THE EARTH AND ITS NATURAL ELEMENTS

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The Universe.The universe includes all material things; the earth is a part of the universe. Large bodies of the universe are stars. The sun is a star, but it is not the largest star. It appears large because it is the star nearest the earth. The distance from the earth to the sun is 93 000 000 miles. Light travels swiftly – 186 000 miles per second – and passes from the sun to the earth in 300 seconds.

The Solar System. The sun is the central body of that part of the universe called the solar system. The solar system consists of the sun, planets, moons or satellites, comets, meteors.

The sun has a diameter of 860 000 miles. It is many times greater in size, or volume, than all its planets combined.

Planets are bodies that revolve around the sun. The eight planets in order from the sun outward are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter is the largest planet. Its diameter is 86 000 miles, more than ten times the diameter of the earth. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also larger than the Earth. Mercury, Venus and Mars are smaller than the Earth.

Satellites, or moons are smaller than their planets and revolve around them. The Earth has one satellite, our moon, the largest satellite of the solar system. The Moon is 2 000 miles in diameter and 240 000 miles distant from the Earth. Mars has two moons, Jupiter – nine, Saturn – nine, Uranus –four and Neptune – two.

Comets are luminous heavenly bodies, often having a long tail. Comets follow an orbit about the sun.

Meteors, or shooting stars, are fragmentary solid bodies that become heated and visible as they pass through the earth's atmosphere.

The Earth.The earth forms an extremely small portion of the universe. It rotates on its axis from west to east, driving a succession of day and night every 24 hours. The earth revolves around the sun once in 365 1/4 days, or one year.

The related position of the earth and sun, and the movements of the earth, cause the change of seasons. The vertical ray of the sun annually migrates north and south between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Long days and the steep rays of .summer bring warm weather; short days and the slanting rays of winter bring cold weather.

The earth is spherical in shape, but not a perfect sphere. The polar diameter of the earth is 26 miles shorter than the equatorial diameter.

The Earth and Parts.The earth consists of the lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere. The lithosphere or rock sphere, one-fourth of which forms land and three-fourths ocean bottom. The hydrosphere, or water sphere, covers three-fourths of the outer surface of the lithosphere. The atmosphere, or air sphere, several hundred miles thick, completely envelops the lithosphere and hydrosphere.

The Oceans.Five large oceans and their gulfs, bays and seas make up the world ocean, or hydrosphere. Although the ocean averages more than 2 miles in depth, in proportion to the diameter of the earth it forms only a thin film of water on the outside of the lithosphere.

Land Forms.The land area consists of plains, plateaus, hill lands and mountains.

Plains are lowlands of the earth. Plains bordering the ocean are coastal plains. Plains lying far from the ocean are interior plains.

Plateaus are highlands whose broad summit areas stand above adjoining plaint, or extend among mountains.

Mountains are highlands having small summit areas. Mountains rise higher than adjacent plains or plateaus. Mountains may be classified as young mountains and old mountains.

Young mountains have great heights, steep slope and barren surface, especially at high altitudes. The Rocky Mountains, the Alps are young mountains. Old mountains have less altitude and more gentle slopes, and are often covered to the top with vegetation. The Urals are old mountains.

Hill lands resemble low mountains because of their steep slopes.

The Atmosphere.The atmosphere is a mixture of gases, enveloping land and water areas and extending outward from the earth for several hundred miles. The temperature of the lower atmosphere, or troposphere, grows colder with an increase of altitude to a height of about 7 miles. In the upper part of the atmosphere called stratosphere, temperature changes slightly.

Pure, dry air in the lower atmosphere consists of 21 per cent oxygen, 78 per cent nitrogen, nearly one per cent argon and three-hundredths of 1 per cent carbon dioxide. Dust particles and water vapor are also present in the lower atmosphere. Water vapor may form 1 to 5 per cent of the volume of the atmosphere. The life of people and animals depends on oxygen which they obtain when they breathe. Plants need carbon, which they obtain through green leaves from the carbon dioxide in the air. Nitrogen and argon are not so important to life as oxygen and carbon dioxide.

EUROPE

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Position and size. – With an area of about 3 750 000 square miles, Europe is the smallest of the continents excepting Australia. It is characterized by the comparatively great length of the coastline, broken up everywhere by peninsulas, gulfs, bays and fringed by islands with the result that only the heart of Russia is more than 500 miles from the sea. Europe lies almost entirely in middle latitudes – the North Temperate Zone; only a small fragment in the north is within the Arctic Circle.

Climate.– In general, it may be said that a number of factors have a determining influence on the character of European weather and climate. The factors may be grouped as follows:

a)    The western coasts of the continent are bathed by warm current – the North Atlantic Drift, which is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. But the effect of the warm waters themselves is enhanced by the prevalent south-westerly wind; for the warmth is communicated through winds and not by the actual warm current.

b) According to the modern concepts of air-mass meteorology, a very important difference is found between cold Polar air and warm air coming from tropical regions. The position and amount of the cold Polar air varies with the season. The margin, the Polar front, in winter may be regarded as following roughly the 32° F isotherm. The currents of warm tropical air which reach Europe is the Westerlies exert their influences on the remainder of Europe.

c) The configuration of Europe, particularly the existence of the Mediterranean Sea and its continuation in the Black Sea, as well as, the existence of the Baltic Sea, permits the penetration eastwards of oceanic conditions.

Climatic Regions.– The continent of Europe includes five of the great climatic regions of the world:

1) The Mediterranean Region. – Mediterranean climate is characterized essentially by its cool moist winters, and its hot, dry summers. The natural vegetation of Mediterranean lands has to overcome not only the difficulties of the climate when the moisture is available in the winter and spring but not in the summer, but also has to overcome the difficulties of thin, poor soil. The resulting vegetation is essentially woody, in which the trees are characterized by protective devices against the loss of moisture.

2) The Cool Temperate Oceanic Climatic Region, including the subdivision of north-western and central Europe. With the cooler, and by no means rainless, summer, when vegetation processes can go on, the principal vegetation of this region is the Deciduous Forest: forest, because the rain throughout the year maintains a deep-seated water supply well fitted to trees; deciduous because the cold of the winter provides a good resting season.

3) The Northern Coniferous Forest Belt. – This region stretches as a broad belt across the north of Europe, through Norway and Sweden, nearly the whole of Finland, and across the north of Russia. In these northern latitudes soil forms slowly; the whole area was swept bare of loose deposits and soil by the great ice sheets – and these three factors combined have resulted in large areas of poor soil. These northern regions remain comparatively thinly populated and forests cover very large areas. In these forests two trees are predominant – the Norway spruce and the Scot pine.

4) The Tundra Region. – In the extreme north of Russia and of Norway one comes into those regions which are beyond the Polar limit of tree growth. In the Tundra the ground is simply covered by a thick growth of lichens, of which the so-called "reindeer moss" is the most important constituent together with a large proportion of mosses, and usually a number of low bushes six inches to a foot high, of dwarf birch.

5) The Steppe lands of South-eastern Russia. In the south-east of European part of Russia, with its late spring and early summer rainfall and its cold winters, the conditions are ideal for the growth of grass, but inimical to the growth of trees; so here existed the low, treeless, rolling grassy plains known as the steppes now replaced by ploughlands.

6) The Mid-Latitude Desert. – Very, very dry stepplands fading into desert country occur in Russia round the northern fringe of the Caspian Sea. The desert is a partly climatic, with a low rainfall, partly edaphic owing to the large proportion of salt in the soil where one approaches the great salt lake of the Caspian Sea itself.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

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The relationship between man and nature is among the major issues of today’s civilization. Environmental problems have become very serious in the modern world, and environmental protection has become a vital necessity for all people. We have to admit that our planet is in serious danger because of human activity. Air, water, land pollution, global climate change are common hazards in both industrial and developing countries.

Every day a huge number of plants and factories pollute the air with lots of harmful substances. The great increase in the use of motor cars in the last quarter of the twentieth century has also contributed to air pollution. Thus, in hundreds of cities and towns the concentration of harmful substances in the air is very high. Pollution from factories and cars not just poison the air we breathe, but also is the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rain. The acid rain often damages life in lakes and rivers, destroying forests and soil. Depletion of the ozone layer also results from man’s use of toxic chemicals. Because of the ozone holes, the dangerous rays get through the atmosphere, causing skin cancer and other serious diseases.

A few years ago people thought that the supply of clean water was unlimited. But now the humanity has faced the problem of rational use of water resources and their protection from pollution. Сlean water has become scarce – illegal dumping waste waters has made many sources of water undrinkable: rivers, lakes and, as a result, seas have become poisonous. All over the world thousands of fish die every year because of water pollution. We have to learn to respect this precious resource; modern technologies based on water purification and recycling and low water consumption are some of today’s answers to the problem of water pollution.

Nuclear pollution can’t be seen, but its effects can be terrible: we all know about the tragic consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Taken in by the human body, radioactive elements increase the risk of cancer and weaken the immune system. Thus, one of the urgent ecological problems today is the environmental safety of nuclear power stations as well as banning nuclear tests. If we do not take any action, the possibility of a global nuclear disasteris very real.

The list of serious ecological problems could be continued.

Today environmental issues are much spoken and written about on TV, radio, and in the newspapers. If people want to survive, they must do their best to solve these problems. Fortunately, it’s not too late to save our planet. We understand that our environment is not just our home town, but the whole Earth. The protection of the environment requires the cooperation of all nations. Governments should take measures that will help improve the environment. However, there are a lot of simple things we should all do to stop the destruction of the environment. First of all, we mustn’t drop litter in public places. We must stop using aerosol sprays, because they destroy the ozone layer. We should take care of birds and animals. We can help to plant trees and create parks for rare species. But first of all we must change people’s attitude towards the environment.

If we take action now, there might be some hope for the future. If we do nothing, we are heading for disaster!

LIFE OF ANIMALS

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The Animal Kingdom. Its Variety. Animals are found all over the world: from the frost-bound Arctic countries to the hot tropical areas, on mountain peaks and in the depths of the sea.

Everyone knows the domestic animals and has heard about bears and wolves, and has seen birds, lizards and frogs; everyone has eaten fish and some of you have even gone fishing. Insects, worms and snails are also animals. Some animals, like bacteria and one-celled algae, can be seen only under a microscope.

The animal kingdom is more varied than that of the plants. There are some 500, 000 different species of plants and 1, 500,000 different species of animals.

Animals live in very different kinds of places, or, as we say, have different "natural homes" (habitats). Fish live in water; polar bears prefer the shores of the Arctic Ocean and its ice-floes, while brown bears like forests. Susliks, which are never found in forests, are very plentiful on the steppes. Earthworms live in the soil and burrow their way to the surface only after rain. The animals on the sea bottom are even more varied.

Some animals are parasites that live in the bodies of other animals (the intestinal worms).

Excavations have revealed solid remains of animals which earlier inhabited our planet but are now extinct. On many occasions the finds consisted of mammoth bones and teeth. On a fossil mammoth excavated in the frigid zone in Siberia some muscles and fur had even been preserved. Mammoths were like elephants but were covered with thick fur because they lived in areas where the climate was very cold.

The fossils prove that the animal kingdom has not remained unchanged but has been in a process of steady and continuous development.

Animals and Plants. Animals and plants are similar in many ways: they need food for their nutrition; they breathe; they grow and reproduce. Their bodies consist of cells.

But at the same time, they are different primarily with regard to their food requirements. Green plants grow by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, and water and mineral salts from the soil. They use these inorganic materials to make up organic substances (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) in the presence of sunlight. Animals need plants or other animals - they get their food from ready-made organic matter.

Other distinctive features of animals are their organs of movement, their nervous system and sense organs, all of which plants lack.

The above-mentioned distinctive features are not always present. There are plants which feed on organic matter (for instance, the fungi) and some which are able to swim about (for example, a number of algae). On the other hand, some animals are immobile.

The two groups of living organisms, animals and plants, form the organic world. They are closely connected. Plants take in inorganic materials and build up organic ones which animals use as food. Animals, for their part, discharge carbon dioxide which is absorbed by plants as part of their nutrition.

Importance of Zoology. Animals play a big part in man's life. Ages ago primitive people hunted them for meat and hides to make clothing and footwear. Some of the animals were gradually tamed and domesticated. At present they provide us with meat and dairy products as well as raw materials for making our clothes and footwear.

Many of the wild animals are also of use to man. The seas and rivers are full of fish which we eat; in the woods there are fur-bearing animals whose pelts are very valuable; useful birds live everywhere, constantly destroying insects harmful to orchards and crops.

