Exercise 8. Give a written translation of the following passage.
THE BLAST FURNACE
Iron is extracted from iron ore in blast furnaces. The biggest are 60m (200ft) high, produce 10,000 tonnes of iron a day, and work non-stop for 10 years. The furnace gets its name from the blast of hot air that heats up the raw materials. These are iron ore, limestone, and coke (a form of carbon). As carbon is more reactive than iron, it grabs the oxygen from the iron ore, leaving iron metal behind.
Limestone is included in the furnace because it mizes and combines with sand, clay, and stones in the ore. They form a waste material, called slag, which floats on top of the molten metal.
The chemical reactions begin when hot air is blasted into the furnace. As the coke bums, the carbon in it gets enough energy to react with oxygen from the air to form first carbon dioxide and then carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide takes oxygen atoms from the iron oxide to leave carbon dioxide and iron metal. Temperature inside the furnace reaches 1,900 С, melting the iron which sinks to the bottom.
Text8
The British Steel Industry Today
Most of the early developments in iron and steel production originated in Britain, the world's eighth largest steel-production nation in 1979. The Iron and Steel Act 1967 brought together into public ownership 14 major companies and created the British Steel Corporation (BSC). In recent years BSC has produced about 82 per cent of Britain's crude steel and is the largest steel undertaking in Western Europe. As a result of the widespread industrial recession, employment in the steel industry has been declining, both in Britain and in other countries.
The remaining (private sector) companies are represented by the British Independent Steel Producers' Association whose members employ some 60,000 people and account for over a third of the value of the industry's turnover. The private sector is particularly strong in the manufacture of alloy and stainless steels and of finished products for the engineering industry. The main steel producing areas are Yorkshire and Humberside (32 per cent of crude steel output in 1979), Wales (32 per cent), the Northern region (15 per cent), Scotland (8 per cent) and the West Midlands (5 per cent).
About 75 per cent of British steel producers' deliveries of finished steel products are used by home industry and the remainder for direct export, the major markets for which are the rest of the European Community and the United States. A large part of the steel used by industry in Britain is also subsequently exported as part of other finished products.
The castings industry plays an important role in meeting the needs of manufacturers for essential components for products sold both in Britain and abroad. Its main customers are the vehicle, mechanical engineering, building and construction industries. The British Cast Iron Research Association, the Steel Casting Research and Trade Association conduct much of the research and development in the industry.
Britain's non-ferrous metal processing and fabricating industry is one of the largest in Europe. Its major products are aluminium (both virgin and secondary metal), secondary and refined copper, lead and primary zinc. Tin mining in Cornwall supplies about 25 per cent of Britain's tin requirements but otherwise British metal smelting and refining industries are based on imported ores. Britain is also a major producer of the newer specialised metals including uranium, zirconium and beryllium for the nuclear energy industry, niobium for aircraft production and selenium, silicon, germanium and tantalum for electronic apparatus. Titanium and titanium alloys are also produced and used in aircraft production, power generation and North Sea oil production, where their lightness, resistance to stress, flexibility and resistance to oxidisation are especially valued. Nearly half the industry is situated in the Midlands. Other centres include south Wales, London, Tyneside and Avonmouth, where a zinc smelter of some 100,000 tonnes capacity operates. Three large-scale aluminium smelters provide 85 per cent of Britain's requirements for primary aluminium. The large non-ferrous metals fabricating industry uses large quantities of imported refined metals such as copper, lead, zinc and aluminium. A wide range of semi-manufactures is produced in these metals and their alloys, and, particularly in aluminium, firms are engaged in smelting, casting and fabrication by rolling, extrusion and drawing; advanced techniques of powder metallurgy and pressure die-casting are also employed. In recent years considerable progress has been made in the development of ‘superplastic’ alloys, which are more ductile and elastic than conventional alloys.
Scientific and technological research for the industry is conducted by the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Department of Industry and by the British Non-Ferrous (BNF) Metals Technology Center.
Task 2. Lexical Exercises
Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents for the words and word-combinations given below. Use them in the sentences of your own.
необработанная сталь, объединить; предприятие; спад производства; частный сектор; занятость (рабочей силы); выпуск стали; конечный продукт; машиностроение; литейное производство; производитель; очищенная медь; добыча олова; самолетостроение; ударостойкость; мощностью в 100 тонн; прокатка; горячая штамповка; прогрессивные технологии; порошковая металлургия; оборот.
