The idea that human beings will eventually colonise space

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Professor Stephen Hawking has recently argued that, if the human species is to survive, then we should start planning for the ultimate move. He fears that life on Earth is facing an increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming or a genetically engineered virus. It is a prospect that hardly bears thinking about.

Other experts have echoed Hawking’s beliefs, although they give different reasons. Experts point out that we are rapidly exhausting the Earth’s resources while the population continues to grow. Within one hundred years or so, if present trends continue, they predict that our planet will have been reduced to a barren wasteland. With nothing left in the larder, we shall all have to leave home, and there will be no return.

However, just how realistic is such a move? Given the known laws of the universe, travelling to a planet capable of supporting human life remains an impossibility. Even the journey to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star beyond our sun, would take about 100,000 years, which is As long as Homo sapiens has walked the face of the Earth.

To make matters worse, no planets matching the conditions required for human survival have been identified orbiting our nearest neighbour. To find such a planet we will have to go even farther afield. One possible candidate has been discovered circling a star 15 light-years away. Unfortunately, it would take more than 300,000 years to get there, and there are no guarantees that it can support life as we know it.

Cleary then, unless scientists come up with a for us way to travel faster than the speed of light, we shall have to look for alternative solutions. One idea, first proposed by scientist Gerald O’Neill in the 1970s, would be to construct gigantc aluminum tubes which would orbit the Earth and provide wonderful living conditions. This seems an unlikely option. The only space station to have been built so far, at enormous cost, can support only six people at a time, and they require supplies from Earth.

A more realistic possibility is to build a permanent base on the moon, perhaps as a stepping stone for voyages to other planets, which is an idea being explored by NASA. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to sustain life on an airless, lifeless rock. Specialists also note that bones and muscles would, in the long term, waste away in the low gravity.

There is no doubt that our planet is struggling under the burden of humanity. Some experts claim that we are living on borrowed time already, BECAUSE THE average life of a species rarely exceeds 100,000 years. However, that does not mean that we should just wring our hands in despair. History shows that man has an incredible capacity to adapt and survive. It is worth remembering that only a few years ago things that we now take for granted, such as instant communications through the Internet, would have seemed impossible. Perhaps we shall soon see the dreams of science-fiction writers become reality after all.

Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характера по английскому языку (9 класс)

Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характера

по английскому языку

для учащихся 9 класса

Назарова Юлия Федоровна,

учитель английского языка МБОУ Алгасовской СОШ Моршанского района Тамбовской области

Listen to Chris speaking about his job and choose the best alternatives :

5. Chris would like

A. to change his job for a simpler one.

B. to change his job for one with higher qualification requirements.

C. to change his working place but not his job.

2. Chris doesn’t like his job because

A. he has to do things which he doesn’t know well.

B. he doesn’t like his colleagues.

C. his job is not what he expects it to be.

6. In his new job he

A. is prepared to earn less money.

B. would like to earn more money.

C. would like to have the same salary

3. Chris feels under stress because

A. he is asked to do tasks which are impossible to do.

B. he does lots of engineering.

C. he has to work at night

7. Chris thinks it won’t be easy to find a job he wants because

A. he doesn’t have enough qualification to do it.

B. the employers might think he is lazy.

C. he has too high a qualification for such a job

4. He has noticed that his colleagues

A. are becoming more experienced.

B. are becoming less healthy.

C. are becoming less interested

Listen to an interview with Alex Dixon. Mark these statements as Т (true), F (false) or NS (not stated).

8. Alex starts writing a book from the end because it’s important to know where «it’s going».

9. The characters usually develop as Alex is writing the book.

10. He loves his series character a lot.

11.Alex sometimes gets bored with his series character as well as the place and time.

12. He’s writing a historical novel at the moment, because he’s very interested in the genre.

13. While writing, it’s important to remember the meaning of each word.

14 A character is made up of speech and action, according to the author.

15. The characters ask questions and the author answers them.

16. Alex writes a lot of e-mails, memos etc to communicate with his friends and readers.

17. Alex likes meat.

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников, 2015

Task 1 Read the text and do the tasks below.

