Fill the gaps using these key verbs from the text.

mutate disclose multiply piece together

recover outweigh evolve merge

1. If something ____________ something else, it is more important, more useful or

more valuable than the other thing.
2. If two things ____________, they combine or become mixed so that you can no
longer tell the difference between them.
3. If something ____________, it changes genetically.
4. If you ____________ something ____________, you create something by combining
separate parts to make a whole.
5. To ____________ means to give information to people, especially information that
was secret.
6. The verb to ____________ means to develop gradually over a period of time.
7. If you ____________ from a disease, you become fit and healthy again.
8. To ____________ means to increase by a large amount.

Choose the best answer. Then look in the text and check your answers.

1. The Spanish flu virus of 1918 killed 3. What kind of creatures does the
a) 5 million people adjective ‘avian’ refer to?
b) 15 million people a) Insects
c) 50 million people b) Mammals
c) Birds
2. What is a pandemic?
a) A disease that affects almost 4. What does a virologist study?
everyone in a very large area. a) Birds
b) A disease that spreads very quickly. b) The treatment and study of illnesses
c) A disease that kills millions of caused by viruses.
people. c) Diseases

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Back from the dead explain its lethality. But other researchers
By Ian Sample warned that the virus could escape from the
laboratory.
Scientists have recreated the deadly 1918
Spanish flu virus, to the alarm of many "This will raise clear questions among some
researchers who fear it presents a serious as to whether they have really created a
security risk. Undisclosed quantities of the biological weapon," said Professor Ronald
virus are being held in a high-security Atlas of the University of Louisville in
government laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia, Kentucky. "For me, it raises even more
after a nine-year effort to rebuild the agent concerns than I already had about the
that quickly swept the globe and claimed the potential of a flu pandemic. It looks as
lives of an estimated 50 million people. It though an avian strain evolved in 1918 and
was named Spanish influenza because it was that led to the deadly outbreak, in much the
first widely reported in Spanish newspapers. same way as we're now seeing the Asian
avian flu strains evolve."
The genetic sequence is also being made
available to scientists online, a move that The publication of the work and filing of the
some experts fear adds a further risk of the virus's genetic make-up to an online
virus being created in other labs. The virus database followed an emergency meeting
was recreated in an attempt to understand last week by the US National Science
what made the 1918 outbreak so Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which
devastating. Reporting in the journal concluded that the benefits of publishing the
Science, a team led by Dr Jeffery work outweighed the risks. Many scientists
Taubenberger in the USA shows that the remained sceptical. "Once the genetic
recreated virus is extremely effective. When sequence is publicly available, there's a
injected into mice, it quickly took hold and theoretical risk that any molecular biologist
they started to lose weight rapidly, losing with sufficient knowledge could recreate
13% of their original weight in two days. this virus," said Dr John Wood a UK-based
Within six days all mice injected with the virologist. "If the genetic sequence is on a
virus had died. database, then that is a clear security risk."
"I didn't expect it to be as lethal as it was," Only a handful of scientists have security
Dr Terrence Tumpey, a scientist on the clearance to access the Atlanta laboratory.
project told the journal Nature. In a Before entering, they must pull on a
comparison experiment, similar mice were protective hood, put on breathing apparatus
injected with a contemporary strain of flu. and pass through electronic fingerprint and
Although they lost weight initially, they retina scanners to prove their identity.
recovered. Tests showed that the Spanish flu
The recreation process was laborious.
virus multiplied so rapidly that after four
Scientists collected fragments of the virus
days mice contained 39,000 times more flu
from lung tissue taken from victims at the
virus than those injected with the more
time and preserved in formalin or, in one
common strain of flu.
case, isolated from the lungs of a woman
The government and military researchers victim whose body had become frozen in the
who reconstructed the virus say their work Alaskan permafrost. Using the fragments,
has already provided an invaluable insight they painstakingly pieced together and read
into its unique genetic make-up and helps

