Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.

1) The use of the term boat is also common for larger vessels.

2) There are special types of boat named historically, which do not referred to a long row of boats with the similar characteristics.

3) Prehistoric boats were made of skins of animals, wood or hollow-out logs.

4) The ancient Egyptians wooden boats were built in four ways.

5) A parallel float attached to the projecting arms gave the stability to the boat.

6) Some kinds of boat of the Middle Ages are still in use today.

7) The galleys were more seaworthy; they were believed to be the first clinker-built boats.

8) A lot of later rugged boats were built on Viking principles and came to be used for numerous purposes.

Complete the following sentences according to the text.

1) Boat is a small nautical vessel…

2) The line between boats and ships is…

3) A number of special kinds of boat are generally referred to…

4) Since prehistoric times all peoples dwelling on waterway have known…

5) Modern wooden boats are made in four ways: carvel-built,…

6) Many boats are made of…

7) The Chinese junk, together with a sampan is the familiar sight…

8) The familiar local craft of the Mediterranean is the…

9) Because the northern seas were stormier, the Viking boats were…

10) The fishing boats of the North and Baltic seas are also built on…

Answer the following questions.

1) What kind of vessel is a boat?

2) Why the use of the term boat is improper for larger vessels?

3) Some types of boat are generally referred to by their individual names, aren’t they?

4) What materials are boats made of?

5) How are modern boats built in?

6) Where is the difference between the carvel-built and clinker-built methods?

7) What for device was used to stabilize the primitive boats?

8) What Chinese boat, large enough to be classified as a ship is still in use in rivers and coastal waters of East Asia?

9) Is the Mediterranean local craft – gondola popular nowadays as well?

10) Why were the Viking boats more seaworthy? What features of ship structure allowed Norsemen to reach the coasts of Europe and go across the Atlantic?

17. What parts of the text can you define? Do they correspond to the paragraphs? Name each part.

18. Find key words and phrases which best express the general meaning of each part.

19. Make a short summary of Text А. Do it according to the following plan.

1. The title of the text is … .

2. The text is devoted to … .

3. It consists of … (parts / passages).

4. The first passage deals with … .

5. The second (third, forth, etc.) passage deals with … .

6. The main idea of the text is … .

VOCABULARY

20. Practice saying the following words.

Read and memorize the active vocabulary.

Nouns and noun phrases

air cushion vehicle-транспортное средство на воздушной подушке

car ferry - паром

- катамаран

drag - сопротивление, торможение

estuary - устье реки

fan - вентилятор; винт

foil - подводное крыло

hovercraft - судно на воздушной подушке

hull - корпус

hydrofoil - гидрокрыло; судно на подводных крыльях

knot - узел

propeller - движитель; пропеллер, винт

surface - поверхность

thrust of air - напор воздуха

water resistance - сопротивление воды

wave - волна

wing - крыло

Verbs and verbal phrases

to cross - пересекать

to exceed - превышать

to mount on - устанавливать

to perform - выполнять, исполнять, делать

to pierce - пронзать, прокладывать, проходить

to provide - обеспечивать

to remain - оставаться; находиться

Adjectives

kit-built - собранный из готовых деталей

marine - морской

marshy - болотистый

military - военный

Adverbs

completely - полностью

READING

22. Read the text and answer the questions below.

TEXT B

Short-Distance Vessels

Vessels for carrying passengers on short distances over water have become increasingly important. Such short-distance vessels include car ferries, hydrofoils, and air cushion vehicles.

Car ferries have carried automobiles, passengers, and even railroad passenger cars across harbors, lakes, rivers, and other small bodies of water for many years. Like cargo ships, ferries have become bigger and bigger. Today, the biggest ones cross such large bodies of water as the Adriatic and Baltic seas and the English Channel. The largest car ferries can hold up to 800 passengers and 360 cars. They have dining rooms, lounges, and bars.

Hydrofoils provide high-speed transportation over relatively short distances. These vessels are mounted on foils (wings that skim near the surface of the water). The hull remains completely out of the water, greatly reducing the drag caused by water resistance. Hydrofoils can reach speeds greater than 80 knots. These vessels have carried passengers across New York Harbor, on the Nile River of Egypt, across the Strait of Messina in Italy, and over other bodies of water in many parts of the world.

Air cushion vehicles also provide fast trips for short distances. Such vehicles are also called hovercraft or ground effect machines. Air cushion vehicles have a powerful horizontal fan that produces a strong, continuous thrust of air between the vehicle and the water or ground beneath it. The craft, which is driven by airplane-style propellers, rides on this cushion of air and can do almost 70 knots. Some are able to exceed speeds of 95. These are normally called flare craft. Air cushion vehicles are especially popular in Great Britain, where they have carried passengers on the River Thames, along the coasts, and cars and passengers across the English Channel from Dover to Calais in France.

There is an increasing number of small homebuilt and kit-built vehicles used for fun and racing purposes, mainly on inland lakes and rivers and also in marshy areas and in some estuaries. In spite of alternative over-water vehicles such as wave piercing catamarans, which use less fuel and can perform most of the hovercraft’s marine tasks, they are still being developed in the world for both civil and military purposes.

1. What do short-distance vessels include?

2. What are car ferries used for?

3. What is a hydrofoil?

4. What is the working principle of an air cushion vehicle?

5. What is the difference between an air cushion vehicle and a flare craft?

6. Where are air cushion vehicles popular?

7. Where are small homebuilt and kit-built vehicles used?

8. What are the advantages of wave piercing catamarans?

VOCABULARY

23. Practice saying the following words.

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