Text 4A
, . .
Television
The television set is evidently the most important and popular electronic product of all time. All homes in developed countries have one or more TV sets and in many countries there are considerably more TV sets than telephones.
But in 1939 at the Worlds Fair in New York a tiny nine-by- twelve inch box was the centre of attention for hundreds of people. They were the first to see a television set in action. Compared to todays TV shows of underwater and outer-space research, those first black-white pictures were not very good. The pictures were only transmitted from one side of the Fair territory to the other. But in 1939 they were of historical importance.
Within a few days the news of television spread throughout the world. A lot of people wanted to have a look1 at the new invention. Everyone was interested in it. But only few people owned television sets in the next few years. When World War II broke out2 electronic factories that began the TV production stopped making them and started making war materials instead. When the war was over, TV sets began coming off factory assembly lines. By 1958 there were millions of them.
In a surprisingly short time people watched fewer films and turned from newspapers and magazines to TV. In its short history television has had great influence on peoples life and way of thinking. Rocket-launching, concerts and football and tennis matches can be seen direct as they occur. The boundaries of time and space have disappeared.
At present TV communication is provided with the help of a system of artificial earth satellites so that people living in different parts of the country and all over the world and in different time zones are able to watch the central TV programs at the most convenient hours.
Nowadays many countries also have cable TV, a system using wires for the transmission of television programs (like telephone calls). Cable television first appeared in 1949 as a means of transmitting TV signals to rural and mountain areas far from big cities. Cable televisions next big step forward was made by the mid 1980s. Scientists announced that many technical problems had
been solved and in the future it would be possible via satellite and cable TV to use more channels on a TV set at every home in the world.
Then we saw how a new technical invention, colour television, was rapidly replacing black-and-white television. Recently it was reported that the first pocket-size3 colour television set had been developed. It was stated that a liquid-crystal display4 was used similar to those on calculators and watches and that it weighed less than a pound.
A few years ago it became evident that the next major advance for TV would be digital television. In a digital system the usual continuous signal is replaced by a digital code containing detailed information on brightness, colour, etc. A digital TV set hangs on the wall like a picture. Essentially, it is a minicomputer with a visual display. Once a week5 you put the programs you like into the memory, and the TV set will automatically switch on the desired channel at the right time. You can watch several programs simultaneously on miniscreens and then produce one of them in full format. Also, the TV set can automatically video-record the programs when you are absent or occupied.
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By the end of 1980s television has moved to a new and the most important stage in its development since the appearance of colour television. Technically it is called high-defmition television (HDTV)6 or Hi-Vision. This is the much higher resolution television7 of the 21st century. This revolution was started by Japanese manufacturers when they developed a new video system with a picture resembling a wide-screen film more than traditional television. The new system increases the screens width-to-height ratio8 (16:9). The result is a picture several times sharper than in the existing TV sets. Besides, recent developments in plasma display panel technology9 make HDTV commercially practicable. The plasma display makes it possible to produce a large, bright, colour, flat TV screen so thin and light that it can also be hung on a wall like a framed picture. The engineering problem that has existed almost since the first days of television may be solved now.
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1939 - - , . , . , , - . . 1939 .
. 1 . . . out2 , , , . , . 1958 .
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, (, ). 1949 - , . - 1980 - . ,
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, , , - . , pocket-3 . , - display4 , .
, . , , .. . , . week5 , . miniscreens . - , .
1980- . high-defmition (HDTV)6 Hi-Vision. , television7 21- . , , . / ratio8 (16:9). , . , technology9 HDTV . , , , ; , , . , .
Notes to the Text
B. to have a look ,
C. to break out ,
D. pocket-size
E. liquid-crystal display
F. once a week
G. high-deflnition television (HDTV)
H. high resolution television
I. width-to-height ratio
J. plasma display panel technology
11. 4 .
