ELECTRICITY

It is impossible to imagine our civilization without electricity: economic and social progress will be turned to the past and our daily lives completely transformed.

Electrical power has become universal. Thousands of applications of electricity such as lighting, electrochemistry and electrometallurgy are longstanding and unquestionable.

With the appearance of the electrical motor, power cables replaced transmission shafts, gear wheels, belts and pulleys¹ in the 19^th century workshops. And in the home a whole range of various time and labour saving appliances² have become a part of our everyday lives.

Other devices are based on specific properties of electricity: electrostatics in the case of photocopying machine and electromagnetism in the case of radar and television. These applications have made electricity most widely used.

The first industrial application was in the silver workshops in Paris. The generator – a new compact source of electricity – was also developed there. The generator replaced the batteries and other devices that had been used before.

Electric lighting came into wide use at the end of the last century with the development of the electric lamp by Thomas Edison. Then the transformer was invented, the first electric lines and networks were set up, dynamos and induction motors³ were designed.

Since the beginning of the 20-th century the successful development of electricity has begun throughout the industrial world. The consumption of electricity has doubled every ten years.

Today consumption of electricity per capita⁴ is an indicator of the state of development and economic health of a nation. Electricity has replaced other sources of energy as it has been realized that it offers improved service and reduced cost.

One of the greatest advantages of electricity is that it is clean, easily-regulated and generates no by-products⁵. Applications of electricity now cover all fields of human activity from house washing machines to the latest laser devices. Electricity is the efficient source of some of the most recent technological advances such as the laser and electron beams. Truly⁶ electricity provides mankind with the energy of the future.

Notes to the Next

1) transmission shafts, gear wheels, belts and pulleys – трансмиссионные валы, зубчатые колёса, ремни и блоки

2) time and labour saving appliances – электроприборы, экономящие время и труд

3) induction motors – индукционные моторы

4) per capita – на душу населения

5) by-products – побочные продукты

6) truly – поистине

II. Read the text again carefully and answer the questions.

1. Why is it simply impossible to imagine our civilization without electricity?

2. What industrial applications of electricity do you know?

3. What home applications of electricity can you recollect?

4. Where was the generator developed?

5. What devices did the generator replace?

6. Who invented the electric lamp?

7. Do you know who invented the dynamo?

8. When did the successful development of electricity begin?

9. What does the consumption of electricity per capita indicate today?

10. Why has electricity replaced other sources of energy?

11. What spheres of human activity do applications of electricity cover?

12. What recent technological advances does electricity provide?

III. Which of the vocabulary units used in paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 could be regarded as international words?

IV. Read the translation of the last paragraph. Compare it with the original and say if everything is right.

Одним из самых больших преимуществ электрической энергии является то, что она чистая, легко управляемая и не дает никаких побочных продуктов. В наше время электричество обеспечивает все сферы человеческой деятельности, от домашних стиральных машин до новейших лазерных устройств. Электричество является эффективным источником для самых последних технологических изобретений, таких как лазер и электронные лучи. Поистине электричество обеспечивает человечество энергией будущего.

V. Find the English equivalents of the following words and word combinations in paragraphs 4-7.

Новый компактный источник, первые электрические линии и сети, потребление электричества, особенные свойства электричества, мастерские по изготовлению изделий из серебра, наиболее широко используемое, по всему индустриальному миру, в конце прошлого века, заменил батареи и другие приборы, изобрести трансформатор, успешное развитие электричества

VI. Find passages about industrial applications of electricity and translate them into Russian.

VII. Choose a passage and read it aloud (1-2 minutes).

VIII. Find out the subject-matter and the means of its secondary expression. e.g. I like your report on electricity. It is made with great enthusiasm.

IX. Find key words, phrases and the topic sentences which express the general meaning of each paragraph best of all.

X. Using the information obtained from the paragraphs make a plan of the text.

XI. Speak about electricity and its applications using key words, phrases, the topic sentences and the plan of the text.

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