Ex. 12. Confirm the statements below. Substitute words and expressions from the text for those in italics.

 

 

Model 1:

1. I believe that this conference was an inter­national meeting.

2. Yes, you are quite right. This conference was truly an international gathering for nearly one-quarter of the delegates came from abroad.

 

1. In my opinion, the sessions were concerned with important present-day problems. 2. I believe that every session started with an introductory paper by an authority on the subject which was being discussed. 3. As far as I know, those introductory papers were followed by short reports of research which was being conducted at various centres. 4. If I am not mistaken, over 50 papers and re­ports were submitted. 5. I was informed that the recent symposium on polymer chemistry contained 5 sessions following one another. 6. To my knowledge, almost 100 people were present at this meeting.

 

 

Ex. 13. Insert words and expressions from the text so as to form antonymic pairs with those in italics. Answer these questions.

 

Model:

1. Was it a national or an... conference.

2. It was an international conference for many delegates came from abroad.

 

1. Did the conference consist of simultaneous or... sessions? 2. Were most of the papers concerned with the theory or the... of agriculture? 3. Was the research under discussion conducted by private or by... centres? 4. Was the opening or the... session devoted to practical problems? 5. Were most of the reports detailed or...?

 

 

Ex. 14. React to the wrong statements below using some of the following introductory phrases: you are not (quite) right you are mistaken; you. seem to be wrong; I can't agree with you.

Model:

1. The First British Insecticide and Fungicide Conference was held under the presidency of Dr. Brown, head of the Agricultural Research Station at Brighton, wasn't it?

2. I'm afraid you are mistaken. This conference was held under the presidency of Dr. San­ders who was at the time chief scientific adviser to the British Ministry of Agri­culture.

 

1. If I am not mistaken, the First British Insecticide Conference was a purely national scientific gathering. 2. I believe that both simultaneous and succesive sessions were devoted to the problem of plant growth. 3. As far as I could gather from the text, each session began with a general discussion. 4. To my mind, in the final session attention was directed to problems of theoretical interest. 5. As far as I know, all the papers read at this conference were presented from private firms.

 

Ex. 15. Translate into English.

 

A

1. Первая Британская конференция по инсектици­дам состоялась в Брайтоне в 1961 году. 2. Конференция была проведена под председательством доктора Сандерса. 3. Конференция состояла из 10 последовательных заседаний. 4. Заседания были посвящены важный современным проблемам патологии растений и решению их химическим путем. 5. В течение первых двух дней каж­дое заседание начиналось с вводного доклада специа­листа по данному вопросу. 6. За вводным докладом сле­довали краткие сообщения об исследованиях, которые ведутся в различных научно-исследовательских цен­трах. 7. На последнем заседании особое внимание было обращено на вопросы, связанные с внедрением в прак­тику результатов научных исследований. 8. Всего научно-исследовательскими отделами государственных институтов и промышленных фирм было представлено более 50 докладов.

 

В

 

9. Моя диссертация посвящена важным современным проблемам теоретической физики. 10. Она состоит из трех глав (chapters). 11. Первая глава является вводной.

12. В этой главе я обсуждаю теории, выдвинутые (ad­vanced) ведущими специалистами по данному вопросу.13. Во второй главе описываются результаты исследо­вания, которое я провел в прошлом году. 14. В это? главе я упоминаю (mention) также и исследования, которые проводятся в других институтах. 15. Последняя глава посвящена вопросам, связанным с практическим применением результатов моего исследования. 16. Профессор Н. является крупнейшим специалистом по бо­лезням растений (plant pathology). 17. В прошлом году я присутствовал на международном симпозиуме по физике. 18. Он был проведен под председательством ака­демика Н. 19. Научные собрания такого рода очень важны. 20. Они обычно проводятся в крупных научно-исследовательских центрах при колледжах.

 

 

Ex. 16. Say a few words about a laboratory seminar you have recently attended. Mention the order of the day, the main topics discussed, the possible practical application of the results obtained, etc.

 

Text 3
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF BIOCHEMISTRY

The Fifth International was held during August 10-dency of Academician A. I. Congress of Biochemistry -16, 1961 under the presidency of Academician A. I. Oparin. The number of registered participants, about 4500 together with an ad­ditional 1000 or so guests of the Organizing Committee, was larger than at any previous congress, and it seems that each congress, from the first, which was held in Cam­bridge in 1949, to the present one in Moscow, attracts more and more workers who are interested in one or many aspects of the broad subject of biochemistry.

The congress held its opening ceremony in the impres­sive Palace of Sports and the session closed with a masterly lecture by Professor G. E. Green. The plenary session was followed by a most enjoyable concert given by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

The scientific programme which followed included a series of symposia, and between two and three thousand original contributions. The main congress symposia were held in the large assembly hall of the University or in auditoria of ample seating capacity and were well attended. The main speakers in these sessions were allowed up to 40 minutes to develop their subject and the subsequent speakers 15 minutes, a half to three-quarters of an hour being set aside at the end of the session for discussion. The time proved to be adequate” and the discussions were usually lively. The arrangements for simultaneous translations in these meetings were excellent. Pre-prints of the main congress lectures and of the contributions to the symposia were available to participants before the meeting.

Probably the largest part of the scientific programme was associated with the activities of the 28 sections. Each section had its own interpreter, and language difficulties were thereby reduced to a minimum. Abstracts of the short communications were available in the form of a separate book and where the text was submitted in Russian, an English translation was also provided.

There was a useful display of scientific apparatus originating from 14 countries, and an attractive exhi­bition of modern books dealing with all aspects of bio­chemistry and published in many different countries.

Most of those attending the congress were accomodated in the student quarters of the University or in two of the largest hotels in Moscow, hotel “Ukraine” and hotel “Moskva”. Transport between the University and hotels was well maintained throughout by excellent bus service. Academician Oparin gave a series of receptions

to the participants of the congress. There was a series of interesting tours arranged by Intourist.

The Fifth International Congress of Biochemistry was the largest congress yet held in the USSR. The clo­sing plenary session was especially noteworthy for the outstanding and informative lecture on “Proteins, their Function and Structure” given by Professor F. Sorm. This was followed by a number of short addresses of appreciation by delegates from several countries, after which the president closed the proceedings and formally announced that the next congress would be held in New York in July 1964.

 

 

Exercises