Exercises

I. Word-study.

Give Russian equivalents to the following words, word combinations from the text:

II. Comprehension check-up.

1) Ask questions to which the following could be answers.

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2) Choose the facts from the text that may help you characterize:

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III. Give a short summary of the information. Andrei dmitrievich sakharov

(1921-89)

T here are many outstanding people in our country. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov is one of them. He was a distinguished scientist and a great human being. A.D. Sakharov was born on the 21st of May in 1921. His parents were teachers. They paid a lot of attention to their son's edu­cation. He graduated from Moscow Uni­versity in 1942. In 1947 he defended his thesis for the degree of Candidate of Sci­ence. Later in 1953 he defended his Doc­torate Thesis and became the member of the Academy of Sciences.

Sakharov received the kudos of his country for his outstanding work in physics, which led to, among other things, the Soviet hydrogen bomb. Whether the world was better off with that application is a matter for speculation, but in the eyes of the Soviet-Union it provided "the equalizer." The statemate between the superpowers produced an era of relative world peace (defined as the absence of a major war) for an unprecedented period in modem times. While working on the bomb he came to the conclusion that any atomic and nuclear weapons should be banned.

In 1966 he took part in his first human rights demonstration, a one-minute silent protest in Pushkin Square. A year later, he wrote a letter to Communist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev defending imprisoned dissidents. He fought courageously for human rights in the former USSR and in 1975 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Sakharov could have spent the rest, of his life basking in the tributes of his countrymen; but when he saw abuse of power, he chose instead to use his prestige to fight the authorities who had recently honored him.

In 1980 he was deprived of all his titles and he had to leave Moscow for Gorky. He was treated with unbelievable indignity and cruelty. He and his family were constantly harassed, as were visitors to his Moscow home. He was not allowed to continue his scientific work. His papers and personal effects were stolen from him by order of the state. Throughout this period he acted with steadfastness and will. His words became rallying points for scientists worldwide, and Sakharov became their symbolic leader in the cause of scientific freedom. When praised for his courage, he replied with modesty, naming others less known who had been imprisoned for similar actions and statements.

To the credit of Mikhail Gorbachev, this disgraceful situation was reversed. Sakharov was allowed to return to his home, to speak freely, and even to travel abroad. Again that would have been a time to relax. Instead, Sakharov responded in characteristic fashion, praising acts of democracy, returning from trips abroad even though he could never be sure of his future in his homeland, and continuing to criticize where he saw only partial movement toward the democracy for which he yearned. His enormous stature stemmed not only from his past as a physicist, but also from the excellence of his judgment in dissent He never simply railed against the system, but always had constructive alternatives to propose.

He was given back all his titles and later he was elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet. A. D. Sakharov died in 1989. He is remembered by everybody as an outstanding humanist, one of the best representatives of humankind who could teach and inspire and who foresaw the changes that are taking place now.