Reader on Science and Technology. Пособие по английскому языку для студентов инженерных специальностей

READER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

READER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Пособие по английскому языку для студентов инженерных специальностей

Cоставители: В.П. Тугарина, Г.Б.Доржиева Л.Б.Ябжанова, Э.Т. Левчук под общей редакцией

В.П. Тугариной

Улан-Удэ 2003

Contents

Пособие предназначено для подготовки студентов инженерных специальностей, имеющих базовую языковую подготовку и желающих совершенствовать свои знания для развития речевой профессиональной деятельности на английском языке. Пособие состоит из двух частей. Первая часть состоит из нескольких разделов (Units), позволяющих осуществлять поэтапное, целенаправленное формирование языковых, речевых навыков и умений посредством системы заданий и упражнений для активного усвоения лексического и речевого материала. Вторая часть пособия предлагает дополнительный материал, дающий студентам возможность закрепления полученных навыков и умений при работе с литературой на иностранном языке.

Ключевые слова (key words): наука (science), техника (technology), изобретатель (inventor), изобретение (invention), открытие (discovery), компьютер (computer)

Unit I. 1. Technology in Our Lives 2. Wright Brothers Fly First Motorized Plane 3. Henry Ford and The Automobile Revolution 4. Radio 5. Television is Developed Unit II 6. Vacuum Cleaner 7. Clothes Washer 8. Refrigerator 9. The Microwave Oven Unit III. 10. Machines in Space 11. Appolo Astronauts Land on Moon 12. Space Age Began Unit IV. 13. First Electronic Computer 14. Personal Computer 15. The Internet Gives Rise to the World Wide Web 16. Computer Mouse Unit V. 17. Fleming Discovers Penicillin 18. Transplanting Man’s Heart 19. Watson and Crick Describe Structure of DNA 20. Cloning of an Adult Mammal.

UNIT 1 Text 1

Technology in Our Lives I. First Thoughts The world has incredibly changed, hasn’t it? What made the world change so greatly in the past years. Give examples. II. Study the words. Make sure you know them. operator, register, cashier, scanner, home-owner, miniature. III. Read the text and say how we can meet our daily needs without connecting other people. Technology plays a role in all aspects of our lives - the way we work, and the way we live at home. The speed of technological change in the past 100 years has been incredible. The early telephones were large, and they didn't even have dials or buttons. You picked up a receiver and talked to an operator who made the call for you. Nowadays, cellular telephones fit in our pockets, and we can use them to make phone calls from anywhere to anywhere. In grocery stores, cashiers used to punch keys on cash registers to enter the price of each item. These days, scanners read bar codes on products packaging, and the prices are recorded by a computerized cash register. In the past, we made a trip to the bank to deposit or withdraw money. Now we can use ATMs (automated teller machines). And many people now do their bank transactions at home online.

Modern technology has dramatically improved our lives. Personal computers enable us to create documents, store information, and analyze data - at work or at home. The Internet allows us to send and receive e-mail messages, connects us to the World Wide Web, and allows us to go shopping online from our homes. Miniature cameras that patients can swallow permit doctors to diagnose medical conditions without surgery. "Smart homes" operated by computers turn lights on and off as people enter or leave rooms and enable homeowners to "call their houses" to turn on the heat or air conditioning. Many people feel, however, that technology has its price. With automated supermarket checkout lines, ATMs and online banking, and Internet shopping, we can meet our daily needs without having contact with other people. Life with technology can be very lonely! Also, many people are concerned about privacy. Technology makes it possible for companies or the government to monitor our use of the Internet. Our credit card numbers, bank account information, medical information, and other personal data are all stored on computers. Protecting that information will be an important issue in the years ahead. Bliss. IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match the words and their meanings by placing a proper letter on each blank. _1. to pick (up) _2. to fit in _3. to punch (on) _4. to turn on (off) _5. to store

a. to collect and keep for future use b. to take hold of or lift c. to make holes on surfaces d. be in a suitable relation; be in e. to start (on, off)

2. Use the words from each box to make word partnerships

technological, medical, daily, email, cellular, computerized, automated, personal

telephone, register, lines, needs, information, changes, messages, computer

3. Choose the best alternative to fill in the blank in each of the following sentences. 1. Cellular telephones …..in our pockets. a. suite b. go c. fit

4. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones using the facts from the text. a. Nowadays telephones are large and we are to talk to the operator who makes the call for us. b. Nowadays, personal computers are great help at home and at work. c. The Internet has rather limited possibilities today. d. With the Internet we can meet our daily needs without having contact with other people. e. Privacy is not the point the users of the Internet are concerned about.

2. a. b. c.

The computerized cash registers … the prices of products. say write record

5. What do you think a. What was the way people communicate with each other in the 60s? b. What were the drawbacks of the early telephones? c. What jobs can computer do for us? Make a list of jobs.

3. a. b. c.

Modern technology has improved our… of living pass method way

V. Discuss with your partner (or groupmates). 1. New information you have got from the text. 2. Speak about your experience in using the Internet.

4. a. b. c.

Many people can do their bank …at home on line. conditions protections transactions

5. a. b. c.

Personal computers can… information. swallow store scan

Text 2

Wright Brothers Fly First Motorized Plane I. First thoughts. Have you ever traveled by air? If you have not had such an experience, would you like to do it? Why?

II. Study the words. Make sure you know them. tendency, stability, airplane, condition, machine, calculation. III. Read the text and say why Wright Brothers can be thought of as audacious men. Orville and Wilbur Wright were inspired by Otto Lilienthal, a German glider pioneer. Though he crashed to his death in 1896, the Wrights were obsessed by the technical problems involved in flight. They approached the issue methodically, working out ways to control a glider's tendency to pitch up and down, roll side to side, or yaw left and right. By the third glider they built, they had solved most of these problems of steering and stability. To make a self-powered airplane, they needed to develop a very light gasoline engine and an appropriate propeller. By December 1903, their first airplane (Flyer /, later renamed Kitty Hawk) was ready to test. It had a 12.3 meter wingspan; was 6.4 meters long, and weighed about 274 kilos without the pilot. It was powered by the Wrights' home-made 12 horsepower gasoline engine. The Wrights returned to the site at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where they had tested their gliders. Their selection of this spot was based on national weather records which showed it to have consistently favorable conditions. The first day's attempt was unsuccessful, but in a few days, Orville flew the plane 37 meters, which took 12 seconds. They made several more flights that day, the longest being 260 meters in 59 seconds. The Wrights press release sent out the following month was largely ignored. Many people just didn't believe it, though there were five witnesses to their first flights. Orville later wrote of that first motorized flight:

"With all the knowledge and skill acquired in thousands of flights in the last ten years, I would hardly think today of making my first flight on a strange machine in a 27 mile wind, even if I knew that the machine had already been flown and was safe. After these years of experience I look with amazement upon our audacity in attempting flights with a new and untried machine under such circumstances. Yet faith in our calculations and the design of the first machine, based upon our tables of air pressures, secured by months of careful laboratory work, and confidence in our system of control developed by three years of actual experiences in balancing gliders in the air had convinced us that the machine was capable of lifting and maintaining itself in the air, and that, with a little practice, it could be safely flown.

IV.Comprehension Check. 1. Match the words with their meaning by placing the proper letter on each blank. - inspiration - to obsess

a) to preoccupy the mind with an idea or emotion b) to cause to believe without doubt

- to convince

c) an idea or impulse which loads to creative action.

- circumstance - faith

d) a belief in the value or truth. e) a condition.

2. Cross out the word which does not correspond to other words in the line.

1. Engine, wingspan, propeller, witness, plane. 2. Flight, death, consistently, pressure, air. 3. Maintain, glide, fly, swim, return. 3. Which of the verbs corresponds to the same scheme? 1. to push up and down a. 2. to roll side to side b. 3. to yaw left and right c. 4. move straight d. 4. Choose the best answer to the following questions. 1. What did the Wrights need to develop to make a self-powered airplane? a. its stability b. its weight c. its engine 2. a. b. c.

What was the first name of Wrights airplane? Kill David Hill Kitty Hawk Flyer

3. Which of the three figures correspond to the longest flight of the plane? a. 274 b. 260 c. 123 4. a. b. c.

How many witnesses were there to the first Wrights’ flight? three five two

5. What was the selection of the test side at Kill David Hill based on a. technical calculations b. technical conditions c. favourable weather conditions 5. What do you think 1. Who inspired Orville and Wilbur Wright to invent an airplane? 2. What technical problems were solved by the brothers? 3. When was the first plane ready to be tested? 4. What was the name of the plane? 5. Why were the brothers sure that the plane would be able of lifting and maintaining itself in the air? V. Discuss with your partner (or group-mates) 1. What new information about the first airplane have you learnt from the text? 2. Read the statement by Orville Wright in the text and say if you agree or disagree with him? 3. Explain your view point to the group-mates.

Text 3

Henry Ford and the Automobile Revolution I. First Thoughts Who is Henry Ford? What do you know about him? II. Study these words. Make sure you know them. demonstration, publicity, problem, market, company. III. Read the text and say why the Model-T dominated US car sales. In 1896 an American named Henry Ford exhibited a 4-cycle, 2-cylinder, 4- wheeled cart in Detroit's Bagley Avenue. After his first demonstration, he began to build "racing cars" for publicity. Then in 1903, Ford Motor Company sold its first car: a 2- cylinder car for $2,500. Nonetheless, Ford felt that the price was too much for a consumer vehicle. 'The market for a low priced car," Ford once said, "is unlimited." A few later in 1908, Ford Motor Company unveiled its $850 Model T, which included a folding windshield, a removable top, horn, and gas lamps. The 22.5 horsepower engine had a top speed of 35 miles per hour. When asked about the limited color choice for the Model T, Ford jokingly replied, "You can have any color - so long as it’s black". By the time production of the "flivver" or "tin Lizzie," as the Model T was called, ended in 1927 Ford had sold over 15 million of them. Prices of the car steadily dropped as it became more popular; in 1923 it reached a low of $265. Many companies sprang up in wake of the Model T’s popularity. To help solve the problem of the engine "kicking" when it was cranked, a Wisconsin based company sold an automatic spark retarder. Other companies tried to improve the simple design of

the car by selling "1-man tops," rear-view mirrors, electric lamps, and various other accessories. The Model Twos introduced on October 1, 1908 and so technically may be considered a 1909 model in line with the industry practice of dating cars by model year. Over the next 18 years, the Model T would dominate US car sales. In 191115, 1918 and 1921. F:ord earned more than all other automakers combined. IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match the words and their meanings by placing a proper letter on each blank. _1. engine _2. design _3. vehicle _4. accessory _5. model

a. thing that is helpful, useful but not an essential part b. machine that converts energy into power or motion c. drawing from which something may be made d. thing to be copied e. a means of transportation

2. Use the words from box to make word partnerships. racing, various, automatic, simple, limited, electric

choice, retarder, lamps, design, car, accessories.

3. Replace the words in a bold type by their synonyms from the text.

V.

Do you agree that the Automobile Revolution started with the production of the first “racing car” by Ford Motor Company?

1. Henry Ford showed his car in Detroit. 2. The value of the first car was too expensive. 3. Prices of the car steadily went down. 4. Some companies tried to make the simple car design better. 5. They sold different other accessories. 4. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones using the facts from the text. 1. Ford Motor Company sold its first car for low price. 2. A 4-cycle, 2-cylinder, 4 wheeled car was demonstrated in Wisconsin. 3. The Model-T was introduced to the market in 1908. 4. Prices of the car steadily went up as the Model-T became more popular with the consumers. 5. To solve the problem of the engine “kicking” Ford Motor Company invented an automatic spark retarder. IV.

What do you think.

a. When did Henry Ford begin to build “racing cars” for publicity? b. What was technical characteristic of the Model-T in 1908? c. How did they call the Model-T when its production was ended in 1927? d. How much did Ford earn during the years of the Model-I production?

Discuss with your partner (or groupmates).

Text 4

Radio I First thoughts How do you think a radio operates? Do you know anyone who likes to make different electrical goods such as radios, computers, etc.? II. Study these words. Make sure you know them. transmitter, electromagnetic, broadcast, equipment, frequency, message. III.

Read the text and do the tasks following it:

Do you have a favorite radio station? What do you like about it? Have you ever wondered how your radio is able to produce the sounds and the music that you like to hear? Radio programs are sent by a machine called a transmitter to your radio which is called a receiver. The programs don't travel through wires like telephone messages do. They are sent through the air over long distances by electromagnetic waves. These waves are called radio waves and were discovered by a German scientist named Heinrich Hertz. He discovered that these waves could carry sound signals. He also discovered that radio waves have different lengths.

Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian, invented a microphone that changed sound waves into electronic signals, and then he developed a receiver that turned them back into sound again. He also found a way to keep waves of the same length together and keep those of different wave lengths separate. On his equipment, a radio wave looked like a letter "s" lying on its side. Short waves curved up and down more times each second than longer ones, so he divided all the waves by how many times they curved each second or by how frequently they curved. He called each group a frequency. The numbers on your radio dial are different frequencies. Different stations can broadcast their programs at the same time using different frequencies. Later, scientists found that by using only the top half of a radio wave they could reduce static and other noise that interfered with clear sound. This kind of radio transmission is called FM broadcasting because the frequency has been modulated or changed.

IV.

Comprehension Check.

1. Match the words with their meanings placing a proper letter on each blank. _1. microphone a. an .apparatus which changes radio waves into sounds _2. to invent b. the metal in the form of thread _3. receiver c. having a magnetic force produced by an electric current _4. curse d. an instrument that receives sounds and changes sounds into electrical energy _5. to discover e. to find something for the first time _6. electromagnetic f. to make or produce something

_7. wire

for the first time g. a line of which no part is straight and which contains no angles

2. Complete the following sentences with the words from the box. broadcast, microphone, curve, machine, sound signals, receiver, radio transmission, static, noise a. A transmitter is a__________________. b. Radio waves carry_________________. c. A________changes sound waves into electronic sygnals. d. A________changes signals into sound again. e. A frequency means the number of times that radio waves_______per second. f. Radio stations________their programs. g. FM means_________ h. In FM radio,_________and_______are reduced. 3. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. Radio waves carry sounds. 2. "Frequency" refers to the number of times a radio wave travels. 3. Different radio stations use different frequencies. 4. Some radio waves are shorter then others. 5. It was Guglielmo Marconi who first discovered radio waves. 6. "Wavelength" refers to the length of a radio wave. 7. Unlike telephone messages, radio waves can travel only short distances.

8. If you have a good receiver, you don't need a transmitter to hear a radio program. IV. What do you think.

1. What is the difference between radio broadcasts and telephone messages? 2. In order for radio programs to be broadcast, what equipment are needed? 3. How are several hundred radio stations able to broadcast at the same time? 4. Who first discovered electromagnetic waves? 5. What is FM broadcasting? 6. What country was Marconi from? And what was he famous for? V. Discuss the following with your partner (or groupmates) 1. Guglielmo Marcony is a very important person in the history of radio broadcasting. Describe his work in your own words. 2. Do you have a habit of listening to the radio? Speak about your favorite. 3. Name any other scientists who worked in the field of radio broadcasting?

Text 5. Television is Developed. I. First Thoughts: 1.What does the word “television” mean ? 2.What language does this word originate from ? 3.What country succeeded in applying the first television camera?

II. them:

Study the following words. Make sure you know

transmit, image, broadcasting, resolusion, regular. III.

convert,

receiver,

tube,

Read the text and do the tasks following it.

John Logie Baird (1888-1946) applied for a patent for a mechanical television in 1923. He ran successful experiments in transmitting images in 1926, and in 1930 he worked with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to begin mechanical television broadcasting. He also tried, rather unsuccessfully, to mass-market his television transmitter. In 1923 Vladimir Zworykin (1889-1982) also applied for a patent. He was for a television camera that converted optical images into electrical pulses. On November 18, 1929, at a convention of radio engineers, Zworykin demonstrated a television receiver containing his “kinescope”, a cathoderay tube. That same year Zworykin joined the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in Camden, New Jersey. As the director of their Electronic Research Laboratory, he was able to concentrate on

making critical improvements to his system. Zworykin’s “storage principle” is the basis of modern TV. Meanwhile, in Japan, Kenjiro Takayanagi was developing electronic television, too. He was ahead of Zworykin, but better publicity gave Zworykin the nickname “father of television.” Takayanagi transmitted an image electronically in 1926, with a 40-line resolution and film running at 14 frames per second. In 1932 the BBC ventured the first regularly broadcast programs using Baird’s mechanical equipment, though it had been broadcasting special events and other sporadic transmissions since 1927. The first special-purpose television station was built in Germany in 1935 in preparation for the Berlin Olympic Games the following year. That Olympic year, NBC experimented with electronic broadcast from the top of the Empire State Building. The first live journalistic event covered by television was the 1937 coronation of Britain’s King George VI. That year, the BBC began the first regular, high-quality broadcasting service using an electronic system.

2. Write S, A, or N to tell whether these words are synonyms or antonyms or neither. The first is done for you.

IV.

3. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text.

Comprehension check

1. Match the words and their meaning by placing the proper letters on each blank. _1. apply for _2. run experiments _3. broadcast _4. improve _5. develop _6. frame

a) to cause to grow to unfold b) happening, usually smth important; fact c) change from one form to another d) send out in all directions e) make or become better f) organize, manage, cause to be in operation

N – transmit - begin -apply -convert -receive -join -develop -purpose -demonstrate -build -give -ahead -special -top

-contain -finish -use -transform -send -put together -improve -direction -show -destroy -take -behind -sporadic -bottom

1. John Logie Baird applied for a patent for a mechanical television in 1923. 2. BBC began mechanical television broadcasting in 1933. 3. Vladimir Zworykin invented a television camera that converted optical images into electrical pulses. 4. Zworykin became the director of the Electronic Research Laboratory of the Radio Corporation of America. 5. The basis of modern TV is Zworykin's "storage principle". 6. K. Takayanagi was developing electronic television too. 7. He transmitted an image electronically in 1929 with a film running 24 frames per second.

8. The first regular, high-quality broadcasting service using an electronic service took place in 1934.

4. Arrange the following statements according to the logic of the text. 1. The first special purpose television station was built in 1935 in preparation for the Berlin Olympic Games. 2. Zworykin demonstrated a television receiver containing his "kinescope", a cathode-ray tube at a convention of radio engineers. 3. John Logic Baird tried to mass-market his television transmitter. 4. Zworykin's television camera converted optical images into electrical pulses. 5. K. Takayangi transmitted an image electronically in 1926. 6. The first live journalistic event covered by television was the 1937 coronation of Britain's King George VI. 7. Zworykin's "storage principle" is the basis of modern TV. V.

Discuss with your partner (or groupmates).

1. Who is considered to be "the father of television"? 2. What principle is the basis of modern TV? 3. What other inventors made great contribution to the development of television? 4. What country managed to mass-market television broadcasting?

Unit II.

Text I VACUUM CLEANER I. First thoughts Do you always keep your flat (room) clean? Do you hare a vacuum cleaner? DO you think the vacuum cleaner is one of the most useful machines in your house? II.

Study the words. Make sure you know them.

filter, principle, practical, reduce, result, concept, separation, system. III.

Read the text and do the tasks following it.

The idea of a vacuum cleaner originates from the 19th century. The first vacuum cleaners had to be operated manually. Two persons were needed for this: one to operate the bellows and the other to move the mouthpiece over the floor. The dust was blown into the air. Only in 1901 Hubert Booth changed the idea into something more useful. Until then the vacuum cleaners blew the dust away, but Booth came up with the idea of sucking away dust, instead of blowing. Furthermore, Booth equipped his cleaner with a filter, which kept the dust in the machine. All modem vacuum cleaners are based on Booth's principle. In spite of the improvements made by Booth, the older vacuum cleaners were not very practical: they were hand-operated and very-big and heavy. Some cleaners were left outside the house, and only

the hose was led into the rooms through a window or door. Best known for the vacuum cleaner that bears his name, Jim Kirby’s life goal was to reduce or eliminate drudgery wherever it existed. After watching his mother's cleaning effort result in the dust settling back onto everything in the house, he developed his concept of a vacuum cleaner. His first cleaner, invented in 1906. used water for dirt separation. In 1907, displeased with the unpleasant task of disposing of dirty water, he went back to work and designed a system that used centrifugal action and cloth to filter the dirt. After World War I, Mr. Kirby agreed to design vacuum cleaners exclusively for George Scott and Carl Fetzer. Over the ensuing years, he developed numerous innovative cleaner designs. The Ezee vacuum cleaner (pictured at left), nicknamed the "Grasshopper" was one of Jim Kirby 's early designs. Developed in 1912, it was a non-electric cleaner designed to serve households in rural communities without access to electrical power. Later, the non-electric Vacuette model, manufactured by Scott and Fetzer, became the forerunner of today's multi-attachment models. In 1935, Scott and Fetzer introduced the model C, the first of a long line of products to carry Kirby 's name. Jim Kirby continued to work on new ideas for the company into the 1960 s.

IV.

Comprehension check.

1. Find the synonyms for each of the given word. 1. manual 2. dispose 3. innovative 4. forerunner 5. change 6. continue

a) hand-operated b) new c) retried (of) d) transform e) subject f) go on

2. Fill in the blanks with words from the box: mouthpiece, bellows, equip, drudgery, improvements. 1. 2. 3. 4.

To make his family living, Antonio had to do ________. The ______ of the first vacuum cleaner were very big. The_______ of my cleaner got broken. To start working on the doctor’s idea we must______the laboratory with all the necessary instruments. 5. Due to the ____made by our engineers all the machines were sold. 3. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones using the facts from the text. 1. The first vacuum cleaner was made in the 18th century and it was hand-operated. 2. It was difficult for one person to operate the first cleaner because the mouthpiece was heavy. 3. The first cleaner blew dust into the air. 4. In 1901 Hurbert Booth used a filter to suck the dust away. 5. Some machines were so big that householders had to leave them outdoors and only the hose was led into the rooms. 6. In 1912 Mr. Kirly invented a vacuum cleaner operated without electricity. 7. The machine produced by Scott and Fetzer became the predecessor of the modern cleaners. 8. Jim Kirly worked for George Fetzer and Carl Scott Till the 1960s. 4. What do you think 1. What was the drawback of early vacuum cleaners?

2. What is Booth’s principle all modern vacuum cleaners are based on? 3. Who inspired Jim Kirby to develop the concept of vacuum cleaner? 4. Whose design of vacuum cleaner was the first? V. Discussion . 1. One of you is Hurbert Booth, the other is a newspaper journalist. 1901. Hurbert Booth is giving an interview about himself and his invention. 2. One of you is Jim Kirby, the others are George Scott, and Carl Fetzer. 1960. The famous inventor and two businessmen are talking part in a TV program devoted to their work on vacuum cleaning machines and their production.

Text 2

Clothes Washer I. First thoughts. Would you name any household duties? What about washing clothes? Do you wash your clothes yourself? Do you wash clothes by hand or with a clothes washer? II. Study the words. Make sure you know them stream, soap, laundry, boiler, machine, lye, ashes, to scrub, to wring, to extract.

III. Read the text and try to point out some features the washers offer today. And you wonder why it is called the Stone Age. In the good old days, clothes were washed in a stream, by bounding the garments with rocks, stones and heavy sticks. Forget about soap - water was the sole cleansing agent. Fire added heat to the laundry mix, when clothes were washed in tubs with water heated over open fires and soap made at home from a combination of lye and ashes. Clothes were scrubbed on a corrugated board, wrung by hand, rinsed, then wrung again, and draped on lines or bushes to dry. Women's hands were freed by 1927, when wringer washers became standard, eliminating the washboard, open tubs and the boiler. A few "pumps" with the foot started the motor of the machine and kept it humming. The first automatic washer - one that washed, rinsed and extracted water from clothes in one process - debuted at a county fair in Louisiana, in September of 1937. After World War II, the demand for washers was enormous. By 1953, automatic washers were outselling wringer washers ten to one. Today, washers offer a variety of features including a selection of cycles for washing different types of garments and water temperature and level options. IV. Comprehension Check. 1.Match the words and their meanings by placing the proper letter on each blank. _1. to wring (out) _2. to pound _3. to rinse (out; away) _4. to scrub

a. to strike repeatedly or with force b. to clean smth by rubbing c. an article of clothing d. to twist by hand or machine

_5. garment

e. to wash lightly with water

2. Find the word which does not correspond to the other words in the line: a. Laundry, clothes, soap, washer, fair b. Fire, lye, ashes, pump, heat c. County, include, corrugate, drape, outsell.

V.

Discuss with your partner (or groupmates).

1. What new information about clothes washers have you learnt? 2. Do you agree that an automatic washer was one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century? 3. Think of the firms producing clothes washers and say what is the best and why.

3. Fill in the blanks with the words from the box. variety, steam, tub, temperature, option a. The _____ of the water was enough to boil an egg. b. Ivan has no ____but to leave New York for Moscow within a week. c. In the department store there is a great ____ of modern clothes washers. d. His speech is just a ____ of thoughts. e. Alex an Susy bathe their baby in a big _____. d. Decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. a. In the early times people washed clothes in a stream, by striking it with strokes or sticks. b. Soap was first made in 1927 from a combination of lye and ashes. c. The wringer washer is the predecessor of the modern automatic washing machine. d. The first automatic washer debuted at a fair in 1937. e. Modern washers have different functions from the selection of cycles for any types of clothes to the changing of a temperature level.

