И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

TEXT B. RAILROADING BEGINS

(1) In the early years of the 19th century the idea of using steam engines to draw freight and, passenger trains interested many inventors. But the history of steam traction began much earlier when an English engineer, William Murdock, built a working model of a steam locomotive in 1784. It was a baby locomotive about a foot (30.5 cm) high. It had three wheels (колесо) and its boiler (котел) was heated by a spirit lamp.

(2) One day Murdock wanted to test (испытать) his engine. He lighted the spirit lamp and soon the water began boiling. The engine ran fast along the street with loud roaring (рев).
(3) Unfortunately, nothing came of Murdock's invention because his little locomotive was thought of as the creation (творение) of the Devil.
(4) ...And this is how the first steam locomotive appeared in the USA. One day in 1804 the people of Philadelphia saw a roaring and fire-breathing monster running along the street, followed by shouting boys. It was really the first steam locomotive in America, although it did not run on rails. After its short journey on land the locomotive fell down into the river and disappeared in the water.


21. Прочтите текст С без словаря (3 мин.) и ответьте по-русски на вопрос, почему конец поездки. локомотива Купера был не такой удачный, как ее начало.


TEXT С. THE ТОМ THUMB*

(1) The early locomotives were small and slow and they were not powerful. Besides, the rails on which they ran broke very often. So many people did not take them seriously.

(2) But in 1830, Peter Cooper, an American, constructed a steam loco which could develop a higher speed than the other engines. The locomotive was so small and light that his inventor called it the Tom Thumb.
(3) The first run of the Tom Thumb was quite successful. The locomotive travelled a 15-mile distance in one hour and 12 minutes to the delight of its inventor and 36 passengers. But the end of the travel was not so happy as the beginning.
(4) On the way back the inventor wanted to show that his loco could run much quicker than a carriage drawn by a horse. The Tom Thumb ran so fast that soon it was really ahead (впереди) of the carriage. Suddenly, something broke in the engine and the locomotive slowed down. The horse ran fast with the passengers looking triumphant and happy.

* мальчик с пальчик