THE LIGHTS STILL BURN - раздел Иностранные языки, АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК ( From “My Most Unforgettable Character” By Charles Edison)
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( From “My Most Unforgettable Character” by Charles Edison)
1.Read the text The Lights Still Burn and a) give your idea of the author’s choice of the title.
b)Work in pairs, choose the title on your own.
Thomas Alva Edison never looked like a man whose inventions had changed the world. And he never acted like one either. He moved about his laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, with a funny walk that was more of a shuffle.His hair fell down over one side of his forehead. There were always chemical burns on his unpressed clothing. No, he didn’t look like a man who had changed our world.
Yet every day, those of us who were close to him realized what a great man he was. His contributions to better living were 1093 inventions, but it is not for these that I remember him. It is for his courage, his imagination and determination, his humility,his wit.
Because he spent such long hours in the laboratory, he was at home very little. But he did find time to go fishing and take short trips with the family. And when the children were young, he often played games with us. He might start the day exploding a huge firecrackerat dawn, awakening us and the neighbours, too. Then he would shoot off fireworks of different kinds all day long.
Always Father led us to experiment and explore for ourselves. He had provided all sorts of material and got us to work with them laughing, joking, questioning. He had me washing-bottles in his laboratory when I was six. When I was ten, he helped me start building a full-sized car. It never did get any seats, but it did have a fine engine by the time I finished with it. It worked, too.
At home or at the laboratory, Father seemed to know how to get other people to do things. He could and did give orders, but he liked better to inspire people by his own example. This was one of the secrets of his success.
He was not, as many people believe, a scientist working alone in his laboratory. After he sold his first successful inventions for $40,000, he began hiring chemists, mathematicians, engineers – anyone who knew things that he thought would help him solve a difficult problem.
Often Father had money troubles and couldn’t pay his men. Father himself usually worked 18 or more hours a day. “ Achievement provides the only real pleasure in life,” he told us. He slept only four hours each night, with a few additional short naps. If you sleep too much,” he said, “you get dopey. You lose time and opportunities, too.”
His many successful inventions are well-known. Among them were the phonograph’, which he invented when he was 30; the incandescent bulb, which lighted the world, and moving pictures. These are only three of hundreds. He also made the inventions of other people into practical things that could be bought and sold. Without his work, the telegraph and telephone, for example, might have remained unknown.
It is sometimes asked, “Didn’t he ever fail?” The answer is yes. He failed quite often. But he never hesitated to act because he was afraid of failing.
His feelings about money were somewhat the same. He never hesitated to spend every cent that he had. He considered money a material, like metal, to be used rather than kept. He put nearly all his money into his experiments. Several times he was almost completely without money, but that didn’t stop him.
I especially remember a freezing December night in 1914, when Father’s experiments on another invention of his were still a great disappointment. Father had spent ten years and a lot of money on it. Only the money from his motion-picture machines and photographs was keeping the laboratory open and his family alive.
On that December evening the cry “Fire” was heard in the laboratory. Within moments everything was burning. Chemicals were exploding like fireworks. Firemen from eight nearby towns arrived, but the heat was so great and the waterpressureso low that they could do nothing. When I couldn’t find Father, I became worried. Was he safe? Would losing his laboratory make him losing his courage and determination? He was 67, too old to begin again, I thought. Then I saw him in the yard running toward me.” Where’s Mom ?” he shouted, “Go get her! Tell her to tell her friends! They’ll never see a fire like this again.” At 5.30 the next morning the fire was still burning but under control. He called his workmen together. “ We are going to build again,” he said. And he started giving orders.
Because he was able to lose everything and start again, and because he invented so many practical machines both before and after the fire, he appeared to have a magic power. He was often called “ The Wizard of Menlo Park.”
And Father never changed his sense of values. It has often been said that Edison had no schooling. And it is true that he went to school for only six months, but his mother taught him at his boyhood home in Port Huron, Michigan. With her help, he was reading histories of the Roman Empire at the age eight or nine. After he started selling newspapers on Michigan trains, he spent whole days reading in the Detroit Free Library. In our home he always had books, magazines and a half dozen daily newspapers.
From childhood, this man who was to achieve so much was almost completely deaf. He could hear only the loudest noises, but this did not trouble him. He believed that it drove him to reading when he was young, provided silence in which he could think, and saved him from small talk.
He enjoyed music, and he could “ listen” by putting one end of a pencil between his teeth and the other end on the phonograph .The vibrations came through perfectly. The phonograph was his favourite of all his inventions.
