To be read after Lesson 9

M.

M.

M.

M.

M.

Simon

To be read after Lesson 8

The Driving Lesson

Miss Green: Good afternoon. My name is Miss Green and I'm your

driving instructor. Is this your first lesson?

It is my first lesson at this driving school.

Oh, you've been to another one?

Yes. The Greenwich school of driving. But I stopped

going there.

Why? Weren't the lessons good enough?

They were good but my instructor left.

Really? Well, let's see what you can do. I want you to

drive down this road and turn left at the end.

Yes, all right.

You drive very well! I'm sure you'll pass your test. All

my pupils pass their tests. Oh, look out! That lorry!

You said turn left at the end.

When you want to turn a corner, slow down and look

first. You nearly hit that lorry. Please, be careful. Now

turn right at the traffic lights... Right, not left!

S.:

S.:

S.:

S.:

G.:

G.:

G.:

G.:

G.:

S.: Sorry it was too late. I've turned left now.

M. G.: Didn't you see the No Entry sign? This is a one-way

street.

S.: Why are those drivers shouting?

M. G.: Because you're driving the wrong way down a one-way

street. Stop the car, please, and turn it round.

S.: I'm not very good at that.

M. G.: Mind that red car!

S.: Madman! He nearly hit me!

M. G.: He was right and you were wrong. Why didn't you

wait? Now you are blocking the road. You want reverse

gear. Turn the wheel... more... more... Not too

fast! Oh, what have you done now?

S.: It is all right. I went into the lamp-post but it is still

standing. I didn't knock it down.

M.G.: Oh, but look at the back of the car.

S.: Sorry, but you said «reverse».

M.G.: I didn't say «drive into the lamp-post». Well, you've

turned the car round now, so drive back to the traffic

lights and go straight across.

S.: Are we going to the park?

M.G.: The roads are quiter near the park. Oh, not too fast!

S.: The lights are green.

M.G.: Slow down! The lights are changing!

S.: I can't slow down. There! We are across.

M.G.: The lights were red!

S.: It's all right. There were no policemen.

M.G.: I know why your last instructor left. He wanted to stay

alive.

S.: That's not a very nice thing to say. And it's not true.

He left because he wasn't very well.

M.G.: Stop the car, please. Oh, gently!

S.: Sorry. Did you hit your head on the roof?

M.G.: No. Luckily I was wearing the seat belt. Now I want

you to practise driving backwards. Reverse the park

gates. Look first, than reverse in.

S.: Right.

M.G.: Oh, you've hit the gate!... Now you are driving on the

grass!

S.: I'm going backwards down the hill and I can't stop!

Help me!

M.G.: Use the brakes! Don't drive into the lake!

S.: Too late.

M.G.: Look what you've done. You reversed into a lamp

post. You hit the park gate. Now you've driven into

the lake. Oh, why didn't you stay with the other driving

school?

S.: They had no more cars left.

Heavy-Lift Dirigible

Unlike other new dirigible projects the giant CargoLifter CL

160 (Germany) is aimed at heavy-lift cargo applications, not at

tourism or advertising. It will be the beginning of a new era in

freight transport.

The 260-meter-long, 65-meter-diameter semi-rigid airship will

be capable of transporting 160 ton loads-equivalent to 36 standard

40-ft containers — to out-of-the-way (remote) construction sites

10,000 km away. With a cruise speed of just 80-120 km/hr the CL

160 would not get the load to its destination nearby as fast as a

heavier-than-air craft such as Antonov An-124, but it would also

not require the landing facilities needed for the unusually large aircraft.

Moored (причаливать) above the delivery site, the airship will

lower loads using an onboard crane without actually having to

touch down. A crew of five, including navigator and two cargomasters

(высококвалифицированные рабочие) would man the

ship.

In fact, the CargoLifter project was bom of a logistics need expressed

by manufacturers of electric generators, turbines and other

outsized (i.e., larger than the usual size) machinery.

