Translate the texts, please. 1. The Invention of the Telephone • the human organs of articulation — органы слуха • the deaf — глухие The telephone is one of the most important inventions of the 19th century. Its creator was the English scientist Alexander Graham Bell. Bell wanted to be a teacher and entered Edinburgh University. But he changed his mind and became a student of the Medical Faculty of London University. Under the guidance of an outstanding German scientist who works on physiology of sight and ear, Bell began to study the human organs of articulation. By and by Bell came to the idea of creating a special apparatus which would help the deaf to pronounce the sounds of speech and learn to speak. Working on such a apparatus, Bell invented microphone (with engineer Thomas Watson) and telephone. At first his invention was not popular with the public, but Bell visited American towns and other countries, read lectures and demonstrated his telephone. In 1878 he also organized his own company to produce telephones. But Bell wasn’t interested in business itself and used his money on the laboratories for generating new ideas. He was and is greatly respected both in England and America. * * * 2. The Invention of the Television • to broadcast — транслировать (передавать) • vision — изображение • available — доступный The television is a mass media that serves to gives people opportunities both for entertainment and for rapid information. The idea of a machine able to broadcast both sound and vision goes back to 1875. But it wasn’t until 1926 that a Scottish engineer (John Braid) turned the idea into a practical reality. The first pictures were black and white and were not very clear. Early TV sets cost as much as a small car and few people bought them. In 1936 the original system was improved and the first regular TV programme was broadcast in Britain. But the real TV revolution began in America after World War Two. Commercial stations began to open in almost every city. But still lots of people didn’t have TV sets as they were too expensive. That all changed in the 60s and 70s when more and more TV sets were sold and the importance of television grew quickly. In 1980 there appeared satellite television. Dozens of new channels are now available to anyone who buys a receiving “dish”. * * * 3. The Invention of the Computer • efficient — эффективный • to store — хранить • to substitute — заменить One more important invention of our century is the computer. The first computer was invented by the English scientist Charles Babbage. Nowadays nearly everything we do in the modern world is helped and controlled by computers. Computers are used so often because they are more efficient than human beings. They have better memories and can store a lot of information. In fact, computers can do what we can do but faster and better. They can control different machines, foretell tomorrow’s weather, even play chess and compose music. Computers are widely used in various professions. We can find computers everywhere: in a library, in a travel agency, in a hotel, in a shop and in many other places. To be sure, the technical progress will not stop but the machines will not be able to substitute everything including the human being. Grammar. Упражнение 1. Составьте предложения по образцу. ОБРАЗЕЦ. He / cook a. He has cooked lunch. (Present Perfect) b. He is cooking lunch. (Present Continuous) c. He has been cooking lunch. (Present Perfect Continuous) 1.We / clean ………………………………… the house. 2.He / do ……………………………….. his work. 3.I / wash ……………………………….. my car. * * *Упражнение 2. Составьте предложения по образцу. ОБРАЗЕЦ. What are you doing? (cook) — I am cooking. I have been cooking for an hour. 1. What are you doing? (write a letter) ………………………………………….. a letter. ………………………………………….. for twenty minutes. 2. What are you doing? (clean the kitchen) ……………………………………………. the kitchen. …………………………………………….. it for two hours. 3. What are you doing? (wait for him) …………………………………………… for him. ……………………………………………. for him for ten minutes. 4. What are you doing?(learn new words) …………………………………………… new words. …………………………………………….. them for thirty minutes. 5. What are you doing? (do a crossword puzzle) …………………………………………….. a crossword puzzle. ………………………………………………. it for fifteen minutes.