The first transcontinental railroad

In the united states

Ex. 1. Practice the reading of the words and phrases:

intensify, technology, journey, completion, enormous, government, guarantee, enough, during, efficient, rarely, ceremony, crew, drawbridge, incredible;

Central Pacific Company, Union Pacific Company, plague-infected.

Ex. 2. Practice the reading of the proper names.

• California [ˏkælɪ'fɔ:nɪǝ] – Калифорния (штат США)

• China ['ʧaɪnǝ] – Китай; Chinese ['ʧaɪ'ni:z] – китайский

• Nebraska [nɪ'bræskǝ] – Небраска (штат США)

• Omaha ['ǝumǝhɑ:] – Омаха (город в США, штат Небраска)

• Promontory ['prɔmənt(ə)rɪ] – Промонтори (город в США, штат Юта)

• Sacramento [ˏsækrǝ'mentəu] – Сакраменто (город в США, штат Калифорния)

• San Joaquin [ˏsænwɑ:'ki:n] – Сан-Хоакин (река в США)

• Utah ['ju:tɑ:] – Юта (штат США)

Ex. 3. Copy the following words and phrases and memorize their meanings.

to attract – привлекать crew – бригада drawbridge – разводной мост hard working – трудолюбивый to introduce – внедрять, вводить в эксплуатацию introduction – внедрение, ввод в эксплуатацию to invent – изобретать, создавать invention – изобретение inventor – изобретатель to lend – давать взаймы, предоставлять ссуду to prefer – предпочитать to promote – содействовать, способствовать, стимулировать to raise money – занимать деньги, получить ссуду to separate – отделять, разделять separate – отдельный, раздельный spike – костыль to stretch – простираться, тянуться

Ex. 4. Read the sentences and translate them into Russian.

1. For many centuries before the invention of the steam engine, transportation by water was much easier and cheaper than that by land.

2. Two or more locomotives can be coupled together and operated by a single locomotive crew.

3. Several American railroads operate trains called RoadRailers, vehicles that have both rail and highway wheels. On the railroad, they run pulled by locomotives, then are separated and moved by highway tractors (тягач) to their final destinations.

4. Automatic block and other kinds of modern signaling are being widely introduced to ensure the safety of train movement at high speeds.

5. In the century before the airplane was invented, the railroad became a main means of land transportation in North America and Europe.

6. Neither passengers nor train crew were injured in the accident.

7. A drawbridge is a bridge that can be pulled up, for example to stop people from entering a castle or to allow ships to pass under it.

8. Some old steam locomotives are still being used on tourist routes in England, attracting a lot of foreign tourists.

9. James Watt, a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, was famous for his improvements of the steam engine.

10. The Union Pacific Railroad was opened for traffic on 10 May 1869. There was a special ceremony, in which a large golden spike was hit with a silver hammer to mark the first railway stretching from the east to the west of America.

11. Today, most Americans prefer to travel by plane. Prices for flights are just slightly higher or equal to train tickets to the same destination.

12. Railroad signals are used to inform the engine crews of track conditions ahead and to tell them how to operate the train.

Ex. 5. Read the sentences, replacing the Russian words with their English equivalents.

1. Отдельные compartments in passenger cars first appeared in Europe in 1873.

2. Steven Roberts designed the T-rail in 1830, and later the railroad костыль.

3. The El Ferdan Railway Bridge crossing the Suez Canal is the world's largest разводной мост.

4. The usual length of rails when locomotives были пущены в эксплуатацию was 0.9 m, but in the 1830s it was increased 6.1 m.

5. Most of my friends take the bus to school, but I предпочитаю to walk.

6. In the Grand Prix motor racing, just a few seconds sometimes отделяют the fastest car from the slowest car in a race.

7. A lot of banks are unwilling to давать взаймы money to new businesses.

8. The next бригада comes on duty at 9 o’clock.

9. One of the American locomotives built in 1934 привлёк much attention of the public, as it was the first loco powered by the diesel-electric engine.

10. To carry fresh meat, fruits, vegetables and other food products over long distances became possible due to the изобретению of the refrigerator car.

Ex. 6. Complete the sentences with a required word from the list.

The lighthouse (маяк) is ___ from the land by a wide channel. We are looking for someone who is reliable and ___. They agreed to ___ us the car on condition that we returned it before the weekend. Movie stars often ___ to travel incognito. Keep your bank card and your PIN number ___. The aim of the meeting is to ___ trade between the two countries. In 2007, high-speed trains traveling at 350 km/h were ___ in Spain. The Trans-Siberian Mainline is the longest single rail system in Russia, ___ from Moscow 9,198 km east to Vladivostok. The bright flowers growing along the railroad track ___ the attention of all the passengers. George Pullman not only ___ the sleeping car, he also was the first to design and build the dining car. In 1814, Stephenson made a design of the Blücher, one of the first locomotives but he couldn’t ___ to build it. Rudolf Diesel designed the engine, which was one of the greatest ___ of the 20th century.

attracted hard-working introduced invented inventions lend prefer promote raise money separate separated stretching

Ex. 7. Translate the following words and phrases. Find their equivalents in the box given below. Consult a dictionary if necessary.

Steam powered, nation, to advance, enormous, to get sick, custom, to hire, incredible, growth, to call for.

to become ill country to develop increase to employ to require steam operated tradition huge unbelievable

Ex. 8. Read the sentences, replacing the underlined words with their equivalents, and translate them.

1. There is a growing tendency among employers to hire part-time staff.

2. If you take vitamin C every day, it helps to stop you becoming ill.

3. The amount of time and money they have spent on the project is unbelievable.

4. Representatives from the world’s leading industrial nations will meet in Geneva.

5. There was an increase of approximately 17% in the urban population between 1910 and 1920.

6. Steam-operated railways began to appear in the East of the USA in the 1820s.

7. Computer technology is advancing very rapidly.

8. There is an enormous growth in the number of businesses using the Web.

9. It’s incredible how much Tom has changed since I met him.

10. Businesses may employ foreign workers where an American cannot be found.

11. The tradition of sending birthday cards began in the 19th century.

12. Diesel and electric locomotives are cleaner, more efficient and require less maintenance than steam-powered locomotives.

Ex. 9. Read the sentences, replacing the Russian words with their English equivalents.

1. The construction of the first railways требовать огромный efforts as only manual labor was used.

2. It was невероятно that nobody paid attention to the new изобретение.

3. Грузы that требовать certain temperatures during transit могут перевозиться in refrigerator cars but refrigerated containers are becoming more dominant.

4. At the last minute, I заболеть and couldn’t go Italy with my friends.

5. The construction of this high-speed line is being actively supported by the government because the развитие of heavy industry in this region требовать надёжный and speedy railway перевозки.

6. When Uncle Guy arrived from Dublin he brought them an огромный box of chocolates.

7. Improved airline service led to an 18.7 % увеличение in tourists to Africa last year.

8. The idea of traveling to other solar systems may sound невероятный but scientists now see it as a real possibility.

9. Some 18,000 men нанимать на работу in the construction of the Central Railway of Peru. This railway was laid down in the Andes at altitudes over 15,000 feet.

10. The Liverpool-Manchester Railway was built in 1829; in 10 years, the работающие на паровой тяге railways were already in wide use all over Britain.

Ex. 10. Using the words given in the box, translate the following phrases:

государственная земля, золотая лихорадка, квалифицированный работник, кипятить воду, принять законопроект, присутствовать на церемонии, соблюдать обычаи, столкнуться с проблемой.

to attend bill to boil ceremony custom efficient employee to face to follow gold land pass problem public rush water

Ex. 11. Read the text and translate it into Russian.