Английский язык. Методические указания. Жесткова М.В. - 16 стр.

UptoLike

ВУЗ: 

СамГУПС | Самара

Составители: 

Рубрика: 

not build it, as he had no money. Some businessmen decided to construct a railway between
Stockton and Darlington to see how Stephenson’s locomotive worked. On the day when it was
opened, a man on a horse went in front of the engine and shouted that the train was coming.
Stephenson, who was running his locomotive, asked the horseman to go away. He put steam on
and ran his locomotive at a speed of 12 miles per hour. It was the beginning of steam-powered
railways.
In 1829, the Liverpool-Manchester Railway was built, and the railway company offered a
prize of £500 for the best steam train. The prize was won by G. Stephenson with his famous
train the “Rocket”. This locomotive was faster and stronger than the first one; it could pull 13
tons and achieved an “unheard-of speed” of 29 miles (46 km) per hour.
At first, many people were afraid of the railways. However, in 1842 the steam-powered
railways were already in wide use in Britain. It should be said* that the gauge was not the same
on all the railways. The famous English engineer Brunel considered that the** broader the
gauge, the easily would the trains run. Following his advice the Great Western Company had
constructed the railway network with a gauge of 7 feet. That is why for many years there were
two gauges in England: the 7 feet suggested by Brunel and 4 feet 8½ inches, offered by
Stephenson. It was inconvenient because where there was a break of gauges, delay was caused
and time was wasted. Angry people wrote to the newspapers and demanded to change the broad
gauge. At last in the House of Commons*** the broad gauge was described as a “national evil”.
It was very difficult to alter the gauge as the engines, carriages, wagons were made for the
broad gauge and more than 30 years “The Battle of the Gauges” lasted. Only in 1892 the Great
Western Railways was converted to the standard gauge.
Notes
: *it should be said – следует сказать
**the…, the – чем…, тем
***the House of Commons – Палата Общин
Х. Укажите, какие из следующих утверждений соответствуют содержанию
текста. Используйте фразы: It is right. It is wrong. Исправьте неверные
утверждения.
1. The first horse-powered railways in Great Britain were used for transporting
passengers in large cities. 2. The stationary steam engine was invented by James Watt. 3. The
speed of the first Stephenson’s locomotive was 29 miles an hour. 4. The first Stephenson’s
locomotive was tested on the Liverpool-Manchester Railway. 5. Stephenson received a prize of
£500 for his locomotive the “Rocket”. 6. At first lots of people were afraid of the railways. 7.
At the 19
th
century, the gauge of all railways was 4 feet 8½ inches. 8. Brunel suggested
constructing railways with narrow gauge. 9. “The Battle of the Gauges” lasted more than 35
years. 10. Now, most railways in Britain have the standard gauge.

Страницы