Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes was a Greek scholar, who lived in the 3rd century BC, renowned for his love of learning. Born in the Libyan city of Cyrene, which was once part of the Greek Empire, he received the equivalent of a university education when he was a teenager. He was an all-round scholar, and during his life named himself as a poet, grammarian, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, chronographer, and geographer in equal measure. He published works in several areas, and was also something of a problem solver.

His most famous works were in the fields of geography and mathematics, and he was known for creating the first map of the ancient world that featured latitude and longitude lines. He also used geometric formulas, and the sun, to calculate the Earth’s circumference to a 10% accuracy, and made measurements of the tilt of the Earth’s axis. These measurements led to further exploration by other scholars and geologists, and the production of maps and globes that were the most accurate in existence for hundreds of years.

Although there is very little evidence of Eratosthenes’ work around today, or details of his methodology and calculations, he has been referenced in publications by other noted scholars, such as Strabo. A three volume study on the Earth and the Earth’s measurement, Geographica by Eratosthenes, is still well-known in the geology field today.

7) Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1. What sciences was Eratosthenes interested in?

2. What was Eratosthenes famous for?

3. How did Eratosthenes’ measurements influence the further exploration of the Earth?

4.What is the most prominent publication by Eratosthenes still known in the modern science?

Вариант 4

1) Напишите следующие существительные во множественном числе и переведите:

1. an experiment, 2. a deposit, 3. a louse, 4. an ore, 5. a hypothesis, 6. a spectrum, 7. a depth, 8. a technician, 9. a producer, 10. an activity.

2) Определите функцию глаголов “tobe”, “tohave” в следующих предложениях. Предложения переведите:

1. Rocks from the earliest Archaean are predominantly igneous.

2. Russia is the world’s second largest PGE producer, after South Africa.

3. Today we have to do a lot of geophysical and mine surveying research to construct a mine.

4. The Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company has begun construction of Sredne-Tuman bauxite field.

5. The scientists are to know more about the fossil fuels in this region in the nearest future.

6. They are still exploiting this mine.

7. Although 90 percent of the country's coal reserves are concentrated in 10 states, coal in mined in 27 states.

8. The United Kingdom has a rich history of mining.

3) Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык:

1. There are a lot of copper reserves in Siberia and the Urals.

2.If a woman comes into a coal mine, there will be an accident to the miners (English superstition).

3. There were different mining complexes in Transbaikalia.

4. There is a big mining enterprise in Krasnokamensk.

5. There are different ways of extracting raw materials from the earth.

6. There was nobody in the auditorium.

4) Подчеркните местоимения и укажите их типы. Переведите предложения на русский язык:

1. Vernadsky attends Saint Petersburg’s grammar school, where he shows a keen interest in natural sciences.

2. Vernadsky develops mineral genesis theory and defends his Doctor thesis (Phenomenon of crystalline matter sliding) in 1897.

3. Pliny left us a profound description of the ancient types of extracting valuable minerals.

4. George Argall began his work as an editor of mining magazines in 1950, when he became editor of Mining World and World Mining.

5. Russia had not its own gold and silver till the end of the XVII century.

6. He became the first Russian professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg Academy of Science in 1745.

5) Составьте к каждому из следующих предложений вопросы (общий, альтернативный (or) и разделительный). Повествовательныепредложенияпереведитенарусскийязык:

1. Russia contains 10% of the worlds' copper reserves with most reserves located in Siberia (70%) and the Urals (20%).