SCIENCE IN OUR LIFE
Today we see the world in which social, industrial and political order has been greatly influenced by science. The development of science has increased man's know-ledge of nature.
Modern experimental science began about 400 year ago. Man learned to use the energy of fire water. Later man made stew serve him. Nowadays man uses thermonuclear energy and that of antimatter. I'd like to dwell on electronics as not a day passes without the appearance of a new electronic device. The first great progress in electronics came with the invention of the vacuum tube or valve in 1904. it made broad casting possible. the development of electronics during World War II gave us radars and electronic computers. The first general purpose computer for scientific use was invented in 1949. Today computers have become common they can do fantastic things. Computer can conduct experiments in places, which are too dangerous for people. Some computers are used in carves and mines to replace workers. Besides they can be designed for special purposes. They can solve mathematical problems, make bank abuts, play chess. New
supercomputers solve problems in many branches of industry, science and culture. They are widely used in submarine navigation and in modern hospital. Now much is being done to create artificial intellect. Science has brought in to being a new atomic technologies. Electric engineering and radio engineering have been created in the some way.
Science and technology have achieved great progress in space research. There have been space flights, the launching of interplanetary stations in the direction of Mars, Radar contacts with the planets Mercury and Venus. Science enters own flats. Many people have already forgotten what the world was like before television. Several generations of children have grown up with
TV as a baby-sitter, teacher and companion. A lot of kitchens in our flats are so well equipped that they look like a control room. We are so used to all these that we can't imagine our life without science.
The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousands small islands. Their total area is over 244 000 square kilometers. The United Kingdom is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 57 million. About 80 percent of the population is urban. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. Great Britain
consists of England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech Great Britain is used in the meaning of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK. is London. The British Isles are separated from the Continent by the North Sea and the British Channel. The *western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands. The South, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but the eastern, central and south- eastern parts of England are a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the
highest mountain (1343 m) . There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest rive, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round. The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It produces and exports machinery, electronics, textile. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. * The UK is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament and the Queen as Head of
State.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is the most famous example of the **American dream” . Many Americans think that in their country a man may rise from the lowest to the highest position in Ireland.
That was exactly what Lincoln did. He was born in 1809 in a small farm in Kentucky. When Abraham was quite young, the family moved to the wild forest land of Indiana. He hardly had any education; he only learned to read and write and do simple arithmetic. In 1830 Abraham left his father's farm and went to Springfield, Illinois. There he became a clerk in a store and worked hard to improve his education. In 1836 he became a lawyer.
He entered politics, too, and in 1834 became a candidate to the Parliament of Illinois. He soon became a force in the political life. In 1847 he went as a Congressman to the National Assembly (National Parliament) .
Slavery was then becoming a burning questions American politics. Many people in the Northern states wanted to abolish it, the Southern states opposed the abolition. The Southerners said that it would mean economic ruin for them. The reason was that the prosperity of the South was based on cotton-growing, and only Negroes worked there. The Southerners threatened that if
the North didn't cease its fight against slavery, the Southern states would leave the Union. They wanted to form an independent “confederacy” *. In 1860 Lincoln was elected President of the USA. In 1861 seven states left the Union and elected their own President, Jefferson Davis. The Confederacy was formed.
Lincoln was strongly against slavery and even more strongly against the break-up of the Union. In 1862 the American Civil War between the North and the South began. At first the war went badly for the North. The Southerners headed by General Robert Lee and Colonel Jackson won some brilliant victories. But Lincoln did not lose courage. On April, 9 General Lee surrendered. The Civil War was over. Lincoln tried to convince former enemies that they should live in peace.
On April, 14 the President and his wife visited a theatre in Washington. During the performance Lincoln was shot by an actor who supported Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln died next morning. People admire Lincoln for political moderation. They admire him because he tried to
preserve the nation. He is a symbol of American democracy.
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