Практическая работа 11THE CONCEPT OF ELECTRICITY

Цель: совершенствование навыков перевода и чтения.

1. Read the text and translate. THE CONCEPT OF ELECTRICITY

Mankind has been interested in electricity though out the ages.

Thrilled and mystified by lightning people have tried to learn about the force behind it for hundreds of years.

Electricity is invisible, and it is difficult to comprehend something you cannot see. It took scientists and researches a lot of time and effort to find out and state the basics of electrical phenomena in order to obtain a sound knowledge of electrical theory based on characteristics and behavior of electricity.

At present the nature of electrification is explained by the electron theory. The most essential point is that electrical current is a flow of electrons, which are negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom.

Normally, an atom has the same number of protons (positively charged particles in the nucleus) as electrons (negatively charged particles), so they balance each other out.

But if an electron is taken away by a chemical reaction, magnetic induction, or friction, the atom becomes a positive ion. When an electron is added, the atom turns into a negative ion. Electrons move from negative ions to positive ions thus filling the voids, and this movement is at nearly by the speed of light, which is 300, 000 kilometres per second.

In fact, electricity can be defined as a means of moving energy from one place to another.

If you push one electron into wire, one will come out at the other end.

Electrical theory is mostly based on this major principle: Electrons are not created or destroyed when current is made and used; they just circulate.

Useful Terms and Phrases:

mankindчеловечество force сила lightning молния invisible невидимый

to comprehend понимать phenomenon явление sound прочный

behaviorповедение electrical current электрическийток nucleus ядро

numberчисло to add добавлять void пустота

2. Find in the text:

1. international words;

2. electrical terms.

3. Find the English equivalents in the text to the following:

на протяжении веков, со скоростью света, заполнять пустоты, прочные знания, электрические явления.

4. Translate into Russian the following word combinations:

thrilled and mystified by lightning, the nature of electrification, characteristics and behavior of electricity.

5. Which word is odd here?

- to understand, to confuse, to comprehend, to grasp;

- unseen, invisible, imperceptible, apparent;

- weakness, force, strength, vigor;

- manner, misconduct, behavior, line of action.

6. Answer the following questions:

1. What has mankind been interested in for ages?

2. Why is it so uneasy to understand electrical phenomena?

3. What theory is used to identify the nature of electrical current?

4. What happens to an atom if an electron is taken away and vice versa?

5. How can electricity be defined?