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was 24 to study science and become a naturalized French citizen. At the university, she met another instructor to whom she would eventually marry named Pierre Curie. The two worked together studying radioactive compounds and refining uranium ore. Besides radium, Marie Curie also discovered a new substance polonium, which she named after her native homeland of Poland.

In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie received the Nobel Prize in physics for their research on radiation. Marie Curie was the first woman to ever receive the Nobel Prize. In 1911, Marie Curie received her second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry for the discovery of radium and polonium.

During World War I, Marie Curie pushed for the use of radiography field units for the treatment of wounded soldiers. The units included tubes of radon gas that Curie purified herself. On July 4, 1934, Marie Curie died of leukemia, which may have been caused by her exposure to radiation.

Dmitri Mendeleyev. Russian chemist who framed the periodic law in chemistry 1869, which states that the chemical properties of the elements depend on their relative atomic masses. This law is the basis of the periodic table of the elements, in which the elements are arranged by atomic number and organized by their related groups.

Mendeleyev was the first chemist to understand that all elements are related members of a single ordered system. From his table he predicted the properties of elements then unknown, of which three (gallium, scandium, and germanium) were discovered in his lifetime.

Mendeleyev was born in Tobolsk, Siberia, and studied at St. Petersburg and in Germany at Heidelberg. He became professor at the Technical Institute in St. Petersburg 1864. But in 1890, for supporting a student rebellion, he was retired from the university and became controller of the Bureau for Weights and Measures.

In addition to his periodic table, Mendeleyev also did practical work to help develop Russian agriculture and the Russian oil industry.

Mendeleyev was convinced that the future held great possibilities for human flight, and in 1887 he made an ascent in a balloon to observe an eclipse of the Sun.

His textbook “Principles of Chemistry” (1868–1870) was widely adopted.

Ex. 6. Match the words to their definitions:

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Ex. 7. Complete each sentence using a word derivationally related to the word given in brackets:

1.His patented discovery was an … over the prior a rt (improve).

2.The chief engineer pushed for the construction of a … plant at the meeting yesterday (purify). 3. In spite of all efforts he failed to design and

Ex. 8. Insert prepositions where necessary:

Rutherford was a New Zealand born physicist, who won the Nobel Prize … his pioneering work in nuclear physics.

Ernest Rutherford was born … 30 August 1871 in Nels on, New Zealand. In 1894 he won a scholarship … Cambridge U niversity and worked as a research student … Sir Joseph Thomson. In 1898 he became Professor of Physics at McGill University … Montrea l, Canada. There he investigated the newly-discovered phenomenon of radioactivity.

In 1908, he was awarded … the Nobel Prize in Chemis try. In 1917 he returned … physics and a long series of experime nts … which he

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discovered that the nuclei of certain light elements, such as nitrogen, could

was the first artificially induced nuclear reaction. Rutherford had virtually created a new discipline, that … nuclear physics.

In 1919 Rutherford became professor … experimental physics and director of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge, succeeding Thomson. From 1925 … 1930 he was president of the Royal Soci ety. In 1931 he was awarded a life peerage and died on 19 October 1937. He was buried … Westminster Abbey. In 1997, the rutherford, a unit … radioactivity, was named … his honour.

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

1. In the end he succeeded in giving a detailed description of his investigation. 2. Mendeleyev’s first Periodic Table was compiled on the basis of organizing the elements in ascending order of atomic weight and grouping them by likeness of properties. 3. The sun is extremely hot. 4. In 1896 an American named Henry Ford displayed a 4-cycle, 2-cylinder, 4-wheeled cart in Detroit’s Bagley Avenue. 5. Scientific discoveries and inventions made in different years caused a gigantic leap in human development. 6. None of the investigations has addressed the problem of organizing a web site automatically from the ground up. 7. Penicillin was discovered by accident by the British scientist Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928. 8. The idea of creating an artificial intelligence was brought about by the development of computer engineering.

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

Coming … a poor family, Faraday was apprenticed at the … of fourteen to a bookbinder. … six years of bookbindin g, to his … good fortune, Faraday, at the age of 21, was introduced … Sir Humphrey Davy; he went and joined Davy at the Royal Institution … Davy’s personal assistant. At … rate, Faraday led a very … career a s a scientist. … there developed quite a dispute over the point, Faraday is … credited with the discovery of electromagnetic induction (1821), and described certain elements and chemical compounds … as chlorine and b enzene.

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

1. Inventors are theoreticians who use scientific method to make things. 2. Isaac Newton derived three laws of motion. 3. Albert Einstein is well-known for the elaboration of the quantum theory. 4. Thomas Edison

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invented the photophone. 5. Marie and Pierre Curie discovered new elements predicted by Mendeleyev.

