parts o f Ле WQrld ЬУ shiPs- 0n their
als or timber for flu» f
rou^ ejther raw materials such as cotton, met.
population
aCt°neS’ °r 8"*» Md foodstuffs for the growing
nng the same period, a great deal was done to improve ports, and that
138
permitted larger ships to use them and to make loading and unloading more
quickly.
7. Improvements introduced in the 20th century included the
smoother and more efficient type of engines cal led steam turbines and the
use of oil fuel instead of coal. Between 1910 and 1920 the diesel engine
began to be introduced in ships. These diesel-engined ships are called
motor ships.The largest ships, however, are s till generally driven by
steam turbines. In the late 1950s a few ships were being built which were
equipped with nuclear reactors for producing steam.
8. In 1957 the world’s first atomic ice-breaker was launched in
Leningrad.
This atomk ice-breaker is equipped with an atomic engine owing to which
her operating on negligible quantities of nuclear fuel is possible. In spite of
the capacity of her en' gine being 44,000h.p. it wil 1 need only a few grams
of atomic fuel a week. .
The atomic ice-breaker has three nuclear reactors. The operation of the
nuclear reactor is accompanied by powerful radiation. Therefore, the ice
breaker is equipped with reliable means of protection. The ice-breaker is
designed for operation in Arctic waters.
9. Canal Transport.- Sea-going ships can use some rivers, such as the
Thames in England, the Rhine, and the Volga in Europe and the
Mississippi in the United States. Generally, however, a riv e r has to be
"canalized" before ships can use it. This means widening and deepening
the channel and proteeting its banks so that they do not wash away and
bloek the river with mud.
10. We find the British canals to be quite narrow and shal low.
The canals in Europe are much larger than those in Great Britain. Franee
has a big network of canals, centred on Par is, and linking ports of the
Atlantic, Mediterranean and English Channel coasts with each other and
with other countries.
In the USSR canals large enough to be used by ships link Moscow with
Leningrad on the Baaltic Sea. Other Soviet canals run between the White
Sea and the Baltik, and Between the Don and the Volga rivers.
UNIT 20
AIR TRANSPORT
1.
Modern air transport using craft which is heavier than air requires
a good deal o f power merely to stay in the air. It is for this reason that air
transport uses more fuel to carry a ton over a distance of a mile than land
139
or water transport. Another drawback of air transport is that whereas a
ship, truck or train whose engines break down can stop until they are
mended, an aircraft with the same trouble must land. This means that an
aircraft must have several engines and this increases its cost. Safety
precautions for air transport also tend to make it expensive. It cannot be
relied upon for regular services in places or seasons with low clouds and
mist. The great advantages of air transport being its high speed, all
civilized countries try to develop it. If you want to save time, you will
naturally fly by air.
2. Balloons. The earliest form of air transport was balloons, which
are sometimes called "free balloons" because having no engines they are
forced to drift by the wind flow. This fact alone makes balloons no!
reliable enough for carrying people. If they were safer, they would be used
more for transportation, but at .present the scientists use balloons mostly
for obtaining information about the upper atmosphere, its density, and
other scientific subjects. Weather balloons are particularly used by
meteorologists. They carry instruments whose readings are automatically
sent back to the ground by the radio, the position of the balloon being
obtained by radar. Small balloons released from air-fields are
observed
to
obtain the direction and strength of the wind.
3. Aeroplanes. The heavier-than-air machines called aeroplanes were
rather slow in being adopted for transport. The first aeroplane flight was
made in 1884.
World War 1 quickened the development of aerqplanes
enormously. By 1918 they were no longer unreliablelfthings
capable of only short1 flights, but powerful machines able to
carry heavy loads at high speeds for long distances. What was more, the
ending of the war meant that thousands of aeroplaneb and skilled pilots
were available.
The first aeroplaneb were machines that had been used as bombers. They
were quickly converted for use by passengers by fitting extra seats and
windows. The first regular public air service from London to Paris was
started in August 1919.
4. During World War П the value of aeroplanes for carrying heavy
oads was recognized. This led after the war to an increase in the practice
^ sen d in g goods by air. Air freight is expensive but it often thought worth
while for such goods as early vegetables, fruits and flowers, as well as for
t ngs urgently needed such as spare parts for machinery, medical supplies,
films and photographs. Some parts of the world being hundreds of miles
rom a road, railway or waterway, air transport is the only possible kind.