Exercise 2. Match the English words and word-combinations given below with their Russian equivalents.
| 1. to be represented 2. alloy 3. stainless steel 4. deliveries of finished steel products 5. to play an important role/part in 6. to meet the needs of manufacturers 7. essential components 8. virgin metal 9. secondary metal 10. resistance to oxidation 11. smelting industry 12. refining industry 13. processing industry 14. superelastic alloys 15. conventional alloys 16. semi-manufacture | 1. обрабатывающая промышленность 2. сплав 3. обычные (традиционные) сплавы 4. устойчивость к окислению 5. сталеплавильная промышленность 6. необработанный металл 7. полуфабрикат 8. поставки конечных продуктов сталелитейного производства 9. вторичный обработанный металл 10. основные компоненты 11. играть важную роль 12. сверхэластичные сплавы 13. удовлетворять потребности производителей 14. быть представленным 15. аффинажная промышленность 16. нержавеющая сталь |
Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.
1. What was the purpose of the Iron and Steel Act? 2. What organization represents the private sector in British metallurgy? 3. Where are the finished products of steel industry used? 4. Why is the castings industry so important? 5. Does non-ferrous metal processing play an important part in British metallurgy?
Exercise 4. Agree or disagree with the following statements.
1. The private sector of British metallurgy is not particularly strong.
2. Britain uses all its steel producers' deliveries of finished steel products only for the needs of home industry.
3. The castings industry is underdeveloped in Great Britain.
4. Britain's non-ferrous metal processing and fabricating industry is one of the largest in Europe.
5. Nearly half of the industry is situated in the Midlands.
6. Britain does not produce the newer specialised metals (uranium, beryllium, etc.)
Exercise 5. Circle the letter of the answer that best matches the meaning of the underlined word.
1. The Iron and Steel Act 1967 brought together into public ownership 14 major steel companies.
a) united b) disintegrated
2. The major steel producing areas in England are Yorkshire and Humberside.
a) minor b) main
3. This institute conducts much of the research in the industry.
a) fulfils b) carries out
Exercise 6. Give a written translation of the following passage.
The output of non-ferrous metals and their alloys in 1993 included primary and secondary (recycled) aluminium and copper, as well as aluminium and copper and copper alloy semi-manufactures. The production of metal relies mainly on imported ores and recycled material of both domestic and overseas origin.
Britain is a major producer of specialised alloys for high-technology requirements in the aerospace, electronic, petrochemical, nuclear and other fuel industries. Aluminium, lithium, developed by British Alcan Aluminium, is ideal for use in aircraft, being lighter, stronger and more rigid than normal aluminium.
There is also an important sector producing copper and copper alloy semimanufactures for use in a wide variety of products like electric wire and cable; tubes and fittings for plumbing and valves; components for the engineering and transport industries.
Non-Ferrous Metals
Text 9
The First Non-Ferrous Metals
Non-ferrous metals are the metals not composed of or containing iron. As it has been said before, copper was one of the first metals to be used. In its natural form, copper occurs in the ground as copper ore, a mineral. But this ore contains only 0.5 - 1 per cent of the metal. The rest is rock. The world produces 9.6 million tonnes of copper a year. This means that more than a thousand million tonnes of ore have to be removed from the ground and the pure copper extracted.
Most copper is extracted from a compound of iron, sulphur, and copper called sulphide ore. Hot air is blown into a furnace to separate the copper from the iron and sulphur. The iron and sulphur react with the oxygen to form iron oxide and sulphur dioxide, leaving molten copper metal. This copper, known as blister copper, is about 98 per cent pure. A process called electrolysis is needed to separate the remaining impurities. During this process a slab of blister copper is suspended in a solution of copper sulphate and sulphuric acid, where it acts as a positive electrode (anode). When electricity is passed through the solution, the copper in the anode is dissolved. The pure copper collects at the negative electrode (cathode) and the impurities fall below,
Copper is a good conductor of heat and electricity. We use it to make cooling utensils and all sorts of pipes for carrying hot water, both in homes and in industry. We also use it to make different kinds of electrical devices, such as lightning conductors and the electric coils in motors. Copper does not rust easily, so it lasts a very long time.
