Мы продолжаем рубрику — чтение 8 класс английский-4. Узнаем занимательные факты со всего мира. Юные изобретатели. Кто придумал снегоход?
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Чтение 8 класс английский-4. Юные изобретатели. Кто придумал снегоход? -I
In 1922, in the small town of Valcourt (Quebec, Canada), fifteen-year-old Joseph-Armand Bombardier decided that traditional sledging was too boring and slow.
The winter in Canada is long and snowy. The roads are swept up so that getting anywhere was a real challenge. Inspired by cars and airplanes, which were just beginning to conquer the world, the teenager took:
an old car engine (probably from the Ford Model T, the most popular car of those years);
ordinary wooden sleigh with runners;
the propeller is from some old aircraft.
He mounted the engine on skids and attached the propeller to the back, according to the principle of sleds. The design looked extremely strange and unreliable, but Joseph was full of enthusiasm [ɪnˈtjuːzɪæz(ə)m].
When the father saw his son’s creation, he just laughed and advised him to take «this junk» to the landfill. The neighbors also twirled a finger at his temple: «Well, what can this boy do?»
But Joseph did not give up. He started the engine, the propeller spun — and the miracle car, despite all the ridicule, drove through the snow!
Moreover, it covered almost a kilometer — a huge success for the first test. After the first success, Joseph did not stop. For almost 40 years, he has been working hard to improve his invention.
Чтение 8 класс английский-4. Юные изобретатели. Кто придумал снегоход? -II
• 1920s: The first models were bulky and poorly maneuverable [məˈnuːvərəbl]. The propeller at the back posed a danger to others, and the efficiency left much to be desired.
1930s: Bombardier began experimenting with tracked propulsion instead of skids. This improved traction and cross-country ability.
• 1937: Joseph created the B-7 (Bombardier 7). It was already a real prototype [ˈprəʊtətaɪp] of a modern snowmobile — a seven-seater with tracks and a more compact engine. Such cars began to be bought by local residents, firefighters and doctors who needed to get to remote settlements in winter.
The war years (1939-1945): the demand for snowmobiles increased — the armies of Canada and the United States bought them for patrolling snow-covered areas. This gave Bombardier the opportunity to expand production.
• 1942: Joseph founded the company L’Auto Neige Bombardier Limitée (later simply Bombardier), which began mass—producing snowmobiles.
The 1950s: work continued on reducing the size. Bombardier dreamed of creating not a multi—seat vehicle, but a compact snowmobile for one or two people, as we know it today.
In 1959, 37 years after the first experiment, Joseph Armand Bombardier introduced the Ski Doo model, the first mass—produced compact snowmobile. Key Features:
Single or double seat;
Crawler drive;
A motorcycle-like steering wheel;
Powerful engine;
High maneuverability and speed.
Bombardier eventually became a world leader in the production of snowmobiles, and later expanded its range to produce: • trains; • airplanes; • other equipment.
Joseph Armand Bombardier died in 1964, but his name remained in history as a symbol of ingenuity and perseverance. A simple teenager who was not taken seriously created a machine that changed the lives of millions of people in the snowy regions of the planet.
Вопросы
In what year and where did Joseph‑Armand Bombardier start working on his invention? And how old was he at the time?
2. Why did Joseph find traditional sledging unsatisfactory? And what challenge did the Canadian winter create for transportation?
3. Which three main components did Joseph use to build his first experimental vehicle, and what inspired him to combine them?
4. How did Joseph’s father and the neighbors react to his invention? And what did they suggest he do with it?
5. What happened when Joseph tested his first vehicle? And why was the result considered a major success?
6. Describe the key problems with the snowmobile models from the 1920s as mentioned in the text.
7. What improvement did Bombardier experiment with in the 1930s? And how did it affect the vehicle’s performance?
8. What was the B‑7 (Bombardier 7), and which groups of people started buying it in 1937?
9. How did World War II influence the demand for Bombardier’s snowmobiles? And what opportunity did this give him?
10. When and under what name did Joseph found his company? And what did it start producing?
11. What was Joseph’s goal for snowmobile design in the 1950s? And which model realized this vision in 1959?
12. List three key features of the Ski Doo model. And explain how Bombardier’s legacy extended beyond snowmobiles.
Заключение
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