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Ancient Steel-Making Secret

When two metallurgists at Stanford University were trying to produce a «superplastic» metal they became interested in the secret of Damascus steel, the legendary material used by numerous war­riors (воины) of the past, including Crusaders (крестоносцы). Its formula had been lost for generations.

Analyses of a new steel revealed properties almost identical to those they found in Damascus steel, although their own plastic steel had been produced by present-day methods.

The remarkable characteristics of Damascus steel became known to Europe when the Crusaders reached the Middle East in the 11th century. They discovered that swords (меч) of the metal could split (рассечь) a feather (перо) in air and at the same time retain their edge sharp through many battles.

The secrets of Damascus steel were known in many parts of the ancient world, especially in Persia, where some of the finest speci­mens were produced. For eight centuries the Arab sword makers kept the secret about their techniques and methods. And with the invention of firearms (огнестрельное оружие), the secret was lost and it was never fully rediscovered.

The two metallurgists carried out a lot of researches. When they realized that they might be close to the discovery of a new material, a sword fancier (знаток), at one of their demonstrations, pointed out that Damascus steel, like their own product, was very rich in carbon. This led them to conduct a comparative analysis of their steel and those of the ancient weapons. As a result, it was found that a basic requirement was a high carbon content. The two metal­lurgists believed it had to be from 1 per cent to 2 per cent, compared to only a part of 1 per cent in ordinary steel. Their research showed how to make steel of even greater hardness than Damascus steel.

Text 6D

Прочитайте текст. Расскажите по-английски, чем примечателен читаль­ный зал Библиотеки Британского музея и какие отделы имеются в Британ­ском музее.

The British Museum

The British Museum consisting of the National Museum of Ar­cheology and Ethnography and the National Library is the largest and richest of its kind in the world. Built in the middle of the last century it is situated in central London which consists of quiet squares and streets.

The British Museum was founded by Act of Parliament in 1753 to bring together the collection of Sir Robert Cotton, some others and future addition to them.

Anthony Panizzi designed the famous circular Reading Room at the British Museum. The first thing that strikes a visitor on en­tering the Reading Room is its unusual shape. It is a perfect circle. The superintendent (управляющий) and his assistant sit in the centre of the room and they issue (выдавать) and collect books. Long rows of reading desks radiate to the outer walls, like the spokes (спицы) of the wheel.

Many famous people have used the Reading Room at the Brit­ish Museum. Of the many distinguished people who have used the Reading Room no one was perhaps more regular and more intent (целеустремленный) than the German philosopher and socialist Karl Marx. Soon after he arrived in England in 1849, Marx became a daily visitor of the Reading Room, where he used to remain from nine in the morning till closing time.

The British Museum has a department of ethnography. Ethnog­raphy is concerned with primitive people and their cultures in vari­ous stages of development as revealed by their tools, ritual objects and various crafts (ремесло). This collection is so vast that only a

tiny percentage is on show to the general public. Then there is a de­partment of prints and drawings. There are also departments devoted to maps, coins and medals. Visitors interested in chronology can see a large collection of clocks and watches. Those who are interested in philately can find a magnificent collection of postage stamps.

ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ЗАДАНИЯ

Упражнение 1. А. Прочитайте следующие выражения из текста 6А и по­старайтесь догадаться о значении выделенных слов и словосочетаний.

1. this label «Made in Space»

2. in the not so distant future

3. with peculiar magnetic properties

4. prolonged weightlessness

5. The Archimedes principal is no longer valid

6. the theoretical basis for space industry

7. on board these vehicles; on board orbital station

8. preparatory work for industrial production in space

9. replace the specimens

В. Подберите к каждому выделенному в А слову соответствующее ему по значению.

a. well based, correct, effective

b. needed for preparing; introductory
с continuing for a long time

d. foundation

e. in a ship

f. not so far away in time

g. special, particular

h. piece of paper, metal or other material used to describe what smth. is, where it is to go, etc. i. one as an example of a class

Упражнение 2. А. Прочитайте текст и постарайтесь догадаться о значе­нии терминов shape memory alloy, suggest, remember, piston, contract, expand, engine.

Shape memory alloys (SMA) are in general usage today. What exactly is a SMA? As the name suggests, this alloy can remember its original shape or form. Essentially it is a metal which can be de­formed when cold and will return to its first shape when hot.

The particular alloy we are speaking about is nickel titanium. We can see here one application in a conventional piston. When

the piston is cold, the SMA coil or spring contracts and so the pis­ton does not move. Heat causes it to expand and consequently the piston moves up. The advantage is that the device can work without any mechanical power, just from the heat which is supplied by the engine itself.

В. Найдите в приведенном выше тексте 5 пар синонимов и 3 пары анто­нимов.

Упражнение 3. Замените выделенные словосочетания соответствующи­ми глаголами expand, remember, contract, suggest, deform.

The name SMA causes us to think that such an alloy can keep in memory its original shape. In other words it can change its shape. When cold it gets smaller. When hot it gets bigger.

Упражнение 4. Составьте возможные словосочетания из глаголов в ко­лонке А и существительных из колонки В, переведите их и запомните.

