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, an industrialist who managed to remain an idealist. He made a fortune but 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 native land, he died alone on foreign soil.

He invented a new explosive, dynamite, to improve the peacetime industries of mining and road building, but saw it used as a weapon of war to kill and injure his fellow men. During his useful life he often felt he was useless: «Alfred Nobel», he once wrote of himself, «ought to have been put to death by a kind doctor as soon as, with a cry, he entered life». World-famous for his works he was never personally well known, for throughout his life he avoided publicity. «I do not see» he once said, «that I have deserved any fаme and I have no taste for it», but since his death, his name has brought fame and glory to others.

He was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 but moved to Russia 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 orders 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 had studied privately and by the time he was twenty was a skilful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French and English.

Like his father, Alfred Nobel 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 lays 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 with making scientific discoveries.

Seldom happy he was always searching for a meaning of 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 of mankind. He was always generous to the poor: «I'd rather take care ofthe stomachs of the living than the glory of the dead in the form of stone memorials», he once said. His greatest wish, however, was to see an end to wars and thus peace between nations, and he spent much time and money working for this cause until his death, in Italy in 1896. His famous will inwhich he left money to provide prizes for outstanding works 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.

Vocabulary

inventor - изобретатель

industrialist - промышленник

cheerful - жизнерадостный

soil - земля

injure - ранить

useless - бесполезный

deserve - заслужить

fame - слава

glory - гордость

sense - чувство

concern - интерес, забота, зд. цель

generous - щедрый

cause - дело

will - воля

 

Ex.1. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Was Alfred Nobel the son of a millionaire?

2. How did he make a fortune?

3. What did Alfred invent?

4. Did he have a family?

5. Was Alfred personally well known?

6. When and where was he born?

7. Why did Alfred move to Russia?

8. Did Immanuel Nobel invent the landmine or dynamite?

9. What kind of person was Alfred?

10. What was his greatest wish?

 

Ex.2. Переведите на русский язык слова и словосочетания:

Great inventor; manage to remain; make a fortune; cheerful in company; native land; foreign soil; mining; fellow men; useless; publicity; deserve; fame; glory; strong position; order; skilful chemist; greatness; ability; concern; generous; stomach; cause; will; respect.

Ex.3. Переведите на английский язык слова и словосочетания:

Жизнерадостный; промышленник; разбогатеть; чужая земля; улучшить; ранить соотечественников; бесполезный; всемирно-известный; избегать гласности; заслужить славу; прочная позиция; превосходный лингвист; изобретательный; главная цель; щедрый для бедных; уважать.

 

Ex.4. Подберите антонимы:

Bankrupt; foreign soil; manage; make a fortune; millionaire; simple life; sad; native land; useful life; world-famous; strong position; excellent linguist; skilful chemist; luck; generous; cheerful; useless; respect.

 

Ex.5. Соответствуют ли данные предложения содержанию текста:

1. Alfred Nobel’s father went bankrupt before the birth of Alfred.

2. Alfred’s father was a successful inventor.

3. Alfred studied chemistry.

4. Alfred knew science but was a poor linguist.

5. Immanuel Nobel was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific inventions and built up over eighty companies in different countries.

6. Throughout his life Alfred Nobel avoided publicity.

7. Nobel’s inventions made him a millionaire.

8. He was interested in literature and philosophy.

9. Alfred Nobel died in Paris in 1896.

10. After Alfred Nobel’s death his name brought him fame and glory.

 



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