140
Such places are kept supplied wholly by air..
5. After World War П, bigger and faster airliners were introduced.
Jet-propelled aircraft were first used in 1950. Air transport is very valuable
for emergency medical work. The most important use of air transport
besides carrying passengers is carrying mail. If the letters are sent by air
mail, they are not long in coming. Although it is unlikely that aircraft will
ever replace ships for carrying heavy and bulky cargoes such as oil, coal,
minerals, grain and machinery, air transport is already proving a serious
rival to passenger ships on some routes.
6. Helicopters are Hovercraft. 1 Helicopters are very useful in
places where there is no room for long, flat runways. Madem turbo-jet
airliners need a run of nearly two m iles lang to take off, but helicopters
can use small fields, platfarms mounted on ships and the flat tops of
buildings. Helicopters were first introduced for regular airline service
1947. Later, helicopters were used for canying passengers and mail on
short routes, and for taking airline passengers between the centres of cities
and the main airports.
7. While helicopters gain in needing very little space for taking-off
and landing, they lose because the speed at which they move forward is
quite low. So the problem was to develop an aircraft combining the
advantages of the helicopter with the high speed of an ordinary aircraft. If
the designers could develop such a machine the problem would besalved.
So far this purpose the hovercraft was designed. Hov ercrafts are likely to
be useful for ferry services - for exam ple, in ferrying motor cars across
the English Channel. They may also be useful for travel in roadless
countries.
UNIT 21
THE HISTORY OF BRIDGE AND TUNNEL BUILDING
BRIDGES
1. One of the outstanding statesmen once said in his speech, There can be
little doubt that in many ways the story of bridge-building is the story of
civilization. By it we can readily measure an important part of a people s
progress." Great rivers are important means of communication for in many
parts of the world they have been, and still are, the chief roads. But they
are also barriers to communication, and people have always been
concerned with finding ways to cross them.
2. For hundreds of years men have built bridges over fastflowing rivers or
141
deep and rocky canyons. Early man probably got the idea of a bridge from
a tree fallen across a stream. From this, at a later stage, a bridge on a very
simple bracket or cantilever principle 1 was evolved. Timber beams were
embedded into the banks on each side of the river with their ends
extending over the water. These made simple supports for a central beam
reaching across from one bracket to the other. Bridges of this type are still
used in J apan, and in India. A simple bridge on the suspensioli principle 2
was made by early man by means of ropes, and is still used in countries
such as Tibet. Two parallel ropes suspended from rocks or trees on each
bank of the river, with a platform of woven mats laid across them, made a
secure crossing. Fur ther ropes as handrails
were added. When the
Spaniards reached South America, they found that the Incas of Peru used
suspension bridges made of six strong cables, four of which supported a
platform andtwo served as rails.
3. All these bridges made possible crossings only over narrow rivers. The
type of temporary floating bridge, he pontoon bridge, has been used for
military purposes; military engineers can construct a temporary bridge on
this principle, able to cany all the heavy equipment of a modern army, in
an extremely short time.
The idea of driving wooden piles into the bed of the river in order to
support a platform was put into practice 3,500 years ago. This is the basis
of the trestle' or pile bridge which makes it possible to build a wider
crossing easier for the transport of animals and goods.
4. With the coming of the railway in the 19th century there was a great
demand for bridges, and the railways had capital for building them. The
first railway bridges were built of stone or brick. In many places long lines
of viaducts were built to carry railways; for instance, there are miles of
brick viaducts supporting railways to London.
The next important development in bridge-building was the use of
iron and, later, steel. The first iron bridge crossed . the river Severn in
Great Britain.
The idea of a drawbridge, a bridge hinged so that it can be lifted by
chains from inside to prevent passage, is an old one. Some
Leningrad
bridges were built on this principle.
A modern bridge probably demands greater s k ill from designer and
ш er than any other civil engineering project. Many things should be
en into consideration, and these may vary widely according to local
conditions. In deciding what type of bridge is most suitable the
designer
nas to con. sider the type and weight of the traffic, and width and depth of
e gap to be bridged, the nature of the foundations and the method of
142
erecting the bridge. The designer has to calculate carefully how the various
loads would be distributed and to decide which building materials are more
suitable for carrying these loads.
