The man behind the Nobel Prize
A
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all comers of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his lost will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.
B
Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on October 21. 1833. His father Immanuel Nobel was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and buildings in Stockholm. In connection with his construction work Immanuel Nobel also experimented with different techniques for blasting rocks. Successful in his industrial and business ventures, Immanuel Nobel was able, in 1842, to bring his family to St. Petersburg. There, his sons were given a first class education by private teachers. The training included natural sciences, languages and literature. By the age of 17 Alfred Nobel was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. His primary interests were in English literature and poetry as well as in chemistry and physics. Alfred's father, who wanted his sons to join his enterprise as engineers, disliked Alfred's interest in poetry and found his son rather introverted.
C
In order to widen Alfred's horizons his father sent him abroad for further training in chemical engineering. During a two year period Alfred Nobel visited Sweden, Germany. France and the United States. In Paris, the city he came to like best, he worked in the private laboratory of Professor T. J. Pelouze, a famous chemist. There he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented nitroglycerine, a highly explosive liquid. But it was considered too dangerous to be of any practical use. Although its explosive power greatly exceeded that of gunpowder, the liquid would explode in a very unpredictable manner if subjected to heat and pressure. Alfred Nobel became very interested in nitroglycerine and how it could be put to practical use in construction work. He also realized that the safety problems had to be solved and a method had to be developed for the controlled detonation of nitroglycerine.
D
After his return to Sweden in 1863, Alfred Nobel concentrated on developing nitroglycerine as an explosive. Several explosions, including one (1864) in which his brother Kmil and several other persons were killed, convinced the authorities that nitroglycerine production was exceedingly dangerous. They forbade further experimentation with nitroglycerine within the Stockholm city limits and Alfred Nobel had to move his experimentation to a barge anchored on Lake Malaren. Alfred was not discouraged and in 1864 he was able to start mass production of nitroglycerine. To make the handling of nitroglycerine safer Alfred Nobel experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes. In 1867 he patented this material under die name of dynamite. To be able to detonate the dynamite rods he also invented a detonator (blasting cap) which could be ignited by lighting a fuse. These inventions were made at the same time as the pneumatic drill came into general use. Together these inventions drastically reduced the cost of blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building canals and many other forms of construction work.
E
The market for dynamite and detonating caps grew very rapidly and Alfred Nobel also proved himself to be a very skillful entrepreneur and businessman.Over the years he founded factories and laboratories in some 90 different places in more than 20 countries. Although he lived in Paris much of his life he was constantly traveling. When he was not traveling or engaging in business activities Nobel himself worked intensively in his various laboratories, first in Stockholm and later in other places. He focused on the development of explosives technology as well as other chemical inventions, including such materials as synthetic rubber and leather, artificial silk, etc. By the time of his death in 18% he had 355 patents.
F
Intensive work and travel did not leave much time for a private life. At the age of 43 he was feeling like an old man. At this time he advertised in a newspaper"Wealthy, highly-educated elder gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household." The most qualified applicant turned out to be an Austrian woman. Countess Bertha Kinsky. After working a very short time for Nobel she decided to return to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. In spite of this Alfred Nobel and Bertha von Suttner remained friends and kept writing letters to each other for decades. Over the years Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race. She wrote a famous book, Lay Down Your Arms and became a prominent figure in the peace movement. No doubt this influenced Alfred Nobel when he wrote his final will which was to include a Prize for persons or organizations who promote peace. Several years after the death of Alfred Nobel, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to Bertha von Suttner.
G
Alfred Nobel died in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896. When his will was opened it came as a surprise that his fortune was to be used for Prizes in Physics, Chemistry. Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The executors of his will were two young engineers, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist. They set about forming the Nobel Foundation as an organization to take care of the financial assets left by Nobel for this purpose and to coordinate the work of the Prize-Awarding Institutions. This was not without its difficulties since the will was contested by relatives and questioned by authorities in various countries.
H
Alfred Nobel's greatness lay in his ability to combine the penetrating mind of the scientist and inventor with the forward-looking dynamism of the industrialist. Nobel was very interested in social and peace-related issues and held what were considered radical views in his era. He had a great interest in literature and wrote his own poetry and dramatic works. The Nobel Prizes became an extension d a fulfillment of his lifetime interests.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
1 The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1895.
2 Nobel's father wanted his son to have better education than what he had had.
3 Nobel was an unsuccessful businessman.
4 Bertha von Suttner was selected by Nobel himself for the first peace prize.
5 The Nobel Foundation was established after the death of Nobel
6 Nobel's social involvement was uncommon in the 1800’s.
Questions 7-13
Complete the notes below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.
