Text 2 charles robert darwin (1809—1882)

Charles Robert Darwin, English naturalist and author, was born at Shrewsbury, February 12, 1809. His father, Robert Warning Darwin, was a distinguished physician at Shrewsbury.

Charles Darwin studied at Shrewsbury School under Dr. S. Butler. After attending school Darwin spent two years at Edinburgh University in the study of me­dicine. In 1817 he enrolled at Cambridge University, He early devoted himself to the study of natural history. In 1831 he was appointed naturalist to a naval vessel, then about to sail on an extended surveying expedition. Darwin came home with rich stores of knowledge. He had been much impressed by the manner in which closely allied animals replace one another in proceeding south­wards in South America.

In 1837 Darwin had started a notebook in which he entered facts concerning natural selection. He saw that selection was the key-stone of man's success. Various ideas as to the causes of evolution had to be abandoned.

In 1842, he wrote out his first outline on the origin of species. He corresponded with Asa Gray, the United States naturalist, and sent Gray a letter explaining his views in 1857. This letter became afterwards classical.

Charles Lyell, author of the widely discussed “Prin­ciples of Geology”, urged Darwin to prepare a more extensive treatise. The revision was only half finished when Darwin received a letter and manuscript from A. R. Wal­lace. Wallace asked Darwin to read the manuscript and to forward it to Lyell. Darwin was much startled to find in the essay a complete abstract of his own theory of na­tural selection. It was an unusual situation: two natura­lists, working independently of each other, had simulta­neously developed theories that were identical. Both had been influenced by Th. R. Malthus' work on popula­tion, both were familiar with Lyell's views on geology, each had observed widely varying species.

Darwin sent Wallace's manuscript, together with the second draft of his own treatise, to Lyell, who con­sulted Josef D. Hooker, English botanist. On their recom­mendation both Wallace's and Darwin's essays were read as a joint paper before the Linnae Society at London. In 1859 Darwin published “The Origin of Species by Na­tural Selection”.

Although Darwin and Wallace differed in some opinions they remained friends. Darwin was, with Wallace, the first to attempt to work out a logical explanation of the variations of species, and to collect and arrange facts upon which the theory of evolution could be based.

Because of the emphasis placed upon “The Origin of Species” and “The Descent of Man” Darwin's numerous of other important contributions are frequently overlooked.

Darwin received many honours from learned societies in Great Britain and on the continent. He died at Down, Kent, England, April 19, 1882.

Exercises

Ex. 1. Comprehensive check.

1. Who was Charles Darwin? 2. Can you tell me where he was born? 3. Who was his father? 4. Will you tell me under whom Darwin studied at Shrewsbury school? 5. How long did he attend school? 6. What did he do after leaving school? 7. He was interested in the study of na­tural history, wasn't he? 8. On what expedition did he go? 9. Darwin corresponded with many scientists, didn't he? 10. Why is his correspondence with Asa Gray of special interest to us? 11. Whom did Lyell consult when Darwin sent him his own treatise and the manu­script received from Wallace? 12. What did Lyell and Hooker recommend Darwin? 13. Were Darwin and Wallace of the same opinion on all the problems concerning the theory of evolution? 14. Are you familiar with Dar­win's view on the descent of man? 15. What is your opi­nion on Darwin's main contribution to science?

Ex. 2. Answer the following questions. Note that no article is used before nouns denoting a branch of knowledge (archaeology, astronomy, biology, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, history, mathematics, mechanics, philosophy, philology, physiology, phy­sics, etc.).

Model:

1. What examinations have you already pas­sed?

2. I have passed my exams in history, li­terature, general linguistics and phonetics.

1. What examination are you going to take next spring? 2. What subjects did you like best while at school? 3. What subjects were you interested in while at the Institute (University)? 4. What course of lectures did you at­tend while a postgraduate? 5. In what field are you doing research?

Ex. 3. Insert the definite article where necessary and road the sentences aloud. Note that we say “He gives lectures in chemistry” but “He gives lectures on the chemistry of proteins”.