1. make

2. meet

3. obtain/provide

4. lay

5. state

6. find

7. develop

8. send/transmit/receive

9. have

10. perform

11. watch

В

a. the basis, foundation

b. application, a way
с an operation

d. an advantage over, influence on

e. data, results, access to

f. information, a message, signal

g. an experiment, a TV program
h. a law

i. a decision, mistake, calculation j. equipment, a device, design, system k. requirements

Упражнение 5. Составьте, переведите и запомните словосочетания с гла­голом to be.

famous for, of great importance, in general (common) use (usage), of great help, interested in.

Упражнение 6. Заполните таблицы на словообразование.

 

Noun	Adjective	Opposite Adjective
use thought care	• • ♦ thoughtful	• • • • • • hopeless

Adjective	-— Noun	—-~-^———................................. Noun, Adjective	Noun
hard	...	journal	...
tough	toughness	science	...
useful	...	economy	...
• • •	uselessness	• • •	metallurgist
hopeful	...	active	• • •
...	hopelessness	• • •	humanist
...	carefulness	chemistry	•«•
careless	...	...	physicist

Упражнение 7. А. Назовите 10—15 ключевых слов и словосочетаний на тему «Advanced materials».

В. Speak about:

A new alloy or advanced composite material you have recently read or heard about, its properties and possible uses.

REVISION OF LESSONS 4-6

Упражнение 1. Повторите способы выражения определения. Найдите определения и переведите предложения.

A. 1. This is an excellent computer which will give you many
years of service. 2. The number of men present was small. 3. Per­
sonal laser printers cost less than ordinary laser printer. They also
weigh less and require less space. 4. Do you know the total number
of colours available on this graphics system? 5. Supercomputers ca­
pable of performing billions of operations a second will have to be
developed soon. 6. Ten miles is a long distance to walk. 7. Any me­
chanic could do that job. 8. Digital television has many features
that are absent from conventional TV, such as easy connection to
computers and telecommunication networks. 9. E-mail is a very
fast data communication service. For e-mail to get a message to the
other side of the world is a matter of a second or two. 10. The fac­
tory has computer controlled production equipment.

B. 1. Tell me about the report you are preparing now. 2. A new
radio set Ted has is a Zenith. 3. Ten hours of work a day is the
maximum you should do. 4. Do you know about the disco the Uni­
versity is organising? 5. The news we have heard this week is of
great importance. 6. You have been given all the information you
need. 7. I collected all the information I could find on the Internet
about this subject. 8. With the new system you will be able to gen­
erate statistics any time you want. 9. Writing letters and reports are
the purposes most people use computers for. 10. Composite mate­
rials we learnt about are the combination of metals, ceramics,
glasses and polymers produced without chemical reactions. 11.
Weightlessness the production of new materials depend on cannot
be created on the earth for a long period of time. 12. The TV sets
people saw at the New York Fair in 1939 were not available for a
long time because of World War II. 13. Metals, ceramics, glasses,
polymers composite materials consist of have properties different
from those of the obtained composite material.

Упражнение 2. Прочитайте и переведите тексты, обращая внимание на проработанную грамматику и лексику 4, 5, 6 уроков.

The Monitor

We interact with computers by entering instructions and data into them. After the information has been processed (обрабаты-

вать), we can see the results (i.e. the output) on the visual display unit (VDU — устройство виртуального отображения) or the monitor. In this interactive process with the computer, the screen plays an important part.

The pictures and the characters (символы) we see on the screen are made up of picture elements which are also called pixels. The total number of pixels the display is divided in (both horizon­tally and vertically) is known as resolution. When the number of pixels is very large, we obtain a high resolution display and there­fore a sharp image. If the number of pixels is small, a low resolution is obtained. Thus, pixel density or resolution affects the quality of the image: a larger number of pixels gives a much clearer image.

The cathode ray tube of the monitor is very similar to that of a TV set. Inside the tube there is an electron beam which scans the screen and turns on or off the pixels that make up the image. The beam appears in the top left corner, and scans the screen from left to right in a continuous sequence, similar to the movement of our eyes when we read, but much faster. This sequence is repeated 50, 60 or 75 times per second, depending on the system.

In a colour monitor, the screen surface is coated (покрывать) with substances called phosphors. Three different phosphor materi­als are used — one each for red, green and blue. A beam of elec­trons causes phosphor materials to give coloured light from which the picture is formed. Colour monitors are capable to display many different colours at the same time.

Portable computers use a flat liquid-crystal display (LCD) in­stead of a picture tube.

Super Phones

Not long ago it became known that cell phone manufacturers were experimenting with several different designs for the handheld devices that would be linked to the advanced wireless networks of the future. If these machines really are to become digital compan­ions, they will have to be versatile, adaptable and fashionable (мод­ный). Companies such as Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola are working on the third-generation «super phone» that will look quite different from existing cell phones. In fact, calling them phones seems absurd (неразумный). They will have built-in colour screens several inches square for presentation of high resolution graphics and video. Some may have a keyboard and a miniature mouse for data input, but most of them will use touch-sensitive

(сенсорный) screens and styluses (перо, пишущий узел) like those employed now by the handheld computers.

In addition to carrying voice communication, the super phone will also be able to play music files that are circulating on the Web in the most popular MP3 format (or in whatever format may re­place it).

Упражнение 3. Объясните значение следующих словосочетаний.

Например: material properties — the properties of a material;

colour monitor — a monitor that works in colour;