🔥Book Review: The Discovery of Slowness by Sten Nadolny, translated by Ralph Freedman | Canongate, 311 pp (Đề thi IELTS READING - IELTS READING ACTUAL TEST) - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng​

Book Review: The Discovery of Slowness by Sten Nadolny, translated by Ralph Freedman | Canongate, 311 pp

A The English explorer and writer John Franklin (1786-1847) joined the Navy at the age of 14, and fought at the battle of Trafalgar. When peace came, he turned his attention to Arctic exploration, and in particular to solving the conundrum of the Northwest Passage, a mythical clear-water route through the ice which would, if it existed, link the Pacific Ocean on America's West Coast with the Atlantic on its East. The first expedition Franklin led to the Arctic was an arduous overland journey lasting from 1819 to 1822, in which he and his twenty-strong team covered 8880 kilometres on foot. Their expedition was a triumph of surveying - they managed to chart hundreds of kilometres of previously unknown coastline - but food ran out on their journey back to civilisation, and the men were forced to eat their belts and their boots (which they boiled up to make leather soup).

B There followed a career as a travel writer and public speaker ('the man who ate his boots' was Franklin's tag-line). Then in 1845, Franklin set off back to the Arctic with two ships - the Erebus and the Terror - and 129 men. Nothing was heard of them for 14 years, although more than 30 expeditions were dispatched in search of them. Eventually, it was discovered that Franklin and all his team had perished after their ships were trapped in the ice.

C In his personal correspondence and published memoirs, Franklin comes across as a man dedicated to the external duties of war and exploration, who kept introspection and self-analysis to a minimum. His blandness makes him an amenably malleable subject for a novelist, and Sten Nadolny has taken full advantage of this in his book. Most important, Nadolny has endowed John Franklin with a defining trait for which there is no historical evidence: Langsamkeit ('slowness', or 'calmness').

D Slowness influences not only Franklin's behaviour, but also his vision, his thought and his speech. The opening scene of The Discovery of Slowness depicts Franklin as a young boy, failing to catch a ball because his reaction time is too slow. Despite the bullying of his peers, Franklin resolves not to fall into step with 'their way of doing things'. For Nadolny, Franklin's fascination with the Arctic stems from his desire to find an environment suited to his peculiar slowness. He describes Franklin as a boy dreaming of the 'time without hours and days' which exists in the far north, a place 'where nobody would find him too slow.'>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

E
Ice is a slow mover. The compressed blue ice inside an Alpine crevasse will have fallen off crystals, which, first appearing on the surface of the sea, thickens into a silkily pliant layer called nilas. This, in turn, consolidates into young ice, which then deepens during several seasons to become pack ice. Ice demands a corresponding patience from those who venture onto it. The explorers who have thrived at high latitudes and altitudes haven't usually lacked unusual self-possession, a considerable capacity for boredom, and a talent for the uncomplaining endurance of suffering.

F
These were all qualities which the historical Franklin possessed in abundance, and so Nadolny's exaggeration of them isn't unreasonable. Even as an adult, Franklin's slowness of thought means that he is unable to speak fluently. He learns by heart "entire fleets of words and batteries of responses," and speaks a languid, bric-a-brac language. In the Navy, his method of thinking first and acting later initially provokes mockery from his fellow sailors. But Franklin persists in doing things his way, and gradually earns the respect of those around him. To a commodore who tells him to speed up his report of an engagement, he replies: "When I tell something, sir, I use my own rhythm." A lieutenant says approvingly of him: "Because Franklin is so slow, he never loses time."

G
Nadolny also brings his central metaphor of slowness to bear on the novel's language. The chapters describing Franklin's early years are a medley of separate fragments, rhetorical questions, associative jumps, and exclamation marks. In the later sections recounting Franklin's first Arctic expedition, Nadolny brilliantly sets the narrative pace to the rhythms of the frozen landscape, and to the "slowness which is bred by hunger."

H
Since it was first published in Germany in 1983, The Discovery of Slowness has sold more than a million copies and been translated into 15 languages. It has been adopted as a manual and manifesto by European pressure groups and institutions representing causes as diverse as sustainable development, management science, and motoring policy, even becoming involved in the debate about speed limits on German roads. The various groups that have taken the novel up have one thing in common: a dislike of the high-speed culture of Postmodernity. Nadolny's Franklin appeals to them because he is immune to "the compulsion to be constantly occupied", and to the idea that "someone was better if he could do the same thing fast." It's easy to see where the attraction lies for those in management. The novel is crammed with quotations about time-efficiency, punctiliousness, and profitability: "What did too late mean? They hadn't waited for it long enough, that's what it meant."

