Sir Isaak Newton

Notes

Notes

1. Niels Bohr — Нильс Бор (1885—1962)

2. to lose the presence of mind — терять присутствие духа

3. to regard as revenge — считать местью

***

Professor: Can you tell me anything about the great scientists of the 17th century?

Student: Yes, sir, they are all dead.

* * *

In one of his lectures a well-known mathematician said:

"Every person has a certain horizon. When that horizon narrows down and becomes infinitely small, ¹ it turns into a point. That is when a person says: "This is my point of view."²

1. narrows down and becomes infinitely small — сужается и становится бесконечно малым

2. point of view — точка зрения

***

It is morning. It is early. It is eight o'clock. It's time to get up. I usually get up at eight o'clock. At half past eight I have my breakfast. Now it is nine o'clock. It's time to leave. I work not far from my home. I walk to my work. I don't take any bus, or trolley. It takes me only 20 minutes to get to my office. Now it's half past nine. It's time to begin my work.

***

Mrs Smith. Good morning, Mrs Priestley. How are you?

Mrs Priestley. Good morning. I am very well, thank you. I am glad to see you.

Mrs S. So am I. Is Mr Priestley in London?

Mrs P. No, he isn't. He is out of London now spending his weekend with

the children.

Mrs S. Oh, it's nice. How old is Susan now?

Mrs P. She is 16 already.

Mrs S. Your son is older, isn't he?

Mrs P. Yes, he is. He is 18 next month. I hope your daughter is all right?

Mrs S. Yes, thank you. She is going to visit her aunt in Paris.

Mrs P. Is it your sister Miss Allen?

Mrs S. Oh, no. My sister lives in London. This is Mr Priestley's sister June.

***

Pedro: Have you any other sisters or brothers, Lucille?

Lucille: Yes, I have another sister, Marie, but I haven't any brothers.

Jan: You are lucky. I have neither brother nor sister.

Frieda: Then I am luckier than either of you. Our family is quite a big one; there are six of us. I have three brothers and two sisters.

***

Borisov: Good morning! I'm Borisov. Here is my card.

Stanley: Glad to meet you, Mr Borisov. Will you take a seat, please.

Borisov: Thank you.

Stanley: Did you have a good trip?

Borisov: Yes, it was quite nice, thank you.

Stanley: Have you seen any places of interest in London yet?

Borisov: Yes, but not many. I arrived in London only two days ago and it

has rained all the time.

Stanley: Oh, I hope the weather will change for the better and it'll stop raining soon. You'll enjoy sightsee­ing in London.

Well, Mr Borisov, let's discuss business now. What can I do for you?

Sir Isaak Newton was a great English thinker. He was born on Christmas Day in 1642. His life proves how unim­portant facts may have important results.

As many great men, he was not one of the best pupils at school. But one day he fought and beat another boy, and this success caused him to start to work so hard that later he was at the top of his class.

One day, when lying under an apple-tree, an apple fell on him. This simple fact set his mind thinking, and after some time he found the law of nature that all things are drawn to the earth. He also studied the sunlight and disco­vered that it is made up of all the colours of the rainbow.

He died on March 20, 1727.

Is There Anybody There?

I was staying with some friends one weekend. I didn't feel very well on Sunday morning. My friends went out, but I decided to go back to bed. After a few minutes I heard a strange noise. I got up and looked round the flat, but everything was all right. So 1 went back to bed and soon I fell asleep. I had a very funny dream. 1 dreamt there was somebody in the flat. He was picking things up and then putting them down somewhere else. Every time he moved something, there was a funny noise.

After a long time 1 woke up. but I could still hear the funny noises from the dream. 1 was sure there really was somebody in the flat. 1 called out, "Is there anybody there?", but there was no reply. I was a little frightened. I looked in the living room, but there wasn't anybody there. 1 looked in the kitchen, but there wasn't anyone there either.

The noise came again; I was quite sure 1 wasn't alone. I called out again, but nobody answered. 1 wanted to see if anything was in a different place, but every­thing was as it was before. The noise came again; this time I thought it came from the bathroom. I checked the taps' on the bath and the basin, but they were firmly turned off².

Perhaps there was something in the garden? I went out and looked everywhere, but I couldn't see anyone anywhere. 1 went back in and listened. Again there was complete silence; I didn't hear anything for a few minutes. 1 began to think it was all my imagination. The noise came again. I went into the bedroom and had a good look everywhere. I found nothing that was making a noise, but 1 waited until the noise came again. I realized that it was coming from the clock I looked at it carefully; it was a very modern battery clock. I looked at it for a few minutes. When it clicked again, I decided it was broken, so I left it on the dressing-table.

Later in the morning my friends came back and I told them the whole story. Everybody laughed at me. Everyone knows that battery clocks make noises every now and then³, except me!

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I I checked the taps — Я проверил краны

2 were firmly turned off — были плотно закрыты

3 every now and then — время от времени

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