world does more for people than just make water cycle work

and influence weather and climate. Many ships travel on it, carrying

people and goods from one to another of the world’s many ports.

In the past, people have traveled and carried goods over the oceans and seas in rafts, in reed boats, in canoes, and in wooden boats with wind-driven sails. In recent times, diesel motors have replaced steam engines. Steel ships have replaced wooden ones. Length has increased and so has size. Today there are ships for carrying passengers, ships for carrying grains or ores, refrigerated ships for carrying fruit and meat, container ships that carry prepackaged goods for easy loading and unloading, and supertankers for carrying petroleum. Ships have radar and other kinds of navigational aids. They have machines that do the work of loading and unloading goods.

Even with these improvements, ocean shipping still has problems. And many of them have to do with size. Their larger sizes make ships more difficult to navigate through narrow or dangerous waters, increasing the risk of accidents, such as oil spills. Ships carrying larger and heavier loads ride lower in the water. They need deeper channels to enter and leave harbors. These needs often limit the number of ports at which these ships can dock. They also limit their use of the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, and the St Lawrence Seaway.

The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and Red seas, shortening the journey between European countries and Asia by thousands of miles. Since it opened in 1869, it has been enlarged several times.

The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The task of modernizing the canal, which opened in 1914, is so great and so costly that serious thought has been given to constructing a new canal at another location. Whether this will ever be done depends on shipping needs and on world politics.

The St Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. It extends from the mouth of the St Lawrence River to the western end of the Great Lakes. From about the middle of November to early April, the waters of the seaway are frozen solid. This is probably a greater disadvantage than the size of its locks, none of which can hold the largest vessels.

COLON AND PANAMA CITY

Colon and Panama City have special locations. Colon lies at the Caribbean opening of the Panama Canal. Panama City lies at the canal’s Pacific opening.

Colon. Since 1953 Colon has had a free trade zone. In this zone goods can be imported and exported without payment of duties, or taxes on imports and exports. The free trade zone has created an economic boom for the city.

More than 300 export and import firms now operate in the free trade zone, making Colon a center of activity. Trading vessels constantly sail into and out of port. Industry also has started to grow. For example, a petroleum refinery on Las Minas Bay, just 8 kilometers east of Colon,

refines crude oil imported from Venezuela. The refinery meets all of Panama’s oil needs and exports petroleum products to other Central American nations.

Besides all this activity, a steady line of ships from all over the world anchor off Cristobal, a town just south of Colon, waiting for their turn to proceed through the canal. As a result, Colon’s streets are always crowded with merchants and tourists inspecting the duty-free bargains that fill the windows of the city’s shops.

Panama City. Even though its location on the canal also brings Panama City much activity, its tone differs. As the capital of Panama, it is much larger than Colon and is marked by impressive government buildings and skyscrapers. Parks with well-tended flowerbeds and pleasant walkways stretch along its waterfront.

Panama City, like Colon, attracts visitors and business people from all over the world. Yet Panama City’s role as an international urban center is not limited to its port. The Pan-American Highway links Panama City with the rest of Panama as well as with the other Central American nations and Mexico to the north. A towering bridge over the canal brings the highway into the heart of Panama City.

Site and situation. The sites of these two cities are special because of their ties to the canal. The canal, in turn, provides the cities with a special urban situation. The flags of ships from all over the world flutter in the tropical breezes over Colon and Panama City as the ships enter or exit one of the most important waterways on earth — the Panama Canal. Few cities located only 80 kilometers apart have such far-reaching influences as Colon and Panama City.