I. Study the following words & word combinations from the text:

mapmaking, clay tablet, remap, projection, circumference, remarkable, accuracy, latitude, longitude, occur, notable, navigation, coastline, nearby, appear, encyclopedia, compass, speculated.

II. Form the verbs from the following nouns from the text, translate them:

mapmaker, determining, existence, projection, surveying, calculation, instruction, direction, navigation.

III. Make up your own sentences with the following word combinations:

scientific progress, notable accuracy, equal parts, European mapmakers, various instructions, map projection.

IV. Answer the following questions to the text:

1. What did the Babilonians develop around 2500 B.C.?

2. When did the Egyptians make maps?

3. What did the Greek mathematician calculate?

4. What can you say about Claudius Ptolemy?

5. Where did mapmaking do progress during the Middle Ages?

5. Give a short summary of the text ‘ Ancient maps’

TEXTS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING

TEXT 1 European cartography

Advances in European cartography followed several developments of the 1400’s. First, the translation of Ptolemy’s works into Latin led to the rediscovery of his methods of map projection and of locating places systematically. Second, the invention of the printing press in the mid-1400’s made maps more widely available. Many identical copies could be produced by printing maps instead of copying them by hand. Third, an age of exploration opened in the late 1400’s, which increased knowledge of the world and interest in mapmaking.

By the late 1400’s, educated Europeans had accepted the idea that the world is round. In 1492, the year that Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, a German merchant and navigator named Martin Behaim produced a globe that recorded the world as Europeans knew it before Columbus’ voyage. Behaim’s globe lacked the Americas, of course, and it depicted the Atlantic Ocean as much smaller than it actually is. By the early 1500’s, mapmakers had begun including the New World on their maps. The name America first appeared on a map produced in 1507 by a German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller.

In 1569, Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published the first map based on his Mercator projection which was of great value to sailors. The first collection of maps made specifically to be combined into an atlas was produced by the Flemish mapmaker Abraham Octelius in 1570.

Scientific activity during the 1500’s, 1600’s, and 1700’s produced new instruments and techniques that measurements of location and elevation more accurately Jean- Dominique Cassini, an astronomer at the Paris observatory, began the detailed and accurate mapping of France’s topography (surface features) in the late 1600’s. That work continued for more than 100 years. In England, the astronomer Edmond Halley published a map of the trade winds in 1686, which is considered the first meteorological (weather) map. Halley’s map of the earth’s magnetic fields in 1700 was the first published map that used isograms to connect points of equal value.

TEXT 2 Mapping the New World

During the 1600’s and 1700’s, the colonization of the New World created a need for many new maps. The Spanish surveyed and mapped land under their control. In 1612, the English adventurer John Smith published a map of Virginia’s coastline. Smith also made the first English map of New England. During the early 1600’s, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain mapped the region from Maryland to the St. Lawrence River in Canada.

Surveying was an important activity in the American Colonies. Surveyors Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson published a map of the region from Virginia to the great Lakes in 1761. In 1755, John Mitchel, a Virginia colonist, published his Map of the British and French Dominions in America. A copy of this map was used to mark the boundaries of the United States of America after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783.

As the pioneers moved westward during the 1800’s explorers and army engineers mapped trails and surveyed government lands. The United States government eventually established two agencies with responsibility for detailed, large-scale mapping. The Survey of the Coast – now the National Ocean Survey – was founded in 1807. The U.S. Geological Survey was officially created in 1879.

TEXT 3

The New Scotland yard, the most famous police unit in the world, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London. The police force in London was established in 1829 under an act of the British government. The police station and the office, whose task was to deal with the public, was located at the back of the Westminster area, where mostly government buildings were located. The police station faced a vacant plot of land, called Great Scotland Yard. According to one legend, the land was set aside to build a residence for the kings of Scotland, who frequently visited the city. However, such a house was never constructed. Another story says that the plot was owned by an Englishman, named Adam Scot, but little proof of this version exists.

After the police force of London was founded, the building housed the police headquarters from September 29, 1829. The entire police division consisted of two commissioners, eight superintendents, 20 inspectors, 88 sergeants, and 895 constables. Together they represented a formidable force, and the 50-room building functioned as an administrative center that dealt with public inquires, correspondence, and recruitment. By 1887, the staffing of the police force had grown to about 13,000, and it became evident that the accommodations had to be expanded. A new building on the Thames Embankment was erected in 1907 and another in 1940.

With the advent of new technology, paramount in police detective work, chemical, electronic, and forensic laboratories experienced a serve shortage of space. The diversification of police duties led to inevitable growth in the number of the enlisted men and women. As an outcome, Scotland Yard leased a 20-story office complex on Victoria Street at Broadway. The ever-expanding headquarters were named New Scotland Yard. It is curious to note that the vast amount of office space for the Metropolitan Police Force does not have a police station, but includes a citizens’ information room.