Text b Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports.

Typically, a bullet is propelled by an explosive compound. A rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing. Rifles traditionally fired a single projectile with each pull of the trigger. Modern assault rifles are capable of firing in bursts or fully automatic modes, and thus overlap somewhat with machine guns. The difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight and feed system; rifles, with their relatively light components (which overheat quickly) and small magazines, are incapable of sustained automatic fire in the way that machine guns are. Generally the rifle is an individual weapon, while the machine gun is crew-served: that is, at least two soldiers are dedicated to carrying and operating it.

By the mid-19th century, however, manufacturing had advanced sufficiently that the musket was replaced by a range of rifles generally single-shot. Early military rifles, such as the Baker rifle were shorter than the day’s muskets. Until the early 20th century rifles tended to be very long. The demand for more compact weapons for cavalrymen led to the carbine, or shortened rifle.

Over the 19th century, bullet design also evolved, the bullets became gradually smaller and lighter. By 1910 the standard blunt-nosed bullet had been replaced with the pointed bullet, an innovation that increased range and penetration. Cartridge design evolved from simple paper tubes containing black powder and shot, to sealed brass cases with integral primer for ignition, while black powder itself was replaced with smokeless powder mixtures, propelling bullets to higher velocities than before.

Currently, rifles are the most common firearm in general use for hunting purposes (with the exception of bird hunting where shotguns are favored). Use in competition is also very common, and includes Olympic events. Rifles derived from military designs have always been popular with civilian shooters, and today semi-automatic versions of modern military rifles such as the AR-15 or AK-47 have become very popular in the United States for target shooting and sporting purposes.

Text C

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle cartridges in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute. The first machine gun was the Maxim Gun, invented by Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884.

Machine guns are divided into submachine guns, machine guns, or autocannons. The distinction between submachine guns and machine guns is little, whether the ammunition is used in pistols (chiefly semi-automatic pistols) or rifles; the difference between machine guns and autocannons is based on caliber, with autocannons using calibers larger than 16 mm. Another factor is whether the gun fires conventional rounds or explosive rounds. Guns firing large-caliber explosive rounds are autocannons.

Unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per bullet fired, a machine gun is designed to fire bullets as long as the trigger is held down and ammunition is fed into the weapon. Machine guns are normally used against unprotected or lightly-protected personnel, or to provide suppressive fire.

Although subdivided into “light”, “medium”, “heavy” or “general purpose”, even the lightest machine guns are much larger and heavier than other automatic weapons. A light machine gun requires one operator to carry ammunition. Medium and heavy machine guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle; when carried on foot, the machine gun and other equipment require additional crew members.

Automatic rifles such as the Browning Automatic Rifle were designed to be a high duty cycle arm for support of other troops, and were often made with quick change barrel assemblies to allow quick replacement of overheated barrels.

Heavy machine guns were often water cooled but air cooled MG have interchangeable barrels, which must be changed periodically to avoid overheating. The higher the rate of fire, the more often barrels must be changed and allowed to cool. To minimize this, most air-cooled guns are fired only in short bursts or at a reduced rate of fire.

Electronically controlled machine guns with ultrahigh rates of fire, like Metal Storm’s weapons may see use in some applications, although current small-caliber weapons of this type have found little use: they are too light for anti-vehicle use, but too heavy (especially with the need to carry a tactically useful amount of ammunition) for individual soldiers.

Modern machine guns are usually mounted in one of four ways. The first is a bipod – often these are integrated with the weapon. This is common on light machine guns and also medium machine guns. Another major way is with a larger tripod, where the person holding it does not form a “leg” of support. Medium and heavy machine guns usually use tripods.

Part III

I. Read the text. For questions 1–7 choose the answers (a, b, c, d) which you think fits best according to the text. Translate the text.

1. A weapon is

a) a tool to produce some equipment

b) a device that changes the direction of a vehicle

c) a tool that attacks in combat

d) a mechanism to hunt

2. Weapons can be as simple as

a) a club

b) a rocket

c) a ballistic missile

d) a rifle

3. Implementation of firearms in warfare began in

a) the Medieval period

b) the Renaissance

c) during the WWI

d) in the 19^th century

4. Firearms are different from earlier weapons because

a) they are heavier

b) they are lighter

c) they are mounted on bipods

d) they store energy in gunpowder

5. The most powerful weapon was invented

a) between 1939 and 1945

b) during the WWI

c) in the 1960s

d) in 2000

6. The greatest advantage of the modern weapon is the ability

a) to attack

b) to attack before the enemy can detect the threat

c). to use human power

d) to threaten the enemy

7. Who uses weapon determines how it can be

a) stored

b) employed

c) bought

d) designed

Weapon

A weapon is a tool used to apply force for hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures. A weapon is therefore a device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force.

In attack, weapons may be used to threaten by direct contact or by use of projectiles. Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The earliest and most primitive weapons were the by-products of early human hunting – claws, teeth and horns of hunted animals, shaped or adapted for use as weapons. Stone axes were used as weapons very early in human history as personal weapons of direct.

The Medieval period, including the Western Middle Ages, was characterized by two Medieval weapons: knights, heavily-armored horsemen and the artillery to negate the increased use of castles. The bayonet is used as a knife.

The Renaissance marked the beginning of implementation of firearms in warfare, with the introduction of guns and rockets to the battlefield.

Firearms are different from earlier weapons because they store energy in a combustible propellant such as gunpowder, rather than in a weight or spring. This energy is released quite rapidly, and can be restored without much effort by the user. They became increasingly important and effective during the 16th century to 19th century (especially during the 1700s when many European nations began to forge empires, some of which survived until the 1900s, with progressive improvements in ignition mechanisms followed by revolutionary changes in ammunition handling and propellant.

Later human-powered weapons were finally excluded from the battlefield. This period was characterized by the development of firearms for infantry and cannons for support, as well as the beginnings of mechanized weapons such as the machine gun, the tank and the wide introduction of aircraft into warfare. All existing technologies were improved between 1939 and 1945. The most powerful weapon invented during this period was the atomic bomb.

The most notable development in weaponry since World War II was the combination and further development of two weapons first used in nuclear weapons and the ballistic missile. However computer-guided weaponry of all kinds, from precision-guided munitions (or “smart bombs”) to computer-aimed tank rounds, has greatly increased weaponry’s accuracy. The element of surprise has long been recognized as a tactical advantage.

There are essentially three facts to classify weapon systems: who uses it, how it works, and what it targets.

Who uses it essentially determines how it can be employed.

What it targets refers to what type of target the weapon is designed to attack.

How it works refers to the construction of the weapon and how it operates.