TASK 5. What invention does the text tell about?

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TASK 6. Give annotation of the text.

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TASK 7. Give a short summary of the text.

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TEXT 3

EARLY DAYS OF ELECTRICITY

Small winder, then, that man lived for ages on this earth without knowing anything about electricity. He tried to explain the phenomenon of the thunderstorm to himself by imagining that some gods or other supernatural crea­tures were giving vent to their heavenly anger,  or were fighting battles in the sky. Thunderstorms frightened our primitive ancestors; they should have been grateful to them instead because lightning gave them their first fires, and thus opened to them the road to civilization. It is a fascinating question how differently life on earth would have developed if we had an organ for electricity.

Perhaps the Israelites did know something  about electricity; this theory is supported by the fact that the Temple at Jerusalem had metal rods on the roof which must have acted as lightning-conductors.

More than two thousand years passed after Thales's discovery without any research work being done in this field. It was Dr. William Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth the First's physician-in-ordinary, who set the ball rolling.  He experimented with amber and lodestone and found the essential difference between electric and magnetic attrac­tion. In his famous work De magnete, published in 1600, he gave an account of his studies. Although some sources credit him with the invention  of the first electric machine, this was a later achievement by Otto von Guericke, inventor of the air pump.

Here was at last a plausible theory of the nature of electricity, namely, that it was some kind of 'fluid'. It dawned on him  that thunderstorms were merely a dis­charge of electricity between two objects with different electrical potentials, such as the clouds and the earth. He saw that the discharging spark, the lightning, tended to strike high buildings and trees, which gave him the idea of trying to attract the electrical 'fluid' deliberately to the earth in a way that the discharge would do no harm.

Aloisio Galvani, professor of medicine at Bologna, was lecturing to his students at his home while his wife was skinning frogs, the professor's favourite dish, for dinner with his scalpel in the adjoining kitchen.

Galvani made numerous and unsystematic experiments with frogs' thighs, most of which failed to prove anything at all; in fact, the professor did not know what to look for except his 'animal electricity'. These ex­periments became all the rage  in Italian society, and everybody talked about 'galvanic electricity' and 'galvanic currents' — terms which are still in use although Profes­sor Galvani certainly did not deserve the honour.

A greater scientist than he, Alessandro Volta of Pavia, solved the mystery and found the right explanation for the jerking frogs. Professor Volta went one step further — a most im­portant step, because he invented the first electrical bat­tery, the 'Voltaic pile'.  A 'pile' of these elements produced usable electric current, and for many decades this remained the only practical source of electricity. From 1800, when Volta announced his invention, electrical research became widespread among the world's scientists in innumerable laboratories.

PHRASES & WORD COMBINATIONS TO THE TEXT

1.were giving vent to their heavenly anger – давали выход своему божественному гневу

2.if we had an organ for electricity – если бы мы обладали органом, способным распознавать электричество

3.did know something – действительно что-то знал

4.It was Dr. William Gilbert… physician-in-ordinary, who set the ball rolling. – И вот доктор Джильберт…врач-ординатор, начал новую страницу.

5.although some sources credit him with the invention – хотя в некоторых источниках его называют изобретателем…

6.it dawned on him – его осенило

7.his famous kite-and-key experiment –свой знаменитый опыт с воздушным змеем и ключом

8.Franklin had won the day. – Франклин одержал победу.

9.on the spur of the moment – экспромтом

10.these ex­periments became all the rage – эти опыты стали очень модными

11.the 'Voltaic pile' – гальваническая батарея

EXERCISES

TASK 1. Answer the questions:

1.Does the electricity play an important role in our life? _____________________

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2. Did people know anything about electricity? ____________________________

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3.How did the electric theory develop? ___________________________________

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4. Who set the ball rolling? ____________________________________________

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5. What did he find during his electric research? ___________________________

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6. What was Aloisio Galvani’s experiment? _______________________________

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7. Did Galvani prove anything at all? ____________________________________

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8. Did the professor know what to look for except his 'animal electricity'? _______

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9. Who was Alessandro Voita of Pavia? __________________________________

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10.What is “Voltaic pile”? ____________________________________________

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TASK 2. Match the equivalents:

Electricity, electro-magnetic, phenomenon, thunderstorm, magnetic, discharging spark, magnetic force, unsystematic experiments, 'galvanic electricity', and ‘Voltaic pile'.

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гальваническая батарея

электро-магнитный

феномен

магнитный

электричество

магнитная сила

гроза

разряженная вспышка

гальваническое электричество

несистематичные эксперименты

TASK 3. Fill in the blanks with words and word combinations from the text:

To ______________ and _____________ alike, however, this _________________ of 'action at a distance' caused by electric and ________________ was still rather mysterious. What was it really? In 1780, one of the ______________ of all times seemed to provide the answer. Aloisio Galvani, professor ___________ at Bologna, was lecturing to his students at his home while his wife was skinning frogs, the _______________, for dinner with his scalpel in the adjoining kitchen. As she listened to the _______________ the scalpel fell from her hand on to the frog's thigh, touching the _____________ at the same time. The dead frog jerked _________as though trying to jump off the plate.

TASK 4. Continue the sentenses according to the text:

1. There is electricity everywhere_______________________________________

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2. Thunderstorms frightened our________________________________________

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3. More than two thousand years passed__________________________________

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4. Here was at last a plausible theory____________________________________

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5. To scientists and laymen alike________________________________________

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6. Aloisio Galvani, professor of medicine at Bologna_______________________

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7. Galvani made numerous and unsystematic experiments____________________

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8. A greater scientist than he, Alessandro Volta of Pavia_____________________

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9. Volta showed that an electric current__________________________________

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10. A 'pile' of these elements produced____________________________________

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TASK 5. Translate into English:

Более великий ученый, чем он, открывший тайну и обнаруживший правильное объяснение дергающихся лягушек. До того, как стать 'первоисточником жизни', они сыграли самую скромную роль в проводимости электричества, тогда как сталь скальпеля и цинк пластины были, фактически, важными вещами.

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