Father never stopped working. And he was not afraid of growing old. At the age of 80 , he began to study botany, a science new to him. He wanted to find a North American plant which would produce rubber. He experimented with 17, 000 kinds of plants and finally got rubber from an ordinary roadside plant, the goldenrod.
Finally, at 84, his health started to fail. Newspapermenarrived at our door to keep watch. Every hour the news was sent out to them: ‘ the light still burns.” But at 3:24 in the morning of October 18, 1931, the word came: “ The light is out.”
On the day he was buried, all electric lights in the nation were to be turned off for one minute in his honour. But this seemed too dangerous and costly. Instead, only certain lights were turned low for a minute. The work of the nation was not stopped, even for a second. Thomas Edison, I am sure, would have wanted in that way.
2. Read the text again and discuss in pairs the answer to the questions:
1. Who wrote the story about Thomas Alva Edison?
2. What did the great inventor look like?
3. What did the author remember the great man for?
4. What life episodes did the author choose to describe Edison as a father?
5. What were the secrets of Edison’s success?
6. Which of Edison’s inventions were the most successful?
7. Which inventions of other scientists were made by Edison into practical things?
8. How many years had been spent on disappointing experiments by the time Edison lost his laboratory in a fire?
9. What made Edison’s son feel worried about his father on the day of the fire?
10 Why were people sure that Edison had a magic power?
11. How did the contemporaries give honour to Edison on the day he was buried?
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UNIT 1 HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRITAIN
· Focus: Education (general notion); basic vocabulary
· Higher Education in Britain ( general overview)
· Grammar focus: Presen
Phrasal Verbs
to get down to smth
to start work on smth that needs a lot of time and energy
to get on with
to make
Vocabulary
academic year – учебный год
semester/term – семестр
director of studies – руководитель научно-исследовательских работ
rector – ректор университета
dean – декан ф
FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION
I Further education traditionally includes part-time vocational courses for those who leave school at the age of 16 but need a skill in the manual or technical field.
Abou
Vocabulary
3.Form word partners.
1. maintenance a. empire
2. poorer b. research
3. original c. quality
4. university d. backgrounds
5 overs
Speaking
7.Look through the text again. Why are these numbers and dates important?
90, 47, 1988, 1992, 28%.
8.Discuss in pairs the answer to fol
Financial Status
Fully Funded* Partially Funded* Scholarship Required
Intended Enrolment Time (select term and year)
Term:Spring
UNIT 3 HIGHER EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
· Focus: Higher Education in Russia ( general overview)
· Curricula and Degrees Awarded
· Grammar focus: Wh-questions; Preposit
HIGHER EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
Higher education plays a very important part inthe life of any state as it provides the country with highly-qualified specialists for future development and progress.
Today, higher educati
I. Vocabulary
automation and computer engineering
автоматика и вычислительная техника
radio engineering
радиотехника, радиотехнический
MISSION STATEMENTS
• To become a University of general academic excellence, meeting worldwide standards of training for engineers, managers and scientists. To develop academic programs leading to the award of
Vocabulary
an unsightly billboard –неприглядный, уродливый рекламный щит
to toss – бросать
to do harm – причинять вред
stuff – вещество, материя
manure – навоз, компост
POLLUTION - NO EASY ANSWERS
It's not hard to find examples of pollution in our society. But it is hard to define exactly what pollution is. For example, is a can tossed on the ground pollution? How about an unsightly billboar
HIGH TECH POLLUTION
The recycling of high-tech garbage is becoming a pressing problem. In the last few decadeswe‘ve been like children in the toy shop trying to get the latest electronic gadge
Intelligent d. old-fashioned
5. flame retardant e. clever
6. decade f. small machine or device
7. common g. to burn
8. scrap heap h. pile of garbage
9. out of date i. ordinary
10. m
Speaking
7. What do these numbers from the text refer to?
1 500 000, 100 000, 7 000, 200, 100.000.
8.. Read the text again and answer the following
Vocabulary
landfill – мусорная свалка/ яма для закапывания мусора и отходов
kitchen trash – пищевые отходы
noncombustible garbage – несгораемый мусор
upon request – по требованию, з
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Disposing of the garbage we produce is a major problem in cities around the world. In the United States, over 160 million tons of garbage are produced every year. Ten percent is recycled, ten perce
THE ANSWER IS BLOWING IN THE WIND
Britain is in the middle of serious energy crises! We 1------_(look for) a new form of energy which will be able to generate enough power in recent years.
