Маn in мотion

In his efforts to move by means of other than his own feet, man has sat on the backs of mules, camels, horses and elephants, and has been pulled by them in wagons, carriages and sleds. He has used boats on water, skis on snow, skates on ice, and bicycles on land. Of all the devices which man has invented to carry him from here to there, swiftly and effortlessly, none has had quite as such impact on his life as the automobile.

The influence of the automobile on our life has been so complete that few of us can remember what it was like to be - without one. Yet it was not so long ago that men first devised the means of mechanical self-propulsion which made the modern car possible. They had tried for hundreds of years to replace manpower with a mechanical device. None was found remarkable until late in the nineteenth century.

One of the earliest self-propelled cars was built by a clock-maker in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1649. It was operated on the same principle as a wind-up toy. Like a toy, it had to be rewound every few minutes. About fifty years after that, an Englishman named Thomas Sаvery developed a steam pump which raised water from coal mines. This was improved by another Englishman, Thomas Newcomen. In 1765, James Watt of Scotland, using Newcomen's engine as a model made a steam engine so efficient that he is generally considered to be its inventor. Although these early steam engines operated from a fixed position, they generated power. Watt was opposed to using steam power to run a road vehicle but these and other men with vision saw the possibility of steam, power propelling vehicles on land and water. In Europe and the United States, men began to experiment with steam. The search for an automobile although it would be years before it carried that name - was on.

Задание 5. Переведите предложения со сказуемым в перфектном времени.

Задание 6. Определите, в каком предложении каждого абзаца выражается его основная мысль.

Задание 7. Продолжите начатый диалог, используя данные ниже вопросы.

- Hello, George.

- Hello! How are you?

- I'm fine. And you?

- Very well. You've had a long journey. Did you enjoy it?

- Yes, I did. While travelling I was told some fine stories;

on the history of automobiles, for example.

-...

- …

Вопросы:

1. What were the earliest means of communication used by man?

2. What had men tried to replace manpower with?

3. Which of the mechanical vehicles has had the greatest influence upon our life?

4. How was the first self-propelled car operated? When was it built?

5. What did Thomas Savery invent? Who improved his invention?

6. Did James Watt want to use steam power to run a road ve­hicle?

7. Did all men accept his view?

Задание 8. Перескажите текст по плану с использованием глаголов, данных в скобках.

1. The earliest means of communication (to use).

2. The first self-propelled cars (to build).

3. The principle of their operation (to device).

4. A steam-pump (to invent).

5. A steam-engine (to consider).

6. The search for an automobile (to experiment).