Every year, six Nobel prizes are awarded for outstanding work in science, literature, economics and the promotion of peace. This international prize was founded by the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and built up companies and laboratories in countries all over the world.
Many Russians have been nominated for the Nobel Prize since it started in 1901 and 19 of them have received the Nobel Prize for their outstanding contributions, particularly in the field of physics, but also in other areas.
The first Russian Nobel winner for medicine (1904) was Ivan Pavlov. He made many remarkable discoveries about blood circulation and the central nervous system and he discovered the conditioned reflex through his research on the digestive system. His experiments on dogs had a great impact on behavioural psychology.
Mickail Sholokhov, the outstanding 20th century Russian writer, wrote and published a number of short stories while completing his most famous work And Quiet Flows the Don, which took him fourteen years to finish. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965.
In 1978, Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitza was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He founded the Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow, and he was the oldest scientist ever to win the award.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded over the years to individuals and organizations that work actively for peace and greater understanding. It was suspended during both World Wars. It has been awarded to Russian physicist and civil rights campaigner Andrei Sakharov (1975) and to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (1990).
1. The Nobel Prize is awarded annually.
2. Ilya Mechnikov is the only Russian who has won the Nobel Prize for medicine.
3. Pavlovs work promoted the development of psychology.
4. Two Russians have been the Nobel Peace Prize winners.
TEST 2
Match the names of Russian Nobel Prizewinners to their descriptions.
a) Boris Pasternak
b) Ivan Bunin
c) Alexander Solzhenitsyn
d) Nikolay Semyonov
e) Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov.
1. A Russian writer wrote The Gentleman from San Francisco, which won him a Nobel Prize in 1933.
2. In 1964, two Russian physicists shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Charles Touwns from the USA.
3. Many of his works are autobiographical, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970.
4. He made a great contribution to the study of chemical chain reactions, and in 1956 he became the first Russian to gain the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
5. A Russian poet and novelist is also known for his translations of Shakespeares tragedies; in 1957 he wrote the novel Doctor Zhivago, which was followed by a Nobel Prize.
UNIT 4. THE WORLD OF CULTURE
GRAMMAR: the Infinitive, the Objective Infinitive Construction.
Vocabulary
achieve v
achievement n
ancient adj
attract v ,
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attraction n
castle n á
describe v
description n
damage v
destroy v
exhibit v , (n)
exhibition (n)
express v
fame n
famous adj
feeling n
heritage n
humorous adj ,
image n
maintain v ,
marble n
masterpiece n
memorial n
origin n
originate v ,
painting n ; ( )
perform v ,
provide v
play a part
preserve v
respect v
restore v
site n
success n
ugly adj ,
value n
valuable adj
violin n
4.1 Read the text and answer questions 1-4. Does it answer questions 2-4 in the same way as you do?
1. What interesting places have you been to?
2. Why do people visit famous sites?
3. What in your opinion can make a place famous?
4. Why do people sometimes damage these places?
THE WORLD HERITAGE
How long would it take you to see the most famous places in the world? Three months? Six months? Twelve months? No. If you visit one famous place every day, it will take you fifteen months!
At the moment there are more than 460 heritage sites around the world from Albania to Zimbabwe. Some of them are man-made, such as Machu Picchu in Peru, others are natural, for example the Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. However, every site is important because each one is part of everyones past, present and future.
Unfortunately, our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of these places. They are damaged by wars, weather, age, traffic and pollution. However, one of the biggest problems for them is vandalism. Some people, visiting the attractions, destroy or damage them. They sometimes spray paint on the walls of the buildings or steal valuable items like mosaics.
At some sites, such as Stonehenge in England, governments have built high fences to protect the site from vandals. But high fences are very ugly and very unfriendly. So, experts suggest some other ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Guards, dogs and television cameras are among them. The problem is that all these solutions are very expensive.
Other experts say that the best solution is education. When people are taught to respect their history, they will not destroy or damage it, but preserve it.
In 1972 countries around the world united to form The World Heritage Organisation. Today, the organisation helps to maintain and restore the most important attractions from our history and spreads the information about the value of historic sites.