Questions 27 - 31

Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27 a summary of Franklin's occupation in the period before his first expedition 28 a reference to a feature of Franklin's character in Nadolny's novel that has no definite basis in fact 29 a connection between the central theme of the novel and an environmental process 30 a reference to the widespread appeal of Nadolny's novel 31 a summary of events following Franklin's return from his first expedition

Questions 32 - 35

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-L, below.

Write the correct letter, A-L, in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

John Franklin and the Quality of Slowness

Little is known from Franklin's correspondence and published writings about his 32... . The author, Nadolny, suggests that Franklin's whole life can be explained by the quality of 33... . He begins the book by showing how this affects the young Franklin's 34... activities, and makes him become 35... . As a child, it is the quality of 36... that attracts Franklin to the Arctic.

A a bully B discoveries C educational D family E isolation F an outsider G personality H problems J a scholar K sporting L timelessness

Questions 36 - 40

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

36 In paragraph E, the writer describes different types of ice in order to illustrate

A the extreme conditions that Polar explorers have to face. B the unusual quality of the beauty of Polar regions. C the vital importance of preserving the Arctic environment. D the personal qualities required of an explorer in Arctic conditions.

37 What is said about the way Franklin communicates?

A He expresses a very limited range of ideas. B He is only willing to discuss things he is familiar with. C He uses words and phrases that he has previously memorised. D He is only fluent when talking about naval matters.

38 How does the attitude of the other sailors change towards Franklin?

A They no longer notice his slowness. B They start to copy his approach to work. C They eventually appreciate his good qualities. D They begin to recognise his efforts to overcome his problems.

39 The chapters of The Discovery of Slowness which describe Franklin's early years contain

A text from a wide variety of sources. B short, disconnected pieces of text. C descriptions of the Arctic landscape. D information about other explorers like Franklin.

40 The Discovery of Slowness has achieved widespread popularity because

A it reflects many people's concern about one aspect of modern life. B it offers achievable solutions to many of the problems of today. C it tells the story of someone's triumph over personal problems. D it shows how life in the past was less pressured than it is now.

• Conundrum (n) - Câu đố, vấn đề khó giải quyết

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The conundrum of the Northwest Passage was a challenge that Franklin aimed to solve.
  • (Vấn đề khó giải quyết của Đoạn đường Tây Bắc là một thử thách mà Franklin muốn giải quyết.)

• Arduous (adj) - Khó khăn, gian khổ

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The arduous overland journey took three years to complete.
  • (Cuộc hành trình gian khổ trên đất liền mất ba năm để hoàn thành.)

• Triumph (n) - Chiến thắng, thành công lớn

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The expedition was a triumph of surveying, mapping hundreds of kilometres of coastline.
  • (Cuộc thám hiểm là một chiến thắng trong việc khảo sát, vẽ bản đồ hàng trăm kilomet bờ biển.)

• Perished (v) - Chết, mất mạng

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Franklin and his team perished when their ships were trapped in the ice.
  • (Franklin và đội của ông đã chết khi tàu của họ bị mắc kẹt trong băng.)

• Blandness (n) - Sự nhạt nhẽo, thiếu sắc thái

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: His blandness made him an easily adaptable character for the novelist.
  • (Sự nhạt nhẽo của ông khiến ông trở thành một nhân vật dễ dàng thích ứng với tác giả.)

• Introspection (n) - Sự tự xem xét, tự phân tích

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Franklin kept introspection to a minimum in his personal writings.
  • (Franklin đã giảm thiểu sự tự phân tích trong các bài viết cá nhân của mình.)

• Exaggeration (n) - Sự phóng đại

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Nadolny’s exaggeration of Franklin’s traits helps create a more engaging story.
  • (Sự phóng đại các đặc điểm của Franklin của Nadolny giúp tạo ra một câu chuyện thú vị hơn.)

• Languid (adj) - Mệt mỏi, thiếu sinh lực

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Franklin’s languid speech reflected his slow thinking process.
  • (Lời nói mệt mỏi của Franklin phản ánh quá trình suy nghĩ chậm chạp của ông.)

• Punctiliousness (n) - Tính kỹ lưỡng, tỉ mỉ

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: His punctiliousness in managing the expedition earned him respect.
  • (Tính kỹ lưỡng của ông trong việc quản lý cuộc thám hiểm đã mang lại sự tôn trọng cho ông.)

• Postmodernity (n) - Thời kỳ hậu hiện đại

  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The novel critiques the high-speed culture of postmodernity.
  • (Cuốn tiểu thuyết phê phán văn hóa tốc độ cao của thời kỳ hậu hiện đại.)

27 A 28 C 29 E 30 H 31 B 32 G 33 K 34 F 35 I 36 D 37 C 38 D 39 B 40 A