TUNNELS
5. Tunnelling is difficult, expensive and dangerous engineering work.
Tunnels are built to provide direct automobile orrailway routes through
mountain ranges, under or over rivers.
They can also provide underground channels for water, sewage
or oil. Befol'e the 19th century men had not acquired enough skill in
engineering to carry out extensive tunnelling. Tunnels, however, were
known in ancient times. They were, for instance, driven into the rock under
the Pyramids of Egypt, and the Romans built one in Rome for their chief
drain, parts of which still remain. One of the earliest tunnels known was
made in Babylon. It passed under the Euphrates river, and was built of
arched brickwork being 12 feet high and 15 feet wide.
Other ancient tunnels were built for water supply and for drainage.
7. Modern tunnels are often very long and deep. The Simplon Tunnel
on the France-to-Italy railway, for example, is 12 miles long and in
one place the peaks of the Alps rise over 6,000 feet above it. Some
tunnels are over 50 feet in diameter. Many are circular in cross-
section. Others are horseshoe-shaped, 7 with a level floor on which it
is easy to lay permanent roads and railways.
UNIT 22
TUNNEL UNDER CHANNEL
1. "Will There Be a Tunnel under the English Channel?", "Tunnel - to Be
or Not to Be", "A tunnel or a Bridge?"
articles with such headlines appeared in the press abroad. Englisll and
French experts are considering projects created by the specialists of both
countries. The authors of the projects offer diffel'ent solutions. One of
them is a bridge/tunnel combination.
A tunnel undel' the English Channel was first suggested in 1856. It was
agreed in 1875 to build it and work was actually begun. However, the
British War Office objected that an enemy on the European mainland
could easily invade England through such a tunnel, and the British
Government objected to the scheme.
In 1957 interest revived in the idea of a Channel Tunnel and the question
was studied afresh by a group of French and British engineers. Such a
143
Tunnel between Dovel' and Sagatte would have a length of about 36 miles
of which 24 miles
i would be under the sea, and would run through a layer of
I dense chalk which is known to be free from cracks and allows I water to
penetrate it slowly. It would probably have to be a I twin railway tunnel.
There are several difficulties in having I a road tunnel of this length, the
chief of which is the enormous cost of ventilating it. Total cost is estimated
at between 450 and 560 m illio n dollars, to be shared by Britain and
France with possibly some other European country.
No dates have so far been mentioned definitely but it might be completed
at the end of our century.
UNIT 23
ILYA REPIN (1844-1930)
И’ya Ephimovich Repin, a painter of historical subjects known for the
power and drama of his works, is considered an outstanding realist of his
generation. Bom to a poor family near Kharkov Repin learned his trade
from an icon painter named Bunakov. In 1864 Repin became a student at
the Academy of Fine Arts at St. Petersburg. In 1871 he won an academy
scholarship that enabled him to visit France and Italy, and when he
returned to Russia hi devoted himself to depicting episodes from
Russian
history. In 1894 he became professor of historical painti the academy in St.
Petersburg.
Although Repin was a good draughtsman and a skilled
colourist,
the
was known for his subject matter. His deeply moving scenes of
common
people were an indictment of the Tsarist regime. His powerful Volga
Boatmen, of 1873, depicting bargemen harnessed together like beasts of
urden, epitomises the stark realism and social criticism. This painting
became a model for Soviet Union Socialist Realist painting.
Repm s treatments of Russian subjects tend to be
grim in tone,
sharply drawn, and boldly composed. In his Religious
P ro c e ssio n
in
the
ursk Gubemiya, of 1880-83, a ceremonious procession is moving along
a dusty road. Repin depicted almost all the estates of provincial
Russia,
i 3Ch l^Ure *S en(Iowed with a characteristic pose, movement and gesture.
in the centre of the procession the painter
placed
landow ners,
merchants,
clergymen and officers, representatives of the middle and upper
classes,
he fat landowner’s wife, who carries the miracle-performing icon
is
very
144
expressive. She is full of her personal importance. Her arrogant look
mirrors the self-confidence of the representatives of the properted
classes. Their wellbeing is protected by village police officers. The
procession is headed by stalwart peasants; behind them two women of the
lower merchant class cautiously carry an empty icon case. A choir is also
represented here. No face shows deep devotion to God. Among the crowd
the figure of an archdeacon stands out for the bright, festive clothing, but
he too is plunged in his own thoughts. True faith is seen only in the
images of the poor and pilgrims. The most expressive image is that of
hunchback.
