A book of science and computers

 

 

Методические указания и учебные задания

по профессионально-ориентированному чтению

для студентов 2 курса технических специальностей

 

 

Санкт-Петербург

2010

УДК 8А (075)

ББК 81.2 Англ. яз. 73

 

Составители: И.И. Громовая, А.М. Данилкина, М.В. Мальцева, С.В. Скалецкая, П.М. Эйсмонт, Е.А. Люторович, Н.А. Жиганова, Д.С. Исаева, И.В. Вихриева, В.В. Постникова

 

Под редакцией И.И. Громовой

 

Рецензент: О.В. Злобина

 

Учебные задания составлены на основе аутентичных материалов профессиональных английских и американских изданий и Интернет-ресурсов и предназначены для студентов 2 курса 1-5 и 7 факультетов технических специальностей.

Цель пособия – научить чтению и пониманию оригинальной литературы, способствовать формированию лингвистических навыков в данной отрасли знаний.

Подготовлены кафедрой иностранных языков и рекомендованы к изданию редакционно-издательским центром Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета аэрокосмического приборостроения.

 

Верстальщик А.Н. Колешко

Сдано в набор 15.10.10. Подписано к печати 21.11.10. Формат 60х84 1/16. Бумага офсетная. Печать офсетная. Усл. печ. л.  Тираж 1000 экз. Заказ №

Компьютерная верстка И. И. Громовой

 

Редакционно-издательский центр СПбГУАП

190000, Санкт-Петербург, Б. Морская ул., 67

 

 

© Санкт-Петербургский государственный

университет аэрокосмического

приборостроения (ГУАП), 2010

MODULE I. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNIT 1

Lesson 1. The progress of science in the 20^th century

I. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations:

development – развитие, разработка

invention – изобретение

discovery – открытие

human being - человек

satellite – космический спутник

to solve – решать

to calculate – вычислять, подсчитывать

to set free – высвобождать

 

II. Practise reading the following international words. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Arctic, airplane, present, automatically, machine, medicine, giant, to duplicate, civilization, atom, process, energy.

III. Read and translate the text.

There have been great changes in the life surroundings and the conditions of human beings during the past century. Less than a hundred years ago many of the things that we do now were thought to be impossible. For example, flying and other things, like listening to music from thousands of miles away in the radio, would certainly have been thought impossible if people had ever imagined them. Radio and television are no longer just inventions that bring pleasure and amusement to our homes. By means of radio and television we can do an endless number of jobs: call doctors to far-off places in the Arctic, help airplanes to land automatically in bad weather, direct the work of a dozen machines at once, or guide the flight of rockets and sputniks in space.

Among the most important scientific discoveries are new medicines. Several serious illnesses, from which 50 years ago people used to die, can be cured quite easily. It is true that some of the serious illnesses still can’t be cured but it will not be long before scientists succeed in finding means to do away with them.

One of the wonders of our age is the “electronic brain”, or the giant calculating machine, which can to some extent duplicate human senses. These machines can feel, touch, smell, hear and see. They can solve mathematical problems many times faster than a human mathematician and are widely used in our country for calculating the orbits of satellites and spaceships. With the help of an electronic calculation machine Russian scientists succeeded in reading the writings of the Mayas, the ancient civilization of Mexico.

Perhaps the most wonderful discovery of the twentieth century has been the splitting of the atom. The process of splitting the atom is called nuclear fission. When atoms split they set free a tremendous amount of energy. Men are learning to put this energy to use.

Notes

By means of – посредством; to do away with – покончить, положить конец; to some extent – в некоторой степени; to split – расщепить; nuclear fission – ядерное деление.

 

IV. Give the Russian equivalents.

Spaceship, invention, a mathematician, medicine, to spit the atom, impossible, satellites, development, to duplicate, to succeed, endless.

 

V. Give the English equivalents.

Математические задачи, вычислительная машина, спутник, вычислять, эра, отдаленный, количество, автоматически, человек, достижение.

 

VI. Translate the words of the same root. State what parts of speech they are.

To change – a change; to surround – surroundings; to imagine – an image – imagination; possible – impossible; to invent – an invention – an inventor; to amuse – amusing – amusement; to end – an end – endless; to discover – a discovery; ill – illness; to succeed – success – successful – successfully.

 

VII. Answer the following questions.

1. What changes can we see in our life? 2. How are radio and television used now? 3. How can recent scientific discoveries help in medicine? 4. What is the “electronic brain”? 5. What can the “electronic brain” do? 6. What is the most wonderful discovery of the 20^th century? 7. What do you consider to be the main scientific discovery of the 20^th century? 8. Can you give any other example of new discoveries?

VIII. Give a brief summary of the above text.