Методические указания разработаны старшим преподавателем кафедры английского языка естественных факультетов Резниковой С. Ю., преподавателем Гафаровой Ю. Ю. Рецензент (стр. 2 из 7)

He worked till the very last moment of his life. At ten o’clock on the evening of his funeral, in homage to the memory of a great man, every American switched off the electric light and for the space of one minute the entire country was in darkness.(14)

Edison was also a ruthless businessman who fought to defeat his competitors. One of the most famous examples of his competitive vigor was the war of the currents (direct current vs alternating current) he conducted to discredit Nicola Tesla's Alternating Current system. (15)

Edison had enough genius to see the genius in others. Already by the time he moved to Menlo Park, he had gathered many of the men who would work with him for the rest of their lives. By the time Edison built his West Orange lab complex, men came from all over the US and Europe to work with the famous inventor. Often these young “muckers”, as Edison called them, were fresh out of college or technical training. What better place to start a career? Unlike most inventors, Edison depended upon dozens of “muckers” to build and test his ideas. In return, they received “only workmen's wages”. But, the inventor said, it was “not the money they want, but the chance for their ambition to work”. The average work week was six days for a total of 55 hours. But if Edison had a bright idea, days at work would extend far into the night. What was it like to work for Edison? One “mucker” said that he “could wither one with his biting sarcasm or ridicule one into extinction”. Just think how it would feel to listen to the world's greatest inventor criticize your work. On the other hand, as electrician Arthur Kennelly stated, “The privilege which I had being with this great man for six years was the greatest inspiration of my life”. (16)

(Adapted from the Internet sites)

4 Look back in the text and make a list of Edison’s inventions.

5 Read the text again and answer the following questions:

a) What kind of education did Edison get?

b) How did phonograph work?

c) How many inventions did Edison patent?

d) How did Edison’s electric light work and how was it improved?

e) What was his philosophy of life?

f) Could you name other men of science equally possessed by the idea to create so that they were “deaf and blind to everything else in the world except science?” like Edison?

g) How can you characterize Edison’s education?

h) Does Edison create for people or is his only goal to find medium for the expression of his ideas, feelings, and get free of his obsession?

i) How did Edison’s inventions change our everyday life?

Vocabulary

1 Fill in the table with the missing words. Consult the dictionary if necessary:

verb	noun	adjective	adverb
to demonstrate	demonstratively
invitation	Inviting
inventively
to develop	-
telegraph

2 Complete the sentences with the right form of the word in bold:

a) The site is being … by a local property company. DEVELOPMENT

b) The manager gave us a brief … of the computer’s functions. DEMONSTRATION

c) A scientist showed an … design of a new computer laboratory. INVENTION

d) Leaving your car unlocked is just … someone to steal it. INVITATION

e) … - a means of sending messages by the use of electric current along wires. TELEGRAPH

3 Put the following words under the correct heading. Consult the dictionary if necessary:

staff

patent

belief

merge

tour

device

improve

receive

noun	both	verb

Find in the text other words that can be used both as nouns and verbs.

4 Look back in the text and find words that have a similar meaning to:

A skilled and competent (2)

B planned for (3)

C spread (3)

D play back sound (6)

E surprised (7)

F combined (10)

G huge (10)

H was spoiled (11)

I had (12)

J a cinema film (13)

5 Complete the sentences with prepositions if necessary:

a) Edison attended … schools only for three month.

b) At the age of 13 Edison began to work … a newsboy, selling newspapers and candy.

c) A number of people had worked … the idea related … developing electric lighting.

d) He began work … a large difference engine which he believed he could complete in three years.

e) Edison hired the young engineers who were superior … the any other candidates.

6 Give English equivalents to the following words and word combinations:

получить работу; воспроизвести звук; самосовершенствование; приносить международную славу; записать, сделать запись; любопытный ребенок; ходить в школу; проводить много свободного времени; читать научные и технические книги; дать шанс; обзавестись семьей; капиталовложения банкиров; конкурент, соперник; самостоятельно обучаться; основать первую лабораторию

Grammar

1 Translate the sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the part of the sentence in

bold.

