1. What is the text about? 2. Who introduced the term ‘resistance’? 3. What is resistance? 4. What are the different meanings of the word ‘salt’? 5. What does the word ‘salt’ denote in chemistry? 6. What does the word ‘force’ mean in mechanics? 7. Does it mean the same thing as in everyday use? 8. What is the scientific meaning of the word ‘weight’? 9. What does ‘work’ mean from the point of view of the physicist? 10. What distinguishes scientific words from other words?
Exercise 3 Translate and memorize the following expressions from the text.
Words of long standing, to adopt a word, voltaic battery, electromotive force, to widen a meaning, a long association with social history, human existence, to denote a class of compounds, related words, block of metal, immovable obstacle, to accept the idea, basic meanings, ordinary words, singleness of meaning, symbols of mathematics, the advance of science, word creation, modern scientific word, phenomena of electrolysis.
Exercise 4 Find synonyms among the following words.
Wire (n), ratio (n), strength (n), familiar (adj), single (adj), basic (adj), customary (adj), accept (v), expand (v), restrict (v), distinguish (v), sometimes (adv), however (adv), nevertheless (adv), ordinary (adj), radio (n), proportion (n), force (n), well-known (adj), alone (adj), fundamental (adj), usual (adj), admit (v), enlarge (v), limit (v), distinct (v), at times (adv), still (adv), however (adv), common (adj).
Exercise 5 Write a summary of the text, presenting the content of each paragraph in 2-3 sentences. Use the expressions:
The main idea of the text is … The text deals with the one of the most important (urgent) issues … Much attention (consideration) is given to (classification, description) … It focuses on the matter of … The text gives an overview of … The text is mainly concerned with … The aim of the survey is to show (demonstrate, find) … Particular emphasis is given to the analysis of… The text gives a detailed analysis of (reports on) … To sum up … In conclusion …
Индивидуальное задание для студентов заочного отделения к курсу
«Английский язык»
Вариант № 18/3c
Exercise 1 Read the text and translate it in written form.
Electronic Brain
(1) Computers are well-known to represent a completely new branch of science. These machines are already bringing about a real revolution in science, technology, statistics and automatic control.
(2) The reason for this lies in the fact that a mathematical formula can be found for almost all scientific and technical problems. They can be solved without a computer but it would require millions of arithmetical operations. No wonder that many problems of exceptional importance remained unsolved for a long time, the volume of the calculations required being above human possibilities.
(3) A high speed electronic computer can carry out several thousand arithmetical operations in one second. A calculation, which would have taken several years of intense human work in the past, is now done in a few minutes or hours.
(4) A number of various complicated problems have already been solved with the help of computers.
(5) The principle of this wonderful machine lies in counting electric impulses. Numbers are represented as a sequence of such impulses, and a radio-technical scheme counts them carrying addition, subtraction, multiplication and division all higher mathematical calculations being reduced to these four operations.
(6) If we introduce into the scheme first one number and then another, the result will yield the sum of these two numbers. Subtraction is reduced to the addition of negative numbers. Multiplication is done by repeated additions the necessary number of times, a division – by repeated subtraction.
(7) Electronic machines work according to a programme, prepared in advance, which determines the sequence of operations. They have a very efficient electronic “memory” which stores the initial date, the intermediate numbers and final results as well as the working commands given to the machine.
(8) The electronic machine can also be used for controlling automatic production. Signals given by measuring instruments and controlling devices are introduced into the machine which sends the necessary commands to the control panel according to the programme.
(9) This machine can also be used to make translations from one language into another by converting words into figures and vice versa. A simplified picture of what takes place will be given below.
(10) All the instruments invented up to now have served to save men’s labour. But it is electronic computers the importance of which cannot be underestimated, that come to the help of the human brain, thus opening up boundless possibilities.
