Thomas Edison

Exercise 1. What inventions do you associate with these names?

Colt	Hertz	Edison	Diesel
Benz	Gutenberg	Mackintosh	Singer
Biro	Gillette	Roentgen	Hoover

Exercise 2. Present the information on:

a) the invention you consider to be one of the greatest;

b) the name of the inventor;

c) the country this invention was made in;

d) what the thing was made for;

e) how it is used now;

f) how it influenced our life.

Exercise 3. Match the year of discovery with these inventions. Write down the table in your copy-book.

Helicopter
Blender
Vacuumed-cleaner
Radio
Microwave oven
X-ray
Automatic washing machine
Compact disc

Exercise 4. Find the equivalents.

a) to call, to check the news, the following year, a safe electric system, strength, to laugh at somebody, to wonder.

b) проверять новости, смеяться над кем-нибудь, следующий год, называть, безопасная электрическая система, удивляться.

Exercise 5. Read and translate the text about Thomas Edison. Find the sentences with the Infinitive.

Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He went to school at the age of eight. But after three months his teacher called him "stupid" and he came home crying. From that time his mother taught him at home and he read science books by himself. He got a job sending telegraph messages. At the age of 12 he began to sell newspapers. He made money in a clever but simple way. He checked the news stories first. When the news was interesting he took a lot of papers; when it was boring¹ he took only few.

In 1868 Edison built his first patented invention – an electromagnetic device. In 1877 he made a "phonograph" - the first ever sound recorder. The following year he invented the light bulb but there was still much work to do. No one knew how to use electricity outside of laboratory before Thomas Edison. He and his workers had to create a safe electric system. First they had to build a factory, then to build the dynamos to make the electricity, and next - to build electric lines. To show people that he was serious, Edison began his project in New York City. By 1887, most part of New York City was electrified. It was the first city in the world with electric lights. Edison founded the Edison Electric Light Company to supply electricity to other places. In 1889 he made a “kinetoscope”. He also made films for his new machine. In 1903 he made the world's longest film (it was ten minutes long!). He continued to invent all his life. Edison died at the age of eighty-four. In his honor² they switched off the lights all over America.

Notes to the text:

1. boring – скучный

2. in his honor – в его честь

Exercise 6. Answer the questions.

1. What is Edison famous for?

2. What education did he get?

3. What was his first job?

4. How old was Edison when he patented his first invention?

5. What other facts about Edison’s life do you know?

Exercise 7. Make up a dialogue about Edison’s inventions. Use some facts from the text.

Exercise 8. Make up a plan to the text about Thomas Edison. Retell the story according to your plan.

Exercise 9. Read the dialogue and retell it. Use indirect speech.

For a long time Edison’s visitors wondered (удивлялись) why the gate (калитка) to his garden was so difficult to open. Once his friend said: “The gate to your garden is so heavy. I have to use all my strength to open it. I cannot understand this. You are such a brilliant man. You can invent something better.” “The gate seems to be all right”, Edison answered with a smile. “The fact is that it is a brilliant invention.” “You are laughing at me, sir!” “No, I am not. The gate is connected to a pump. Everybody who comes in pumps twenty liters of water out of the well (колодец).”

Exercise 10. Find more information about Thomas Edison and write down 10 inventions and improvements made by this famous inventor.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-06