Example: - He was proficient enough to work as a telegrapher full time. - Он был

достаточно опытным, для того чтобы работать телеграфистом полный рабочий день.

a) An electric vote recorder is a device intended for use by elected bodies such as Congress to speed the voting process.

b) Babbage was sent to a country school to recover from a life-threatening fever.

c) Edison was invited to the White House to demonstrate the tin foil phonograph.

d) The results were so breathtakingly original, that it took some time for the mathematical and engineering community to realize their significance.

e) In the 1950s, Shannon continued his efforts to develop mechanisms that

emulated the operations of the human mind to solve problems.

f) Tesla built an experimental station in Colorado Springs to experiment with high

frequency electricity and other phenomena.

2 Translate paragraph 8 into Russian.

Speaking

1 Sum up the text using the following key-points:

a) Edison’s family background

b) His main interests

c) Spheres of science and research activity

d) Major achievements

e) Personality

2 Comment on Edison’s quotations using the following openings:

In fact…, I wouldn’t say so…, It seems to me…, In my opinion…, It’s a doubtful

statement.., That’s where I agree (disagree) with the author.

a) He said that work was bringing out secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of man.

b) Self-educated, he knew the value of learning: “Education isn’t play. It is hard,

hard work. But it can be made interesting work..”

c) “If you do not learn to think when you are young, you may never learn”.

d) “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”

e) “Hell, there are no rules here—we're trying to accomplish something.”

3 Work in groups of 3-4. Make a list of things you would like to know about

Thomas Edison. Choose one, find information and make a poster presentation. (Read instruction on page 33 task 2)

4 Thomas Edison wrote a test of general knowledge. Anyone who wanted a job for T Edison Inc. had to take this test. Do this test to check if Mr. Edison would have hired you for his team. Edison mental fitness test 1920. http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edifun/quiz/quizhome.htm

Points for reflection

1 Have you learnt anything new about Edison from the text?

2 Has anything surprised you?

3 What facts were the most amazing?

4 Did you like the text? Why? /Why not?

Unit 2 Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937)

Before you start

1 You are going to read about life and work of the Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi. Before you read the text answer the following questions:

a) Who is considered to be “the father of wireless telegraphy”?

b) Have you ever heard about Guglielmo Marconi?

c) What is he famous for?

d) What field of science did he work in?

2 Complete the table about Guglielmo Marconi:

things I know	things I’m not sure about	things I would like to know

Reading

1 Pay attention to the correct pronunciation of the following words:

Guglielmo	[´gʌglIəmə]	pursue	[ pə´sju: ]
Marconi	[ِِ ِ ma: ´kəunI ]	ether	[ ´I:θə]
Bologna	[´bɔu´lɔunjə]	determine	[ dItз:mIn ]
Wight	[´waIt]	curvature	[´kз:vət∫ə ]
Bournemouth	[´bɔ:nməθ ]	aerial	[´eərIəl]
Poldhu	[´pəuldhju: ]	successfully	[´sək´sesfəlI ]
Nobel	[ nəu´bel ]	launch	[ lɔ:nt∫ ]
Hertz	[ hз:ts ]	microwave	[´maIkrəweIv ]
Lodge	[ ´lɔʤ]	industry	[´IndəstrI ]

2 Read the text about Guglielmo Marconi and comment on the title.

A Radio Star

There cannot be many people who were “losers” at school, failed to get into university, and then went on to win a Nobel Prize for Physics. But at least one did, and with good reason: he made radio happen. A lack of formal education, high-powered family connections and an unstoppable will to succeed helped Guglielmo Marconi to transmit the first radio signal across the Atlantic and launch the wireless-

communications industry. Guglielmo Marconi was born at Bologna, Italy, on April 25,

1874, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an Italian country gentleman, and Annie

