А Если бы доктор суэз написал инструкцию.

Если вдруг пакет программный вас решится обобрать,

И от прерываний шина станет вдруг озорничать,

Если память с дисководом станут люто воевать,

Вам ни денег, ни железа, ни покоя не видать.

 

Если вдруг в меню стандартном ваш курсор начнёт шалить,

И двойной щелчок иконку сразу может удалить,

И мозги у базы данных перестанут вдруг варить,

Это значит, всё пропало, безвозвратно, может быть.

 

Если надпись на коробке может дельный дать совет,

И мышиный коврик даже подключиться в Internet,

А несносные программы вам откажут делово,

Видите ли, протокол им не подходит. Каково?

 

Если вид у монитора как в разбитые очки,

И по плоскости экрана расплываются значки,

Выключайте свой компьютер и идите погулять.

Я уверен, он не станет ладить с вами. Его…!

 

Если от резервных копий прохудится гибкий диск,

И ассемблерные вставки повышают резко риск,

Лучше вы сотрите память, отпаяйте ПЗУ –

Бесполезное железо вам, конечно, ни к чему.

HOW MODERN ARE YOU?

(pop quiz)

1) If you were able to have any car you wanted, what would you buy?

a) I’d buy a restored vintage car that might become a collector’s item.

b) I’d buy a newly built car with all the latest technology.

c) I wouldn’t buy a car because I don’t like them.

2) What is your attitude to new scientific developments?

a ) They are brilliant. They help to make the world a much happier and better place.

b) We know enough about science now. We should stop interfering with nature.

c) Some things are good. Some things are bad.

3) How do you speak?

a) I use a lot of new words, slang and catch phrases from the television and magazines.

b) I use exactly the same words and phrases as my parents.

c) I use a few new words because they are useful for what I want to say.

4) Which of the following do you think is the most enjoyable?

a) Playing virtual reality computer games.

b) Going to a disco/club that plays music from the 60s and 70s.

c) Listening to techno music.

5) Which of the following would be your preferred way of finding out information?

a) I like looking up in a book.

b) Surfing the Internet or using a CD-Rom is the best way.

c) Watching a video is best.

6) You go to a friend’s house. His mother works, earning a lot of money, and his father stays at home, cooks and cleans. What is your reaction?

a) Nothing. It doesn’t matter who works and who cleans. It is the 21^st century.

b) A bit surprised. It seems a bit strange because it is unusual.

c) The poor man. Cooking and cleaning is a woman’s job.

7) Which of the following types of books or films do you prefer?

a) Historical ones

b) Anything romantic

c) Contemporary ones about modern day things.

8) If your computer were six years old and worked perfectly well, which of the following would you do?

a) I’d buy a brand new one so I could have new technology.

b) I wouldn’t do anything. I’d be happy with it. New technology is just gimmicks.

c) I’d secretly hope it would break, despite the fact that I didn’t need a new computer.

ADD UP YOUR SCORE AND READ THE ANALYSIS

	A	B	C

THE ANALYSIS

8 – 11: You are not modern at all and you don’t want to be. You are suspicious of new things and don’t make an effort to find out about them. You would prefer to live in the past. It is nice that you can appreciate the simple things in life but you must be careful not to get left behind. You are too traditional.

12 – 16: You are not very modern but you are not completely old-fashioned either. You like to live in a world that has the good things from the past and some of the good things from the present too.

17 – 20: You are modern. You know a lot about what is happening around you and obviously enjoy progress. On the other hand, you are sensible and don’t worry about buying and doing all the latest things just because they are fashionable. 21 – 24: Yes. You are very modern. Being up-to-date is very important to you. Sometimes perhaps it is too important. Remember that new things are not always the best things. Be careful not to become obsessed with every new thing that comes along. Some things are just clever marketing crazes that will complicate your life.

 

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS

To be read after Lesson 2

[1] RAILWAYS

The railroad is a form of land transportation that is found in almost every country in the world. Railroads serve many thousands of communities, from big cities in highly developed nations to tiny villages in remote areas. Railroads carry travelers to and from neighboring communities or on trips across whole continents. They carry raw materials and farm products to manufacturing and processing plants, and they carry the finished products from those plants to warehouses and stores. Railroads were designed to move large numbers of passengers or large amounts of freight over long distances. The railroad is the most efficient method of land transportation because it requires the least amount of fuel and human labor and is the least damaging to the environment. Railroads carry about 40 percent of the total volume of freight transportation in the United States. The world has a total of more than 738,000 miles (1,187,000 kilometers) of railroad line. Almost all the railroad systems carry both freight and passengers. A railroad is much like a manufacturing business whose sole product is transportation service. To produce that product it requires tracks, cars, locomotives, repair shops, communication systems, and skilled workers.

[2] PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION IN THE USA

In urban areas of the United States, movements of people between home and work account for about 40 percent of the total number of passenger journeys. Recreational trips* account for about 15 percent of all trips. Automobile riding, for example, is not only a means of reaching a destination but is a popular form of outdoor recreation**. Recreational boating also is popular. Cruise ships have made up the major proportion of ocean-going passenger vessels since jet aircraft became the favored mode of transoceanic travel. The automobile dominates intercity passenger transportation in the United States. It accounts for more than 80 percent of the total passenger miles. No other mode of transportation approaches the flexibility and convenience of the automobile, which provides door-to-door service independent of schedules.

