English for chemists

Lesson 36
ГРАММАТИКА: Обшсе повторение.
Scction I
Ex. 1. Practise your reading.
The guiding light of theory must be confirmed by the bench of physical manipulation.
Ex. 2. State what parts of speech the following words belong to: general, generally, generalize, generalized, generalization, generality
Ex. 3. Define the meanings of the word question in the following sentences:
1. Not cvciy question can be answered at once. 2. The phenomenon in question is exactly analogous to those already described. 3. That water consists of oxygen and hydrogen is beyond question. 4. There is no question but that sulphuric acid is much stronger than sulphurous acid. 5. Naturally, the question arises as to the role of the solvent. 6. This is a questionable point of view. 7. That both these results arc devoid of error is out of the question.
Ex. 4. Analyse the following scntcnccs:
1. A burner is on my table. 2. There is a burner on my table. 3. The burner is on my table.
Text 36 A
Choosing Chemistry a Profession
The students enrolled for a course in general chcmistry can and do ask themselves the question: “What real use is this course to me?”

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The answer for the student who intends to major in a scicncc is obvious. His hope is to derive information to use as a tool in making a living.
There is an answer, however, beyond the fact that the coursc may be required.
The period of the teens and early twenties is a crucial one in life. It is during this time that the student is approaching intcllcctual and emotional maturity and is physically in his prime. It is also at this time that he is striving to discover what meaning and purpose there may be in life; he is about to comc to the conclusion that other people actually exist as important entities rather than adjuncts to his personal welfare; and it is now that with freshly opening eyes he seeks to put the world into an understandable perspective. At no other time than this is the mind so supple and so capablc of amendment.

If there is any real lack peculiar to the age, it is the lack of all kinds of experience. Years at college should provide the social and personal cxpcricnccs to fill this gap. The first year at collcgc may also be one of keen disillusionment, as the student discovers that the professors arc not the gods who hold the final answers to all being and meaning in their august persons.

The particular and important scrvicc that the chcmistry tcachcr can make is the contribution of facts to the building materials of personal philosophy. Certainly, the best and finest house requires the most materials for its construction, and the most complete and satisfactory of personal philosophies must be housed in a framework of fact, however gaudily it may later be dccoratcd with the furniture of speculation.
This wc can do: provide the student with some ideas conccming the structure of matter, the finitcness of the kinds of matter, and the changes matter can undergo. To this, it is hoped, may be added an appreciation for the orderliness of nature and simple laws which govern the infinite proliferation of her works. One should be careful to present known facts as the facts of experience and experiment and stress the idea that the guiding light of theory must be confirmed by the bench of physical manipulation.
Words and Word-Combinations to Be Memorized
be about, age, beyond, certainly, conclusion, fill, framework, fresh, gap, govern, guide, infinite, intend, tack, major, other than, person, philosophy, purpose, real, service, tool
Ex. 5. Give the Russian equivalents for the following:
intend to do smth., derive information, make a living, the period of the teens, a crucial period, intcllcctual maturity, be about to conclude, personal welfare, be capablc of amendment, the lack of all kinds of experience, years at collcgc, fill the gap, provide smb. with smth., to undergo changes, the orderliness of nature, guiding light of theory, physical manipulation

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Ex. 6. Give the English equivalents for the following:
выбирать профессию, курс общей химии, очевидный ответ, на* дежда получить информацию, цель в жизни, личное благополучие, недостаток опыта, важная услуга; идеи, касающиеся структуры ве­ щества; простые законы, следует быть осторожным, представлять факты как..., подчеркивать мысль, подтвердить факт, удовлетвори­ тельное объяснение
Ex. 7. Fill in the blanks with articles where ncccssary.

1 — student hopes to derive...		information to use as			... tool in making
... living. 2 ....	period of the teens and early twenties is characterized by
... lack of all kinds o f ... experience. 3 ....			first year a t ...	college may be
... period o f ...	disillusionment. 4	student discovers that... professors

are not... gods. 5— chcmistry tcachcr can provide... student with some fundamental ideas concerning ... matter.
Ex. 8. Give synonyms for the following:
actual, aim, apparent, obtain from, comc nearer, too, find out, try to, give, of course, nice, thought, emphasize, lead
Ex. 9. Givp antonyms for the following:
ask, late, comc, now, with, excess, best, earlier, careless, finite
Ex. 10. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. 
   The methods cmplycd depend upon the system under consideration.
   

2. 
   It is owing to the dissociation of acetic acid that the solution bccomcs alkaline. 3. Discussed in the prccccding chapter is the behaviour of systems formed of two components. 4. It is not improbable that the ratio of the concentrations of a given substancc, distributed between two phases, will be constant. 5. It is not until the solution forms a column of height h that water enters the tube. 6. Neither can one suppose that the vapour obeys the law'. 7. Sodium acetate in water docs undergo a partial decomposition. 8. Given in the following table arc the values of the solubility. 9. To be sure, the most interesting thing about the conduct of hydrogen is its affinity for oxygen. 10. Putting it another way, the reverse proccss to that of oxidation is callcd reduction. 11. Although there can be at least as many alcohols as there arc hydrocarbons, only a few of these are of importance. 12. Generally speaking, not all chcmical reactions arc accompanied by a release of energy. 13. Kinctically, chcmical activity is due to collisions of the molcculcs of the reacting substanccs.
   

14. 
    Surprising as it may Seem, compounds containing the sodium ion arc almost ccrtain to be soluble. IS. The greater the acidity, the greater is the capacity for holding anions. 16. To sum up, the halogens, as a group, form one of the most striking examples of family relationship found in the periodic table. 17. Generally speaking, it is among the spontaneous
    

processes of nature, many of them chcmical, that wc find energy for doing our work. 18. A changc in velocity is callcd an acceleration. 19. The greater the applied force, the greater the changc in velocity — that is to say, the greater the acceleration.
Ex. 11. Translate the scntcnccs into English without using a dictionary.
1. Обычно человек становится студентом, если он надеется зани­ маться наукой или получит>> информацию, которую он может исполь­ зовать, чтобы зарабатывать себе на жизнь. 2. Юность — самый бла­ гоприятный период для этого. 3. Иногда в первые годы обучения студент испытывает разочарование. 4. В этом случае желательно по­ думать, правилен ли был выбор профессии. 5. Одна нз основных це­ лей образования — ознакомиться с фундаментальными теориями и новыми идеями в избранной области.
Ex. 12. Answer the following questions:
1. What question do students often ask themselves? 2. Why is the period of the teens and early twenties regarded as a crucial period of one’s life? 3. Why may the first year at collcgc be the period of disillusionment? 4. What service can the chcmistry tcachcr make? 5. What knowledge is the chcmistry student provided with?