Contemporary English Language Literature
The following reading material is carried out in 2006-2007. In this booklet a few extracts in the original are offered from outstanding books by contemporary English language fiction authors. Each extract is preceded by a short introduction and followed by discussion questions and some vocabulary tasks.Among the authors there are best-selling ones, even "cult fiction" figures from the UK, the USA and Canada.
The collection is for
upper-intermediate level of English.
Here are twelve fascinating, provocative tales of time and space which reveal the unparalleled ingenuity of one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time.
"Marooned Off Vesta", the first fiction Asimov ever published, is a prime example of the versatility of his imagination. Three men in a spaceship only three hundred miles from Vesta have no way to reach it. His well-known "Nightfall" probes the reactions of a planet to the darkness of night which falls only once in two thousand years. And Asimov’s answer to "The Last Question" is so startling that it will never be forgotten. Other stories in this collection include: "C-Chute", "The Martian Way", "The Deep", "The Fun They Had", "The Dead Past", "The Dying Night", "Anniversary", "The Billiard Ball" and "Mirror Image".
THE BEST OF ISAAC ASIMOV—a delightful introduction for those who have not yet experienced Isaac Asimov, and the pièce de résistance for his many devoted followers.
Added by: stovokor | Karma: 1758.60 | Fiction literature | 21 April 2007
13
STAR TREK: Spock's World
It is the twenty-third century. On the planet Vulcan, a crisis of unprecedented proportion has caused the convocation of the planet's ruling council -- and summoned the
U.S.S. Enterprise™ from halfway across the galaxy, to bring Vulcan's most famous son home in its hour of need.
As Commander Spock, his father Sarek, and Captain James T. Kirk struggle to preserve Vulcan's future, the planet's innermost secrets are laid before us, from its beginnings millions of years ago to its savage prehistory, from merciless tribal warfare to medieval court intrigue, from the exploration of space to the the development of o'thia -- the ruling ethic of logic. And Spock -- torn between his duty to Starfleet and the unbreakable ties that bind him to Vulcan -- must find a way to reconcile both his own inner conflict and the external dilemma his planet faces...lest the Federation itself be ripped asunder.
Diane Duane, author of three previous bestselling STAR TREK novels and an episode of the new STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION® television series, as well as countless other bestselling science fiction and fantasy novels, has crafted a tale of unprecedented scope and imagination, at once a generations-spanning historical novel and a thrilling science fiction adventure.
What if the cataclysmic Tunguska explosion of 1908 was caused, not by a meteor or a comet, but by a microscopic black hole?
What if that fantastic object - smaller than an atom, older than the stars, heavier than a mountain - is still down there, orbiting deep inside the earth, slowly consuming the planet?
What if only a rookie government agent and an uncannily-insightful consultant stand between a renegade Russian billionaire and his plans to use the black hole to change history - or end it?
What if it's all true?
Winner of the Gold Medal for Science Fiction in Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards
Winner of the Independent Publishers Association's Ippy prize for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction novel of 2004
Singularity 
