3 Part One. The Predicate

The Idea of the Atom
Many times during the course o f history men believed that the solid matter, of which the different things in the world are made, was really continuous matter. They thought that if you could look at the surface of a stone with magnificaton unlimited, you would always sec a continuous surface, no matter how much you turned up the magnification. They believed that you would not find individual particles like atoms and electrons. They argued that if you had a magic knife by which you could cut the stone into smaller and smaller pieces, you could continue cutting it up indefinitely and could make the pieces as small as you like — a trillion, quadrillion, quintillion times smaller or even infinitely small. But some twenty-five hundred years ago, there lived in Greece a group of men with inquiring minds, who perceived that this argument for continuous matter was not sound. Facing the fact that the world contains so many different kinds of matter— stones, metals, vegetables matter, animal matter, solids and liquids of so many forms— they argued that it was more logical to believe that all these varieties of matter are brought about by coupling together a relatively few kinds of particles, which could not be cut up any further. Because the indivisibility was taken to be the fundamental property of these particles, they gave them the name atom,or a-tom which in Greek means uncuttable. It is astonishing that this purely philosophical guess turned to be confirmed so completely two thousand five hundred years later. Of course, today all atoms are cuttablc into smaller particles, such as the electrons in the outer shells and the fundamental particles in the inside of the nucleus; but the truly fundamental particles of which atoms are made, are sure to be uncuttable and they are true building blocks of all matter.

During the period of fourteen years beginning with 1897, it was discovered that atoms are composed o f smaller particles. The discovery of the components of atoms and the investigation of the structure of atoms is likely to be one of the most interesting stories in the history of science.

Moreover, knowledge about the electronic structure of atoms has made it possible to systematize the facts of chemistry in a striking way, making the subject easier to understand and to remember: it has been discovered that the bonds that hold atoms together in molecules, consist of pairs of electrons held jointly by two atoms. So those ancient Greeks were right in the ultimate sense of the argument.
Words and Word-Combinations to Be Memorized

argue, believe, bring about, confirm, continuous, course, of course, fundamental, hold, individual, infinite, inside, jointly, kind, likely, mind, moreover, out of, really, relatively, science, sense, shell, sound, sure, systematize, turn, ultimate, vegetable

Ex. 5. Give the Uzbek equivalents for the following:

during the course of history, unlimited magnification, perceive, a sound argument, bring about, a fundamental property, a purely philosophical guess, confirm, in the outer shells, be composed of particles, be likely, moreover, knowledge about the structure, in a striking way, make something easier understand, hold together, jointly, in the sense

Ex. 6. Give the English equivalents for the following:

Bir necha marta, qattiq, shundan sirtga qarab, mayda bo'laklarga bo'lingan alohida zarralar haqiqatga duch keladilar, juda ko'p har xil, nisbatan kam, to'liq tasdiqlaydilar, yadro ichidagi asosiy zarralar atom atomlaridan, elektron tarkibiy qismlardan iborat. atomlar, faktlarni tizimlashtirish, aloqa, birga ushlab turish

Ex. 7. Fill in the blanks with prepositions where necessary.

1. Long ago there lived... Greece a group... men... inquiring minds.2. They named ... the particle “atom” because ... its indivisibility.3. Atom means “indivisible” ... Greek. 4. Of course, today atoms are known to consist... still smaller particles. 5. The discovery ... the components ... atoms is o n e... the most interesting stories ... the history... science.6. Knowledge ... the structure ... atoms made it possible to systematize the facts ... chemistry ... a striking way. 7. Atoms are held together... molecules ... bonds.

Ex. 8. Translate the sentences into Uzbek paying attention to different functions of if.

1. It was believed that all the varieties of matter were brought about by a relatively few kinds of particles. 2. Itis astonishing that a purely philosophical guess about the structure of an atom was so completely confirmed. 3. An atom is no longer thought to be a fundamental particle, itconsists of still smaller particles. 4. Knowledge about the electronic structure of atoms made itpossible to systematize the facts of chemistry. 5. Itwas discovered that bonds hold atoms together. 6. Itwas in Greece that first ideas about the structure of matter appeared. 7. There are some unknown words in the text, translate itusing a dictionary. 8. Itwas not until the 19th ccntuiy that the periodicity of elements was discovered. 9. Bring the book, please, itis on the table. 10. Itis a new law; you must clearly understand it.

Ex. 9. Translate the sentences into Uzbek.

1. The subject of chemistry appears to be one of the principal subjects.2. The hypothesis is likely to be confirmed soon. 3. An atom was considered by the ancients to be an indivisible particle. 4. The approach is sure to attract the attention of the scientists. 5. These new results are likely to be widely discussed. 6. At first the discovery did not seem to be very important. 7. The experiment is not likely to be finished at 5. 8. Calculations are said to have confirmed this idea. 9. Fundamental particles are regarded to be indivisible.10. The atom has long been believed to be a simple particle. 11. Nobody was supposed to be informed about the observed phenomenon. 12. The reaction is supposed to give a good yield. 13. The library is reported to have got many foreign journals this month. 14. The symposium was heard to be a great success. 15. The composition of membranes was expected to be described in the next chapter. 16. Their laboratory was known to have been investigating the properties of electrodes for some ten years. 17. In old times air was thought not to be matter of any kind. 18. A reaction may be shown to occur under ordinary conditions. 19. There are known to exist several modifications of phosphorus. 20. Sulphur might be expected to occur in a number of different forms. 21. Bromine happened to be prepared in 1826.22. Chemical industry may be said to have begun in the 19th century.

Ex. 11. Answer the following questions:

1. What did the ancients think about the composition of matter? 2. What particles were considered to be the building blocks of matter? 3. What does the word “atom” mean? 4. What was known about the structure of the atom at the beginning of the 20th century? 5. What do we call fundamental particles now? 6. In what way are atoms held together in a molecule?