THE WORLD AROUND ME

Федеральное агентство по образованию

Государственное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования «Пермский государственный технический университет»

Кафедра иностранных языков и связей с общественностью

И.В. СКУРИДИНА

THE WORLD AROUND ME

Утверждено Редакционно-издательским советом университета

в качестве учебного пособия

Издательство Пермского государственного технического университета

2009

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TEXT 1

A FAMOUS INVENTOR

Memorize the words:

to gain knowledge – приобрести знания to transmit sound – передавать звук transmitter – передатчик

to achieve good results – достичь хороших результатов to fix to the wires – присоединить к проводам conversation – разговор

Graham Ball, the inventor of the telephone, was born in Scotland, the United Kingdom, in 1847. He lived in the U.S. till 1922.

Graham Bell was not a scientist, he was a teacher. He did not know much about electricity, but he wanted to gain knowledge about it. He concentrated all his energy on research. There was little money for food and little time for research. Day and night, hour after hour Ball and his friend Watson were testing the telephone which they had built. Sometimes their telephone worked well, and sometimes it did not transmit sound.

"We must improve the apparatus, and we shall improve it", Bell said. They used a new instrument to transmit sound. Bell named this instrument a "transmitter". One day Watson brought the new transmitter to the laboratory and fixed it to the wires. Bell went into another room where he had a telephone. After a moment Watson heard Bell speaking over the phone. He was saying: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you here". This was their first telephone conversation, which took place on the 10-th of March 1876. Graham Bell was 29 at that time. After some years there were telephones all over the country.

In 1915 the first transcontinental line was opened in America.Graham Bell, an old man already, was sitting in his New-York home with a telephone before him, and his friend Watson was listening more than 3,000 miles away in San Francisco. A correspondent asked Graham Bell what speech he wanted to transmit on this great day. Bell said nothing. He spoke into his old transmitter: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you here". The correspondent was surprised, but Mr. Watson understood.

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COMPREHENSION TEST

Give answers to alternative questions:

1.Was Graham Bell the inventor of the telegraph or of the telephone?

2.Was he born in America or in Scotland?

3.Was he born in 1847 or 1947?

4.Was he a teacher or a scientist?

5.Had he much or little knowledge of electricity?

6.Had he much or little time for his research?

7.Did the telephone transmit sound always or only sometimes?

8.Did they improve the telephone by a transmitter or by a generator?

9.Did they fix the transmitter to their heads or to the wires?

10.Was Graham Ball 29 or 49 when he invented the telephone?

11.Was Graham Ball living in America or in Scotland when he was old?

12.Was his first telephone conversation short or long?

13.Was Mr. Watson living in New York or in California when the first transcontinental telephone line was opened?

14.Is New-York 300 or 3,000 miles from San Francisco?

15.Did Graham Ball make a long transcontinental telephone conversation or a short one?

TEXT 2

ISAAC NEWTON

Memorize the words:

to distinguish oneself – отличиться contribution – вклад

plague – чума

to break out – вспыхнуть calculus – исчисления

Newton's father died before his son was born in 1642. When the boy was fifteen, his uncle took him away from school, planning to make a farmer of him. However, finding that he made a poor farmer, the uncle sent him back to school and then to Cambridge University, where later on Newton lectured on mathematics for more than thirty years. Newton soon distinguished himself in mathematics, having made some important contribution to that science by the time he was twenty-one.

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In 1663 the great plague broke out in England, and Cambridge University closed its doors. Isaac Newton, then 22, went home for a period of eighteen months. During that time he made his three great discoveries - the discovery of integral and differential calculus, of principles of light and color, and the law of gravitation. These three discoveries have influenced the course of science from that day until our days.

Newton died when he was eighty-four, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his monument is situated today.

COMPREHENSION TEST

Choose the correct variant:

1.Newton was a ... farmer.

a)good

b)poor

c)distinguished

2.Newton's first discoveries were in the fields of ... .

a)optics

b)mathematics

c)farming

3.In 1663 during the plague Newton went ... .

a)home

b)to school

c)to Cambridge

4.During the great plague Newton worked out ... .

a)his binomial theorem 6) the reflecting telescope

c)the law of gravitation.

5.Newton made his three great discoveries when he was ... .

a)22 years old

b)30 years old

6.Newton died when he was ... .

a)94

b)84

7.He lies buried in ... .

a)Westminster Abbey in London

b)Cambridge

c)Oxford

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TEXT 2A

ISAAC NEWTON

Memorize the words: to disturb – беспокоить

housekeeper – экономка maid – служанка

to boil – кипеть, варить, вариться saucepan – кастрюля

Newton devoted all his time to science. Working at difficult questions he forgot everything else. On such days he did not leave his room, and did not allow anyone to disturb him. Sitting on his bed he remained there in thought all day long eating only when food was brought to him and not noticing what he was eating.

One morning he was working very hard, and did not leave his room to go and have breakfast with the family. The housekeeper, however, sent one of the maids into his study with an egg and a saucepan of water. The maid wanted to boil the egg but as Newton wished to be alone he sent her away, saying that he would boil it himself. The maid put the egg near his watch on the table, and, telling him to boll it for 3 minutes, left the room. She returned soon after and found Newton standing deep in thought, the egg in his hand, while his watch was boiling in the saucepan.

