The Ninth General Conference on Weights and Measures, held in October, 1948, adopted the name "Celsius" for the scalc of temperature which had more commonly been callcd "ccntigradc". This action, which had not been proposed in advance of the Conference, arose from a question regarding preferred usage in French, the sole official language of the Conference. The decision might be considered as applying strictly only to that language. In the interest of eventual uniformity of practice the use of
"Celsius" appeared desirable, but it was not practicable to impose this term on those who preferred "centigrade".
In preparation for the General Confcrcncc the National Bureau of Standard submitted a revised text defining the International Temperature Scalc to supersede that adopted in 1927. The proposed text was drafted in English and, in accordance with common English practice as well as the official French text adopted in 1927, it used the name "centigrade". This name was carried over into the French translation prepared for considcraton by the Advisory Committee on Thermometry in May, 1948. However, in the printed report of that meeting, the term "centigrade" had, in most eases, been changcd to "ccntcsimal", the term that was used in the French law governing weights and measurements. When it was asked to choosc between the two, the International Committee on Weights and die General Confcrcncc voted to substitute "Celsius".
With regard to the merits of the decision it might be remarked that Celsius (abbreviated C) was analogous to the names Kelvin, Fahrenheit, Reaumur, and Rankine, used for other temperature scales, that it had previously been used considerably in some countries, and occasionally in America. It might also be argued diat "centigrade" was logically ambiguous, since the absolute Kelvin scale, as well as the centigrade scale has 100 degrees between the icc point and the boiling point of water. On the other hand, the name "ccntigradc" was thoroughly established in English- speaking countries, the need for choosing between that name and "centesimal" arose only in Frcnch, and the decision on a term in the official French language of the Confcrcncc might not be considered as controlling the terms to be used in translating into other tongues.
Words and Word-Combinations to Be Memorized
absolute, adopt, advance, analogue, it appears, carry, confcrcncc, control, decision, degree, desirable, occasionally, practice, prefer, report, substitute, term, thoroughly, translation
Ex. 5. Give the Russian equivalents for the following:
hold a confcrcncc, adopt the name, propose an action, uniformity of practicc, be practicable, prepare for consideration, advisory committee, with regard to, remark, occasionally, on the other hand, thoroughly, in the English-speaking countries, the need for, translate into, use the term, previously, in accordance with
Ex. 6. Give the English equivalents for the following:
конференция no вопросам мер и весов, провести конференцию, шкала температур, официальный язык конференции, в интересах чего-л., предпочитать, международная шкала температур, обычная практика, подготовить перевод, напечатанный отчет, в большинстве
случаев, пользоваться термином, в некоторых странах, необходимость выбора
Ex. 7. Fill in the blanks with prepositions where necessary.
1. The Ninth General Conference ... Weights and Measures was held ... Octobcr, 1948. 2. The confcrcncc adopted ... the name "Celsius" ... the scalc ... temperature. 3. ... the interest... uniformity ... practicc the use... "Celsius" appeared desirable. 4. Celsius was analogous... the names ... Kelvin, Fahrenheit and others. 5. The name "centigrade" was thoroughly established ... English-speaking countries. 6. The absolute Kelvin scalc and the centigrade scalc have 100 degrees ... the ice point and the boiling point... water.
Ex. 8. Translate the sentences into Russian, paying attention to different functions of the word use.
1. Oxygen is widely used in industry. 2. Today there is practically no industry which docs not use the oxy-acetylcnc process. 3. He is not used to work with this apparatus, help him, please. 4. Formerly hydrogen used to be classed with the alkali metals of Group I in the priodic table. 5. They used a fine balance in their measurements. 6. Reduction of SiO> with carbon in an clcctric furnace is a commercial method of preparing silicon now in use. 1. There arc two uses of the word "theory". 8. Use must be made of the ability of the substance to ignite spontaneously. 9. It is no use making calculations if the measurements were not accuratc.
Ex. 9. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. There is no doubt that chcmistry is of great scrvicc to medicinc. 2. They have just read how oxygen was produced. 3. The laboratory assistant showed us where the chemicals were stored. 4. Wc don't know whether the library is open now. 5. He says he works in the laboratory of organic chcmistry. 6. She told us that she had been present at the seminar and could show us her notes. 7. Everybody knew that Dr. N had been working on the subject for a long time before making his report at the confcrcncc. 8. He said he would go to Moscow next week. 9. Wc thought wc should have done our experiment by that time. 10. She said she would be working in the library at 3 o'clock. 11. The teacher asked me what I was doing. 12.1 asked her whether she had finished the exercise. 13. It is not known how and when glass was first obtained. 14. It is often ncccssary to determine if any particular substancc is a mixture or a solution. IS. Every student knows he must be careful when he works in the laboratory. 16. One can say pure oxygen is a colourlcss, odourless and tasteless gas. 17. Every chcmist knows that it was in 1869 that Mcndclcycv's articlc on the periodic system was published. 18. Mcndeleycv's law stated that the properties of elements arc periodic functions of their atomic weights. 19. It is absolutely ncccssary that wc should know what substanccs wc arc going to obtain in a reaction. 20. Temperature docs not depend on how much matter is present. 21. It is necessary that the temperature should be kept constant. 22. The supervisor insisted that wc should icarn the instruction. 23. It is desirable .that Dr. N should speak at the confcrcncc. 24. It is essential that oxidation state should be known. 25. Our supervisor proposed that wc should write a joint paper. 26. The tcachcr advised that the student should consult a rcfcrcncc-book. 27. It was necessary to prove whether the conclusion that was made in the paper was right. 28. It was my collcaguc who rccommcndcd that the pressure of the reacting substanccs should be increased. 29. Much depends on what die conditions of a reaction are. 30. Sometimes it is difficult to dccidc what term should be used, bccausc there is no uniformity in the nomenclature.
Ex. 10. Translate the sentences into English.
1. На конференции 1948 года было принято название «шкала Цельсия» для стоградусной шкалы температур. 2. По шкале Цельсия вода замерзает при 0°С, кипит при 100°С. 3. Следует отмстить, что это название было выбрано по аналогии с такими названиями, как шкала Кельвина, шкала Фаренгейта и др. 4. Это решение было принято в интересах единообразия при практическом применении. 5. Термин «шкала Цельсия» более точен, так как шкала Кельвина — это тоже стоградусная шкала. 6. В англоязычных странах в повседневной жизни продолжают пользоваться шкалой Фаренгейта. 7. Шкала Реомюра имеет 80 делений между точкой замерзания и точкой кипения воды.
Ex. 11. Answer the following questions:
1. What problems were discussed at the confcrcncc in 1948? 2. What name was adopted for the temperature scalc devised by Celsius? 3. What was the reason for choosing a single name for the scalc? 4. Why was the name "Celsius" considered preferable? 5. What other name for this scalc do you know? 6. What other temperature scales do you know? 7. What temperature scales arc used in Russia?
Section II
Упр. 1. Назовите значения следующих интернациональных слов:
modern, regular, conccpt, minimum, thermodynamics, equilibrium, discuss, gas, thermometer, instrument, accurate, atmosphere, definition
Упр. 2. Определите значения выделенных слов по контексту.
1. One can easily obtain spectrum by means of a spcctroscopc. 2. The glass is filled with water. 3. Microscopc is a common device that is used when it is necessary to sec small particles. 4. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the best conditions for the reaction. 5. Sometimes wc use icc to cool the body.
Слова к тексту:
devise — придумать; triple—тронной; saturate — насыщать; hence — следовательно; convenience — удобство; resistance — сопротивление; thermocouple—термопара