English for Geographers

English For Geographers_____________________________________________

startlingly	- навдивовижу, на диво
debris	- уламки, відламки
species	- вид
skull	- череп
envision	- уявляти подумки

2. Read and translate the following text using a dictionary:

Continental Drift

A casual glance at a map of the world suggests the possibility that at some time in the past the continents were joined together in one or two giant supercontinents. If the margins of the continents are taken to be on their continental slopes at a depth of 3,000 ft, instead of their present sea-level boundaries, the fit between North and South America, Africa, Greenland, and western Europe is remarkably exact. But merely matching up outlines of continents is not by itself sufficient evidence that the continents have migrated around the globe. The first really comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed early in this century by the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, who based his argument on biologic and geologic evidence.

Wegener’s Theory

At one time the standard explanation for the similarity of patterns of early life around the world was a series of land bridges linking the continents together. But this meant that the oceans were then separated from one another, so a series of channels had to be devised to permit aquatic plants and animals to pass between oceans. No really believable scheme of bridges and channels could be devised, and even if one had been, it would still be necessary to account for the disappearance of all traces of them. Wegener was on firm ground when he searched for an alternative to this notion.

What Wegener suggested instead was that originally the continents were all part of a huge landmass he called Pangaea that was surrounded by a single ocean, Panthalassa. Pangaea then began to break up and the continents to slowly drift to their present locations. This model found additional support in geological data regarding prehistoric climates. At one time, South Africa, India, Australia, and part of South America were burdened with great ice sheets, while at the same time a tropical rain forest covered North America, Europe, and China. At various other times, there was sufficient vegetation in Alaska and Antarctica for coal deposits to have resulted, and so currently frigid a place as Buffin Bay was a desert.

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Wegener and his followers examined what was known about the climates of the distant past, and tried to arrange the continents in each geologic period so that the glaciers were near the poles and the hot regions were near the equator. The results, in general, were quite convincing and in some cases startlingly so: deposits of glacial debris and fossil remains of certain distinctive plant species follow each other in the same succession in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia, for example. A recent discovery of this kind was the identification of a skull of the reptile Lystrosaurus in a sandstone layer in the Alexandra mountain range of Antarctica. This creature, which was about three feet long, flourished long ago in Africa. It is as unlikely that Lystrosaurus swam the 2,700 mi between Africa and Antarctica as it is that a land bridge this long connected them, only to vanish completely later on.

Laurasia and Gondwanaland

Today it seems almost certain that Pangaea did exist and later began to break apart into two supercontinents, Laurasia (which consisted of what is now North America, Greenland, and most of Eurasia) and Gondwanaland (South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia). Laurasia and Gondwanaland were almost equal in size. The separation of Pangaea into these supercontinents is supported by detailed geological and biological evidence, for instance certain differences between Laurasia and Gondwanaland fossils of the same age.

Laurasia and Gondwanaland were separated by a body of water called the Tethys Sea. Today a little of the Tethys Sea survives as the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black Seas, but its original extent can be gauged from the sediments that were subsequently uplifted to form the mountain ranges that stretch from Gibraltar eastward to the Pacific. The Pyrenees, Alps, and Caucasus of Europe, the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, and the Himalayas of Asia all were once part of the Tethys Sea.

Not long after Pangaea split apart, South America and Africa became detached as a unit from the rest of Gondwanaland, and later they separated as the South Atlantic Ocean came into being. At a later date the Atlantic Ocean completed its extension northward, Australia separated from Antarctica, and India began to drift toward Asia.

The geologic processes responsible for continental drift are on such a huge scale that it is hard to believe they began relatively recently in the history of the earth. Hence it is likely that continental drift was taking place even before Pangaea was formed, and in fact there is some evidence that

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Pangaea was the result of the coming together of three earlier landmasses, Gondwanaland, Asia east of the Ural Mountains, and a unit consisting of North America, Greenland, and Europe.

Continental drift, then, has some very attractive aspects. Why was it not widely accepted until very recently? Wegener, who lacked a knowledge of the mechanical properties of the various parts of the earth’s crust, envisioned the continents as floating freely over the mantle and having no trouble in moving through the oceans floor. If this were the case, only relatively weak forces would be needed to move the continents over the face of the earth, and Wegener was able to cite several such forces. But the ocean floors are in fact extremely hard and strong, and if enough force could somehow be applied, it seems likely that a continent would buckle rather than pass through the ocean floor.

An entirely different mechanism has proved to be involved, and until its discovery in the middle 1960s continental drift, for all its allure, remained discredited by most geologists.

3.Answer the following questions:

1.What is the main idea in the first paragraph?

2.What was Wegener’s suggestion?

3.What evidence is there for continental drift?

4.What was the weakness of Wegener’s idea?

5.Is the idea of continental drift now accepted by geologists?

6.What explanation was the accepted one before Wegener’s theory?

7.Why was this explanation not credible?

8.What were Pangaea and Panthalassa?

9.What evidence did Wegener have for this theory?

10.Why is the discovery of the Lystrosaurus skull significant?

11.Which supercontinent did your country once belong to?

12.What is the evidence for the existence of the two supercontinents?

