Global environmental problems

(continued)

 

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposals. The aim of this Convention is to limit and regulate international traffic in hazardous waste products. The general obligations are:

- prohibiting export of hazardous waste without prior approval of the importing country;

- the importing country must have adequate facilities to dispose of the waste;

- labeling and packaging shipments of waste in accordance with generally accepted international rules and standards;

- cooperation in training specialists, exchange of information and technologies.

The Law of the Sea Convention. According to this Convention states have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. States have the sovereign right to exploit their natural resources in accordance with their duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. States must take measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment.

People of the Earth hope that all these measures will help save our planet and all the living beings on it.

 

XIII. Найдите в тексте “С” эквиваленты следующих слов и словосочетаний:

oбщие обязательства; запрещение экспорта опасных отходов; без предварительного одобрения; страны-импортеры; соответствующие условия для утилизации отходов; минимизация производства опасных отходов; маркировка и упаковка отходов в соответствии с международными правилами и стандартами; сотрудничество; подготовка специалистов; обмен информацией; суверенное право; принимать меры; предотвратить, сократить и контролировать загрязнение морей; живые существа.

XIV. Найдите в тексте “С” предложения, отвечающие на следующие вопросы:

1. What is the aim of the Basel Convention?

2. What are the general obligations under the Basel Convention?

3. What are obligations and rights of the states under the law of the Sea Convention?

 

XV. Прочтите и перескажите на английском языке следующие шутки и  любопытные исторические факты:

This is the story which Charlie Chaplin liked to tell about himself. It happened when the great actor was already world famous. A theatre announced a competition to see who could act like Charlie Chaplin. Those taking part had to dress like Chaplin, walk like Chaplin and act out one of the roles in a Chaplin picture.

    When Charlie Chaplin heard about the competition he decided, as a joke, to take part in the competition himself. Naturally, he kept his plan a secret from everybody.

    Finally the results of the competition were announced: Chaplin failed, he didn’t win the first prize. At first he was greatly disappointed but then he decided that it was best to laugh.

_____________________________

to announce – объявлять

competition – конкурс

to fail – провалиться

to be disappointed – быть разочарованным

* * *

    Believe it or not but…

… Karate, usually considered a Japanese martial art, did not come to Japan until 1916. Prior to this time it was practiced only by the Okinawa islanders, who had developed it centuries earlier as a means of weaponless defense against the Japanese.

… The 1905 peace treaty, ending the Russo-Japanese War was signed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Though the United States had nothing to do with the war, the treaty was arranged and negotiated by the United States President Theodore Roosevelt.

…In medieval Japan, it was believed that there was a single hair somewhere on the tail of a cat that could restore life to a dead person. For this reason cats were brought into the room of a dying person and placed next to his or her bed. As a last resort, relatives sometimes had the dying person pluck a single hair from the cat’s tail in the hope that this one would prove to be the magic strand.

_______________

Though the United States had nothing to do with… – Хотя Соединенные Штаты не имели никакого отношения к…

in medieval Japan – в средневековой Японии

to restore life to a dead person – вернуть жизнь мертвому

аs a last resort – как последнее средство

to pluck a single hair from the cat’s tail in the hope that this one would prove to be the magic strand – выдернуть волосок из кошачьего хвоста в надежде, что именно этот волос окажется той самой волшебной прядью.

* * *

    A nervous man who lived in one of the suburbs was on his way home from the railway station. It was dark and there was no one around. He heard footsteps behind him and he had an uncomfortable feeling that somebody was following him. He increased his speed. The footsteps also quickened. The frightened man started running down the street. The footsteps quickened, too. At last the man could not run any more. He stopped and asked the man who was following him:

    “What do you want? Why are you following me?”

    “I’m going to Mr. Brown’s. And the man at the station told me to follow you as you live next door. Excuse me, but how long do we still have to walk?”

_________________

suburb – пригород

footsteps – шаги

He increased his speed. – Он увеличил скорость / пошел быстрее.

to quicken – ускориться

to follow smb – преследовать кого-либо, идти за кем-либо

to live next door – жить по-соседству