The railroad is no longer a major means of intercity passenger transportation in the United States, though railroad passenger service prospers in much of the rest of the world. As recently as the early 1940s there were more than 20,000 daily intercity passenger trains in the United States. By the early 1970s there were only about 200. Whereas railroads accounted for almost 70 percent of the total passenger-miles by public carrier in 1930, by 1970 they accounted for less than one percent. In 1971 the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, a federal agency that is also known as Amtrak, took over most of the intercity railroad passenger service. Most Amtrak trains operate in the Northeast corridor between Boston, Mass.; New York City; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; and Washington, D.C. A large proportion of the New York-Washington service is by high-speed electric trains called Metroliners. There is commuter railroad passenger service in the suburban areas of such large cities as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco. Electric interurban railroads and street railways in cities have almost disappeared.

Intercity buses in the United States serve many more communities*** than do railroads. Using modern expressways, they provide swift service between major cities, though many communities not on expressways now have much less bus service than they formerly had. Air carriers dominate public intercity passenger transportation in the United States. The growth of air passenger traffic has been rapid, increasing from only 14 percent of the total in 1950 to more than 85 percent in the 1980s. Passenger transportation by water carriers in the United States is insignificant except for some ferry services.

Notes: *recreational trip – путешествие (поездка на отдых или экскурсию)

**outdoor recreation – отдых на открытом воздухе

***community – населённый пункт

 

To be read after Lesson 3

[3] THE BATTLE OF THE GAUGES

Part 1

In the early days, each railroad built its track at whatever gauge it pleased and then built its engines and cars to fit that gauge. The tracks at the Killingworth Colliery, for which George Stephenson built his first locomotive the Blocher, happened to be 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 meters) between rails, so Stephenson built his locomotive for this gauge. When he designed the Stockton and Darlington he made the locomotive the same width but added another half inch (1.3 centimeters) to the width of track. This odd measurement of 4 feet 81/2 inches (1.44 meters) in time came to be known as standard gauge. Other tracks in England ranged between 2 and 7 feet (0.6 and 2.1 meters). The famous English engineer Brunel considered that the (чем) broader the gauge, the (тем) easily would the trains run. Following his advice the Great Western Company had constructed the railway network with a gauge of 7 feet. That is why for many years there were 2 gauges in England: the 7 feet suggested by Brunel and 4 feet 8½ inches, offered by Stephenson. It was inconvenient because where there was a break of gauges, delay was caused and time was wasted. Angry people wrote to the newspapers and demanded to change the broad gauge. “The Battle of the Gauges” lasted more than 30 years. Only in 1892 in the House of Commons*the broad gauge was described as a “national evil”, and it was decided to convert all the railways to the standard gauge.

Part 2

In the United States the early railroad tracks ranged from 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in width. This variance became unacceptable with the demand for connecting lines and through service. Freight soon began to move longer distances and over the lines of more than one railroad. The differences in gauges forced the costly nuisance of unloading and reloading cars. Most of the lines in the area between New York City and Chicago were of nearly the same gauge—between 4 feet 8 inches and 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters). Thus, in the 1860s, arrangements were made to use cars specially equipped with broad-tread wheels that could be used on any of these widths. About the same time, the movement toward standardization of the 4 feet 81/2 inch, or Stephenson, gauge received great encouragement when the United States Congress adopted it for the new Pacific railroad. By the mid-1880s there was virtually a double standard of gauge in the United States. In the North and West the Stephenson gauge prevailed, while most of the South used a gauge of 5 feet (1.52 meters). Starting in 1886, the Southern lines narrowed their tracks to the now standard gauge of 4 feet 81/2 inches. This uniformity soon ensured an uninterrupted flow of commerce over the entire nation. Standard gauge is also used in Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, which was once linked with railroadson the mainland by freight-car ferry. No other continent has a comparable standardization, however.

Note: *the House of Commons – Палата Общин

[4] DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN RAILROADS

Between 1850 and 1871 the United States government made grants to railroads to assist the extension of lines in the West and South, often ahead of settlement. About 8 percent of the country’s railroad mileage was built with the aid of these land grants. The grants were not outright gifts; in return, the railroads were required to haul government traffic at reduced rates. When Congress terminated this arrangement in 1946, it was estimated that the railroads had repaid the government about ten times the original value of the land grants.

By 1870, when the railroad movement in the United States was 40 years old, there were 53,000 miles (85,000 kilometers) of main lines, not including secondary tracks, sidings, passingtracks, or yards. Between 1870 and 1880 another 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) were added. The decade from 1880 to 1890 saw the most rapid expansion of American rail lines, with 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) added—an average of 19 miles (31 kilometers) of new railroad completed each day. Growth continued, with another 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) added in the 1890s and another 47,000 miles (76,000 kilometers) in the next decade. By 1910 the network was largely complete and there was little further extension. In 1916 total railroad-line mileage in the United States reached its highest point at 254,000 miles (409,000 kilometers).

