ответьте письменно на следующие вопросы по тексту: 1. When was niobium discovered? 2. Where is it used? 3. Where can deposits of columbite be found? 4. What trouble has sand been causing since oil was discovered in the Sahara desert? 5. Why do people export Norwegian sand to the Sahara desert?
Niobium
Here is a short story about niobium or columbium. In 1801 Charles Hatchett, an English chemist, analyzed an ore sample which had been sent to the British Museum from the United States. He named it "columbium" after Christopher Columbus. And the columbium-ore was given the name of "columbite".
But in 1844 this metal or metallic element was rediscovered by Rose. And because it looked like tantalum it was named "niobium" after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, and the mytholo¬gical goddess of tears.
But the new name (niobium) was not immediately accepted. And only after more than 100 years of controversy, it was adopted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 1950.
Today American scientists refer to the metal as "niobium". But, most American metallurgists and producers of the metal use the name "columbium". For many years niobium was not only useless, but it was, in fact, a nuisance. Chemists looked upon it as an impurity in the ores of important metals.
In recent years metallurgists discovered that niobium was an excellent alloy for strengthening many kinds of steel, and that in resistance to heat and corrosion it was a miracle-metal.
Now niobium is beginning to be used in making synthetic silk, as well as in aircraft industry.
But since it is still a rare metal its uses are limited.
Is it found in many parts of the world? Not at all. Deposits of columbite, its ore, are worked in Australia, Africa (Nigeria and Congo-Kinshasa), in the Kola Peninsula (Russia), Canada, Brazil and Norway.
It's Interesting To Know
Ever since oil was discovered in the Sahara and other desert areas, the engineers have been troubled by one thing - sand! It blows into the pipes which bring the oil from the desert to the ports for shipment, and causes the pipes to become clogged!
So you'd imagine that the last thing an oil engineer wants is sand! But, believe it or not, people are actually digging the stuff up on the beaches of Norway and exporting it to - of all places - the Sahara desert! The reason? Because Norwegian sand is very fine and has been found to be the best possible material for cleaning out oil pipes which have been clogged by the much coarser sand of the Sahara! So sand has to be sent thousands of miles to cure the trouble which has been caused by - sand!
It's a strange world, isn't it?
There are a lot of people in the park today! Look! .The day is warm and sunny. Many people are eating ice cream. That boy is walking a dog. Some boys are playing football. Small children are riding a carusel. They like riding it. Some young girls and boys are having fun playing volley ball. An old man and a woman are walking along a road enjoying warm weather . Two women are sitting on a bench and talking. Look! There some children are riding their bikes. Everybody is having a great time in the park!
В парке
Mного людей сегодня в парке! Смотри! День теплый и солнечный. Многие люди едят мороженое. Этот мальчик выгуливает собаку. Несколько мальчиков играют в футбол. Маленькие дети катаются на карусели. Им нравится кататься. Некоторые молодые девушки и парни с удовольствием играют в волейбол. Старик и женщина гуляют по дорожке, наслаждаясь теплой погодой . Две женщины сидят на скамейке и беседуют. Смотри! Там несколько детей, катаются на велосипедах. Каждый хорошо проводит время в парке!
The weather is a subject we can always talk about. It often changes and brings cold and heat, sunshine and rain, frost and snow. One day is often unlike the next. In summer the sun shines, often there is no wind and there are no clouds in the sky which is blue and beautiful. We can see stars and the moon at night and people like walks, outdoor games and sports in the fresh air.
When autumn comes, the days become shorter and colder. It gets dark earlier and often heavy clouds cover the sky bringing rain with them.
Sometimes there is heavy rain, so that an umbrella or a raincoat is necessary if we don't want to get wet through. Then you can hear people say, "What bad weather! When is this rain going to stop?" Many people then catch cold and must go to bed. Then a fire at home is so pleasant. At last frost and snow come.
Fields, forests and houses are covered with snow and rivers and lakes with ice. But spring again brings sunshine and warm winds. Sometimes it snows but snow will not remain long, it will melt in the warm sun. Spring will bring bright sunshine, green grass and flowers.
We usually say: "A nice day", "Not a bad day" or "It's nice weather for the time of the year" if the weather is fine.
We can say: "It looks like rain", "It looks like snow" of "It's bad weather" when the weather is bad.