The American Henry Ford gave two things to the world – affordable motor cars and the production line.
Henry Ford invented his Model T car in 1908. It was the first car that ordinary people could afford and it quickly became popular. Ten years later, half the cars in America were Model Ts.
Ford’s secret to success was to keep costs down. One way he did this was by using the production line. The cars slowly moved along a conveyer belt. As the car passed each worker, the worker would add a part. Everything was carefully timed, and production became very efficient. By 1930 Ford’s factory became the biggest factory in the world and the employer of many workers. Raw materials arrived by train and everything the cars needed was made in the Ford factory. It was the beginning of the age of mass production.
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Text 1.18
1)Найдите в тексте ответы на следующие вопросы и запишите их.
1. Что подарил миру Генри Форд?
2. Могли ли обычные люди приобрести автомобиль Т?
3. В чем был секрет успеха Генри Форда?
4. Почему производство на конвейере было очень эффективным?
2)Найдите в тексте следующие словосочетания и запишите их.
1. доступный автомобиль
2. позволить себе
3. сохранить низкие затраты
4. добавить деталь
5. век массового производства
Interesting Facts about the Automobile
1. One of the earliest attempts to propel a vehicle by mechanical power was suggested by Isaac Newton. But the first self-propelled vehicle was constructed by the French military engineer Cugnot in 1763. He built a steam-driven engine which had three wheels, carried two passengers at the maximum speed of four miles an hour. The carriage was a great achievement but it was far from perfect and extremely inefficient. The supply of steam lasted only 15 minutes and the carriage had to stop every 100 yards to make more steam.
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2. In 1825 a steam engine was built in Great Britain. The vehicle carried 18 passengers and covered 8 miles in 45 minutes. However, the progress of motor cars met with great opposition in Great Britain. Further development of the motor car lagged because of the restrictions resulting from legislative acts. The most famous of these acts was the Red Flag Act of 1865, according to which the speed of the steam-driven vehicles was limited to 4 miles per hour and a man with a red flag had to walk in front of it. Motoring really started in the country after the abolition of this act.
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3. In Russia there were cities where motor cars were outlawed altogether. When the editor of the local newspaper in the city of Uralsk bought a car, the governor issued these instructions to the police: "When the vehicle appears in the streets, it is to be stopped and escorted to the police station, where its driver is to be prosecuted."
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Text 1.19
Найдите в тексте следующие словосочетания и запишите их.
1. завести двигатель
военный инженер
паровой двигатель
великое достижение
запас пара
2. встретило большое сопротивление
дальнейшее развитие
законодательные акты
транспортное средство
отмена
3. вне закона
местная газета
губернатор
появиться на улицах
проводить в полицейский участок
возбудить уголовное дело
Part 2
2.1 Automobile
Automobiles are trackless self-propelled vehicles for land transportation of people, or goods, or for moving materials. There are three main types of automobiles. These are passenger cars, buses and lorries (trucks). The automobile consists of the following components: the engine, the framework, the mechanism that transmits the power to the wheels, the body.
Passenger cars are, as a rule, propelled by an internal combustion engine. They are distinguished by the horse-power of the engine, the number of cylinders on the engine, the type of the body, the type of transmission, wheelbase, weight and overall length.
In the mid-15th century there already were self-propelled vehicles powered by means of springs, clockworks, and the wind. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot of France built the first true automobile in 1769. The vehicle, which was designed as an artillery carriage, was a steam-powered tricycle capable of carrying 4 passengers for 20 minutes at 2.25 miles (3.6 km) per hour. In Britain, during the first half of the 19th century, steam-powered vehicles, although noisy, smelly and dangerous because of the possibility of boiler explosions were used on several routes for public transportation.
Despite the development of the 4-stroke gasoline-powered engine in 1876 by the German engineer Nikolaus August Otto, steam remained the most widespread form of automotive power until the beginning of the 20th century. Gasoline-powered engines eventually prevailed because they allowed vehicles to travel at higher speeds and for longer distances and were safer than steam-powered engines.
The pioneers of automobile manufacturing in Europe were Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz from Germany, who began, separately, to make cars in the 1880s. In the United States, Alexander and James Packard were among the first builders of automobiles. In 1908 Henry Ford revolutionized the manufacturing of automobiles with his assembly-line style of production and brought out the Model T, a car that was inexpensive, versatile, and easy to maintain. By the late 1920s the car was common in modern industrial nations.
