Text I-DA UNIVERSITY TOWN.
DAVIS, near Sacramento, in California, has a population of forty thousand. It also has forty thousand bicycles and just nine thousand cars. Cyclists have right of way everywhere in the town, seventy kilometres of bike lanes all to themselves, and their own unit of specially trained cycle police. The American obsession with the motor car would seem to have been tamed, at least in this one small corner of the USA. The fact that one hundred and fifty bicycles take up the same space as twenty cars means that they have been busily turning car-parks into green oases rather than the other way around. As a university town, Davis has always had more than its fair share of bicycles - and of ecological awareness too. It is home to the University of California's Faculty of Agriculture, and back in the early seventies, a group of students and local people got together to develop a comprehensive environmental and social plan of action to keep Davis from the terminal urban sprawl that afflicts so many other American cities. Three of the students got themselves elected to the city council and initiated a flow of legislation that has affected every aspect of local life since then. One of those students, Bill Carter, is the current mayor of the town. Planning by-laws in Davis is based on the idea that a 'green city' is not a contradiction in terms. Houses are restricted to two storeys and business premises to four. Energy saving is at the top of this local agenda, and by the year 2000, the people of Davis expect the Californian sun to be providing half of all their energy needs. In pursuit of this objective, the town council has introduced many regulations which are designed to keep energy use to the absolute minimum. It is we 'townies' who are the ones with the most to gain by putting the notion of 'the environment' firmly at the centre of our lives - in terms of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the quality of our food and the conviviality of our communities. This is a very unusual custom by American standards! The majority of people have taken to sorting out their household waste into different piles, separating paper, metal and plastic, for example, so that specially designed dust carts can take it away for recycling. Strict building standards are enforced and thousands of trees have been planted to discourage people from installing air-conditioning. The trees provide shade exactly where it is most needed. People in Davis even hang out their washing to dry instead of throwing it in the tumble dryer. The size of building plots has been drastically reduced, so housing densities are high and there is enough room left over to make cheap allotments available to all flat owners without a garden. At forty square metres, one of these allotments can provide seventy per cent of all fruit and veg for a two-person household if properly managed. Organically managed, that is - for Davis is pretty much a pesticide-free town. There are popular street markets twice a week where locally grown produce is bought and sold, giving everyone a chance to enjoy fresh food and to provide profits to neighbouring farms. Two long-term residents of the town, Jan and Jim Hogan, told an interesting story of how, when their daughter was in her teens, she could hardly wait to head out of Davis and make a life for herself in the big city. But now she is back in the town where she grew up, with her husband and small son in tow, because she could not think of a better place to raise her own family. This kind of personal story is not surprising: Davis has no slums, no ghettos, very little unemployment and the lowest crime rate in the United States. People leave their doors unlocked. It actually works! So, it’s not a surprise that the vast majority of people in Davis support the changes that have been made.
Vocabulary. Population – население Bike=bicycle – велосипед Lane – тропинка, дорожка Train – обучать Obsession – одержимость Seem – казаться Tame – укрощать, смирять Corner – уголок Fair – честный, справедливый Share – доля Awareness – знание Agriculture – сельское хозяйство develop - разработать Comprehensive - всесторонний, подробный Environmental – экологический Keep* from – удержать от Terminal – конечный, итоговый Urban –городской Sprawl – здесь: разрастание Afflict – причинять страдания elect - избирать city council - горсовет flow of legislation - поток законов affect - влиять since then - с того времени mayor - мэр Save - спасать, уберегать At the top – во главе, на 1-м месте Agenda – повестка дны Expect – предполагать, ожидать Provide – обеспечивать Need – нужда, потребность In pursuit of – в погоне за Objective – цель Introduce – вводить, принимать Regulation – постановление Design – создавать To keep* to – удержать, свести до Custom – обычай Majority – большинство Sort out – сортировать Household waste – домашние отбросы Pile – стопа, куча Cart – повозка Recycle – перерабатывать Size – размер Plot – участок Drastically – резко Reduce – сокращать Density – плотность Allotment – земельный участок Available – доступный, имеющийся Plough – здесь: направлять Profit – прибыль Long-term – долгосрочный Resident – житель Be in one’s teens – быть подростком Hardly – вряд ли, едва Head (out of) – направиться (прочь) Grow* up – вырасти In tow – на попечении Raise – поднимать, растить Give a track record – дать описание, предисторию Vast – подавляющий Support – поддерживать By-law – постановление местных властей Premise – здесь: предпосылка Contradiction – противоречие Terms – мн.