Parents and teens at peace

Most young people say their home lives are carefree, according to a new survey

Тhe evidence may not be obvious in some households. But four out of five young people in Britain now get on with their parents, contradicting the popular image of angry teenagers locked in their room after endless family rows.

A new study into teenage attitudes reveals that their family life is more harmonious than ever before: more than half of 13 to 18-year-olds get on with their brothers and sisters; and one in three has not argued with parents during the past 12 months. 85% of 13 to 18-year-olds agree with the statement ‘I’m happy with my family life’. A majority said their lives were ‘happy’, ‘fun’ and ‘carefree’. Only one in 10 said they had a very poor relationship with their parents. However some arguments do still occur. The most common family flashpoints are ‘tidying up’ and ‘household chores’.

‘We were struck by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,’ said Nick Rand of the Future Foundation. They’re expected to be rebellious, but actually they want a car and material goods and worry about whether their school is serving them well. There’s more discussion and negotiation between parents and children and a greater expectation of children’s right to participate in the family decision-making process. This generation of parents is much more likely than 30 years ago to treat their children as «friends».’ ‘My parents are happy to discuss things with me and make compromises,’ says 17-year-old Daniel Lazell from Billericay. They know I go to the pub or which girl I’m going out with. As long as they know what I’m doing they’re fine. I’m happy with family life. When we sit down to dinner in the evening we all chat.’ Relaxation of controls on young people is reflected throughout society. In the 1960s newspapers were scandalised when Prince Charles, then a schoolboy, ordered a cherry brandy in a pub. Forty years later Prince Harry had to confess to drug use to generate a similar level of anxiety.

Psychologist Oliver James comments: ‘Our surprise that teenagers say they get on well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our history when they were identified as different beings. The idea of teenagers rebelling and breaking away from their parents is a very 1960s thing.’

Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Most teenagers in the survey had not argued with their parents during the past year.

2. Parents and teenagers continue to have disagreements about doing jobs at home.

3. Young people are less materialistic than they used to be.

4. Nowadays there is more equality in the relationship between parents and children.

5. What Prince Charles did in the 1960s would not be a scandal in Britain now.

6. According to Oliver James, teenagers have always rebelled against their parents.

Fill in the following percentages with reference to teenagers.

7…..get on with their parents.

8.___get on with their brothers and sisters.

9.___get on very badly with their parents.

10.___have not argued with their parents for a year.

11.___are not happy with their family life.

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников, 2015.

Read the text. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (8-13). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

The most famous schools in Britain are private boarding schools, such as Eton College, Harrow School, Rugby School, and Winchester School. These famous private schools, founded during the Middle Ages, are theoretically open to the public, but in reality are attended by those _______1________.

Many of Britain’s leaders have attended these private schools, which cater to the wealthy and influential _______2________. A variety of other schools are also private, including kindergartens, day schools, and newer boarding schools. Private schools that take pupils from the age of 7 to the age of 11. 12, or 13 are called preparatory schools. Private schools that take older pupils from the age of 11, 12, or 13 to 18 or 19 are often referred to as public schools. Only 7 percent of British students attend those schools.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland the education systems are similar. The majority of the students attend schools ________3______. These include state schools, voluntary schools, and self-governing or grant-maintained (GM) schools that receive funds directly from the government rather than local authorities.

At the age of sixteen, _______4________ students are tested in various subjects to earn a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). They should take Advanced Level examinations, commonly known as «A» Levels ________5_______.

Scotland has comparable qualifications. About a third of British students leave school as soon as possible after turning 16, usually taking lower-level jobs in the workforce.

Those _______6_______ may pursue either further education or higher education. Further education is largely vocational. Students may also stay in school until age 18 to prepare for higher education.

A. who stay in school past the age of 16

B. if they wish to go on to higher education at a university

C. which are called comprehensive schools

D. who can afford the fees

E. prior to leaving school

F. but also offer some scholarships to gifted poorer children

G. which are wholly or partly supported with public funds

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников по английскому языку. 2012 год

Read the article «Will we all have to leave home?». Choose the correct parts of sentences (A-G) to complete gaps 1-6. There is one EXTRA part of a sentence you do not need to use.

