Vocabulary

3. Match the words from the text with the meanings (1-7) below:

a. mine 1. the ore from which aluminum is made

b. furnace 2. baked clay

c. process 3. to dig a hole in order to obtain something

d. brick 4. extremely large

e. bauxite 5. an enclosed space in which a hot fire ismade to extract metals from ores

f. giant 6. a rock from which metal can be obtained

g. liquid 7. a substance which is not a solid or a gas

h. ore 8. a connected set of actions which are carriedout to obtain a particular result

Speaking and Writing

4. Arrange the following sentences according to the process ofmelting described in the text:

1 The liquid iron is poured out into a mold to cool and becomesolid.

2 The ore is put in a steel furnace.

3 A coke is added with limestone.

4 The metal in the ore becomes liquid and sinks to the bottom.

5 Hot air is forced into a furnace.

6 Slag rises to the top and is skimmed off.

5. Make up a report on how metals are produced using the followingclichés:

1. First iron ore is mined.

2. Then … / Secondly … .

3. After that … / Thirdly… .

4. Later… .

5. In the end … / Finally

UNIT XVI

Tantalum

Before you start

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What rare metals do you know?

2. Why are these metals important in metallurgy?

Vocabulary

2. Match the words from the text with the meanings (1-7) below:

a. withdraw 1. metal in the form of a thread

b. disrupt 2. similar cells and their products produced byhuman beings

c. fracture 3. the branch of medicine

d. tissue 4. to bother

e. wire 5. to be broken

f. surgery 6. to take away

g. irritate 7. to throw into disorder

Reading

3. Read the text and find answers to the questions below:

1. Why is tantalum named after the hero of Greek mythologyhero?

2. Why is it difficult to get tantalum in a pure state?

3. Where can tantalum be used?

4. What are the properties of tantalum?

Tantalum

First of all, where does the name of this metal come from? Themetal, grey and hard, was named after Tantalus, a hero of Greekmythology. Tantalus was the son of Zeus ['zju:s] and the nymphPluto ['plu:tqu] and father of Niobe ["naI'qub]. Tantalus wasseverely punished because he revealed the secret of Zeus. He was

plunged up to the chin in water with the fruit hanging over his head.

But both water and fruit withdraw from him, whenever he tried toreach for them.In the early nineteenth century Ekeberg, a Swedish scientist,suffered about as much as Tantalus himself when he discovered anew element in some minerals but could not get it pure. The firstchemist who got it in a comparatively pure state was Berzelius. Buteven he failed. It was really his follower Henry Rose who finally gotpure tantalum after he had studied its properties for almost fifteen

years. In fact, even now it is difficult to get pure tantalum.

What about the uses of this rare metal? Where is it applied? Ithas important uses in medicine, to begin with. Surgeons fix upfractured bones and skulls and unite tissues with it. They also usetantalum to replace muscles. And they knit together sinews with finetantalum wire.

Doctors believe it possible to make use of tantalum in surgerybecause it does not irritate tissues. And it does not disrupt thefunctions of the body either. Tantalum is both hard and flexible. As amatter of fact, it is so flexible that it can be easily drawn out into thefinest wire. Tantalum resists corrosion. That is why it is fit for liningchemical apparatus. Besides, it has a most important use inmetallurgy. It is good for making high-quality steels. Of course,tantalum is still a rare and valuable metal, and so it cannot be usedwidely.

Speaking and Writing

4. Arrange the following sentences according to logic of the text:

1. Tantalum is very useful in metallurgy.

2. Tantalum is suitable for lining chemical devices.

3. This chemical element was called after a hero of Greekmythology.

4. This metal doesn’t irritate tissues during surgical operations.

5. It is very difficult to obtain pure tantalum even now.

4. Read the text once more and fill in the table:

scope	properties	purpose of using
medicine ……………… ………………	flexibility ……………… ………………	unite issues ………………… ………………

UNIT XVII

Thallium

Before you start

1. What do you think will happen when the world runs out of metals?