1. When did the first TV set appear? 1. ? 2.Were people interested in the new invention? 2.Were , ? 3. Why was the TV production stopped in 1940? 3. 1940 ? 4. What is cable television? 4. ? 5. What is digital television? 5. ? 6. What is high-definition television? 6. ?
12. , 4.
1. A lot of people owned television sets in the first years after its invention. 1. , . 2. First television black-and-white pictures were excellent. 2. , - .3. Only few people owned television sets in the next few years after their appearance. 3. .
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4. Black-and-white television was rapidly replacing colour television. 4. - .5. First television black-and-white pictures were not very good. 5. , - . 6. Only a few years ago colour television was rapidly replacing black-and-white television. 6. , - . 7. When the war was over, TV sets stopped coming off factory assembly lines. 7. , off . 8. After World War II TV sets began coming off factory assembly lines. 8. .
13. 4 , , .
14. .
1. It was reported in 1939 that the first TV set was shown at the World Fair in New York. 1. , 1939 -. 2. The students wanted to know whether colour television sets were produced at that plant. 2. , . 3. After the war when the mass production of TV sets began, people realized they wanted to have a TV set at home. 3. , , , . 4. Experiments proved that electricity could travel instantly over a long piece of wire. 4. , . 5. Can you tell me whether satellites are used for telephone communication? 5. , ? 6. It became clear television had a great influence on peoples life. 6. , .
7. Russian newspapers informed that about 2,000 satellites had been launched into the orbit. 7. , 2000 .8. We did not know whether the development of television had continued during the war. 8. , . 9. We know he works at the problem of space communication. 9. , .
15. , .
1. Some years ago India began its Satellite Instructional Television Experiment. This experiment showed (that) satellite television programs had been a success with schoolchildren, their knowledge level had increased considerably. It was found that children could remember and speak about programs which they had seen several week^back. 1. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment. , , , . , , , ^. 2. Many experts could not decide whether so much TV was harmful to the individuals health and mental activity or not. 2. , .3. Specialists did not know if it was possible to continue modernizing the electronic equipment of this kind the costs were too high. 3. , , . 4. There appeared some reports that we had technical means to use much more channels on a TV set and we should be able to see many sports and news programs from all parts of the world soon. 4. , . 5. At first it was not clear whether new telephone and teletype communication with ships via six satellites was economical and reliable or not. 5. , .6. It was announced that the cryogenic cable had been invented in Russia. 6. , . 7. We read that for the first time electricity had been applied for industrial use in silver workshops in Paris. 7. , - .8. We know different transmitters are used in a television system one for the sound channel and the other for the picture channel. 8. - . 9. We learnt from the lecture that electricity was still considered the main source for new technological developments. 9. , .
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16. :
attention , , ;
surprisingly , , ;
recorder , , ;
convenient , , ;
numerous , , .
17. , :
development, conveniently, communication, production, continuous, beginning, transmitter, action, recorder, electronic, si-multaneously, different, usable, central, calculator, possibility, disconnect.
18. , .
tiny small; to disappear to appear; a lot of many; different various; next following; short long; to watch to see; program show; commonly usually; less more; possible impossible; true untrue; small large; nowadays at present, now; large tremendous; advance progress; to start to begin; major main; to report to announce; to occur to take place; convenient suitable.
19. .
true, picture, telephone, communication; world, research, assembly, invention; own, beginning, telegraph, central; satellite, first, artificial, convenient; turn, videotape, transmit, size.
20. .
concept/concert; complete/compare; invention/invasion; available/availability; commonly/commonless; commune/commit; compulsory/compunction.
21. , .
boxes, matches, beginning, tinier, owned, boundaries, possibly, replacing, less.
22. - .
1. The Japanese companies developed the first pocket-size colour television set. 2. Man first set foot on the Moon in July, 1969.
K. Special telephone sets are used at plants in tropical sea climate.
L. A great Russian scientist A.N. Krylov took an active part in the work of the first Atomic Commission set up at the Optical Institute. 5. It was Popov who constructed the first radio set. 6. One of the global tasks nowadays is to set up solar power plants on high orbits. 7. Ships are equipped with radar sets helping them to orient at sea.
