Файл: Английский язык: учебно-методическое пособие.pdf

Ex. 9. Prove whether the following statements are true or false using the information from the text:

1. The legal authority in Great Britain is given to the Queen. 2. Great Britain is called a constitutional monarchy because this is written in their Constitution. 3. The British Parliament is the main legislative body of power in the state. 4. The main purpose of the House of Commons is to make laws. 5. All peers and peeresses are given their places in the House of Lords at general elections. 6. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the Opposition. 7. The executive authority in the state is given to the Queen. 8. The aim of the Cabinet is to decide the government policy on major issues.

9.A predominantly multi-party system has always operated in Great Britain.

10.Anthony Blair has still been the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Ex. 10. Work in groups. Find out from your partners:

–about the main bodies of power in Great Britain;

–about the functions of both the Houses of the Bri tish Parliament;

–about the role of the Prime Minister and the Cabi net in the life of the state;

–about the party system of the state.

Ex. 11. Explain why:

–Great Britain is called a constitutional monarchy and what role the Queen plays in the life of the state.

Ex. 12. Imagine that:

–you have just returned from Great Britain where y ou participated in the work of Parliament. Answer your friends' questions concerning the political life of the state;

–you are the speaker of a conference on the proble ms of the structure of the main bodies of power and their functions. Discuss advantages of different systems.

Ex. 13. Read the following texts and give your comments on the problems discussed in them:

a) Foreign relations. The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8 (Group of Eight) and NATO, and a member state of the European Union. The UK has a “Special Relationship” with the United States. Apar t from the US and Europe, Britain's close allies include the Commonwealth nations and other English speaking countries. Britain’s global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe.

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b) Stereotypes are certainly not reliable descriptions of individual people but they still exist. The Irish are supposed to be great talkers. The Scots have a reputation for being careful with money. The Welsh are renowned for their singing ability. The English are individualists. The British have a reputation for being conservative, who have established values without questioning their validity.

Ex. 14. Write a short essay on the advantages or disadvantages of the political system of Great Britain.

UNIT IV. INVENTIONS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Part 1. Invention

Ex. 1. Make sure you know the meaning of the following words and expressions:

invention n., productivity n., ease burdens, novelty n., awareness n., concept n., breakthrough n., extend boundaries, accomplish tasks, realize a purpose, objective n., inspire v., competitive a., secure v., launch a product, countless a., place an emphasis (on), result (in, from) v., brand name n., trademark n., catch on v., customer n., eventually adv., catchy a.

Ex. 2. Practice the pronunciation of the following words: technique, require, modify, radical, technology, efficient, altruism,

commercial, commercialization, reward, design, innumerable, prototyping, quality, patent, encourage, desirable.

Ex. 3. Answer the following questions:

1.What is an invention? 2. In what way does it affect people’s life?

3.What can inspire a person to make an invention?

Ex. 4. Choose a thing (an object, a device or a mechanism) and say how it helps people and if it can be considered an invention.

Ex. 5. Read and translate the following text:

Throughout the history, inventions have helped people discover new worlds, build communities, develop resources, increase productivity, cure diseases, ease burdens, and enjoy life to the fullest.

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An invention is an object, process, or technique which displays an element of novelty. An invention may sometimes be based on earlier developments, collaborations or ideas, and the process of invention requires at least the awareness that an existing concept or method can be modified or transformed into an invention. However, some inventions also represent a radical breakthrough in science or technology which extends the boundaries of human knowledge.

Over time, humanity has invented objects and methods for accomplishing tasks which fulfil some purpose in a new or different manner. Inventors may be inspired to invent through a desire to create something new or better, simple altruism, or for competitive or commercial reasons. An invention may also result from a combination of these motivating factors. Although many inventors may have in mind the commercialization of their product, very few will secure the funding and support often needed to develop and launch a product in the marketplace, and fewer still will experience lasting commercial success or the economic reward they may have expected.

Most great inventors developed countless prototypes, changing their designs innumerable times. Today much emphasis is placed on research and development, prototyping and finding solutions.

New inventions lead to new technologies, create new jobs, and improve our quality of life. A patent helps an inventor to make money from his or her invention by allowing only the inventor or those who get his or her permission to make and sell the invention. Patents encourage investing in research since research results in new inventions. If an invention is new and unfamiliar, it is important for inventors to create a good brand name to call their invention. An interesting brand name or trademark can attract customers. Sometimes it takes a while for a trademark to catch on, and the fact that the invention is desirable makes the trademark for the invention popular. A really catchy trademark can make the invention even more successful.