1. Do you take interest in . . . science? 2. Botany is . . . science of plants. 3. Pavlov studied . . . biology at the University. 4. . . . astronomy is a branch of . . . knowledge. 5. I am sure that . . . knowledge of English will help me greatly in doing . . . research. 6. What is . . . knowledge? 7. . . . nature has always inspired poets and artists. 8. Are you familiar with . . . nature of . . . radioactivity? 9. He had to take into account . . . radioactivity of this element. 10. Rutherford determined . . . nature of alpha-particles and worked out . . . theory of radioactive disintegration of elements. 11. Mendeleyev discovered . . . Law of . . . Periodicity. 12. In his youth Dr. Nash studied . . . law. 13. My sister is fond of . . . music. 14. . . . music of Chopin is very beautiful. 15. I am not interested in . . . nuclear physics. I want to do . . . research in . . . field of . . . solid-state physics.

Ex. 4. Insert articles where necessary. Remember that we say “He works at и plant” hut “He works at the Lomonosov plant”. Note that no article is used before the words school and college when they denote an educational establishment, while the word University is mostly preceded by the definite article.

1. Lomonosov managed to secure admission to . . . school by pretending to be . . . son of . . . nobleman. 2. In 1745 he returned to St. Petersburg and was appoin­ted professor of . . . chemistry at . . . University. 3. Are you going to take post-graduate courses at . . . research institute? 4. Next month my friend is going to give . . . lecture at . . . Department of Plant Anatomy of . . . In­stitute of . . . Botany. 5. My younger brother goes to . . . school. He hopes to enter . . . University and study . . . physics. 6. Does your sister work as . . . secretary at . . . office or at . . . plant? 7. Dr. Ivanov is . . . secretary of . . . scientific council of . . . Department of . . . theo­retical physics.

Ex. 5. Answer the following questions and give some additional information. Note that after the verbs answer, attend, con­sult, enjoy, enter, join, leave no preposition is needed.

Model:

1. Can you answer all my questions?

2. Sorry, I can't. I'll try to answer one question, if you please.

1. Were you able to answer all the questions put to you? 2. Have you answered the letter you received from your friend? 3. Do you regularly attend English classes? 4. Did you attend the last seminar at your lab? 5. Are you going to attend our meeting tonight? 6. When are you going to consult your scientific adviser? 7. Do you often consult the head of your laboratory on problems concerned with your work? 8. Do you have to consult the dictionary when translating texts on your speciality? 9. Did he enjoy his stay in London? 10. Did you enjoy your holiday? 11. At what age did you enter the Institute? 12. Is your sister (brother) going to enter the University? 13. Did you join any scientific circle while at the Uni­versity? 14. When did you join this laboratory? 15. When did you leave school? 16. When did you leave your na­tive town?

Ex. 6. Answer the following questions using the verbs in italics.

Model:

1. What mark did your teacher give you in li­terature? (answer).

2. He gave me a five. I answered all his ques­tions.

attend

1. What do you do to learn philosophy? 2. What did you do yesterday? I called on you but was told you were away. 3. How often are seminars held at your In­stitute?

consult

4. What do you do if you feel unwell? 5. What do you do if you come across an unfamiliar word in your text? 6. What do you do if you encounter difficulties when solving some problem?

enjoy

7. Did you like the film you saw yesterday? 8. Did you go to Kiev on holiday?

enter

9. How old is your sister? 10. Is that room vacant? Is there anybody there? 11. What Institute did your husband (wife) graduate from?

join

12. Do you attend the meetings of the Learned Geo­graphical Society? 13. How long have you been working at this laboratory?

leave

14. When did you finish school? 15. Where did you live before coming to Leningrad?

Ex. 7. Translate the following sentences into English using the verbs answer, attend, consult, enjoy, follow, join, leave.

1. Преподаватель вошел в класс. 2. Он уехал из Ле­нинграда. 3. Кто может ответить на мой вопрос? 4. Идите вперед (You go first), а я пойду за вами. 5. На лекции присутствовало только двадцать студентов. 6. On всту­пил в студенческое научное общество. 7. Советова­лись ли вы со своим руководителем? 8. Я поступил в университет в 1976 году. 9. Когда вы закончили школу? 10. Вы следили за падением температуры?

