Geology
Geology is one of several related subjects commonly grouped as geosciences. Geologists are concerned primarily with rocks that make up the outer part of the Earth. Understanding of these materials involves principles of physics and chemistry; geophysics and geochemistry, now important scientific disciplines become essential allies of geology in exploring the visible and deeper parts of the Earth. Study and mapping of surface forms are shared by geology with geodesy.

Known rocks are divided into three groups: igneous rocks, which have solidified from molten matter (magma); sedimentary rocks, made of fragments derived from preexisting rocks, of chemical precipitates, or of organic products; and metamorphic rocks derived from igneous or sedimentary rocks under conditions that brought about changes in mineral composition, texture, and internal structure.

Igneous rocks are formed as either extrusive or intrusive masses that is, solidified at the Earth surface or deep underground. Both kinds range widely in composition; silica, the most abundant ingredient, varies from about 40 % to more than 75%.

Sedimentary rocks. Bedrock exposed to air and moisture is broken into pieces, large and small, which are moved by running water and other agents to lower ground, and spread in sheets over river flood plains, lake bottoms, and sea floors. Dissolved matter is carried to seas and other water bodies, and some of it is precipitated chemically and by action of organisms. The material deposited in various ways becomes compacted and cemented into firm rock. The principal kinds of sedimentary rock are conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and dolomite.

Metamorphic rocks. These rocks have been developed from earlier igneous and sedimentary rocks by heat and pressure, most effectively in mountain zones. The common metamorphic rocks are in the two general classes: foliated (phyllite schist, and gneiss) and non-foliated (marble and quarcite).
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. What are geologists concerned with?

2. What are the main three groups of known rocks?

3. What kinds of sedimentary rocks are mentioned in the text?

4. Write out the examples of foliated and non-foliated rocks?

Food engineering
Food engineering is the technical discipline involved in food manufacturing and refined foods processing. It encompasses the practical application of food science in the efficient industrial production, packaging, storing, and physical distribution of nutritious and convenient foods that are uniform in quality, palatable and safe. Controlled biological, chemical, and physical processes and the planning, design, construction and operation of food factories and processes are usually involved.

Food engineering is the food industry equivalent of chemical engineering. Food science in industry converts agricultural materials into products that are marketable because they meet a consumer need and can be profitably sold at reasonable prices.

Food engineering is a vital link between farms and food stores in the lifeline of modern civilization. Without it, food would be available only at farms, in forms produced by nature, and only in season.

Because food engineering is applied in food manufacturing and refined food processing, it requires a knowledge of unit operations and processes such as cleaning, separating, mixing, forming, heat transfer, moisture removal, fermenting. These operations involve applied food science. That is why the food engineer must have a working knowledge of food chemistry, bacteriology, and industrial microbiology, as well as of physics, mathematics, and basic engineering disciplines.

Some outstanding achievements in food engineering include continuous bread-dough making and forming, manufacture of low-cost, high-quality prepared mixes, development of instant coffee and tea processes, dehydration of potatoes to produce the instant mashed product, production of precooked frozen convenience food, preservation of beer and wine by microspore filtration to remove yeasts and spoilage bacteria, aseptic filling of packages, and automatic control of processes.

Promising projects under development are preservation of foods by nuclear or electronic radiation, heat processing by high-frequency electromagnetic waves, and dehydration of fluid in foamed state.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

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1. What does food engineering include?

2. What may be considered as the equivalent of food engineering?

3. What working knowledge should a food engineer have?

4. What are the promising projects for developing food engineering?

Small Hydroelectric
The high capital cost and environmental and social impact of large hydroelectric power plants (large dams) have made small hydroelectric power (SHP) an attractive alternative in recent years. Rather than building huge dams with lakes behind them that submerge entire towns or beautiful rivers and canyons, some countries have opted to generate electricity using small hydroelectric power plants. Switzerland has used the power of melting snow running off the Alps for years. According to a UNESCO survey conducted in China, about 800 of its 2,300 counties can be electrified using SHP and the government is giving preferential loans and tax exemptions to SHP developers.

