Lise Meitner (1878 - 1968 )

1. In 1938, an Austrian physicist named Lisе Meitner announced the splitting of the atom in the laboratory. That announcement confirmed once again the beginning of the Atomic Age. At that time Lise Meitner was one of the few persons in the world who had a thorough understanding of atomic energy and the uses which could be made of this great power.

2. Lise Meitner, the daughter of a lawyer, was born in Vienna on the 17th of November 1878. She grew interested in science when she read of the Curies discovery of radium. The example of Marie Curie showed that a woman was able to achieve something in science. Lise Meitner became the first woman in the history of the University of Vienna who earned her doctorate in physics.

3. In 1906 she went to the University of Berlin to continue her studies by attending the theoretical lectures of Max Planck and by doing experimental work. Then she began her research in the new field of radioactivity. She focused her attention on the behaviour of beta radiation from radioactive elements, experimenting with the primitive methods then available for measuring and analysing radioactivity. Meitner's work in the 1920s and early 1930s emphasized the physical aspects of radioactivity.

4. In 1938 she left Germany for Sweden. Lise Meitner declined to work on the development of the atom bomb remaining in Sweden throughout the war. She was concerned with the properties of new radioactive isotopes, produced by the cyclo-tron. Her career was illustrious and productive⁵ (she published more than 135 scientific papers), but throughout her life she remained a shy person, with a deep interest in music. Her devotion to science had been total. She never married. In 1960 she moved to Cambridge, England, where she died in 1968.

5. Прочитайте 4-й абзац текста и вопрос к нему. Из приведенных вариантов ответа укажите номер предложения, содержащего правильный ответ на поставленный вопрос.

Why can we say that Meltner's career was illustrious and productive?

1. because she was concerned with the study of thermal conductivity in non-homogeneous bodies.

2. because she was measuring and analysing radioactivity.

3. because she published more than 135 scientific papers.

ВАРИАНТ 4

1. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните в каждом из них глагол-сказуемое и определите его видо-временную форму и залог. Переведите предложения на русский язык. В разделе (б) обратите внимание на перевод пассивных конструкций.

а) 1. Quantum mechanics has greatly influenced the nuclear theory.

2. The problem of the structure of matter is constantly occupying the minds of many scientists.

б) 1. Today many polymeric materials are produced on a massive scale.

2. Many compounds can be decomposed when they are acted upon by different forms of energy.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните Participle 1 и Participle II и установите функции каждого из них, т.е. укажите, является ли оно определением, обстоятельством или частью глагола-сказуемого. Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. Natural rubber is a thermoplastic material that becomes soft when heated and hard when cooled.

2. Matter composed of any chemical combination of elements is called a compound.

3. The smallest particle having all the characteristics of an element is called an atom.

4. While bombarding the upper layers of the atmosphere, cosmic rays reach the surface of the earth.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения; подчеркните вкаждом из них модальный глагол или его эквивалент. Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. Heat can be divided into three different types.

2. A great number of plastics should find their applications in the electrical industry.

3. Chemical means had to be used for the separation of compounds into their elements.

4. Thе existence of an X-ray laser in the future may be possible.

4. Прочитайте и устно переведите с 1-го по 3-й абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 2-й и 3-й абзацы.