4.2 Conjunctions. Match the following English and Russian expressions:
| 1. , 2. 3. , 4. () 5. 6. , 7. , 8. 9. () 10. | a. as for (me) b. both and c. by means of d. by the way e. on the other hand f. as well as g. compared with/to h. either or i. on the one hand j. neither nor |
4.3 Match the conjunctions to the sentences.
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| because if while since until unless when as though although | 1.She was painting a landscape ____ I saw her. 2.The wind was cold ____ it was the month of December. 3.Lets sunbathe ____ the sun is in the sky, then go indoors. 4.You need not come with us ____ you wish to. 5.I really like rock music. I dont like jazz ____. 6.We will go sightseeing ____ the weather is fine. 7.He hasnt visited any museums ____ last summer. 8.The match did not take place ____ of the heavy rain. 9.We waited ____ she came. 10. ____ they were very tired, they continued working. |
4.4 Read the text and complete it with the appropriate sentences 1-3.
THE ROLE OF MUSEUMS
| 1. What is more, people can learn about the history and culture of other countries. 2. Moreover, many have laboratories for preserving ancient objects. 3. In order todo this, historians and archaeologists have to do extensive research. | The primary function of any museum is to educate the general public by exhibiting historical objects which have been found. Museums provide clear description of these objects. They explain where they are from, when and how they were made, and what they were used for. _____ (A). Museums help us to understand our history. _____ (B). The exhibition of Tutankhamens tomb is a good example of this. The number of gold objects and other artefacts found in the tomb was extremely impressive. This exhibition travelled the world and taught people about ancient Egypt. Museums are important centres for education and research. _____ (C). |
4.5 Grammar for revision. Put the verbs into the correct passive tense, then use the prompts 1 - 4 to ask and answer questions in pairs.
The Louvre is the national museum and art gallery of France. In 1546, work on the Louvre 1) __ (start) by King Francis I. The Louvre 2) __ (use) as a royal palace until 1682. It 3) __ (open) to the public as a museum and art gallery in 1793.
Today many of the worlds most famous paintings 4) __ (keep) in the Louvre, as well as sculptures, jewellery and other forms of art. It 5) __ (visit) by millions of people every year.
Model:When/work/the Louvre/start?
SA: When was work on the Louvre started?
SB: Work on the Louvre was started in 1546.
1. What/ the Louvre /use as/until 1682?
2. When / the Louvre / open/ to the public?
3. What /keep/in the Louvre?
4. How many people /it /visit by / every year?
4.6 In pairs, ask and answer questions ( Model 1), then talk about each place, as in Model 2.
| Name: the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France Designer: Gustave Eiffel Completed: 1889 Material: iron Built as: memorial to the French Revolution Name: Arch of Triumph, Paris, France Designer:Jean Chalgrin Completed:1835 Material:stone blocks Built as: memorial to Napoleons victorious battles | Name: the Parthenon, Athens, Greece Designer: Ictinus & Callicrates Completed: 423 BC Material: marble Built as: temple of goddess Athena Name: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy Designer: Bonnano Pisano Completed: 14 century Material: white marble Built as: bell tower of Pisa Cathedral |
Model 1
SA: Where is the Eiffel Tower located?
SB: It is located in Paris. Who was it designed by?
SA: It was designed by Gustave Eiffel. When was it completed?
SB: It was completed in 1889. What is it made of?
SA: It is made of iron. Why was it built?
SB: It was built as an entrance to the Second World Exhibition.
Model 2
The Eiffel Tower is located in Paris, in France. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel and it was completed in 1889. It is made of iron. It was built as an entrance to the Second World Exhibition.
4.7 Exam Task. Complete the dialogue with the questions in the list, then make your own dialogue about a famous site.
a) How old is it? b) What does it look like? c) Whats that?
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A: Did you have a good time in Greece, Mary?
B: Yes, thanks. It was wonderful. The best place we visited was the Acropolis.
A: Really? _____ (1)
B: Its an ancient building on top of a hill in Athens.
A: Oh. _____ (2)
B: It was built by the ancient Greeks in 500 BC.
A: Thats amazing. _____ (3)
B: Its made of marble and it has lots of columns. Its really beautiful.
A: It sounds fantastic. I wish Id been there with you.
4.8 Exam Task. Collect the information about any widely known sight in our country or abroad and give a report on it. Talk about:
what it is famous for the name of the architect (if known)
place where its located the material used
when and why it was built why it attracts people now.
