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UNIT V. MADE IN THE USA

Assignment 1.

Read the text. Translate it (orally). Make use of the Notes and the Vocabulary.

TEXT

FROM COFFEE TO WHEELS FOR ALL MANKIND

In 1873, when Joel Owsley Cheek reached the age of twenty-one, his father gave him the traditional silver dollar. This represented his freedom to go out into the world to seek his fame and fortune.

Joel left the family farm in Kentucky and joined a firm of wholesale grocers as a travelling salesman, going from village to village. However, it was the coffee that held a special fascination for him and in his spare hours he experimented, selecting different beans, varying their proportions and roasting times – creating new blends.

He spent most of his time searching for the elusive «perfect blend» of coffee. In 1882, he felt that he had found it. Now he wanted to let the world know, but how could he do this?

Joel knew that the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville was where the president, senators, diplomats, and leading Europeans met and stayed. Could he persuade the management to let him demonstrate «his» blend there? He was sure this would be the best way of testing his judgement. The hotel did co-operate and within weeks distinguished visitors were enjoying his coffee and singing its praises. Many years later, when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the hotel, he was heard to say of the coffee, «It is good to the last drop».

Unfortunately, in 1961, the Maxwell House, Hotel-caught fire, and was destroyed Few people may know of Joel Cheek, but around the world people drink his blend of coffee, Maxwell House, thus commemorating the inventor and the hotel where the coffee first found fame.

In many ways the tale of Henry Ford and the product associated with his name is a microcosm of American economic history — a story of trial and error, of innovation and ultimate success. A fanner with a penchant for things mechanical, the young Ford quit school at 17, began building small steam engines, and drove his first bicycle-wheeled, engine-driven device in 1896.

It was a primitive affair, much simpler than cars already on the roads in Europe, and it was not until 1901 that the stubborn tinker, after several false starts, got enough financial support to start the Henry Ford Automobile Company. Financial disputes arose and Ford left. Two years later, with new backers, he established the Ford Motor Company. (When in 1919 Ford bought all outstanding shares original investors reaped heavy rewards; a share that cost $100 was then worth $260,000.)

Ford was convinced that he could produce a good car at a reasonable price, and on October 1, 1908, he realized his dream with the unveiling of the Ford Model T. This was a straightforward, sturdy machine made of the best metals young Henry could obtain and propelled by a single 4-cylinder, 22-horsepower, 167-cubic-inch engine. As early as 1913, his company was able to produce an astonishing 1,000 Ts per day.

The T was an instant success and within months was outselling other American cars combined. What is more, Ford promised to reduce the T's price. From $850 in 1909, the price dropped steadily to $260 for some models by 1924. By then, however, other manufacturers' inexpensive cars with better methods of changing gears and more speed were outperforming the Ton America's improved roads.

Recognizing this, Ford and his engineers went to work, and in late 1927 they were ready with the company's second breakthrough — the Model A. The car caught America's imagination, and like its predecessor, the Model T, was an instant success. There was nothing revolutionary about the engine, but the car's classic good looks and sturdiness endeared it to millions. Some 4.5 million Model A's were built in five years, and even the most expensive version sold for under $600. Today the Model A Restorers Club has thousands of members, who proudly drive their prizes.

But times were changing. The Detroit manufacturers realized that the mass market was not only growing but would buy a wide variety of cars. This trend was encouraged by General Motors, which began to make annual model changes, supported by intensive advertising campaigns. The Detroit design syndrome was soon established. Each year the new models had to be sufficiently different from the ones before, to set them clearly apart (so that one's neighbours would be sure to know that a car was new); yet it could not be so drastically changed as to put it out of character with previous models.

Today-the Big Three — General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler — manufacture many different products. But the automotive industry owes an enduring debt to a mechanical genius named Henry Ford, the man who first put Americans on wheels.