Other countries are giving assistance for the development of small hydroelectric power. In Nepal, the government is providing loans and materials to SHP equipment manufacturers, and in Pakistan, the Ministry of Science and Technology has subsidized SHP construction. Similar efforts are occurring in the Andean region of Latin America and in Canada. All of these places are especially suited for small hydroelectric power generation because they have high mountain ranges. As the engineering and equipment required for SHP become more widespread, other countries with mountains and rivers should be able to take advantage of this clean source of electricity.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. Why did SHP become an attractive alternative to large hydroelectric power plants?

2. How do the governments of different countries contribute to the development of SHP?

3. Give an example (taken from the text or yours) of widespreading SHP?

4. Where the construction of SHP is more advantageous?

Wind energy
The use of wind energy is growing faster than any other type of renewable energy because of improvements in wind turbine technology over the past 20 years. The best locations for wind as an energy source are coasts, mountains, and plains. Like solar rays, wind is also a form of intermittent renewable energy, available only about 30 percent of the time. Often, when the sun is not shining, the wind is blowing; so many users rely on wind turbines to complement solar panels.

Most of the world’s wind generation capacity is located in the United States, Denmark (the pioneer in wind generation), the Netherlands (famous for its use of windmills), Germany, and India. While wind generation of electricity is clean, some disadvantages include the noise of the blades of windmills and the appearance. A large wind farm on a hillside is clearly visible, in the same way that large arrays of solar panels are. People who rely on wind-generated electricity, however, may not mind the view of clean energy being created.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. Why is the use of wind energy growing faster than other types of renewable energy?

2. What are the best locations for its using?

3. Where are most wind generation capacities located (in the world)?

4. What are the disadvantages of using the wind energy?

Bicycle
It is an indisputable fact that bicycles are an inexpensive and efficient means of personal transportation, especially for short trips and in densely populated areas. One example of a bicycling country is China. Decades ago, with a policy of mass-producing inexpensive bicycles and building infrastructure for non-motorized traffic, Chinese authorities deliberately set out to provide affordable transportation to citizens. Today China has a higher number of bicycles per capita and a higher percentage of daily trips made by bicycle than any other country.

The bicycle is a marvel of fuel efficiency. In terms of energy expended and distance covered, traveling by bicycle is far more economical than traveling by horse, motorcycle, or car, and even more economical than walking or running. Of course, the fuel of bicycle riders is the food they eat. An average cyclist can cover approximately five kilometers on 100 calories, the number of calories in a banana. One hundred calories’ worth of gasoline could take a lightweight car only 100 meters. In addition, to being incredibly fuel-efficient, bicycles are environmentally friendly in other ways. For example, they generate no air or noise pollution and do not require huge paved roads or parking lots.

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Cycling is not only good for the environment; it is good for the rider. Riding a bike can provide an excellent physical workout. It exercises the major muscle groups (back and legs), increases cardiovascular fitness (heart and lungs), and improves blood circulation. It can provide these health benefits without intense straining or profuse sweating, and without the pounding of joints and risk of injury found in sports such as tennis, basketball, soccer, and running. The development of comfortable and lightweight bicycle helmets over the past 20 years has made the sport even safer.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. What are the advantages of a bicycle as a mean of transportation?

2. What may be considered as a fuel for bicycle?

3. Why cycling is good for the environment and rider?

4. What makes the cycling safer?

Electro-ionizing laser
The 20^th century has been called the age of the atom, the age of polymers, or the space age. It would be equally correct to call it the age of the laser. It is impossible to list all the jobs a laser can do. It has become a part of our life being used in various industries, medicine, biology, etc. it should be mentioned that all the methods we know of processing materials with lasers were suggested not long ago. Physicists knew of the tremendous capabilities of the laser beam, but they could not be realized until lasers of adequate capacity were developed. To make a laser really useful the radiation intensity had to be increased (since capacity determines productivity) and high beam efficiency created.

Creating highly effective laser is still one of the main problems of quantum electronics. In a gas laser all one has to do in order to increase the capacity is to increase the volume and the pressure of the gas. This sounds simple, but the doing of it is not. The best results were achieved with electro-ionizing laser (EIL) operating on carbon dioxide. They have found a wide field of application. EIL’s of some 10-kilowatt capacity can weld and cut metal; pulse EIL’s with radiation energy of 10 kilojoules and a pulse duration of 1/1,000,000,000^th of second can heat plasma to nearly thermonuclear temperatures. Several other methods for building powerful gas lasers have been suggested and used.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. How was the 20^th century called and why?

