Interesting experiments were made in his classes. Both he and his student- assistants worked long hours in preparing the demonstrations so that all would go well.1

At the University Mendeleyev taught classes in the morning. In the afternoon he made experiments in his two-room laboratory. At night Mendeleyev spent much of his time working with the cards on which he put down information about each of the chemical elements.

Mendeleyev made thousands of experiments with his own hands. He made thousands of calculations, wrote a lot of letters, studied many reports. Everything in the world that was known about the chemical elements Mendeleyev knew. For months, for years he searched for missing data All those data were being brought together and grouped in a special way. In 1869 the description of more than 60 elements was completed, and Mendeleyev published his Periodic Table.

The Periodic Table is spoken of as the beginning of a new era in chemical thought.

In addition to this work Mendeleyev paid much attention to many subjects of an applied chemical nature He was the first to put forward the idea of studying the upper layers of the atmosphere.

Mendeleyev was elected member of many academies abroad. He died in February 1907 at the age of 75.

¹so that all would go well -з тим, щоб усе було добре;

2

data - інформація.

The First Russian Woman-Scientist

The outstanding Russian mathematician, Sophia Kovalevskaya, lived and worked in the second half of the 19th century. It was the period of Russia's most remarkable advancement in science and culture.

Sophia was born in Moscow on January 15, 1850 to a well-off family of anartillery general, Korvin-Krukovsky. When she was only twelve she surprised her teacher by suggesting a new solution for the determination of the ratio of the diameter of the circle to its circumference.

In 1866, Sophia and her elder sister were taken to St. Petersburg where Sophia was allowed to go on with her studies. But, as women were not permitted to attend public lectures, she was obliged to read privately.

In 1868 she married Vladimir Kovalevsky and soon they left for Vienna where she began to study physics at the University. But she wouldn't stop at that. Soon Sophia made up her mind to go to Heidelberg University. There she could study under such scholars as Helmholz and Bunzen, as her intention was to take examinations and get a degree (Ph. D).

In 1870 the Kovalevskys went to Berlin. During the four years spent in Berlin, Sophia succeeded not only in covering the University course but also in writing 3 dissertations, for which the University of Gottinggen granted her a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in absentia.¹

Some years later the Kovalevskys returned to St. Petersburg. Despite the efforts of Mendeleyev, Butlerov and Chebyshev, Sophia Kovalevskaya, an outstanding scientist already, could not get any position at the University and was obliged to turn to journalism. But as she had made up her mind to take her Magister's Degree, she returned to Berlin to complete her work on the refraction of light in crystals.

In 1888 she achieved the greatest of her successes, winning the highest prize offered by the Paris Academy of Sciences for the solution of a complicated problem: to perfect in one important point the theory of the movement of a solid body about an immovable point. The prize was doubled as recognition of the unusual merits of her work.

In 1889 Sophia Kovalevskaya was awarded another prize, this time by the Swedish Academy of Sciences. Soon in spite of her being the only woman- lecturer in Sweden, she was elected professor of mathematics and held the post until her death.

Unfortunately, Sophia Kovalevskaya died at the age of 41 on February 10, 1891, just as she had attained the height of her fame and had won recognition even in her own country where she was elected member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

1. in absentia - заочно;

2

in spite of her being - не дивлячись на те, що вона була.

Industry and agriculture of the U. K.

In the past English industrial prosperity¹rested on a few important products, such as textiles, coal and heavy machinery. Now the U. K. has a great variety of industries, for example heavy and light industry, chemical, aircraft, electrical, automobile and many other industries. The United Kingdom is considered³one of the world's major manufacturing⁴nations. Now high technology industries are more developed than heavy engineering. Heavy engineering and other traditional industries have experienced a certain decline.

Certain areas are traditionally noted for various types of industries. For instance, Newcastle is famous for coal industry, the county of Lancashire for its textile industry. The Midlands, or the central counties of England, are famous for the production of machinery, coal, motor cars and chemicals. In recent times regional industrial distinctions have become less clear as more and more new factories are built in the different parts of the country. Speaking about the cities of the United Kingdom the first mention should be made of London, the capital of the U. K. It is a big port on the River Thames, a major commercial, industrial centre.

Leeds is a centre of clothing industry⁵producing woolen articles⁶. Glasgow is a major port on the River Clyde where shipbuilding industry is developed. Liverpool on the River Mersey is a flour milling and engineering centre. Birmingham is an iron and steel centre. Manchester is famous for textiles manufacturing.

Three-quarters of the United Kingdom's land is dedicated to agriculture. About two per cent of the population of the United Kingdom are engaged⁹in agriculture, but the yields¹⁰of English farms and pastures¹¹are very high. Wheat, barley, oats and potatoes are the most important crops grown. Sheep, cattle and pigs are the most numerous types of livestock . Sheep is a source of both wool for textile industry and mutton for food industry. Mutton is the best liked English meat.

Words

prosperity ²variety³to consider⁴manufacturing⁵clothing industry⁶woolen articles flour

• розквіт;

• розмаїття;

• розглядати;

• промисловість;

• швейна промисловість;

• вовняні вироби;

• борошно;