Notes and Commentary

Kentucky — Кентуки, название одного из штатов США

Nashville — Нэшвил, небольшой город в США

Detroit — Детройт, один из центров автомобилестроения в США

General Motors, Chrysler — Дженерал Моторс, Краислер, две крупнейшие автомобилестроительные компании, которые совместно с компанией Форд образуют так называемую «Большую Тройку»

Vocabulary

silver (n) cepeбpo

wholesale (n) оптовая продажа, продажа оптом

wholesale (a) оптовый

wholesale (v) продавать оптом

outstanding shares привилегированные акций

breakthrough (n) прорыв (зд. новая исключительная модель

машины)

advertising campaign рекламная кампания

TEXT ANALYSIS

Assignment 2

Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

A microcosm of American economic history; to reap heavy rewards; to put the new model out of character with previous models; to test one's judgement; to join a firm of wholesale grocers; to put Americans on wheels; to search for the elusive «perfect blend» of coffee; annual model changes; a primitive affair; to commemorate the inventor; to set the models clearly apart; to be an instant success.

Assignment 3

Look through the above text again. Suggest the English for the phrases below.

Классический внешний вид; финансовая поддержка; искать славу и богатство; радикально измениться; переключать скорости; основать компанию; коммивояжер; создавать новые сорта кофе; знаменитые посетители; продаваться лучше других машин вместе взятых.

Assignment 4

On a separate sheet of paper, translate from English into Russian Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the text beginning with the words «In many ways...» and ending with the words «...was then worth $260,000». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Assignments 5

Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases

only once.

To seek; dream; debt; fire; travelling; success; to catch; to persuade.

1) ______________ someone's imagination .

2) to owe an enduring_________

3) _____________ his fame and fortune

4) a_________salesman

5) to catch_____

6) to realize one's _____________

7) _____________the management

8) a story of innovation and ultimate ______

Assignment 6

Fill in the correct preposition,

1) _______ a reasonable price

2) to be good _______the last drop

3) a penchant ______ mechanical things

4) to search _______ the perfect blend of coffee

5) to hold a special fascination ______ someone

6) the price _______ some models

7) to sell a model ______under $600

8) nothing revolutionary ______ the engine

9) to drop ______ $260

10) to be ready _______ something

Assignment 7

Determine which of the following statements are true and which are false. Put T or F in the empty boxes. Rewrite false statements to make them true.

Ford was not sure if he would produce a good car at a reasonable price.
Americans liked the Model A at once.
No one knows the blend of coffee called Maxwell House.
The car manufacturers were in the habit of producing new models every year.
Original investors did not get extra money when in 1919 Ford bought all outstanding shares.

Assignment 8

Look through the text again and write down words and word combinations appropriate to describe:

a) how Joel Owsley Cheek let the world know that he had found a new

blend of coffee;

b) the «Detroit design syndrome».

How did Joel Owsley Cheek let the world know that he had found a new blend of coffee?
The Detroit design syndrome.

Assignment 9

Use the information in the text to answer the questions (in written form).

1. When Joel Owsley Cheek's father gave him the traditional silver dollar, what did

it represent?

2. Why did Joel want to demonstrate his blend of coffee in the Maxwell House

Hotel in Nashville?

3. Why is Henry Ford's life considered to be a microcosm of American economic

history?

4. What was so special about Ford's cars?

5. Why does the automotive industry owe an enduring debt to a mechanical genius

named Henry Ford?

Assignment 10

From the text; select those facts and ideas concerning Joel Owsley Cheek's fascination for coffee (in written form).

Assignment 11

Say what the text is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).

Assignment 12

Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences. Do it in written form.

GRAMMAR REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT

Assignment 13

Review the Grammar material «The Passive Voice».

The main patterns of the Passive Voice are those presented in below. Study the patterns. Make sure you are familiar with all of them and you know how to translate the sentences from English into Russian.

The world is ruled by the ideas of economists and political philosophers.

The new model of the car is not so drastically changed as to put it out of

character with the previous model.

The production, exchange, and consumption of goods and services are discussed from the viewpoint of society's best interest.