2. What are the capabilities of the laser beam?

3. Where were the best results in using lasers achieved?

4. What types of lasers do you know?


New microcomputer
An entirely new microcomputer has been developed in our country. The microcomputer is equipped with an arithmetical logical device that carries pre-set programs. Because of this the microcomputer can perform various logical functions. In other words, it possesses a solving field for various commands. It is comparatively easy to change commands or add new ones. The arithmetical logical device is known to be adjusted by computers of a higher level. The memory device based on semiconductors keeps information for several days, even with the power supply unplugged. In this case the microcomputer automatically switches over to the micro accumulator.

The new computer is very small in size and weight (25 kg), is resistant to temperature fluctuations, does not require special ventilation, is reliable and easy to operate. It can be used in computer control complexes as an information-processing unit and also as a built-in computer in various analysing and display devices. It receives data, calculates the optimum conditions and supplies signals for the control of technological processes. For example, in pressure-die casting the microcomputer receives information about the temperature in the furnace, the speed of the liquid metal movements, location of the various devices, etc. The computer processes the data and controls the casting, i.e. keeps the temperature and the pressure within required limits, and commands the beginning of the casting operation.

The programme is written by technicians, and the operator inserts the required data. The field of application of the new computer appears to be vast. It can analyse various substances in oil, gas, chemical and food industries, as well as soil and plants. It can also be used for processing information about conditions in the environment, for control of conveyors and other equipment.

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Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. Why can the microcomputer perform various functions?

2. How does this computer operate?

3. Who writes the programs for microcomputer? Where is it applied?

Airbus's advanced wing enters validation phase. First production applications could be realized within five years, possibly on A380
Airbus has begun the validation phase of its AWIATOR aerodynamic technology demonstrator programme and hopes to realize production applications in the second half of the decade. AWIATOR – aircraft wing with advanced technology operation – is one of several researches and development programmes that Airbus is undertaking which are partly funded by the European Com­mission as part of the Fifth Framework programme for R&D.

Focused on reducing aircraft wake, drag, noise and fuel consumption, it brings together 23 European manufacturers, universities and research institutes, as well as Israel Aircraft Industries (Flight International, 9–15 July 2002). Airbus executive vice-president engineering Alain Garcia says that the manufacturer is providing about 64 % of the R&D programme’s total budget of € 80 million ($ 87 million). Fifty percent of Airbus’s investment will be reimbursed by the EC. Garcia says that following input from divisions in France, Germany and the UK, the three-year validation process to examine integrative aspects of the proposed concepts is under way (осуществляется). “Tests will involve mapping aircraft performance at low and high speeds,” he says, using Airbus’s development A340-300 aircraft. Garcia says that ideas include “large winglets; nose-mounted turbulence sensors which are being looked at for the A380; wake vortex devices; mini trailing-edge devices to further improve the efficiency of the flaps; and sub-boundary layer vortex generators and optimized inner airbrakes to improve efficiency without diluting the air flow to the horizontal stabilizer”.

The target is to reduce drag by 5–7% while cutting fuel consumption by 2%. Garcia says that the A380 could be the first to benefit from AWIATOR, as initial applica­tions on the product line are expected within three to five years.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. What is AWIATOR?

2. Who provided the R&D programme’s budget for AWIATOR?

3. How does Garcia describe the new Airbus’s model?

4. When are the first applications on the product line expected?

Avionica: a Reliable Partner in Russian-Indian Technical Cooperation
For over 58 years now, the Avionica Moscow Research and Production Complex JSC has been involved in the development and production of equipment for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft of all classes and purposes. Currently, the enterprise specializes in the following profiles:

• 
  fly-by-wire systems;
  
• 
  automatic flight, engine and thrust-vectoring control systems;
  
• 
  integrated flight control and navigation systems;
  
• 
  cockpit pressure regulation systems;
  
• 
  mass and CG position measuring systems;
  
• 
  flight simulators and training aids;
  
• 
  unified elements of automatic instrument systems for various applications.
  