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

1. The text under discussion deals with … . 2. Scie ntists differ from inventors … . 3. Isaac Newton’s contribution to sci ence is … . 4. Among the most famous scientists of the 20th century we may notice … . 5. The periodic law of chemistry was developed by … .

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

1. Inventors (are interested in developing a new theory; seek to produce a new thing which would be used by people, test models by making measurements). 2. Newton theorized (the principles of simple machines; the chemical and physical properties of radioactive elements; that the light was composed of particles). 3. Thomas Edison (created many useful inventions working on his own; made a great number of inventions all of them being unique; held many patents in different countries). 4. Alexander Graham Bell became a millionaire (due to the commercial success of the telephone invented by him; because he inherited a vast sum of money from his parents; only after he made other inventions such as photophone, metal detector, etc). 5. Marie Curie was the first woman (who became a naturalized French citizen; who achieved a doctoral degree in France and two Nobel prizes; who was engaged in scientific investigation). 6. Dmitri Mendeleyev (discovered the first radioactive elements; made the first human flight; ordered all known chemical elements into a system).

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

1. The work of scientists and inventors is essential for human development. 2. Achievements of great scientists are widely used in modern science and technology. 3. What famous scientists and inventors of present can you name? What is their contribution?

Ex. 15. Choose a field of science (physics, chemistry, biology, computer engineering, etc.) and think of any great people within this field. Discuss their achievements and discoveries with your partner.

Ex. 16. In 15–20 sentences express the main ideas o f the text. Ex. 17. Write a short essay on one of the following topics:

–Belarusian science;

–how to be a successful inventor;

–ancient scientists and their discoveries.

Part 3. Science

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

refer to v., restrict v., acquire v., applied science, term v., differentiate from v., application n., reproducible a., prediction n., contention n., rule out v., self-consistent a., framework n., bind v., underlying a., benefit v., attempt v., determine v., profound a., impact n., establish v., owe v., existence n., liquid a., evaporate v., latent heat, advance n., high-voltage spark, emerge v., simultaneous a., preserve v., flavour v., edible a., vast a., kidney dialysis machine, fatal a., artificial valve, coronary heart disease, affair n., contaminate v., vehicle exhaust, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas, alter v., entire a., in vitro fertilization, unprecedented a., deliberately adv., warfare n., destructive weapon.

Ex. 2. Practice the pronunciation of the following words:

science, systematic, method, to classify, phenomenon, discipline, category, specialized, expertise, specific, event, objective, process, technological, hypothesis, model, theory, to analyze, individual, automobile, electronics, plastics, synthetic, biochemical, antibiotics, vaccination, infectious, environment, carbon dioxide, atmosphere, ethical, genetic, cloning.

Ex. 3. Answer the following questions:

1.What is science? 2. In what way does science affect human life?

3.What important scientific discoveries can you think about?

Ex. 4. What do you think is the least developed field of science nowadays? Find some information on the Internet and tell your group about it.

Ex. 5. Read and translate the following text:

Science (from the Latin scientia, “knowledge”), in the broadest sense, refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method.

Fields of science. Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines:

–natural sciences, which study natural phenomena ( including biological life);

–social sciences, which study human behaviour and societies. There are also related disciplines that are grouped into

interdisciplinary and applied sciences, such as engineering and health science. Within these categories are specialized scientific fields that can include elements of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own

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terminology and body of expertise.

Science is sometimes termed experimental science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of scientific research to specific human needs, though the two are often interconnected.

Scientific method. The scientific method seeks to explain the events of nature in a reproducible way, and to use these reproductions to make useful predictions. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate natural events under controlled conditions. It provides an objective process to find solutions to problems in a number of scientific and technological fields.

Scientists use models to refer to a description of something, specifically one which can be used to make predictions that can be tested by experiment or observation. A hypothesis is a contention that has been neither well supported nor yet ruled out by experiment. A theory, in the context of science, is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behaviour of certain natural phenomena. A theory typically describes the behaviour of much broader sets of phenomena than a hypothesis – commonly, a large number of hypotheses may be logically bound together by a single theory.

Goals of science. The underlying goal or purpose of science is to produce useful models of reality. To achieve this, one can form hypotheses based on observations. By analyzing a number of related hypotheses, scientists can form general theories. These theories benefit society or human individuals who make use of them.

In short, science produces models with useful predictions. Science attempts to describe what is, but avoids trying to determine what is. Science is a useful tool. Today, science has a profound effect on the way humans interact with and act upon nature, largely through its applications in new technology.

