Answer the questions using the phrases given above. Speak on participating in a scientific gathering

Have you ever attended a scientific congress / conference / symposium?

What is the purpose of this gathering?

What problem was it devoted to?

When and where was it held?

Who was its president?

What was the approximate number of the participants?

Were there any foreign delegates invited and if so, in what way were language difficulties dealt with?

Where was the opening ceremony held?

Who lectured in the opening plenary session and what was the subject under discussion?

What was the number of sessions at work and how many sessions were usually held simultaneously?

Were the abstracts of the main communications available to the delegates before the meetings?

Which of the problems touched upon attracted general attention and why?

Who was the most significant communication at this conference given by?

What problems did it deal with?

Have you given a contribution at this conference?

How much time were you allowed to develop your subject?

How much time was set aside for discussions?

Did this time prove adequate?

Were the discussions lively?

Did you take part in any of these discussions?

When were the proceedings closed?

What was this conference especially noteworthy for?

Were there any interesting tours or excursions arranged for its participants?

How were the delegates accommodated?

Was there any banquet given to the participants and guests of this conference?

Who addressed the banquet?

Are you going to attend any other scientific gathering of this kind in the nearest future?

When and where is it going to be held?

What are you going to talk about?

What was on the agenda?

What is the subject?

Additional materials (для дополнительного изучения самостоятельно):

MIKHAIL LOMONOSOV

Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov (1711-1765) will forever remain in the history of Russian science as "the first and the greatest." M. V. Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art, philology, optical devices and others. Lomonosov was also a poet and influenced the formation of the modern Russian literary language.

Aspiring to get an education, Lomonosov left his native village of Kholmogory in Northern Russia in 1730 and travelled all the way to Moscow on foot. The son of a poor fisherman, he had to conceal his origin in order to be admitted to the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy of Moscow, where he started his education at the age of 19. Recognized by his instructors as an excellent student, he completed his education in St. Petersburg and in Germany.

He became the first Russian professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg Academy of Science in 1745. His major scientific accomplishment was in the field of physical chemistry, with other notable discoveries in astronomy, geophysics, geology, metallurgy and mineralogy. Mikhail Lomonosov was the one who created a system of higher education in Russia. The foundation of a university in Moscow became possible only due to the efforts of M. Lomonosov, the outstanding Russian scholar and scientist, a person of encyclopedic knowledge. In 1940 on the occasion of its 185th Anniversary, Moscow State University was named after him.

Interested in furthering Russian education, Lomonosov wrote a grammar that reformed the Russian literary language by combining Old Church Slavonic with the vulgar tongue. He published the first history of Russia in 1760 and invented a new system of meter in his poetry, which consisted mostly of eloquent odes. He also revived the art of Russian mosaic and built a mosaic and colored-glass factory.

Famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was quite right when he wrote about the giant of 18th century world science: "Combining the great will-power and the remarkable strength of perception, Lomonosov embraced all the branches of learning. A thirst for a deeper appreciation of things proved an overwhelming passion with that impassioned spirit. A historian, mechanic, chemist, physicist, astronomer, mining specialist, mineralogist, geographer, historian, philologist, artist and poet, he had experienced it all and perceived it all ...".

Even so, the vast scope of Lomonosov's interests and the profundity of his knowledge appear amazing for that age. He carried out researches and the scientific and technical projects that were not simply enormous - they were immeasurable.

Lomonosov invented the first gas barometer, developed the methods of exact weighting, brought up the kinetic theory of warmth, developed the method of processing the colour glasses, which he used for his great mosaics. Lomonosov proved the organic origin of oils, stone coal and amber.

Lomonosov was the first Russian natural scientist of world importance. He had encyclopedic knowledge, interests and abilities, and he also is known as a poet, artist, astronomer and Russian historian, who made important contributions to both literature and science. Most of his accomplishments, however, were unknown outside Russia until long after his death in St. Petersburg on April 15, 1765.

Legacy.

His granddaughter Sophia Konstantinova (1769–1844) married Russian military hero and statesman General Nikolay Raevsky. His great-granddaughter was Princess Maria (Raevskaya) Volkonskaya, the wife of the Decembrist Prince Sergei Volkonsky.[23]

A lunar crater bears his name, as does a crater on Mars. In 1948, the underwater Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean was named in his honor. Moscow State University was renamed ‘’M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University’’ in his honor in 1940.

The Lomonosov Gold Medal was established in 1959 and is awarded annually by the Russian Academy of Sciences to a Russian and a foreign scientist.

http://www.tristarmedia.com/bestofrussia/scientists.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Lomonosov