Ex. 8. Answer the questions using the verb attend.

Model:

1. Were you present at the last lecture?

2. Yes, I attended it. It was very interesting.

1. How many people were present at the lecture on polymers? 2. Are you going to be present at the next seminar on Shakespeare? 3. Did you go to English classes last year? 4. You studied at the University, didn't you? 5. Does your son (daughter) go to school?

Ex. 9. Answer the questions using the verb visit.

Model:

1. When did he go to England?

2. He visited England last year.

1. When did you go to see your friend? 2. Did you go to Petrodvoretz last Sunday? 3. Have you called on your colleague at the hospital? 4. Have you seen the new exhibition? 5. How often do you go to the Hermitage?

Ex. 10. Insert the verbs attend or visit and read the sen­tences aloud.

1. All children over seven must . . . school. 2. Have you . . . this exhibition? 3. Who . . . the meeting? 4. Will you . . . your friend to-morrow? 5. Many foreign tourists . . . our country every year. 6. While in Moscow I . . . the Gallery of Russian Art. 7. Who's going to . . . the next lecture in mathematics? 8. During my stay in Prague I . . . many places of interest.

Ex. 11. Translate the following sentences into Russian using the verbs attend от visit.

1. Он не ходит на лекции. 2. Посещаете ли вы се­минары по цитологии? 3. Вы были на выставке в Эрмитаже? 4. Правильно ли я вас понял (Am I to understand), что вы собираетесь посетить наш город? 5. Сколько людей посещает эти лекции? 6. Они никогда не ходят на наши семинары.

Ex. 12. Insert the verbs advise or consult. Note that you consult your manager (teacher); your manager advises something to you.

1. The problem you are studying is rather difficult. Did you . . . your scientific adviser on this point? What did he . . . you? 2. Who . . . you to use this method? 3. He had to . . . the reference book. 4. I . . . my doctor. He . . . me to go to the Black Sea shore.

Ex. 13. Translate the following sentences into Russian using he verbs in italics.

consult

1. Я должен посоветоваться с моим научным руко­водителем (scientific adviser, supervisor). 2. Вы должны посоветоваться с заведующим (manager, head) лабора­тории. 3. Они не советовались со мной.

advise

4. Кто посоветовал вам использовать этот метод? 5. Мой руководитель советовал мне использовать дру­гой метод (different approach). 6. Я советую вам про­верить (check) ваши данные еще раз.

Ex. 14. Give a short answer to the following questions and then add some details, using the verbs consult or advise.

Model:

1. Did you consult your scientific adviser on the subject of your work?

2. Yes, of course. I always consult him when I have some difficulties. He advised me to use a different approach.

1. Do you often consult reference books? 2. Did your supervisor advise you to read your paper at the con­ference? 3. When do you consult the dictionary? 4. Did the doctor advise you to take your leave now? 5. Are you going to consult your scientific adviser on how to do the calculations?

Ex. 15. Read the following sentences aloud and translate them into Russian paying special attention to the parts in italics.

1. Am I to understand that your scientific adviser is on leave now? 2. I was told that he was going ore a sight­seeing tour of Novgorod. 3. For all I know he is on an expe­dition to the North. 4. While on his trip to the Crimea he visited Chekhov's house.

Ex. 16. Answer the following questions using the expressions be on leave, be (go) on an expedition (to), be (go) on a tour (of), go on a trip (to).

1. Where is the secretary? (leave). 2. Where is your scientific adviser? (expedition to the North). 3. Where is the head of your laboratory? (tour of England). 4. When did you see Chekhov's house? (trip to the Crimea).

Ex. 17. Translate into English.

1. Он в отпуске. 2. Она поехала в экспедицию на се­вер. 3. Правильно ли я вас понял (Am I to understand), что вы собираетесь в поездку по Англии? 4. Я не поеду завтра на экскурсию по Ленинграду. 5. Ездили ли вы в экспедицию в прошлом году? 5. Во время моей по­ездки в Киев я познакомился (get acquainted with) с работой их лаборатории.