Ex. 6. Complete each sentence using a word derivationally related to the word given in brackets:

1. Though he had worked very hard, his … didn’t pro ve to be successful (invent). 2. The history of inventions is full of … examples of altruism and … (count, inspire). 3. The introductio n of new machines and techniques has lead to increasing … (productive). 4 . The great … of our engineers are used in all fields of industry and economy (accomplish). 5. An inventor should be … of the fact that his ide a can be transformed into an invention (awareness). 6. New inventions result in the … of our quality of life (improve). 7. A fierce … on the market enco uraged the company to

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invest in research and development (competitive).

Ex. 7. Match the words to their definitions:

production of electricity. 5. The invention of the wheel may have been based … the use of logs for rollers. 6. Developing earlier ideas may result … a new creation. 7. He was sure his invention represented some breakthrough, but the patent office turned it down … no obvious reason. 8 . Junior students have little experience … handling laboratory equipment.

Ex. 9. Substitute the words in italics by their synonyms:

1. Successful cooperation of the two departments led to an increase in sales. 2. Work can be converted into heat. 3. The invention of a steam engine represented a major achievement in technology. 4. He developed countless prototypes trying to attain perfection. 5. A stable demand for the product will ultimately make it popular with the customers. 6. Few inventors can ensure the funding and support to promote their product. 7. Many inventors are often encouraged by the idea of making people’s life better and easier.

Ex. 10. Read the information below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space:

Inventions are easy to define … can be difficult to recognize. An invention is “the discovery or creation of a new ma terial, a new process, a

inventions are the result of accidents. No … how an invention is created it is important to keep careful records and document the invention process.

Ex. 11. Prove whether the following statements are true or false using the information from the text:

1. All inventors are inspired by the economic reward they will get from their work. 2. The design of an invention may be changed several times. 3. A patent gives the right to invent new things. 4. A trademark is fairly unimportant for a new product.

Ex. 12. Complete the statements below. Give extended answers:

1. The text entitled… centers on … . 2. It emphasi zes the idea that … . 3. Furthermore the text reveals some reasons … . 4. It also gives the information about … and points out the importance o f … .

Ex. 13. Choose the best variant to complete the sentences:

1. Inventions help people (understand the value of things; sell products; improve their quality of life). 2. The process of invention (earns money for the inventor; is often based on familiar concepts and ideas; is a breakthrough to the community). 3. Inventors are motivated (by eventual commercial success; by the competition with other inventors; by different factors including those mentioned above). 4. Trademarks and brand names (contribute to the popularity of inventions; are given to the product with the patent; do not matter at all).

Ex. 14. Give your viewpoint on the following questions and statements:

1. The process of invention requires the awareness that an existing concept or method can be transformed into an invention. 2. The process of invention is very complex. What does it include? 3. A good trademark can enhance the success of the product.

Ex. 15. Discuss with your partner the importance of inventions to the progress of humanity.

Ex. 16. In 10 sentences express the main ideas of the text. Ex. 17. Write a short essay on one of the following topics:

–top 10 inventions in history;

–future inventions – what they will be;

–not all inventions are good.

Part 2. Famous Scientists and Inventors

Ex. 1. Make sure you know the meaning of the following words and expressions:

introspective a., expressive a., intensely adv., primarily adv.,

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marketable a., exhibit v., curiosity n., measurement n., division n., clear-cut a., leap n., contribution n., regard v., gravitational a., gravity n., blend v., split v., rejoin v., refraction n., focus (on) v., relativity n., lay out v., exclude v., promote v., height n., productive a., improvement n., employee n., electric light bulb, incandescent light, from scratch, throw a switch, electrical power distribution system, household n., grant v., transmit v., precursor n., fibre optic system, tetrahedral kite, hydrofoil watercraft, appoint v., naturalized a., instructor n., eventually adv., compound n., refine v., uranium ore, substance n., push for v., treatment n., tube n., purify v., cause v., exposure n., frame v., state v., property n., relative a., arrange v., related a., predict v., similar a., rebellion n., support v., retire v., convince v., ascent n., observe v., eclipse n.

Ex. 2. Practice the pronunciation of the following words: theoretician, data, experimentalist, primitive, gigantic, Isaac Newton,

astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, theorize, spectrum, Lincolnshire, Albert Einstein, photoelectric effect, formula, electrodynamics, electromagnetism, Thomas Edison, unique, correct, phonograph, industrial, Manhattan, Milan, Ohio, Alexander Graham Bell, millionaire, metal detector, Marie Curie, radioactivity, radium, Warsaw, La Sorbonne, Paris, Pierre Curie, polonium, radiography, radon, leukemia, chemistry, chemist, periodic law, atomic mass, gallium, scandium, germanium, Siberia, St. Petersburg, Heidelberg, Bureau for Weights and Measures.

