Vocabulary:

throughout – повсюду

to take out – брать (патент)

contribution – вклад

to appreciate – ценить

durable – прочный, длительный

large-scale – широкомасштабный

distribution – распространение

to carry out – выполнять

wide-spread – широко распространенный

self-taught – самоучка

to display – показывать

intense – интенсивный

curiosity – любопытство

capacity – способность

cellar – подвал

to overcome – преодолеть

lack – отсутствие

to dispose – располагать

workshop – мастерская

genius – гений

profound – глубокий

to head – возглавлять

to enrich – обогащать

humanity – человечество

The name of Thomas Alva Edison is widely known throughout the world. In his fifty years and more of invention, he took out over a thousand patents but perhaps the most famous of all his contributions was the improvement of the electric lamp. Thus, highly appreciating Lodging’s invention, Edison went further and worked out a more efficient incandescent filament lamp that was durable, cheap and suitable for the large-scale production. It is also owing to Edison that an efficient system of electric light distribution was carried out, due to which the widespread use of this lamp became possible.

Edison was a self-taught man, his schooling being limited to three months in a public school. In spite of this, from early childhood he displayed an intense curiosity as well as a great capacity for work and study. He began to experiment at the age of ten or eleven. Instead of a laboratory, he used the cellar of his parents’ house.

Later on, Edison had to overcome many more difficulties because of the lack of money and assistance. Many years had passed before he could dispose of laboratories and workshops of his own. Thanks to his native genius, his capacity for work (for months he slept no more than one or two hours a day) and the profound study he made of every problem he worked at, he headed technical research in his country and enriched humanity with his numerous inventions.

3. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1. Who was T.A. Edison?

2. Who invented the incandescent filament lamp?

3. At what age did he begin to experiment?

4. How many patents did he take out for his inventions?

4. Заполните пропуски словосочетаниями, данными под чертой:

1. Edison … in most technical problems of his time.

2. Some of his inventions … in the production of the modern sound film.

3. He … of his father’s cellar for his experiments.

4. Hundreds of people …. in the research work carried out in his laboratories.

5. Most of his inventions … in industry and everyday life

to take interest (in), to find application (in), to make use (of), to take part (in), to play a part (in)

5. Поставьте инфинитивы в нужной форме глагола: в активе или в пассиве.

1. In our country the law (to protect) land.

2. In Russian land (to protect) by the law.

3. Primitive people (to cultivate) land by using primitive implements.

4. Long ago, land (to cultivate) by very primitive implements.

5. Later on the system of land cultivation (to require) the use of more complex implements.

6. Later on more complex implements (to require) for land cultivation.

7. The law of land tenure (to know) to every agronomist.

8. It is supposed that every agronomist (to know) the law on land tenure.

Text 3. ELECTRICITY. MAGNETISM.

1. Прочтите и переведите текст.