After 1920, with the rapid expansion of paved roads, much traffic was taken from the railroads by automobiles, buses, and trucks, though the overall demand for railroad service remained high. As a result, the railroad network began to shrink as lines that could no longer pay their way were abandoned. By the end of the 1980s, railroad-line miles in the United States had dropped to about 150,000 miles (241,000 kilometers). Some of the lines had been built to serve mines, forests, or other nonrenewable natural resources and were abandoned when the resources were exhausted. Other lines had been built to serve an anticipated need that never materialized. Still other lines disappeared because the industries they had been built to serve entered a period of decline or relocated to other parts of the country. By the late 1980s, American railroads had become primarily high-volume freight carriers operating on long-distance, main-line corridors. Intercity passenger traffic had largely been taken over by automobiles, buses, and airlines. Much freight, especially on the shorter distance hauls, was being carried by trucks. Yet the total railroad freight volume, as measured in ton-miles (a ton-mile is a unit of measurement corresponding to one ton of freight carried one mile) set a new all-time record in 1990—78 percent more than in 1960.

[5] SLEEPING CARS IN THE USA

 

The first passenger cars in the USA were high in proportion to their length, and were not fitted for movement upon rails. Their characteristics have gradually changed, so as to make them longer, lower, safer, more comfortable and convenient. One of the most important railroad inventions in the USA was a sleeping car. The earliest trains had no sleeping cars. There was really no need for them, because early railroads were short; the longest journeys lasted only a few hours, and nearly all trains went in the daytime. As a number of railroads increased, it became possible to make longer and longer journeys and night travel became common. Long journeys by night were very tiresome and uncomfortable because it was almost impossible for passengers to sleep in the car seats. Steamboats and sailing vessels had good sleeping rooms, and even canal boats used for passenger transportation had bunks in which travelers could rest at night. It can easily be seen that there was a real need for sleeping cars on the railroads, and especially upon the railroads of the USA, where the distance which one might travel was so large. The earliest sleeping cars had a row of double bunks on each side. Although these cars were more comfortable for night travel than the ordinary coach, they had one large defect. They could not be used for day travel. What was needed was a car in which the seats used during the day could be converted into beds at night.

George M. Pullman of Chicago invented the modern sleeping car. He built his first one in 1859. This car was much simplerin design than the sleeping cars of today but it was so much more suitable for long-distance travel than any other kind of car in use at that time. Encouraged by the success of his first car, Mr. Pullman built а much larger sleeping car a few years later, a car which was a great improvementover his first coach. This car was named the Pioneer. George Pullman received many orders for sleeping cars. In 1879 he bought the big site of land near Chicago. On this place the city of Pullman was constructed, and there the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company still has its great manufacturing plant, which is capable of producing many hundreds of all kinds of cars a year. Practically all of the sleeping cars on the USA's railroads are owned and operated by the Pullman Company.

 

To be read after Lesson 4

[6] MONORAIL

More used as a transportation system in industry than in cities, a monorail is a type of electric railway train that runs either above or below a single track. In factories monorails are used for moving equipment or materials from one part of a plant to another. In public transportation systems they have thus far been used only for hauling people for short distances.

One of the first monorail systems constructed was the Schwebebahn (suspension railway*) in Wuppertal, Germany. Completed in 1901, it consists of two-car trains hung from an elevated structure**. Much of the route operates over the Wupper River. The distance covered is 9.3 miles (15 kilometers).

This system, though it has proved safe and efficient, has not had many imitators. There are today only about three dozen monorails in the world, and none operates for a distance longer than 10 miles (16 kilometers). There is an 8.2-mile (13-kilometer) monorail in Japan running from Tokyo to the airport. It was constructed in 1964 on the occasion of the Summer Olympic Games. Although much newer in appearance than the one in Wuppertal, it also is suspended from an overhead beam***. A shorter line was built at Osaka for the World's Fair called Expo '70. There is a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) monorail in Seattle, Wash., that was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., both have monorail trains operating within their grounds. The systems connect the various parts of the parks with hotels and parking lots.

The Disney and Seattle monorails ride above a beam. This system was designed in the 1950s in Sweden by Axel L. Wenner-Gren. The trains pick up an electric current from a rail attached to the side of the beam.

Although they provide swift and quiet transportation, monorails have not yet been accepted anywhere for long-distance travel. In England the Greater London Council studied the monorail as an option for urban transport. It concluded that such a system offered no advantages over existing surface and underground lines. Among the objections to monorail systems cited by critics are the huge cost of constructing a system, its unsightliness in a city, and passenger inconvenience. Such a system in any city would have the high visibility that elevated trains now have in parts of New York City, Boston, Chicago, and other urban centers.

One of the few places in the world to invest in a monorail system in the late 1980s was Malaysia. The city of Kuala Lumpur approved a project to construct a 12-mile (20-kilometer) line.

Notes: *suspension railway – подвесная железная дорога

**elevated structure – надземное сооружение, эстакада

***overhead beam – надземная балка (перекладина)

[7] STREET RAILWAY*

A historic type of urban transportation, the street railway has taken many forms, from a single horse-drawn car to a complex system of strings of cars running above and below the ground. In the typical street railway, electrically powered cars run on tracks laid in the street and share the roadway with other traffic.

The famed cable-car system** in San Francisco, Calif., was among the first mechanical railways. Electric railways replaced most cable systems in the early 20th century. Electric streetcars draw power from a stationary generator. The power is transmitted most commonly by an overhead wire*** through a pantograph. The current passes to the motors, and then returns to the powerhouse by way of the running rails.

