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Before you read. 

Find these words in dictionary.  

    1) armed forces   2) republic   3) satellite  4) software   5) 

technology

Match each word with a definition below.

  a.   the use of science or knowledge in industry

  b.   a country with a president and a government representing the people

  c.    a machine in space that moves around the Earth

  d.    the programs which control the operation of a computer

  e.    the army navy and air force of a country

    Until the evening of 4 October 1957, the US President, Dwight D. 

Eisenhower, was confident that he led the world's greatest nation. 

In the USA, the early   1950s   are known as the Eisenhower years. Many 

Americans remember   these years as a time of wealth and happiness.   The 

USA was the richest nation in the world   and it was growing richer all the 

time. Almost every American   could   hope to own a house and a car. As a 

general, Eisenhower had led US armed forces to victory in the Second world 

War and, until that evening in 1957, it seemed that no other nation could 

threaten the USA.

    But then some news arrived that shook   America’s belief in 

itself:"The Russians   are in space! The Russians   are in space!" Until 

this moment Americans believed that their nation was the most 

powerful on Earth. But now the Soviet Union had gone beyond the 

Earth.

    Millions of radios all over the world could hear a new broadcast: 

"Beep . . . beep . . . beep . . ." This electronic noise was the sound of 

the satellite Sputnik 1, the first object placed   in space by humans. It 

was a Russian achievement and it shocked Americans.

     This was the time of the Cold   War. The Soviet Union was 

America`s great enemy, and soldiers from both sides stood ready to 

fight in almost every part of the world. The risk of real fighting – a 

"hot" war always present. But the Cold War was not just about armies 

and weapons. it was also a war of technology and ideas. Each side 

presented its successes in science and technology as proof that its 

political system was better.

    So when the Soviet Union sent its little silver satellite up into the cold night 

sky of the Kazakh Republic, it was more than just an interesting scientific 

test.   It was an act that showed the world that the Soviet Union was winning 

the war of ideas. Sputnik measured just fifty-eight centimeters across. But 

every ninety-six minutes it crossed the skies of USA like a new moon – a 

Russian moon.

    Americans were worried. If the Russians could put a satellite into space, 

what else could they do?   Soon they might send platforms into space as well, 

and drop bombs from them, right into the heart of the nation. Newspapers 

were soon filled with wild stories about the dangers in space. Many Americans 

believed   them. 

    "What are we going to do about this?" President Eisenhower   asked his 

Secretary of Defense, Neil McElroy.

    “There's no real reason to worry,” McElroy replied.   “Sputnik is not a 

danger for us. Our scientists are better than their scientists.” 

“I know that?” said the President. “That's not what I'm worried about. My 

problem is that I don't like surprises. I don't want to be surprised like this 

again. The nation doesn't   want to be surprised like this again. In future 

we will make sure that we are ahead of the Russians in all important 

technologies. ”

    "What are you suggesting, Mr President?" 

    "We need a new department of government to direct our high-technology 

work. I want to be able to say to the American people, "Don't worry. The 

best scientists in the world are working for the US government and they're 

keeping us ahead of the Russians.”

    And I want to stop the armed forces competing with each other, the 

way they do now. It`s a waste of money and talent. I want a single 

organization to control all our high-technology efforts."

    "Yes, sir, Mr President," said McElroy.

    The Secretary of Defense did not know it, but as he turned and 

walked out of the famous Oval Office, he was taking the first steps 

on a road that led to the most important invention of the late 

twentieth century: the Internet.

After you read.

“The Russians are in space!”

1)     Why did this worry the USA?

2)     What did the US president do as a result?

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