Which would orbit the Earth and provide wonderful living conditions

Although the give different reasons

Which means we will have to go even further afield

Because the average life of a species rarely exceeds 100,000 years

Which is as long as homo sapiens has walked the face of the Earth

Ever since Jules Verne wrote From the Earth to the Moon in 1865

Which is an idea being explored by NASA

Will we all have to leave home?

(Brian Clark takes a look at what the future holds for mankind)

Professor Stephen Hawking has recently argued that, if the human species is to survive, then we should start planning for the ultimate move. He fears that life on Earth is facing an increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming or a genetically engineered virus. It is a prospect that hardly bears thinking about.

Other experts have echoed Hawking’s beliefs, 2____. They point out that we are rapidly exhausting the Earth’s resources while the population continues to grow. Within one hundred years or so, if present trends continue, they predict that our planet will have been reduced to a barren wasteland. With nothing left in the larder, we shall all have to leave home, and there will be no return.

However, just how realistic is such a move? Given the known laws of the universe, travelling to a planet capable of supporting human life remains an impossibility. Even the journey to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star beyond our sun, would take about 100,000 years,3____.

To make matters worse, no planets matching the conditions required for human survival have been identified orbiting our nearest neighbour. To find such a planet we will have to go even farther afield. One possible candidate has been discovered circling a star 15 light-years away. Unfortunately, it would take more than 300,000 years to get there, and there are no guarantees that it can support life as we know it.

Cleary then, unless scientists come up with a for us way to travel faster than the speed of light, we shall have to look for alternative solutions. One idea, first proposed by scientist Gerald O’Neill in the 1970s, would be to construct gigantc aluminum tubes 4_____. This seems an unlikely option. The only space station to have been built so far, at enormous cost, can support only six people at a time, and they require supplies from Earth.

A more realistic possibility is to build a permanent base on the moon, perhaps as a stepping stone for voyages to other planets, 5____. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to sustain life on an airless, lifeless rock. Specialists also note that bones and muscles would, in the long term, waste away in the low gravity.

There is no doubt that our planet is struggling under the burden of humanity. Some experts claim that we are living on borrowed time already, 6____. However, that does not mean that we should just wring our hands in despair. History shows that man has an incredible capacity to adapt and survive. It is worth remembering that only a few years ago things that we now take for granted, such as instant communications through the Internet, would have seemed impossible. Perhaps we shall soon see the dreams of science-fiction writers become reality after all.

Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характера по английскому языку для учащихся 9-11 классов

Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характерапо английскому языкудля учащихся 9-11 классов.

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«Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характера по английскому языку для учащихся 9-11 классов»

Комплекс заданий олимпиадного характера

по английскому языку

для учащихся 9-11 классов

Бочарова Елена Анатольевна, учитель английского языка,

ф-л МБОУ «Стрелецкая СОШ» в пос Новая жизнь.

Listen to the interview and for questions A8-A14, choose the answer (1, 2 or 3) which you think fits best according to the text. Write the appropriate number (1, 2 or 3) in boxes A8-A14 on your answer sheet.

A8. Catherine mainly gets inspired for her novels from

1) things that happen in her personal life.

2) unimportant new stories.

3) major events in the local area.

A9. The example of the shopping centre shows that, before writing, Catherine

1) interviews a lot of people.

2) does a lot of background research.

3) imagines a complete story.

A10. Catherine says her characters

1) can be identified by the people they’re based on.

2) are exact copies of people she has known.

3) are only loosely based on real people.

A11. Catherine is more likely to create a character based on a real person’s

3) view of the world.

A12. There is a chance that

1) Catherine will give a talk about making films.

2) a company will buy the film rights to Fire at Dawn.

3) there will be a film version of Fire at Dawn.

A13. Catherine does not want

1) to be involved in making the film.

2) someone else to write the screenplay.

3) the plot to be altered in a major way.

A14. Catherine believes that

1) the stories in the book and film should be the same.

2) film and literature are extremely different media.