Text 3

Refrigerator I. First thoughts: How do people manage to keep the products fresh? How did they do it in the earliest times? II. Study these words . Make sure you know them method, food, invention, freezer, system, automatic, spring, celler III. Read the text and do the tasks following it. The earliest method of refrigeration was the storage of food in caves and cold springs. This method of storing food in cold places slowly evolved, as people began keeping food in their cellars, in their outdoor window boxes, in the snow, or underwater in nearby lakes, streams or wells. The invention of the icebox led to more efficient refrigeration. Ice was delivered to houses by delivery men and was used in wooden iceboxes

that were lined in tin or zinc and insulated with sawdust or seaweed. The use of ice for refrigeration continued until World War I, when mechanical refrigeration came on the market. The first electric refrigerators with freezer compartments came on the market in the 1920s and 1930s. However, the mass production of refrigerators began after World War 11, when researchers had been able to successfully adapt large refrigeration systems for use in homes and shops. In the 1950s and 1960s, the invention of automatic defrost and automatic ice makers further improved the efficiency of refrigerators. Refrigerators also became available in a wide variety of size, color, and design. IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match following words and their meanings by placing to proper letter on each blank. __1. refrigerate __2. storage __3. efficient __4. nearby __5. well __6. tin __7. defrost

a. not far away b. method of space for storing c. shaft sunk into the ground to obtain water, oil, etc d. make or became cool or cold e. container f. obtainable g. become unfrozen

2. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. The first electric refrigerator appeared between 1950s–1960 s. 2. The mass production of refrigerators began before World WarII.

3. The efficiency of freezing improved with the invention of ice-boxes. 4. The method of freezing improved with the invention of iceboxes. 3. Arrange the following sentences according to the logic of the text: 1. The invention of ice-box led to more efficient refrigeration. 2. Delivery men brought ice to houses in wooden ice boxes. 3. The mass production of refrigerators started after adaptation large refrigeration systems for use in homes and shops. 4. Storage is the earliest method of refrigeration. 5. The first electric refrigerators with freezer compartments came on the market in 1920s – 1930s. 6. The mechanical refrigeration continued until Wold War I. V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. Have you learnt any new information about refrigerator ? 2. Do you know any of the best trademarks of refrigerators in the world? Name them. 3. Make your advertising slogan for refrigerator and describe its technical characteristic. Choose the best example of the advertising slogan in your group.

Text 4

The Microwave Oven I. First thoughts What is your understanding of these words: magnetron, microwave, pop-corn, radar-set. II. Study the words. Make sure you know them.

and limp. To make matters worse, Raytheon chairman Charles Adams cook quit because Adams demanded he prepare food with a microwave oven. In fact, it took decades after the invention of the microwave oven for it to be refined to a point where it would be useful to the average consumer. Today, Percy Spencer's radar boxes melt chocolate and popcorn in millions of homes around the world. IV. Comprehension Check.

bar, snack, kernel, explode, inch III. Read the text and say why the microwave oven is a big help to busy men and women. Shortly after the end of World War II, Percy Spencer, already known as an electronics and war hero, was touring one of his laboratories at the Raytheon Company. He stopped momentarily in front of a magnetron, the power tube that drives a radar set. Feeling a sudden and strange sensation, Spencer noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket had begun to melt. Spencer, who obtained 120 patents in his lifetime, knew how to apply his curiosity. So he did what any good inventor would he went for some popcorn. Spencer didn't feel like having a snack, he asked for unpopped popcorn. Holding the bag of corn next to the magnetron, Spencer watched as the kernels exploded into white morsels. From this simple experiment, Spencer and Raytheon developed the microwave oven. The first microwave oven weighed a hefty 750 pounds and stood five feet, six inches. At first, it was used exclusively in restaurants, railroad cars and ocean liners - places where large quantities of food had to be cooked quickly. But culinary experts quickly noticed the oven's shortcomings. Meat refused to brown. French fries turned white

1. Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box. pocket, explode, consumers, useful, generate

1. I can’t find my keys but suddenly remembered that I forgot them in the ___________. 2. I’ve heard a loud noise as if something ___________. 3. There were a lot of ________ in the grocery. 4. Electronic genius make _______ thing we use every day. 5. Microwave ovens _________ radiowaves inside. V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. The microwave oven is an example of a “labor-saving device”. Labor-saving devices save people a lot of time and effort. What other labor-saving devices do you know? What labor-saving devices do you have at home? How do these devices help you and your family?

2. If you could design a labor-saving device, what device would it be? How would it help people? Draw the device in your notebook and tell the class how it would work. Text 5

Ice Cream Cone I. First thoughts. What associations does the word “ice-cream” call to mind ? Make a list of ideas. II. Study these words. Make sure you know them. exposition, seller, fairgoer, dish, scorcher. III. Read the text and say where the first ice cream cones were made and sold. For folks who lived anywhere near St. Louis, Missouri, the biggest event in the summer of 1904 was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which took place in that city. No one knew beforehand, but that exposition was the occasion where ice cream cones were first made and sold. The person who did it was named Charles Menches and he was a seller of ice cream. But he didn't plan to invent the ice cream cone. This is how it happened. Charles Menches sold his ice cream in dishes the way every other ice cream man did. That August when the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was at its height, was a real scorcher, however, and one day disaster struck Mr. Menches. There were so many hot and thirsty fairgoers wanting ice cream that he ran out of dishes. And it wasn't even noon. He had more than half a

day of business ahead of him and not a single dish to serve his ice cream on. What did Menches do? He looked around him and thought fast. Nearby was a stand where his friend, Ernest Hamwi, who was from Syria, was selling a Middle Eastern treat called Zalabia. Zalabia consists of a crisp, wafer-like pastry sold with syrup. "Give me Zalabia!" cried Menches. He rolled up the Zalabia, scooped his ice cream on top, and presto! Ice cream corne were born IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match the definitions for the words and say, what concept brings this group of words together: 1. butter 2. ice-cream churned 3. cheese

4. margarine

a. a product made from curd with or without added cream. b. a diary product which is from cream. c. a frozen product made from a combination of milk products, eggs, water and sugar with flavouring and colouring matter. d. a product similar to butter but made from hydrogenated fats with added butter-type flavouring and colouring.

2. Fill in the blanks with the verbs given below. Use a verb in the right form. a. invent b. plan

d. take e. do

c. sell

f. happen II.

Charles Menches invented ice-cream cone in the summer of 1904. The idea of ________ a Middle Eastern treat called Zalabia helped him______ice-cream cones. But he _____ ______ to invent them so it ______ by chance. It was during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition which _______ place in that city.

Study the following words. Be sure you know them:

accurate, navigate, signal, speed, photo, shuttle man-made, military, servey III.

Read the text and name the types of satellites used to do different jobs.

V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates 1. What new information have you learnt from the text? 2. What sorts of ice-cream do you know? 3. What sort of the ice-cream do you like most? 4. Describe your favorite ice-cream using the following words: delicious soft nice juicy creamy chocolate sweet hard

Unit III. Text I

Machines in Space I. First thoughts: 1. What are “satellites”? Mention some satellites that you know about. 2. What are man-made satellites used for?

The earth is one of several satellites of the sun. Satellites are things that go around the sun or a planet at the same speed all the time. The earth's biggest satellite is the moon, but since 1957, when Russia launched the first man-made satellite, there have been hundreds of others sent up to do different jobs. There are different kinds of man-made satellites in space. Military satellites have cameras which can see what is happening in other countries. These help countries defend themselves against surprise attacks. Communication machines, called Comsats, travel through space at the same speed that the earth turns so that they are always over the same place. Signals from one earth station are received and sent back down to another station thousands of miles from the first. Before Comsats, it was necessary to lay long expensive cables, which couldn't carry many messages. Comsats carry thousands of messages each minute. Map makers are drawing much more accurate charts and maps because they have photos from survey satellites showing exactly where everything is, and weather forecasters have photos of all the clouds around the world. They can see when a storm is forming, and they can tell how long it will take to strike. Navigators on ships and airplanes can now find out exactly where they are by use of the Satnav system - even when it is cloudy or foggy and no stars are to be seen.

Laboratory satellites are usually the only ones that have people in them. The Russians have a lab that has been constantly occupied by scientists for many years. There are plans to build a very large satellite called a space station. Much of the knowledge about how to do this has been learned aboard American Shuttle labs which become satellites for a few days at a time and then return to the earth, so the labs can be changed and sent into space again to learn something Someday, people may live their entire lives aboard satellites in space.

IV.

Comprehension check

1. Match the following words and their meanings by placing proper numbers on each blank: __1. launch __2. camera __3. speed __4. survey __5. data __6. attack __7. entire __8. satellite

a. happening all the time b. to use weapons violently in order to damage or destroy c. a machine used for taking still or moving photographs d. to examine an area in order to measure the area and make a map of it e. the process of working out position, direction, and speed while traveling f. to send something into the air or into space g. the rate at which something moves or travels h. an object that is sent into space and travels around the earth or another planet

__9. navigation __10. constant

i. whole j. information k. room or building used for scientific experiments

2. Read the text again to decide if the following statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. Neptune is a satellite of the solar system. 2. A satellite is something that goes around itself. 3. The first man-made satellite was launched by Russians. 4. The moon is the biggest satellite of the sun. 5. Hundreds of satellites have been sent up, and they have all had the same purpose. 6. Comsats are used for navigation. 7. Comsats travel at a faster speed than the earth. 8. Before Comsats, information was transmitted using cables. 9. Survey satellites help map-makers draw their charts and maps more accurately. 3. Arrange the following sentences according to the logic of the text: 1. American shuttle labs become satellites for a few days at a time and then return to the earth. 2. Map makers are drawing much more accurate charts and maps. 3. Navigators on ships and airplanes use the Satnav system to find out where they are. 4. The earth’s biggest satellite is the moon. 5. There are military, communication, survey, weather, navigation and laboratory satellites.

6. Comsats travel through space at the same speed that the Earth turns. 7. Russia launched the first man-made satellite. 8. Satellites are things that go around the sun. V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

What new information have you learnt from the text? Would you like to be an astronaut and work in space? Do you think that in future man will live in outer space? What do you think life will be like? Where will people live? What will they eat? How will they dress?

Text 2

Apollo Astronauts. Land on the Moon. I. First thoughts: Read the following words: Apollo, astronaut, NASA, lunar module, Neil Armstrong Comment on these words II. Study the words. Make sure you know them. humans, stage, engine, equipment, gravity, decade, space, design.

III. Read the text and the tasks following it. The start of America's effort to get humans to the moon is often linked to President Kennedy's 1961 speech, which set this as a goal to achieve by the end of the decade. His speech boosted funding for NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration), but the journey to the moon really goes back to 1959, when NASA was just beginning. NASA’s first space exploration program, named Mercury, was an urgent attempt 16 catch up to the Russians, who had already launched an orbiting satellite and put a dog into space. Mercury successfully put an American into earth orbit in 1961 for 24 hours. The next stage of the U.S. space program, called Gemini, advanced spacecraft design by engineering dockable components. The Apollo program followed, named for the Greek god of music, prophecy, medicine, light, and progress. Apollo spacecraft were designed for travel to the moon. Improving on Gemini's component parts, Apollo spacecraft were made up of three modules. The command module could carry three astronauts. The service module held the engines, electric power generator, and oxygen and water stores. The lunar module was itself a two-stage vehicle, designed to get the astronauts from the command module orbiting the moon to the moon's surface, and then to serve as their shelter while on the moon. Several test flights were accomplished, but on January 27, 1967 a fire in the command module on the launch pad killed all three drew members. A faulty hatch had prevented their escape. NASA took a step back from its hurried pace. The missions of Apollos 7, 8, 9, and 10 tested equipment in Earth and lunar orbit, but Apollo 11 was slated to land on the moon. It launched on July16, 1969 at 9: 23 a.m.

2. The first space exploration program, named Mercury was an urgent attempt to catch up to the Russians, who had already launched an orbiting satellite and put a dog into space. 3. The Apollo program, followed after Mercury and Gemini space programs, was named for the Roman got of music, prophecy, medicine, light and progress. 4. The command module could carry three astronauts and two dogs. 5. Apollo –11 was launched on July 16 and seventy-six hours later it entered lunar orbit.

Seventy-six hours later, it entered lunar orbit. There was a television camera on board the lunar module, so the entire world could see mission commander Neil Armstrong climb lightly dawn the ladder in the moon’s low gravity and could hear his slightly scratchy voice transmitted to Houston: ”That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”

IV.

Comprehension check.

1. Match the words and theirs meaning by placing proper letters an each blanks. __1. explore __2. spacecraft __3. store __4. vehicle __5. surface __6. Accomplish __7. crew __8. climb down

a. to ascend gradually b. all the persons working a ship or aircraft c. the outside d. travel into or through for the purpose of learning e. perform, finish successfully f. Apparatus designed for travel beyond the atmosphere g. Quantity or supply of something kept for use as needed h. Any device for carrying or conveying persons or objects i. group of persons working together

2. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. The journey to the moon really goes back to 1958, when NASA was just beginning.

