SHORT STORIES AND RIDDLES

Self Control

Sir Isaac Newton's temper was very mild, nothing could disturb it, as you may see from the following: Isaac Newton had a little dog which was called Diamond. One evening when Newton went out of his study, he left Diamond there. After a few minutes Newton returned; he saw that the lighted candle was pushed over on its side among some papers and that the nearly finished work of many years was in flames.

As Newton was an old man already, the loss was irreparable, but he didn't punish the dog, he only exclaimed. “O Diamond, Diamond, you do not know the mischief that you have done!”

self-control самообладание

was pushed overбыла опрокинута

was in flames охвачена пламенем

irreparable невозместимый

Is It Warm Under the Snow?

Do you know why peasants like much snow in winter? The first reason is that the ground will have water in the spring. There is another reason. Snow is like a blanket; so the warmth cannot escape from the ground.

Tie a thermometer to a long stick. Then find a deep snowdrift and put the stick with the thermometer into the snow at varying depths. Keep it there for five minutes each time. Pull the thermometer up quickly and read the temperature at once. The things which you need for the experiment: a thermometer, a long stick.

Has Air Weight?

You may not feel it, but air has weight. Let us make an experiment. In this experiment you will weigh a small amount of air. The things you need for this experiment: a pencil, a piece of paper, a football, a scale.

First let as much air out of the ball as possible. .Then weigh the ball. Write down how much it weighs.

Now blow up the ball as full of air as you can.

Weigh the ball again. It will weigh more than it weighed before you blew air into it. Write down how much the ball weighs. Then subtract the amount which it weighed before and you will know how much the air in your ball weighs.

Kitchen Icebergs

Do you know that only a very small part of an iceberg (its one-ninth) is visible. So most of it (eight-ninths) is under water. That is why icebergs are so dangerous for ships.

Let's make an experiment which will show you why most of the iceberg is under water. The things you need for this experiment: a bowl, a glass of water, a few cubes of ice.

Put two or three ice cubes in a bowl. Fill a glass with water. Now pour the water into the bowl. Try to cover the ice cubes with water. You will not be able to do it. Even if you fill the bowl, they will still float on top. Why? Because ice is lighter than water. But the large part of each ice cube will remain below the surface of the water.

At the Lesson

Teacher: Explain, please, the effect of cold and heat, and give examples.

Pupil: Cold contracts, heat expands. That's why days are shorter in winter and longer in summer.

effect действие

contract сокращать, уменьшать(ся)

expand расширять

Riddles

I.

A hundred little brothers, 
They are all alike. 
Guess them by and by.

(The centimetres in a meter.)

guess угадать, догадаться

II. What is it that gets larger the more you take from it?

(A Hole.)

III. What is it that gives light to the world although it is black?

(Ink.)

IV. What goes without moving from its place?

(A clock.)