Practice reading: Alfred Nobel – The person behind the Nobel Prize

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has honored individuals worldwide for exceptional achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and efforts towards peace. The foundations for the prize were established in 1895 when Alfred Nobel drafted his final will, dedicating a significant portion of his wealth to the creation 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 constructed bridges and buildings in Stockholm. In connection with his construction projects, Immanuel Nobel also experimented with various methods of rock blasting. Successful in his industrial and business endeavors, Immanuel Nobel was able to move his family to St. Petersburg in 1842. There, his sons received an excellent education from private tutors, which included natural sciences, languages, and literature. By the age of 17, Alfred Nobel was proficient in Swedish, Russian, French, English, and German. His primary interests lay in English literature and poetry, as well as in chemistry and physics. Alfred’s father, who hoped his sons would join his engineering business, disapproved of Alfred’s love for poetry and considered him somewhat introverted.

C

To broaden Alfred’s horizons, his father sent him abroad for further studies in chemical engineering. Over a two-year period, Alfred Nobel traveled to Sweden, Germany, France, and the United States. In Paris, his favorite city, he worked in the private laboratory of Professor T. J. Pclouze, a renowned chemist. It was there that he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero, who had invented nitroglycerin three years earlier—a highly explosive liquid. However, it was deemed too dangerous for practical use due to its unpredictable explosive properties under heat and pressure. Alfred Nobel became deeply intrigued by nitroglycerin and its potential applications in construction. He also recognized the need to solve safety issues and develop methods for the controlled detonation of nitroglycerin.

D

After his return to Sweden in 1863, Alfred Nobel focused on developing nitroglycerine as an explosive. Several accidents, including a fatal one (1864) in which his brother Emil and several others died, convinced the authorities that nitroglycerine production was highly hazardous. They prohibited further experiments with nitroglycerine within Stockholm city limits, prompting Alfred Nobel to relocate his experiments to a barge anchored on Lake Malaren. Alfred was undeterred, and by 1864, he successfully began large-scale production of nitroglycerine. To enhance the safety of handling nitroglycerine, Alfred Nobel experimented with various additives. He soon discovered that blending nitroglycerine with kieselguhr transformed the liquid into a moldable paste, which could be formed into rods suitable for insertion into drilling holes. In 1867, he patented this substance under the name dynamite. To detonate the dynamite rods, he also invented a detonator (blasting cap) that could be ignited by lighting a fuse. These breakthroughs coincided with the widespread adoption of the pneumatic drill, significantly reducing the costs associated with rock blasting, tunnel drilling, canal construction, and various other forms of civil engineering work.

E

The market for dynamite and detonating caps expanded rapidly, establishing Alfred Nobel as a skilled entrepreneur and businessman. Over time, he established factories and laboratories in approximately 90 different locations across more than 20 countries. Although he spent much of his life in Paris, he was constantly on the move. When not traveling or engaged in business activities, Nobel dedicated himself tirelessly to his various laboratories, initially in Stockholm and later in other places. His focus remained on advancing explosives technology and other chemical innovations, including synthetic rubber, artificial silk, and more. At the time of his death in 1896, he held 355 patents.

F

Intensive work and travel did not leave much time for 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 elderly gentleman seeks the 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 promoted 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 passed away in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896. His will revealed a surprising directive: his fortune was to be used to establish 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 undertook the formation of the Nobel Foundation, an organization tasked with managing the financial assets Nobel earmarked for this purpose and coordinating the activities of the Prize-Awarding Institutions. This endeavor faced challenges, as the will encountered opposition from relatives and authorities in various countries.

H

Alfred Nobel’s legacy resides in his ability to merge the incisive mind of a scientist and inventor with the forward-thinking dynamism of an industrialist. Nobel held progressive views on social and peace-related issues, which were considered radical in his time. He harbored a profound interest in literature and penned his own poetry and dramatic works. The Nobel Prizes served as an extension and realization of his lifelong passions.

Questions 1-6

Are the following statements consistent with the information provided in the Reading Passage?

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 a 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 1800s.

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.

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 engineer 8….  and his invention nitroglycerine, a more powerful explosive than 9…

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.

Answers:

1. FALSE (Đoạn A, “The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895” → Xây dựng nền tảng cho giải thưởng chứ không phải trao giải)

2. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)

3. FALSE (Đoạn B, “Successful in his industrial and business ventures, Immanuel Nobel was able, in 1842, to bring his family to St. Petersburg.” → Thành công khi kinh doanh)

4. FALSE (Đoạn F, “Several years after the death of Alfred Nobel, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to Bertha von Suttner.” → Được trao giải sau khi Nobel đã mất.)

5. TRUE (Đoạn G, “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.” → Lập tổ chức này để gìn giữ tài sản còn lại của Nobel.)

6. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)

7. chemical engineering (Đoạn C, “In order to widen Alfred’s horizons, his father sent him abroad for further training in chemical engineering.”

8. Ascanio Sobrero (Đoạn C, “There he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented nitroglycerine, a highly explosive liquid.”)

9. Gunpowder (Đoạn C, “Although its explosive power greatly exceeded that of gunpowder, the liquid would explode in a very unpredictable manner if subjected to heat and pressure.”)

10. Stockholm (Đoạn D, “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.”)

11. Detonator (Đoạn D, “To be able to detonate the dynamite rods he also invented a detonator (blasting cap) which could be ignited by lighting a fuse.”)