With the development of realism, historical painting underwent
great changes. In his large historical painting underwent great changes.
In his large historical paintings Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan,
November 16, 1581, of 1885, and Zaporozhian Cossacks, of 1891 Repin
resurrected the spirit of
historical events and recreated historical
characters, their fates and passions. The latter is the painter’s best-known
work.
Repin also created portraits of his great contemporaries, such as Leo
Tolstoy, Mikhail Glinka, and Modest Mussorgsky.
I. Give kazakh equivalents of the following phrases:
A painter of historical subjects; an outstanding realist of the generation; an
icon painter; to win an academy scholarship; to depict episodes from
Russian history; common people; a good draughtsman; a skilled colourist;
a subject matter; deeply moving scenes; an indictment of the Tsarist
regime; to be harnessed together; bargemen; to epitomize the stark realism;
to serve as a model; Socialist Realist painting; vigorous portraits of one’s
contemporaries; the treatment of subjects; to be boldly composed.
UNIT 24
VASSILY SURIKOV (1848-1916)
Vassily Surikov exercised a great stylistic authority in Russia. He
was one of the first of the Wanderers to reconcile national ideals and the
pictorial style of the Byzantine artistic tradition. Decorative pulsating
surface, strong horizontals were first recovered in Surikov’s works of art.
145
Vassily Surikov was bom in Siberia. In 1868 he set out for
St.Peterburg on horseback to join the Academy of Arts. The journey took
him a year. On his way to St.Peterburg Vassily Surikov made frequent
stops in ancient towns of Russia. He was greatly impressed by Kazan and
Nizhni-Novgorod. But Moscow fascinated and enchanted him and it
determined the artist’s mode of life and way of work for years to come.
Vassily Surikov was the first Russia painter who turned to the past of
Russia for the subjects of his of art. Actually he was the first historical
painter in Russia. Although a realistic painter, Surikov never becam a
narrative one. The painter tried to express the past against the background
of common people.
The Morning of the Streltsy’s Execution,of 1881, is the earliest
artist’s explicit vision of the historical past. It reproduses the event from
Peter I’s time that continues to shock peoplle even today. In the year of
1682 the Streltsy, the Russia citizen-soldiers, incited a revolt in Moscow.
At that time Peter, a boy of ten, had to flee the capital to survive. When
Peter ascended the throne he took revenge on the old unreliable army and
beheaded all the Streltsy in the presence of their wives and children. In the
paintin Surikov depicts the moment preceding the execution.The
composition divides into two groups: one center around Peter, another one
shows the Streltsy, their wives and children. This painting was the first one
to express the artist’s understanding of histori.
Surikov’s masterpiece Boyarinya Morosova was created in 1887.
Enormous in size and scale the canvas depicts the oersecution of the ‘old
believers by patriarch Nikon. The subject of the painting is basedon the
historical event that took place in the seventeenth century during the reign
of Tzar Aleksei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter I. The scene is set in a
street of medieval Moscow. The figures are arranged in an urban landscape
in winter low afternoon light. The streer is filled with throngs of people.
They are here to accompany and pay homage to the first
boyarinya
of
Moscow who is being taken for interrogation and torture for her adherence
to the old believers. The composition centres around boyarinya Morosova.
She is aflame with prophecy. Her hand is raised in an eloquent gesture with
two fingers making the sihg of the cross, the symbol of the
old
believers,
which was forbidder by the church. She is superb in her
indomitable
inflexibility and readiness to die for what she considers a virtuous cause.
This painting is made in the fresco-like style. The construction of this work
of art reminds the monumental paintings o f the great Italians -
ichelangelo, Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese. The composition is full of
movement. In a single scene one motion leads the eye from the agitated
146
crowd to the boyarinya’s dramatically uplifted hand and pointing finders.
Pure colour rules in the picture. The brushstrokes are free and sweeping.
The storm of colour and the dynamic rhythm make the painting alive.
Vassily Surikov exerted a great influence on the Russia artists of his
time. Vassily was a real pupil of nature. His landscape bckground inspired
such artists as A.Kuindzhi, LAyvazovski and I.Levitan who created a
school of landscape painting in Russia.
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