Outstanding People of Belarus

1. Let’s talk about outstanding people of Belarus. What famous people of Belarus do you know? Belarusian land gave birth to many famous people whose names are known all over the world. The names of such Belarusian think­ers as Efrosinya Polotskaya and Kirill Turovsky have been known since ancient times. Since the 12th century we have known the name of the great Belarusian jeweler Lazar Bogsha and his priceless creation — the Cross of St. Efrosinya, which was decorated with numerous precious stones. It goes without saying Belarusian literature has made a great contribution to world literature. The names of Y. Kupala and Y. Kolas, M. Bagdanovich, K. Krapiva, V. Korotkevich, V. Bykov are world famous. Their works are translated into many European languages. Many streets are named af­ter the Belarusian writers. As for Belarusian art the names of K. Malevich, Mark Shagal, M. Savitsky and others are known far beyond the borders of our country. The Belarusian culture is also famous for its ballet. The Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk is the centre of the national Belarusian school of ballet. The national Belarusian theatre school is well-known too. It's also a pleasure to mention the names of such fa­mous Belarusian composers as N. Churkin, I. Luchenok, A. Bogatyrev, N. Aladov. The Belarusian vo­cal groups “Pesnyary” and dance group “Khoroshky” have been a great success in Europe. Many prominent names in the history of Belarus of the 20th century are connected with two main events, the Se­cond World War and space exploration. All Belarusians fought heroically defending their Motherland. But we are especially proud of the heroes of the last war: K. Zaslonov, E. Osipova, N. Gastello, V. Talalikhin, the defenders of Brest fortress and many others. In the family of cosmonauts there are also two Belarusians, A. Kovalyonok and P. Klimuk. One thing is obvious: great times are created by great men.

2. What Belarusian sportsmen contributed into the development of sports? In what way? Belarusian sportsmen have also contributed to the glory and fame of the country. Among them are the famous tennis-player Maxim Mirny, rowing champion Alexander Bogdanovich, Darya Domracheva is the world champion in biathlon, Alexandra Gerasimenya is the world champion in swimming and the Olympic stars are Victoria Azarenko and Julia Nesterenko.

3. A lot of outstanding people originated from Belarus. Which of them would you like to meet? What questions would you ask him/her? (Ask 3 questions.)

1) What traits of character help realize a person’s talent? 2) Why do people often risk their life to make a discovery? 3) What have you done to achieve success?

4. Your pen-friend from England asks you to provide some information about Belarusian enlighteners which might be of help to him with his report about our country. Give some advice. The age of Renaissance enriched our culture with new names of great Belarusian statesmen, writers and print­ers. For example, Lev Sapega, the dynasty of Radzivil, Mikola Gusovsky and many others. The name of the first printer and the first translator of the Bible into the native Belarusian language Francisak Skaryna and his followers Symon Budny and Vasily Tyapinsky are known throughout the world.

5. Name a Belarusian author whom you definitely call the soul of the nation. Explain your choice. In my opinion, Yakub Kolas is the soul of the nation. His talent had a great effect on the development of our literature. Among his best works are the novel “At the crossroads”, two large epics “New Land” and “Simon the Musician” and a lot of poems. My favourite work is “New Land”. This poem became an encyclopedia of peasant’s life. It depicts the spirit, character and hopes of the Belarusian people.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30