Field of science and research

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Pre-reading tasks

1. You are to read the text “Mathematics” (“Physics”). In your opinion,

– what are the current issues in your field of science?

– what are the latest achievements or fundamental discoveries made in your field of science?

2. Can you name some distinguished researchers (scientists) working in your field of science? What are they famous for?

3. Write words for their definitions. Make use of the initial letters to identify the words.

a. e … result, outcome; impression produced on the mind of a spectator, hearer, reader, etc;

b. a … forward movement, progress;

c. o … in a position to be easily noticed, attracting notice;

d. i … to have an effect on;

e. p … … to advance, to put before people for consideration;

f. r … (having existed, been made, happened) not long before, begun not long ago;

g. i … to examine, to inquire into, to make a careful study of;

h. p … to say, to tell in advance;

i. c … … to perform, to conduct; to do as required or specified, to fulfill.

4. Match nouns and verbs to form collocations. Use each word (a verb or a noun) once only. Make use of the texts below to fulfill the task.

Reading

Read the text “Mathematics” and choose appropriate words to fill in the blanks.

TEXT A

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics is often 1) … as the study of topics such as quantity, structure, 2) … and change. Another 3) …, held by many mathematicians, is that mathematics is the body of 4)…. justified by deductive reasoning, starting from axioms and definitions.

Practical mathematics, in nearly every society, is used for such purposes as accounting, 5) … and predicting astronomical events. Mathematical discovery or 6) … often involves discovering and cataloging patterns, without 7) … for application. Other 8) … … …, such as the natural sciences, engineering, economics, or medicine, make use of many new mathematical discoveries.

Mathematics is a Greek word, and, by origin, it means something that must be learnt or understood, perhaps “acquired knowledge” or “knowledge acquirable by learning” or “general knowledge”. The word mathematics is a contraction of all these phrases. What is mathematics in the modern sense of the term? There is no simple, general and unique answer to this question.

Mathematics as a science, viewed as a 9) …, is a collection of branches. The largest branch is that which 10) … the ordinary whole numbers, fractions, and irrational numbers, or what, collectively, is 11) … the real number system. Arithmetic, algebra, the study of 12) …, the calculus, differential equations are all developments of the real number 13) …. This part of mathematics is termed the mathematics of number. A second branch is geometry 14) … of several geometries. Mathematics contains many more fields. Each branch has the same logical structure: it begins with certain 15) …., such as the whole numbers or integers in the mathematics of number, and such as point, line and triangle in geometry.

The basic concepts of the main branches of mathematics are abstractions from experience, “implied by their obvious physical counterparts. But it is noteworthy, that many more concepts are introduced which are, in essence, creations of the human mind with or without any help of experience. Irrational numbers, negative numbers and so forth are not wholly abstracted from the physical practice, for the man’s mind must create the notion of entirely new types of numbers to which operations such as addition, multiplication, and the like can be applied.

Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with the application of mathematical knowledge to other domains. Such applications include numerical analysis, mathematical physics, mathematics of engineering, linear programming, mathematical biology, information theory, probability and statistics, cryptography and combinatorics, financial mathematics, etc.

1. a) explained b) defined c) named d) characterized

2. a) area b) room c) space d) location

3. a) vision b) prospect c) sight d) view

4. a) learning b) knowledge c) erudition d) data

5. a) measuring b) weighing c) counting d) evaluating

6. a) examination b) research c) hypothesis d) theory

7. a) regard b) reference c) estimation d) concern

8. a) fields of knowledge b) branches c) sciences d) theories

9. a) entire b) whole c) undivided d) complete

10 a) develops b) investigates c) inspects d) modifies

11. a) called b) denoted c) exclaimed d) labelled

12. a) uses b) functions c) activities d) operations

13 a) procedure b) scheme c) system d) arrangement

14. a) including b) containing c) consisting d) embracing

15. a) hypotheses b) ideas c) thoughts d) concepts

Read the whole text attentively to fulfill the tasks given in Comprehension check.

Comprehension check

1. Choose the best ending a, b, or c.

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