A modern variation of the street railway is light rail transit*** (LRT). LRT vehicles operate singly or in short trains of two or three cars. Their tracks may run in the common roadways, but typically the tracks are segregated from traffic except at cross streets and often run in subways or on elevated structures. LRT systems can transport many passengers, accelerate rapidly, and travel at high speeds. The direct operating costs are relatively low; however, the costs of construction and maintenance are fairly high.

Conventional streetcar systems are still used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Eastern Europe, and parts of Canada and South America. In many cities of Europe, Asia, and the United States, however, streetcars have been replaced by diesel-powered buses, subway systems, and LRT systems.

Examples of heavy rapid transit are subways and elevated railways, or combinations of the two, such as the systems found in Chicago, New York, London, Moscow, and Paris. They are electrically powered, on the same principle as the streetcar, except that the cars pick up current from a third rail alongside the running rails instead of from an overhead line. These systems operate in trains of up to ten cars and are completely separated from other traffic. As a result, they can run at high speeds and carry many passengers: heavy rapid-transit systems can transport up to 60,000 passengers per track, per hour; conventional street railways can move only 2,000 to 9,000, and LRT systems only 5,000 to 15,000.

Before 1920 (and in some metropolitan areas as late as 1950) it was common for street railway extensions to serve suburban areas, while interurban electric railways joined cities. Today the new LRT and rapid-transit lines continue to run well out into the suburbs. They are the modern suburban and interurban railroads.

In recent years there has been a worldwide renovation of old electric railway systems. In countries such as the United States, Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands, existing lines are being repaired and reequipped. In addition, new LRTsystems have opened in Bonn and Cologne, in Germany; Göteborg, Sweden; Newcastle upon Tyne, England; Calgary and Edmonton, Alta.; Zürich, Switzerland; and in a number of cities in the western United States.

In the late 1990s there were more than 325 street railway and LRT systems operating worldwide. Russia had the largest number with 121 lines; Germany had 58; and the United States had 14 LRT lines built or under construction. Traditional mixed-traffic street operation of any significant volume is now found only in a couple of cities in the United States and in parts of Germany, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Egypt, and India.

Notes: *street railway – городская железная дорога

**cable car system – воздушно-канатная дорога

***overhead wire – воздушный провод

****light rail transit – высокоскоростная железная дорога местного значения

To be read after Lesson 5

[8] BUILDING THE RAILROAD

Before a railroad is built there are usually several alternative routes to be considered. Maps, aerial photographs, and profiles* showing the features of each route are prepared and carefully studied. Experts then choose what they consider to be the best route. The choice they make has much to do with the success or failure of the new railroad line. One route may be fairly level, requiring only a few cuts through hills and fills through valleys. Such a route, however, may require a long tunnel to get through an intervening mountain or several expensive bridges to get over rivers. This would make it more costly in the end than one with moderate cuts and fills all the way. Another route, though less expensive to build, may run through unsettled country. Hence it may be wiser to build the more expensive line for the sake of the greater local business it can get.

The selected route is then surveyed carefully, and building commences. Sometimes work parties begin at each end and build toward the middle, as was the case with the transcontinental railroad in the United States. The constructed sections of track carry trains with supplies for the construction workers. Today parties can be stationed at various points and receive supplies from other railroads already built nearby. This method gets the road finished and earning money much more quickly.

The first step is the preparation of the roadbed**. Following the stakes*** and plans set up by the surveyors, the working parties clear away trees, make cuts and fills, and otherwise prepare the way. Other workers set up bridges and dig tunnels. As fast as the roadbed is ready, crossties and rails are laid, either by hand or by machines. Working on level ground, tracklayers can complete several miles in a day. Finally, the track must be ballasted, preferably with gravel, cinders****, or broken stone.

In the United States the usual practice was to build a single-track line with as few tunnels, bridges, and expensive cuts and fills as possible. Then the track was doubled, first at portions where most trains passed and finally over the entire route, and thus the railroad grew into a first-class line. This method was largely responsible for the development of great railroads in the United States. Companies built roads through the open frontier. Soon communities***** appeared along the lines, and new businesses were started. These enabled the railroads to prosper. While track undergoes constant maintenance and improvement, there has been very little new construction in the United States in recent years, and it is estimated that the existing track system could carry 25 percent more traffic. In some areas, new communications and train control systems have allowed the elimination of double tracks in favor of single-track operations.

Notes: *profile – чертёж ж/д пути в вертикальном разрезе

**roadbed – земляное полотно

***stake – опорный столбик, веха

****cinder – шлак

*****community – населённый пункт

[9] FRENCH TRANSPORT

Transport systems have long been vital to France, serving to unite the nation in an administrative sense while promoting the growth of regional economies and linking the country to the rest of Europe and to the world. Paris has always been the hub* of French transportation.

The Industrial Revolution brought innovations in transportation to France. For example, a complex system of canals was built, connecting many navigable rivers and providing low-cost water transport for products of the mines and factories.

The railroad age began while the canal-building era was at its height. The first French line began operating in 1827, between St.-Étienne and Andrézieux, and steel rails soon linked most parts of the country. By 1934 France had 33,282 miles (53,561 kilometers) of railways. Most of the main lines were built in a radial pattern**, with Paris at the center, thus reinforcing the importance of the capital. Paris continued to grow and prosper at a remarkable rate because people had difficulty traveling between any two points in France without passing through the capital. Also, rail lines made it easier for rural people displaced by the Industrial Revolution to migrate to Paris than to any other city.

The appearance of the automobile just before 1900, and the airplane a few years later, added new perspectives to transportation. Highways, duplicating the earlier railway patterns, radiated in all directions from Paris, and the distance to any point in France was calculated from the front steps of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Air transportation to and from the airfield at Le Bourget, near Paris, began in 1919.

Today, French transportation systems are changing to cope with three problems: rapid technological change, the obsolete condition of many earlier systems, and increasing pressure to reduce the dependency of the entire country on Paris. Although lagging behind several other European countries, France has, since about 1960, embarked on a major program of superhighway construction. Many of the new highways have necessarily duplicated the older ones centered on Paris, but engineers have made great efforts to enable travelers to go to and from other parts of France without passing through the capital.

Rail traffic has declined, as it has in nearly every country, but is still important in France. The high-speed TGV travels between Paris and Lyon in only two hours, compared with four hours for conventional service, and the TGV service is being expanded to other lines as well. Air travel has also increased enormously. Traffic at Paris is divided among the airport at Orly, south of the city, and Charles de Gaulle, to the northeast, in Roissy. With Le Bourget, which today handles only charter flights, these airports accommodated a total of about 30 million passengers per year in the early 1980s, making Paris the second busiest European air travel center after London. Paris is also the airfreight capital of Europe, handling about 625,000 tons of cargo in 2001. Other major international airports include those at Marseilles, Nice, Lyon, Lille, and Strasbourg.

Notes: *hub – центр

**radial pattern – радиальная схема

 

[10] AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT

 

In Australia railways were constructed in all colonies between 1854, when a line was built between Melbourne and Port Melbourne, and 1871. Trivial disagreements among the self-protecting colonies blocked the creation of any master plan and saddled Australia with three different rail gauges: the standard gauge of 4 feet 81/2 inches (144 centimeters) in New South Wales; the broad gauge of 5 feet 3 inches (160 centimeters) in Victoria and South Australia; and the narrow gauge of 3 feet 6 inches (107 centimeters) in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and the northern extremities of South Australia. It took until 1970 to standardize one continuous line between Perth and Brisbane, along which the India-Pacific train now travels. It crosses the Nullarbor Plain on the longest straight stretch of rail track in the world – 300 miles (480 kilometers).

State governments control most of the railways, including the profitable electrified commuter lines in the cities. These help offset the losses* on run-down rural services. The Commonwealth government controls the railways of Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and parts of the transcontinental line. Private freight lines convey iron ore, sugar, coal, and other goods to the nearest ports. Trams served the larger cities until buses replaced them by the 1960s – except in Melbourne, where trains still run along broad streets laid out in a grid pattern.

Australia's busiest ports are Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Hay Point, Dampier, and Port Hedland. The last three of these are occupied primarily with carrying mineral exports.

Australia originally depended on shipping for all contact with England, Europe, and other trading partners. In 1787–88, the fleet bringing the original convict settlers arrived after being eight months at sea. The travel time from England to Australia was cut to 60 days – a time set in 1871 by the Thermopylae, after clipper ships, including the famous Cutty Sark, had entered the Australian run. They mainly carried wool to Europe.

The airplane made connections with other countries much swifter. Qantas and Imperial Airways flew their first passengers to Britain in 1935. By the 1960s, ships to Southampton, Genoa, and San Francisco had carried their last passengers, though fleets of cruise ships** still ply*** the Australian waters.

Mercantile shipping is now dominated by the Australian National Line, established by the federal government in 1956. River transport is negligible in a land beset by droughts, sand-clogged channels, and the scarcity of navigable rivers.

Aviation solved the problem of Australia's vast internal distances and remoteness from overseas centers. In 1919, Keith and Ross Smith flew from England to Darwin in 28 days. The first flight across the Pacific, from California to Brisbane, was completed in 1928 by Charles Kingsford-Smith, after whom Sydney's airport is named. Such exploits made Australians air-conscious and promoted the domestic market. Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (Qantas) was founded in 1920. It became the nation's flagship carrier after being nationalized by the federal government in 1947. Its safety record is unmatched.

Thirty overseas carriers now serve Australia, mostly under bilateral agreements which give Qantas reciprocal landing rights. Domestic airline services were controlled between 1952 and 1987 by a two-airline policy. This maintained a regulated monopoly on interstate routes, with the government airline (Australian Airlines) in sole direct competition with one private airline (Ansett). Remote outposts have been served by the Royal Flying Doctor Service since 1928, using aerial ambulances, radio and landline networks, and mobile clinics. The School of the Air for outback children began in 1951 by using the same two-way radio transmitters.

Notes: *to offset the losses – возмещать убытки

**cruise ship – круизное судно

***to ply – курсировать

[11] СHINESE RAILWAYS

Railway construction began in China late in the 19th century, and the first line, between Shanghai and Peking (Beijing), was opened in 1903. By World War II more than 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers) of track had been built, primarily in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. Much of the network was destroyed during the war, but rail construction began anew after 1949 and has continued ever since. By 1993 China had an estimated 43,131 miles (69,412 kilometers) of railroads. (By comparison, the United States had about three times as much trackage in that year.) By 1983 every province-level administrative unit except Tibet was served by rail, and plans were being made to extend a line south from the Lanzhou-UrUmqi line to Lhasa, in Tibet.

Railways have become the most important form of transportation in China. For example, more than 50 percent of the country’s traffic is moved by the railroad system. China’s rail network consists of a series of north-south trunk lines, crossed by a few major east-west lines. Most of the large cities are served by these trunk lines. But many of the main lines cannot meet the demand for service. The sixth five-year plan (1981 to 1985) called for continued large investment in railways. The investment was used to improve the carrying capacity of existing lines through double tracking or electrification, and to construct short lines where the government decided there was a crucial need for service.

Nowadays much attention is paid to the development of high speed railway transportation. Unexpected growth of air and road transport has hit the railways hard. The Chinese Minister of Railways has noted that during the ‘good old days’ such things as customer service and fast, reliable trains didn’t matter too much. “The timetable was fixed and we had nothing to worry about but watching passengers struggling for tickets,” he said. “But today we have to go out and look for food like horses.”

Worldwide, high speed trains moving at 250 km/h or more operate over 3,700 km of specially-built track, while passenger trains in Chine still mainly run at 80-100 km/h. The situation needs to change and change quickly if railways in the world’s most populous* country are to continue to play their important social and economic role. In recognition of this, China is planning several thousand kilometers of new lines in order to transport 1.5 billion passengers and 2.1 billion tones of freight a year. Specific plans have been drawn up to upgrade the busiest main lines for semi-express passenger trains running at 160 km/h, or express trains moving at 250 km/h, while at the same time experiments are going ahead for 300 to 350 km/h operation.

So, despite a drift away from passenger train travel by some people, there is no possibility of railways in China becoming obsolete. The country is vast and still developing which means that the railways are and will remain the chief means of transport.

Note: *populous - густонаселённый

 

[12] JAPANESE TRANSPORTATION

 

Modern transportation facilities* link all parts of Japan and provide the swift, efficient movement of people and goods. Railways are the main form of land transportation. Railway stations are the hubs** of mass-transportation systems, which also include buses, taxis, subways, and the vanishing trolleys.

The first Japanese railway was laid in 1872 between Tokyo and Yokohama. By 1930 a rail network covered the four main islands. Most private lines were nationalized in 1906 and passed to a public corporation, the Japan National Railways (JNR), in 1949. The JNR operates about four fifths of Japan's 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) of railway lines, including all long-distance trunk lines. It owns about 90 percent of all rolling stock. The private railways operate commuter lines in the metropolitan areas. Japanese railways use narrow-gauge track – 3 feet 6 inches – and relatively small and light rolling stock. About three fifths of the JNR lines are double-tracked or electrified. Diesel and electric units have replaced coal-burning locomotives.

Postwar population and economic growth has placed an enormous strain on the carrying capacity of Japan's railways. The high-speed, broad-gauge New Tokaido Line went into operation in 1964. Its fastest express trains make the 320-mile (515-kilometer) run from Tokyo to Osaka in a little more than three hours. An extension known as the New Sanyo Line was completed from Osaka to Okayama in 1972. The railways of Honshu are linked to Kyushu and Hokkaido by undersea tunnels and to Shikoku by ferry service. Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Sapporo, and Yokohama have subways.

Modern highway construction has lagged badly behind the needs of automobile and truck traffic. About 70 percent of the total mileage of roads is paved. By 1990 there were 692,661 miles (1,114,699 kilometers) of national expressways and general roadways for a country that had more than 60 million registered motor vehicles. City traffic is speeded by street widening and by the construction of elevated expressways.

Domestic air service links all major cities. Japan Air Lines (JAL) operates round-the-world service. Tokyo International Airport at Narita, more than 40 miles (60 kilometers) from downtown Tokyo, was completed in 1973. Its opening was delayed until 1978 because of protests by opponents of the facility. The planned addition of two runways at Narita in the 1990s was also prevented by protests from environmentalists. The new Kansai International Airport was scheduled to open at Osaka in 1994. Built at a cost of 14 billion dollars, it was the world's most expensive airport. It is located on an artificial 1,300-acre (526-hectare) island in Osaka Bay. The island itself cost 4.5 billion dollars to construct. The airport's designer was Italian architect Renzo Piano. To ease congestion at the major airports, the government decided to upgrade local airports at Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Kyoto, and other cities to handle the large increase in air traffic.

There were more than 7,000 vessels carrying passengers and cargo in coastal shipping in 1990. For passenger service between cities there are jetfoils*** and air-cushion vessels****. Considering the very large volume of Japanese imports and exports, most products are carried in oceangoing vessels registered to other countries.

Notes: *transportation facilities – средства транспорта

**hub – центр

***jetfoil – судно на подводных крыльях

****air-cushion vessel – судно на воздушной подушке

[13] RAILROAD MODERNIZATION

 

Like their younger competitors, the railroads have become specialized carriers that concentrate on the types of transportation for which they are best suited. Railroads are particularly efficient at moving large volumes of bulk commodities* such as coal or ore over long distances and transporting marine containers and piggyback highway trailers**. Railroads are also efficient at carrying commuter passengers between suburbs and city centers and providing comfortable, fast intercity passenger services.

