Unit 1 Part II Reading task Comprehension Possible answers to content questions 1. It refers to the raw, bitter, bleak Russian winter. 2. He expected the conquest of Russia in five weeks. 3. Instead of fighting, they retreated eastward, burning their crops and homes as they went. They let the Russian winter fight the war for them while they bided their time. 4. Napoleon discovered that the occupation of the city was an empty victory because the Russians fled their capital leaving him almost nothing at all. 5. They suffered heavy losses as a result of the extreme cold and the Russians hit-and- run attacks. 6. Napoleon abdicated and went into exile. 7. Hitler began his invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 without a declaration of war. He expected the campaign to last no longer than three months by using the so-called lightning war tactics. 8. No, he wasnt. He instructed the Russian people to scorch the earth in front of the German invaders. 9. The people of Leningrad refused to surrender and put up a heroic, stiff resistance. 10. An early, severe, cold winter, to a large extent, slowed down the German advance on Moscow. 11. The loss of the battle for Stalingrad turned the tide against Hitler. The German victories were over. 12. The author concludes that the elements of nature must be reckoned with in any military campaign. Text Organization 1. Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas Part One Paras 1-2 Introduction Both Napoleons and Hitlers military campaigns failed because of the severity of the Russian winter. Part Two Paras 3 -11 Napoleons military campaign against Russia Part Three Paras 12-20 Hitlers military campaign against the Soviet Union. Part Four Para 21 Conclusion The elements of nature must be reckoned with in any military campaign. 2. Sections Paragraphs Main Ideas Section One Paras 12 -13 Hitlers blitzkrieg against Russia and Stalins scorched-earth policy. Section Two Paras 14 -18 The battles fought at Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. Section Three Paras 19-20 The Russian counter-offensive and the outcome of the war. Language Sense Enhancement 1. 1) the fierce resistance 2) the long march 3) the devastating enemy 4) bleak 5) launched 6) military might 7) mowed down 8) campaign 9) a painful lesson 10) the aid Vocabulary I. 1. 1) alliance 2) at the cost of 3) stroke 4) limp 5) minus 6) regions 7) declarations 8) siege 9) raw 10) bide his time 11) have taken their toll 12) in the case of 2. 1) is faced with 2) get bogged down 3) is pressing on/pressed on 4) drag on 5) get by 6) dine out 7) have cut back 8) get through 3. 1) The rapid advance in gene therapy may lead to the conquest of cancer in the near future. 2) Production in many factories has been brought to a halt by the delayed arrival of raw materials due to the dock workers strike. 3) Sara has made up her mind that her leisure interests will/should never get in the way of her career. 4) Obviously the reporters question caught the foreign minister off guard. 5) The introduction of the electronic calculator has rendered the slide rule out of date/obsolete. 4. 1) Being faced with an enemy forces much superior to ours, we had to give up the occupation of big cities and retreat to the rural and mountainous regions to build up our base. 2) Unity is crucial to the efficient operation of an organization. Failure to reckon with this problem will weaken its strength. In many cases, work may be brought to a halt by constant internal struggle in an organization. 3) The Red Army fought a heroic battle at Stalingrad and won the decisive victory against the Germans. In fact, this battle turned the tide in the Second World War. During this famous battle, the Soviet troops withstood the German siege and weakened the German army by launching a series of counterattacks. II. 1 During the First World War, battles occurred here and there over vast areas. Some of the most dramatic fighting took place in the gloomy trenches of France and Belgium . 2 Elizabeth made careful preparations for the interview and her efforts/homework paid off. 3 I spent hours trying to talk him into accepting the settlement, but he turned a deaf ear to all my words. 4 Pneumonia had severely weakened her body, and I wondered how her fragile body could withstand the harsh weather. III. 1 fall ill 2 lay dead at home for two weeks 3 dropped dead from a heart attack 4 fell asleep. 5 marrying young 6 to sit still for longer than a few minutes Comprehensive Exercises I. Cloze 1 1) invasion 2) stand in the way 3) Conquest 4) catching (Stalin) off his guard 5) launching 6) declaration 7) campaign 8) drag on 9) reckon with 10) bringing (the German advance) to a halt 2 1) allow 2) reckoned 3) highly 4) forecasts 5) rapidly 6) instant 7) delivery 8) advantage 9) observing 10) powerful II. Translation 1. 1) Mr. Doherty and his family are currently engaged in getting the autumn harvest in on the farm. 2) We must not underestimate the enemy. They are equipped wi