23. .
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1. New directions of research in robotics were discussed at the last conference. 2. There is no direct connection between those processes. 3. This program is directed toward the scientific study of various physico-chemical processes. 4. Our scientists must direct their attention to the development of new technologies. 5. Further human progress is directly connected with the scientific and technological progress. 6. Our task is to develop technological processes without a direct participation of man. 7. The future of mankind depends on the direction in which scientific and technological progress will be developing. 8. There is a direct communication between spacecrafts and the Earth, and between spacecrafts as well.
24. , , .
The Life of a Student.
While I (walk) across the campus ( ) the other day, I (meet) my old friend Bill, whom I (see, not) since May. Naturally, we (stop) (talk) to each other for a few minutes. I asked him how he (do) in his classes that semester. He told me that he (take) a course in English that semester. He said that he (complete) the elementary course two semesters before, and by the next semester he (be) ready (take) the most difficult English course offered at this school. He also said that he (be) interested in getting his degree as soon as possible and he (ask, already) his adviser for permission to take the final examination. I am glad (hear) that you (make) such good progress, I (say) to Bill. Then I asked him if he (can) tell me the secret of his success. He answered that the secret of his success (be) simple and he (study) at least two hours a day to improve his English.
After that I told Bill I (have) a little difficulty with my course in French at the moment. I said that I (study, not) very hard the last semester, but I (work) harder in the future.
25. . , .
Albert Einstein liked the film with Charlie Chaplin. Once he wrote a letter to Chaplin:
Everybody in the world understands your film Golden Fever ( ). You will become a great man by all means.
Chaplins answer was:
I like you even more. Nobody in the world understands your Theory of Relativity and you have already become a great man.
26. , .
find, broke, putting, hung, began, seen.
27. .
Recently it was reported in the press that the USA was trying to build bigger, better and much more expensive TV sets. Experts declared that it was the most important change in television since the invention of colour television. They informed that a new kind of television had images so clear that watching it was like looking through a window.
But it became known that Japanese specialists had started their work on HDTV when nobody else in the world was thinking how to improve TV. The inventors expected that their standard for high-definition television would be used throughout the world. However, the Europeans have announced that they would set their own standard. And now it is not clear whether the Japanese standard will be used or not. Some people consider that a single high-definition TV standard will allow to exchange news and may bring nations together.
CONVERSATION
Exercise 1. Answer the questions.
1. What invention was the center of attention at the World Fair in New York in 1939? (the first black-and-white television set) 2. What stopped the TV production? (World War II) 3. What influence has had television on peoples life and way of thinking? (great influence; boundaries of time and space have disappeared) 4. What kinds of TV exist now? (satellite, cable, colour, digital and high-definition television) 5. What is the latest and the most important stage in the development of television since the appearance of colour television? (high-definition television) 6. What is the advantage of high-definition television? (the television of much higher resolution) 7. What technology makes HDTV commercially practicable now? (plasma display panel technology)
Exercise 2. Make a sentence out of the two parts.
1.The first black-and-white 1. has been replaced by colour
nine-by-twelve inch TV sets television.
2. In a surprisingly short time
3. At present
4. Satellite and cable TV makes it possible
5. Recently black-and-white TV
6. The next major advance in
7. The invention of high-defini- tion television with a picture resembling a wide screen film
1. has been replaced by colour
Television.
2. the development of TV became
digital television in which the usual signal is replaced by a digital code.
3. were of historical importance in 1939.
4. television has had great influence on peoples life and way of thinking.
5. is the most important stage in the development of TV since the appearance of colour television.
6. to watch TV programs in different parts of the country and throughout the world.
7. there are different kinds of television systems: satellite, cable, colour, pocket-size, digital, high-de- finition television.