New technologies – in design, materials, and methods – have helped railroads become still more efficient. After World War II, for example, strong concrete crossties replaced wooden ties on many railroads, especially in Europe. Rail welded*** into long sections became the standard for most busy main lines. By the 1960s high-speed passenger trains were introduced.

Japan's so-called “bullet train” was in the forefront of the new technology. It began operating on Oct. 1, 1964, to mark Asia's first Olympic Games, which were held in Tokyo. The first section of the fabled Shinkansen (New Trunk Line, known as the New Tokaido Line) was a 320-mile (515-kilometer) stretch between Tokyo and Osaka. A 100-mile (160-kilometer) extension from Osaka to Okayama was completed in 1972, and the final segment – a 244-mile (393-kilometer) run to the Hakata station in Fukuoka, northern Kyushu – opened in 1975. Other lines, completed in 1982, radiate north of Tokyo to Niigata and Morioka. The Shinkansen was privatized in 1987.

France's TGV became the supertrain of the 1970s and 1980s. It set a new world speed record of 320 miles an hour in 1990. The newer ten-car TGV trains are powered by front and rear electric locomotives. Computerized controls provide on-board signalization and fail-safe braking****.

Some of the other countries where superspeed trains are running or planned are Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and the United States. High speed train called Metroliners make daily three-hour trips between New York City and Washington, D.C.; although the trains are capable of faster runs up to 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour, drawbacks on the existing line hold speeds to a maximum of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour.

Several American railroads operate trains of RoadRailers, vehicles that have both rail and highway wheels. On the railroad they run coupled***** together in trains pulled by locomotives, then are separated and moved by highway tractors to their final destinations.

Among the more advanced systems proposed is the magnetic levitation******, or maglev, train. Instead of wheels or steel rails, the system uses coils in the surface of the track, or guide way, to create a magnetic field that lifts the vehicles and propels them forward. By the late 1980s only short test systems had been built in Germany and Japan. Successful experimental runs were first made in the early 1990s using locomotives powered by environmentally friendly natural gas.

Notes: *bulk commodities – бестарные грузы, грузы насыпью

**piggyback highway trailers – автополуприцепы или прицепы

***to weld – сваривать

****fail-safe braking – гарантированно надёжное торможение

*****to couple – сцеплять

******magnetic levitation – магнитная левитация (поднятие)

[14] ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION

Technological advances in transportation have included the development of superspeed trains, such as Japan’s ‘bullet train’ of the 1960s and Frances TGV (Train de Grand Vitesse) of the 1970s and 1980s. These advances gave engineers the inspiration to design such experimental railroad systems as the magnetic levitation*, or maglev train, which by the early 1990s had only short test systems set up in Germany and Japan. Improvements in power generation and transmission and concern for the air and noise pollution caused by diesel engines have prompted automobile makers to develop cars that will run on alternative types of fuel. One result has been the prototype of an electric car. A greater variety of ships, including submarine tankers and fast surface ships, have been developed. Other new types of vessels that are available include the hydrofoil**, which travels on sea wings with its hull*** above water, and the hovercraft****, which rides above the water on a cushion of air. The widespread use of atomic power for ship propulsion is a major research goal. STOL (short takeoff and landing), VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing), and supersonic aircraft have been adopted. These new technologies have made vehicles quieter. Passenger travel has improved in speed and comfort. Freight transport costs less because larger vehicles are used and operating efficiency has increased. The computer is used for record keeping, traffic control, navigation, and other routine operations.

In the more distant future, rocket transportation may become feasible, perhaps in combination with orbiting satellites, enabling all points on Earth to be connected in less than an hours travel time. Underground gravity vacuum tubes may permit freight and passengers to travel between stations thousands of miles apart also in less than an hour. Improvements may be expected in transportation management techniques. Some forms of transportation now under private ownership, management, and operation will increasingly depend on public financing or control, just as urban mass transit now does. Some forms of transportation will be integrated into multimodal organizations, both public and private, in order to move people and goods with a minimum of cost, inconvenience, and delay. Innovative communications systems, however, have already made much travel unnecessary. Teleconferencing enables people to hold meetings and see each other without having to travel. Computer networking makes cooperative work possible, without the workers leaving home or office.

Notes: *magnetic levitation – магнитная левитация (поднятие)

**hydrofoil – корабль на подводных крыльях

***hull – корпус

****hovercraft – судно на воздушной подушке

 

To be read after Lesson 6

[15] BRIDGES

The invention of the steam locomotive changed bridge building because stronger spans* were needed. Iron was first used for chain cables of a suspension bridge** over the Tees River, in England, in 1741. The flooring*** was laid directly upon the cables. Abraham Darby and John Wilkinson built the first iron bridge over the Severn River at Coalbrookdale, England, in 1779. This 100-foot (30-meter) arch bridge is still in service. Thomas Telford built the first modern iron arch bridge in 1813. It is Craig Ellachie Bridge over the Spey River, Scotland, with a 150-foot (46-meter) span. It was not built up of cast-iron blocks in imitation of masonry as were previous iron arch bridges but was the first to use an arch made up of iron trusses****. In 1819 – 1824 Telford built the forerunner of the modern suspension bridges – the 570-foot (174-meter) span over Menai Strait in Wales. It had wrought-iron***** chains for cables.

