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1. Read the text about mechanical engineering and find answers to the following questions:

1. What is civil engineering?

2. What trend laid the foundation for a new branch of engineering called mechanical engineering?

3. What does mechanical engineering deal with?

The term «engineering» is a modern one. However, the art of building houses, palaces, temples, pyramids and other structures was known as far back as many thousand years ago. Now we call it civil engineering. The former included the building of houses, roads, bridges, etc., the latter  the building of fortifications and military devices. As the time went on the art of civil engineering was enriched with new achievements of science. It grew into a profession that required college training. Nowadays civil engineering may be spoken of as an important branch of national economy. It deals not only with the building of houses, bridges, roads, tunnels, dams, water systems, etc., but also with the construction of railroads, underground railways, industrial structures, land, water and air transport, etc.

It is well known that with the invention of the steam engine and the growth of factories a number of civil engineers became interested in the practical application of the science of mechanics and thermodynamics to the design of machines. The result was that they separated themselves from civil engineering and called themselves «mechanical engineers». It was that trend that laid the foundation for a new branch of engineering, the one that was called mechanical engineering.

At present mechanical engineering occupies a prominent position. Mechanical engineering deals with the design and construction of steam engines, turbines, refrigerators and air-conditioning devices. Conveyors, escalators and elevators are also designed by mechanical engineers. And again, it is the mechanical engineer that designs machine tools for various operations and it is he who applies these machine-tools for various operations and production processes.

Mechanical engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines.

It requires a solid understanding of core concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and energy. Mechanical engineers use the core principles as well as other knowledge in the field to design and analyze motor vehicles, aircraft, heating and cooling systems, watercraft, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, robotics, medical devices and more.

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1. Read the text about history of mechanical engineering and find answers to the following questions:

1. What influenced mechanics in ancient Greece?

2. Who invented a seismometer?

3. Who was the first to develop an escapement mechanism?

4. What era is called Islamic golden age?

5. What is Islamic golden age famous for?

6. When and where did mechanical engineering become a separate field within engineering?

Applications of mechanical engineering are found in the records of many ancient and medieval societies throughout the globe. In ancient Greece, the works of Archimedes (287 BC–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (10–70 AD) deeply influenced mechanics in the Western tradition. In China, Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) improved a water clock and invented a seismometer, and Ma Jun (200–265 AD) invented a chariot with differential gears. The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (1020–1101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before any escapement could be found in clocks of medieval Europe, as well as the world’s first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.

During the years from 7th to 15th century, the era called islamic golden age, there have been remarkable contributions from muslims in the field of mechanical technology, Al Jaziri, who was one of them, wrote his famous «Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices» in 1206 presented many mechanical designs. He is also considered to be the inventor of such mechanical devices which now form the very basic of mechanisms, such as crank and camshafts.

During the early 19th century in England and Scotland, the development of machine tools led mechanical engineering to develop as a separate field within engineering, providing manufacturing machines and the engines to power them. The first British professional society of mechanical engineers was formed in 1847 thirty years after civil engineers formed the first such professional society. In the United States, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was formed in 1880, becoming the third such professional engineering society, after the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852) and the American Institute of Mining Engineers (1871). The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. Education in mechanical engineering has historically been based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science.

Field of mechanical engineering is normally considered the broadest of all engineering disciplines. Work of mechanical engineering can be seen from the bottom of the oceans to the farthest boundaries of space which man has ever been able to reach.