ganize my thoughts so that I can explain them to others often shows me a new way forward.
Sue: But what about emotional fulfillment, Stephen? Even a brilliant physicist needs other people to find that.
Stephen: Physics is all very well, but it is completely cold. I couldn’t carry on with my life if I only had physics. Like anyone else I need warmth, love and affection. Again, I’m very fortunate, much more fortunate than other people with my disabilities, in receiving a great deal of love and affection. Music is also very important for me.
Sue: Tell me, which gives you greater pleasure, physics or music?
Stephen: I have to say that the pleasure I have had when everything works out in physics is more intense than I have ever had with music. But things work out like that only a few times in one’s career, whereas one can put on a disc whenever one wants. For me and many others the Beatles came as a welcome breath of fresh air to a rather stale and sickly pop scene.
Sue: Stephen, if you could take only one record to the desert island, which one would it be?
Stephen: It would have to be the Mozart Requiem. I could listen to that until the batteries in my disc Walkman ran out. That just about sums up my life. Mozart has always been one of my favourites. He wrote an incredible amount of music. For my fiftieth birthday I was given his complete works on CD, over two hundred hours of it. I’m still working my way through it. One of the greatest is the Requiem. Mozart died before the Requiem was finished, and it was completed by one of his students from fragments Mozart had left.
Sue: Despite all the honours,– and I should specifically mention that you’re Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, Isaac Newton’s chair – you decided to write a popular book about your work, for, I think, a very simple reason. You needed the money.
46
Stephen: While I thought I might make a modest amount from a popular book, the main reason I wrote A Brief History of Time was because I enjoyed it. I was excited about the discoveries that have been made in the last twenty-five years, and I wanted to tell people about them.
Sue: Indeed, it has broken all the records and got into the Guinness Book of Records for the length of time it’s been on the best-seller lists and it’s still there. Nobody seems to know how many copies have been sold worldwide, but it’s certainly in excess of ten million. People buy it, obviously, but do they read it?
Stephen: I know Bernard Levin got stuck on page twenty-nine, but I know plenty of people have got further. All over the world, people come up to me and tell me how much they have enjoyed it. They may not have finished it or have understood everything they read. But they have at least got the idea that we live in a universe governed by rational laws that we can discover and understand.
Vocabulary Notes
1.to be familiar with – to know
2.to regard – to consider
3.to malfunction – if a system malfunctions, it fails to work properly (can be used as a noun)
4.colour-blind − someone who is colour-blind has something wrong with his eyes, he finds it difficult to distinguish between colours, especially red and green
5.self-sufficient – someone who is self-sufficient is able to live happily without anyone else
6.an inspiration − to have inspiration is to have new ideas which make you enthusiastic and encourage you to do something
7.to occupy – if something occupies you it requires your efforts, attention and time
8.to rely on – to depend on
9.fulfillment – a feeling of satisfaction
10.to carry on with – to continue
11.affection – attention – caring − love
12.incredible − unbelievable
47
13.to be excited about − to be happy and nervous
14.to get the idea − to understand
POST-READING TASK (to be done in writing)
I. On the basis of the dialogue formulate sentences characterizing Hawking as
1.a personality
2.a scientist
II. Formulate the reasons Hawking wrote “A Brief History of Time”.
III. Join these sentences using the suggestions in brackets (whereas, and, because, but, despite, before, While)
1.My life can hardly be described as usual, …. I feel it is normal in
spirit.
2.I’m naturally a bit introverted, … . my difficulties in communication have forced me to rely on myself.
3.Physics is all very well, …. it is completely cold.
4.Things work out like this only a few times in one’s career, … one can put on a disk whenever one wants.
5.Mozart died, …. the Requiem was finished, … it was completed by one of his students from fragments Mozart had left.
6.You decided to write a popular book about your work, …. all the honours.
7.……. I thought I might make a modest amount from a popular book, the main reason I wrote A Brief History of Time was ……. I enjoyed it.
8.I was excited about the discoveries that have been made in the last twenty-five years …. I wanted to tell people about them.
5.People buy it, obviously, … do they read it?
IV. Put in the prepositions.
1.Are you are familiar …. the isolation of a desert island?
2.Is Stephen Hawking cut off … normal physical life?
3.His life can hardly be described as usual, but it is normal … spirit.
4.His difficulties … communication have forced him to rely … him-
self.
5.He is much more fortunate than other people …. his disabilities.
V. Study grammar point VII and translate the sentences using the second possibility.
48
1.Мне предоставили аппаратуру для исследования (to provide somebody with something).
2.Мне предложили работу в Оксфордском Университете (to offer a job)
3.Ему показали лаборатории.
4.Меня попросили помочь провести исследование.
5.Со мной провели собеседование (to interview).
6.Её встретили в аэропорту.
7.Мне сообщили о времени встречи (to inform, an appointment).
8.Вам заказали билет на самолет (to book a flight).
9.Его встретили на машине в аэропорту и отвезли в гостиницу
(to pick up, to take to).
CLASS EXERCISES
Exercise 1 (in groups)
Checking up understanding
1.What kind of program is the BBC’s Desert Island Discs?
2.What kind of people does the program invite?
3.Does Stephen Hawking regard himself as cut off from normal life? Why not?
4.Does he feel a disabled person?
5.What kind of person does he feel?
6.What kind of person is he?
7.What does any person need?
8.Why couldn’t he carry on with his life if he had only physics?
9.Which gives him greater pleasure: physics or music? Why?
10.What record would Stephen Hawking take to the desert island and why?
11.What is his position at Cambridge?
12.What do you know now about Mozart? What can you add to what Stephen said about him?
13.What is the main reason Hawking wrote ‘A Brief History of
Time’?
14.For what did his book ‘A Brief History of Time’ get into the Guinness Book of Records?
15.Is ‘A Brief History of Time’ still on the best-seller list? Why do you think it is still there?
49
16.How many copies of the book have been sold worldwide?
17.What is the message of the book?
Exercise 2 (in groups) What about you?
Formulate general questions and give short answers:
Yes, I …; No, I …; Yes, I think so; No, I don’t think so; Yes, I think I ..; No, I don’t think I …; I hope I ..; I try to; Certainly; Rather; Not yet; I used to; Sure; No, I’m afraid I ..; Who doesn’t?; I’m sorry to say I …
1.I am familiar with the isolation of a desert island.
2.I am colour-blind.
3.I am mentally and intellectually self-sufficient.
4.I am introverted.
5.I rely on myself.
6.I was a great talker as a boy.
7.I need warmth, love and affection.
8.Music is very important for me.
9.I would take the Mozart Requiem to the desert island.
10.Mozart is my favourite composer.
11.I need the money.
12.I am excited about the discoveries that have been made in physics in the last twenty-five years.
13.I have enjoyed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.
Exercise 3
Exchange opinions about Stephen Hawking using the information provided by him and Sue.
Model: He doesn’t feel a disabled person.
1.I don’t regard myself as cut off from normal life.
2.I don’t feel a disabled person.
3.My life can hardly be described as usual.
4.I feel my life is normal in spirit.
5.You are mentally and intellectually self-sufficient.
6.I need discussion with other people to stimulate me.
7.Like anyone else I need warmth, love and affection.
8.Music is very important for me.
9.The main reason I wrote A Brief History of Time was because I enjoyed it.
50