VIII. Comment on the use of Passive Voice.

IX. Retell the text “Winch.”

UNIT 12. A SHIP

I. Master the active vocabulary:

warfare – военные действия с использованием военно-морских сил

woven fabrics – текстильная ткань

sails – паруса

celestial navigation – астрономическая навигация

magnetic compass – магнитный компас

a pivoting needle – вращающаяся игла

to base on classification – основываться на классификации

to be propelled solely – приводиться в движение самостоятельно

trimaran – тримаран, трехпарусное судно

dinghy – динги (шлюпка)

fiberglass – стекловолокно

an epoch – эпоха

to be associated with – ассоциироваться с

the manufacturer – производитель

competitive boats – лодки для соревнований

II. Read and translate the following text:

A ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of persons or goods, fishing, entertainment, public safety, and warfare.

Fig. 11. Main parts of ship. 1: Smokestack or Funnel; 2: Stern; 3: Propeller and Rudder; 4: Portside (the right side is known as starboard); 5: Anchor; 6: Bulbous bow; 7: Bow; 8: Deck; 9: Superstructure

The history of boats parallels the human adventure. The first known boats date back to the Neolithic Period, about 10,000 years ago.

The first navigators began to use animal skins or woven fabrics as sails. Affixed to the top of a pole set vertically in a boat, these sails gave early ships great range. This allowed man to explore widely.

Before the introduction of the compass, celestial navigation was the main method for navigation at sea. In China, early versions of the magnetic compass were being developed and used in navigation between 1040 and 1117. The true mariner's compass, using a pivoting needle in a dry box, was invented in Europe no later than 1300.

Ships are difficult to classify, mainly because there are so many criteria to base classification on. A much used classification is based on their propulsion; thus they are categorized into the following two types:

· Sailing ships

· Motor ships

Sailing ships are ships which are propelled solely by means of sails. Motor ships are ships which are propelled by mechanical means to propel itself. Motor ships include ships that propel itself trough the use of both sail and mechanical means. Other classification systems exist that use criteria such as:

· The numbers of hulls, giving categories like monohull, catamaran, and trimaran.

· The shape and size, giving categories like dinghy, keelboat, and icebreaker.

· The building materials used, giving steel, aluminum, wood, fiberglass, and plastic.

· The type of propulsion system used, giving human-propelled, mechanical, and sails.

· The epoch in which the vessel was used, triremes of Ancient Greece, man' o' wars, eighteenth century.

· The geographic origin of the vessel, many vessels are associated with a particular region, such as the pinnace of Northern Europe, the gondolas of Venice, and the junks of China.

· The manufacturer, series, or class.

Another way to categorize ships and boats is based on their use, as described by Paulet and Presles. This system includes military ships, commercial vessels, fishing boats, pleasure craft and competitive boats. In this section, ships are classified using the first four of those categories, and adding a section for lake and river boats, and one for vessels which fall outside these categories.

III. Answer the following questions:

1. What is a ship?

2. When do the first known boats date back?

3. Who began to use animal skins or woven fabrics as sails?

4. What was the main method for navigation at sea, before the introduction of the compass?

5. The true mariner’s compass, using a pivoting needle in a dry box, was invented in Europe no later than 1300, wasn’t it?

6. Are ships difficult to classify? Why?

7. What types are ships categorized into?

8. What are sailing ships?

9. What are motor ships?

10. What criteria do other classification systems use?

IV. Use the following words and word combinations in sentences of your own:

To float on water, for a variety of activities, the human adventure, to date back to, to use woven fabrics, before the introduction of the compass, a pivoting needle in a dry box, to classify, to be based on propulsion, to be categorized into two types, to be propelled solely, by means of sails, to propel itself.

V. Translate the text “A ship through Renaissance.”

Ships and boats have further developed alongside mankind. In major wars, and in day to day life, they have become an integral part of modern commercial and military systems. Fishing boats are used by millions of fishermen throughout the world. Military forces operate highly sophisticated vessels to transport and support forces ashore. Commercial vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007.

Fig.12. The carrack Santa María of Christopher Columbus

Until the Renaissance, navigational technology remained comparatively primitive. This absence of technology didn't prevent some civilizations from becoming sea powers. Examples include the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice, and the Byzantine navy. The Vikings used their knars to explore North America, trade in the Baltic Sea and plunder many of the coastal regions of Western Europe.

Towards the end of the fourteenth century, ships like the carrack began to develop towers on the bow and stern. These towers decreased the vessel's stability, and in the fifteenth century, caravels became more widely used. The towers were gradually replaced by the forecastle and stern castle, as in the carrack Santa María of Christopher Columbus. This increased freeboard allowed another innovation: the freeing port, and the artillery associated with it.

In the sixteenth century, the use of freeboard and freeing ports become widespread on galleons. The English modified their vessels to maximize their firepower and demonstrated the effectiveness of their doctrine, in 1588, by defeating the Spanish Armada.

At this time, ships were developing in Asia in much the same way as Europe. Japan used defensive naval techniques in the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1281. It is likely that the Mongols of the time took advantage of both European and Asian shipbuilding techniques. In Japan, during the Sengoku era from the fifteenth to seventeenth century, the great struggle for feudal supremacy was fought, in part, by coastal fleets of several hundred boats, including the atakebune.

VI. Complete the following sentences:

1. A ship is a large vessel …

2. The first known boats date back …

3. Affixed to the top of a pole …

4. Before the introduction of the compass …

5. Sailing ships are ships …

6. Motor ships are ships …

7. This system includes …

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