37 Read the text to find answers to the given questions.

Text 5D

LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE

1 Was Einstein a capable or a backward (умственно отсталый) child?

Albert Einstein is one of the greatest scientists of our age, yet in his childhood he was slow, shy and backward. He found it extremely difficult to learn even to talk.

______________________

¹⁾ goldenrod – бот. Золотая розга, золотарник

2 What kind of life did Einstein lead?

Later he became one of the most famous men in the world. The Theory of Relativity brought him fame on five continents. Yet, he led a very simple sort of life, went around in old clothes, and seldom wore a hat. He said that he did not care for fame or riches. The captain of a transatlantic ship once offered Einstein the most expensive rooms on the ship; Einstein refused and said he would rather travel on deck than accept any special favours (привилегия).

3 What brought Einstein more joy than anything else?

Einstein impressed everybody as being a very happy man. He said he was happy because he didn't want anything from anybody. He didn't want money or titles or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work, his violin and his boat. Einstein's violin brought him more joy than anything else in life. He said he often thought in music.

4 By what illustration did Einstein explain his Theory of Relativity?

Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which seemed a flight of imagination (полет воображения) to many at first, is now the cornerstone of modern physics. Many physical phenomena could never be explained without the Theory of Relativity.

Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity, although more than nine hundred books had been written trying to explain it.

He himself explained relativity by this very simple illustration: "When you sit with a nice girl for an hour, you think it is only a minute; but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it is an hour. Well, well – so that's relativity. It sounds all right to me; but if you don't believe me and would like to try it out (хотели бы проверить), I'll be glad to sit with the girl if you'll sit on the stove."

5 What two rules of conduct did Einstein have?

Mrs. Einstein said that even she didn't understand the Theory of Relativity; but she understood something that is more important for a wife; she understood her husband.

Mrs. Einstein said that her husband liked order in his thinking, but he didn't like it in his living. He did whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to, he had only two rules of conduct (поведение). The first was: don't have any rules whatever. And the second was: be independent of the opinions (мнение) of others.

38 Read the text.

Text 5E

Inventors and Their Inventions

Samuel Colt was an American. He lived in tie 19th century. In 1836 he designed and patented a pistol. It was a pistol with a revolving barrel that could fire six bullets one after another. It was the first pistol of its kind. Later there came many other pistols with six bullets.

Samuel Finley Morse was born in 1791. He died in 1872. He was a portrait painter. Then he became an inventor. For twelve years he tried to perfect the telegraph and he was a success. Later he invented the telegraphic dot-and-dash alphabet. Now it is known as Morse code. Morse code was not only one in America of that time. There were some others. But now we use Morse code all over the world.

Charles Makintosh lived from 1766 to 1841. He lived in Scotland and was a chemist by profession. He worked in a textile industry. In 1823 he developed a rubber solution. This rubber solution was used for raincoat production. Raincoats with this rubber solution didn't allow water to penetrate. These raincoats were called makintoshes. Now people all over the world use them in spring and in autumn.

Rudolf Diesel was a German engineer. He was born in 1858 and died in 1913. In 1897 he invented a new internal combustion engine. This engine is known as a diesel and it began a transport revolution in cars, lorries, trains and ships. The main advantage of diesels is that they run on rather cheap fuel.

Charles Rolls was born in 1881 in Great Britain. He died in 1910. He was an aristocrat and businessman. He was especially interested in cars. Once he met another enthusiast of cars Henry Royce. Henry Royce was a famous car engineer. They decided to design the most comfortable and reliable car. At the beginning of the 20th century it seemed to be a fantasy. But they worked hard and at last in 1907 they created the world-famous Rolls-Royce car. It was so comfortable, and reliable that one of the models of Rolls-Royce cars "Silver Ghost" hadn't changed greatly for 20 years since 1907.

Gottlieb Daimler and Charles Benz were two inventors. They lived in Germany. They were both interested in car production. At the end of the 19th century each of them designed a car. At the same time they organized two independent firms to produce them.

All the cars produced by the firm of Daimler were called "Mercedes". Mercedes was a daughter's name of one of the stockholders of the firm. This man saved the firm of Daimler from the financial crisis at the beginning of the 20th century. But after the World War I the firm of Daimler met with financial difficulties again. This time it had to join the firm of Benz. Since that time all the cars produced by the firm "Daimler-Benz" have been called "Mercedes-Benz".