3) films based on books are usually annoying.

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников. Школьный этап. 2018-2019 уч.год

Task 1 Read the text and do the tasks below.

Parents and teens at peace

Most young people say their home lives are carefree, according to a new survey

Тhe evidence may not be obvious in some households. But four out of five young people in Britain now get on with their parents, contradicting the popular image of angry teenagers locked in their room after endless family rows.

A new study into teenage attitudes reveals that their family life is more harmonious than ever before: more than half of 13 to 18-year-olds get on with their brothers and sisters; and one in three has not argued with parents during the past 12 months. 85% of 13 to 18-year-olds agree with the statement ‘I’m happy with my family life’. A majority said their lives were ‘happy’, ‘fun’ and ‘carefree’. Only one in 10 said they had a very poor relationship with their parents. However some arguments do still occur. The most common family flashpoints are ‘tidying up’ and ‘household chores’.

‘We were struck by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,’ said Nick Rand of the Future Foundation. They’re expected to be rebellious, but actually they want a car and material goods and worry about whether their school is serving them well. There’s more discussion and negotiation between parents and children and a greater expectation of children’s right to participate in the family decision-making process. This generation of parents is much more likely than 30 years ago to treat their children as «friends».’ ‘My parents are happy to discuss things with me and make compromises,’ says 17-year-old Daniel Lazell from Billericay. They know I go to the pub or which girl I’m going out with. As long as they know what I’m doing they’re fine. I’m happy with family life. When we sit down to dinner in the evening we all chat.’ Relaxation of controls on young people is reflected throughout society. In the 1960s newspapers were scandalised when Prince Charles, then a schoolboy, ordered a cherry brandy in a pub. Forty years later Prince Harry had to confess to drug use to generate a similar level of anxiety.

Psychologist Oliver James comments: ‘Our surprise that teenagers say they get on well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our history when they were identified as different beings. The idea of teenagers rebelling and breaking away from their parents is a very 1960s thing.’

Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Most teenagers in the survey had not argued with their parents during the past year.

2. Parents and teenagers continue to have disagreements about doing jobs at home.

3. Young people are less materialistic than they used to be.

4. Nowadays there is more equality in the relationship between parents and children.

5. What Prince Charles did in the 1960s would not be a scandal in Britain now.

6. According to Oliver James, teenagers have always rebelled against their parents.

Fill in the following percentages with reference to teenagers.

7…..get on with their parents.

8.___get on with their brothers and sisters.

9.___get on very badly with their parents.

10.___have not argued with their parents for a year.

11.___are not happy with their family life.

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников, 2015.

Read the text. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (8-13). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

The most famous schools in Britain are private boarding schools, such as Eton College, Harrow School, Rugby School, and Winchester School. These famous private schools, founded during the Middle Ages, are theoretically open to the public, but in reality are attended by those _______1________.

Many of Britain’s leaders have attended these private schools, which cater to the wealthy and influential _______2________. A variety of other schools are also private, including kindergartens, day schools, and newer boarding schools. Private schools that take pupils from the age of 7 to the age of 11. 12, or 13 are called preparatory schools. Private schools that take older pupils from the age of 11, 12, or 13 to 18 or 19 are often referred to as public schools. Only 7 percent of British students attend those schools.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland the education systems are similar. The majority of the students attend schools ________3______. These include state schools, voluntary schools, and self-governing or grant-maintained (GM) schools that receive funds directly from the government rather than local authorities.

At the age of sixteen, _______4________ students are tested in various subjects to earn a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). They should take Advanced Level examinations, commonly known as “A» Levels ________5_______.

Scotland has comparable qualifications. About a third of British students leave school as soon as possible after turning 16, usually taking lower-level jobs in the workforce.

Those _______6_______ may pursue either further education or higher education. Further education is largely vocational. Students may also stay in school until age 18 to prepare for higher education.