3. Arrange the following sentences according to the logic of the text: 1. Apollo-11 spacecraft was designed for travel to the moon. 2. The first space program, named Mercury successfully put an American into earth orbit in 1961. 3. Apollo spacecraft were made of three modules. 4. The missions of Apollo-7, 8, 9 and 10 were to test equipment in Earth and lunar orbit. 5. Thanks to a television camera on board the lunar module the entire world could see mission commander N. Armstrong climbing down the ladder and hear his words transmitted from the Moon: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” V.

Discuss with your partner or groupmates 1. What new information have you have you learnt from the text? 2. What outstanding political figure helped to boost the start of America’s effort in space exploration?

3. Why do you think the moon exploration program was named the “Apollo” program? 4. What great technical achievement made possible for the people go round the globe to see the lunar mission? Text 3 SPACE AGE BEGAN I. First thoughts: Read the following words: a. orbit, sputnik, globe, artificial b. spaceship, Yuri Gagarin, Vostok I, April 12, 1961 What associations do these words call to mind? II.

Study the words. Make sure you know them. satellite, mile, circle, orbit, altitude

III. Read the text for obtaining information. SPACE AGE BEGAN October 4, 1957, the world awoke to a new sound. A very weak "beep " coming from outer space. People everywhere tuned their radios to listen to the first man-made artificial earth satellite - Sputnik. The Soviet Union had beaten the United States to space. It was 500 miles up, traveling at 18,000 miles an hour; and it circled the globe every 96 minutes and it flew over the United States seven times a day. The sound of its incessant beeping fascinated and disturbed the nation. FIRST MAN IN SPACE The Space Age began or October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first Earth-orbiting satellite -Sputnik. It

weighed 184 pounds (83.6 kilograms). The highest extent of its orbit was 584 miles (942 kilometers). It circled the Earth every 96 minutes and remained in orbit until early 1958, when it fell back into the atmosphere and burned. The effect of Sputnik on an unsuspecting world was electrifying. The United States was especially surprised and embarrassed. The public's attention was immediately directed to the failure of the schools to teach mathematics and science adequately. Although this failure was not fully remedied, the United Stales did put its first satellite into orbit on January 31, 1958. The space race had begun. Just as the Soviet Union beat the United States into space with Sputnik in 1957, so it was first to send an astronaut into space in 1961. The Soviet cosmonaut's name was Yuri Gagarin, who graduated from the Air Force school at Orenburg in 1958. Gagarin went aloft in the spaceship Vostok 1 on April 12,1961, at 9:07 a.m. He orbited the Earth once in one hour and 29 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 187 miles (301 kilometers). The ship landed the same day at 10:55 a.m. It was Gagarin's only space flight. IV. Comprehension check. 1. Match the words and their meanings by placing a proper letter on each blank. __1. artificial __2. space __3. circle __4. launch __5. embrace __6. orbit

a. to cause mental discomfort; b. send into outer space; c. the boundless expanse in which all objects exist and move; d. not natural or real; made by the art of man; e. send forth with some force; f. path followed by one heavenly body

round another g. space enclosed by a curved line; go round, move in a circle. 2. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false? Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. People everywhere tuned their television-sets to listen to the first man-made artificial earth satellite. 2.The Soviet Union had beaten the United States into space. 3.The United States put its first satellite into orbit on Jan. 30, 1958. 4. The first Soviet cosmonaut graduated from the air Force school at Orenburg. 3. Arrange the following sentences according to the logic of the text: 1. The first Earth sputnik circled our planet every 96 minutes. 2. The artificial sputnik flew over the United States seven times a day. 3. People everywhere tuned their radios to listen to a very weak beeping of the first satellite-sputnik. 4. The Soviet Union was the first to send an astronaut into space in 1961 5. The united States did put its first satellite into orbit January 31, 1958. 6. The spaceship Vostok orbited the Earth in one hour and 29 minutes. V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. What new information have you learned from the text?

2. In ancient times scientists wondered what the stars were and what the Moon was alike. Can you think of any names? 3. Were you and are you curious about what is up in the sky? 4. Have you ever tried to look into space using telescopes? Ask your group-mates. 5. Would you like to travel into space as a space-tourist?

Unit IV Text I

First Electronic Computer I. First thoughts. I. Can you imagine how the first computer looked like? II. Study the words. Make sure you know them: Calculator, typewriter, vacuum tube, operation, standard III. Read the text and do the tasks following it:

The first fully automatic large-scale calculator was built by Howard Aiken of Harvard University working with engineers from International Business Machines Corporation. It was called Harvard Mark I and was completed in 1944. Data were entered on punched cards, and output was on punched cards or processed on an electric typewriter. It was a large machine - 15 meters long and 2.4 meters high.

The first generation of what can be called a real computer, not just a calculator, was the Colossus, put in operation in 1943 in Bletchley Park, near London, England. It was used to decipher German codes in World War II The Colossus1 however, was built only for this task. The distinction of the first general-purpose computer goes to a machine known as ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator designed and built by J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. These Machines were enormous by today's standards, but they were less powerful than today's computers. They used hundreds of vacuum tubes. The invention in 1948 of the more efficient and much smaller transistor which does the same work as vacuum tube, helped make today's personal computers possible. IV. Comprehension Check 1. Match the words and their meanings by placing the proper letter on each blank. __1. to calculate __2. to punch __3. to decipher __4. to process __5. enormous __6. enter

a) to find the meaning of something b) to find out by working with numbers c) to make a hole in something d) to put something through the system in order to get information e) write, record names, details into a book, etc. f) great, immense

2. Read the text again to decide if these statements are true or are false? Correct the false ones with the facts from the text.

1. The first automatic large-scale calculator was completed in 1946. 2. The first generation of computers was used only as a calculator. 3. The first computer was used only as a calculator. 4. The first computers were very huge, expensive and not available. 5. The invention of transistor made computers more available for everybody. 3. What do you think? 1. 2. 3. 4.

Who built the first automatic calculator? When and where was the first computer put into operation? What was it used for? What was the first distinction of a general-purpose computer? Who built it?

V. Discuss with your partner (or group-mates) 1. What new information about first computers have you learnt? 2. Can we call the man, who designed the first computer a genius?

Text II Personal Computer I. First Thoughts Who are Bill Gates and Paul Allan? Are these names familiar to you? II. Study the words. Make sure you know them. bankrupt, hobbyist, company, easy-to-use, price, fray, competitor. III.

Read the text and do the tasks following it:

In 1974, calculators were the hot item in consumer electronics. A little calculator company in Albuquerque was struggling to compete, but a price war threatened to bankrupt it. Its owner, research engineer Ed Roberts, determined to make it all or nothing. He decided to build a small computer based on the recently developed, inexpensive microprocessors from Intel, and sell it to electronics hobbyist at the amazingly low price of about $500. Roberts called his computer the Altair 8800 and offered it as a kit. The Altair didn't actually do much as a computer. It didn't have a screen or a keyboard or any software. But it filled a hole. It was the very first personal computer on the market. The larger computer companies were busy developing mainframes and improving computer systems for industry, and couldn't really see why anyone would want a home computer. They also failed to see the implications of the new microprocessors that were small and cheap.

Users had to program Altair in machine code using toggle switches. A Harvard student and his friend, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, realized Altair would be a lot better if users could program it in BASIC, a popular, easy-to-use computer language, instead of machine code. The enterprising pair called Roberts offered to develop a BASIC interpreter for the Altair. He agreed and within six weeks bought the program from Gates and Allen. He hired Allen as software developer. Allen and Gates later established Microsoft Corporation. Altair sparked an entire industry, as new personal computer companies popped up in its wake. One of these companies was the creation of a hobbyist who couldn't afford an Altair kit, so he created his own from scratch. Stephen Wozniak polished up his creation in 1976. With his friend Steve Jobs, he began to sell it and then improve it. In 1977, they introduced Apple II and made Apple Computer Company the fastest growing business in American history. In 1977 Ed Roberts sold his company. Two years later, like many others entering the volatile market, it had folded. In 1982, IBM entered the fray with its own personal computer, the PC, which became Apple's biggest competitor.

IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match each pair of antonyms in the group by drawing a line between them: 1. expensive 2. high

a. hot b. like

3. unreal 4. within 5. earlier 6. dislike 7. cold 8. better 9. the slowest 10.unpopular

c. enter d. low e. real f. outside g. unexpensive h. popular i. the fastest k. worse

2. Here are some words that you often use. Write synonyms for each of them on the blank. Take the words from the box.

6. When was IBM created? 4. Arrange the following sentences according to logic of the text. 1. Bill Gates and Paul Allen offered easy-to-use computer language. 2. In 1974 Ed Roberts created Altair. 3. Allen and Gates established Microsoft Corporation 4. Altair sparked an entire industry 5. In 1977, Apple Company was created V. Discuss with your partner or group-mates.

1. well-known, to find, quick. Whole, to do, gap. 2. article, to set up, to make better, to construct, get bigger. 1. to build 2. to make 3. fast 4. to improve 5. popular 6. to discover 7. entire 8. to establish 9. item

_________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________

1. Do you think creators of Microsoft Corporation, Apple Computer Company and IBM are good businessmen?

Text 3

Computer Mouse: First Introduction I. First thoughts. Why did the innovators call computer mouse “a mouse”?

3. What do you think.

II. Study the words. Make sure you know them.

1. Who built Altair? 2. Did Altair look like PC? 3. What did Bill Gates and Paul Allen offer for users? 4. What companies appeared at that time? 5. Who created Microsoft Corporation?

interactive, user-friendly, demonstration, locate, patent, prototype.

c) completely d) surely III. Read the text and do the tasks following it. 4. to earn Years before personal computers and deskpot information processing became commonplace or even practicable, Douglas Engelbart had invented a number of interactive, user-friendly information access systems that we take for granted today: the computer mouse was one of his inventions. At the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco in 1968, Engelbart astonished his colleagues by demonstrating the before mentioned systems using an utterly primitive 192-kilobyte mainframe computer located 25 miles away! Engelbart has earned nearly two dozen patents, the most memorable being perhaps for his "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System": the prototype of the computer "mouse" whose convenience has revolutionized personal computing. IV. Comprehension check. 1. Find the synonyms for the following words: 1. commonplace a) necessary b) usual c) simple d) free 2. granted -

3. utterly

a) guaranteed b) ordinary c) accepted d) common a) usually b) simply

a) to work b) to give c) to win d) to get

2. Read the text again to decide if these statements are true or false? Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. Douglas Engelbart invented several information access systems. 2. These systems were demonstrated at the University of Pensilvania. 3. The demonstration of these systems was astonishing. 4. Invention of “a mouse” revolutionized personal computing. 3. What do you think 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Who was the first to design a computer mouse? When and where was it first demonstrated? What impression did it make? Why were the conference participants astonished? What was the prototype of the computer “mouse”?

V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. What new information have you learnt from the text? 2. Was the invention of computer mouse a great step forward in personal computing?

Unit V Text 1. Fleming Discovers Penicillin. I. First thoughts. 1. What associations does the word “penicillin” call to mind? 2. Make the list of ideas.

II. Study the following words. Make sure you know them. enzyme [ lysozome [

]

fluid [ ]

]

tear [

] jumble[

l]

III. Read the text and do the tasks following it. Who discovered penicillin? Penicillin was the first antibiotic, a special drug that is very good at killing bacteria. With antibiotics, many illnesses can soon be cured that were once incurable. Penicillin was discovered by accident by the British scientist Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928. He noticed that a mold which had formed in a dish in his laboratory was killing bacteria in the dish. From the mold, penicillin was later prepared. In 1938, Howard Floery and Ernst Chain found a way to make penicillin in large quantities. Alexander Fleming returned to his research laboratory at St. Mary’s Hospital in London after World War I. His battlefront experience had shown him how serious a killer bacteria could

be, much worse even than enemy artillery. He wanted to find a chemical that could stop bacterial infection. He discovered lysozome, an enzyme occurring in many body fluids, such as tears. It had a natural antibacterial effect, but not against the strongest infectious agents. He kept looking. Fleming had so much going on in his lab that it was often in a jungle. This disorder proved very fortunate. In 1928, he was straightening up a pile of Petri dishes where he has been growing bacteria, but which had been piled in the sink. He opened each one and examined it before tossing it into the cleaning solution. One made him stop and say, “That’s funny.” Some mold was growing in one of the dishes. …not too unusual, but all around the mold, the staph bacteria had been killed … very unusual. He took a sample of the mold. He found that it was from the penicillium family, later specified as Penicillium notalum. Fleming presented his findings in 1929, but they raised little interest. He published a report on penicillin and its potential uses in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology.

IV. Comprehension check. 1. Match the following words and their meaning by placing the proper letter on each black. _1. toss a) cause (a vechile) to crash _2. pile b) throw up _3. fortunate c) go or penetrate below the surface esp. of a liquid. _4. bacteria d) lucky _5. sink e) unicellular micro-organism lacking an organized nucleus _6. infection f) microorganisms _7. Mold e) disease

2. Read the text again to decide if the statements are true or false? Correct the false ones with the facts from the text.

III. Read the text and do the tasks following it.

1. A killer bacteria couldn’t be worse than enemy artillery. 2. Lysozome occurs in many body’s parts, such as throat. 3. Penicillin was discovered accidentally by H. Floery and E. Chain. 4. A mold can kill bacteria. 5. Fleming’s findings in 1929 raised much interest.

On January 2, 1968, an amazing occurrence in the history of medicine took place. On that day a South African doctor, Christian Barnard, successfully transplanted a human heart into a man named Philip Blaiberg. The technique he used in performing his surgery had been developed in 1959. Although very many organ transplants are still being performed, they are slightly less publicized today than they were in 1968 and 1969. The original feelings of success wore off quickly when the doctors discovered that they had not completely solved all the problems of such operations. One of the biggest problems is the fact that the patient's system is not always willing to accept a foreign organ. It works against, rather than with it. When this happens, the transplant is a failure, and the patient's life is in danger. On August 17, 1969, Doctor Barnard's patient died because his body rejected his new heart. The history of transplanting human organs began in the 1930s. The first attempts were made on the cornea of the eye. Since the cornea has no blood vessels, there was no necessity of typing the patient and donor's antigens. Most of these operations were successful. Surgeons first tried to transplant a kidney in the early 1950s. To avoid the need for typing, the donor and recipient at that time were twins. For a number of years, such an operation was only successful when performed on twins. But by 1969, due to the development of agents that would prevent rejection, kidney transplants were made successfully on unrelated persons. If a patient survived the first three months after the operation, he was given an eighty percent chance of living

V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. New information he/she has learnt from the text? 2. Life could be much worse without special drugs, chemicals.

Text 2 Transplanting Man’s Heart I. First Thoughts Can you tell when you first knew about the transplanting man’s heart. How did you do this? II. Study the words. Make sure you know them. organ transplants, danger, artificial, antigen, technique, vessels, patient, donor, recipient.

three more years or longer. The liver, pancreas, and lung have been transplanted with success. Throughout the history of medicine, doctors have worked to invent better methods of saving the lives of their patients. The steps they have taken to do this have been slow and often frustrating. Doctors and scientists are constantly confronted with new problems just when they think that old ones have been solved. In the field of heart transplants, doctors are now working to perfect artificial hearts that will keep patients alive until heart transplant donors have been found. An operation for this purpose was performed for the first time in the United States on April 4, 1969. The artificial heart kept the patient alive for two and a half days until it was replaced by a donor's heart. An ultimate goal in heart transplant research is to make an artificial heart that can remain in the patient's body for the rest of his life. Many problems must be combatted in this search. The lives of many men are valiantly devoted to the task of saving the human heart. Perhaps in the near future they will completely succeed.

2. Write S, A or N in front of each pair of words to tell whether they are synonyms or antonyms or neither. The first one is done for you. A. -

artificial / natural chance / possibility operation / purpose success / failure advance / development man / person artificial / man-made make / enjoy many / few alive / magic purely / slowly complete / not full begin / start survive / discover

3. What do you think.

IV. Comprehension Check. 1. Match the words and their meaning by placing the proper letters on each blank. __1. surgery __2. publicized __3. solution __4. damaged __5. goal __6. donor

a. injured, harmed b. treatment of disease by operation c. the answer to the problem d. an end or objective e. made widely known, advertised f. a person who goes smth., or offers smth.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. IV.

When did the history of transplanting human organs begin? What event took place on January 2, 1968 and where? Why was Doctor Christian Barnard famous? Was technique used in his surgery new? Did the doctors solve all the problems of such operations? Discuss with the partner or groupmates.

1. Can there be even more breakthroughs in the field of medicine in the future? 2. Can you predict any?

Text 3. Watson and Crick Describe Structure of DNA. I. First thoughts. Can you tell what DNA is?

II.Study these words. Make sure you know them. nucleic acid, protein, x-ray. III.

chain,

ribose,

humidity,

to deduce,

Read the text and do the tasks following it. What is DNA?

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. This is a substance that is present in every living cell. However, each living thing has a different kind of DNA. The kind of DNA you have in your cells gives you all the features you inherit from your parents. In the late nineteenth century, a German biochemist found that the nucleic acids, long-chain polymers of nucleotides, were made up of sugar, phosphoric acid, and several nitrogencontaining bases. Later it was found that the sugar in nucleic acid can be ribose or deoxyribose, giving two forms: RNA and DNA. In 1943, American Oswald Avery proved that DNA carries genetic information. He even suggested DNA might actually be the gene.

In 1948, Linus Pauling discovered that many proteins take the shape of an alpha helix, spiraled like a spring coil. In 1950, biochemist Erwin Chargaff found that the arrangement of nitrogen bases in DNA varied widely, but the amount of certain bases always occurred in a one-to-one ratio. These discoveries were an important foundation for the later description of DNA. In the early 1950s, the race to discover DNA was on. At Cambridge University, graduate student Francis Crick and research fellow James Watson (b. 1928) had become impressed especially by Pauling’s work. Meanwhile at King’s College in London, Maurice Wilkins (b. 1916) and Rosalind Franklin were also studying DNA. The Cambridge team’s approach was to make physical models to narrow down the possibilities and eventually create an accurate picture of the molecule. The King’s team took an experimental approach, looking particularly at x-ray diffraction images of DNA. In 1951, Watson attended a lecture by Franklin on her work to date. She had found that DNA can exist in two forms, depending on the relative humidity in the surrounding air. This had helped her deduce that the phosphate part of the molecule was on the outside. Watson returned to Cambridge with a rather muddy recollection of the facts Franklin had presented, though clearly critical of her lecture style and personal appearance. Based on this information, Watson and Crick made a failed model. It caused the head of their unit to tell them to stop DNA research. But the subject just kept coming up. IV.

Comprehension check.

1. Find English equivalents in the text for: обнаружить ______________

состоять из форма основание быть в разгаре сузить преломление влажность делать вывод команда неясный

______________ ______________ ______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

Text 4. Cloning of an Adult Mammal. I. First Thoughts. What is cloning.? Will it ever be possible produce exact copies of human beings?

to

2. What do you think 1. What was found by a German biochemist in the late XIX century? 2. Who suggested that DNA carries genetic information? When did it happen? 3. What was an important foundation for the description of DNA? 4. In what scientific institutions were researches on DNA carried out? 5. What did the Cambridge team try to create? 6. What kind of work did King’s team carry out? 7. What did Franklin find out about DNA? 8. Why did Watson and Crick fail? V.

Discuss with your partner or groupmates.

1. What new information about DNA he/she has learnt from the text? 2. Is it really important and necessary to know DNA structure? Why?

II.

Study these words. Make sure you know them.

fashion, genetic, clone, mammal, expert, egg, offspring, to extract. III.

Read the text and do the tasks following it.

When Dr. Ian Wilmut introduced the world to the world to the first successful clone of an adult mammal – a seven-month old Finn-Dorset lamb named Dolly – a new frontier in science opened wide. When Dr. Ian Wilmut and his team from the Roslin Institute created a lamb named Dolly, they accomplished what many experts thought was a scientific impossibility. Unlike offspring produced in the usual fashion, Dolly does not merely take after her biological mother. She is a carbon copy, a laboratory counterfeit so exact that she is in essence her mother’s identical twin. In 1996, Dolly became the first large animal to be cloned from genetic material extracted from an adult cell. Scientists

inserted a cell from a ewe’s udder into an egg from the same animal after removing the egg’s DNA. The bioengineered embryo was implanted in the ewe’s womb and Dolly developed as a clone. Her birth at the Roslin Institute in Scotland was announced in 1997 and caused an international sensation.

IV.

V. Discuss with your partner or groupmates. 1. What new information about cloning have you learnt from the text? 2. Do you think that scientists should be allowed to conduct human and animal cloning experiments?

Comprehension Check.

1. Match the words with their meaning by placing the proper letter on each blank. _1. adult _2. frontier _3. to accomplish _4. to take after _5. to counterfeit _6. udder _7. ewe _8. womb _9. offspring

a) to look or behave like b) a bag like organ of a cow, from which milk is produced c) a grown up female sheep d) a fully grown person or animal e) to succeed in doing smth f) to copy closely in order to deceive g) an organ where offspring develop before it is born h) child or children i) limit or border

2. What do you think 1. Where was Dolly cloned? 2. Why doesn’t Dolly take after her biological mother? 3. What cell was inserted into an egg?

Part II

Additional texts for Reading Henry Ford. Bringing the Automobile to the Common Man I. Read the text about H.Ford and do the tasks following it. Henry Ford is a man who literally transformed the world. The car he built and the changes he made on the techniques of industrial production revolutionized the lives of people everywhere. At the height of his fame, in the 1920s, Ford was a name known universally. Ford himself came from a humble farming background. Born July 30, 1863. in Dearborne, Michigan, near Detroit, young Henry hated almost everything about farming except the machinery. When he was 16 he went to Detroit to serve as an apprentice in a machine shop. He held a series of jobs and became completely knowledgeable of the way different types of machines operated.

He began to experiment with internal combustion machines in his home workshop in 1891. He was one of many would-beinventors working on plans for the automobile; and he discussed his project with other mechanics and businessmen working in Detroit. In 1896 Ford succeeded in building an automobile powered by a gasoline engine which he had built in his kitchen sink. Running on four horsepower, the car could reach a speed of 25 miles per hour. Ford organized the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899 and produced a small number of cars before the company collapsed two years later. He designed and manufactured racing cars, and in 1900, raced one model at 70 miles per hour. In 1903, at the age of 40, and with an investments 28,000, Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company. The automobile was still considered a toy of the rich, and Ford set about to change this situation. In the early years of the company's existence, Ford was involved in legal battles challenging patents which restricted his freedom to alter the internal combustion engine to better suit the car he wished to build. Winning a clear victory in the courts, Henry Ford established an early reputation as a foe of monopolies and the champion of the common man. The Model T Ford was introduced in 1908. It was boxy and tinny-looking, as its nickname, the "Tin Lizzie," implied; but it was within the purchasing power of people who were not rich. It fulfilled the goal which Ford had set for himself: "I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials by the best men to be hired, after the simpliest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will' be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one— and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."

II.

Match paragraphs 1-7 with the best heading.

A. The goal set by Ford B. The foundation of the own company C. The man who changed the world D. Passion for the machinery E. Defender of the common man interests F. The project born in home workshop G. Manufacture of racing cars for people III.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Choose the best variant based on the information from the text:

1. a. b. c.

Henry Ford is a man who … the world. reconstructed changed rebuilt

2. a. b. c.

Young Henry went to Detroit and … in machine shop. worked as an engineer worked as a waiter worked as a apprentice

3. He began to experiment with his internal combustion machine in his … a. kitchen b. garage c. workshop 4. In 1896 Ford succeeded in building an automobile powered by a gasoline engine which he had built… a. in bathroom b. in his kitchensink

c. in his washing machine 5. Hanry Ford decided to change the situation because the automobile was still considered… a. a toy for teenagers b. a toy of the rich c. a toy for inventors 6. In the early years of the existence Hanry Ford was considered as … and the champion of the common man. a. a great friend of monopolies b. an enemy c. an advocate 7. Henry Ford fulfilled his plan to build a motor car for the man … a. who could make a good salary b. for the people who were not rich c. who didn’t like the price of a car

Text 2 HENRY FORD I. Read the text and do the tasks following it. Ford was able to lower the price of the Model T from the $850, which it cost when it first appeared, to $360 in 1916. He did this by introducing mass production assembly line techniques. In 1913 Ford conducted his first test of assembly line manufacture. He drew up the techniques which he had

observed in a Chicago meat packing plant where an overhead trolley moved the carcasses of animals from one butcher to another: since each butcher had a special job, he could do his cutting work faster and more efficiently than when he had to cut up the whole animal by himself. The assembly line revolutionized car production. A chassis that formely took 12.05 hours to build in the shop, now rolled off the assembly line in an hour and a half. This made it possible to triple the production of Model T's within three years. Ford also introduced the $5.00 wage for an eight-hour day. Such a salary was unheard of in 1914, and he attracted both national and international attention when he began this practice. He also introduced a plan which allowed his workers to share in the profits of the company—the profit sharing plan which is used by many companies today. Ford was a genuine folk hero to the American people. He represented the virtues of an older, simpler agrarian society— hard work, self-reliance, and thrift even though he contributed to the demise of agrarian life. He was a colorful figure, and stories of his love of running (long before the days of jogging) and his strange notions about diet (he sometimes ate grass sandwiches) were well known. People had an idea of who Henry Ford was—and he in turn, seemed to know what the American people wanted in terms of a product. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford accumulated more than $1 billion. Between the years 1908 and 1947 when he died, he contributed more than $40 million to charitable causes, such as public hospitals, and research institutions. He established the Ford Foundation which continues to support various programs in education, media, and culture. And he constructed Greenfield Village, near his birthplace in Michigan, as a living museum representing the industrialization of America.

II. Match paragraphs 1-6 with the best heading. A. The big growth of the production B. The new profit sharing plan C. Introduction of the new manufacturing techniques D. Folk hero to the American people E. Charity contribution of H.Ford to culture science and education F. His love for agrarian life

b. he was a colourful figure c. he was fond of grass sandwiches

1. 2.

4. H. Ford established the Ford Foundation which continues to support …

3. 4.

a. various programs in agrarian development b. various programs in sport c. various programs in education and culture

5. 6.

III. Choose the best variant based on the information from the text:

Text 3 TELEVISION

1. Ford was able to lower the price of the Model T by introducing… a. the techniques in meat packing plant b. new chassis c. assembly line 2. Ford attracted both national and international attention when he … a. introduced a plan allowing his workers to buy shares of the company b. introduced the plan used by many companies today c. introduced the plan of selling shakes to the company 3. H. Ford was a genuine folk hero to the American people because … a. he represented the virtues of an older agrarian society

I. Read the text and do the tasks following it. An important thing can have a small beginning. The first television picture that was ever seen was not exciting. It was only a picture of a face, and the picture only traveled a few meters. But to the inventor, John Logic Baird, it was wonderful. Baird had always been interested in science, but not all of his experiments had been successful. In 1900, when he was twelve years old, he and some friends built a private telephone system. It worked well, but one night a storm pulled down the wires that the boys had stretched across the street. A man who was standing in the street was hurt by the falling wires, and the boys' telephone system had to be closed down. A few years later, Baird and a classmate built a plane, which they launched (with John in it) from a roof. Luckily, when the plane crashed, it fell on some grass, so John wasn't badly hurt.

After studying electrical engineering at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow, Scotland, John Baird went to the University of Glasgow. When he finished school, he got a job in a power station that supplied electricity to the Clyde Valley in Scotland. When he used the power supply at the station for one of his experiments, all of the electricity in the Clyde Valley was cut off! That was the end of his job. Baird went to Hastings. He thought about some inventions that he was interested in. One of his ideas was transmitting pictures by wireless. He worked with an old motor that he had found in the junk behind an electrician's shop, a metal cookie container, an old wireless telegraph, some needles, flashlight batteries, and pieces of wood. He almost killed himself several times by touching the wrong wires. For three years, he worked alone. Finally, on October 2, 1925, Baird transmitted a picture of a human face - the face of a fifteen-year-old boy. In January 1926, members of the Royal Institution came to see his invention. Baird's demonstration was a success. By 1929, the public had become interested television. In September of that year, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), which controlled all broadcasting in England, started experimental transmission with Baird's equipment. However, other companies and inventors in England and the United States had discovered better transmission methods. In 1937, when the BBC examined all of the existing television systems, Baird's was not chosen. John Baird was not discouraged, however, and continued to work on other inventions. II.

Match paragraphs 1-6 with the best heading.

A. Baird is first scientific experiments. B. First Job

1. 2.

C. The first television picture D. Experimental transmission in England E. The idea of transmitting pictures F. Baird’s demonstration of his invention III.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Choose the best variant based on the information from the text:

1. John hogie Baird had always been interested in … a. sport b. music c. science d. marketing 2. When John L. Baird was twelve years old he and some friends built … a. a private television system b. a private telephone system c. a private radio system d. a private laboratory 3. When John L. Baird finished school, he got a job in… a. a telephone company b. a private bank c. a power station d. an electrician shop

4. One of his ideas was transmitting … a. sounds by post b. electricity c. pictures by wireless d. pictures by telegraph 5. J.L. Baird used …for his experiments a. old cars b. pieces of stone c. a metal cookie contained d. flashlight batteries

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Do you watch TV regularly or occasionally? What about other members of your family? Do you watch the same programs? Are there any programs that you particularly like? What are they? Do you regularly watch news programs? Do you watch programs on the educational channel? Did the TV stop you from reading or did it stimulate you to read more? If you were a program caster what programs would you choose?

The team that gives the most convincing arguments wins.

6. In January 1926, members of the Royal Institution came to see … a. his electrician shop b. his wireless telegraph c. his involution d. to listen to his report

Text 4

Our Solar System Watching TV

Many people have already forgotten what the world was like before television. Several generations of children have grown up with a TV-set as a baby-sitter, teacher and a companion. It has become an integral part of our lives. No medium (CMU) can compare with television as a means of information, entertainment and education. 1. Work in teams. Prove that television is a means of information, entertainment and education. Think of the best arguments. You may use the following questions:

I.

Read the text and do the tasks following it.

1. Have you ever tried to count the stars in the night sky? Nobody knows how many there are. A group of stars is called a galaxy, and there are millions of galaxies in the universe. Our sun is one of the smallest stars on the edge of our galaxy, the Milky Way. 2. Let's imagine a tour of our solar system. We begin our journey from the sun, but of course we could never live there - the temperature on the surface is 6000°C! The first planet we see is Mercury. It is strange because the same side always faces the Sun, so one Half of the planet is very hot and the other side is extremely cold. It orbits the Sun once every 88 days. The

next planet we see is cloudy Venus, which has an atmosphere of poisonous gases and temperatures of up to 500°C! Our Earth is the next planet we pass on our journey. 3. After Earth is Mars, which is the nearest planet to the Earth. Mars is not very warm. Temperatures can fall to - 100°C. Spacecraft have landed on Mars a number of times, first in 1976 and more recently in 1997. We now know more about Martian rocks and the Martian atmosphere. Some scientists now believe there used to be primitive life on Mars because there is frozen water there. 4. The next four planets on our tour are giants. The enormous Jupiter has a moon called Europa where scientists think there may also be water. Next is Saturn, famous for its colourful rings of rock and ice which go round it. We know very little about the other two giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, and less about tiny Pluto, the furthest planet from the Sun. Pluto takes 248 Earth years to go round the Sun! II.

Match each paragraph with the best title.

A. The Outer Planets B. The Universe C. The Inner Planets

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

How long is a year on Mercury? How hot is it on Venus? When did spacecraft first land on Mars? Why do some scientists think there used to be life on Mars? What is special about the moon Europa? How long is a year on Pluto?

IV.

Choose the best variant based on the information from the text:

1. Our sun is one of the smallest stars … a. b. c. d.

on the edge of the universe on the edge of the galaxy on the edge of the solar system on the edge of the atmosphere

2. The planet which has an atmosphere of poisonous gases is … a. Mercury b. Venus c. Jupiter d. Mars 3. Mars is the nearest planet …

III.

Match the following questions with the titles of each paragraph:

A. The Outer Planets B. The Universe C. The Inner Planets

a. b. c. d.

to the sun to the Moon to the Earth to Venus

4. We know more about the Martian atmosphere because … 1. What is our galaxy called? 2. How hot is the surface of the Sun?

a. …Mars is the nearest planet

b. …there are colourful rings around it c. …spacesraft landed on Mars a number of times d. …of the temperature on the surface of the planet. 5. The furthest planet from the Sun is … a. b. c. d.

Neptune Saturn Uranus Pluto

V. Discuss with your groupmates what you know about our planet, the Earth?

Text 5

The UFO story I.

Read the text and fill the gaps using the sentences given below it.

The letters UFO stand for Unidentified Flying Object. UFOs are mysterious flying things. If we knew what they were, they would be IFOs -Identified Flying Objects. An aeroplane is an IFO. So are satellites, kites, balloons, and meteors, all commonly mistaken for UFOs. Many people think that every case of seeing UFO must have an ordinary explanation. (56).............The popular idea is that UFOs, if they exist, come from space. Through the centuries, people have observed unusual objects in the sky. From about 1950 these stories were given much publicity in newspapers. The number of reports grew and grew. Many were tricks (57)..............But there were always a few

unsolved mysteries. Throughout the world, organizations appeared to investigate UFOs. (58).....................All kinds of different people are interested in UFOs. and the methods of searching for them vary widely. They are usually unlucky. (59).................. Some places are particularly favoured by UFO searchers. In Britain, Warminster is UFO country, and in America most UFOs have been seen in the south-eastern states. Because we do not know for certain what UFOs are, it is difficul^ to know how to obtain scientific? facts about them. (60)........................ a. But there are an increasing number of scientists who are interested in UFOs and may help provide new knowledge about these phenomena. b. But despite their research we are still unsure whether to be excited, or afraid or whether we should just laugh about UFOs. c. Others believe that UFOs do exist and cannot readily be explained away. d. Many turned out to be distant stars or planets. e. UFOs do not seem to appear when one is looking for them. II.

Read the text and arrange the following questions according to the logic of the text:

1. Have people observed unusual objects in the sky through the centuries? 2. Are all kinds of different people interested in UFOs? 3. What is the popular idea of the origin of UFOs? 4. What are UFOs? 5. Are satellites or meteors IFOs or UFOs? 6. Is it easy to obtain scientific facts about them?

III.

Decipher these abbreviations:

1. IFOs are ……. 2. UFOs are …….. IV.

Discuss with your groupmates the problem of UFOs, using the following phrases:

I think that … I’ve never seen … I am sure that UFOs … People believe UFOs are … There are places … Nobody knows for certain… Text 5

The Problems of Inventors I.

Read the text and do the tasks following it.

Many of the modern world's most famous discoveries and inventions were not made by scientists, but by amateur inventors. Often, these inventors had such unusual ideas that they were laughed at. But people like these, working on their own, gave us many of the things we use every day. Clarence "Bob" Birdseye, who invented frozen foods, was both a successful inventor and a good businessman-. But it took him years to overcome the biggest problem of successful inventions -convincing people to try something new and different. Birdseye first tried to freeze fish. After years of experimenting with the process, he started Birdseye. Seafoods, Inc. But the company soon went bankrupt. Even though the

process worked, people didn't believe that frozen fish could possibly be good. It took a long time, but people finally accepted frozen food. By the end of his life, Birdseye, who was a completely self-taught inventor, had 100 patents that he sold for a total of 22 million dollars. Few inventors were as successful as Birdseye. Some, like the original owners of Coca-Cola, didn't realize the potential of their discoveries. The son of the inventor of Coca-Cola sold the recipe for $2,300. Today the product is worth billions of dollars. In 1853, Karl Gerhardt invented aspirin, but he didn't know what to do with it. Fifty years after his invention, a German company discovered that it was a painkiller and has since made millions selling it. Edwin Armstrong invented FM radio, but he spent his whole life trying to protect his invention. Competitors stole his patents, and companies cheated him out of money. Finally, he became so frustrated with his failures that he ended his life by jumping out of a window. Most great inventors, like Gerhardt and Armstrong, made little or nothing from their inventions. The first person with a new idea may get attention, but he also gets the problem of an untried idea. In business, it is sometimes better to be second. lI. Read the text again and decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text. 1. Birdseye Seafoods, Inc. was a big success. 2. The inventor of Coca-Cola became rich. 3. Karl Gerhardt didn't realize the potential of aspirin. 4. Edwin Armstrong loved the competition of the business world. 5. It takes more than just a good invention to make money.

III. Discuss the following questions in pairs. 1. Why did Birdseye's first company go bankrupt? 2. Who discovered that aspirin is a painkiller? 3. Why did Armstrong kill himself? 4. What is the biggest problem of successful inventions? 5. Why do you think many inventors are not good businessmen?

Text 6

How to be a Successful Inventor I. •

You are going to read an article about important inventions. Draw a line if there is any connection between these words.

Paper factory Velcro Fax machine Telephone Steam engine II.

Alexander Graham Bell James Watt wasps’ nest Giovanni Caselli seed pods

Read the text again and see if you guessed correctly.

Well, you need good timing for a start. You can have a great idea which the public simply doesn't want ... yet. Take the Italian priest, Giovanni Caselli, who invented the first fax machine using an enormous pendulum in the 1860s. Despite the excellent quality of the reproductions, his invention quickly died a commercial death. It was not until the 1980s that the fax

became an essential piece of equipment in every office …too late for Signor Caselli. Money also helps. The Frenchman Denis Pap in (1647-1712) had the idea for a steam engine almost a hundred years before the better-remembered Scotsman James Watt was even born ... but he never had enough money to build one. You also need to be patient (it took scientists nearly eighty years to develop a light bulb which actually worked) ... but not too patient. In the 1870s, Elisha Gray, a professional inventor from Chicago, developed plans for a telephone. Gray saw it as no more than 'a beautiful toy', however. . . When he finally sent details of his invention to the Patent Office on February 14th 1876, it was too late; almost identical designs had arrived just two hours earlier ... and the young man who sent them, Alexander Graham Bell, will always be remembered as the inventor of the telephone. Of course what you really need is a great idea — but if you haven't got one, a walk in the country and a careful look at nature can help. The Swiss scientist, George de Mestral, had the idea, for Velcro when he found his clothes covered in sticky seed pods after a walk in the country. During a similar walk in the Trench countryside some 250 years earlier, ReneAntoine Ferchault de Reaumur had the idea that paper could be made from wood when he found an abandoned wasps' nest. You also need good commercial sense. Willy Higinbotham was a scientist doing nuclear research in the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, USA. In 1958 the public were invited to the Laboratory to see their work; but both parents and children were less interested in the complicated equipment and diagrams than in a tiny 120cm screen with a white dot which could be hit back and forth over a 'net' using a button and a knob. Soon hundreds of people were ignoring the other exhibits to play the first ever computer game - made from a simple, laboratory instrument called an 'oscilloscope'.