Ex. 3. Answer the following questions:

1. What do you think the inventors and scientists do? 2. Does their work differ? In what way? 3. What famous scientists and inventors do you know? 4. What was their contribution to the progress of humanity?

Ex. 4. What famous Belarusian scientists do you know? Find some information on the Internet and report to your groupmates.

Ex. 5. Read and translate the following text:

An inventor is a person who creates or discovers new methods, means, or devices for performing a task. The word “invento r” comes form the Latin verb “invenire” to find. Inventors are introspecti ve, pragmatic, informative, and expressive. They can become highly skilled in functional engineering and invention. Inventors are intensely curious, are always looking for new projects to work on. Inventors are filled with many ideas but they are primarily interested with ideas that can be used to make products or actions. They see product design as a means to an end, the goal being a marketable prototype.

A scientist is a person who uses the scientific method to do research. Scientists are generally motivated, often from childhood, by a desire to understand why the world is as we see it and how it came to be. They

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exhibit a strong curiosity of today is widely recognised.

Scientists include theoreticians who mainly develop new models to explain existing data, and experimentalists who mainly test models by making measurements – though in practice the divisi on between these activities is not clear-cut, and many scientists perform both.

For thousands of years people’s mode of life was primitive. In a short period of time a gigantic leap was made by people in science and technology to reach the present state of human development. The world knows the names of many great scientists and inventors who made the great contribution to the development of world science.

Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac Newton is generally regarded as one of the greatest and most famous scientists in history. Newton was an astronomer, physicist, mathematician and philosopher who is known for theorizing and reporting on gravitational force and the three laws of motion.

Isaac Newton discovered that white light is made up of a spectrum of colours, that when blended together produce the white light. He showed by use of a prism that white light can be split into a spectrum of colours and then used a second prism to show this spectrum can then be rejoined to produce white light. Newton also theorized that light was composed of particles but had to associate the property of light with waves in order to explain refraction of light.

Isaac Newton focused much of his work on the theory of gravitation force and its effect on the orbit of the planets. In his work known as “Principia”, he also presented the speed of sound.

Sir Isaac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, England, on January 4, 1642. Newton died on March 31, 1727 in London, England.

Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century. Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Winner of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect, Albert Einstein was best known for his Theory of Relativity and especially the formula E = mc2.

In 1905, Albert Einstein wrote a paper entitled, “O n the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” that lay out his special theory of relativity. The Theory of Relativity included time, distance, energy and mass and included electromagnetism, excluding gravity.

For his time, Albert Einstein was a social activist, giving speeches promoting pacifism and liberalism. Albert Einstein died April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey.

Thomas Edison. At the height of his most productive years, Thomas

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Edison held 1,097 U. S. patents in his name. He also held many patents in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Not all of Thomas Edison’s inventions, however, were unique to him as many were improvements and modifications of earlier inventions. In addition, some of the inventions credited to Edison were created by numerous employees under his direction.

To correct a popular belief, Thomas Edison did not invent the first electric light bulb. He invented the first commercially marketable incandescent light. One invention that Thomas Edison did invent from scratch and was the first to do so, was the phonograph.

Inside Edison’s industrial research lab were many different employees working on many different projects and products such as the light bulb, phonograph, telephone, telegraph and electric railway. In 1878, Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City and a year later was able to first publicly demonstrate the light bulb. In 1882, Thomas Edison threw the switch to the world’s first electrical power distribution system to 59 households in Manhattan.

Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He died on October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey.

Alexander Graham Bell. Alexander Graham Bell is generally credited in the U. S. with being the inventor of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 3, 1847.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1875, and on March 7, 1876 the U. S. Patent Office granted Bell Patent Number 174,465 regarding the telephone. By 1886, Bell had sold 150,000 telephones in the U. S. Alexander Graham Bell continued to invent even when becoming a millionaire off the sales from telephones. He invented a device that would transmit sound using light, which was a precursor to today’s fibre optic systems and called the device the photophone.

Alexander Graham Bell also invented the metal detector. Bell also went on to work on various inventions for sky and sea such as tetrahedral kites and hydrofoil watercraft.

Marie Curie. Marie Curie (Maria Sklodowska-Curie) was the first person in history to obtain two Nobel Prizes in different areas of science (physics and chemistry). Marie Curie is known for her work with radioactivity and her discovery of radium. Born in Warsaw, Poland, Marie Curie was the first woman appointed to teach at La Sorbonne (University of Paris) and the first woman in France to achieve her doctoral degree.

Curie was born on November 7, 1867 and moved to Paris when she

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