Test 15 on belarusian literature and writers

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-D).

A. Mikola Gusovsky is an early Renaissance poet, humanist, cultural and social activist. His most notable work is The Song of the Wisent. Little is known of his life. His place of birth is probably somewhere in the vicinity of today's Grodno as some folkloristic features in his works point to these parts. Gusovsky was a Catholic priest and apostolic notary for the Grand Principality of Lithuania which was a multi-national state. As a side-effect of this, modern Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian researchers tend to ascribe his works to their respective cultural heritages. Gusovsky is considered to be the founder of the Belarusian Renaissance literary tradition and author of the earliest examples of Polish-Latin poetry of Early Renaissance in many different genres.

B. Yanka Maur is actually a pseudonym. The writer's real name is Ivan Fyodorov. He was born in Latvia and grew up in a Belarusian village, which is now in Lithuania. He graduated from vocational school, and then entered a pedagogical school in 1899. The young man was expelled from school for being a member of an underground revolutionary club. Nevertheless in 1903 he successfully passed all the exams as a non-resident student and became a high school teacher. Later he took part in the underground meeting of the Belarusian teachers, organized by the famous Belarusian writer Yakub Kolas. This led to his arrest and a break in his teaching career. He resumed it only in 1911, becoming a geography and history teacher in a private school in Minsk. He was working in many different literary genres: satirical, historical, literature for kids and is credited with starting the science fiction tradition in the modern Belarusian literature. His biggest novel is Amok, but his most known book was Polesse Robinsons. He also translated stories into Belarusian from many foreign authors, including Jules Verne, Victor Hugo, Mark Twain, and a number of others.

C. Wladyslaw Syrokomla, a Belarusian and Polish poet, writer and translator, was born in 1823 in Belarus to an impoverished noble family. He attended prestigious schools, but had to give up his studies due to financial problems. After that he started to work as a clerk in the Radziwill family lands manager's office. In 1844 he published the first of his poems. The same year he also rented a small village where he became one of the authors of the biggest and the most prestigious daily newspaper published in the area. In his prose he supported the liberation of peasants. For taking part in anti-tsarist demonstrations he was arrested and then sentenced to home arrest in his manor. He died in 1862. Among the most notable of his works are translations of various Russian, German, French and Ukrainian poets, including works by Lermontov, Goethe, Beranger, Shevchenko and others.

D. Vladimir Korotkevich is a Belarusian romantic writer. He was born in 1930 in Orsha. He graduated from the Philological Department of Kiev University and taught first in a village school in the Kiev region of Ukraine and then in his home town. Later, he completed advanced literature courses, and then cinematography, both in Moscow. Literature then became his main occupation. His first published work was a poem that appeared in 1951, that was followed by three collections of verse. Afterwards he turned to prose, and had since published a large number of short stories. He also wrote the novels Unforgettable and Dark Castle Olshansky. Probably the writer's most popular work is the novel The Wild Hunt of King Stakh. His novels deal predominantly with Belarus's historical past, including the uprising of 1863 – 1865. The author also wrote a number of plays, essays, articles, screenplays for short and feature films, and some very interesting detective and adventure stories. His literary works are marked by romanticism, rich imagery, and emotionalism.

1. The author who introduced a new genre into Belarusian literature is presented in

A. Section A

B. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

2. The men of letters who also excelled as translators are characterized in

A. Sections A and B

B. Sections B and C

C. Sections B and D

D. Sections A and C

3. The author who can be called a truly Renaissance man is described in

A. Section A

B. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

4. The writer who is an authentic champion of Belarusian history is depicted in

A. Section A

B. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

5. The men of letters known of their versatility are described in

A. Sections A, C

B. Sections B, D

C. Sections A, B

D. Sections C, D

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-5).

(1) An early version of Old Belarusian was used as the official language of the chancellery and courts of the Grand Principality of Lithuania until 1696. All the Statutes of the Grand Principality are written in this language. Skoryna had the Bible printed in Old Belarusian. It was a one-of-the-kind achievement. Many Belarusians received their education at universities of Western Europe.

(2) The seventeenth century was hard for Belarusian. The invading armies had most cities burned down and almost all schools closed. The educated people were attracted by Polish culture. By 1696, the language of the upper classes was Polish. They had the official language changed, too.

(3) At the turn of the XX century, very few people wrote in Belarusian, peasants being mostly illiterate and urban dwellers preferring Russian, Polish or Yiddish. However, many educated people wanted to have Belarusian revived as the language of government and education.

(4) On March 25, 1918 the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed, but it was short-lived and didn't manage to stay independent. Under Soviet power, a campaign of Belarusization was started. A large number of books were printed in the Belarusian language. Active discussions were carried out about the standards of the language.

