Week (2 hours)
1. Texts: Fighting Atmospheric pollution
2. Grammar: The Gerund
3. Communicative practice: Eating out
- Read, translate and retell the text.
Fighting Atmospheric pollution
"The content of harmful substances in emissions into the atmosphere, water, and soil shall not exceed maximum permissible concentrations established with due regard to all economic interests and hygienic standards." The limits were determined by a study on the influence of atmospheric pollutants on the environment and the conditions of life and health of the population.
Industrial wastes, not heating systems, are of greater concern in certain cities, areas and individual factories. In such cases, purification plants may be built with different methods of purification (mechanical, chemical, electric and complex). The degree of purification obtained is extremely varied as it depends on the physicochemical properties of the pollutants and the efficiency of the method and equipment. There are rough purification methods which are 70 to 85 per cent effective, medium purification - 95 to 98 per cent, and fine purification - over 99 per cent. The purification of industrial wastes not only protects the air from pollution but also saves raw materials and provides the enterprise with additional profit. Trapping and recuperation of useful products in smoke emissions have not only sanitary but also national economic importance.
However, a purification plant is not enough in itself. The most promising way to solve the problem of clean air is to improve technology: reduce emissions into the atmosphere and make maximum use of waste. It is cheaper and easier to find a way of eliminating the possibility of waste formation than to build a purification plant which may cost more than the production technology itself. For example, it is very difficult and very costly to purify every hour hundreds of thousands of cubic metes of air containing compounds of lead and mercury. The process requires a purification plant costing more than the enterprise itself. But, on the other hand, it is quite possible to design a process whereby the refinement of lead would exclude the possibility of vapors and aerosols being freely discharged into the atmosphere and causing giant streams of air and surrounding territory to be polluted by lead.
2. Grammar material:
THE GERUND
The gerund developed from the verbal noun, which in course of time became verbalized preserving at the same time its nominal character.
The gerund is formed by adding the suffix ‑ing to the stem of the verb, and coincides in form with Participle I.
The double nature of the gerund.
As a natural result of its origin and development the gerund has nominal and verbal properties. The nominal characteristics of the gerund are as follows:
1. The gerund can perform the function of subject, object and predicative.
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They say smoking leads to meditation. (Collins) (SUBJECT)
I like making people happy. (Shaw) (OBJECT)
The duty of all progressive mankind is fighting for peace. (PREDICATIVE)
2. The gerund can be preceded by a preposition.
I am very, very tired of rowing. (Hemingway)
3. Like a noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case or by a possessive pronoun.
I wonder at Jolyons allowing this engagement, he said to Aunt Ann. (Galsworthy)
, , .
Is there any objection to my seeing her? (Galsworthy)
- , ?
The verbal characteristics of the gerund are the same as those of the participle:
1. The gerund of transitive verbs can take a direct object.
I had now made a good progress in understanding and speaking their language. (Swift)
2. The gerund can be modified by an adverb.
She burst out crying bitterly. (Hardy)
3. The gerund has tense distinctions; the gerund of transitive verbs has also voice distinctions. The forms of the gerund in Modern English are as follows:
| Active | Passive | |
| Indefinite | writing | being written |
| Perfect | having written | having been written |
There is no gerund in the Russian language and the English gerund is rendered in Russian in different ways:
(a) by a noun.
Dancing had not begun yet... (Mansfield).
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(b) by an infinitive.
She had tea with Cipriano before leaving. (Lawrence)
, .
It is no good hiding our heads under our wings. (Galsworthy)
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(c) by .
And without waiting for her answer he turned and left us. (Du Maurier)
, , .
On seeing Bella he stopped, beckoned her to him, and drew her arm through his. (Dickens)
, , .
(d) by a subordinate clause.
regretted now having come. (Galsworthy)
, .
It should be observed that though the active forms of the gerund may be rendered in different ways, the passive forms are nearly always rendered by a clause.
As she contemplated the wide windows and imposing signs, she became conscious of being gazed upon. (Dreiser)
,
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After having been informed of the conference in my ladys room... he immediately decided on waiting to hear the news from Frizinghall. (Collins)
, ...
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