The first to design railroad bridges was George Stephenson, who with his son Robert invented the Rocket, the first practical locomotive. Robert Stephenson built the Britannia Tubular Bridge over Menai Strait in 1846. Its two boxlike tubes were made of iron plates riveted****** together. Many truss designs were patented in the 1850s for railroad bridges. After numerous failures of cast-iron bridges, wrought iron was used, then steel.

The first bridge to use steel extensively was the triple-arched Eads Bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis, Mo., in 1874. It was an important link in the transcontinental railroad and made St. Louis a crossroads. This bridge was named after James B. Eads who designed it and was in charge of its construction. The modern era of steel arch building began in the 20th century. The Bayonne Bridge, completed in 1931 over Kill van Kull between New York and New Jersey, has a 1,652-foot (504-meter) span. Australia’s Sydney Harbor Bridge, finished in 1932, is only 2 feet (0.6 meter) shorter. At the turn of the 20th century, the construction of masonry arch bridges reached its peak. Then the more economical and easier to use concrete became common for arch bridges. Later, reinforced concrete******* and then prestressed concrete******** were used.

Notes: *span – пролёт моста

**suspension bridge – висячий мост

***flooring – настил

****truss – балка, ферма (моста)

*****wrought iron – кованое железо

******to rivet – приковывать

*******reinforced concrete – железобетон

********prestressed concrete – предварительно напряжённый бетон

To be read after Lesson 7

[16] CHARLES BABBAGE (1792–1871)

Although he was a 19^th century mathematician, is credited with inventing the modern computer. He also designed a type of speedometer and the cowcatcher* (a frame on the front of a locomotive that tosses obstacles off the railroad tracks).

Charles Babbage was born on Dec. 26, 1792, in Teignmouth, Devon, England. At age 19 he helped found the Analytical Society, whose purpose was to introduce developments from Europe into English mathematics. At about the same time Babbage first got his idea for mechanically calculating mathematical tables. Later he made a small calculator that could perform certain mathematical computations. In 1816 he was elected a Fellow** of the Royal Society of London, the oldest scientific society in Great Britain. Then, in 1823, he received government support for the design of a projected calculator with a 20-decimal capacity. While he was developing this machine he also served (1828–39) as a professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

In the mid-1830s Babbage invented the principle of the analytical engine, the forerunner of the modern electronic computer. The government refused Babbage further support, however, and the device was never completed. A calculator based on his ideas was made in 1855 by a Swedish firm, but the computer was not developed until the electronic age.

Babbage published papers on mathematics, statistics, physics, and geology. He also assisted in establishing England's modern postal system. Babbage died in London on ct. 18, 1871.

Notes: *cowcatcher – предохранительная решётка

**fellow – член научного общество

[17] AUTOMATION IN TRANSPORTATION.

The most sophisticated applications of automation in transportation have been made in the guidance and control of aircraft and spacecraft. Other applications include railroad operations and automatic traffic control.

Aviation. Automated systems combining radar, computers, and auxiliary electronic equipment have been developed to control the ever-increasing volume of air traffic. Air traffic controllers at large airports depend on such systems to direct the continuous flow of incoming and outgoing airplanes. They can pinpoint the position of every plane within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the airfield on a special display screen of the radar unit. This information allows the controllers to select the safest route for pilots to follow as they approach and leave the airport. Many of the systems of the aircraft itself are automated. Oxygen masks, for instance, automatically drop down from overhead compartments when the cabin pressure becomes too low. Most modern planes have an automatic pilot that can take over for the human pilot. Commercial passenger planes are usually equipped with an automatic landing system that can be used when runway visibility is poor. The system employs radio beams from the ground to operate an instrument on board the plane. By watching this instrument, a pilot can determine the exact position of his craft in relation to the landing strip.

Railroads. Automation has become an important factor in railroad operations. The management of rail yards* has been facilitated by computerized systems that integrate the signaling and switching** functions of classification yards, where freight trains are sorted and assembled. Electronic scanners read color-coded identification labels on all freight cars entering a classification yard and relay the information to yard computers that assign the cars to the proper track. Automation has also been adopted by many passenger rail lines. In a number of systems, automatic equipment is used so extensively that the function of the train operator has been reduced to simple on and off operations during station stops. Since commands from automatic controls are continuously fed to other automatic mechanisms in response to information collected by sensors strategically positioned on the engine and track, human control of the engine is only required in an emergency.

An impressive example of automated rail transportation is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system serving the San Francisco-Oakland area of California. BART consists of more than 75 miles (121 kilometers) of track and about 100 trains operating between 33 stations at peak hours. Both the operation of trains and ticketing of passengers are fully automated. As a train enters a station, it automatically transmits its identification and destination to the control center and to a display board for passengers to see. The control center, in turn, sends signals to the train that regulate its time in the station and its running time to the next destination. An ideal schedule is established every morning and, as the day progresses, the performance of each train is compared with that schedule. The performances of individual trains are then adjusted as required. The entire BART system is controlled by essentially one computer. There is an identical backup computer that can assume control if necessary.

Notes: *(classification) yard – сортировочная станция

**switching – маневровая работа