Ex. 18. Read the sentences aloud and translate them into Russian.

1. I was greatly impressed by what I heard in your talk. 2. We were greatly impressed by the way he conduc­ted his experiment. 3. The audience was greatly impressed by what the speaker said. 4. He was deeply impressed by what he had seen during his trip.

Ex. 19. Answer the following questions. Use the Passive Voice instead of the Active, adding adverbs greatly or deeply.

Model:

1. Did the sights of Leningrad impress you?

2. Yes, I was greatly impressed by the sights of Leningrad.

1. Did the story impress you? 2. Did the report of the new discovery impress you? 3. Did the results obtained by your colleague impress you? 4. Did the spea­ker impress the audience with his data?

Ex. 20. Translate into English using be impressed by.

1. На меня произвело большое впечатление пре­красное оборудование этой лаборатории. 2. Доклад произвел большое впечатление на слушателей (audi­ence). 3. Поездка в Новосибирск произвела на ино­странных ученых большое впечатление. 5. Фильм про­извел на меня большое впечатление.

Ex. 21. Describe briefly what impressed you a) during your trip to . . . ; b) while visiting a research centre in . . . ; c) when you heard the lecture by professor . . . .

Ex. 22. Read the following sentences aloud and translate them into Russian paying special attention to the link-verb.

1. Are you familiar with modern views on atomic structure? 2. I got familiar with Darwin's theory while at school. 3. Am I to understand that he is interested in mechanics? 4. He got interested in dynamics when a boy of 14. 5. He wasn't acquainted with my work when he wrote his thesis. 6. She got acquainted with our work after she had read our paper.

Ex. 23. Answer the following questions.

1. You say you are acquainted with the theory of. . . . When did you get acquainted with it? 2. You seem to be greatly interested in this problem. When did you get interested in it? 3. When did you get inte­rested in . . . ?

Ex. 24. Translate into English.

1. Знакомы ли вы с современными гипотезами о про­исхождении планет? 2. Когда вы познакомились с тео­рией происхождения видов? 3. Почему вы заинтересо­вались нашей работой? 4. Он очень (greatly) интересу­ется нашими результатами. 5. Правильно ли я вас понял, что вы не знаете наших работ?

Ex. 25. React to the following statements. Use the expressions in one's opinion, be of the same (different) opinion on, . . .

Model:

1. I think this theory works well.

2. a) I am of the same opinion. b) I am of a different opinion. In my opi­nion this theory does not work at all.

1. To my mind this approach will give reliable re-suits. 2. I am afraid we must use some other approach. 3. There are no opponents of Darwin's theory today. 4. Darwin collected most of his data during his expedi­tion.

Ex. 26. Insert prepositions where necessary and read the sentences aloud.

1. Charles Darwin devoted much time . . . the study of natural history. 2. He went . . . a geological expedi­tion. 3. He was much impressed . . . what he had learned. 4. He is familiar . . . modern views . . . the origin . . . our Galaxy. 5. He consulted . . . an English botanist . . . this point. 6. They differ . . . opinion . . . this sub­ject. 7. He based his theory . . . reliable facts. 8. I was greatly impressed . . . the sights . . . the city. 9. My fellow-worker and I are going . . . a scientific expedition . . . the south. 10. We devote much effort . . . experimental work. 11. I got familiar . . . the theory . . . the descent . . . man while . . . school. 12. Is Dr. Brown here? No, he is away . . . leave. 13. He is . . . the opinion that these facts are reliable. 14. . . . my opinion their ap­proach is quite wrong.

Ex. 27. Translate the following sentences using the words in italics.

devote (to)

1. Кому посвящена эта рукопись? 2. Он посвятил все свое время исследованиям. 3. Они отдали все свои силы (efforts) естественным наукам.

learned (adj.)