Some of the animals, however, are quite harmful. Many insects cause damage to plantations, orchards and woods. Wolves are known to attack domestic animals. Mice and rats are a grave threat to foodstores. Flies and lice spread disease. Persistent struggle must be carried on against them.

To protect useful animals, to take proper care of domestic animals, and to combat harmful animals, it is necessary to know all about their habits and constitutions. This is exactly what zoology as a science is interested in. Zoology studies animal life.

VITAMINS

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The food constituents known as vitamins are exceedingly important in nutrition even though they are required only in small amounts. Vitamins are essential for food nutrition and health and for normal growth and development. Those vitamins that are generally recognized as essential, and some of those that may be essential, are considered here. Though many vitamins are available, or both, foods still remain the best source of these important substances.

Vitamin A was first discovered in butter, egg yolk, fish liver oil, and green vegetables. It stimulates growth and aids in general well-being. Vitamin A occurs as such in animal foods. It occurs in certain vegetables as carotene or provitamin A, a bright yellow pigment which the body changes to vitamin A. This vitamin is stable to heat and, since it is a fat-soluble substance, does not dissolve to any appreciable extent in water. But it is not stable to light, especially ultraviolet light. Foods which are rich in vitamin A are butter, cheese, cream, eggs, fish oil, fruits, liver, and milk.

Vitamin D or "sunshine" vitamin is really "stored sun-stone" in food. This storage is due to the presence of ergosterol, a fat-like substance in food, which is called a provitamin D, and under direct exposure to the sun or to ultra-violet light for short daily periods, this substance is converted into vitamin D within the body. Unlike most of the other vitamins, this one is not easily destroyed and is stable to heat, alkalis, acids, and oxidation. Vitamin D is essential for the development and maintenance of bones and teeth. Yeast contains ergosterol which can be irradiated by ultra-violet light and thus transformed into vitamin D. Sources of vitamin D are; butter and egg yolk, fish liver oil, oily fish.

Vitamin E affects reproduction and fertility growth, muscle tone and the condition of the nervous system. It has also a function in preventing the destruction of other food through oxidation. Heat does not easily destroy it, but ultraviolet light does. Since it is fat-soluble, water docs not dissolve it, but it is easily oxidized. The best of vitamin E are the vegetable oils, butter, eggs, green leaves and liver.

Vitamin К is necessary for normal clotting of the blood. Heat has little effect upon vitamin K, and, like the other fat-soluble vitamins, it is not soluble in water. Alkalies, strong acids and sunlight destroy this vitamin. Foods rich in vitamin К are cabbage, cauliflower, fish liver.

Ascorbic acid, known as vitamin С is the least stable of all the vitamins. It oxidizes readily, and in the presence of heat, alkali, and oxygen, oxidation goes on rapidly. Ascorbic acid is water-soluble. The best sources of this vitamin include: citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, vegetables, tomatoes.

VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE

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In 1831 Charles Darwin was twenty - two years old and was wondering what to do with his life.

Ever since he was eight, he had wanted to hunt fish, collect shells or simply watch insects and birds-anything, but sit in school. Later, at his father's insistence, he tried to study medicine in college. The crude painful procedures used on patients at that time sickened him. Then his father strongly urged him to become a clergyman, so Darwin packed for Cambridge. He studied well enough to get a degree in theology. But he spent most of his time learning natural history. John Henslow, a botanist, perceived Darwin's real interests He arranged for Darwin a work as a ship's naturalist abroad the Beagle.

The Beagle sailed first to South America to complete work on mapping the coastline. During the Atlantic crossing, Darwin collected and examined marine life. During stops along the coast and at various islands he observed diverse species in environments ranging from sandy shores to high mountains. He was greatly interested in the question of evolving life which was now on the minds of many respected individuals-including his own grandfather.

After Darwin returned to England in 1836, he talked with other naturalists about possible evidence that life evolves. By carefully studying all his notes from his journey, he came up to conclusion that life is not the same as it had been earlier. Like most people in those days, he thought that each species had been created thousands of years before and had never changed. Darwin thought much and at last it was clear to him that long ago all species on the earth had to struggle for their existence all the time to adapt to always changing surroundings. As a result of adaptability, new organs developed and one kind of species changed into another. For instance, the food of the giraffe is the leaves of the acacia tree, and it is easy to see that a longer neck would give it a better chance of getting food. Or, on an area which was becoming a desert, a change like the hump could help an animal like the camel to survive, while others died out.

