TEST 1
Read the
following text about Alfred Nobel and do the tasks:
ALFRED
NOBEL - A MAN OF CONTRASTS
Alfred
Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man of many
contrasts. He was the son of a bankrupt, but became a millionaire; a scientist
with a love of literature. He made a fortune but he lived a simple life, and
although cheerful in company he was often sad in private. A lover of mankind,
he never had a wife or family to love him; a patriotic son of his land, he died
alone on foreign soil. He invented a new explosive, dynamite, to improve the
peacetime industries of mining and road building, but he saw it used as a
weapon of war to kill and injure his fellow men.
He was born
in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 but moved to Russ with his parents in 1842,
where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for himself in the
engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented the landmine and made a lot of
money from government order for it during the Crimean War, But went bankrupt
soon after .Most of the family returned to Sweden in 1859, where Alfred
rejoined them in 1863, beginning his own study of explosives in his father's
laboratory. He had never been to school or university but studied privately and
by the time he was twenty he was a skillful chemist and excellent linguist,
speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French and English. Like his father he was
imaginative and inventive, but he had better luck in business and showed more
financial sense. He was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific
inventions and built up over 80 companies in 20 different countries. Indeed his
greatness lay in his outstanding ability to combine the qualities of an
original scientist with those of a forward- looking industrialist.
But Nobel's
main concern was never with making money or even making scientific discoveries.
Seldom happy, he was always searching for a meaning to life, and from his youth
had taken a serious interest in literature and philosophy. Perhaps because he
could not find ordinary human love - he never married - he came to care deeply
about the whole mankind. His famous will, in which he left money to provide
prizes for outstanding work in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine,
Literature and Peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideals. And so, the
man who felt he should have died at birth is remembered and respected long
after his death.
Task 1
Read the
statements (1-5) and decide if they are True or False according to what the
text says.
1.
Alfred Nobel was
fond of literature.
2.
Alfred got
married in 1863.
3.
Immanuel Nobel
was a miner and he made a lot of money.
4.
Alfred Nobel was
good at foreign languages.
5.
The most
important thing in the life for A. Nobel was his family.
Task 2
For
question (6-10) choose the answer ( A, B, C or D) which you think fits the best
according to the text
6. Alfred
Nobel’s father was_____.
A.
a
bankrupt
B.
a rich
man
C.
a millionaire
D.
a
scientist
7. A lot of people all over the world
know Alfred Nobel because of______.
A.
his
personality
B.
his work
C.
his love
of mankind
D.
his
cheerful character
8.The family went to Russia
because______.
A.
Father
went bankrupt
B.
Father wanted to make
a lot of money
C.
С. Father wanted to fulfill
government’s orders
D.
Father wanted to
work in the engineering industry
9. Alfred Nobel successfully
studied______.
A.
Privately
B.
At school
C.
At university
D.
At his father’s
laboratory
10. In twenty six years the family returned to Sweden because______
A.
Of the Crimean
War
B.
They became poor
C.
Alfred began to
study
D.
Alfred rejoined
them
Task 3
Your task is to give short answers to the questions (11-15).
The number of words in the answers is important.
Why
was Alfred Nobel a lucky businessman?
11.
Because of his (2
words)______.
What was his main concern during his life?
12. (3
words)______.
Who
deeply loved people?
13. (1
word)______.
Where
did they move in 1842?
14. (2
words)______.
What
kind of work did he provide prizes?
15. (6 words)______.
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