Alexander mackenzie

Sir Alexander Mackenzie /1764-1820/ is a Scottish explorer and trader in North America. He was born on the island of Lewis, in the Scottish Hebrides. When he was 10 his mother died. His father decided to take his family to America.

When the War of Independence broke out Alexander with his aunt was sent to Canada. They set­tled in Montreal. He was offered a job in a trading firm. He was sent to trade with the Indians. He hoped to become the first man to cross the Rocky Mountains.

On June 3, 1789 Alexander Mackenzie began his great journey. He took with him a group of In­dian guides. He followed the river, which now bears his name 2,500 miles long to its mouth in 1789. He spent several months in London visiting scientific museums and buying books and instruments. When he was ready for his new expedition he returned to Canada. He started his new expedition on May 9, 1793. The journey was difficult from beginning to end. He crossed the Rocky Mountains to reach the Pacific on July 22, 1793. Thus Alexander Mackenzie completed one of the greatest feats of North American explora­tion.

John franklin

Sir John Franklin /1786-1847/ is the British explorer of the North-West passage. He was born on April 16, 1786. At 10 he was sent to a private school. His father sent him to Lisbon aboard a merchantman. John enjoyed every minute of the cruise. At 14, in October 1800 he joined the ship of his uncle. The expe­dition to Australia played an important part in Franklin's life. At 19, after his return from Australia, Frank­lin took part in the famous battle of Trafalgar.

In 1819, Franklin, in command of ship, sailed to Arctic. In 1819-22 and 1825-7 he explored the coastline of Northern Canada. At 60 he led an expedition in search of the North-West Passage. His two ships were the first steamships in the Arctic. They spent the winter of 1846 on Beechey Island. John Frank­lin is recognized as the first discoverer of the North-West Passage. Sir John Franklin perished on June 11,1847. Later a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey. The full story of the expe­dition will never be known.

James Watt (1736 —1819)

All the paragraphs in this story are jumbled up. Rearrange them into the correct order and read about the famous British scientist:

A. James Watt also made some other inventions. One of them is a copying machine which was the predecessor of the typewriter. His other invention is a rotative engine that could run machines and became the basis of industry.

B. At eighteen James decided to become a professional instrument-maker and moved to his uncle’s place in Glasgow. Then he continued his studies in London and returned to Glasgow as a skilled instrument-maker.

С He liked mathematics and was fond of designing and making things. When he at last was able to attend school, he became one of the best pupils in mathematics and languages.

D. James Watt retired at the age of 64, but he never stopped working in his workshop inventing new things. When he died in 1819, a monument to his memory was erected in Westminster Abbey.

E One day James Watt was asked to repair a small working model of an atmospheric-steam engine that was used for demonstration at the university lectures. He not only did that but also improved the model and made one of his greatest discoveries — a steam engine.

F His passion for engineering was born when the boy read Isaac Newton's «Elements of Natural Philosophy». His first engineering creation was a small electric machine with which he gave his friends shocks that made them jump.

G. James Watt was born in 1736 in Scotland in the family of a shipbuilder. The boy was not strong and suffered from terrible headaches, so he couldn't go to school and his parents taught him at home. The boy had a very good memory and a natural love of work.

H When Glasgow University needed a qualified specialist to install new instruments in a new observatory, James Watt was invited and did that job brilliantly.