Part 4 Science and Technology Text

X-Rays

In 1895, a German professor Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen discovered a new kind of invisible rays. These rays could pass through clothes, skin and flesh – and cast the shadow of the bones themselves on a photographic plate. You can imagine the impression this announcement produced at that time!

Let us see how Roentgen came to discover these all-penetrating rays. One day Roentgen was working in his laboratory with a Crookes tube. Crookes had discovered that if he put two electric wires in a glass tube, pumped air out of it and connected the wires to opposite electric poles; a stream of electric particles would emerge out of the cathode (that is, the negative electric pole).

Roentgen was interested in the fact that these cathode rays made certain chemicals glow in the dark. On this particular day Roentgen was working in his darkened laboratory. He put his Crookes tube in a box made of thin black cardboard and switched on the current to the tube. The black box was lightproof, but Roentgen noticed a strange glow at the far corner of his laboratory bench. He drew back the curtains of his laboratory window and found that the glow had come from a small screen which was lying at the far end of the bench.

Roentgen knew that the cathode rays could make the screen glow. But he also knew that cathode rays could not penetrate the box. If the effect was not due to the cathode rays, what mysterious new rays were causing it? He did not know, so he called them X-rays.

Roentgen placed all sorts of opaque materials between the source of his X-rays and the screen. He found that these rays passed through wood, thin sheets of aluminium, the flesh of his own hand; but they were completely stopped by thin lead plates and partially stopped by the bones of his hand. Testing their effect on photographic plate he found that they were darkened on exposure to X-rays.

Roentgen was sure that this discovery would contribute much for the benefit of science. Indeed, medicine was quick to realize the importance of Roentgen’s discovery. Now the X-rays are increasingly used in industry and by the law enforcement bodies, especially by the Customs Services as well.

Topical Vocabulary

X-rays	рентгеновские лучи
to pass through clothes, skin and flesh	проникать сквозь одежду, кожу и тело
to cast the shadow	отбрасывать тень
to produce an impression	произвести впечатление
to discover all-penetrating rays	открыть всепроникающие лучи
a Crookes tube	трубка Крукса
an electric wire	электрический провод
to connect the wires to opposite electric poles	подсоединить провода к противоположным электрическим полюсам
a stream of electric particles	поток электрических частиц
the cathode	катод
to make certain chemicals glow	вызывать свечение некоторых материалов
black cardboard	черный картон
to switch on the current to smth	подключить ток к чему-либо
lightproof	светонепроницаемый
to penetrate the box	проникать сквозь коробку
opaque materials	непрозрачные материалы
lead plates	свинцовые пластины
to be darkened on exposure to X-rays	темнеть при попадании рентгеновских лучей
to contribute much for the benefit of science	внести большой вклад в развитие науки
to be quick to realize smth	быстро обнаружить что-либо

Task 1. Answer the following questions:

1. When did Roentgen discover a new type of rays?

2. How did he discover the rays?

3. What qualities do the X-rays possess?

4. In what ways are the X-rays used at present?

Task 2. Translate into English.

1. В 1855 году Вильгельм Рентген открыл новый тип невидимых лучей, которые проникали через различные материалы.

2. Поместив во время опыта трубку Крукса в светонепроницаемый ящик, Рентген увидел странное свечение в углу лаборатории.

3. Рентген открыл неизвестные ранее всепроникающие лучи, которые он назвал «икс-лучи».

4. Он обнаружил, что «икс-лучи» проходят сквозь многие непрозрачные материалы – дерево, алюминий и т.д., но лишь частично проникают сквозь кости человеческого тела и задерживаются свинцовыми пластинами.

5. Открытие Рентгена внесло большой вклад в развитие науки, например, медицины.

6. Современные технические средства досмотра багажа пассажиров основаны на действии рентгеновских лучей.

Part 5

Great Britain

Text 1

Who are the British

Why British not English? Many foreigners say ‘England’ and ‘English’ when they mean ‘Britain’, or the ‘UK’, and ‘British’. This is very annoying for the 5 million people who live in Scotland, the 2.8 million in Wales and 2 million in Northern Ireland who are certainly not English. (51 million people live in England.) However, the people from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are all British. So what is the difference between the names ‘Great Britain’ and ‘the United Kingdom’ – and what about ‘the British Isles’?

The United Kingdom This is an abbreviation of ‘the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. It is often further abbreviated to ‘UK’, and is the political name of the country which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes known as Ulster). Several islands off the British coast are also part of the United Kingdom (for example, the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys, Hebrides and Shetlands, and the Isles of Scilly), although the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not. However, all these islands do recognize the Queen.

Great Britain

This is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales and so, strictly speaking, it does not include Northern Ireland. The origin of the word 'Great' is a reference to size, because in many European languages the words for Britain and Brittany in France are the same. In fact, it was the French who first talked about Grande Bretagne. In everyday speech ‘Britain’ is used to mean the United Kingdom.

The British Isles

This is the geographical name that refers to all the islands off the north western coast of the European continent: Great Britain, the whole of Ireland (Northern and Southern), the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

How was the United Kingdom formed? This took centuries, and a lot of armed struggle was involved. In the 15th century, a Welsh prince, Henry Tudor, became King Henry VII of England. Then his son, King Henry VIII, united England and Wales under one Parliament in 1536. In Scotland a similar thing happened. The King of Scotland inherited the crown of England and Wales in 1603, so he became King James I of England and Wales, and King James VI of Scotland. The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland were united a century later in 1707.

The Scottish and Welsh are proud and independent people. In recent years there have been attempts at devolution in the two countries, particularly in Scotland where the Scottish Nationalist Party was very strong for a while. But it seems that most Welsh and Scottish people are happy to form part of the UK even though they sometimes complain that they are dominated by England, and particularly by London.

The whole of Ireland was united with Great Britain from 1801 up until 1922. In that year the independent Republic of Ireland was formed in the South, while Northern Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. What is Great Britain made of?

2. What is the origin of the country’s name?

3. Where are the British Isles situated?

4. Does South Ireland belong to Great Britain?

5. How long did it take to form the United Kingdom?

6. When was the independent Republic of Ireland formed?