Avionica products have been known to Indian aviation specialists since the 1950s. The Mikoyan MIG-21/-23/-27/-29 fighters, Ilyushin IL – 76 and Antonov AN-12/-24/-26/-28/-30/-32/-38/-72/-74 transports, and Mil MI -4/-6/-8 helicopters equipped with various versions of Avionica flight control and avionics systems have been widely used in India.

Avionica is an integrated complex capable of carrying out the entire cycle of operations involving the development, manufacture, and certification of its products. The high quality of Avionica’s products is ensured by extensive use of R&D advances, know-how, unique application software, CAD technologies and advanced manufacturing and testing methods.

The Avionica Research and Production Complex has developed the SDU-10MK fly-by-wire system and the SAU-10M-03 automatic flight control system intended to improve aircraft stability and maneuverability, provide for automatic flight, engine thrust and thrust-vectoring control and avoid critical flight conditions.

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A principally new stage in technical cooperation between Avionica and Indian aviation companies began five years ago. This period can be called a prelude to long-term mutually beneficial business as this cooperation helps each side fully implement its own capabilities and intellectual potential, as well as pursue commercial interests. Specifically, Avionica established close business contacts with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Corp.

The two partners are currently negotiating a number of long-term contracts and agreements involving technical and organizational issues related to the license production of Avionica equipment for the SU-30МКI fighter and the supplies of the APU-70 longitudinal stability automatic control units for the MIG-21-93 aircraft. Talks are also underway on cooperation in a number of other technical fields, specifically, equipping the MIG-29K and MIG-29KUB fighters and the MIG-AT combat trainer with digital flight control systems.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. What is Avionica?

2. What profiles does Avionica specialize?

3. When did Avionica begin to collaborate with Indian companies?

4. What are most famous Avionica’s products (models)?

Transportation
Because of its many mountains, rivers, and islands and its long and harsh winter, Alaska has relatively few roads. In some areas, such as the southeastern part of the state, road construction is impossible due to the large number of glaciers. In other places year-round snow cover requires residents to rely more on air travel than automobiles to reach dis­tant areas of the state.

In fact, Alaska has more pilots, air­planes, and airports per capita than the rest of the United States. Those “air­ports” include lakes where seaplanes land and take off. There are even air taxis that take residents and tourists to isolated wilderness areas and pick them up later. The state capital and third largest city, Juneau, is accessible only by water or air.

Because of its northern location, Alaska has become an international hub for air cargo. Anchorage International Airport handles more cargo planes – most of them fully loaded 747s – than any other airport in the country.

Ferries are also an indispensable means of transportation within the state. The Alaska Marine Highway was established in 1963 to carry passengers and vehicles on water routes. Two ferry systems operate year-round on the southern coast of Alaska, linking cities and towns on the mainland as well as numerous islands.
Questions to be answered (in writing):

1. What region is described in the text?

2. Why is the road construction impossible in some of its areas?

3. What do Alaska’s “airports” include?

4. How do the ferry systems operate in Alaska?

Solar energy
Ultimately, almost all energy comes from the sun. The energy stored in coal, oil, and natural gas is the result of photosynthesis carried out by plants that lived hundreds of millions years ago. Wind energy is actually the movement of the atmosphere driven by the heat from the sun. Currently solar energy is used two ways: for heat (thermal) and to generate electricity (photovoltaic). Solar rays can be directly thermal in two ways: actively as can be seen in the thousands of rooftop water heaters throughout Italy and Greece, and passively with proper design of homes and buildings. Improvements in photovoltaic (or solar electric) panels continue to make this technology more applicable, especially for developing countries without widely established power grids that transport electricity generated at large public utilities. Increased efficiency of converting sunlight to electricity, using thin film silicon panels or copper indium thin film, has been an ongoing goal of several manufacturers of solar energy technology.

As technology has improved, the cost of using solar energy has dropped. In 1996, the average price of solar panels was one-tenth what it was in 1975. However, one concern about widespread use of solar panels to generate the large amounts of electricity needed for industries and cities is the environmental impact – they take up a lot of space and are highly visible. However, this is an acceptable trade-off because solar energy is totally clean and panels have a long lifespan. Panels are also easy to maintain for there are no moving parts, only moving electrons!

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