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Automobile Engines
The most common types of engines used in automobiles are diesel and gasoline engines. Both types of engines run on liquid fuel. Gasoline and diesel oil are all produced from natural petroleum and are distinguished mainly by their volatility, that is, the ease with which they can be changed from a liquid to a vapor.
Both types of engines are internal-combustion engines, that is, they burn the fuel inside their cylinders. Most engines work on the four-stroke cycle: the piston makes a suction stroke (down), a compression stroke (up), a power stroke (down), and an exhaust stroke (up). But a diesel engine has no ignition system. In it fuel is ignited simply by contact with very hot air which was highly compressed in the cylinder. A diesel engine draws into its cylinder air alone, and it compresses this air on its compression stroke before any fuel enters the cylinder. A gasoline engine mixes air with fuel before it enters the engine through the inlet valve during the suction stroke. Diesel engines use greater compression than gasoline engines. Diesel engines use less volatile, heavier liquid fuels than gasoline engines. These heavier fuels are generally cheaper than gasoline. Fuel pumps and injection nozzles are used in diesel engines to inject the oil into the cylinder in the form of a fine spray. Diesel engines are heavier than gasoline engines of the same size because they work against greater pressures, and consequently their parts must be stronger.
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Car Body
The body is designed to contain and protect the engine and accessories, as well as the passengers. It is shaped to reduce the resistance to the air as it moves forward. This shaping of the car to reduce air resistance is called streamlining. Streamlining makes use of curves rather than angles and flat surfaces.
The car body is made up of a number of pressed-steel panels, which are welded together to form the complete body. Reinforcing brackets are welded to the body to attach doors, wheel trim, instrument panel hood, trunk lid, headlining and so on. In case of accidents, panels can be replaced if they are so badly damaged that they cannot be straightened.
During the manufacturing process the body is flexibly bolted to the chassis. The chassis of the modern automobile is the main structure of the vehicle. In most designs a pressed-steel frame forms a skeleton on which the engine, wheels, axle assemblies, transmission, steering mechanism, brakes and suspension members are mounted. The combination of body and frame absorbs the reactions from the movements of the engine and axle, receives the reaction forces of the wheels in acceleration and braking, absorbs aerodynamic wind forces and road shocks through the suspension, and absorbs the major energy of impact in the event of an accident.
Doors, engine hood, and trunk or rear-compartment lids are attached to the body by hinges. The doors contain the window-regulator mechanism, door latch, and lock.
Windscreen wipers are electrically operated.
The headlight is of much value for driving purposes because it properly directs the light.
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Fuel and Lubrication
There are two main types of fuel: gasoline and diesel fuel. The most important requirements of a fuel for automobile use are proper volatility, sufficient antiknock quality, and a freedom from polluting by products of combustion. The volatility is reformulated seasonally by refiners so that sufficient gasoline vaporizes, even in extremely cold weather, to permit easy engine starting. Antiknock compounds, principally tetraethyl lead, were added to most gasolines to prevent knocking, a rapid, uncontrolled burning in the final stages of combustion that results in a characteristic "knock", or pinging noise, and may damage an engine or reduce its performance.
All moving parts of an automobile require lubrication. Without it, friction would increase power consumption and damage the parts. The lubricant also serves as a coolant, a noise-reducing cushion, and a sealant between engine piston rings and cylinder walls.
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Cooling System
Almost all automobiles employ liquid cooling systems for their engines.
For operation at temperatures below 0°C, it is necessary to prevent the coolant from freezing. This is usually done by adding some compound to depress the freezing point of the coolant. Alcohol formerly was commonly used, but it has a relatively low boiling point and evaporates quite easily, making it less desirable than organic compounds with a high boiling point, such as ethylene glycol. By varying the amount of additive, it is possible to protect against freezing of the coolant down to any minimum temperature. Coolants contain corrosion inhibitors designed to make it necessary to drain and refill the cooling system only once a year.
Air-cooled cylinders operate at higher, more efficient temperatures, and air- cooling offers the important advantage of eliminating not only freezing and boiling of the coolant at temperature extremes but also corrosion damage to the coolant system.