Higinbotham, however, never made a cent from his invention: he thought people were only interested in the game because the other exhibits were so boring! III. Answer the following questions in pairs. 1. Did Caselli's 'fax machine' actually work? 2. Who designed the first steam engine? 3. Who built the first steam engine? 4. Why does the story of the light bulb show that inventors need to be patient? 5. Who invented the first telephone? 6. What did the inventors of Velcro and of paper have in common? 7. What was the purpose of the exhibition at the National Laboratory at Upton in 1958? 8. Did Professor Higinbotham understand the potential of his computer game? IV. Discuss the following with your partner. 1. What information in the article did you already know? 2. What facts (events, information) surprised you most? Text 7

The World of Coca-Cola I. Read the text to obtain information Coca-Cola was born in Atlanta on May 8, 1886, when a pharmacist, named Dr. John Styth Pemberton produced the syrup,

according to legend, in a brass pot in his backyard. When, by accident or design, carbonated water was added to the syrup, it produced a drink that was declared "delicious and refreshing". The trademark "Coca-Cola" was registered in the U.S. Patent Office on January 31, 1893. Through clever advertising, the demand for the product grew by leaps and bounds. Today the Coca-Cola bottling system is the largest, most widespread production and distribution network in the world. The international growth of Coca-Cola began in 1900, when a son of the company's founder took a jug of syrup with him on a vacation to England. The same year Coca-Cola traveled to Cuba and Puerto Rico. The first bottling company on the European continent began operation in France in 1920. Many people outside the United States had their first taste of Coca-Cola during World War II, when 64 bottling plants were set up abroad to provide more that 5 billion bottles of Coke for American service personnel in Europe and the Pacific. In the next 20 years the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled. II. Choose the right answer based on the information given in the text 1 . The trademark "Coca-Cola" came to existence in A. 1886 B. 1900

C. 1920 D. 1893

2.The drink became popular because A. it was the only drink B. its advertising was clever

C. it was very hot D. the price was cheap

3. Nowadays "Coca-Cola" is the most widespread product in A. The U.S.A. B. Europe

C. Cuba and Puerto-Rico D. all around the world

Text 8 CNN I. Read the text to obtain information.

4. The first presentation of the drink in Europe was made by A. Dr. Pemberton B. The U. S . Patent Office

C. Dr. Pemberton's son D. the company ' s founder

5. On the European continent the first plant producing "CocaCola was established in A. England B. France

C. Germany D. Netherlands

6. During World War II the "Coca-Cola" company's plants abroad produced the drink to supply A. many people from different B. American service personnel

C. people in the U.S. countries in Europe D. service personnel in the U.S. in Europe and the Pacific

III. Discuss the following in pairs 1. Which information in the article did you already know? 2. Was there anything you didn’t know?

CNN (Cable News Network) is the world's first 24-hour news network. CNN came to existence on June 1, 1980, reaching 1.7 million U.S. households through cable TV. Today, with its headquarters in Atlanta, it is the largest television news-gathering organization in the world, with nine U.S. and 19 international bureaus, reaching 30 million households in more than 130 countries. Its programming includes live coverage of the world's most important stories as well as in-depth reporting and daily and weekly scheduled programs such as the Week in Review, CNN World Report, The International Hour, The World Today, and Larry King Live. In 1981 Headline News appeared. Originally known as CNN2, it pioneered news format that included continually updated newscast 24 hours a day. Each 30-minutes segment starts with 13 minutes of top news stories, then continues with a four-minute business news called Dollars and Sense, followed by two minutes of sports and five minutes of human-interest features. This format continues around the clock, allowing viewers to tune in at any time and hear the latest news. The news network is available not just to governments or elite groups of people but to abroad spectrum of the world's population. II. Choose the right answer based on the information given in the text 1. CNN is available with top news stories in the U.S. and more than 130 countries thanks to___.

A. the U.S. government B. its 28 bureaus

C. Larry King D. 19 international bureaus Text 9

2. CNN started its round the clock news programs___. I. Before reading A. in 1981 B. today

C. recently D. in 1980

1. Read the headline of the article and say what it will be about using the choice below.

3. The most important events are broadcast _ A. recorded in advance B. sometimes

C. live D. never

4. 24-hour news programs are___. A. not updated B. updated .once a day

C. seldom updated D. continually updated

5. This news network is addressed to___. A. officials B. everyone

C. elite groups of people D. no one

6. Each news hour is divided into___. A. two segments B. three sportsnews programs III.

C. four segments D. four businessnews programs

Discuss with your gropmates:

1. What other broadcasting companies do you know? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching television?

a. The developments in new technologies b. The threat of new technologies c. The benefit of new technologies 2. Read the article and say if your predictions were correct. THE MENACE OF THE MICRO Hardly a week goes by without some advance in technology that would have seemed incredible 50 years ago. Over the past 20 years computers have completely revolutionized our lives. Yet we can expect the rate of change to accelerate rather than slow down within our lifetimes. The next 25 years will see as many changes as have been witnessed in the past 150. These developments in technology are bound to have a dramatic effect on the future of work. By 2010, new technology will have revolutionized communications. People will be transmitting messages down telephone lines that previously would have been sent by post. A postal system which has essentially been the same since the Pharaohs will virtually disappear overnight. Once these changes are introduced, not only postmen but also clerks and secretaries will vanish in a paper-free society. All the routine tasks they

perform will be carried on a tiny silicon chip. As soon as this technology is available, these people will be as obsolete as the horse and cart after the invention of the motor car. One change will make thousands, if not millions, redundant. Even people in traditional professions, where expert knowledge has been the key, are unlikely to escape the effects of new technology. Instead of going to a solicitor, you might go to a computer which is programmed with all the most up-to-date legal information. Indeed, you might even come up before a computer judge who would, in all probability, judge your case more fairly than a human counterpart. Doctors, too, will find that an electronic competitor will be able to carry out a much quicker and more accurate diagnosis and recommend more efficient courses of treatment. In education, teachers will be largely replaced by teaching machines far more knowledgeable than any human being. What's more, most learning will take place in the home via video conferencing. Children will still go to school though, until another place is created where they can make friends and develop social skills through play. What, you may ask, can we do to avoid the threat of the dole queue? Is there any job that will be safe? First of all, we shouldn't hide our heads in the sand. Unions will try to stop change but they will be fighting a losing battle. People should get computer literate as this just might save them from professional extinction. After all, there will be a few jobs left in law, education and medicine for those few individuals who are capable of writing and programming the software of the future. Strangely enough, there will still be jobs like rubbish collection and cleaning as it is tough to programme tasks which are largely unpredictable. If we accept that people have the need to work, then an option might well be to introduce compulsory job sharing and to limit the length of the working week. Otherwise, we could find

ourselves in an explosive situation where a technocratic elite is both supporting, and threatened by, vast numbers of the unemployed. Whether the future is one of mass unemployment or greater freedom and leisure will depend on how change is managed over this difficult period and how the relationship between work and reward is viewed.

II.

Reading for main ideas.

1.Using the information from the article agree or disagree with the statements. Say Yes or No. ____Over the past years new technologies have completely revolutionized our lives. ____Some traditional professions (for example lawers) will escape the effects of new technologies. ____The new electronic devices will cause the changes in education and medicine. ____Some jobs will still exist as they are difficult to be programmed. ____New technologies will be dangerous for people. ____New technologies will completely replace people in all areas of their lives. 2.What’s your opinion? Do you think people are right when they say that new technology is “a double edged sword”?

Text 10 ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE I.

Before reading 1. Say which forms of energy are most used today? 1. _________ 2. _________ 3. _________ 4. _________ 2. Read the article and say which form(s) of energy you probably did not mention.

1. Is there really an energy crisis? Or do we depend too much on a single form of energy? During recent generations, the world depended mostly on hydroelectric power. Governments built dams across rivers, forming large lakes and putting thousands of acres of land under water. The water flowing over the dams turned turbines to generate electricity. Today giant power tines carry electricity to distant cities. Some scientists say that these power lines are dangerous because of the electromagnetic fields they produce. More and more people object to hydroelectric power because it seriously changes the balance of nature. 2. Thermonuclear power, or nuclear power, comes from the splitting of atoms. It is a widely used and inexpensive form of energy. However, it is possibly the most dangerous because there are health risks from radiation. 3. Coal, one type of fossil fuel, is one of the dirtiest kinds of energy used. It heats homes and runs factories. Other fossil fuels that come from the earth are petroleum products: gasoline, which is used for most vehicles, and natural gas, which is used for some vehicles, but mostly for heating and cooking. At the

present time, some New York City buses run on natural gas, which is cleaner and cheaper than regular gasoline. 4. Alcohol is quite commonly used as fuel in Brazil. It comes from one of Brazil's main crops, sugar cane, which is easily processed into alcohol. Methane gas, another source of fuel, comes from garbage, but it is not widely used. From under the ground, Iceland gets geothermal energy, which provides most of the country's heat and hot water. Other sources of energy include the wind and the sun. In Hawaii, for example, the strong winds in some locations turn giant propellers to produce electricity. In many parts of the world the sun fulfills many energy needs. Solar panels heated by the sun produce electricity. Solar energy already provides many homes with heat and hot water. 5. What about future sources of energy? Ralph Hansen, a NASA engineer and the author of Sun Power, proposed a plan to use solar-powered satellites to capture the power of the sun in space, where the sun shines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. His plan would provide low-cost, nonpolluting energy for the entire world. An additional energy source to be developed is fusion energy, the process that powers the sun and the stars. Nuclear fusion, or fusion, represents an unlimited source of energy. In fusion, nuclei combine to form bigger nuclei while releasing energy. Not much is known about how to make it usable, but it seems promising, and millions of dollars of government money will help develop it. Although these sources of energy seem easily available, their high cost is a problem. They are expensive to develop. As a result, they are not as widely used as cheaper forms of fuel. 6. Energy is needed to warm us, cool us, light our way, carry us from one place to another, and process our food. If the world population increases as expected, resources for the kinds of energy we use today may be insufficient. We will have to look closer at different energy sources, such as fusion and

solar power. When will we decide to spend the money necessary to develop these energy sources? Who will pay for it? These questions will need to be answered before we can meet our growing energy needs.

b. The benefits cars can give people c. The danger of cars

II. Reading for main ideas.

For some people, the car is a convenient form of transportation. But for others, the car is an exciting hobby. Some people spend their lives collecting valuable cars. Others drive them in races, including the Mille Miglia in Italy, the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, and the world-famous Indianapolis 500. For many people, cars are more than transportation: they are a source of passion and pleasure. Yet cars can also be a source of many problems. In 1903, Henry Ford began selling the Model T car for $825. His company, Ford Motors, was the first to produce cars in large numbers. This made the car available to large numbers of people and helped them to travel long distances quickly and easily. The car has brought people much closer to places of work, study, and entertainment. Many people also work in car-related industries: fixing cars, washing cars, advertising cars, and selling car products such as stereos and cellular phones. Most Americans buy a new car every five or six years. This means that one American may own a dozen cars in a lifetime. In fact, there are more cars than people in the United States. In New York City, 2.5 million cars move in and out of the city each day. In this traffic, the average speed is sometimes 8.1 miles per hour. This speed could easily be reached by riding a horse instead of driving a car. But New Yorkers continue to drive, just as people do in California, where freeways are often very crowded. Some environmentalists believe that forms of public transportation such as buses and trains have not been fully developed in the United States. They try to teach others that

1. Underline the word or phrase that will complete a true statement 1. Fossil fuels include (a) nuclear energy (b) hydroelectric power (c) petrolium/coal 2. Natural sources of energy come from (a) wind, (b) fussion (c) alcohol. 3. The problem with most alternative sources of energy is (a) the technology is not ready (b) the costs are too high (c) the are limited. 2. What is your opinion? Basing your opinion on the facts in the article tell what makes solar energy a promising source of energy.

Text 11 CARS: PASSION OR PROBLEM?

I.

Before reading.

