Active Vocabulary.

abacus	cumbersome
accomplishment	destine
advanced	eventual
appropriate	invasion
attempt	merchant
attic	rectangle
avoid	sophistication
breakthrough	suspicion
chamber of commerce	tablet
clay	facilitate
clumsy	lack
content	subject

2. Answer the following questions:

1. Where did algebra probably originate?

2. What is Babylonia credited with?

3. What equations were the Babylonians able to solve?

4. When did algebra appear in Egypt?

5. What did Egyptian algebra lack?

6. What explains the lack of sophistication in Egyptian algebra?

7. What was the algebra of the early Greeks?

8. What were the difficulties the Greeks experienced?

9. What style did the Greek mathematicians use?

10. What caused the Greeks to give their algebra geometrical formulation?

11. Why is it known little about Hindu maths before the fourth and fifth century A.D.?

12. What equations did the Hindus solve?

13. What did the Hindus attempt to find?

14. What are the most outstanding achievements of the Hindus?

15. When did Greek and Arabic texts on maths become available in Europe?

3. Reconstruct the text “The early Algebra” into a dialogue.

The main rules governing a conversation in English:

The person who asks questions in a conversation usually controls it. Personal questions should be expressed tactfully.

Add new phrases to the previous ones:

Let’s look at the whole problem/plan, etc. from a realistic point of view.

Don’t forget about the other side of this problem.

I think I’ve missed some details concerning …

Could you be a little more precise/specific?

I’d like to hear more about …

I can’t give you a definite answer yet.

4. Agree with the statements given below and develop the idea further. Use the introductory phrases:

That’s right.

This is the case.

I hold a similar view.

There is no point in denying that …

I see no point at all to disagree that …

 

1. It was the Arabs who preserved the Greek and Hindu scientific writings through the Dark Ages of Europe.

2. Our main interest during the Arabic period centres on Al-Khowaresmi and Omar Khayyám.

5. Annotate the text in English. Use the phrases:

I.

a) The title of the article is...
It is written by prof... and published in London in the
journal..., No.3, vol.4, 2011	on pp.3-10
magazine..., No.3, vol.4, 2011
collection of articles... by... editorial house in 2011
book... by... editorial house in 2011
b) The article... by prof... is published in the journal..., in N.Y., pp.5-10.

II.

a) The article	deals with	the problem of...
	discusses
	touches
	discloses
	is devoted to
The text tells us about...
b) Disclosing the problem the author dwells on (upon) such matters as...
The major	points
	matters	of the text are the following:...
	problems
	issues
c) The author	pays special attention to …
	draws readers’ attention to …
Much	attention is paid to...
Great
Special
The author	concentrates on, focuses on
	stresses, underlines, emphasises
	points out
	dwells on (upon)
	distinguishes between
	speaks in details
	gives the classification

III.

a) As far as I am an expert in... I
consider	the article to be of some (great) interest for …
believe
suppose
think
guess
b)	In my opinion	the article is of	great some	interest for
	From my point of view
	To my mind
	the students in applied science
	the specialists in...
	a wide range of readers

6. Discuss the statements given below. Use the following phrases:

I will start by saying that…

My own viewpoint is that…

It’s worth considering (appreciating)…

I should like to make it clear that…

One cannot say that…

One must admit that…

 

1. In both the Babylonian and the Egyptian civilizations computations were handled by a small and exclusive group of experts, frequently the priests. Their special and carefully guarded skills and knowledge gave them influence and power. The Pythagoreans may simply have followed their example. Your viewpoint.

2. Stories about the innovators in algebra – such as Cardano’s exploration of imaginary numbers, Abel’s search for the general solution, Galois’ genius, Cayley’s invention of matrices by noticing coefficient patterns in equations – may well serve to excite the modern mind. Your viewpoint.