Mind the prepositions

1) to replace smth. by (with) smth. 5) at a speed of 9) due to

2) to speak to smb. about (of) smth. 6) by means of 10) owing to.

3) to prevent smb./ smth. from doing smth. 7) in order to 11) thank to

4) to invite smb. to 8) because of

Ex.2. Describe the relationship between each of the following words (antonyms, synonyms, neither).

1) to invent/ to invite 11) freight/ cargo/ load/ goods

2) narrow/ broad 12) means of transport/ mode of transport

3) to produce/ to manufacture 13) fast/ slow

4) heavy/ light 14) to move/ to run/ to travel

5) to operate/ to drive/ to propel/ to power 15) motive power/ tractive power

6) sleeper/ crosstie/ tie 16) to replace/ to substitute/ to change

7) movement/ traffic 17) to invent/ to devise

8) to draw/ to pull/ to haul 18) mainline/ trunk line

9) to use/ to apply 19) to pull/ to push

10) means of transport/ by means of 20) to delay/ to detain

Ex.3. Match the words in the left column with their translation on the right.

Translate the sentences given below from Russian into English.

1) Машины заменили тяжёлый ручной труд строителей железных дорог. 2) Срок службы бетонных шпал – 40-50 лет. 3) Первые вагонеточные пути использовались на шахтах [a mine] для перевозки угля [coal]. 4) В России первое самоходное транспортное средство было изобретено И.П. Кулибиным в 18 веке. 5) Реактивные двигатели работают

на керосине [kerosene]. 6) Первый паровоз отца и сына Черепановых имел четыре колеса, два из которых были ведущими. 7) Деревянные рельсы были недолговечными [short-lived], поэтому их сначала заменили чугунными, а затем стальными. 8) Существуют различные типы двигателей внутреннего сгорания: такие как дизельный, бензиновый, электрический, реактивный. 9) С изобретением парового двигателя начался новый этап [stage] в развитии транспорта. 10) Люди накопили большой опыт в сооружении мостов и виадуков.

Ex.4. Translate the words given in the box into English.

бетонный двигатель замена из-за изобретение конструкция мощный пар паровой двигатель

проходить срок службы считать топливо тянуть транспортное средство шпала энергия

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.

1) Modern locomotives can ___ the trains of 6,000 tons and heavier. 2) ___ of the old engine will take two hours. 3) In the USA the use of electric ___ in transportation began in 1887. 4) Rudolf Diesel designed ___ which was one of the greatest ___ of the 20^th century. 5) In Britain wooden sleepers last about 20 years, whereas the ___ of a wooden sleeper in India is 15 years. 6) At 100° С water is converted into ___. 7) They had to ___ rather a long distance on foot. 8) This ___ machine is operated by one person. 9) Many old ____ can be seen in the museum of transport. 10) At first coal gas was used as ___ for diesel engines. 11) Steel ___ first appeared in Europe in 1868, mainly ___ the shortage of durable wood in some countries. 12) We couldn’t start the ___ of the car at –30°C. 13) The invention of ___ started the first industrial revolution. 14) The engineers ___ that the main drawback of the new ___ is its high cost. 15) ___ sleepers last long because this material is not subjected to corrosion.

Ex.5. Choose the correct word or words and translate the sentences.

1) The driver of the [steam locomotive; vehicle; electric car]may be fined by the police officer if he violates the traffic rules or drives under the influence of alcohol.

2) George M. Pullman not only[required; invented; replace]the sleeping car, he also was the first to design and build the[restaurant car; wheel; steam engine].

3) Aircrafts are not able to [move; carry; pull] a lot in weight and are used mainly for transporting mail, people and valuable[goods; passengers; freight].[Heavy; light; narrow] loads are usually transported by freight trains.

4) Your car is in good condition but you have to [improve; use; replace]worn-out tires.

5) Electric train can be [driven; propelled; powered]either by electric locomotive or by motor cars.

6) The invention of the [fuel; double-track railway; steam engine]aroused great interest; it was much spoken and written about.

7) The first [electric; jet; steam]locomotives were not strong and they often broke down.

8) An atomic icebreaker needs only a few grams of [coal; diesel fuel; atomic fuel]a week, whereas an ordinary icebreaker needs more than 100 tons of fuel a day.

9) The underground is a very convenient [means of transport; form of transport; vehicle]but it does not suit me because I live a long way from the station.

10) There were many passengers at the airport on New Year’s Eve as many flights were [delayed; required; prevented]because of the snowstorm.

11) New plastic and synthetic materials are widely [applied; used;substituted]for the interior and exterior finishes of carriages.

12) As the railways now have a [standard gauge; narrow gauge; broad gauge], it is possible to travel over several lines without changing bogies [тележка].

Ex.6. Read the following sentences, replacing the Russian words by their English equivalents. Be careful with Grammar!

1) Werner von Siemens [создавать] the first experimental [электровоз]. 2) There was something wrong with the front [колесо] of the car. 3) Box cars [использоваться] for [перевозка грузов] which [требовать] protection from the weather. 4) There was some [двигатель] trouble and the driver asked the passengers to [выходить] the bus. 5) On the first railways [шпала] were laid down along [железнодорожный путь]; nowadays [шпала] are laid down transversely. 6) Samuel Morse [изобретать] a code in which letters of the alphabet [заменять] by dots and dashes. 7) At the railway stations there are announcement boards that inform passengers when and to what [путь] the train [прибывать]. 8) A dispatcher controls [движение поездов] over a definite section of [путь]. 9) The construction of new railway lines is always preceded by long and thorough [изыскательская работа]. 10) In the past the word «engineer» [означать] [конструктор двигателей]. 11) The trains [задерживать] [в пути] by the snowstorm for a couple of hours. 12) After the accident they had to [заменять] [топливный] tank. 13) When the first [самоходное транспортное средство] appeared, measures were taken to limit their speed in many countries.

Ex.7. Pay attention to compound prepositions: according to, as far as, because of, by means of, due to, in addition to, in front of, in order to, on account of, owing to, thanks to, in spite of. Match the beginnings of the sentences with their endings.

Ex.8. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate compound prepositions. Consult the box.

1) ___ the information received by us the ship will arrive on the 10^th of April. 2) I go by bus ___ the State Library and then walk a few blocks to my office. 3) ___ his help we finished our work early. 4) Taking off the plane was delayed ___ a heavy rain. 5) The dispatcher can communicate with the loco driver over long distances ___ a radiotelephone. 6) The new equipment was used ___ test the vibration of the engine. 7) ___ the trouble in the engine there appeared another in the transmission. 8) The work is going on ___ the schedule. 9) He was late ___ heavy traffic. 10) The Metro station is ___ my house. 11) ___ the new project, the railway will be extended ___ the seaport. 12) ___ win in the competition with air transport, the efficiency and quality of freight and passenger services must be improved. 13) The train departure had not been delayed ___ the accident. 14) ___ this device we can carry out more operations in shorter time. 15) ___ the problem with the car, we enjoyed the journey very much. 16) The engine didn't operate well ___ bad fuel. 17) ___ to sails the boat was also supplied with a motor. 18) No traffic was allowed ___ the accident. 19) In big ports ships are loaded and unloaded ___ powerful cranes. 20) ___ the traffic lights ahead, the car continued moving at the same speed. 21) It is necessary to build good roads ___ promote the rapid development of this region. 22) D.I. Mendeleyev arranged chemical elements ___ their atomic weights.