A. who stay in school past the age of 16

B. if they wish to go on to higher education at a university

C. which are called comprehensive schools

D. who can afford the fees

E. prior to leaving school

F. but also offer some scholarships to gifted poorer children

G. which are wholly or partly supported with public funds

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников по английскому языку. 2012 год

Read the article “Will we all have to leave home?”. Choose the correct parts of sentences (A—G) to complete gaps 1-6. There is one EXTRA part of a sentence you do not need to use.

Which would orbit the Earth and provide wonderful living conditions

Although the give different reasons

Which means we will have to go even further afield

Because the average life of a species rarely exceeds 100,000 years

Which is as long as homo sapiens has walked the face of the Earth

Ever since Jules Verne wrote From the Earth to the Moon in 1865

Which is an idea being explored by NASA

Will we all have to leave home?

(Brian Clark takes a look at what the future holds for mankind)

Professor Stephen Hawking has recently argued that, if the human species is to survive, then we should start planning for the ultimate move. He fears that life on Earth is facing an increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming or a genetically engineered virus. It is a prospect that hardly bears thinking about.

Other experts have echoed Hawking’s beliefs, 2____. They point out that we are rapidly exhausting the Earth’s resources while the population continues to grow. Within one hundred years or so, if present trends continue, they predict that our planet will have been reduced to a barren wasteland. With nothing left in the larder, we shall all have to leave home, and there will be no return.

However, just how realistic is such a move? Given the known laws of the universe, travelling to a planet capable of supporting human life remains an impossibility. Even the journey to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star beyond our sun, would take about 100,000 years,3____.

To make matters worse, no planets matching the conditions required for human survival have been identified orbiting our nearest neighbour. To find such a planet we will have to go even farther afield. One possible candidate has been discovered circling a star 15 light-years away. Unfortunately, it would take more than 300,000 years to get there, and there are no guarantees that it can support life as we know it.

Cleary then, unless scientists come up with a for us way to travel faster than the speed of light, we shall have to look for alternative solutions. One idea, first proposed by scientist Gerald O’Neill in the 1970s, would be to construct gigantc aluminum tubes 4_____. This seems an unlikely option. The only space station to have been built so far, at enormous cost, can support only six people at a time, and they require supplies from Earth.

A more realistic possibility is to build a permanent base on the moon, perhaps as a stepping stone for voyages to other planets, 5____. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to sustain life on an airless, lifeless rock. Specialists also note that bones and muscles would, in the long term, waste away in the low gravity.

There is no doubt that our planet is struggling under the burden of humanity. Some experts claim that we are living on borrowed time already, 6____. However, that does not mean that we should just wring our hands in despair. History shows that man has an incredible capacity to adapt and survive. It is worth remembering that only a few years ago things that we now take for granted, such as instant communications through the Internet, would have seemed impossible. Perhaps we shall soon see the dreams of science-fiction writers become reality after all.

What Will It Take for Humans to Colonize the Milky Way?

It’s a common theme in science fiction, but migrating to planets beyond our solar system will be a lot more complicated and difficult than you might imagine

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The idea that humans will eventually travel to and inhabit other parts of our galaxy was well expressed by the early Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who wrote, “Earth is humanity’s cradle, but you’re not meant to stay in your cradle forever.” Since then the idea has been a staple of science fiction, and thus become part of a consensus image of humanity’s future. Going to the stars is often regarded as humanity’s destiny, even a measure of its success as a species. But in the century since this vision was proposed, things we have learned about the universe and ourselves combine to suggest that moving out into the galaxy may not be humanity’s destiny after all.

The problem that tends to underlie all the other problems with the idea is the sheer size of the universe, which was not known when people first imagined we would go to the stars. Tau Ceti, one of the closest stars to us at around 12 light-years away, is 100 billion times farther from Earth than our moon. A quantitative difference that large turns into a qualitative difference; we can’t simply send people over such immense distances in a spaceship, because a spaceship is too impoverished an environment to support humans for the time it would take, which is on the order of centuries. Instead of a spaceship, we would have to create some kind of space-traveling ark, big enough to support a community of humans and other plants and animals in a fully recycling ecological system.

