Файл: Задания к ком. тестированию 1сем. 1 курс.docx

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Text 1 ENGINEERING

Words for translation

Engineering is a science which deals with design, construction and operation of structures, machines, engines and other devices used in industry and everyday life. There is no single meaning of this word. Sometimes it is difficult to find the proper Russian equivalents at once. The most widely used are: техника, строительство, машиностроение, инженерное дело.

The term “engineering” is a modern one However, the art of building houses, palaces, pyramids and other structures was known many thousand years ago. Now we call it “civil engineering”. As time went on ¹, the art of civil engineering was enriched with new achievements of science. Nowadays, it is an important branch of national economy.

The invention of steam engine and a growth of factories laid the foundation for mechanical engineering. A number of civil engineers become interested in the practical application of the science of mechanics and thermodynamics to the design of machines. The result was that they called themselves “mechanical engineers”. At present mechanical engineering occupies a prominent position among modern production processes. It deals with the design and construction of steam engines, turbines and refrigeration devices. Machine-tools for various operations are also designed by mechanical engineers.

With the development of the science of electricity, there appeared ² another branch of engineering – electrical engineering. Now electrical engineering is divided into two main branches: communication engineering and power engineering. The former deals with minute quantities of electricity which are used for all kinds of communications, the latter ³ – with the means for producing power. Thus, the electrical

engineer is the one that designs radio, television and telephone equipment. The power

engineer designs generators, switches, transformers, etc.

In the middle of the 20th century there appeared other new branches of engineering – nuclear engineering and space engineering. And, of course, it is impos-sible to speak of present-day engineering without mentioning chemical engineering.

At present there are hundreds of subdivisions of engineering, but they all, at one time or another, branched from civil, mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering.

To become a good engineer you should study many complex and interesting subjects.

Mathematics is a science of space and quantity. It comprises several large branches such as arithmetic and algebra.

Arithmetic deals with numbers and numerical calculations.

Algebra goes beyond arithmetic by greatly extending the symbolism. In particular, algebra utilizes letters for unknown, or specified, numbers. A large part of algebra is the theory of equations. It includes systematic studies of equations of the first, second, third and forth degrees in one unknown.

Geometry is a vast field of mathematics with many subdivisions. The basic elements of geometry are points, lines and planes. Descriptive geometry is concerned with representing three dimensions on a flat surface so that each part is accurately represented.

Physics is the systematic study of natural phenomena to discover the basic laws governing them. Traditionally physics is divided into several major topics, namely, mechanics, heat, optics, electricity and magnetism, atomic and nuclear physics.

Mechanics is the oldest branch of physics, dealing with the state of rest or motion of particles and rigid bodies. The subject has three mean branches: statics, dynamics and fluid mechanics.

Примечания: 1 as time went on – с течением времени

2 there appeared – появилась

3 the formed … the latter – первый (из двух упомянутых) …, последний … (из двух упомянутых)

Words to be learnt

Text 2 USES OF ELECTRICITY

Words for translation

Electricity is the power that made possible the engineering progress of today. When we look around us, we can find this power which is serving us in some way.

Probably, the most important use of electricity in the modern home is producing light. But we seldom think of what is happening to make it possible.

Do you know that the first man-made electric light illuminated the laboratory of the St Petersburg physicist Vasily Petrov in1802? He discovered the electric arc, a form of gas discharge. But in Petrov’s experiments the arc flame lasted for only a short time.

In 1876 Pavel Jablochkov invented an arc that burned like a candle for a long time and it was called “Jablochkov’s candle”. The source of light which was invented by Jablochkov won world-wide recognition.

At the same time some engineers were trying to develop an incandescent lamp. A young Russian engineer Alexander Lodygin made the first successful incandescent lamp. The famous American inventor Thomas Edison improved the lamp. He used a carbon filament. But Lodygin made another important improvement in the incandescent lamp: he invented a lamp with a tungsten filament, the lamp we use today.

Another electric light we use today is the light of the luminescent lamp – a “cold daylight lamp. Artificial daylight lamp are much cheaper that incandescent lamps and

last much longer. This is the lighting of the future.

The uses of electricity in the home do not end with lighting. There are more and more electric devices helping us in our home work.

Besides, electricity is the most important source of energy in industry as well. A worker in a modern plant uses on the average in the machines which he operates over 10 000 kilowatt – hours of electrical energy a year. This means that he uses enough electrical energy to supply seven or eight modern homes during a year.

Automation is one of the main factors of technical progress and automation is impossible without electricity.

We do not imagine our life without telephone, telegraph and radio communi-cations. Electricity gives them life. In recent years electricity made a great contribution to radio communication between the space-ships and also between the astronauts and the earth.

Modern research laboratory does not exist without the aid of electricity. Nearly all measuring devices which are used in nuclear power are operated with the aid of electricity as well.

Words to be learnt

Text 3 THE FIRST RUSSIAN WOMAN-SCIENTIST

Words for translation

The great Russian mathematician, Sophia Kovalevskaya lived in the second half of the 19th century. It was the period of Russian’s progress in science and culture. It was the time when Lobachevsky created a new non-Euclidian geometry and Chebyshev organized a new school of mathematicians.

Sophia was born in Moscow on February 15, 1850 in a well-off family but spent her childhood in a village. Her father, a well-educated person himself, gave a good education to his children. When Sophia was eight an experienced teacher taught her arithmetic, grammar, literature, geography and history. The girl showed an unusual gift in mathematics and at the age of twelve puzzled her teacher when she gave a new solution to a difficult unsolved problem.

In 1867 Sophia wanted to continue her studies in St Petersburg, where her family spent winters. But it was impossible for a woman to attend lectures at the University. Even Chebyshev who at that time headed the Russian mathematical school had no right to allow her to attend his own lectures. The only way out for her was to go abroad, but in this case there was a condition that the woman should be married. Sophia married Vladimir Kovalevsky and soon left Russia.

Sophia Kovalevskaya studied at Heidelberg University, she attended lectures and did a lot of research and practical work.