Libraries.

It is interesting to note the inscription (надпись) on some of the great libraries in the history of the world. The State Library in Berlin [bə.lin] bears this inscription: "Food for the soul". On the library at ancient Thebes [θi:bz] one may read: "Medicine for the soul". The famous library in ancient Alexandria, Egypt [i:ɮipt], bore this note: "A hospital for the mind." Perhaps, the best description was made at the opening address of the Birmingham [‘bə:miɳəm], England, library in 1866: "A great library contains the diary of the human race."

1. Which of the four inscriptions do you find the most suitable? Explain each inscription. 2. Do you often use reference books (справочники)? Do you know how to use a card catalogue (библиотечный каталог)? 3. How many hours a week do you spend in the library? The rate (скорость) at which man has been storing up (накапливать) useful knowledge about himself and the universe has been spiraling upward for 10,000 years. The great move forward in knowledge acquisition didn't take place until the invention of movable type in the fifteenth century by Gutenberg and others. Before 1500 Europe was producing books at a rate of 1,000 titles a year. By 1950, four and a half centuries later, the rate had in­creased so sharply that Europe was producing 120,000 titles a year. What once took a century now took only ten months. By 1960, a single decade later, the rate had made another great jump, so that a century's work could be completed in seven and a half months. And, by the mid-sixties, the whole world, Europe included, produced 1,000 titles a day.

There is reason to believe that the rate is still rising sharply. Today, for example, the number of scientific journals and articles is doubling, like in­dustrial production in advanced countries, about every fifteen years. Answer the questions…

1. Do 21-st century students read more or less than students of the 19th century? Why? What evidence do you have to support your view? 2. Is the acquisition of knowledge becoming easier or more difficult nowadays? Why? 3. Is it possible to have all the books you need for your studies at home? Can you easily find your way around the library? 4. Do you know where to look for necessary information?

There is little interest today in the original versions of the great scien­tific classics. Acquaintance is often made with such achievements in text­books, monographs, and encyclopaedias [m,saiklə'pi:djə]. Of course, from the learning point of view this is all quite justified, but the scientist — who is to become a leader, an organizer of collective scientific work, and who must be able to evaluate (оценить) the creative abilities of the young must not ignore the original works of great scientists in their original form. For me personal acquaintance with the works of such scientists as Maxwell, Raleigh [‘rǣli], Curie and Lebedev has taught me a lot. It has also given me aesthetic pleasure. The appearance of man's creative talent is always beau­tiful, and one cannot help but (не может не) admire it. (By Academician Peter Kapitsa)

Alex spent evenings in the campus (университетский) library. He did not think of himself as a bookish fellow, he thought of himself more as a prisoner of war (военнопленный). Some day the war would be over, and then he would be free. Meanwhile it was necessary to work at it daily.

So he read everything he could find, growing ever hungrier as he eyed the books in the college library. Sometimes he felt a tremendous futility (тщетность, бесполезность), knowing that it would never be possible to absorb all the massed knowledge that mankind placed between covers. But he set out to make a dent (вмятина) in it. (After R Ruarke)

1. Do you feel the same when you're in the library? Describe your own experience. 2. When you're getting ready for an exam, what kind of books do you have to read? 3. Do you usually read the preface (предисловие)? It is im­portant, because in it the writer may indicate the purpose of the book, or he may give information that will help the reader.4. Do you look through the table of contents (оглавление)? The wise reader glances at the table of contents before reading the book to get an over-all view of the whole work. Instead of reading the whole book he may turn immediately to the part in which he is interested.

5. Do you look through the bibliog­raphy?

6. Does a subject become more interesting and intellectually exciting the more you read on it? 7. Is it possible to absorb all the information you get from books? 8. What are the best ways to make the most of the books you read-to make notes while reading, to write summaries, to follow the

author's arguments closely?

9.Do you reading the original works of great scholars of the past?