Table 1
Education:
Having accumulated a great fortune in his business, Nobel's father determined to give his son the best education and sent him abroad to be trained in 7 During Nobel's study in Paris, he worked in a private laboratory, where he came in contact with a young Scientist (engineer) 8 and his invention nitroglycerine, a more powerful explosive than 9
Table 2
Benefits in construction works:
Nobel became really interested in this new explosive and experimented on it. But nitroglycerine was too dangerous and was banned for experiments within the city of 10 So Nobel had to move his experiments to a lake. To make nitroglycerine easily usable, Nobel invented dynamite along with 11 while in the meantime 12 became popular, all of which dramatically lowered the 13 of construction works
原文翻译：
A 自1901年，全球各地在物理、化学、民学、文学及和平领域作出重大贡献的人们就开始被授予诺贝尔奖。阿尔弗德•诺贝尔在1895年写下最后的一份遗嘱时，将大量的遗产留作创建诺贝尔奖，为诺贝尔奖奠定了基础
B 阿尔弗雷德•诺贝尔于1833年10月21日出生于斯德哥尔摩。他的父亲伊曼纽尔•诺贝尔是位工程师兼发明家，在斯德哥尔摩建造桥梁和建筑。在建筑工程中，伊曼纽尔-诺贝尔也试验过用不同的技术爆破岩石。由于在工业和企业经营上的成功，伊曼纽尔-诺贝尔于1842年带着全家人来到圣彼得堡。 在那里，他雇请私人教师对他的孩子进行一流的教育。上课内容包括自然科学、语言和文学。到17岁时，阿尔弗雷德•诺贝尔己经能讲流利的瑞典语、俄语、法语、英语和德语了。他主要的兴趣是英国文学和诗歌以及化学和物理。诺贝尔的父亲希望他的儿子们能成为工程师，继承他的事业，所以他对诺贝尔爱好诗歌这一点感到很不悦，而且他发现诺贝尔相当内向。
C 为了扩大儿子的视野，老诺贝尔送儿子出国深造化学工程。诺贝尔在两年里访问了瑞典、德国、法国和美国。他最喜欢巴黎，在那里， 他在著名的化学家T.J.佩卢兹教授的私人实验室工作。同样在那里，他认识了年轻的意大利化学家阿斯卡尼奥•索布雷罗。索布雷罗在三年前发明了爆炸能力极强的炸药一一硝化甘油。不过由于危险太大，当时没有考虑将它投入实际应用。虽然硝化甘油的爆炸力远远超过火药，但这种液体炸药在一定温度和压力的作用下会以难以预测的方式发生爆炸。诺贝尔对硝化甘油以及如何将它投入建筑工程的实际运用产生了浓厚的兴趣。他也意识到需要解决安全问题，以及如何控制硝化甘油的爆破。
D 于1863年4返瑞典后，诺贝尔开始专注于制造硝化甘油炸药。经历几次爆炸事故（包括1864年那次事故，他的弟弟埃米尔和其他几个人被炸死）后，当局认定硝化甘油产品极度危险，于是明令禁止在斯德哥尔摩进行硝化甘油试验。诺贝尔只好把他的实验搬到梅拉伦湖的一只船上进行。诺贝尔并没有因此气馁，并于1864年开始大规模生产硝化甘油。为了使硝化甘油的使用更加安全，诺贝尔用了不同的添加剂进行试验。不久后，诺贝尔发现硝化甘油可被硅藻土吸附，变成浆糊，然后可以塑造成大小合适的棒体，描进钻孔里。1867年，他将发明的炸药命名为“达那马特”（又称安全炸药）并取得专利。为了引爆这种炸药，他还发明了用导火线点燃的雷管引爆装罝。诺贝尔的这些发明问世时，恰逢风钻在大规模地被使用。这些装罝的结合大大地减少了爆破岩石、开凿隧道、挖掘河道以及其他许多建筑工程的成本。
E 诺贝尔发明的炸药和雷管的市场发展迅速，而这也证明了他是一个非常成功的企业家和商人。多年来,诺贝尔在20多个国家约90个不同的地方建立了工厂和实验室。尽管定居巴黎，但是他大部分的时间都在各地奔波。如果不是在外奔波或为商业活动应酬,诺贝尔就会在他的各个实验室(先是在斯德哥尔摩的,后来在其他地方）忙碌工作。他专注于改良爆炸技术以及其他化学发明,包括合成橡胶和皮革、人造丝等物质。到1896年诺贝尔逝世时，他已获得355项专利。
F 紧张的工作和出行使得他没有多少私人时间，到43岁时，诺贝尔觉得自己就像是个老人。于是他在报纸上刊登了一则广告，称“一个富有的、受过良好教育的老绅士寻找一位成熟女士，她要能担当秘书和管家，且有语言天赋”。结果,最合格的应聘者是奥地利的女伯爵贝莎•金斯基。在为诺贝尔工作了很短的一段时间后，她决定返回奥地利，与阿瑟•冯•苏特纳伯爵结婚。尽管如此,诺贝尔和贝莎•冯•苏特纳仍保持朋友关系，且在此后的几十年里互有通信。多年来,贝莎•冯•苏特纳越发猛烈地批评军备竞赛。她写了一本名著《放下你的武器》，还成为了和平运动的一个杰出人物。这无疑对诺贝尔产生了影响。在他的最后一份遗嘱里，诺贝尔增设了和平奖,以奖励那些促进和平的个人或团体。在诺贝尔去世的几年后，挪威议会决定把1905年的诺贝尔和平奖授予贝莎•冯•苏特纳。
G 诺贝尔于1896年12月10日在意大利的圣雷莫去世。当打开他的遗嘱时，人们大吃一惊，他们没有想到诺贝尔会把大量遗产留作表彰那些在物理、化学、生理学或医学、文学和和平方面做出重大贡献的人。诺贝尔的遗嘱执行人是两位年轻的工程师,他们分别是拉格纳，索尔曼和鲁道夫•利耶查李维斯特。他们着手成立诺贝尔基金会，来管理诺贝尔留下的金融资产，并协助颁奖机构的工作。当然，由于这份遗嘱受到诺贝尔亲戚的异议以及各国当局的质疑，他们开展的工作还是遇到了困难。
H 诺贝尔的伟大之处在于他综合了科学家、发明家的睿智和实业家的高瞻远瞩。同时,他对社会及与和平相关的问题非常感兴趣,并持有在他那个时代被认为是激进的想法。此外,诺贝尔十分爱好文学,还创作了自己的诗歌和戏剧作品。可以说,诺贝尔奖是他毕生各种兴趣的延伸和实现。
答案：
1.FALSE 2.NOT GIVEN 3.FALSE 4.FALSE 5.TRUE 6.TRUE
7.chemical engineering 8.Ascanio Sobrero 9.gunpowder
10.stockholm 11.detonator 12.pneumatic drill 13.coast
