The Secret of Machines

Task 1:
Q. Predict the title ‘The Secret Of Machines’
Ans. I think the title will tell us about how machines are
made, used and how they have evolved into complex
and interesting structures over time.
Task 2:

Task 3:
Q. How did the machines come to life ?
Ans. the machines were taken from the mine, they
were melted in the furnace and the pit, they were cast
and wrought and hammered to design. They were cut
and filed, then they were tooled and gauged to fit.
Q. What does a machine ask of us in return of their
unfailing performance?
Ans: The machines ask only for some water, coal and
oil.
Q. Stanza 2 presents a number of varied machineries in
terms of the task they do. Name at least 10 of them.
Ans: Machine can pull, drag, print, push, lift, drive, run,
swim, fly and read.
Q. How do you think the machines are representative
of mankind?
Ans: Machines are a representative of mankind
because they help in various tasks, for example in this
stanza the poet shows us that machines help people
communicate over long distances.
Q. What is the ‘nine-decked city’? Why is it described
as ‘monstrous?
Ans: Ships with nine decks were referred as nine
decked cities. They were called monstrous because
they were massive.
Q. What are machines capable of?
Ans: Machines are capable of many things, they are
used to cut mountain forests, machines can also be
used to plant uncultivated land with wheat. They help
to supply water and irrigate orchards.
Q. Do you think machines relation to the environment
will always be helpful to mankind?
Ans: Yes I think machines relation to the environment
will always be helpful to mankind as machines can
change landscapes to the way we want it to be.
Q. The laws that rule machines set them different from
humans. What are these differences?
Ans: machines have no emotions or feelings they don't
pity anyone or forgive them if we make a slight mistake
in handling them we could even die.
Q. Why do machines say that stars will shine again?
Ans: machines say that stars will shine again after the
smoke created when building them vanishes, because
nature always prevails and the effects building
machines have on nature isn't permanent.
Task 4:
1. How the machines were built ;source of the
machines - example ore-bed and mine; the
 credibility of the machines to work and last24
hours a day
2. Abilities / skills of the machines ;common human
activities that have been mastered by machines
3. Ability of machines to transmit information across
the world ;1866 first Telegraph cable was invented
;1878 telephone was invented; tells about the
power of the machines- 1000 horses.
4. Tales about a big ocean liner/ ship- Mauretania;
shows the ability of the machines to work on the
water surface machines ;work under humans
command.
5. Shows what machines can do to the landscape
(nature); image of possibilities that machines can
do.
6. Ability of the machines to change nature; shows
that machines can do everything on earth if they
get the exact instructions.
7. Machines have no emotions/feelings; wrong
handling of the machines can be dangerous ;tells
that machines are able to change the nature of all
things except the Gods; The Gods-human beings
who invented the machine.
8. Machines are transitory and after all are created
by humans; humans still stand above the
 machines; machines are always dependent on
humans.
Task 5:

The wheel
Inventor - ancient Mesopotamian people 
Used in vehicles and allow heavy objects to be
moved easily.

The printing press

Inventor - Johannes Gutenberg

Used for mass printing of books newspapers etc.

Inventor – Ts’ai Lun
Uses including printing, packaging,
decorating, writing, cleaning, filter paper,
wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation
paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue,
currency and security paper and a number
of industrial and construction processes.

The compass
Inventor – unknown
Used for Knowing which direction you are
travelling in
Inventor – Karl Benz
Used for travelling and transporting goods
etc.