1. Where was Edison born?
a) In New York;
b) in Detroit;
c) in Ohio.
2. When did he start work at the railway?
a) At the age of fifty;
b) at the age of twenty;
c) at the age of twelve.
3. What did young Edison do when he had to wait at Detroit before starting back home?
a) Sold fruit, sweets and cakes;
b) spent hours in the library;
c) walked around the city.
4. What did Edison want to improve when he became a telegraph operator?
a) Railway communication;
b) a telegraph system;
c) streetlights in New York.
5. What was Edison's first invention?
a) A phonograph;
b) a transmitter of a new kind;
c) a motion picture projector.
6. What did Americans do the evening he died?
a) Turned off the electric lights;
b) organized meetings;
c) came to his place.
Key:lc;2c;3b;4b;5b;6a.
II. Mark + if the statement is true, — if it is false.
1. He was one of those children who are always asking "Why?"
2. Edison got his education in a private school in Detroit.
3. He started to work at the age of twelve when the first telegraph
company appeared in the USA.
4. He sold newspapers to the passengers on one of the trains.
5. He learned telegraphy and became one of the fastest operators in a telegraph company.
6. Edison went to New York because the opportunities were greater there.
7. At the age of twenty he had twelve inventions.
8. He invented a new instrument that could compose music
9. Edison believed that only a lot of money could bring success.
10.He continued active work until the day he died.
Key: l+; 2-; 3-; 4+; 5+; 6+; 7-; 8-; 9-; 10+.
III. Choose the correct ending.
1. When a child Edison was always trying to learn:
a) how things were made and worked;
b) how to be polite;
c) how to make money.
2. Young Edison began:
a) to collect technical books;
b) to travel every day on one of the trains;
c) to learn music from his mother.
3. To improve the telegraph system he read books:
a) by Isaac Newton;
b) by Michael Faraday;
c) by Charles Darwin.
4. In New York Edison opened:
a) a small workshop;
b) a public library;
c) a private school.
5. Edison called his new invention which repeated his words:
a) the saxophone;
b) the telephone;
c) the phonograph.
6. For more than 50 years Thomas Edison had been the world's greatest:
a) political figure;
b) artist;
c) inventor.
Key: 1 a; 2 b; 5 b; 6 a; 5 c; 6 c.
IV. Match T. Edison's biographical details and the dates.
| 1) | He was born in Ohio | a) | |
| 2) | He learned telegraphy | b) | |
| Edison had two inventions | c | ||
| He went to New York | d | ||
| He invented the gramophone | e | ||
| Edison died at the age of eighty-eight | f |
Key: 1 e; 2 a; 3 d; 4 f; 5 c; 6 b.
The valuable fence
Read the text.
The Greggs were coming back from their first trip to Europe. On board "The Queen Elizabeth" they got acquainted with a Frenchman. His English was good and soon they got quite friendly. The Frenchman told the Greggs that he was an artist and his name was Lautisse. He asked them to keep it a secret. He did not like publicity. The Greggs didn't know any artist whose name was Lautisse. So they talked to the ship's librarian and found out that their new friend was the world's famous artist whose pictures were very valuable and expensive. The librarian found a book with a biographical sketch and a photograph. The sketch said that the artist had retired at fifty-three to a villa on the Rivera. He said he would never touch a brush again. Lautisse was going to spend a month in New York. Mrs. Greggs suggested that he would come to their place for the week-end. The artist accepted the invitation and made them promise not to invite any other people to their place and not to speak about art. At the appointed time Lautisse arrived at the Greggs and they were happy to see him. Mr. Greggs and his wife did their best to entertain the famous artist, but he did not want to go for a swim or walk in the wood. He wanted to sit and relax. The next morning Mr. Greggs got up very early as he wanted to paint the fence around the vegetable garden. He took a brush and was about to begin painting when Lautisse approached him, as soon as he saw the brash, he seized it from Mr. Greggs and began painting the fence. The same day Lautisse started for New York. Some correspondents found out about Lautisse's stay in New York. An article was published in one of newspapers saying: "Mr. Lautisse has spent all his time in New York except for the weekend at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Greggs. He met the Greggs on the ship coming from Europe".
The day after the story appeared, two reporters came to the Greggs' place. They wanted to know everything about the stay of the famous artist at their place. They were shown the fence painted and signed by Lautisse. A long article, headlined "Lautisse paints again", was published the next day. The fence turned out to be a valuable thing. It was sold for a big sum of money. It was taken to a museum. The fence was not worth it.
