The history of science

1. From the earliest times, people have been curious about the world around them. Thousands of years before civilization began, people learned to count and tried to explain the rising and setting of the sun and the phases of the moon. They studied the habits of the animals they hunted, learned that some plants could be used as drugs, and acquired other knowledge about nature. These achievements marked the beginnings of science. They were among the first attempts to understand and control nature. In general, mathematics and medicine were the first sciences to develop, followed by the physical sciences and social sciences.

2. The most ancient science was developed in Egyptian and Babylonian cultures as early as 3000 B.C. The Chinese and Indian civilizations developed a little later, in 300 B.C. But the Greeks left the greatest scientific heritage of all the ancient peoples. Aristotle (300 B.C.), the greatest Greek philosopher, studied many areas of science. He also developed deductive logic as a means of reaching conclusions. Greek mathematicians Pythagoras and Euclid (300 B.C.) had perfected geometry as a single logical system. Archimedes (200 B.C.) was not only mathematician but also a great inventor.

3. By the 100's A.D., the city of Rome had conquered much of the known world, including the Greek civilization. They were excellent architects, engineers and builders but they contributed little to theoretical science. They accepted the scientific knowledge of Greeks.

4. The Middle Ages was a 1,000-year period in European history that began in the 400's A.D. For hundreds of years after this period began, little scientific investigation took place in Europe. Most scholars were more interested in theology, the study of God, than in the study of nature.

5. The rebirth of science in Europe began in 1543 with the publication of two books that broke scientific tradition. One book was by the Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus «On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres», and the second by Andreas Vesalius, an anatomist, named «On the Structure of the Human Body».

6. The scientific revolution took place during the late 1500's and early 1600's because scientists realized the importance of experimentation and mathematics to scientific advances. The great scientists Galileo (an astronomer), Isaac Newton (a physicist and astronomer), Wilhelm Leibniz (a philosopher), Robert Boyle (a chemist) and others worked at that period.

3) Дайте письмові відповіді на запитання до тексту:

1. What did people learn and study thousands of years before civilization began?

2. What achievements marked the beginning of science?

3. Where was the most ancient science developed?

4. Who were excellent architects and engineers but didn't contribute to theoretical science?

5. What books made a revolution in ancient science and put the beginning of the rebirth of science in Europe?

ВАРІАНТ 2

І. Перепишіть та перекладіть наступні речення. Підкресліть в кожному них присудок та визначте його видо-часову форму і стан:

1. The word "science" comes from the Latin word "scientia" which means "knowledge".

2. Scientists are still searching for clues to the origin of the Universe.

3. The first programmed computer was built in 1939 by Mr. H. Aikken, professor of Harvard University.

4. Mankind will both benefit and lose as a result of scientific knowledge.

II. Перепишіть та перекладіть речення. Поставте письмово кожне речення в заперечну та питальну форму (перше - загальне питання, друге - спеціальне питання, що починається з поданого питального слова).

1. Scientists use different methods in making discoveries and in developing theories.

(Who...?)

2. Such ideas will be scientifically proved.

(How…?)

3. The development of automobiles harmed the environment much.

(What …?)

4. Yuri Gagarin made the first flight into space.

(What …?)

ІІІ. Перепишіть та перекладіть речення, звертаючи увагу на переклад звороту "there is, there are, there was, there were, there will be":

1. There were many great scientific discoveries in the 20^th century.

2. There are several theories of the Universe origin in the scientific world.

3. There is a unique collection of coins in our museum.

4. There was an attempt to explain this new phenomenon at the sitting of the Academy members.

IV. Перепишіть та письмово перекладіть речення, звертаючи увагу на утворення множини іменників та на вживання "much - many" з іменниками.

1. Many students attend the lectures of famous professor.

2. Peter spent too much time on this translation.

3. Science made much contribution into technology in the middle of 1900's.

4. After the Middle Ages not many scientific discoveries took place in Europe.

V. Перепишіть та перекладіть речення, підкресліть особові та присвійні займенники.

1. Astronomers expanded their knowledge of the size, structure and history of the Universe with the use of radio telescopes.

2. Science has enormous influence on our lives.

3. We know that matter consists of cells.

4. It was impossible to make a progress in her research using such old facilities.