Lexical Exercises

^*XI. Write out the equivalents in pairs:

complete, contain, near, far, influence, nearly, govern, velocity, attraction, speed, affect, close, about, include, distant, gravitation, total, control

XII. Give Russian equivalents of the following:

gravitational attraction; nearly spherical in shape; inner and outer planets; with the exception of; controlling member; to be about two miles less than; rotate about (on) their own axes; to lie relatively close to a common plane; to travel at different velocities

XIII. Give English equivalents of the following:

орбиты планет; одинаковый размер; внутренний; наружный (внешний); на различных расстояниях от центра; перемещаться (двигаться) с одинаковой скоростью; средняя плотность; регулировать скорость; содержать в себе почти 99% общей массы; представлять особый (большой) интерес; вращаться в одинаковом направлении

XIV. Use the words from the text instead of the words in bold type:

1. The sun holds in itself almost 99.9% of the whole mass of the solar system. 2. Except Pluto, the planets that are farther away from the sun are very much larger than the planets that are closer to the sun. 3. All the planets move along elliptical orbits which lie nearly in the same plane. 4. The planets travel along their orbits at different speeds.

XV. Translate the following word combinations:

to be close to the sun; to be in contact; close relationship; to study (exa-mine) closely; close investigation; relatively high velocity; average distance; the most distant areas; a most common mineral; orbital planes; nearly spherical surface; wholly (completely) different in density (in appearance); slightly increased volume; commonly contained in such rocks; considerably flattened at the poles; attraction forces; the total area; to be totally different in origin; surface features of particular interest; mechanical weathering agencies

XVI. Read the text. Get ready to answer the following questions. Retell the text. (See notes after the text):

1. What do we call heavenly bodies revolving around the planets? 2. What is the solar system made up of? 3. Which of the planets can never be seen with the naked eye? 4. Where and when does Venus sometimes appear as a star? 5. How distant is the moon's orbit from the earth? 6. Why is the same half of the moon always turned toward the earth?

THE RELATION OF THE EARTH TO OTHER HEAVENLY¹ BODIES

Besides the earth there are other bodies which revolve around the sun. We know of the existence² of eight other planets. Some of these, like the earth, have one or more moons which revolve around them. These nine planets with their moons, many minor³ planets known as asteroids, and the sun make up the solar system. The nine planets revolve around the sun in orbits of various sizes. Their names, in order of distance from the sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Under favourable⁴ conditions, all of the planets can be seen with the naked⁵ eye, except Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Venus sometimes appears in the east as the morning star, and sometimes in the west as the evening star. Mars has a reddish appearance⁶. The moon is a satellite of the earth. Except for an occasional⁷ meteor, it is nearer to us than any other heavenly body. The diameter of the moon is about one-fourth that of the earth. The revolution of this body carries it around the earth in an orbit which is 240,000 miles distant from the earth. The moon takes about 27¹/₃ days to make a complete revolution about the earth. The period of the moon's rotation on its axis is also 27¹/₃ days. As a result, the same half of the moon is always turned toward the earth.

Notes

¹ heavenly [ˊhevənlɪ] небесный

² existence [ɪɡˊzɪstəns] существование

³ minor [ˊmaɪnə] второстепенный, незначительный

⁴ favourable [ˊfeɪvərəbl] благоприятный

⁵ naked [ˊneɪkɪd] (зд.) невооруженный

⁶ appearance внешний вид

⁷ occasional [əˊkeɪƷnəl] случайный, редкий

XVII. Translate into Russian using a dictionary:

THE MOON AND THE EARTH

In an astronomical sense the moon is usually regarded as a satellite of the earth. From the viewpoint of planetary processes, however, the moon can be regarded as the smallest of the "terrestrial" planets (the earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury). Because its distance from the sun is about equal to that of the earth, the moon is subject to external influences similar to those affecting the earth. The moon's smaller size, however, implies a history quite different from the earth's.

It was once thought that many of the surface features of the moon date back to the moon's formation. The detailed views of the lunar surface provided by the latest photographs have somewhat diminished this possibility, because they indicate that erosion and other processes of change do take place¹ on the moon. Preliminary analysis of the samples of the moon's rock nonetheless indicates that the material is very old, perhaps three billion years old. The highlands may be even older. The possibility that some of the material lying on the lunar surface is chemically unchanged since the formation of the planet remains high.

Note

¹ do take place — действительно имеют место (do is used for emphasis)

XVIII. Read the text and give its essence in English. Practise questions and answers:

PLUTO

Pluto is the ninth planet, in order of distance, from the sun and is thus the most distant planet yet discovered within the solar system. It was discovered photographically in 1930. A large instrument is required (needed) to detect Pluto and only the largest telescopes can resolve the planetary disk.

The mass of Pluto has been variously estimated^l but the figures are very uncertain. The value for the diameter of the planet is even more controversial (uncertain). Thus it can be said that neither the mass nor the radius is well known. No atmosphere has been discovered and Pluto has no known satellites.

Note

¹ to estimate — оценивать

XIX. Translate into English using the active vocabulary of Sections 4 and 5:

1. Чем ближе зима, тем короче дни. 2. Чем севернее место, тем холоднее климат. 3. Молодые горы обычно выше старых. 4. Это озеро в два раза глубже нашего озера. 5. Общая площадь Африки в три раза больше Европы. 6. Происхождение земли — самый важный и трудный вопрос естествознания. 7. Астрономы считают, что пять миллиардов лет назад, после своего образования, наша планета вращалась гораздо быстрее, и сутки были гораздо короче. 8. Чем выше горные системы материков, тем толще земная кора (под ними). 9. Мы все еще мало знаем о глубинных недрах земли, поскольку пока еще возможно изучать их только косвен­ными методами. 10. Земля — небесное (heavenly) тело, одно из тел солнечной системы. Только шесть планет были известны в XV веке. Сейчас мы знаем, что солнечная система состоит из (включает) девяти планет. Последняя из них — Плутон — была открыта в 1930 году. Солнце со своими планетами принадлежит к системе звезд, известных вместе как Галактика (the Galaxy). Галактика включает около 100 миллиардов звезд (100 thousand million). Солнце не является ни самой маленькой, ни самой большой звездой среди них. Есть множество звезд, меньших солнца, и много звезд, значительно больших его. Вместе с другими звездами солнце вращается вокруг центра Галактики. Солнце движется по своей орбите со скоростью 285 км/сек (в секунду — per second).

XX. Suggested topics for discussion:

1. Speak on the solar system (See Diagram on page 31). 2. Speak on any of the planets of the solar system. (Use any other sources of information on this subject.)