English for Engineering Students

1.4 Match the Englishwordswith their Russian equivalents.

1.5 Match the wordswhich have the opposite meaning.

1.6 Match the wordswhich have the similarmeaning.

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1.7 Choose the equivalents to theRussian words.

1.8 Read the text.

The communication system may be symbolically presented in the following way. The information source selects a desired message out of a set of possible messages. The selected message may consist of written or spoken words, pictures, music, etc. The transmitter changes this message into the signal which is sent over the communication channel from the transmitter to the receiver.

In the fixed telephone the channel is a wire, the signal is the electric current on this wire. The transmitter is the device which changes the sound pressure of the voice into the electric current.

In the case of radio, the channel is simply space and the signal is the electromagnetic wave which is transmitted.

The receiver is the device which changes the transmitted signal back into the message.

In the process of transmission some things are added to the signal. These unwanted additions may be distortions (искажения) of sound or static in radio. All of these changes in the transmitted signal are called noise.

1.9 Find in the text the words which correspond to the following definitions.

1.something that provides what is wanted or needed

2.a piece of information that is sent to someone

3.a system used for transmitting information from one place or person to another

4.a thin flexible thread of metal

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5.the process of joining something to something else

6.the change of natural, normal sound, picture in a way that is usually not attractive

7.unwanted electronic signals that harm the quality of something

1.10Choose the correct word and fill in the blank with it.

1.New … techniques began to develop during the industrial revolution.

2.The information … selects a desired message out of a set of possible messages.

1.11 Answer the questions.

1.What is communication?

2.What means of communication do you know?

3.What are the main elements of communication process?

4.What is noise?

5.What is A. Bell famous for?

6.What did A.S. Popov invent?

7.What are the most popular means of communication today?

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Effective Communication

1.12Watch the videoand answerthe followingquestions.

1.What do people use to interact with each other?

2.How many parts does the effective communication contain? What are they?

3.Whydo communication breakdowns sometimes happen?

4.What does incorrect response depend on?

5.What affects how we interpret what we hear?

6.What are the ways to respond to the boss's question “Is the report ready?”

7.How do you usually respond to the question about your duties?

1.13Watch the video again and try to guess the words which correspond tothe following definitions.

1.to say something in return, to answer

2.to grasp the meaning of something

3.trouble, problem, malfunction

4.explanation

5.wrong, not true, improper

1.14Translate the following word groups.

1.to interact with people

2.broken communication

3.body language

4.to pay attention

5.to misinterpret

6.to respond incorrectly

7.to reduce communication errors

The Communication Model: How to Understand Communication Process

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1.15Watch the videoand answerthe followingquestions.

1.What are the basic components of communication?

2.What is the feedback?

3.What are the problems that sometimes happen in communication process?

4.What types of noise can breakdown communication?

5.Is it difficult to diagnose the problem?

1.16Translate the following word groups.

1.a number of situations

2.feedback

3.misinterpretation

4.noise environment

5.to pronounce words properly

6.language barrier

1.17Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1.Белл А. изобрел телефон в 1875 году.

2.Шум – это любой сигнал, который мешает передавать информацию.

3.Передатчик преобразует сообщение в сигнал, который передаётся к приёмнику.

4.В современном мире людям необходимы (need) разные средства связи.

5.Русский ученый А.С. Попов изобрел радио в 1895 году.

6.Сегодня мы можем передавать любую информацию на большие расстояния с большой скоростью.

7.Развитие беспроводной технологии помогло решить проблемусвязи на большие расстояния.

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Text B

TELEPHONE

Pretext exercises

1.18Read the following words and word combinations and try to guess theirmeaning.

Device, person, modernization, mobile, IP telephony, wi-fi, popular, compact, text messages, photos, e-mail, to communicate, smart phone, GPS receivers, digital camera, personal computer, mobile phone, immune system, signal.

1.19 Readthe following words and mindtheirpronunciation.

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1.20 Read the text.

TELEPHONE

People have invented many useful devices. One of the most interesting and widely used inventions is the telephone. The modern phone that we use today is the result of work of many people. The first person who patented the telephone in 1876 was Alexander Graham Bell. Other scientists who also worked on telephone invention were Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci, Thomas Edison and some others.

The 20th century was the era of phone development and modernization. Modern phones are presented mostly by mobiles, which support IP telephony and wi-fi. These phones have become highly popular over the last years. They are rather compact, handy and easy to carry about. Mobile phones allow us to make instant calls, send text messages, listen to music, play games, take photos, check an e-mail, etc. All mobile phone communications take place through a central control base station. Mobile units do not communicate directly with other mobile units. They send messages to the control base station and it transmits the messages to the other mobile units. The modern form of mobile phone is called “smart phone”. It has become very popular. Most smart phones are also GPS receivers and digital cameras. Thus, they have replaced not only fixed phones but also personal computers.

However, there are many people in the world who are against mobiles phones. They say that this device has a bad effect on people’s health. It can damage our eyesight and immune system. The signals that are sent from mobiles can be harmful. Some people also believe that phones prevent live communication. With the appearance of mobile phones and computers people meet up with their friends not so often. Nevertheless, telephone is a very useful and important device. We simply can’t live without it in the modern world. Nowadays almost all the city areas, many countryareas are covered by mobile phone networks.

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1.21Match the following English words with their Russian equivalents.

1.22 Match the words whichhave the similarmeaning.

1.23 Match the words whichhave the opposite meaning.

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1.24 Choose the appropriate equivalent to the Russian words.

1.25Choose the appropriate word and fill in the blank with it.

1.The modern phones that we use today are … .

2.All the mobile phone communications today … through a central control base station.

6.Mobile phones … people from communicating with each other directly.

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1.26 Match the words with theirdefinitions.

1.27Read the text and fill in the blanks with the following words.

receiver transmitted vibrations sound hear eardrum

Sounds travel through the air in waves. When you play the violin, for example, the violin string vibrates. The (1) … from the violin string pass through the air in little waves. When these waves reach the ear, the eardrum vibrates, and you (2) … the violin.

It was found that a thin sheet of metal called “diaphragm” would vibrate in the same wayas the (3) … when sounds reached it. In 1875 Alexander Bell made sound waves reach the diaphragms which vibrated.

At the other end of the wire Bell placed a similar instrument with a diaphragm and coils round a U-shaped piece of iron, which he called the

(4) … . The impulses of electric current flowed through the coils of the receiver. It made the diaphragm vibrate and the vibrations made waves of sound in the air exactly like (5) … waves which originally reached the instrument at the other end of the wire. The sound waves were transformed into electricity, (6) … along a wire and transformed into sound again. Thus the telephone was invented.

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