On the other hand it would have to be small enough to accelerate to a fairly high speed, to shorten the voyagers’ time of exposure to cosmic radiation, and to breakdowns in the ark. Regarded from some angles bigger is better, but the bigger the ark is, the proportionally more fuel it would have to carry along to slow itself down on reaching its destination; this is a vicious circle that can’t be squared. For that reason and others, smaller is better, but smallness creates problems for resource metabolic flow and ecologic balance. Island biogeography suggests the kinds of problems that would result from this miniaturization, but a space ark’s isolation would be far more complete than that of any island on Earth. The design imperatives for bigness and smallness may cross each other, leaving any viable craft in a non-existent middle.

The biological problems that could result from the radical miniaturization, simplification and isolation of an ark, no matter what size it is, now must include possible impacts on our microbiomes. We are not autonomous units; about eighty percent of the DNA in our bodies is not human DNA, but the DNA of a vast array of smaller creatures. That array of living beings has to function in a dynamic balance for us to be healthy, and the entire complex system co-evolved on this planet’s surface in a particular set of physical influences, including Earth’s gravity, magnetic field, chemical make-up, atmosphere, insolation, and bacterial load. Traveling to the stars means leaving all these influences, and trying to replace them artificially. What the viable parameters are on the replacements would be impossible to be sure of in advance, as the situation is too complex to model. Any starfaring ark would therefore be an experiment, its inhabitants lab animals. The first generation of the humans aboard might have volunteered to be experimental subjects, but their descendants would not have. These generations of descendants would be born into a set of rooms a trillion times smaller than Earth, with no chance of escape.

In this radically diminished enviroment, rules would have to be enforced to keep all aspects of the experiment functioning. Reproduction would not be a matter of free choice, as the population in the ark would have to maintain minimum and maximum numbers. Many jobs would be mandatory to keep the ark functioning, so work too would not be a matter of choices freely made. In the end, sharp constraints would force the social structure in the ark to enforce various norms and behaviors. The situation itself would require the establishment of something like a totalitarian state.

Of course sociology and psychology are harder fields to make predictions in, as humans are highly adaptable. But history has shown that people tend to react poorly in rigid states and social systems. Add to these social constraints permanent enclosure, exile from the planetary surface we evolved on, and the probability of health problems, and the possibility for psychological difficulties and mental illnesses seems quite high. Over several generations, it’s hard to imagine any such society staying stable.

Still, humans are adaptable, and ingenious. It’s conceivable that all the problems outlined so far might be solved, and that people enclosed in an ark might cross space successfully to a nearby planetary system. But if so, their problems will have just begun.

Any planetary body the voyagers try to inhabit will be either alive or dead. If there is indigenous life, the problems of living in contact with an alien biology could range from innocuous to fatal, but will surely require careful investigation. On the other hand, if the planetary body is inert, then the newcomers will have to terraform it using only local resources and the power they have brought with them. This means the process will have a slow start, and take on the order of centuries, during which time the ark, or its equivalent on the alien planet, would have to continue to function without failures.

It’s also quite possible the newcomers won’t be able to tell whether the planet is alive or dead, as is true for us now with Mars. They would still face one problem or the other, but would not know which one it was, a complication that could slow any choices or actions.

So, to conclude: an interstellar voyage would present one set of extremely difficult problems, and the arrival in another system, a different set of problems. All the problems together create not an outright impossibility, but a project of extreme difficulty, with very poor chances of success. The unavoidable uncertainties suggest that an ethical pursuit of the project would require many preconditions before it was undertaken. Among them are these: first, a demonstrably sustainable human civilization on Earth itself, the achievement of which would teach us many of the things we would need to know to construct a viable mesocosm in an ark; second, a great deal of practice in an ark obiting our sun, where we could make repairs and study practices in an ongoing feedback loop, until we had in effect built a successful proof of concept; third, extensive robotic explorations of nearby planetary systems, to see if any are suitable candidates for inhabitation.

Unless all these steps are taken, humans cannot successfully travel to and inhabit other star systems. The preparation itself is a multi-century project, and one that relies crucially on its first step succeeding, which is the creation of a sustainable long-term civilization on Earth. This achievement is the necessary, although not sufficient, precondition for any success in interstellar voyaging. If we don’t create sustainability on our own world, there is no Planet B.