Рис. 3 Guglielmo Marconi

Jameson. He was educated privately at Bologna, Florence and Leghorn. Marconi's education was patchy¹, not to say poor. Primary school was a disaster, and he was 12 before he got into a secondary school in Florence where he did badly. The following year, he started to attend more congenial technical school, but Marconi’s progress was still very modest. He never qualified for higher education, even with the help of a private physics tutor. (1)

But even as a boy he took a keen interest in physical and electrical science and

studied the works of Maxwell, Hertz and others. In 1895 he began laboratory experiments at his father's country estate at where he succeeded in sending wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles. (2)

In 1896 Marconi took his apparatus to England and later that year he was granted the world's first patent for a system of wireless telegraphy. He demonstrated his system successfully in London, and across the Bristol Channel, and in July 1897 formed The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company Limited (in 1900 re-named Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company Limited). In the same year he gave a demonstration to the Italian Government during which wireless signals were sent over a distance of twelve miles. In 1899 he established wireless communication between France and England across the English Channel. He erected permanent wireless stations at The Needles, Isle of Wight, at Bournemouth and later at the Haven Hotel, Poole, Dorset. (3)

Marconi’s first aim in perfecting communication without wires had been to break

the isolation of those at sea. The first life-saving possibilities of wireless communication were realized in 1899 when a wireless message was received from the East Goodwin lightship - which had been equipped with Marconi wireless apparatus. It had been rammed in dense fog by a steamship R.F. Matthews. A request was made for the assistance of a lifeboat. And in 1900 he took out his famous “7777”patent which documented a system for tuned coupled circuits and allowed simultaneous transmissions on different frequencies. Adjacent stations were now able to operate without interfering with one another and ranges were increased. On an historic day in December 1901, determined to prove that wireless waves were not affected by the curvature of the Earth, he used his system for transmitting the first wireless signals across the Atlantic between Cornwall, and Newfoundland, a distance of 2100 miles. (4)

Between 1902 and 1912 he patented several new inventions. In 1902, during a voyage in the American liner "Philadelphia", he first demonstrated "daylight effect" relative to wireless communication and in the same year patented his magnetic detector which then became the standard wireless receiver for many years. In December 1902 he transmitted the first complete messages to Poldhu from stations at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and later Cape Cod, Massachusetts. These early tests culminated in 1907 in the opening of the first transatlantic commercial service between Glace Bay and Ireland, after the first short-distance public service of wireless telegraphy had been established between Italy and Montenegro. In 1905 he patented his horizontal directional aerial and

in 1912 a "timed spark" system for generating continuous waves. (5)

During his war service in Italy from 1914 he returned to his investigation of short waves, which he had used in his first experiments. After further tests by his collaborators in England, an intensive number of trials, leading to the establishment of the beam system for long- distance telegraphy was conducted in 1923. Proposals to use this system as a means of Imperial communications were accepted by the British Government and the first beam station, linking England and Canada, was opened in 1926. (6)

In 1931 Marconi began research into the propagation characteristics of still shorter waves, resulting in the setting up in 1932 of the world's first microwave radiotelephone link between the Vatican City and the Pope's summer residence. Two years later he demonstrated his microwave radio beacon for ship navigation and in 1935, again in Italy, gave a practical demonstration of the principles of radar, the coming of which he had first foretold in a lecture to the American Institute of Radio Engineers in New York in 1922. (7)

He has been the recipient of honorary doctorates of several universities and many other international honors and awards, among them the Nobel Prize for Physics, which in 1909 he shared with Professor Karl Braun, the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, the John Fritz Medal and the Kelvin Medal. He was decorated by the Tsar of Russia with the Order of St. Anne; the King of Italy created him a plenty of different ranks and titles as well. (8)

Marconi's 1909 Nobel Prize was an extraordinary surprise for him - unlike the physicist he shared it with, Ferdinand Braun - Marconi was not, by his own admission, any kind of scientist, or even much of an inventor. He did not really make any fundamental discoveries, and radio was mostly a matter of assembling parts created by other people. But the vision which was needed to see the possibilities of a new communication era, and the unstoppable will to pursue this objective were all his own. According to his own words, he made the whole world see the importance of his inventions, approve and, more importantly, buy them. (9)