Text 3 Transport for Tomorrow

One thing is certain about the public transport of the future: it must be more efficient than it is today. The time is coming when it will be quicker to fly across the Atlantic to New York than to travel from home to office. The main problems are: what vehicle shall we use and how can we plan?

There is already a number modern vehicle which are not yet in common use, but which may become a usual means of transport in the future. One of these is the small electric car: we go out into the street, find an empty car, get into it, drive to our destination, get out and leave the car for the next person who comes along. In fact, there may be no need to drive these cars. With an automatic guidance system for cars being developed, it will be possible for us to select our destination just as today we select a telephone number, and our car will move automatically to the address we want.

For long journeys in private cars one can also use an automatic guidance system. Arriving at the motorway, a driver will select the lane he wishes to use, with over to automatic driving, and then relax - dream, read the newspaper, have a meal, flirt with his passenger - while the car does the work for him. Unbelievable? It is already possible. Just as in many ships and aircraft today we are piloted automatically for the greater part of the journey, so in the future we can also have this luxury in our own cars.

A decade ago, the only thing electronic on most automobiles was the radio. But at present sophisticated electronics is playing a big part in current automotive research. For example, in every gasoline-powered car that General Motors Corporation makes there is a small computer continuously monitoring the exhaust? The device, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, adjusts the vehicle carburetor fuel intake to get the best fuel economy. Ford cars are equipped with an electronic instrument panel that, among other things, will calculate how far one can drive on the fuel left in the tank. It also will estimate the time of arrival at destination and tell the driver what speed he has averaged since turning on the ignition.

According to specialists these features made possible by microelectronics are only the beginning. Radar may control the brakes to avoid collisions, and a display screen may show the car's position on the road. Recently radar to be mounted on lorries and cars has been designed in the USA. The radar aerial looks like a third headlight placed directly above the bumper. Having summed up the information about the speed and distance of various objects ahead, the computer detects all possible dangers and their nature. A third component in the system is a monitor on the instrument panel. The radar only observes objects ahead of the vehicle. It is automatically turned on when the speed exceeds ten miles an hour. The yellow light warns of stationary objects ahead, or something moving slower than the car. The red light and buzzer warn that the speed should go down. Another red light and sound signal make the driver apply the brakes.

A Japanese company is designing a car of a new generation which will start running on the roads in the 90s. When completed, the new model will have a lot of unusual characteristics. The Car's four-wheel control system will ensure movement diagonally and even sideways, like a crab, at right angles to the longitudinal axis. This is especially and even sideways, like a crab, at right angles to the longitudinal axis. This is especially important when leaving the car in parking places. To help the driver get information while concentrating on the road the most important data will be projected on the wind screen. A tourist traveling in such a car will not lose his way even in Sahara with its impassible roads: a navigation Earth satellite will indicate the route.

A new ceramic engine has been developed in Japan. Many important parts as pistons, pressure rings, valves and some others have been made of various ceramic materials, piston rings made of silicon materials being in many respects better than those of steel. They withstand temperatures up to 1,000 °C. Therefore, the engine does not need a cooling system.

Семестр 4

Форма текущего контроля

Контрольная работа № 2 (см. требования к оформлению в конт. раб. №1)

1. His scientific work is much spoken about.	О его научной работе много говорят.
is spoken – Present Indefinite Passive
2. The main question has already been discussed.	Главный вопрос уже обсудили.
has been discussed – Present Perfect Passive

ОБРАЗЕЦ ВЫПОЛНЕНИЯ 1 (К УПР. I)

ВАРИАНТ 1

I. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в каждом из них видо-временную форму и залог глагола-ска­зуемого (см. образец).Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. When much material had been looked through and some problems had been solved, the article was published.

2. Electric cars will be widely used in future.

3. Today plastics are being applied for car bodies.

4. This lecturer is listened to with great interest.

II. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на функцию инфинитива.

1. It is necessary for a Soviet specialist to know a foreign language.

2. The Soviet science was the first to make great contribution to the development of space technology.

3. Our idea was to design a new device for automatic control.

4. The new method to be introduced at our plant will boost labour productivity. III. Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на функции глагола to HAVE.

1. You have to come to the language laboratory of the Institute to work at your pronunciation.

2. Scientists had to create new materials for industry.

3. At present most of the industrial enterprises have their own electric power stations.

5. He has repaired the engine.

IV. Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на различные значения THAT.

1. The properties of gold are different from those of iron.

2. The professor that lectures on mechanics is the dean of our faculty.

3. The fact is that they haven’t calculated the speed of the car.

4. The research on solar radiation as well as that of the earth's magnetic field became possible due to sputniks.

V. Прочитайте и письменно переведите на русский язык текст

The model “ T ”

The most interesting technical features of the model “ T ”were in the ignition and transmission. Ignition was by means of а simple form of flywheel magneto.

The revolutionary transmission system of the model 'T' was the work of Ford's own designers, It consisted of а simple and robust two-speed gearbox without the conventional clutch — made possible by the low maximum speed, power, and engine rpm of 1,500 — which Ford had wisely insisted upon to ensure long engine life. The gear change was by foot pedal and quite foolproof.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that to drive the model 'T' а number of unusual operations were necessary. These were the direct result оf Henry Ford's policy оf simplification and rationalization, but they were easy. These manoeuvres were, in fact, to become а matter of habit to the millions of Americans owning а 'Lizzie ', most of whom had no previous experience of driving more conventional cars.

To drive off in а model 'T' — once the engine was started — one had to press lightly on the gear pedal to disengage the transmission. It was then possible to release the handbrake, working on the rear wheels, the last few degrees оf movement holding the 'clutch' out. With the car accelerating, gentle pressure on the gear pedal engaged top gear. Stopping the model 'T' was easier. The brake pedal was pushed and, at the same time, the handbrake applied, which also disengaged the transmission. There were two other ways of braking, to be used only in emergency, the first was to press on the brake and gear-change pedals simultaneously, thus also engaging first gear. For even fiercer braking one pressed simultaneously the brake pedal and а third pedal, which engaged reverse gear.

VI. Ответьте письменно на вопрос:

What can you say about the transmission of the model “T”?

 

ВАРИАНТ 2

I. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в каждом из них видо-временную форму и залог глагола-ска­зуемого (см. образец). Переведите предложения на русский язык

1 When much had been done in the study of ecology by our institute it became an important scientific centre.

2. A curriculum of the new type of secondary school is offered by the Ministry of Education.

3. The research of planets will be developed with the help of cosmic apparatus.

4. This material is unaffected by solar radiation.

II. Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их на русский язык, обращая внимание на функцию инфи­нитива.

1. The teacher told her students to learn the poem by heart.

2. The Soviet Union was the first country to send man into space.

3. Scientific discoveries to be practically applied in industry and agriculture are paid special attention to.

4. To translate a sentence is to discover its meaning.

III. Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на функции глагола to HAVE.

1. Man had to learn to obtain electric power directly from the Sun.

2. These computers will have to perform millions of opera­tions per second.

3. Soon our industry will have new and cheap sources of en­ergy.

4. Of late years the production of plastics has greatly increased.

IV. Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на разные значе­ния слова THAT

1. The question that was discussed at the meeting yesterday is of great importance.

2. The work of the new device is much more efficient than that of the old one.

3. It is known that the knowledge of general engineering subjects is the basis for the study of special subjects.

4. Water is one of the few substances that man knows.

V. Прочитайте и письменно переведите на русский язык текст