Word Study

XV. Translate into Russian paying attention to the words former, latter, formerly:

1. The real difference between the centre of Africa and the centre of An-tarctica is that in the former, water is water and in the latter, water is ice. 2. In general, waves are of two types: swell waves and storm waves. Both are gene-rated by the action of the wind on the surface of the sea but the latter more directly than the former. 3. The earth movement that causes the quaking (earthquakes) may be either volcanic or tectonic; the latter type is more common. 4. The earth has warmed up and cooled off several times during the course of geological history. In comparison to some former eras of geological time, we are today living in one of the "ice ages". 5. It was formerly supposed that the entire interior of the earth was liquid and that the surface was a thin floating crust.

XVI. Translate into Russian paying attention to the words about, nearly, almost:

1. This is an interesting article about the natural resources of ocean basins. 2. He has travelled a lot about the world. 3. The diameter of the moon is about one-fourth that of the earth. 4. The moon takes about 27¹/₃ days to make a complete revolution about the earth. 5. The orbits of the planets are almost circular. 6. All the planets travel around the sun in nearly the same plane. 7. Wind is the horizontal or nearly horizontal movement of the air near the surface of the earth. 8. Nearly all of the mass of the solar system is in the sun.

XVII. Put all possible questions to the sentences:

1. The nine planets revolve around the sun in the same direction. 2. The earth's density increases toward the earth's centre. 3. Venus [ˊvi:nəs] sometimes appears in the east as the morning star. 4. The movement of the moon is controlled by the earth.

Lexical Exercises

XVIII. Give Russian equivalents of the following:

members of the solar system; mean equatorial radius; to revolve once around the earth; to make a complete revolution about the sun; considerable indirect influence; slightly flattened at the poles; to increase toward the centre; the cause of ocean tides; to be of some importance

XIX. Give English equivalents of the following:

среднее расстояние от земли до солнца; вращаться (вращение) вокруг своей собственной оси; регулировать скорость; главный источник света, тепла, энергии; выветривание пород, выветривать; расти, рост; почти круглый; включать, содержать; плоский (ровный, горизонтальный)

XX. Read the text. Get ready to answer the following questions (see notes after the text):

1. In what direction does the earth rotate about its axis? 2. What causes day and night? 3. What kind of the earth's motion determines the length of the solar year? 4. Why is it not convenient to use the solar year for practical purposes? 5. What kind of scheme have the calendar-makers worked out to overcome this difficulty? 6. What is the difference between tropical years and leap years? 7. How often do we have a leap year? 8. To which month is the extra day added?

THE EARTH IN MOTION

The earth has two motions — rotation and revolution.

1. Rotation. — This refers¹ to the turning motion of the earth on its axis. The earth rotates from west to east, making one complete turn in about 24 hours. Its rotation causes day and night.

2. Revolution. — This refers to the movement of the earth around the sun. The earth moves around the sun in an elliptical orbit, completing one trip (revolution) in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. This movement determines² the length of the solar year. It is not convenient³ to use the solar year for practical purposes⁴ because it contains a fraction of a day. Our calendar-makers have worked out the following scheme to overcome⁵ the difficulty. Three successive years, called tropical years, contain 365 days each. Those years which are evenly⁶ divisible by four are called leap⁷ years; they contain 366 days (the extra day is added to February).

Notes

¹ to refer (to) = to relate (to)

² to determine [dɪˊtə:mɪn] определять

³ convenient [kənˊvi:njənt] удобный

⁴ purpose [ˊpə:pəs] цель

⁵ to overcome [ˏouvəˊkʌm] преодолеть

⁶ evenly [ˊi:vənlɪ] (зд.) без остатка

⁷ leap [li:p] високосный

XXI. Translate into Russian using a dictionary. Pay attention to the words in bold type:

Even a casual observer of nature knows from common experience that certain animals and plants are confined to definite physical areas. The animals of the mountains are different from those on the plateaus; and the latter, in turn, have characteristics which distinguish them from the creatures of the low plains. The animals of the strand are not the same as those inhabiting the open ocean; the floras and faunas of fresh-water lakes are not the same as those found in the seas. This strong present manifestation of the dependence of the organic world on the physical environment apparently was nearly, if not quite, so defined throughout the geologic past.

XXII. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English:

1. Зимой дни гораздо короче, чем летом. 2. Сегодня не так тепло, как было вчера. 3. Какая самая длинная река в Европе? — Волга. Ее длина 3690 км. 4. Европа немного больше Австралии, но значительно (гораздо) меньше Африки. 5. Ледник движется вниз по склону (downhill) не так быстро, как поток воды. Вода течет намного быстрее (быстро — fast, ra-pidly). 6. Планеты солнечной системы не одинакового размера. 7. Самая внутренняя планета (самая близкая к солнцу) — Меркурий (Mercury) — является самой маленькой планетой системы. 8. Именно луна является главной причиной океанических приливов на земле. 9. Именно вращение земли вокруг своей оси вызывает день и ночь. 10. Раньше (прежде) думали, что земля является центром вселенной, и что солнце, луна, планеты, известные тогда, и звезды вращаются вокруг нее. До XVII столетия полагали, что земля является правильным (regular) шаром. К концу столетия накопилось много фактов, указывавших (to indicate) на то, что земля в целом действительно шарообразна, но именно Ньютон открыл, что земля по форме — сфероид или эллипсоид вращения. Сейчас нет сомнений в том, что это заключение правильно. Известно, что земля по форме, как и другие планеты солнечной системы, немного сжата (сплюснута) у полюсов, и ее экваториальный радиус примерно на 21 километр длиннее ее полярного радиуса.