The Privy Councillors such as Arthur Lexington, the External Affairs Minister, Stuart Cawston, the Finance Minister, Adrian Nesbitson, Minister of Defence, Douglas Martening, Clerk of the Privy Council, Lucien Perrault, Minister of Defence Production, and James Howden – the Canadian Prime Minister take part in the meeting.

James Howden is the Canadian Prime Minister, and the others are: The External Affairs Minister, Minister of Defence Production, the Finance Minister, Clerk of the Privy Council.

The Prime Minister breaks the news of the possibility of a nuclear war and a proposal for a solemn Act of Union between the United States and Canada. This proposal has been made to him by the US President.

As far as I could understand the Privy Councillors became shocked because that proposal meant the end of Canada as an independent country.

WS-5. Scan the text and find the following words and word combinations; reproduce the context in which they are used.

Privy Council	…high-ceilinged, beige carpeted Privy Council chamber… …Privy Council is a committee of persons appointed by the Sovereign, advising on some state affairs.
Integration	…our defences have been integrated with those of the United States. …a measure of integration
Assessment	…assessment of present world relations
International tension	…international tension at this moment is more serious and dangerous than at any other time since 1939
To be poised on a needle point	…we’ve been poised on a needle point so long that we’re used to crisis as a crisis (!!! – in the original – as a daily habit !!!)
Emergency quaters	(!!! there is a misprint in the textbook – in the original – Emergency quarters !!!) …I have ordered immediate partial occupancy of the government’s emergency quarters.
Memoranda	…your own departments will receive secret memorandum on the subject within the next few days.
Wage war	…Canada can neither wage war, nor can remain neutral
Survival	…survival will depend on food and food-production
Contaminate	…food-production areas have become contaminated by radioactive fallout…
Radioactive fallout
Blast to rubble	…the cities can be blasted to rubble…
Launching sites	…the launching sites for defensive and intercontinental missiles…
Prime target	…the first prime target of a Soviet attack…
Interception	…the attack is repelled by interception…
Sovereignity	(!!! there is a misprint in the textbook – sovereignty !!!) “…to merge our nationhood and sovereignty within the nationhood of the United States”
ICBM and short-range missiles	“…It is the movement of the United States missile bases – ICBM and short-range missiles – to our own Canadian North”
Come unscathed	…no country will come unscathed through a nuclear war.
Vulnerable	…we are vulnerable and virtually undefended…
Oath of Allegiance	…their immediate recruitment by the US forces under a joint Oath of Allegiance

James Howden, the Prime Minister of Canada, held a top political meeting with his colleagues – other members of the Privy Council of Canada. The meeting was gathered to discuss the problem that the country was faced with - a proposal of integration of Canadian defence with the US defence. At that moment international tension was very serious and dangerous, and there was a real possibility of a nuclear war. The Prime Minister of Canada understood all the seriousness of the situation and had ordered immediate partial occupancy of the government’s emergency quarters. And he tried to explain to his colleagues that Canada could neither wage war – at least as an independent country, nor could remain neutral. And at that moment Canada had weak defence. Moreover the possible effects of a nuclear war would be fatal for Canada. After such a war survival would depend on food and food-production. But Canadian food-producing areas would be contaminated by radioactive fallout because of the disposition of the US missile sites. And the movement of the US military bases – ISBM and SRM – to the Far-North of Canada could change that situation and a good deal of radioactive fallout would occur over uninhabited land. So, it was necessary to accept the proposal.

The proposal for a solemn Act of Union between two countries meant merging nationhood and sovereignty of Canada within the nationhood of the United States. It meant recruitment of the Canadian armed forces by the US forces under a joint Oath of Allegiance, the opening of all Canadian territory as part of the manoeuvring arena of the US military and the transfer the US military bases top the Far-North of Canada. In other words it meant the end of Canada as an independent country. And it was a hard decision for Howden and the other Councillors to make. But it was the only way for survival.

I agree with this statement. It is true that in a global nuclear war no country will come unscathed. As a physicist I can describe some post-effects of a global nuclear conflict. First of all, I’d like to speak about climatic effects. Besides the blast and radiation damage from individual bombs, a large-scale nuclear conflict between nations could conceivably have a catastrophic global effect on the climate - the “nuclear winter” effect. The nuclear explosions would throw enormous quantities of dust and smoke into the atmosphere. The amount could be sufficient to block off sunlight for several months (or maybe years), particularly in the northern hemisphere, destroying plant life and creating a subfreezing climate until the dust dispersed. The ozone layer might also be affected, permitting further damage as a result of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Were the results sufficiently prolonged, they could spell the virtual end of human civilization.

I can’t but mention radioactive fallout. It is produced through nuclear fission. Radioactive particles are invisible and so light that they may drift around the world endlessly without settling to earth. But at the same time they could be absorbed by precipitations (I mean rain, snow etc.) and fall back to the earth’s surface. Radioactive fallout can be of several types (tropospheric fallout, fallback etc.), but all of them are very dangerous, I mean biological and genetic effects of radioactive fallout.

The long retention of nuclear bomb debris in the stratosphere allows time for some of the short-lived fission products to be dissipated in the atmosphere. In the case of tropospheric fallout, some radioactive decay occurs in the atmosphere, thereby reducing somewhat the radiation dosage to those exposed on the earth's surface. Long-lived radionuclides, such as 90Sr, do not decay much during the time spent in the stratosphere, however, and therefore they may exist for many years as a potential hazard, primarily through contamination of the foods that are consumed by humans.

In evaluating the long-range results of fallout, it is essential to consider the genetic effects of radiation. Radiation may cause mutations, that is, changes in the reproductive cells that transmit inherited characteristics from one generation to the next. Practically all radiation-induced mutations are harmful, and the deleterious effects persist in successive generations. Moreover, many separate investigations suggest that if some human beings survive a nuclear war and a potential nuclear winter, they will probably be sterile.

So, in view of aforesaid, I should say that fatal consequences of a global nuclear war will affect any country. Radioactive fallout and nuclear radiation reach any place of the Earth and cause radioactive pollution of soil and water. And it doesn’t matter where nuclear explosions are - no land will remain uncontaminated, no human being will avoid consequences of such a war.

A. *nouns*
1. Councillor	1. member of local government council: a member of a council elected to govern a local district 2. member of advisory council: an elected or appointed member of an advisory council
2. Assessment	1. evaluation: a judgment about something based on an understanding of the situation • a fair assessment of the project 2. property valuation: a calculation of the value of something in order to know how much tax must be paid 3. amount calculated: an amount assessed, for example, on property 4. educational evaluation: a method of evaluating student performance and attainment
3. Emergency	sudden crisis requiring action: an unexpected and sudden event that must be dealt with urgently
4. Survival	1. staying alive: continuation in life or existence 2. fact of living through something: the fact of having managed to live through something 3. something from the past: a custom, idea, or belief that remains when other similar things have been lost or forgotten
5. Sovereignty	1. top authority: supreme authority, especially over a state 2. independence: freedom from outside interference and the right to self-government 3. independent state: a politically independent state
6. Fallout	1. PHYSICS radioactive particles: a cloud of radioactive dust that is created by a nuclear explosion and settles back down to the earth 2. PHYSICS, METEOROLOGY descent of radioactive dust: the descent to the earth of particles from a cloud of radioactive dust 3. incidental consequences: consequences, especially undesirable ones, that result incidentally from a situation or event
7. Disbandment	splitting up: to break up as a group or organization, or to cause a group or organization to break up
8. Transfer	1. change of place: the conveying of somebody or something from one place, for example, one department of an organization, to another 2. TRANSPORT ticket allowing passenger to transfer: a ticket that allows a passenger to change from one vehicle to another on a journey, or the place where this is done 3. somebody transferred: somebody who is transferred, for example, a student 4. LAW conveyance: the passing of rights or property from one person to another, or a document that conveys rights or property between persons 5. design applied to surface: an image on a piece of film or paper that is specially designed to be lifted off by heat or pressure and applied permanently to the surface of a material 6. FINANCE recording of sale: the recording of a change of ownership of shares or bonds in the books of the issuer
*B. adjectives*
1. Vulnerable	1. without adequate protection: open to emotional or physical danger or harm 2. MILITARY open to attack: exposed to an attack or possible damage 3. extremely susceptible: easily persuadable or liable to give in to temptation 4. physically or psychologically weak: unable to resist illness, debility, or failure 5. BRIDGE liable to increased stakes: liable to higher penalties as well as bonuses, having won one game of a rubber
2. Prime	1. best: of the highest quality • prime grade beef 2. first in importance: of the greatest importance or the highest rank 3. earliest: earliest in time or sequence 4. MATHEMATICS not divisible without remainder: used to describe a number that can be divided without a remainder only by one and itself
3. Puny	1. small and weak: very small or thin and weak 2. inadequate: less than is required to be effective • a puny attempt at an apology
4. Solemn	1. earnest: demonstrating sincerity and gravity 2. humorless: without joy or humor 3. formal: characterized by ceremony or formality 4. religious: observed with sacred or religious ceremony 5. awe-inspiring: inspiring wonder or reverence
C. *Verbs*
1. Integrate	1. intransitive and transitive verb fit in with a group: to become an accepted member of a group and its activities, or to help somebody do this 2. intransitive and transitive verb make into a whole: to join two or more objects or make something part of a larger whole, or to become joined or combined in this way 3. transitive verb make open to all: to make a group, community, place, or organization and its opportunities available to all, regardless of race, ethnic group, religion, gender, or social class 4. transitive verb MATHEMATICS find a mathematical integral: to find the definite or indefinite integral of a function or equation
2. Contaminate	1. make dirty or impure: to make something impure, unclean, or polluted, especially by mixing harmful impurities into it or by putting it in contact with something harmful 2. NUCLEAR PHYSICS make radioactive: to make something radioactive by mixing it or putting it in contact with a radioactive substance
3. Wage	engage in fight: to engage in war or in a serious fight to achieve an end • wage war
D. *adverbs*
1. Perceptibly	large enough, great enough, or distinct enough to be noticed
2. Shortly	1. in short time: soon or in a short time • The guests will arrive shortly. 2. curtly: in a curt or discourteous manner • “I wish you’d stop interrupting me,” he said shortly. 3. briefly: using only a few words
3. Virtually	1. practically: in effect even if not in fact 2. nearly: almost but not quite
4. Inevitably	as was certain to happen and couldn’t be prevented, impossible to avoid or to prevent from happening

1. What are the peculiarities of the text that make the story involving? (the events described; the characters portrayed; the problems posed; the way the composition is arranged; the style of the narration in general etc.) Give the general assessment:

This extract is not one of these stories that involve the reader because of some peculiarities of the plot. It is not a detective story, it’s not a thriller. But nevertheless it is involving. It has a certain mood that is transferred to the reader. The events of this short extract strike by their simplicity and realism. And the problem the author touches upon is well-known to everybody. This story lets any reader understand feelings of people who are on the threshold of an impending catastrophe – war. All of us know what the war is. We see that the main personage of the story is a painter, an artistic emotional nature, a man, who is a creator of beautiful pictures, who is very far from war and brutality; we can understand his feelings after having read terrible news in a newspaper. We feel his shock, his fear, and our impression is intensified by the author’s splendid description of a peaceful benign (and, as we can see, pre-war) day. This contrast is reinforced by the increasing tenseness towards the second part of the story.

The language is rather simple but very expressive. The text is a good example of narrative and descriptive writing combined with dialogue. The flat narration of the first part of the text gives place to a tense dialogue of the second part. To express tension of the situation the author uses words selected with great care.

The author, introducing his characters, gives some facts of their previous life, and some plans for future, such as: George and Elisabeth’s moving to Chelsea, their way of spending their spare time, George’s plans concerning a small show in Paris and so on. So, the characters of the story seem familiar to the reader from the very beginning. It makes the reader take their feelings very close to heart.

1. Do you think the writer reaches a climax by using the word “catastrophe”? How do the words “appalling catastrophe” strike you? Why?:

I think that the author certainly reaches a climax of that story by using the words “appalling catastrophe”. These words shock any reader especially after the description of George and Elisabeth’s undisturbed and tranquil life. We read about their moving to a new place, George’s dreams about a small show in Paris in the autumn. We feel a peaceful atmosphere of a hot summer, a benign day “with fine white fleecy clouds suspended in a blue sky, and a light wind ruffling the darkened foliage of summer trees”. The author lets us feel the beauty of a summer day by describing a very nice and peaceful moment of his characters’ life. And then… The word “catastrophe”. “Appalling catastrophe”. When we pronounce this word, we mean “a terrible disaster or accident, especially one that leads to a great loss of life”. Using this word creates a great contrast with the tranquil day that was described. To make us read this word is to make us feel all the depth and horror of an impending calamity, destroying human life and a comfortable world, full of love and dreams about peaceful future. And the author uses this word as a synonym for the word “war”. Any war is a crushing national calamity. I compare it with some kind of a natural disaster. We cannot prevent a natural disaster, but we can, I should say, we MUST prevent wars – but wars still exist.