И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

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