13.Does the Tethys Sea still exist?

14.How did Wegener see the continents moving?

4.Put questions to the following statements:

1.At some time in the past the continents were joined together in one or two giant supercontinents.

2.The continents have migrated around the globe.

3.The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener based his really comprehensive theory of continental drift on biologic and geologic evidence.

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4.This model found additional support in geological data regarding prehistoric climates.

5.Deposits of glacial debris and fossil remains of certain distinctive plant species follow each other in the same succession in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia.

6.Today it seems almost certain that Pangaea did exist and later began to break apart into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland.

7.Continental drift has some very attractive aspects.

5.Insert the missing letters and translate the following words: su…er…ontinents, all…re, bo…ndari…s, out…i…es, mi…rat…,

met…orolo…ist, sk…ll, s…m…larity, a……atic, sc…em…, cha……els, …nv…sion, evi…en…e, d…po…its, sub…eque…tly, slo…es, dep…h, …argi…s, landma……es, co…vincin…, fl……ting, dr…ft, se…im…nts, gau…e, …eparatio…, man…le, su……icient, gl…be, …eolo…ic, argum…nt, …denti…ication, re…tile, e…pla…ation, tra…e, e…uat…r, debr…s, eq…al, ve…eta…ion, …ro…erties, bu…kle, ex…en…ion, d…s…rt.

6.Look at the first paragraph and say which words have the opposite meaning to:

●taken apart

●careful

●stay in one place

●incomplete

7.Look at paragraph 2 and say which words have the same meaning as:

●living in water

●explain

●idea

●joining

●usual

8.Look at paragraph 3 and try to explain the following:

●drift

●ice sheet

●prehistoric

●tropical rain forest

●vegetation

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9.Look at paragraph 4 and say which words have the same meaning as:

●persuasive

●surprisingly

●alive and active

●disappear

10.Look at paragraphs 5 and 6; then write sentences that show you know the meaning of:

●fossil

●gauge

●subsequent

11.Look at paragraph 7 and say what the following words refer to:

●line 2: they

●line 3: its

12.Look at paragraph 8 and say what word has the same meaning as:

●therefore

13.Look at paragraph 9 and say what the following words refer to:

●line 1: it

●line 4: this

●line 6: such

14.Match a word in A with a word in B and translate the wordcombinations obtained:

A	B
casual	aspects
continental	debris
mechanical	processes
aquatic	crust
earth’s	drift
firm	extent
giant	evidence
glacial	plants
attractive	glance
geologic	properties
sufficient	supercontinents
sea-level	theory
comprehensive	boundaries
original	ground
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continental drift continental slopes earth’s crust

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15. Arrange the following words to make up sentences:

The first really comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed early in this century.

the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener based his argument of continental drift on biologic and geologic evidence.

Originally the continents were all part of a huge landmass he called Pangaea that was surrounded by a single ocean, Panthalassa.

At one time, South Africa, India, Australia, and part of South America were burdened with great ice sheets.

16. Unscramble the following words and translate them:

ocntinetsn, tseimdens, lasndmaess, ogeloicagl, nmlate, cauaqti, laurle, rsmeain, otslinue.

17. Complete the following paragraph, using each of these words once: continental-drift theory, earth’s crust, continents, plates, rocks, ocean

basins, convection currents, midocean ridge, mantle, earthquakes, volcanoes, geologists

The ……… , once thought to be relatively fixed, is now known to be composed of a mosaic of ……… that shift over long periods of time, changing the configurations of the ……… and the ……… . This is the theory of ‘plate tectonics’ – the modern version of the ……… proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. The mechanism that powers the moving plates is still not perfectly understood, but it probably involves ……… in the earth’s mantle. In this scheme, the light continental ……… ride on top of basalt plates somewhat like packages on a conveyor belt. When plates move apart, new crust is created along the global ……… . At the same time, when one plate pushes beneath another, old crust is melted as the heavier plate descends into the ……… . The movement of the plates against one another builds mountains, creates faults, causes ……… , and explains why the world’s

……… are located where they are.

The theory of plate tectonics is the most significant recent development in the earth sciences but it builds, of course, on the work of ……… of the past few hundred years.

18. Match the word with its explanation:

- a piece of ground or a surface that it is higher at one end than the other;

- the very slow movement of the continents across the Earth’s surface

- lines of mountains;

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ocean floor	- plants living or growing in water;
mechanical properties	- animals living in water;
mountain ranges	- the hard outer layer of the Earth,
	one of the three zones which the earth's
	solid body can be divided;
aquatic plants	- the ground at the bottom of the
	ocean;
aquatic animals	- relating to or produced by physical
	forces
allure	- solid substances that settle at the
	bottom of liquid;
sediments	- a mysterious, exciting, or desirable
	quality.

Section 2

1.Think of the following questions:

1.What is a glacier?

2.Where are glaciers situated?

3.What is the role of glaciers for global environmental balance?

2.Read and translate the following text using a dictionary:

Antarctic glaciers retreat under climate onslaught

Glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula are shrinking rapidly as a result of climate change, scientists have found.