At last, in 1859, Darwin finished his book The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. It caused a sensation. Darwin was violently attacked by bishops, politicians, even some scientists. Copies of the book were burned by people who objected to the idea that men were descended from apes. But later more and more scientists agreed with Darwin and began to support him. In 1871 he published his famous book - The Descent of Man. In his book he explained why he thought that mankind and the anthropoid apes, like the orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla, had a common ancestry. There was much argument following the publication of The Descent of Man.

His best friend and supporter was Professor Thomas Huxley, whose famous answer to the bishop of Oxford's question is well known. When Huxley was asked whether he, Huxley, claimed descent from an ape on his grandmother's or his grandfather's side he replied that he would sooner have an ape for his ancestor than a man who misused a great intellect to obscure the truth.

Darwin continued his careful research until his sudden death in 1882. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, near Newton's grave.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

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Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), Italian Spanish navigator who sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a route to Asia but achieved fame by discovering the Americas instead.

Columbus’s explorations had a great impact on the world. They led directly to the opening of the western hemisphere to European colonization; to exchanges of plants, animals, cultures, and ideas between the two worlds; and, on a darker note, to the deaths of millions of indigenous American peoples from war, forced labor, and disease.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451 in a middle class family. Though little is known about his childhood, it is evident that he was well-educated because he could speak several languages and had considerable knowledge of classical literature.

Columbus first took to the sea when he was 14 years old and this continued throughout his younger life. During the 1470s, he went on numerous trading trips that took him to the Aegean Sea, Northern Europe, and Iceland. In 1485 began trying to obtain a grant to explore western trade routes. He believed that because the earth was sphere, a ship could reach the Far East and set up trading routes in Asia by sailing west.

Columbus’s ideas of the size of the earth and the distance between Europe and Asia were based on the descriptions contained in several geographic works. Unfortunately, his ideas were not accurate. Columbus founded his theory on two mistaken propositions – that the Asian continent stretched much farther to the east than it actually does, and he also greatly underestimated the circumference of the earth.

For years, Columbus proposed his plans to the Portuguese and Spanish kings, but he was turned down each time. Finally King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella reconsidered his requests. Columbus promised to bring back gold, spices, and silk from Asia, spread Christianity, and explore China. He then asked to be admiral of the seas and governor of discovered lands.

Columbus' First Voyage. After receiving money from the Spanish monarchs, Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 with three ships, the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria, and 104 men. This voyage took five weeks. During this time, many of the crew members contracted diseases and died, or died from hunger and thirst.

Finally on October 12, 1492 they sighted land in area of the present-day Bahamas. When Columbus reached the land, he believed it was an Asian island and named it San Salvador. Because he did not find riches, Columbus decided to continue sailing in search of China.

Columbus' Second Voyage. After the success of finding this new land, Columbus set sail west again on September 23, 1493 with 17 ships and 1,200 men. The purpose of this journey was to establish colonies in the name of Spain and continue his search for riches.

On November 3, the crew members sighted land and found three more islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Jamaica, which Columbus thought were islands of Japan. Because there were still no riches there, they went on to Hispaniola. After a battle in 1495, he conquered the entire island of Hispaniola.

Columbus’s third voyage began on May 30, 1498 and took a more southern route than the previous two. Still looking for China, he found Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Margarita, on July 31. He also reached the mainland of South America.

Columbus' final voyage began on May 9, 1502 and he arrived in Hispaniola in June. Once there, he was forbidden from entering the colony so he continued to explore further. On July 4, he set sail again and later found Central America. In January 1503, he reached Panama and found a small amount of gold but was forced out of the area by those who lived there. After numerous problems and a year of waiting on Jamaica after his ships had problems, Columbus set sail for Spain on November 7, 1504.

After Queen Isabella died in 1504, Columbus tried to regain his governorship of Hispaniola. In 1505, the king allowed him to petition but did nothing. One year later, Columbus became ill and died on May 20, 1506.