Such metals as lead and tin were widely known in Roman times. Lead is a soft malleable, ductile, bluish-white, dense metallic element, extracted chiefly from galena and used in containers and pipes for corrosives, in solder and type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints and anti-knock
compounds.
Some Roman aqueducts still stand today because they were lined with lead and lead does not rust. Many thousands of tonnes were used in a single aqueduct. So much lead was used in water-supply systems that eventually the Romans suffered some lead-poisoning.
Tin was the fifth metal discovered by man. It is a malleable, silvery metallic element obtained chiefly from cassiterite. It is used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion, and forms part of numerous alloys such as soft solder, pewter, type metal and bronze. For example, pewter, an alloy of lead and tin, was widely used in Roman times to make cups and dishes.
Task 2. Lexical Exercises
Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents for the words and word-combinations given below. Use them in the sentences of your own
цветные металлы; содержать железо; извлекать; железо и сера вступают в реакцию с кислородом; электролиз; сляб; анод и катод; электрообмотка; молниеотвод; галенит; припой; гарт; касситерит; предотвратить коррозию; мягкий припой; сплав на оловянной основе; олово; система водоснабжения; ржаветь; акведук.
Exercise 2. Match the English -words and -word-combinations given below -with their Russian equivalents.
1. to be composed of 1. едкое вещество
2. sulphide ore 2. оседать на дно
3. sulphur dioxide 3. состоять из
4. blister copper 4. длиться долгое время (здесь: долговременный)
5. fall below 5. электроприборы
6. electrical devices 6. двуокись серы, сернистый ангидрит
7. to last a long time 7. противорадиационный экран
8. corrosive 8. свинцовые отравления
9. radiation shielding 9. покрывать металлы
10. lead-poisoning 10. пузырчатая медь
11. to cover metals 11. серный (железный) колчедан,
пирит
Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.
1. What is a non-ferrous metal? 2. What is most copper extracted from? 3. Why is copper so widely valued? 4. Were lead and tin widely known in Roman times? 5. How did the Romans use lead? 6. What are the properties of tin? 7. Why is tin widely used for coating other metals?
Exercise 4. Using English to define.
Aristotle suggested that a good definition should include a general classification of a term plus the specific characteristics that differentiate the term from other members of its class.
Definition formula: Term = Class + Characteristics
In the text given above there are some definitions of tin and lead. Using the pattern put me jumbled words into the right order to make a definition.
1. a process, is, to form, casting, a liquid metal, by pouring, into a particular shape, into a mold.
2. a mineral, ore, is, can be extracted, a metal, from which.
3. pale-yellow, a, element, sulphur, is, non-metallic.
4. the basis, a star, sun, of, that, is, the solar system, is.
5. uranium, radioactive, metallic, silvery-white, is, heavy, element, easily oxidized, a.
6. the, of, environment, is, ecology, study, the.
7. ground, a, on, fog, is, cloud, the, forms, that.
8. the, state, Bavaria, is, largest, southern, the. West Germany, of, in, part.
Exercise 5. Vocabulary in context: Choose the word that best matches the meaning of the underlined word as it is used in each of the sentences,
1. Calcium is obtained from the electrolysis of calcium chloride.
a) destroyed b)got
2. The initial research was not successful, so a second experiment was planned.
a) last b) first
3. He wanted to shield himself from the burning sun.
a) open b) protect
4. The space between the earth and the moon is а vacuum
a) empty b) full
5. The earth absorbs the water from the rain. :
a) gives off b) drinks in
6. All efforts were concentrated on the research programme.
a) devoted b) centered
7. Our natural resources are not inexhaustible.
a) limited b) endless
Exercise 6. Give a written translation of the following passages.
Leaching
In some ores the copper is combined with oxygen. In a process called leaching, sulphuric acid is sprayed over these copper oxide ores, which dissolves the copper but not the rock. The copper and sulphuric acid form solution of copper sulphate, which is purified by electrolysis.
Carrie Everson
Ores contain a mixture of valuable metallic substance and worthless rock. An American schoolteacher, Carrie Everson, invented a way of separating the two in 1886. She ground up ore and mixed it with oil and acid. This produced a froth in which the metallic substances floated while the rocky materials sank.