Man and his machines

Now in all his activities man makes use of a multitude of machines. Although most of these are of quite recent origin, a few simple ones have come down from very ancient times. The bow and arrow were well known to prehistoric man, as he gained his food, and this “machine” was his tool in the struggle for existence. The wheel is also of prehistoric origin. The inclined plane and its uses have also long been known. Egyptian slaves lifted the huge stones that went into the construction of the great pyramids.

There was little change in the number of kinds of machines in use for nearly twenty centuries. But then as one new device after another came to displace others that were less efficient, the development speeded up. The railroad train did not long remain the only means of rapid transit. Soon the automobile appeared. The latest and speediest type of conveyance was limited neither by rails not by highways. It took to the air. In the country the days of the wooden plow have passed. The development of tractor made way for the use of a combine. By means of agricultural machines the farmer can not only give much more produce than ever before, but do it much more easily. This has been greatly facilitated by the rapid extension of electric lines. Now electric motors instead of muscle power operate the machines.

Perhaps the greatest advancement since old times has been achieved in the art of communicating ideas – the telegraph, television, telephone and radio.

The machine has also come to occupy a conspicuous place in the home. The electrically heated iron, the vacuum cleaner, refrigerator and many others have relieve d the housewife of many physical cares and inconveniences.

Thus the machines that have developed in the last hundred years have completely transformed our life.

I. Copy the underlined words and word-combinations, translate them into Ukrainian and learn them.

II. Find the following words and word-combinations in English in the text: незначні зміни; кількість машин, які використовуються; останній найшвидший тип; електричні двигуни; сила м’язів; найбільше досягнення; мистецтво повідомлення думок; повністю змінили наше життя.

III. Answer the following questions.

1. What machines of recent origin do you know?

2. What machines of rapid transit do you know?

3. What kind of motors is now used instead of muscle power to operate the machines?

4. What is the role of machines in the home?

5. Have machines completely transformed our life?

Test yourself: