V. Make up a dialogue on the following situation, get ready to reproduce it.

You meet your old friend. You haven’t seen him for many years. Ask him about his profession, where he studied, what ship he sails on, where he was during

his last voyage. Don’t forget to tell him about yourself.

VI. Compose a story about your favourite season. Use the following words and expressions:

Early (late) spring; it snows; temperature; rough; the weather is nasty; cloudless; it rains cats and dogs; to prefer.

VII. Home-reading. Read and translate orally and do all tasks in written form.

DOUBLING THE CAPE

by RICHARD HENRY DANA

This is an extract from Two Years before the Mast, which is considered an American classic of the sea. Dana's account of doubling the Cape presents an unusually vivid picture of a vanished type of ships and men. It was written when, after two years at Harvard, the author shipped as a common sailor for a voyage round the Horn to California.

In our first attempt to double the Cape, when we came up to the latitude of it, we were nearly seventeen hundred miles to the westward, but, in running for the Straits of Magellan, we stood so far to the eastward that we made our second attempt at a distance of not more than four or five hundred miles; and we had great hopes, by this means, to run clear of the ice thinking that the easterly gales, which had prevailed for a long time, would have driven it to the westward. We made great way toward the southward; and almost every watch, when we came on deck, the air seemed to grow colder, and the sea rougher. Still we saw no ice, and had great hopes of going clear of it altogether. One afternoon, about three o'clock, while we were taking a siesta during our watch below, "All hands!" was called in a loud and fearful voice. We sprang out of our berths and hurried upon deck. The loud, sharp voice of the captain was heard giving orders, as though for life or death, and we ran aft to the braces, not waiting to look ahead, for not a moment was to be lost. Slowly, with the stiff ropes and iced rigging, we swung the yards round. The ship wore round fairly, and we stood off on the other tack, leaving behind us a large ice island, peering out of the mist. We were now safe, and standing to the northward; but, in a few minutes more, had it not been for the sharp lookout of the watch, we should have been fairly upon the ice, and left our ship's old bones adrift in the Southern Ocean. All night long a bright lookout was kept from every part of the deck; and whenever ice was seen on the one bow or the other the helm was shifted and the yards braced. During our watch on deck, which was from twelve to four, the wind came out ahead, with a heavy storm of hail. During the next watch it fell calm with a drenching rain until daybreak, when the wind came out to the westward, and the weather cleared up, and showed us the whole ocean, completely blocked up with ice. Here, then, our progress was stopped, and we wore ship, and once she stood to the northward and eastward; not for the Straits of Magellan, but to make yet another attempt to dot the Cape, still farther to the eastward; for the captain determined to get round at any cost. The third time, said, never failed.

With a fair wind we soon ran clear of the ice field. From a northeast course we gradually hauled to the eastward, and after sailing about two hundred miles for the third time we put the ship's head to the southward, to try to pass the Cape. The weather continued clear and cold with a strong gale from the westward, and we were fast getting up with the latitude of the Cape, with a prospect of soon being round. One fine afternoon, a man shouted at the top of his voice, "Sail ho!" Besides the pleasure of seeing a ship and human beings in such a desolate place, it was important for us to learn whether there was ice to the eastward and to ascertain the longitude; for we had no chronometer, and had been drifting about so long that we had nearly lost our reckoning; and opportunities for lunar observations are not frequent in such a place as Cape Horn. But the mate, who was looking through the telescope, said, "They are ice islands." And a few moments showed that the mate was right. We soon, however, left these astern, having passed within two miles of them.

Having a fine wind, we soon passed the latitude of the Cape. But ill luck seemed to have lighted upon us. Four hours later it fell dead calm, and in half an hour it clouded up; the fiercest storm that we had yet felt began.

For eight days we lay drifting about in this manner. We had less snow and hail than when we were farther to the westward, but we had an abundance of what is worse to a sailor in cold weather—drenching rain. Snow is blinding, a snowstorm is exciting, and it does not wet through the clothes (a fact important to a sailor); but a constant rain there is no escaping from. It wets to the skin. We had long ago run through all our dry clothes, and as sailors have no other way of drying them than by the sun, we had nothing to do but to put on those which were the least wet. At the end of each watch, when we came below, we took off our clothes and wrung them out.

During the greater part of the next two days, the wind was pretty steady from the southward. We had evidently made great progress, and had good hope of being soon up with the Cape.

Friday, July 22nd. This day we had a steady gale from the southward, and stood on under close sail, the clouds lifting a little, and showing signs of breaking away. In the afternoon, I was below with the third mate and two others, when a bright gleam of sunshine broke out and shone down the companion-way, and through the skylight, lighting up everything, and sending a warm glow through the hearts of all. It was a sight we had not seen for weeks. Just at that moment we heard a loud shout from all parts of the deck, and the mate called out down the companion-way to the captain, who was sitting in the cabin. What he said we could not distinguish, but the captain was on deck at one jump. We could not tell what it was; and, anxious as we were to know, the discipline of the ship would not allow of our leaving our places. Yet, as we were not called, we knew there was no danger. We hurried to get through with our job, when, seeing the steward's black face peering out of the pantry, the third mate hailed him to know what was the matter. "Land, to be sure, sir! The captain says it's Cape Horn!"

This gave us a new start, and we were soon through our work and on deck; and there lay the land, upon the port side beam. All hands were busy looking at it,—the captain and mates from the quarter-deck, the cook from his galley, and the sailors from the forecastle.

The land was the island of Staten Land, just to the eastward of Cape Horn; and a more desolate-looking spot I never wish to see—bare, broken, and surrounded by rocks and ice. It was a place well suited to stand at the junction of the two oceans, beyond the reach of human cultivation. Yet, it was a pleasant sight to us; not only as being the first land we had seen, but because it told us that we had passed the Cape, were in the Atlantic. It told us; too, our latitude and longitude better than any observation; and the captain now knew where we were.

We left the land gradually astern; and at sundown had the Atlantic Ocean clear before us.

Ex. I. Answer the following questions:

1. What was the aim of the expedition?

2. How many times did they try to round the Cape?

3. What was the weather like during the voyage?

4. What was the direction of the wind?

5. Did the expedition reach the land?

6. After how many attempts did they manage to round the Cape?

7. Why were they so glad to see the island?

Ex. II. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Первая и вторая попытки обогнуть мыс Горн были неудачными.

2. Условия были очень тяжелые.

3. Погода была неблагоприятная: был сильный ветер, шел дождь, море

штормило.

4. Капитан не мог точно определить долготу и широту, так как у него не

было необходимых приборов.

5. Судно дрейфовало в течение многих дней.

 

Вариант

Test paper

 

I. Give the equivalents of the following expressions:

Палубная служба; конкурировать на мировом фрахтовом рынке; выполнять обязанности; значительный крен; мусорная баржа; вспомогательные механизмы.

II. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Какое судно входит сейчас в порт? – Это атомный ледокол «Ермак».

2. Мой брат окончил Морскую академию в прошлом году. Сейчас он – третий помощник.

3. Петров болен. Вы должны навестить его.

4. Когда я вошёл в штурманскую рубку, вахтенный помощник всё ещё прокладывал курс.

5. Где будет печататься его статья? – В местной газете.

6. Его послали в машинное отделение 5 минут назад.

7. Мы знали, что он уже приехал и живёт в гостинице.

8. Если мы хотим сократить загрязнение воздуха, мы будем сажать деревья и пользоваться машинами как можно реже.

 

III. Read the text and translate it in writing:

The name of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, the Great Russian scientist and poet, is known to everyone in our country. The range of his scientific activities was remarkably wide and varied.

Russian seamanship owes much to Lomonosov. He carried out the very important work of making a full atlas of the RussianEmpire. It was published only 27 years after his death.

The great scientist realized the necessity of exploring the Arctic Ocean and establishing a regular sea route along the coasts of Siberia. He proposed sending out a special polar expedition for this purpose. After his death Admiral Chichagov tried to put Lomonosov's ideas in practice. Lomonosov invented an observation post of special constraction convenient for watching the sea in stormy weather. In his research work “Discussions on Greater Precision in Seafaring” he proposed making different instruments and devices for seafaring which foreign inventors thought of only many years later. One of these devices was a self-recording compass. Now this apparatus invented by Lomonosov is called a course recorder. Lomonosov also invented a mechanical log connected with the hull of the ship, by means of which the navigator could easily calculate the distance covered by the ship without leaving the wheelhouse or having the sailors heave the log.

 

IV. Answer the following questions in details:

1. What work did Lomonosov carry out?

2. What did he realize?

3. What inventions did Lomonosov make?