The Earth Is Our Home
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were the first in human history to give scientifically grounded warnings concerning man's attitude to his environment.
Today the contradictions between man and nature are acquiring a dramatic character. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1,000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. People of many cities suffer from smog. Forests are disappearing and this upsets the oxygen balance. The pollution of the air, of the world's oceans, seas, rivers and lakes, and the destruction of the ozone layer could lead our planet to a global catastrophe. That is why serious measures to protect the environment should be undertaken.
As many as 159 countries—members of the United Nations Organization — have set up environmental protection agencies. They have worked out hundreds of projects to protect nature. A global strategy of nature protection has been worked out by large international organizations. One of its fundamental provisions is the transfer of industry to low- and non-waste technologies.
In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in December 1988, M. S. Gorbachev, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, President of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, emphasized the opportunities opened up for ecological revival in the process of disarmament — first of all, nuclear. He proposed that an emergency ecological aid centre should be set up within the United Nations Organization. M. S. Gorbachev also said that the Soviet Union is prepared to cooperate in the establishment of an international space laboratory or manned orbiting station that would deal with control over the state of the environment.
In the USSR more attention has been given to the problems of ecology of late. Resource saving has become the slogan of perestroika. A special Resolution "On a Radical Restructuring of the Protection of Nature in the Country" has been passed by the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers. The State Committee of the USSR for Environmental Control has been established. The role of the Soviet public in the solution of ecological problems has greatly increased.
Clean Air for the City
At the beginning of 1988 the citizens of Nizhny Tagil, a large metallurgical and engineering centre in the Urals, got together to discuss the painful question of pollution, According to the town sanitary-epidemiological station some 658,000 tons of harmful substances — nearly two tons per person — are discharged every year into the air. The main polluter is the Nizhny Tagil iron-and-steel plant. Some time ago it was decided to build a new coking plant there. And it was built in a hurry, the design was poor and the system for cleaning and trapping harmful substances was left unfinished. When the new coking plant went into operation, it became even harder to breathe in the city.
The Komsomols of Nizhny Tagil initiated the movement "Clean Air for Our City". The City Party Committee, the City Soviet and the City Komsomol Committee drew up a detailed plan of measures necessary to improve the ecological situation in Nizhny Tagil.
At the meeting held in 1988 various proposals were put forward. The plan to improve the ecological situation was supported. In particular, it was demanded that the new coking plant should operate according to the norms set to protect the environment.
The idea of the meeting was not just to draw attention to the difficult situation, it was also to urge all those who wish to keep their city's air clean to take some action.
The Struggle for the Protection of Lake Baikal
More than twenty years ago a pulp-and-paper factory was built on the shore of Lake Baikal, though scientists disapproved of the project. They warned that the purification system was imperfect, but the factory continued to function. As a result,
about 1,500 million cubic metres of industrial waste water have been discharged into the lake, that is, more than 50 per cent of the world's purest water have been ruined. The whole ecological system of the lake has changed greatly. Growth rates of Baikal fishes and seals have slowed down, some organisms found in no other place but Lake Baikal are disappearing. Trees are dying from the dust and gas blow-outs of the factory.
It was the problem of Lake Baikal that made our people think seriously about the principles of man-nature relations. After many discussions on Lake Baikal in the 1960s, resolutions and laws on environmental protection began to appear and an article in the USSR Constitution was formulated. However, the decisions on the protection of Lake Baikal adopted at that time did not solve the problem. Truthful information about the real situation in the area was kept from the press and the people.
In an atmosphere of glasnost scientists, writers, Party officials, workers — all those who are not indifferent — put the problem of Lake Baikal sharply in the press, among public and Party bodies and in the government. A special government commission has been set up to work out new, optimal and efficient measures for the protection of the lake. The drafts drawn up by this commission were examined at the CPSU Central Committee and a resolution has been passed. Lake Baikal and its shores have been declared a specially protected zone of the country. Strict control will be exercised over any economic activity around the lake. The pulp-and-paper factory will be turned into a furniture-assembling works. The State Forestry Committee will take care of the forests around Lake Baikal. Many other important measures will be taken. Now the thing is to fulfil strictly what has been outlined, to see to it that each line of the new documents becomes a reality.
Soviet Writer Valentin Rasputin and American Musician Paul Winter: "We Have Lake Baikal in Common"
When Valentin Rasputin first heard of Paul Winter's "ecological jazz", he did not think that jazz had much in common with nature protection. But meetings with Paul Winter in Moscow, in the USA and in Irkutsk have convinced Valentin Rasputin that Paul's music is really unusual. He does not simply join the voices of animals and birds with his compositions; he develops them into dialogues. He made his music defend living nature. "Live on, Baikal, clear-water Baikal, ancient Baikal, sacred Baikal," Paul Winter sang in Russian. Then he removed his saxophone from his lips for a moment and said that "The Hymn to Baikal" was dedicated to the researchers of the Limnological Institute of Irkutsk, who were doing all they could in the battle to end the pollution of this unique lake.
"I know that Paul Winter's performances help Lake Baikal no less than my books," Valentin Rasputin says. "Another important thing is that jazz attracts those young people who usually don't even read serious literature and newspapers... But hearing Paul Winter's band, they discover that jazz can be very diverse, that it can even promote nature protection and peace."
Paul Winter's ideas are the same as those of the Russian author. He believes that the Earth is our common home, a big green home. All its inhabitants — people, animals and birds — need to live in peace and harmony. Paul believes that art and music provide the basis for realizing the wisdom of life.
Movement to Save the Ara! Spa and Lake
More than 30 years ago the Aral was a bright blue sea with a lot of fish. The Central Asian rivers Amudarya and Syrdarya supplied it with water. But then the water of the rivers was diverted to cotton plantations. As a result, the level of the sea has dropped 13 metres and the shores have gone back 70 — 80 kilometres. The exposed seabed has turned into a desert which sends 70 million tons of salty dust into the atmosphere every year. The disaster in the Aral puts in a dangerous position the health and lives of nearly three million people living by the sea.
If no immediate measures are taken, the Aral Sea will disappear by the year 2010. What can be done to correct the situation? This question was discussed at a press conference which took place in Alma-Ata in 1987. It was organized by the Committee to save the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash (the situation is unfavourable at the area of this lake, too). The Committee consists of scientists, writers, heads of ministries of Kazakhstan and other state and public figures. Several projects to correct the situation were mentioned at the press conference.
The public, in its own way, expressed concern for the fate of the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash. Account No. 1700979 was opened at the State Bank of the USSR at the end of 1987. Individual persons and whole enterprises and organizations began making contributions.
In 1988 the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers passed a special resolution on the Aral area. The Aral will be saved by the high ecological standards mentality and intelligent decisions.
No More Whaling
On May 20, 1987, the Sovetskaya Ukraina flotilla of whaling ships returned to their home port of Odessa from the Antarctic Regions. The Soviet government had decided to stop whaling, so this had been the last trip by the flotilla.
The first Soviet whaling trip was in 1933. The whalers provided the country with oil, meat and bone-meal. Since 1987 the whaling industry has been stopped and the former whalers have been transferred to other types of fishing.
The Soviet Union's decision to stop whaling proves the country's desire to maintain its international prestige as an environmental-control-minded nation.
Abridged and adapted from the "Moscow News"
Играем в английский
Каждому современному школьнику ясно - иностранный язык в наше время знать необходимо. Беда лишь в том, что новых слов слишком много и большинство их них сильно отличается от русских. Хотя и не все. Баскетбол, например, - английское слово. Запомни, что «баскет» по-английски - корзинка, а «бол» - мяч, и считай, что два слова уже выучил. Добавь к этому футбол - вид спорта, где бьют ногой по мячу. Вычитаем из футбола известный уже «бол». Остается «фут» - нога. Еще новое слово.
