Методические указания по английскому языку для студентов I курса всех факультетов. Часть 1. Сергееева Т.В - 74 стр.

                                    TEXT 4A

Задание 1. Прочтите и переведите текст 4А.

             SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS
                        IN MODERN SOCIETY

       We live in a world created by science. Our epoch is an epoch of scientific
and technological revolution when new ideas are being born and new
discoveries and inventions are being made. To illustrate this statement one may
mention the telephone, the radio, the television, the automobile, the airplane and
the like. Man has created complex cybernetic machines and made nuclear energy
work for him. He has developed modern automatic production lines, laser
technology and all kinds of computers. The list of major scientific achievements
could be continued.
       At the beginning of the 20-th century we could hardly believe that we
should be able to sit at home and watch astronauts working in space. Twelve
years separated the launching of the “Sputnik-1” Soviet satellite in 1957 and
man’s first landing on the Moon in 1969. The first long-term “Salyut” orbital
station launched in 1971 opened a new era in space research. Some automatic
interplanetary stations have reached Mars and Venus and have explored the
planets’ physical conditions. In 1981 we could witness the launching of a
typically new cosmic vehicle – the Shuttle. Scientific achievements in space
research gave the possibility of conducting investigations in the fields of
astrophysics, medicine, biology, geology and some others.
       One of the major problems of modern physics is the study of the atomic
nucleus and elementary particles. A well-known Russian scientist Igor
Kurchatov made a great contribution to the theory of elementary particles and to
the experimental techniques which made it possible to use nuclear energy for
practical purposes. Modern nuclear research requires complex and costly
apparatus including powerful accelerator facilities. The Joint Institute of Nuclear
Research at Dubna has created and launched a high-energy accelerator –
protonsynchrotron1. The scientists of Dubna are conducting intensive research
into the problem of controlled thermonuclear reactions which could provide
mankind with an inexhaustible source of energy. World science has already
heard of the “TOKAMAK” nuclear installation which is to provide the basis for
the first thermonuclear power stations by the end of the 20-th century.
       The most important role for modern technology is played by automation.
Automation should contribute to high production efficiency. Advanced
automation is based on computers. At present computer science is the most


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