Industrial revolution

[1] Industrial Revolution is a process of transferring from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. The most important of the changes that led to the first Industrial Revolution were (1) the invention of machines to do the work of hand tools; (2) the use of steam, and later of other kinds of power, instead of the muscles of human beings and of animals; (3) the development of the factory system of manufacture.

[2] The Industrial Revolution began in England in the 18th century with two inventions in the textile industry. In 1733, John Kay devised the flying shuttle¹. It enabled one person to handle a wide loom more rapidly than two persons could operate it before. 31 years later, James Hargreaves designed the spinning jenny² for making yarn. It enabled one worker to run eight spindles³ instead of one. These inventions completely transformed the textile industry, in which almost no change had occurred for thousands of years.

[3] While textile machinery was developing, progress was being made in other directions. In 1763, James Watt, a Scottish mechanic, was asked to repair a model of a Newcomen’s steam engine. He saw how crude and inefficient it was and by a series of improvements made it a practical device for running machinery.

Wheels turned by running water had been the chief source of power for the early factories. These were necessarily situated on swift-running rivers. When the steam engine became efficient, it was possible to locate factories in more convenient places.

The first users of steam engines were the coal and iron industries. They were destined to be basic industries in the new age of machinery. As early as 1720, many steam engines were in operation. In coal mines, they pumped out the water, which usually flooded the deep shafts. In the iron industry, they pumped water to create the draft⁴ in blast furnaces⁵.

[4] The adoption of the new inventions went hand in hand with the rapid development of the factory system of manufacture. The new methods increased the amount of goods produced and decreased the cost of production.

The factory system changed people's way of life. Labor became a commodity. Farm laborers and artisans flocked to the manufacturing centers and became industrial workers. Cities grew rapidly, and the percentage of farmers in the total population declined. By 1850, most Englishmen were laboring in industrial towns and Great Britain had become the workshop of the world.

[5] From Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread gradually throughout Western Europe and to the United States. However, by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, only a small number of industries in the most industrialized nations of the world had adopted advanced methods of production and labor organization. Much of the world had not yet begun a first industrial revolution. Russia, Canada, Italy, and Japan were just beginning to industrialize.

Only Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France, and some Scandinavian countries had successfully completed an industrial revolution. China, India, and Spain began to industrialize only in the 1950s-60s. Most of the world's population still works in primitive agricultural economies.

Notes: 1) flying shuttle – челнок [ткацкого станка]

2) spinning jenny – прядильная машина периодического действия

3) to run a spindle – управлять веретеном

4) draft – тяга

5) blast furnace – доменная печь

Упр.10. Перепишите и письменно переведите 4 и 5 абзацы текста.

Упр.11. Ответьте на поставленные вопросы, выбрав правильный вариант(ы).

1) What was one of the most important changes that led to the first Industrial Revolution?

a) rapid development of the coal and iron industries

b) the invention of the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny and the steam engine

c) movement of people from farms to the manufacturing centers

2) When did James Hargreaves design the spinning jenny for making yarn?

a) in 1733

b) in 1763

c) in 1764

3) Why had the early factories been necessarily located on swift-running rivers before the steam engine was invented?

a) because water wheels had been the chief source of power for the early factories

b) because it had been cheaper and more convenient to construct the early factories near rivers

c) because all the manufacturing cities had been situated on swift-running rivers

4) What branches of industry were the first users of steam engines?

a) the textile industry

b) the rail industry

c) the coal industry

5) What were the first steam engines used for in coal mines?

a) for pumping water in order to create the draft in blast furnaces

b) for pumping water out of the deep shafts

c) for pumping air into the deep shafts

6) When did China, India, and Spain begin to industrialize?

a) at the beginning of the 20^th century

b) in the middle of the 20^th century

c) at the end of the 20^th century

Приложение № 1.

Оформление титульного листа

(образец)

О РЕНБУРГСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ ПУТЕЙ СООБЩЕНИЯ

(ОрИПС – филиал СамГУПС)

Кафедра «………………………..»

Контрольная работа по дисциплине «…»

на тему: «…»

Выполнил: Проверил:

Студент группы:

Петров Александр Сергеевич Иванов Иван Иванович

(Фамилия, имя, отчество) (Фамилия, инициалы, степень,

звание)

Оренбург 20…

Приложение № 2.