8. Read and translate the text.
I
saac
Newton was born in 1642 at Woolsthorpe
in
Lincolnshire. He did not show any signs of
cleverness
in his early schooldays. When he
grew
older his mother wanted him to help her
on
the farm, for his father was dead. But the boy
did
not like this; he was now fascinated by
mathematics,
and in 1661 he went to Cambridge
University,
where he took first degree
four
years later. Then the Great Plague came.
The
university was closed, and Newton went
back
to his quiet home in Woolsthorpe. It was
during
the next few months that he carried out
his
first important researches into the nature of
light.
Newton’s original reflector, completed
about
1671, had a mirror two and a half centimeters
across;
the largest telescope in the world
today
has a mirror over 500 centimeters across!
He
went back to Cambridge as soon as the
Plague
danger was over. He became the Fellow
of
the Royal Society, and came into contact
with
many other brilliant men. Among them
there
were Christopher Wren, and Edmund
Halley.
It has been said that Newton was sitting
in
his Woolsthorpe garden when he saw an apple
fall
off a tree. This started a chain of thoughts
in
his mind, and he realized that the force p
ulling
on
the apple was the same as the force which keeps the Moon in its path
round the Earth.
From
this he was led to draw up the laws of
gravitation.
There is strong evidence that this
story
–
unlike most of its kind –
is true. At any
rate,
Halley persuaded Newton to rework the
calculation,
and public them in a book. The result
was
the great volume known generally as
“The
Principia”. It was completed in 1687. For
many
years Newton served as president of the Royal Society. When he died,
in 1727, he was
buried
in Westminster Abbey.
9. For questions (1–6) choose the correct answer (a, b or c)
1. Was Isaac Newton born in __?
A. 1642
B. 1548
C. 1799
2. Did Newton go to __ in 1661?
A. Kiev National University
B. Cambridge University
C. Donets’k Medical University.
3. Did the Great Plague come then?
A. Yes, it did.
B. Yes, it does.
C. No, it didn’t.
4. Was Newton’s original reflector completed about __?
A. 1895
B. 1633
C. 1671
5. What fell on Newton’s head?
A. apple
B. banana
C. orange
6. Did Newton serve as __ for many years?
A. president of the Royal Society
B. president of the Royal Court
C. president of Ukraine.
10. Do the task under the pictures.
11. Read the following information and answer the questions.
Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone
In the 1870s, two inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both independently designed devices that could transmit speech electrically (the telephone). Both men rushed their respective designs to the patent office within hours of each other; Alexander Graham Bell patented his telephone first. Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell entered into a famous legal battle over the invention of the telephone, which Bell won.
D
ouglas
C. Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse
I
n
1964, the first prototype computer mouse was made to use with a
graphical user interface (GUI), 'windows'. Engelbart received a
patent for the wooden shell with two metal wheels (computer mouse)
in 1970. "It was nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out
the end," Engelbart revealed about his invention.
Chester Greenwood, inventor of ear muffs
After wrapping his head in a scarf that was too bulky, Chester Greenwood made two ear-shaped loops from wire and asked his grandmother to sew fur on them. He patented an improved model with a steel band that held them in place and with Greenwood’s Champion Ear Protectors, he established the Greenwood’s Ear Protector Factory.
When was the telephone invented?
Who designed devices that could transmit speech electrically?
Who first patented the telephone?
Who was the inventor of the computer mouse?
How did the first prototype computer mouse look like?
What invention belongs to Chester Greenwood?
How did he invent Ear Protectors?