Exercise 3. Read and learn.
At the Telephone
Mr. Smith: Can I use your telephone for a long distance call? I couldnt find a pay phone in the building.
Mr. Wilson: Sure.
Mr. S.: My wife is going to meet me in New York tomorrow. I
want to tell her what time the train gets in.
Mr. W.: Here you are. New York you can dial the number direct.
Dial 2 and then the number.
Mr. S.: Theres no answer. Ill call later.
Mr. W.: You can use the telephone any time you want.
Mr. S.: Direct distance dialing is wonderful, isnt it?
Operator: Trunk-service (), number, please?
Mr. Jones: London Victoria 2884.1 say, operator, will you hurry it up for me as I have a train to catch in a few minutes?
O.: Unless your number is engaged, I can put you through
almost at once. I am sorry, sir, your number is engaged. (After a few seconds.) I have got your number. Hold the line, please.
Mr. J.: Oh, its you, Mary?
Mrs. Jones: Is it you, George, dear? How are you? So pleased to hear your voice again! When are you going to come back?
Mr. J.: I cant hear you, dear. Operator, will you try again.
.: I think thats better now.
Mr. J.: Are you there? Is that you, Mary, dear? I say, can you
hear me?
Mrs. J.: Yes, dear, I can.
Mr. J.: I shall be arriving at Waterloo Station at 5.40 this after
noon. Will you come and meet me?
Mrs. J.: Certainly, darling.
Mr. J.: There is something else I want to tell you. Get hold of
Smith at the office, will you? Ask him to ring me up tomorrow in the morning.
O.: Your time is up. If you want to speak on, drop another
sixpence, please.
Mr. J.: All right, dear, so long.
Exercise 4. Speak about:
M. The history of television development.
N. Future development of television.
Use exercise 1 and 2 and the following words and word combinations for your topic: to be interested in; research; it is announced (reported) that; to solve problems; it became clear; compared to (with); to call; have an advantage; to find application in.
Exercise 5. Comment on the following statements:
1. Opponents usually say that the young people are too passive and too lazy () because they watch TV so much now.
2. We dont need the telephone, telegraph and television.
Exercise 6. Read and smile.
A Letter to a Sweetheart.
A young man was writing a letter to his sweetheart () who lived just a few miles away in a nearby town. He began to tell her how much he loved her and how wonderful he thought she was. But the more he wrote, the more poetical he became. Finally, he said that in order to be with her he would suffer the greatest hardships (), he would face the greatest dangers () that anyone could imagine. In fact, to spend only one minute with her, he would climb () the highest mountain, he would swim the widest river, he would fight the fiercest () animals. He signed his name, and then suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to mention something rather important. So, in a postscript below his name, he added: By the way, Ill be over to see you on Wednesday night if it doesnt rain.
A Frenchman in England
A Frenchman was once travelling in England. He could speak English quite well but not perfectly. His vocabulary was not large.
Once, for example, he was eating in a small country inn () and he wanted to order some eggs. But he couldnt remember the word for eggs.
Suddenly, through the window, he saw a rooster () walking in the yard. He immediately asked the waiter what the bird was called in English. The waiter told him that it was called a rooster. The Frenchman then asked what the roosters wife was called. The waiter told him that she was called a hen. The Frenchman then asked what the hens children were called. The waiter told him that they were called chickens. The Frenchman then asked what the chickens were called before they were bom. The waiter told him that they were called eggs. Fine!, said the Frenchman, Please bring me two plus a cup of coffee and some toast.
Text 4B
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Telegraph
Benjamin Franklin, an American who is famous for his interesting and useful inventions, published his ideas about electricity in 1752. Scientists in many countries became interested in this wonderful form of energy. They wanted to find the answer to a very important question: could the electricity be used to develop a fast, efficient system of long-distance communication? Experiments proved that electricity could travel instantly over a very long piece of wire. But a note that was written on a piece of paper couldnt be put into a wire. How could electricity be used to send a message? A Danish scientist discovered that electricity could move a needle from left to right and that the needle could be pointed at letters on a piece of paper. Then a German government worker made up a code system that could be used with an electric needle. In 1837 two English scientists sent a message by electric telegraph for a distance of more than 1.6 kilometers.