In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers measured 244 glaciers, each typically stretching tens of kilometres from the Antarctic mountains to the surrounding seas. They found that 87 % had retreated significantly in the past 50 years.

The peninsula is the most northern part of Antarctica, and the only part of the continent that extends outside the Antarctic circle. It lies in the western hemisphere, facing South America.

Alison Cook, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, built up a picture of the glaciers’ history by taking measurements from more than

2,000 aerial photographs taken since the 1940s, along with more than 100 modern satellite images. She found that the vast majority of glaciers had begun to shrink, with the most dramatic retreats being seen since the turn of the millennium. Temperatures in the region have increased considerably, with a rise of more than 20C in the past 50 years. Scientists are unsure whether the increase – up to five times greater than would be expected from typical global

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warming – can be attributed solely to man-made climate change or is exacerbated by natural climate variation.

The retreat of the glaciers could have minor benefits for local wildlife, as previously covered ground becomes exposed, though the long-term effects of such an ecological change are hard to predict.

Although the steady loss of the glaciers is unlikely to lead to local ecological disaster, the speed with which they are disappearing was an alarming indication of the effects of climate change.

According to the study, which was carried out with researchers at the US Geological Survey and appears in the current issue of the journal Science, the Sjogren glacier at the northern end of the peninsula has retreated the most,

13 km since 1993, while the Widdowson glacier on the peninsula’s west coast has shrunk the fastest, at the rate of 1,100 m a year for the past five years.

3. Translate the following expressions and try to express their meaning:

Climate change, comprehensive study, taking measurements, global warming, ecological change, ecological disaster.

4.Answer the following questions:

1.Why are glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula shrinking rapidly?

2.What have the scientists found in one of the most comprehensive

studies?

3.Where is the Antarctic peninsula situated?

4.What has Alison Cook found?

5.What can the retreat of the glaciers result in?

6.What is an alarming indication of the effects of climate change?

7.What was found in the study, which was carried out with researchers at the US Geological Survey?

5.Put questions to the following statements:

1.Glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula are shrinking rapidly as a result

of climate change.

2.Researchers measured 244 glaciers and found that 87 % of the glaciers had retreated significantly in the past 50 years.

3.The scientists found that the vast majority of glaciers had begun to

shrink.

4.Temperatures in the region have increased considerably.

5.Scientists are unsure what to expect from typical global warming.

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6.The retreat of the glaciers could have minor benefits for local wildlife, though the long-term effects of such an ecological change are hard to predict.

7.The speed with which glaciers are disappearing is an alarming indication of the effects of climate change.

6.Insert the missing letters and translate the following words: p…nin…ula, com…re…ensive, si…nifican…ly, he…isp…ere,

s…rve…, sate……ite, mil…e…nium, s…l…ly, wa…m…ng, re…re…t, pr…d…ct, di…as…er, c…im…te, ac…ord…ng, is…ue, co…st, a…arm…ng, me…sure…ents.

7. Match a word in A with a word in B and translate the wordcombinations obtained:

A	B
climate	variation
satellite	photographs
global	issue
alarming	change
ecological	indication
current	warming
dramatic	change
climate	retreats
local	mountains
Antarctic	wildlife
aerial	images

8. Complete the following paragraph, using each of these words more than once:

earth’s landscape, glaciers, ice sheets, conditions, precipitation, latitude, delugelike floods,

The ……… also is continually sculpted by wind, rivers, and – perhaps most dramatically – ……… . There are three recognised types of glacier:

………and caps, mountain or valley ……… , and piedmont ……… .

………form wherever ……… are such that annual ……… of snow, sleet, and hail exceeds the amount that can be lost through evaporation or melting. Thus, the occurrence of ……… depends much on ……… as well as on local topography; there are several ……… at high altitudes on the equator.

In the great ice ages of the past (the most recent of which reached its maximum about 18,000 years ago), ……… determined much of the world’s climate, drastically affected sea levels (the more of the world’s water budget

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that is locked up in ice, the lower the sea level), and very possibly created

……… when they melted (glaciologists now think that ……… decay about five times as quickly as they grow). Even today, ……… account for 75 % of the worlds supply of fresh water, with the Antarctic ice sheet alone representing 85 % of this.

9. Match the word with its explanation:

peninsula	- a large mass of ice which moves slowly down a
	mountain valley;
glacier	- a piece of land almost completely surrounded by
	water but joined to a large area of land;
hemisphere	- a catastrophe that causes great damage to nature;
ground	- a picture or shape of an object made with
	a machine that has been sent into space and goes
	around the earth, moon etc, used for radio,
	television, and other electronic communication;
satellite images	- the surface of the earth; the soil on and under the
	surface of the earth;
wildlife	- a permanent natural change in climate conditions;
ecological disaster	- a half of the earth, especially one of the halves
	above and below the equator.
climate variation	- animals and plants growing in natural conditions

Unit 14

Section 1

1. Learn the following words and their translation. Check up yourself by

back translation:
poise	- балансувати, ширяти
solar system	- сонячна система
satellites	- супутники
asteroids	- астероїди
comets	- комети
meteors	- метеори
vicinity	- сусідство, близькість
dust speck	- пилинка, порошинка
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