1. Read the headline of the article and say what it will be about using the choice below: a. The development of cars

2. Read the article and say if your predictions are correct.

public transportation saves fuel and helps to protect the environment. Many people are unhappy with car traffic and pollution, as well as with the use of beautiful land for building new roads. One environmentalist, Jan Lundberg, left his Mercedes-Benz in Los Angeles and moved to the forests of northern California. There he works on the Auto-Free Times, a newspaper that teaches people how to live without driving. Lundberg travels on foot, on bicycle, or by bus. Before he decided to live without a car, Lundberg worked for the oil companies, studying the prices of gasoline. Lundberg and other environmentalists dream of turning parking lots into parks and replacing cars with bicycles, but most people around the world believe that the car is a necessary part of life in today's world. Still, there is an important question that must be answered: What kind of fuel will we use when gasoline is no longer available? Lundberg believes that by the year 2021, there will no longer be oil for gasoline makers to use. To solve this problem, car companies in Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States are trying to develop an electric car that will not require gasoline at all. The electric car is not a new idea. In had success with American women in the early 1900s. Women liked electric cars because they were quiet and did not pollute the air. Electric cars were also easier to start than gasoline-powered ones. But gasoline-powered cars were faster, and in the 1920s they became much more popular. The electric car was not used again until the 1970s, when there were serious problems with the availability of oil. Car companies began to plan for a future without gasoline. The General Motors Company had plans to develop an electric car by 1980; however, oil became available again, and this car was never produced. Today there is a new interest in the electric car, which is partly related to a passion for speed and new technology. In

1977, engineer Paul MacCready, designed a human-powered airplane that successfully completed a three-mile flight. A similar airplane crossed the English Channel in 1977, followed by a solar-powered airplane. In 1987, the Sunraycer, a solarpowered car, won a 2,000-mile race in Australia. As a result of this success, the General Motors Company began new work on the development of the electric car. The Toyota Company recently decided to spend $800 million a year on the development of new car technology. Many engineers believe that the electric car will lead to other forms of technology being used for transportation. Cars may change, but their importance will not. Cars are important to nearly everyone, including engineers, businesspeople, environmentalists, and even poets. Poet Curt Brown believes that cars are part of our passion for new places and new experiences. According to Brown, this "very, very comfortable flying chair" will continue to bring us travel and adventure, no matter how it changes in the future.

II.

Reading for main ideas.

1. Number the following main ideas in the right order. 1. To some people cars are more the transportation 2. Cars will always be important 3. People in the US need cars to go to school, work, places of entertainment. 4. Soon there will be no oil to fuel cars. 5. Cars can cause different various problems. 6. Some people think of how to live without cars.

2. Read the following statements and cross out the details that are not included in the article. 1. There are more cars then people in the world today 2. Two and a half million cars pass through New York City each day. 3. Travel is sometimes slow because of traffic. 4. Cars were first produced in large numbers by Ford Motors. 5. The first electric cars were faster then gasoline-powered cars. 6. The General Motors Company produced an electric car. Text 12 THE MIND MACHINE? I.

Before reading.

1. Read the headline of the article and say what it will be about using the choice below: a. b. c. d.

The work of the brain The experiments on the brain The problems with the brain Brain and computer

2. Read the article and say if your predictions were correct. Although intelligence has been studied, and the brain has been studied, there is little understanding of how the brain works to produce intelligence. This has something to do with the fact that the brain contains around 100 billion cells (about the number of stars in the Milky Way).

One of the continuing myths about the relationship between intelligence and the brain is that the brains of very clever people are somehow physically different from those of ordinary people. At the beginning of the century an American scientist called E.A. Spitzka produced a list of the weights of the brains of important, well-known men. The heaviest brain on the list was that of Turgenev, the Russian novelist, at 2000g. However, the brain of another great genius, Walt Whitman, weighed only 1282g. There are no significant differences between the intelligence levels of males and females. However, girls under seven score a little higher than boys in IQ tests and the highest IQ recorded is that of Marylin vos Savant at 230. However, men and women do differ in the way they think. Generally, women are more skilled verbally and men do better on visual-spatial tasks. Interestingly, the fibres which join the two halves of the brain have been found to be larger in women than in men. This supports the theory that women can change from 'practical' to 'emotional' thinking-more quickly than men. People with mental problems have often been treated extremely badly. Two hundred years ago, the mentally ill were swung around in revoking chairs, or holes were drilled in their skulls to release evil spirits. From the 1930s, the mentally ill were subjected to electric shock therapy and lobotomy - the removal of part of their brain. In the 1960s and 70s, thousands of people were given drugs to cope with anxiety and then became addicted to them. The brain needs ten times as much blood as other organs of the body, as it can't store glucose for later use. This is different to muscles and other organs and although the adult brain makes up only two per cent of the body weight, its oxygen consumption is twenty per cent of the body’s total.

There are similarities between brains and computers. Computers can do complicated calculations at incredible speeds. But they work in a fixed way, because they can't make memory associations. If we need a screwdriver and there isn't one, we will think laterally and use a knife or coin instead. Computers can't do this. In fact, it is claimed that when it comes to seeing, moving and reacting to stimuli, no computer can compete with even the brain power of a fly. Most of our mental processes are deeply formed habits. Challenging your brain to do things differently helps it develop. Try changing routines as often as you can: take a bus instead of going by car, sit in a different chair. An extreme but useful exercise is to read something upside down — you can actually feel your brain at work. Exercise more. Good health and fitness levels give you overall improved energy which leads to better concentration. Cooking is a good all-round mental exercise. It needs mathematical, organisational and scientific skills as well as challenging memory and creative ability. Use recipes at first and then learn to guess amounts, combinations, reactions of ingredients and timing. Do puzzles and play games. Teach yourself to work out codes and expand your vocabulary at the same time.

II.

Reading for main ideas.

1. Read the article and choose the most suitable headings given bellow for each paragraph. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Need for blood Do we know much? The super computer Is bigger better? Make your brain work

6. The battle of males and females. 7. A horrifying history. 2. Read the article again to name more exciting facts on this topic the first has been done for you 1. 2. 3. 4.

The girls under seven score a little higher than boys in IQ __________ __________ __________ Text 13 LEADERS OF THE PAK

I.

Before reading.

1. Read the headline of the article and say what it will be about using the choice below: a. The revolution in the field of food industry b. The founders of the Pak Company c. New products of the Pak Company 2. Read the article and say if your predictions were correct. Gad and Hans Rausing are among the richest men in Britain, their wealth surpassing even that of the Queen. These Swedish brothers, who came to Britain in 1983 have made their millions from one product - TetraPak, the aluminium and plastic laminated container for milk and fruit juice found all over the world.

One evening, near Christmas 1944, a young Swedish economist called Ruben Rausing was watching his wife Elisabeth making sausages in the small kitchen of their home in the university town of Lund, Sweden. He was impressed by the manner in which the sausages were contained in a skin and kept fresh by pressing shut each end. So, he began questioning his wife about the method she used. Their conversation that evening was to lead to the invention that would revolutionise lives throughout the world, and make the couple - and their family - billionaires. For Ruben was to apply the principle to milk, inventing the low-cost, germ-free packaging system, which he called TetraPak - a roll of cardboard twisted to make a pocket and sealed into a rectangular carton. Today if you buy milk or orange juice at virtually any supermarket from Dublin to Peking it will have come from Rausing's idea that day in his kitchen. This is the legend of TetraPak. However, it seems that the reality could be rather different. It is certainly true that Ruben realised the huge potential if a form of germ-free sealed packaging could be found for household items such as milk. But the alternative version of the story suggests that at this point he approached Erik Wallenberg, a young research scientist working for his company. Wallenberg claims hat he is in fact the person who designed the first TetraPak, working from an idea originated by Ruben. Now aged 78, he recalls the day Ruben Rausing came to him. Rausing told him that he had bought a herd of cows which needed milking, and wanted a container made to package the milk. 'I was under a lot of pressure to find a solution,' Wallenberg said, 'but strangely it was while I was at home with flu that I came up with the idea of the tetrahedron-shaped milk package.' Rolling up a piece of paper to demonstrate the process, he continued. T made up my mind that a cylinder - a tube - should

be made and that it should be pressed together at one end. I decided it should also be pressed together at the other end. However, to avoid getting a flat cushion-like package which could contain only a small amount of liquid, I decided to make the second pressing together in a plane at right angles to the first one ... that is simply how the TetraPak was born. I went back to the laboratory and we began testing.' Wallenberg said Ruben had early doubts about the possible success of the idea, 'but we tested it by putting water inside for several days and, when there was no leakage, he was convinced. I think that Ruben Rausing realised its potential immediately. He bought the patent and all rights from me for 3,000 kronor (a little less than £300), which to some people was a half a year's wages at that time. Obviously, at the time those in the company knew of my work but after a while another story began to emerge of the invention — that it had all been the work of Mr Ruben Rausing. Yet although clearly among the world's most successful businessmen, they pride themselves on their secrecy. Whatever is the reality, by 1952 the first TetraPak containers were being successfully produced, and in a few years Ruben had built up a huge business. By the late fifties, all three of Ruben's sons had joined their father within the company. But it was already clear that Hans would play the leading role in the company. 'He was,' says Wallenberg, 'extremely able and, like his father, single-minded. He only seemed to have one interest and that was to make money.' Despite their enormous wealth, today both Hans and Gad live modestly, and as far as Hans is personally concerned, in a recent interview he admitted, 'I have no idea how much money I have. You can't measure money in lists.'

II.

Reading for main ideas.

1. Numbers the following in the order they appear in the article. 1. It was Eric Wallenberg who designed the first Pak. 2. In 1950s Ruben Rausing produced the first Pak containers and built up a huge business. 3. Soon Hans Rausing headed the company because he was extremely talented businessman. 4. Ruben Rausing bought the patent and all rights from Wallenberg for a little less than three hundred pounds. 5. The method used by Ruben’s wife in making home sausages led him to the invention of Pak and made the couple very rich. 6. The alluminium and plastic laminated container allowed the Swedish brothers made their fortune. 2. In a word answer the following questions about what the main idea tells: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Who?______ Where?_____ When?______ What?_______

Text 14

Why the last shall be first

I. Read the text to obtain information Have you heard of Berkey or Ampex? Gablinger or Chux? Perhaps you should have, because each occupies an important place in the history of product innovation. Berkey produced the first hand-held electronic calculators, Ampex the first video recorders. Gablinger developed low-alcohol lager and Chux sold the first disposable nappies. Or perhaps you should not, because none of these companies made a commercial success of their innovations. Today the calculators we use are probably made by Casio, our video recorder comes from Matsushita, our low-alcohol beer is Miller Lite, our nappies are made by Procter & Gamble. In each of these markets the innovator was swept away. Xerox looks like an exception to this sorry catalogue. The company was first into the photocopier market and, even if its dominance was ultimately challenged by Canon, it remains a large and successful company today. But Xerox was also a pioneer in fax machines and personal computers. Each of these eventually proved to be a success - but not for Xerox Corporation. As we all know, it was Apple that developed the personal computer market. But Apple's leadership quickly disappeared when IBM came on the scene. Apple then jumped ahead by introducing the graphical user interface. Its windows and mice brought personal computing within the reach of everyone. But it is Microsoft that does this now. The business world is not kind to pioneers. Even if you know how a market will develop, timing is a matter of luck - or of quite exceptional skill. There are two closely related lessons. One is that being first is not often very important. The other is that innovation is rarely a source of competitive advantage on its own. Individuals and small companies can make a great deal of money out of good new ideas. The success of large established

corporations -Matsushita, Philip Morris, IBM or General Electric is generally based on other things: their depth of technical expertise, their marketing skills. And time and again these characteristics enable them to develop the innovative concept far more effectively than the innovators themselves. This is not to say that there is no role in business for the great innovator. After all. General Electric was built on the extraordinary creativity of Thomas Edison's mind, the Ford motor company on the abilities of its eponymous founder. The imagination of Walt Disney created a company that is still without parallel or rival. Perhaps Akio Morita of Sony occupies a similar place in the annals of modern business. I.

Make notes about the text using the following headings: Innovator Berkey __________ __________ __________ __________

II.

Developer Casio ________ ________ ________ ________

Product hand-held calculator ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Discuss the main points made by the author.

1. Several well-known companies are mentioned what are the reasons for their success? 2. Speak about the connection between Disney, Ford, General Electric and Sony. 3. Can you name any companies which were a) innovators b) imitators

Bibliography 1. “Moscow News”, Moscow-2001, 2002, 2003. pp. Linquist’s Corner 2. Pathways to Build – Austin, Texas. Steck Vaugh Company, 1973. 3. “English” – приложение к газете «Первое Сентября», Москва, 1999 №48.

Reader on Science and Technology Учебное пособие по английскому языку для студентов инженерных специальностей. В.П. Тугарина – общее методическое руководство, определение структуры пособия, ранжирование упражнений и заданий. В.П. Тугарина, Г.Б. Доржиева, Л.Б. Ябжанова, Э.Т. Левчук – подбор материалов, практическая реализация методических требований к построению системы разделов, материалов, упражнений и заданий.

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