Топик: Твори на англійській мові
There are some basic operations at any workshop. They are turning, drilling, threading, etc. The main machine-tool a workshop is the multipurpose lathe. What is a lathe? It is a power-driven machine with special tools which can cut or form metal parts. The metal that cuts another metal must be very hard and so tools should be made of very hard steel alloys. The tool itself is very small in comparison with the mechanism that is to direct it.
Technological progress improves accuracy of machine tools. Today's equipment can produce parts with very high accuracy. One can find a number of machine tools that can measure and inspect their production themselves – machine tools that are to handle the parts mechanically and automatically. Such machines can hold the parts which are to be measured and be able to indicate precise measurements themselves. A great many of such "clever" machines can be found today in our industry.
Since machine tools become faster and more complex, automatic measurements and inspection ought to be of greater importance. Automation is one of the main factors of engineering progress.
Flexible production lines form the basis for automated workshops. The main principle of such a flexible line is the fact that it can be switched over from one product to another, which has a similar structure but a different outline, almost instantaneously. It is equally efficient in conditions of will serve to increase the productivity.
The USSR and other highly industrialized countries begin making use of flexible modules and automated workshops on a broad basis.
TEXT A.ASTRONOMICAL CAPITAL
OF THE WORLD
Two great observatories, Greenwich and Pulkovo, occupy a leading place among the observatories of the world. Some scientists call Pulkovo the astronomical capital of the world.
Pulkovo is situated in a hilly area some kilometers from Leningrad. You can't get to Pulkovo by train – when the railway was being built the astronomers specially asked that it should be kept several kilometers away so that there should be no vibration to affect the sensitive instruments.
The work started in 1839, when the observatory was opened, is being continued now. This is the eternal work of astronomers – to define the precise co-ordinates of the stars, to find out the exact "addresses" of heavenly bodies.
But today the scientists also conduct a time service, they study activity of the Sun, follow the flights of the Earth sputniks and calculate their orbits. The scientists of the observatory have made a valuable contribution to the study of the cosmos by observing Soviet artificial Earth satellites, man-made moons. The study of their orbits is very important for the flights of manned spaceships.
The Pulkovo observatory has a radio-astronomy department equipped with modern apparatus. The big radio-telescope installed there is stronger than any other telescope in the world. With the help of this powerful devise the scientists of the Pulkovo observatory carry out a number of observations of Venus, Jupiter and other planets. It is necessary that before flying to other planets scientists should get the greatest possible information about the heavenly bodies.
The astronomers have obtained extremely surprising results due to radio- astronomical observation. By means of the radio-telescope some remarkable studies of the surface of the Sun and of solar activity have been made and a method of investigating the movement of planets has been worked out.
Astronomical observation and cosmic experiments are spheres of scientific research in which broad co-operation of scientists of various countries would be most effective. Soviet scientists, workers and technicians have produced and launched space rockets in the direction of the Moon, Venus and Mars and are fulfilling the noble dreams of mankind. May there be peaceful ships flying the space routes and may they serve the interests of all the people of the world!
TEXT A. TODAY'S ASTONISNING COMPUTERS
Not long ago computers were not very reliable and comparatively slow in operation. Since then, several generations of complex electronic computing equipment have been developed, each being significantly better than the one before it. Almost every day a new use is found for these astonishing devices to help man.
We know a computer to be a complex electronic device that can store and process vast quantities of information. Following instructions, computing equipment will perform calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and provide the answers to a large variety of problems in a tiny fraction of time.
A computer is known to be the "heart" of an electronic data processing system, other parts of equipment being auxiliary.
There are two main types of computing equipment – digital and analogue. They work differently and yield different results. The digital computer is performing a much broader range of functions than the analogue one.
The analogue computer, as its name implies, produces analogues or parallels of the process to be described or the problem to be solved. Both the digital and analogue computers must be "programmed". This means they must be set up in such a way that they can produce a result from the information fed into them, and the information itself must be organized so it can be handled by the machines. These devices working by electronic impulses perform at fantastic speed and with great precision.
Looking to the future, computer makers see no end to the things they would like to accomplish. The computer of the future seems to be developed by using bionics – biological functions of plants and animals – as a guide in designing electronic circuits.
Nowadays computer makers are working at the problem of introducing small computers into our everyday life making them personal. They are trying to develop a computer that will understand human language.
Each new generation of computers opens up new possibilities for basic and applied research.