2. Ex-Soviet leader warns of new Cold War
It is 25 years since the Berlin Wall came down. For many, it represented the beginning of the end of communism in Europe and of a world divided by the Cold War. The world stared down the barrel of nuclear conflict many times, but then hope sprang up as the concrete in Berlin came tumbling down. Two-and-a-half decades on, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned that the world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Ironically, he made a speech explaining why in Berlin. He accused the West of not fulfilling the promises it made after 1989. He said that: "The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some say that it has already begun." He also criticised the United Nations for doing so little.
The Berlin Wall existed between 1961 and 1990. It completely cut off land access to West Berlin from surrounding East Germany. The western powers of the USA, Germany and France controlled life in West Berlin, while communist East Germany controlled the rest. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls. Anyone attempting to cross to the west was either shot or arrested by the East German border police. The wall came to symbolise the "Iron Curtain" that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, which led to the Wall coming down and Germany being reunified in October 1990.
1. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
1. represented a. carrying out
2 divided b. revolutionary
3. former c. attacked
4. fulfilling d. encircling
5. criticised e. symbolised
6. completely f. resulted in
7. surrounding g. ex-
8. radical h. sequence
9. series i. split
10. led to j. totally
2. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What did the fall of the wall represent the beginning of?
2. What danger did the world face many times during the Cold War?
3. What is the name of the ex-Soviet leader?
4. What did the leader say the West had not fulfilled?
5. Who did the former Soviet leader criticise?
6. What did the Berlin Wall cut off to West Berlin?
7. Who controlled life in East Berlin during the Cold War?
8. What did border police do to those trying to flee to the West?
9. When did a series of major political changes take place?
10. In what month did German reunification take place?