ч. термины, терминология Restrict – ограничивать Premises – помещение, помещения Slums – трущобы Unemployment – безработица Crime rate – показатели/рост преступности Unlocked – не замыкаются Actually – на самом деле Gain – достичь, приобрести Notion – понятие In terms of – с точки зрения Breathe – дышать Quality – качество Conviviality – веселое, приподнятое настроение Mean – значить, означать Turn (smth.) into – превращать в Provide – обеспечивать Household – домашнее хозяйство Properly- правильно, соотвественно Pesticide-free – свободный от пестицидов Elect – избирать Initiate – инициировать, начать Flow – поток Legislation – законодательство, законы Since then – с того времени Current – текущий, настоящий, данный Mayor - мэр Affect – влиять, воздействовать Strict - строгий Enforce – проводить в жизнь Discourage – отговорить, удержать Install – устанавливать Shade -тень Exactly – точно Hang out – вывешивать Washing –здесь: постиранное белье Dry - сушить Throw* - бросать Tumble dryer – сушилка стиральной машины Word Study. Ex. 1. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents: 1. flow of legislation a/ городское развитие 2. pesticide-free b/ потребности в электроэнергии 3. comprehensive plan c/ рост преступности 4. specially trained d/ в погоне за 5. energy needs e/ ограниченный до 2-x этажей 6. urban development f/ без пестицидов 7. ecological awareness g/ с точки зрения 8. at the top of the agenda h/ специально обученный 9. bike lane i/ горсовет 10. restricted to two storeys j/ велосипедная дорожка 11. crime rate b/ поток законов 12. in terms of k/ всесторонний план 13. town council m/ во главе повестки 14. in pursuit of n/ экологическая грамотность
Ex. 2. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents: 1. to provide shade a/ принимать постановления 2. to tame the obsession b/ удерживать от разрастания 3. to enforce strict standards c/ поддерживать перемены 4. to introduce regulations d/ вводить строгие стандарты 5. to sort out things for recycling e/ укротить одержимость 6. to support changes f/ сортировать вещи для переработки 7. to steer away from the sprawl g/ давать тень
Ex. 3. Translate the following sentences into English. 1. Дэвис, городок с 40-тысячным населением, находится в Калифорнии. 2. В нем 40 тысяч велосипедов и всего 9 тысяч автомобилей. 3. Городок пересечен (crossed) множеством велосипедных дорожек. 4. В этом городке находится сельскохозяйственный факультет университета штата Калифорния. 5. Когда-то, в начале 1970-х гг., студенты и местные жители собрались, чтобы составить всесторонний социально-экологический план действий, чтобы удержать город Дэвис от разрастания, чему подвержены так много американских городов. 6. Первым вопросом в повестке дня стоит вопрос энергосбережения. 7. Жители г. Дэвис сортируют вещи для переработки. 8. В городке популярны уличные рынки, проводимые дважды в неделю, где продают и покупают фрукты и овощи, выращенные в данной местности. 9. Это - существенная (sufficient) поддержка для местных фермеров. 10. Строящиеся дома не должны быть выше двух этажей, а здания фирм - не выше 4-х этажей. 11. Тот факт, что 110 велосипедов занимают столько же места, что и 20 автомобилей, означает, что жители города превращают его в зеленый оазис. 12. На 40 кв.метрах (площадь участков около частных домов) можно вырастить такое количество овощей и фруктов, которых хватит на семью (household) из двух человек. 13. Проводятся в жизнь строгие стандарты в строительстве, посажены тысячи деревьев. 14. Это позволяет жителям г. Дэвис обходиться без кондиционеров воздуха.
Comprehension Check. Answer the following questions: 1. What is the population of Davis? 2. How many bicycles and cars are there in the town? 3. What department of the California State University is located in Davis? 4. What is the main question in the local agenda? 5. What for the local people sort out their household wastes? 6. How often do their markets work? 7. What are the building standartds? 8. Who is the current mayor of the town? 9. What is his background?
Topics to discuss. 1. Davis and its residents. 2. Main questions in the local agenda. 3. Jan and Jim Hogan's story.
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