Usually the British 2_------_(bur
Speaking
10.Look at the following pictures and notes, then in pairs discuss what the p
Writing
11.Your town is facing serious problems.Suggest ways to improve the situation, explaining the results of each suggestion.You can use ideas from units 5 and 6 as we
Vocabulary
accommodation – жилье
celebrity – знаменитость, звезда
fascinating – обворожительный, очаровательный, пленительный
to eat out – питаться в ресторане или в кафе, а не дома
LOS ANGELES - THE CITY OF ANGELS
Accommodation
The hotels in LA are more expensive than those in many other American cities, but they are clean and safe. The Biltmore and the Omni are lovely and close to special bu
Melbourne
Melbourne is Australia’s second city with half a million fewer people than Sydney. For those who live there, however, there is no better place in the world to live. It has parks and gardens and ple
Brisbane
The third largest city in Australia is widely regarded as the best city for the quality of life it offers its residents. The capital of Queensland has a tropical climate and its 1.8 million people
Writing
5.Write a tourist leaflet on two cities in your country.
1 Use these notes to help you.
Where is it ,(are
Description Tips
To describe a place, a building or a monument
a) first, you should give the name and location of the place, building or monument and the reason for choosing
MODULE 4 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UNIT 8 GREAT SCIENTISTS
Focus: Vocabulary Study: verbs to discover and to invent; science (general notion)
Focus: Great Scientists
A) Archimedes in his bath
Do you remember the story of 1____Greek scientist Archimedes? He was trying to solve 2____problem in 3_____physics – how to show if the king’s crown was made of 4_____ gold or not.
C) The scientist who saw the solution on a bus
The chemist ‘Kekule’ is famous for having discovered a lot about how 1____ atoms and 2____ molecules are arranged.
3____ first discovery happened when he was riding on a bus, one evening i
SCIENCE
Look through the text and prove the importance of science and scientists. Discuss in pairs the answer to the questions: 1. What impact does science have on our life?
2. What great discover
Vocabulary
M.A. Master of Arts – магистр гуманитарных наук
to expose(to) – подвергать воздействию
behavior of ions – поведение ионов
x-rays – рентгеновские лучи
radium eman
Vocabulary
superconductor properties – свойства сверхпроводников
semi-conductor – полупроводник
solar cells – солнечный элемент/батарейка
LED (light emitting diodes) – СИД светоизлу
Vocabulary
3.Underline the following words in the text then match a verb and a noun to make verb patterns.
VERB NOUN
Discussion
5. Read the text again and find out what circumstances might have prevented Edison from becoming a great scientist and inventor.
6.Edison often said, “ There is
Vocabulary
to launch – запускать
artificial satellite – искусственный спутник
manned
flight – пилотируемый человеком
permanent space station – космическая станция многоразо
Speaking
5.Discuss the to these questions with the partner.
· Is space travel useful to mankind? Why/ why not?
Could the money be better used for other things
SOCIAL LIFE
In American high schools, there is often much interest in other students as there is in school subjects. You can see this when you look at a typical high school yearbook. It is written once a year
SPORTS IN SCHOOL
Americans learn sports as part of their education. They learn two or more games, such as football or basketball. At high school, they choose groups of boys or girls to make teams. They choose those
CEREMONIES IN SCHOOL
Pledge of Allegiance
Every classroom has an American flag in it. From elementary to high school, students start each day by standing up and saluting the flag. They
NOVOSIBIRSK
1.Read the text and answer the questions a) What are the most important facts about Novosibirsk? b) What does Novosibirsk pride itself on?
2.Loo
Vocabulary
rank – занимать
rather – довольно
facilities – возможности
establishment –учреждение
stock exchange – биржа
settlement – поселок
ship yard – верфь
weaving fa
NOVOSIBIRSK
I Novosibirsk was founded in 1893. In 1993, we celebrated its 100-year anniversary. For a relatively short period of time, Novosibirsk turned from a tiny settlement into a district
Museums of Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is also proud of its Fine Arts Gallery, which is the biggest in Siberia. There are icons, works of Russian and foreign painters in its expositions. A collection of Niko
SOME SPOTLIGHTS
The first underground was built in London in 1863. Until 1891 trains were steam-driven.
The oldest underground in continental Europe is in Budapest. It was put into operation in 1986.
CONTENTS
MODULE 1 EDUCATION.. 2
Introduction. 2
UNIT 1 HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRITAIN.. 3
UNIT 2 STUDENTS’ LIFE IN THE UK (GREAT BRITAIN) 10
UNIT 3 HIGHER EDUCATION IN RUSSI
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