(5) Interest in the Belarusian language was revived at the end of the 1980s during perestroika. In 1990, Belarusian became the only official language and a second campaign of Belarusization followed. However, five years later there was a referendum which, among other things, had the Russian language adopted as one of the two official languages.

A. Language No More?

B. New Page Opened

C. Need for Language Rebirth

D. Great Step Forward

E. Language of Mighty State

F. Starting Afresh

G. Hardships and Ordeals

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания.

(1) Maksim Bogdanovich is a famous Belarusian poet, journalist and literary critic. He was born in Minsk to the family of a scientist. In 1892 the family moved to Grodno where his mother soon died of tuberculosis. Later the poet's father moved with his children to Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, where Maksim attended a gymnasium. At that time the boy wrote his first poems in the Belarusian language. During the Revolution of 1905 he was an active participant of the strikes. In 1907 a distinguished Belarusian-language publication came out with his first published work.

(2) After finishing school in 1911 Bogdanovich went to Belarus to meet important figures of Belarusian literature. That same year he began studying law at a Yaroslavl lyceum. During his studies he worked at a newspaper, wrote numerous works of literature and was actively published in both Belarus and Russia. In the beginning of 1914 his first and only book of poems, Vianok, was published. After graduation Maksim went to Minsk and worked there at the local administration. In February, 1917 he went to Crimea to be treated for tuberculosis. The treatment was unsuccessful, and that year he died in Yalta.

(3) He was only 25, but nevertheless he had had enough time to produce specimens of the highest and most courageous poetry in Belarusian literature. More than that, he raised Belarusian literature to the world level. His original poetry is an exceptional thing. It includes a fairy-tale realm of goblins, water-spirits and pixies, the expression of real pain for the people, popular songs and complicated classic forms, and poems portraying antiquity.

(4) The poet's papers were kept at his father's house, but the collection was heavily damaged during the Russian Civil War. In 1991 – 1995 a full collection of his poetry was published in Belarus. Nowadays there are museums of the poet open in Minsk, Grodno and Yaroslavl. Several streets in major cities of Belarus and Russia are named after him. Bogdanovich was the first poet to introduce several new lyrical forms to Belarusian literature and translator of Heine, Pushkin, Ovid, Horace and other poets into Belarusian. Many of his verses became folk songs which is a sure sign of their popularity.

Выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанного текста (задания 1-5).

1. The poet wrote his first work in the Belarusian language when he was staying

A. in Grodno

B. in Nizhny Novgorod

C. in Minsk

2. During the revolution of 1905 he was actively

A. opposed to strikes

B. involved in strikes

C. disapproving of strikes

3. After finishing school in 1911 the poet went to Belarus to

A. get acquainted with renowned literary figures

B. renew his acquaintance with his Motherland

C. get away from the hardships of his early life

4. The idea of the trip to the Crimea was to

A. improve the poet's poor health

B. find more inspiration in the south

C. study folklore and legends of the place

5. The main achievement of the poet's genius was

A. the courageous spirit of his poetry

B. the elevation of Belarusian literature to the world level

C. the first attempt to use mythological imagery

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6-8).

6. specimen (3)

A. example B. creativity C. amount

7. exceptional (3)

A. outstanding B. odd C. extraordinary

8. introduce (4)

A. create B. invent C. bring in

Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9-12).

9. In 1907 a distinguished Belarusian-language publication came out with his first published work (1).

1. В 1907 году известное издание на белорусском языке опубликовало первое его произведение.

2. В 1907 году уважаемое издание на белорусском языке вышло с первым его произведением.

3. В 1907 году в известном издании на белорусском языке было опубликовано первое его произведение.

10. Не was only 25, but nevertheless he had had enough time to produce ... (3)

1. Ему было всего 25, но несмотря на это у него было достаточно времени, чтобы создать ...

2. Несмотря на то, что ему было всего 25 лет, он успел создать ...

3. Ему было всего 25, хотя он и успел создать ...

11. His poetry includes a fairy-tale realm of goblins, water-spirits and pixies (3).

1. Его поэзия включает в себя сказочное царство гоблинов, водяных и эльфов.

2. Его поэзия – это сфера сказочных гоблинов, водяных и эльфов.

3. В его поэзии оживает сказочный мир гоблинов, водяных фей и эльфов.

12. Bogdanovich was the first poet to introduce several new lyrical forms to Belarusian literature … (4).

1. Богданович был первым поэтом, который внес несколько новых лирических форм в белорусскую литературу…

2. Богданович первым из поэтов привнес несколько новых видов лирической поэзии в белорусскую литературу…

3. Богданович первым из белорусских поэтов использовал несколько новых лирических форм …