The Serengeti перевод текста Starlight 11 класс

Перевод текста:
Серенгети
Когда над Серенгети наступает рассвет, стадо слонов медленно подходит к источнику, чтобы напиться, неподалеку в сухой желтой траве лениво отдыхает львиный прайд, а вдалеке воет дикая собака. Водопой-место сбора диких животных в этой части Серенгети, а также людей. Ночью царит царство животных, но днем туристы фотографируют дикую природу, биологи изучают экосистему, а племена Масаи поливают свои стада скота. Похоже, что животные и люди умудряются жить вместе в гармонии в одном из последних больших убежищ дикой природы в Африке.

Название Серенгети происходит от слова Масаи, которое означает «место, где земля течет вечно», но оно может быть недостаточно большим для Масаи, чтобы продолжать свой традиционный образ жизни там намного дольше. Хотя когда-то Масаи могли свободно бродить, где угодно, с 1959 года они были ограничены одной небольшой частью экосистемы Серенгети-зоной переговоров Нгоронгоро. Этот район был создан как место, где Масаи могли продолжать свой кочевой образ жизни, где можно было защитить дикую природу и процветать туризм.

Дикая природа и туризм делают очень хорошо, но то же самое нельзя сказать о племенах Масаи. За последние пятьдесят лет численность Масаи увеличилась с 10000 до более чем 50000 человек. В результате слишком много людей и слишком мало ресурсов для поддержания традиционного образа жизни Масаи. Земли, на которых они пасут свой скот, ограничены, и им разрешено выращивать достаточно пищи, чтобы жить, опасаясь, что крупномасштабное сельское хозяйство повлияет на естественную среду обитания в этом районе.

Рост популяции Масаи также вызывает беспокойство из-за того, как это влияет на животных в заповедной зоне. Стада гну, зебр и других животных путешествуют по региону Нгоронгоро по своим миграционным путям. Поселения Масаи, фермы и выпас скота могут помешать этим важным маршрутам, и защитники природы не хотят создавать никаких проблем для растущего числа животных в этом районе. Таким образом, именно Масаи просят покинуть свои родные земли и изменить свой образ жизни, даже несмотря на то, что изначально заповедная зона была создана для многократного использования не только для дикой природы.

В деревне Эндулен племени Масаи женщины с бритыми головами, сверкающими серебряными украшениями, в ярких красных одеждах стирают белье в ручье. Высокие воины с копьями шипят на скот, гоня его по пыльной главной улице к единственному источнику воды в деревне. Есть больница, школа и рынок в этой деревне 8000, но там нет пресной воды, только поток. Поток, который обеспечивает все потребности людей и животных для питья, приготовления пищи и купания. Это, без сомнения, источник жизни этого шумного сообщества, сообщества, которое продолжает расти из года в год.

Однако природоохранные власти не хотят обеспечивать Масаи надежным водоснабжением. Это потому, что они не хотят поощрять постоянные поселения в пределах заповедной зоны. Что касается их властей, то Масаи могут жить в этом районе только в качестве кочевников, которые легко пользуются землей. Если Масаи хотят перейти от кочевого существования к фермерскому сообществу с полными удобствами, такими как водоснабжение и электричество, то они должны снова быть перемещены из региона Нгоронгоро.

Но у масаи есть другие идеи. А именно, что они не намерены двигаться дальше. Хотя старые обычаи постепенно исчезают, они все еще держат свой скот и выходят на сушу, даже если это только на дни, а не на месяцы. В селе они работают на огородных участках, объявленных властями вне закона, и живут в постоянных жилищах. Струящиеся традиционные красные халаты и кожаные сандалии все еще носят многие Масаи, но вы также можете увидеть кроссовки и футболки. Когда зазвонил еще один сотовый телефон, стало очевидно, что Масаи совершают долгий и медленный переход к более современному образу жизни.

The Serengeti
As dawn breaks over the vast Serengeti an elephant herd slowly wanders to the side of the waterhole to drink. Продолжение в учебнике.