COMPREHENSION TEST

I. Choose the correct variant:

1.Working at difficult questions Newton ... .

a)was angry

b)forgot everything else

c)left his room

2.On such days he ... .

a)did not leave his room

b)was eating much

c)was disturbing other people

3.One morning the housekeeper ... .

a)went into his room

b)brought a saucepan and an egg into his room

c)sent one of the maids with an egg end a saucepan of water

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4.The maid ... .

a)boiled the egg

b)put the egg near his watch

c)put the egg into the saucepan

5.When the maid returned Newton ... .

a)was boiling the egg

b)had boiled the egg

c)was standing deep in thought, the egg in his hand

II. Answer the questions:

1.What did Newton devote his life to?

2.Did he forget everything else working at difficult questions?

3.Where did he remain on such days?

4.When did he eat?

5.Whom did the housekeeper send into his study one morning?

6.What did the maid want to do?

7.What did Newton tell her?

8.Where did the maid put the egg?

9.What did the maid see when she returned soon after?

TEXT 3

RONTGEN

Memorize the words:

he used to repeat – он бывало повторял observation – наблюдение

to mention – упоминать contemporary – современник

to have an opportunity, to have a possibility – иметь возможность

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, the discoverer of X-rays, was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in physics.

Although he lived into the 20th century (he died in 1923) he remained to the end a classical physicist of the 19th century. He frequently worked alone and built much of his own equipment.

He used to repeat his experiments many times to see whether his observations were correct. Only after that he wrote his reports describing the results of his tests.

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It is interesting to mention that many of his contemporaries had the opportunity to discover X-rays. Several even noticed the same phenomenon. But they were too busy solving other problems.

Rontgen discovered X-rays in 1895. He did not only observe them but also concentrated his attention on the properties and effects of these strange new rays that nobody could see.

COMPREHENSION TEST

Are the following statements true or false?

1.Rontgen was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

2.Rontgen is an 18th century physicist.

3.Rontgen used to work in a large research institute.

4.Many other scientists had the opportunity to discover X-rays.

5.Rontgen discovered X-rays not long before his death.

TEXT 4

RADIOACTIVITY

Memorize the words: discovery – открытие achievement – достижение particle – частица

positively charged – положительно заряженный nucleus (nuclei) – ядро, (ядра)

beam – луч ray – луч

tremendous amount – огромное количество to calculate – подсчитать

The discovery of radioactivity is the beginning of one of the most important achievements of modern physics. The British scientist Ernest Rutherford made a study of this subject. He showed that three kinds of rays came from radioactive elements such as uranium and radium. One kind, called alpha particles, consists of positively charged nuclei of helium atoms. A second kind (beta particles) is a beam of electrons travelling nearly as fast as light. The other part of the radiation consists of gamma rays. Gamma rays are similar to powerful X-rays. This property of emitting radiation is called radioactivity.

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It was soon clear that the atom must contain a tremendous amount of energy. For example, scientists have calculated that the heat given off every hour by a pound of radium would be more than enough to heat a pound of water from freezing to boiling.

Most elements are not radioactive. The atoms of only a few heavy elements are naturally radioactive.

COMPREHENSION TEST

Choose the correct variant:

1.The British scientist Ernest Rutherford showed that ... .

a)radiation did not exist

b)three kinds of rays came from radioactive elements

c)matter did not consist of atoms

3.It was soon clear that the atom ... .

a)does not contain any energy

b)is indivisible

c)must contain a tremendous amount of energy

3.Radioactivity ... .

a)is an important discovery

b)is of no practical importance

c)can be converted into electrical power

TEXT 5

NEW АLLОYS

Memorize the words: valuable – ценный metalloid – металлоид furnace – печь

to develop – разрабатывать expansive – дорогой

rare – редкий search – поиски

A new method has been used to synthesize about 200 compounds. By "burning" one element with another, we can produce very valuable compounds of metals with non-metals, metals with nitrogen, purely nonmetallic compounds, as well as sulfides and inter-metalloids. The synthesis

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of many compounds can be done without using special furnaces, without the use of thermal energy and without special catalysts or pressure. But the new method may have greater perspective. The method of making superhard alloys – not used anywhere else in the world – was developed at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Several hard alloys, called synthetic, have been already synthesized. They need not contain the expensive and rare tungsten and cobalt, but are as good as those that do have them. An advantage of the method's simple technology is that the search for new alloys can be continued.

COMPREHENSION TEST

I. Choose the correct variant:

1.200 new compounds ... .

a)have to be synthesized

b)have been synthesized

c)may have been synthesized

2.Special furnaces ... .

a)can be used

b)must be used

c)need not be used

3.The new method is used ...

a)anywhere in the world

b)not in any other country

c)in many places in the world

4.TheInstitute of ChemicalPhysics hasdeveloped alloys which are ... .

a)expensive

b)catalysts

c)synthetic and superhard

5.High pressure and thermal energy ... .

a)is to be used

b)has been used

c)is not used

6.The technology of the new production is ... .

a)similar to the old one

b)simpler than the old one

c)several times more expensive

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