Rolls-Royce-Turbomeca turboshaft engines are to be used for

maneuvering the big airship, cruise being provided by diesel powerplants.

What Is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation

system made up of a network of 24 satellites. GPS was originally

intended for military applications, but now the systems is

available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions,

anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.

GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit

and transmit signal information to Earth. GPS receivers take this

information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location.

Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal

was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The

time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is.

Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the

receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the

unit's electronic map.

A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three

satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and

track (прослеживать) movement. With four or more satellites in

view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude,

longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined,

the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as

speed, bearing (пеленг), track, trip distance, distance to destination,

sunrise and sunset time and more.

Today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate within an average

of three to five meters thanks to their parallel multi-channel

design.

The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting

the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly

moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These

satellites are travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour.

GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup

batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar

eclipse (затмение), when there's no solar power. Small rocket

boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path.

Here are some other interesting facts about the GPS satellites:

1. The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.

2. A full constellation (созвездие) of 24 satellites was achieved

in 1994.

3. Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are

constantly being built and launched into orbit.

4. A GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is

about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended.

5. Transmitter power is only 50 watts or less.

GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals. The signals

travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds, glass

and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings

and mountains.

A GPS signal contains three different bits of information — a

pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data.

Some factors that can degrade the GPS signal and thus affect

accuracy include the following:

1. The satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere.

2. The GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings

or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases

the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors.

3. A receiver's built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic

clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very

slight timing errors.

4. The more satellites a GPS receiver can «see,» the better the

accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes

even dense foliage (листва) can block signal reception, causing position

errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically

will not work indoors, underwater or underground.

Getting into Deep Water

The dark depths of the Gulf of Mexico, once frequented by only

the sea creatures, are now alive with human activity. Miniature

submarines and robot-like vehicles move around the ocean bottom

while divers make their way around incredible underwater structures

— taller than New York City skyscrapers, but almost totally

beneath the surface of the waves. Modem-day explorers are using

technology worth of Jules Verne and Jacques Cousteau to find fresh

supplies of oil and natural gas.

Until recently, drilling in the Gulf was concentrated close to

shore in water as deep as 9 m. But now the scientists are looking to

hundreds of meters deep and 160 km and more from land.

The deep water research began in 1984. Since then many American

companies have built the world's deepest production platforms

of more than 100 storeys high. Finding gas and oil deposits at

large depth is not an easy technological task.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

There is an American project of one-person submarine, which

will «fly» to the bottom on inverted wings rather than simply sinking

under its own weight as the bathyscaphes did. This design is

more like an aeroplane than a balloon. It could one day make exploring

the ocean depth as easy as flying a plane is today.

The most difficult problem is to find a material that is also light

enough to allow the craft to float back to the surface if there is a

loss of power or some other emergency. Alumina, a hard ceramic,

was chosen for the vessel.

The pilot's capsule is about a meter in diameter, 5 centimeters

thick and about 2 meters long. It is capped at one end with a ceramic

hemisphere and at the other with a glass viewing dome. The

rest of the craft, including the wings on either side and the casing

at the rear for the motors, are made of a lightweight composite

material.

In addition to the pilot, the pressure vessel houses the controls

and instrument panel, the life-support system and a 24-volt power

supply. The pilot effectively operates the craft by radio control.

The batteries feed a pair of electric motors that can drive the

craft at up to 14 knots (25 kilometers per hour). The craft could

dive vertically but this would be uncomfortable for the pilot who

lies face downwards in the cylindrical chamber. So it descends at

an angle of up to 45\ «Deep Flight» is designed to be as streamlined

as possible. This means making the submarine's cross section

as small as possible and providing as little equipment as possible on

the hull.

At a cruising speed of 10 knots «Deep Flight» will descend at a

rate of 200 meters per minute and reach 11,000 meters in about an

hour in the Mariana Trench (Марианская впадина), the deepest

site on Earth. The weight of the craft is 2.5 tonnes, which is about

the same as a large car. This will allow it to be launched from any

vessel.

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