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Brakes
Systems for stopping vehicles have had a long history of development: from mechanical brakes to hydraulic, power and disc systems. Antilock braking systems (ABS) were available in the late 1980s and subsequently became standard equipment on a growing number of passenger cars. ABS installations consist of wheel-mounted sensors that input wheel rotation speed into a microprocessor. When wheel rotation increases owing to tire slippage or loss of traction, the control unit signals a hydraulic or electric modulator to regulate brake line pressure to forestall impending wheel lockup. The brake continues to function as the system cyclically releases and applies pressure. The wheels continue to roll, retaining the driver's ability to steer the vehicle and stop in a shorter distance. (674)
Trucks
A truck, or lorry, is a motor vehicle designed to carry freight or goods or to perform special services. The truck was derived from horse-driven wagon technology. Trucks enjoy an almost total monopoly in intercity freight delivery in some countries.
In 1896 Gottlieb Daimler of Germany built the first motor truck. It was equipped with a 4-horsepower engine and a belt drive with two speeds forward and one in reverse. In 1898 the Winton Company of the US produced a gasoline-powered delivery wagon with a single-cylinder 6-horsepower engine.
Trucks can be classified as either straight or articulated. A straight truck is one in which all axles are attached to a single frame. An articulated vehicle is one that consists of two or more separate frames connected by suitable couplings.
At the beginning of the 1990s light trucks made up more than 92% of all trucks. These vehicles generally have more in common with passenger cars than with larger trucks. More than half of the world production of trucks consists of small pickup trucks and vans. There are also medium trucks, heavy-duty haulers, cross country trailers, off-road and mining trucks.
Steering of trucks, with their heavy loads, is difficult. Steering is always by the Ackerman system, which provides a kingpin for each front wheel. Maximum cramp angle of the front wheels is about 35 degrees. The minimum turning radius is dependent on the wheelbase.
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Buses
The bus is a self-propelled road vehicle designed to carry more passengers than an automobile, generally on a fixed route. It was developed at the beginning of the 20th century. Today buses are defined as vehicles that accommodate more than 8 passengers.
Until the 1920s the technical history of the bus was the history of the motor truck, since the early bus consisted of a bus body mounted on a truck chassis. The majority of present-day school buses are made in this way. In 1921 the first vehicle with a chassis specifically designed for bus service was made in the US by Fageol Safety Coach Company of Oakland, California.
There are four main types of buses: city or transit, suburban, intercity or tour, and school. The city bus operates within the city limits and is characterized by low maximum speed, low-ride platform, provision for standing, and wheelchair passengers, two entrances on the curb side, low-back seats, and no luggage space. The suburban bus is designed for short intercity runs and has high-back seats, luggage compartments and racks, and a single, front entrance. The intercity type has a high-ride platform to provide maximum luggage space under the passengers, high-back seats, overhead luggage racks, individual reading lights, and a washroom. School buses generally consist of a 50-passenger bus body, with special signal lamp and safety provisions, mounted on a long-wheelbase truck chassis.
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Traffic Safety
From its beginnings, the automobile posed serious hazards to public safety. Vehicle speed and weight provided an impact capacity for occupants and pedestrians that produced great number of fatalities. Driver training, vehicle maintenance, highway improvement, and law enforcement are identified as key areas with
potential for improving safety. But the basic design of the vehicle itself and the addition of special safety features receives increased attention. Safety features of automobiles come under two headings: accident avoidance and occupant protection.
Accident-avoiding systems are designed to help the driver maintain better control of the car. The new type of brake system is a good example. This protects the driver against sudden loss of brake line pressure. Front and rear brake lines are separated so that if one fails the other continues to function.
Systems for protecting occupants in the event of an accident fall into four main classes: maintenance of passenger compartment integrity, occupant restraints, interior-impact energy-absorber systems, and exterior-impact energy absorbers.
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Traffic Control
Traffic is the movement of people and goods from one location to another. One of the principle tasks of traffic control is to accomodate it in a safe and efficient way. Road traffic control at its most elemental level is achieved through the use of a system of signs, signals and markings. Each traffic control device is governed by standards of design and usage; for example, stop signs always have a red background and are octagonal in shape. Design standards allow the motorist to quickly and consistently perceive the sign in the visual field along the road. The devices must be useful for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as drivers. Design of devices must take into account the larger mass and higher centre of gravity of tracks. Road traffic control devices assist the driver in making safe and efficient decisions.
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Bibliography
1 Marie Kavanagh. English for the Automobile Industry. New Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011. 80 p.
Electronic resources
1. www.topgear.com/
2. www.wikipedia
3. www.oup.com.
4. www.oup.com/elt