4. Кто ученый секретарь в вашем институте? 5. Он выступал в научном географическом обществе. 6. Это научный кружок (society)? 7. Он очень (highly) обра­зованный (знающий) человек;

start

8. Когда отправляется поезд? 9. Они сразу начали свою работу. 10. Он начал свой доклад с (with) корот­кого вступления (исторического введения).

enter something (without any preposition)

11. Он не входил в комнату. 12. Моя дочь уже по­ступила в университет. 13. Я поступил в институт в 1967 году.

to consult somebody (something) (without any preposition)

14. Вы должны посоветоваться с врачом. 15. Вы смо­трели словарь? (Вы обращались к словарю?) 16. Когда вы поговорите со своим руководителем?

attend (something) (without any preposition)

17. Он не посещает английских занятий (classes). 18. Вы были на прошлой лекции? 19. На нашем семи­наре присутствовало 44 человека. 20. Моя дочь ходит в школу.

develop

21. Он разработал новый метод. 22. Они выдвинули смелую (bold) гипотезу. 23. Мой сын проявляет боль­шой (great) интерес к (in) математике. 24. Вы проявили свои фотопленки (films)?

Ex. 28. Translate into English.

1. Под чьим руководством занимался Дарвин? 2. Под руководством профессора Петрова наш институт стал крупным (important) научным центром. 3. Группа (team) профессора Вагина проводит интересные иссле­дования. 4. Когда Попов был выбран (назначен) про­фессором? 5. Кто назначен директором вашего инсти­тута? 6. На Дарвина произвело большое впечатление то, что он увидел в Южной Америке. 7. Картины Рем­брандта всегда производят на меня глубокое впечатле­ние. 8. Что вам больше всего понравилось (произвело на вас самое большое впечатление) во время вашей поездки? 9. Его доклад широко обсуждался. 10. Имя Павлова широко известно за пределами нашей страны (outside this country). 11. Кто разработал эту теорию? 12. Теория, разработанная Дарвином, не была общепризнана в его время. 13. На Дарвина оказала большое влияние работа Мальтуса. 14. Советовались ли вы со своим руководителем? 15. Что посоветовал вам ваш руководитель? 16. Кто посоветовал вам вступить (to join) в студенческий клуб? 17. Советовал ли вам ваш преподаватель прочитать эту статью? 18. Посове­туйтесь со своими товарищами по работе (fellow-workers). 19. По моему мнению, он знаком с этой теорией. 20. Он собрал и привел в систему необходимые данные.

Ex. 29. a) Give a survey of Darwin's life before he wrote his first outline of the origin of species.

Use: be born at (in); attend school; spend some years in the study of . . . ; devote oneself to . . . ; be appointed . . . ; come home with rich stores of knowledge; be impressed by . . . ; abandon ideas as to the causes of . . . .

b) Give a short outline of Darwin's work.

Use: write an outline on . . . ; correspond with . . . ; explain one's views; prepare an extensive treatise; work independently of each other; develop identical theories; read a joint paper; differ in some opinion; attempt to work out a logical explanation of . . . ; collect and arrange facts; base the theory of . . . on . . . .

c) Describe briefly your current research.

Use: study (work, do research) under . . . ; consult somebody on . . . ; attend lectures (classes, seminars); go on an expedition (a trip); be impressed by . . . ; develop a method (procedure, theory); be familiar with . . . ; write a joint paper; differ in opinion on . . . ; work out an expla­nation (a theory, an approach); collect and arrange facts (data, observations); attend the meetings of a learned society.

Ex. 30. Make up a short talk about yourself. Use the questions below as a guide.

1. When were you born? 2. Who were your parents? 3. You attended school in Leningrad, didn't you? 4. Have you ever attended English classes? 5. Under whom did you study at the University (Institute)? 6. You often go on expeditions, don't you? 7. What impressed you most when you joined your laboratory? 8. When did you get familiar with . . . views on . . . ? 9. Have you already collected and arranged necessary data (facts, observations)? 10. When do you usually consult your scientific adviser? 11. Are you always of the same opinion on аll the problems concerning your field or do your opinions sometimes differ? 12. Do you correspond with any foreign scientists? 13. You attend all the laboratory seminars, don't you? 14. Are you familiar with current problems discussed at these seminars? 15. What problems are you especially interested in? 16. Have you written any joint papers with any of your colleagues? 17. Did you take part in the work of the students' learned society when an undergraduate?