Бутерброд - подсказка тем, кто учит немецкий. «Бутер» - масло, «брод» - хлеб.
Да и обыденная наша жизнь настолько переполнена сейчас иностранными словами, что порой путаешь, на каком языке говоришь. Приходишь в кафе в любой точке мира и небрежно бросаешь официанту: гамбургер, хот дог, пепси кола! И тот сразу видит в тебе аборигена.
Ну а если серьезно, иностранные слова, как, впрочем, и все, что угодно, лучше запоминать в игре. Поэтому приглашайте к себе друзей и играйте в английский язык. Или в немецкий. Да хоть в латынь.
Допустим, на уроке вы проходили тему «ВНЕШНОСТЬ».
Тогда разбейтесь на пары. Первая пара встает спинами друг к другу, и каждый пытается по памяти описать наружность партнера.
Кстати, называя цвет глаз, волос, одежды, вы заодно повторите и тему «ЦВЕТ». Остальные оценивают, воспринимая язык на слух, - это тоже очень полезно. Затем пары меняются.
УРОК ГРАММАТИКИ
Сначала распределите роли. Пусть каждый из вас станет членом предложения. Кто-то -подлежащим, кто-то - артиклем, кто-то - вспомогательным глаголом, кто-то - модальным, в зависимости от того, в каком вы классе и что успели пройти. Пусть все участники быстро приготовят себе табличку с «ролью» - для наглядности. Ведущий открывает учебник и читает какую-то фразу. Участники при этом должны встать в ряд, чтобы каждое слово заняло правильное место в предложении.
Интереснее, если друзей наберется на две команды. В соревновании процесс запоминания сработает надежнее.
Игр таких можно напридумывать сколько угодно. А можно играть и в наши привычные, только на иностранном языке:
«Я ЗНАЮ ПЯТЬ НАЗВАНИЙ»... мебели, животных, растений, частей тела, улиц Парижа и прочее, прочее - по теме урока. Помните, как играть? В ритме отскакивающего мяча приговаривать название пяти предметов, не сбиваясь и не пропуская ударов. Заодно и разомнетесь.
«СЪЕДОБНОЕ-НЕСЪЕДОБНОЕ», называние по очереди слов с одной и той же буквы, составление цепочки слов - последующее слово должно начинаться с последней буквы предыдущего - конечно, вы знаете все эти игры.
А может быть, расскажете о них своей учительнице? И тогда школьные уроки иностранного языка превратятся для вас в игру, а значит, в праздник.
Если вы хотите стать образованным, культурным человеком - без знания хотя бы одного иностранного языка вам будет трудно обойтись. Самое большое распространение в мире получает сегодня английский язык. 320 миллионов человек считают ею родным. Примерно полтора миллиарда людей пользуются английским языком при официальных контактах или как вторым языком. 70 %
корреспонденции на планете оформляется на английском. На нем общаются политики разных стран, пилоты, менеджеры и многие другие. Даже трудно сосчитать, сколько в мире курсов обучения английскому языку. Утверждают что самый широкий выбор преподавателей - на лондонской Оксфорд стрит. По сообщению одной из газет в летнее время их здесь больше, чем голубей на Трафальгарской площади.
А каковы ваши познания в английском!
About Chuvashia in English
Учащиеся наших школ могут без особого труда описать многие достопримечательности Лондона, Парижа или Вашингтона, объяснить, почему одна из центральных площадей в Лондоне называется Трафальгарской, знают, что американцы готовят на ужин в День благодарения и какой по счету президент правит Соединенными Штатами сегодня. На уроках иностранных языков они изучают эти страны, их культуру, историю, традиции и праздники. А вот о своей республике мы говорим на иностранных языках явно недостаточно. Ведь школьники хотят знать больше о своих корнях, о своей малой родине. Этими знаниями они с удовольствием делятся на уроках со сверстниками, об этом рассказывают своим зарубежным друзьям. Умение вести беседу зажигает огонек в глазах ребят, вызывает потребность в непроизвольном общении на иностранном языке.