Samuel Morse, an American portrait painter, was experimenting with an electric telegraph too. At first he connected a pencil to an electric wire. When the electricity came through the wire the pencil made wavy lines. Then Morse invented a code that used dots and dashes for the letters of the alphabet. Finally, he discovered that telegraph messages did not have to be written, they could be sent in sound.
On May 24, 1844, the first long-distance message was sent by telegraph for 64 kilometers.
Telegraph companies were formed in many cities. By 1861 telegraph wires stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In Europe too, Samuel Morses system became popular.
But telegraph wires couldnt be hung over an ocean. Messages to and from Europe had to be sent by ship a journey of two or three weeks. A new method was needed.
The Atlantic Telegraph Company which was organized in 1856 wanted to try to lay a cable on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The 4,-kilometer cable broke three times. Each time a new cable had to be made. Finally, on July 27, 1866, the first transatlantic message was sent from Newfoundland to Ireland.
Later cables were laid to Central and South America. After 1900 transpacific cables were laid to Asia and Australia. At last news and business information could be sent instantly to almost every country in the world.
Text 4C
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1. ?
2. , , ?
3. ? , , : 1877 . 1915 .
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell never planned to be an inventor, he wanted to be a musician or a teacher of deaf people (). The subjects that he studied at school included music, art, literature, Latin and Greek. They did not include German which all scientists used in their books. Alexanders mother was a painter and a musician. His father was a well-known teacher of deaf people.
When Alexander was only sixteen, he became a teacher in boys school in Scotland. He liked teaching there, but he still wanted to become a teacher of deaf people as his father.
He read all the books about sound that he could find and started to work on some of his own experiments.
At twenty five Alexander became interested in finding a way to send human voice through an electric wire. The parents of his pupils contributed money for the equipment. He found an assistant, Tom Watson, who worked in an electrical shop. For two years Tom and Alexander were working together to build a machine that people could use to talk to one another over long distances. After two years, the two young men were becoming discouraged ( ). Then, one day, when they were working on a new transmitter Alexander spilled some acid ( ) on himself. Tom Watson, who was alone in another room, heard a voice. The voice was coming through a wire to a receiver on the table! The voice was Alexander Bells! It was saying: Come here, Mr. Watson. I need you!
The first telephone line was built in Germany in 1877. By 1915 a telephone line was opened in the United States 5,440 kilometers from New York to San Francisco.
Now design bureaus all over the world are conducting experiments to develop video-phone or picture phone. A young man in Moscow wants to speak to his friend in Vladivostok. He lifts his telephone receiver, dials a number. After a very short time his friend answers. As he picks up his receiver, his picture appears on the screen. They can speak to each other face to face because they are using a new kind of telephone which may be called a video-phone. In addition to the usual telephone, the equipment includes a small television screen (14 cm by 13 cm) and, combined with the screen, a television camera. The camera tube will allow the user to switch from a wide view of the room to the face of the person speaking. The focus can be changed to give clear pictures of objects 0.3,0.9 and 6.0 meters away from the camera. There is also a mirror attachment, which allows the camera to scan documents which may be lying on the table. The camera adjusts itself automatically to different lighting conditions.
Text 4D
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Talking via Space
Communication has come a long way from the time when an Indian beat a drum () in the forest to the time when a scientist receives messages from a satellite. In this space age communication has become a highly developed field. The system of communica-tion in large countries is unthinkable today without space satellites. Besides large distances, there is a great time difference: the territories of some countries comprise up to 11 zones. Satellites help to minimize all the difficulties that may appear. They rapidly transmit TV and radio programs to different towns, cities, and distant areas.
