The great feat of the century

Задание I. Следующие слова Вам нужно выучить наизусть, это поможет Вам понять текст.

1. Feat – блестящие достижения;

2. require – требовать;

3. to knight – посвящать в рыцари;

4. spawn – плодить, создавать, порождать;

5. employment – работа, служба;

6. wire up – прокладывать провода;

7. prosper – преуспевать, процветать;

8. pulley – шкив, блок;

9. drum – барабан;

10. noteworthy – заметный;

11. resistance – сопротивление;

12. pledge – торжественно;

13. celebration – празднование;

14. ado – суета, суматоха;

15. insulation – изоляция;

16. inception – начало;

17. jinx – проклятие;

18. inquiry – наведение справок;

19. pursue – преследовать, гнаться за;

20. grapple – сцепливать.

Задание II. В прочитанном тексте найдите информацию и расскажите по-английски.

1. Расскажите об идее прокладывания кабеля через Атлантический океан (авторы, протяженность).

2. Расскажите все, что вы узнал о биографии Брайта.

3. Расскажите о двух значимых патентах Магнетик компании.

4. Расскажите о том, как осуществилась связь (телефон. соединение) между Ирландией и Ньюфаундлендом.

Задание III. Будьте готовы перевести любое предложение из текста, если преподаватель попросит вас об этом.

TEXT

What the Channel Tunnel is today, in some ways the Atlantic telegraph cable was in the middle of the last century: a visionary engineering enterprise and a link between nations. Samuel Morse called it "the great feat of the century". Once the telegraph traffic started to flow, what some had opposed as undesirable became essential and more Atlantit cables were soon required. At least 17 were laid before the end of the century.

Charles Tilston Bright was Engineer-in-Chief of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, a position he occupied at the age of 24. Imagine a 24-year-old being appointed chief engineer of the Channel Tunnel! Though largely forgotten now he was a famous figure in his day. He was knighted for his achievements at the age of 26, the youngest knight for generations.

Commercial telegraphy began in a small way in 1839 and in the next decade became well established in developed nations. In 1850 England and France were linked by the first submarine telegraph, laid by the brothers Jacob and John Watkins Brett. It soon failed, but on November 13 the next year another cable linked Dover and Calais and saw successful service for 24 years. Demand soon justified other cross-channel links. After the success of the Channel cables, other short and shallow stretches of sea were crossed, but not always at the first attempt and with the loss off much expensive telegraph cable. London's Thameside spawned a new industry of cable manufacture.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14