Text A.

What is automation?

Automation may be said to be a modem term signifying the use of machines to do work that formely had to be done by people. What used to be called automation.

The machine that automatically makes, inspects and packs 1,200 cigarettes a minute can do nothing else. It is a one-purpose machine as there are many of others.

But the digital computer seems to be versatile and can be used as the brains for automating a wide variety of work where figuring, remembering and making logical choices are required. The computer proves to be only a very high-speed adding and subtracting machine. It is unlikely to be the thinking machine as it is sometimes called. Everything it does other than adding and subtracting is the result of man's ingenuity .

The design of newer equipment with greater usefulness and capabilities is said to be bringing about an ever increasing growth in the development of control equipment. The reason is twofold. Firstly automatic controls relieve man of many monotonous activities so that he can devote his abilities to other occupation. Secondly modem complex controls can perform functions which are beyond the physical abilities of man. For example an elaborated automatic control system operates the engine of a modern jet airplane with only a minimum amount of the pilot's attention, so that he is free to fly his airplane.

Mention should be made that the design and development of automatic control systems is a principal concern of an engineer. In recent years we know automatic control systems to have been rapidly advancing in importance in all fields of engineering. The applications of control system are known to cover a very wide scope, ranging from the design of precision control devices such as sensitive instrument to the design of the equipment used for controlling the manufacture of steel or other industrial processes. New applications for arranging6 automatic controls are continually being discovered.

Revision exercises

I. State the tense and type of Predicates and translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

1. When the engineer was measuring the temperature he used the ultrasonic technique. When measuring the temperature the engineer used the ultrasonic technique. 2. The temperature the engineer was measuring was of great value for our tests. The temperature was being measured great importance for our tests. 3. When the temperature was being measured it Proved extremely low. Being measured the temperature proved extremely low. 4. When the student had measured the temperature he wrote it down in the table.

II. Put the Verbs in the brackets in the required forms of the Tense and translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

1. For many years scientists (to study) the nucleus before they found that it is possible to split it. 2. By the first of January our plant (to use) atomic energy for running different machines for eight months. 3. Many power stations (to use) atomic energy for a long time before I knew it. 4. All this period scientists and engineers (to develop) rocket technology and electronics in close cooperation. 5. We widely (to use) electronic devices in industry for many years. 6. We know that our astronomers (to observe) the moon for a long time. 7. My friend (to make) these experiments to compare the weigh of elements since the first of September, 8. The question about the new experiment on this subject (to discuss) for some time before we came to a definite conclusion.