Space systems and electronic technology have made it possible to set up an automatic system of communication designed for rapid transmission of all kinds of information.
People write letters and send telegrams. But at the same time people living in various cities like to exchange () news on the telephone. Statistics reports that the number of longdistance telephone calls is about 2, 000 million per year. A person in Moscow talking on the phone with Vladivostok must know that this conversation is carried on through a satellite.
Trains and cars can use mobile radio telephones to make calls. Businessmen can use fax machines which provide electronic transmission of documents and messages over telephone lines. Even photographs can be sent and received over telephone wires.
Practically all the population in large countries can watch TV via satellites. The orbital communication systems make it possible for people from different continents to see and hear one another.
The importance of space means of communication is increasing every year. The communication satellites of the international organization INTERSAT enable people to keep reliable telephone, telegraph, telex and fax communication in any weather with ships practically in every part of the World Ocean.
1. . 4 .
1. TV sets began coming off factory assembly lines
2. on peoples life and way of thinking
3. it weighed less than a pound
4. the desired channel
5. when you are occupied
. .
a. unit of weight
b. programme
c. busy with smth.
d.where parts of large machines are put together in mass production
e. the way you think
2. cell, network, area, set .
A cellular phone (cellphone) is a lightweight, portable radio transceiver, which can transmit and receive telephone calls anywhere in cellular network area. It is a mobile telephone, which communicates through base stations situated in areas called cells. Cell is a subdivision of communication area in a cellphone network. In the network, the same frequencies can be used for many different telephone calls at the same time. Each cell has its own small electronic base station and set of transmission frequencies. The sizes of the cell vary between 1 km to about 30 km across, depending on the output power of the cellphone transmitter.
1.cell
a) a small room for one person
b) apparatus for producing electricity by chemical action
c) a compartment in a larger structure (e.g., in a honeycomb)
2. network
a) a system of lines that cross
b) a complex system of interconnected radio and TV devices
c) a connected system
3. area
a) a zone, region, district
b) surface measure
c) range of activity
4. set
a) a number of smth. of the same kind
b) radio, TV, phone apparatus
c) Direction
3. .
1.link up to
2. exchange news
3. send a signal, message, fax
4. show
5.take the place of
6. have, possess
7. make it illegible
8. have
a. contain
b. connect
c. replace
d. make it difficult and impos-
sible to read
e. own
f. communicate
g. transmit
h. indicate
4. .
1. A Fax system can now send texts, graphics and documents to several places at the same time in less than a minute. The information may have photographic images as well as words. The latest Fax machines must be linked up to a special digital phone line. A few seconds' interference () on the phone line can make several lines of a document or text illegible.
2. Digital systems of information transmission have taken the place of analog systems in the last 25 years.
3. Most phones now have memories to store frequently used numbers. Some telephone manufacturers make phones with LCDs (liquid-crystal displays) which show the duration of calls.
4. Before World War II few people had television sets.
5 A lot of people have cellphones, answerphones and mobile phones now.
6. It is possible to exchange news with people in most parts of the world by telephone.
5. connect, transmit, communicate .
1. A small radio receiver called a radiopager makes it possible for people to... with each other wherever they are.
2. Data... services, known as teletext... text and graphics over a long distance as part of the television video signal.
3. In telecommunication the information can be directed between... and receivers by cables of various kinds.
4. The lines which... telephones within a building are the simplest type of... line.
5. Mobile phone systems normally do not... directly with other mobile phones. They send messages to the control base station.
6. How long will the... of the new telephone take?
7. You can now... your computer to computers all over the world by means of the Internet.
6. . 1015 Means of communication.
. Speak about:
Your favourite TV programmes at the moment.
Do you often watch football match live (as it happens) on TV or do you watch recorded highlights (parts of the game after it has been played)? Do you enjoy watching the commercials (the advertisements in programmes)? Do you watch satellite TV and/or cable TV?
LESSEN 5
