Почему вернулись вновь к использованию дирижабля?

Чем отличаются современные дирижабли от первых конструкций?

Каково их практическое применение?

Какие сведения из текста вам знакомы?

Что нового вы узнали, прочитав этот текст?

The Return of the Dirigibles

When it comes to technology, people are not inclined to return to the past. Yet, some exceptions do exist. Such is the attitude at present towards dirigibles. Having abandoned the skies more than 40 years ago, they have suddenly begun to reappear. Designers have once again sat down to design this kind of transportation. Their use can still be limited, but there is no doubt, that dirigibles are coming back.

Why is dirigible attractive? What do you do with it? As its cruising speed is about 60 miles per hour it is too slow to be used as a passenger carrier. But it is cheaper to operate than a helicopter, comfortable and capable of flying for several days. The craft's large size and staying power (dirigibles have remained in skies for as long as a week) make it ideally suited for exploration.

Their use in countries that have large territories and are rich in forests and are planning to explore and exploit new regions is most promising. They may be used to make geological survey and to make maps, to look for off-shore oil and minerals, to take tourists to roadless, but beautiful places, to "deliver heavy loads to remote regions and bring the products back. They have a potential use as a flying platform. In general, their possibilities are endless. They do not need expensive runways required by cargo planes.

Besides, the technological possibilities of manufacturing these crafts
have changed. In 1920 and 1930's the dirigibles were manned by a
big crew.Today being equipped with electronic control they can be
operated by three pilots.

The modern dirigibles have one more important advantage over older models - that of complete safety in flight, for, instead of hydrogen, they are filled with helium which does not burn. The craft is 200 feet long and is made of superstrong material.

In future it may be possible to build a dirigible with a metal hull that could carry hundreds of passengers and transport cargo around the world. In fact, it is probably as a cargo vehicle that the dirigible will have the best chance to find its use.

TEXT 8C

Прочитайте текст и расскажите по-английски о трех способах навигации и применяемых для этой цели устройствах:

Off the Ground: How do We Find Where We are Going?

Scientists who are concerned with such a problem generally agree that birds have some kind of so-called "second sense" that allows them to fly over land and water without getting lost. Indeed, birds are always able to find their destinations and make a return fly without any trouble at all.

But peole need help in finding their destination when piloting their own airplanes. This, of course, is called navigation.

Navigation is the art of finding your way from where you start to your destination. Whether used by the seamen, explorer or the pilot, navigation falls into three basic categories: dead reckoning (счисление пути) which is the basis for all navigation, celestial navigation which is flying by the aid of the sun and other stars, and radio and radar navigation.

Several different kinds of aeronautical maps provide all the details which might be needed by the pilot. And hundreds of radio navigation stations are located at different places around the world to help guide the pilot. All the pilot needs to do is to tune to these radio transmitters and he will get the directional signals he needs. Distance measuring equipment now used in many airplanes tells the pilot exactly how far he is from a radio station and at what speed he is travelling over the ground.

When certain types of weather prevent the pilot from seeing the ground, additional radio transmitters let him make his approach to an airport by simply watching his flight instruments and his radio receiver indicators. These receivers help the pilot descend on the runway, thus landing at an airport even though he cannot see the ground.

At the world's larger air terminals airplanes are provided with radar guidance as another means of guiding the pilot to the destination. With the help of an electronic transponder (ретранслятор) in each

 

airplane which shows it on the radar screen, radar controllers guide hundreds of airplanes to landing.

Because of the great improvement in electronic and radio navigation equipment, flying to where you are going is done as efficiently as the birds do it and much more scientifically.

TEXT 8D

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New York

Situated at the mouth of the deep Hudson River, New York has always been the gate of the USA. But it is more than just a door: it is also a window through which the life of the whole nation may be observed. New York is a city of striking social contrasts. It is a place where most of the millionaires live and at the same time a greater proportion of New Yorkers live at a lower level than the average for the US. In 1626 Dutch colonists set up here the first settlement, named New Amsterdam. They bought Manhattan Island from Indians for 24 dollars and a barrel of rum. The Americans say that it was the best business deal ever made in New York. In 1664 the colony was captured by British fleet under Duke of York and renamed New York.

Now New York includes five boroughs:Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond.

Manhatten is the smallest of the five city boroughs in size and it is not the largest in population although the majority spend a consid­erable part of the day in this center of business life. Here are Broadway, Wall Street and the Stock Exchange. This is the heart and source of American policy.

Harlem is also in Manhatten. Thick walls separate this "Black Bottom" with 450,000 coloured people from the white population.

In the bay stands the bronze Statue of Liberty given to the United States by France as a present in 1886. Its torch is 60 meters high and can be seen at night for many miles. A new American Museum of Immigration is open at the base of the Statue.

The Bronx is a morenresidential rather than industrial part of the city. The well-known Zoo and Botanic Gardens are in the Bronx.

Queens is both a residential and industrial area. New York's two biggest airports are both there.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is the largest naval shipbuilding center in the world. Brooklyn has more people than any other part of the city - about 3,000,000. It is mostly a district of middle-class people.

Richmond is the borough of piers and warehouses. Its population is only 200,000.

What makes New York? First of all, it is a' great seaport, the greatest in the USA. The sea encircles many of the city areas. It is also a great financial center, where "money-making" is the main law of life. It is the symbol of big business and its Wall Street has become a nickname for big monopolies all over the world. New York is the leading textile center of the country and its clothes industry. It has a considerable printing industry and many book-shops. It is also undoubtedly one of the centres of social and spiritual life of America. There are a lot of Art Galleries, among them rich Henry Frick collections, and many impressive art museums (Metropoletan Museum, Modern Art Museum, American Art Museum and others). For a long time New York specialized in giving visitors a good time at its theatres, restaurants, night clubs, sporting arenas, and therefore has a large hotel industry. It is the main publishing, advertising and radio center with Columbia and New York universities and various city colleges.

Among the inhabitants of New York one can meet people of almost all nations. The population of New York numbers about 16 million. The citizens speak seventy-five different languages.

LESSON 9

Условные предложения Значения provide Суффиксы -th, -en, -ible Префиксы sub-, under-, non-Text 9A. Descending to New Ocean Depths Text 9B.

Text 9C. Lifeboats Text 9D. Greenwich

ПРЕДТЕКСТОВЫЕ УПРАЖНЕНИЯ

Упражнение 1. Определите тип условного придаточного предложения, переве­дите:

1. If we look around we can see that electricity is serving us in one way or another. 2. If I were free I should help you with pleasure.

3. If we had tested this material we should have used it in our work.

4. If ordinary gases are greatly compressed they become liquids. 5. If supercomputers had not been used for thermodynamic calculations designers would have spent all their lives on computations. 6. If you think that a computer never makes mistakes you are wrong. 7. If extreme temperatures generated by atmospheric friction were not so high a hypersonic craft would not require complicated cooling measures. 8. If we had been told about the lecture on reliability in spacecraft production, we should have come by all means. 9. Superconductivity can be obtained in some materials if the temperature is very low and close to absolute zero.

Упражнение 2. а) Измените следующие предложения согласно образцам: