Answer the questions and do the reading task.
1. Some people say that laser is more present in our life than a wheel. Do you agree with this? Name the spheres where laser is used.
2. Read the texts below and match the paragraphs to the headings. Note! One paragraph is extra
Information Technology Manufacturing Measurement and analysis
Medicine Military Scientific research Telecommunications
semiconductor , n – полупроводник, полупроводниковый
fibre (fiber), n – волокно
via, prep – через, посредством
amplifier, n – усилитель
amplify, v – усиливать, увеличивать
fine, adj – тонкий, мелкий
beam, n – луч, пучок лучей
increasingly, adv все чаще
melt, v – плавить, расплавлять
employ, v – использовать
measure, v – измерять
tiny, adj – крошечный; миниатюрный
matter, n – материя
reveal, v – выявлять, обнаруживать
scale, n – масштаб
| Information Technology
One of the application of lasers is in optical storage devices (e.g. CD and DVD players), in which a focused beam from a semiconductor laser, less than 1 mm wide, scans and reads the disc surface. Other everyday uses include barcode readers, laser printers and laser pointers. Over the past 25 years the publishing and newsprint industries have been revolutionised by the use of lasers, which have replaced traditional “hot metal” printing.
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| ______________
Another large application is in fibre-optic communications. Broadband* depends on the transmission of light pulses along optical fibres, which are generated and sent via lasers. This is made possible by fibre amplifiers, which are an important component in long-distance fibre links.
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* широкополосная сеть
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| _______________
Lasers can deliver concentrated energy in the form of fine controllable light beams, so doctors soon took advantage of them to perform micro-surgery, which involves less pain and scarring*, lower blood loss and shorter recovery time in hospital. One of the most frequent uses of lasers is in eye surgery to treat disease and, increasingly, improve bad eyesight.
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* образование шрамов
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| ________________
Lasers can deliver enough power to heat and melt metal joints, and so are used for welding, as well as for cutting. When controlled by a computer, a laser can cut complex designs into a material such as wood or paper, as is increasingly being seen in furniture and other home goods.
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| ________________
Lasers have long been used by the military for range-finding, but now even estate agents* employ laser tape measures. Because lasers can be modified to produce specific wavelengths**, they are used to analyse chemical and physical structure, and so are used in factory quality control and to monitor environmental pollutants remotely. Lasers can be used for a type of measurement called interferometry which can measure tiny changes in distance.
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*риелторы
** длина волны
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| ________________
Without lasers, many recent discoveries would never have been made. Lasers interact with matter at the quantum level in very specific ways and so are important tools in research. They can be used to follow chemical reactions and reveal structure at the atomic and molecular scale. Increasingly, life scientists are employing lasers in new types of microscopy designed to highlight cellular* structures.
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*клеточные
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Read the texts again and answer the questions.
a) Which method was used in printing industry before laser?
b) In what form is signal transmitted in fibre-optic cables?
c) What are the advantages of laser surgery over the traditional technology?
d) What manufacturing processes can be performed using laser?
e) How can lasers be useful for environmental protection?
f) How is laser used in science?
g) What are the main properties of laser?
Match the synonyms.
| 1. amplify
| a) use
|
| 2. employ
| b) show
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| 3. fine
| c) soften
|
| 4. matter
5. measure
| d) calculate
e) thin
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| 6. melt
| f) substance
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| 7. reveal
| g) using
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| 8. semi-
| h) make bigger
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| 9. via
| i) half
|
Translate into Russian.
Amplify a signal; amplified speakers; amplifying element; employ remote control; extra-fine; fine adjustment; fine print; antimatter; melting point; melted metal; revealed defect; revealing reagent; semi-automated system; tiny particles of matter; communication via satellite.
