51015Imagine living in a society where ordinarypeople could be punished for what theychoose to read and write. For much of thetwentieth century, such a closed societyexisted in Russia and the rest of the SovietUnion. The Soviet government tried todominate its citizens’ activities and ideas bycontrolling the information that theyreceived. Government censors examinedbooks, films, and newscasts and bannedanything they considered objectionable.They censored criticism of the Soviet government,news from the outside world, andanything that complimented Sovietenemies.51015505560was smuggled out of the Soviet Union forpublication in Western countries in 1956; inRussia, it appeared only as samizdat.Pasternak won the Nobel Prize inLiterature in 1958, but the governmentforced him to refuse the prize. Sovietauthorities also blocked publication of thework of Anna Akhmatova, one of Russia’sgreatest poets. Her work was banned until1952 because censors felt she did not sufficientlypraise the Soviet government.Akhmatova was kept out of public life andthe official Writers’ Union. She composedher poetry in private, and her works wereavailable only as samizdat.5055602025303540The Soviet government’s strict censorshipmade life tremendously difficult for writers.Most worried that they were being watchedby the government’s secret police. Despitethe harsh laws, small groups of writersdodged state censorship through an underground,or secret, publishing network thatproduced works called samizdat. The namesamizdat came from the Russian words for“self” and “publish.” For many writers,samizdat offered the only outlet for theirintellectual and creative expression. Toproduce samizdat, an author passed a typedor handwritten text to a second person, whomade a handwritten or typed copy. Theoriginal was returned to the author, whilethe copies were passed to other members ofthe network. The works were unsigned orsigned with false names.At first, samizdat focused mainly on literature,such as poetry and novels. By the late1950s, samizdat circles were distributingpolitical material, such as letters to thegovernment, political essays, and trial transcripts.By the mid-1960s, the samizdatnetwork produced sophisticated politicalnews, debate, and analysis.2025303540657075Through the 1960s and ’70s, Russian writersused samizdat networks to circulatebanned or politically risky material. By thelate 1980s, computers became available inscientific research facilities, andunderground writers began using thecomputers to store and circulate texts.Censorship was officially abolished in 1989,shortly before the breakup of the SovietUnion, leading to a publishing boom.Works by previously banned authors werepublished, and the samizdat networksquickly faded into history.27. Which of the following best tells what thispassage is about? A. two Russian authors, Boris Pasternak andAnna AkhmatovaB. the poetry published in the Soviet Unionduring the twentieth centuryC. the role of a free press in a free societyD. censorship in the Soviet Union and theunderground system that arose inresponseE. the reasons for banning authors who criticizedthe Soviet government65707545The great Russian novelist Boris Pasternakhad his work published as samizdat. Likeother writers, he feared that an appearanceof disloyalty to the Soviet state would bringa knock at his door in the middle of thenight. His classic novel, Doctor Zhivago,45CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGEFORM B80
28. Which of the following is most likely an exampleof material circulated in the earliest phaseof samizdat? F. a letter protesting a writer’s imprisonmentG. a true account of life in the secret policeH. a short storyJ. a list of political prisonersK. an article from a foreign newspaper29. The phrase “a knock at his door in the middleof the night” (lines 47-48) most likely refers toa visit by A. Boris Pasternak.B. the secret police.C. a member of the Nobel Prize committee.D. a participant in the samizdat network.E. a political exile.30. According to the passage, how did the use ofcomputers influence samizdat publishing?F. The content of samizdat materials becameexclusively technical. G. Scientific research was published throughsamizdat networks.H. Computers made it possible to smuggleDoctor Zhivago out of the country.J. Computers made the distribution of samizdatmaterial more efficient.K. Computers made identification of samizdatauthors easier for the secret police.32. After 1989, “samizdat networks quickly faded”(lines 75-76) for which of the followingreasons?F. The networks were no longer necessaryafter censorship was abolished.G. The works produced by the networks couldnot compete with works published inWestern countries.H. Samizdat was successfully banned bygovernment censors.J. The networks were replaced by the use ofcomputers.K. Opposition to the government went deeperunderground than before.CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE31. What is the most likely reason that samizdatmaterials were unsigned or signed with falsenames? A. to allow the materials to be smuggled outsidethe Soviet UnionB. to protect the writer from punishmentC. to shield the identities of members of thesecret policeD. to undermine the trustworthiness of thematerialsE. to prevent the materials from being copiedFORM B81
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