Impacts of science. Some forms of technology have become so well established that it is easy to forget the great scientific achievements that they represent. The refrigerator, for example, owes its existence to a discovery that liquids take in energy when they evaporate, a phenomenon known as latent heat. The first automobile, dating from the 1880s, made use of many advances in physics and engineering, including reliable ways of generating high-voltage sparks, while the first computers emerged in the 1940s from simultaneous advances in electronics and mathematics.

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Other fields of science also play an important role in the things the developed world use or consume every day. Research in food technology has created new ways of preserving and flavouring of edible products. Research in industrial chemistry has created a vast range of plastics and other synthetic materials, which have thousands of uses in the home and in industry.

Alongside these achievements, science has also brought about technology that helps save human and non-human life. The kidney dialysis machine enables many people to survive kidney diseases that would once have proved fatal, and artificial valves allow sufferers of coronary heart disease to return to active living. Biochemical research is responsible for the antibiotics and vaccinations that protect living things from infectious diseases.

However, scientific discoveries can also have a negative impact in human affairs. Industrial and agricultural chemicals pollute the global environment and the air in many cities is contaminated by toxic gases from vehicle exhausts. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas releases into the atmosphere carbon dioxide and other substances known as greenhouse gases. These gases have altered the composition of the entire atmosphere, producing global warming.

Science has also been used to develop technology that raises complex ethical questions. This is particularly true in the fields of biology and medicine. Research involving genetic engineering, cloning, and in vitro fertilization gives scientists the unprecedented power to bring about new life. At the other extreme, science can also generate technology that is designed to deliberately hurt or to kill. The fruits of this research include chemical and biological warfare, and also nuclear weapons, by far the most destructive weapons that the world has ever known.

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

1. Scientists … phenomena and prove hypotheses (obs ervation). 2. The

means of experiments and observation scientists can … reality (description). 6. Technological advances are … to our society (ben efit). 7. The Chernobyl disaster caused … of farmland and livestock (contam inate). 8. Sometimes science generates technology that can … the world ( destructive).

Ex. 7. Match the words to their definitions:

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Ex. 8. Insert prepositions where necessary:

1. The development of science and technology often has a negative impact … our environment. 2. We must differentiate hypotheses … the facts that have been proved. 3. Engineering science refers to the field dealing with the art of applying scientific knowledge … practical problems. 4. This new theory owes much … Einstein’s Relativit y Theory. 5. The humanity can benefit … the achievements brought abo ut … all fields of science. 6. The burning of fossil fuels has a harmful effect … the atmosphere by destroying … ozone layer. 7. It is im possible to make any

in the home and in industry.

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

1. His discovery can have only a limited application in aeronautics and space exploration. 2. It is necessary to distinguish between experimental science and applied science. 3. The practical application of science to commerce or industry is called technology. 4. They depicted the situation to us in great detail. 5. Children gain language skills at an amazing rate. 6. The advent of the automobile may have changed the growth pattern of the city. 7. He intentionally avoided speaking about the harmful effect of the technological advances.

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

Science is important to … people living in the mode rn world … a number of reasons. … particular, science is importa nt … world peace and understanding, to the understanding of technology, and to our understanding of the world.

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

1.The concept of science is purely theoretical and has no practical application. 2. Using the scientific method one has to observe phenomena and simulate natural events. 3. A hypothesis is a theory that has been proved through thorough investigation and experimentation. 4. Science allows us to determine what our world is and how it should develop.

5.Sometimes we forget what scientific discoveries underlie wellestablished forms of technology. 6. The technological advances make people’s lives only better and more enjoyable.

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

1.The text under discussion draws our attention to … . 2. We can

classify … . 3. The text also informs us about some science-related concepts … . 4. If we speak about the impacts of sc ience … . 5. Some ethical questions may be touched upon when … .

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

1. Nowadays we can see (divergence of different fields of science; convergence of many scientific disciplines; all scientific fields grouped into two categories). 2. The scientific method explains natural phenomena in a reproducible way (to develop scientific terminology; to make useful predictions; to satisfy specific human needs). 3. A theory refers to (a model to describe the behaviour of certain natural phenomena; a model of reality; a controversial hypothesis requiring proof and support). 4. Many forms of technology (were developed by a single field of science; were based on hypotheses; emerged together with advances in different scientific fields). 5. Science also influences our life in a negative way (because scientific research is very expensive; because it generates very few technologies which can help us; because many advances have unwanted and often unexpected effects).

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

1. We cannot draw a clear distinction between scientific disciplines. Why? 2. Scientists produce models of reality. What are these models used for? 3. Science is a useful tool. 4. Science has a many-sided impact on the way we live.

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