Unit 3. History of the railway transport.
Start up
You know that there are various types of engines, such as:
the water-powered engine,
the wind-powered engine,
the steam engine,
the internal combustion engine (diesel, petrol, electric, jet).
Read the following sentences and say which type of the engine is described.
1) In this engine fuel ignites and burns inside the engine itself and not in a furnace.
2) This engine is very economical; it doesn't need fuel to function. But it is dependent on the weather.
3) In this engine there is a furnace and a boiler. The furnace is filled with wood or coal and then lit. The fire heats the water in the boiler and when it boils, it turns into steam.
4) It was a wheel but a very small one. Long wide wooden blades were attached to it. The wheel was driven by the wind.
5) This engine is too large and heavy; it needs too much fuel.
6) This engine is an ordinary wheel with blades fixed to it and the current of a river turned it. It was used for irrigating fields.
7) This engine is lighter and smaller than a steam engine because it doesn't have a boiler. It is more powerful than a steam engine because it uses better-quality fuel: petrol or kerosene.
8) The power of this engine depends on the quantity of coal. The more coal is put into the furnace, the stronger the fire is burning. The more steam there is the faster a train is moving.
9) This engine is the most ecologically friendly one, because it doesn't pollute environment with exhausted gases.
10) This engine is now used in automobiles, diesel locomotives and motor ships.
11) This engine is the most powerful, because the gases in it reach the temperature of over a thousand degrees.
Vocabulary
Exercise 1. Match the words in the left column with their translation on the right.
1) cast iron |
a) бетонная шпала |
2) concrete sleeper |
b) вагонеточные пути |
3) driving wheel |
d) ручной труд |
4) steam engine |
c) ведущее колесо |
5) internal combustion engine |
e) двигатель внутреннего сгорания |
6) wooden sleeper |
f) деревянная шпала |
7) manual labor |
g) самоходное транспортное средство |
8) self-propelled vehicle |
h) чугун |
9) tram ways |
i) паровой двигатель |
Exercise 2. Choose the correct word or words and translate the sentences.
1) The driver of the [steam locomotive; vehicle; electric car] may be fined by the police officer if he violates the traffic rules or drives under the influence of alcohol.
2) George M. Pullman not only [required; invented; replace] the sleeping car, he also was the first to design and build the [restaurant car; wheel; steam engine].
3) Aircrafts are not able to [move; carry; pull] a lot in weight and are used mainly for transporting mail, people and valuable [goods; passengers; freight]. [Heavy; light; narrow] loads are usually transported by freight trains.
4) Electric train can be [driven; propelled; powered] either by electric locomotive or by motor cars.
5) The invention of the [fuel; double-track railway; steam engine] aroused great interest; it was much spoken and written about.
6) The first [electric; jet; steam] locomotives were not strong and they often broke down.
7) The underground is a very convenient [means of transport; form of transport; vehicle] but it does not suit me because I live a long way from the station.
8) There were many passengers at the airport on New Year’s Eve as many flights were [delayed; required; prevented] because of the snowstorm.
9) As the railways now have a [standard gauge; narrow gauge; broad gauge], it is possible to travel over several lines without changing bogies.
READING
Exercise 3. Read and translate the text using a dictionary if necessary.