VICTORY OVER DEATH

It is impossible to say what death is worse. But, probably worst of all, is to feel quite healthy and, yet, know that you must die.

It happened in September, 1958, in the Yugoslav Atomic Centre. Six scientists were looking over the switched off atomic pile. Suddenly the signal lights flashed red, the instrument indicators started their mad dance: the reactor had gone into action. There were no cries, no blood, no pain; beyond the lab walls work went on as usual, people walked un­hurriedly along the corridors. "It was as if nothing had happened, "reads a note in the diary of one of the six made at a later date. "Only after read­ing the Geiger counter did I realize that it was the end."

The scientists were rushed to Paris by plane. There they were ad­mitted to the hospital of the Pierre Curie Institute in d'Ulm Street. The six men were given a careful check-up to establish the exact amount of radiation they had exposed themselves to. The instruments showed that five of them had received 700 г and hardly had a chance. There was hope for only one of them.

The scientists, however, did not lose courage.* In the quiet hospital wards they studied French, listened to the radio and played chess. At first there were no outward signs of the disease, yet it was quietly steal­ing up on them. Nothing seemed to help: neither frequent blood trans­fusions,* nor large doses of antibiotics.

But the doctors would not admit failure. When the patients had only some two or three days to live the Medical Centre called a consilium. In an effort to save the lives of the six scientists it was decided to try a bone-marrow transplant.** It was certaintly a risk, but a risk well worth taking.

Four Frenchmen volunteered to act as donors and give the marrow necessary for injection. Now there was nothing to do but wait.

Several days passed. One of the patients died. but the other five lived. Death was defeated.*** The daring experiment was a success.

The miracle in d'Ulm Street gives hope that medical science will learn to fight leukemia — this terrible and still incurable disease.

Questions

1. When and where did the accident occur? 2. How did it happen that the scientists were exposed to an overdose of radiation? 3. Ordina­rily things would be checked by remote control, wouldn't they? 4. What happened when the reactor went into action? 5. What told the scientists of the extreme danger? 6. What instrument is used to establish the amount of radiation? 7. What conclusion did the scientists make on reading the Geiger counter? 8. Why was it necessary to act without delay? 9. What hospital were they admitted to? 10. What did the check-up show? 11. What were the chances of the six scientists to live? 12. How did the scientists take the doctors' verdict? 13. What was life like for them in the hospital wards? 14. What did they do in their spare time? 15. Why was it important to keep the patients under constant observation? 16. What treatments were tried? 17. What decision was finally taken in an effort to save the lives of the scientists? 18. What was the purpose of a bone-marrow transplant? 19. Why was a bone-marrow transplant be­lieved to be risky? 20. Could anyone guess what the result of the oper­ation might be? 21. Who volunteered to act as donors? 22. What was the effect of the treatment on the patients? 23. Why was the experiment des­cribed as daring? 24. What sort of hope does the success of the experiment give to people? 25. Can it be said with conviction that a cure has been found for leukemia?

Ex. 41. Read the following, answer the questions, and retell the passage in English.

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