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the complete genetic code before using the
only if an avian strain merged with a human
flu virus.
sequence to rebuild the virus from scratch.
By creating flu strains with only certain According to Taubenberger, knowing what
parts of the 1918 virus, researchers mutations gave rise to the 1918 Spanish flu
investigated which of the eight genes that virus will help scientists check viruses to
make up the virus were most responsible for work out which, if any, are evolving to the
its virulence. point where a pandemic is possible. The
H5N1 strain of bird flu in Asia is already
They discovered that rather than being
mutating to make it more suited to infecting
caused by one or two genes, they all played
humans, he said. Despite the insights given
a part, which suggests that the virus had
by the project, many scientists were alarmed
completely adapted to cause disease in
at the recreation itself and particularly that
humans, something they say could happen
the full genetic sequence was to be made
again with avian flu strains.
public on an online genetic database.
In a second paper, published in Nature last
Viruses have escaped from high-security
week, Taubenberger and his colleagues
labs before. During the recent Sars outbreak
analysed the genetic make-up of the
the virus escaped at least twice, once in
recreated virus. Surprisingly, they found it
Taiwan and once in Singapore, when
had no similarities to any of the human
researchers became contaminated. Other
viruses in circulation, suggesting that the
scientists warned that the 1918 virus's
Spanish strain had jumped from birds to
genetic code could easily be misused. But
humans and did not mix with a human virus
some scientists believe a pandemic is
first, as had been believed. The finding that
unlikely even if the virus escapes, because
Spanish flu came straight from birds has
of most people's natural immunities and the
raised concerns among scientists.
availability of antiviral drugs and flu
Previously, a pandemic was thought likely
vaccines.
The Guardian Weekly XXX, page X

Are the following statements True or False according to the text?

1. Publishing the genetic sequence online could be risky.

2. The scientists recreated the virus in order to produce biological weapons.
3. The Spanish flu virus was 39,000 times more virulent than common flu.
4. Viruses never escape from laboratories.
5. Scientists recreated the virus from the lung tissue of victims.
6. The Spanish flu virus was a bird virus that mixed with a human virus.

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1. Find another word which means ‘deadly’.
2. What word is ‘flu’ short for?
3. Find an adjective which means ‘modern or relating to the present time’.
4. Find a noun beginning with ‘s’ that means ‘a particular type of animal, plant or
disease’.
5. Find two other verbs that means the same as ‘recreate’.
6. Find an adverb that means ‘very carefully and slowly’.
7. In the last paragraph find a past participle that means ‘made dirty, polluted or
poisonous by the addition of a chemical, waste or infection’.
8. Find an adjective which means ‘frightened or worried that something dangerous
might happen’.

Match these idioms with their meanings.

1. swept the globe

2. claimed the lives
3. a handful
4. from scratch
5. played a part
6. took hold

a. from the beginning again

b. became stronger and difficult to stop
c. spread around the world very quickly
d. just a few
e. killed
f. had a role

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Complete the expressions from the text by adding an appropriate preposition.

1. give rise _______

2. merge _______
3. _______ scratch
4. responsible _______
5. available _______
6. injected _______
7. escape _______
8. similarities _______

Is it ethically and morally right to recreate dangerous diseases for the purposes of
research? Make a list of the points for and against such research.

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Afghanistan’s deadly crop flourishes again
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

With the Taliban gone, opium poppies carry the peasants' hopes of prosperity

Pre-reading activities
Discussion points. Read this statements and say which you agree with and which you disagree with.

1. Poor farmers should be allowed to grow opium poppies in order to make money.

2. All opium crops worldwide should be destroyed.

3. Rich countries should pay farmers in poor countries to grow alternative crops.

4. If drugs were legalised, the black market in illegal drugs would disappear.

5. Countries which permit the cultivation of dangerous drugs should be isolated.

Read the following statements that refer to the text about the cultivation of opium poppies in
Afghanistan and decide whether they are true or false. Then read the text to check your answers.

1. Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, banned the production of opium in Afghanistan.

2. Two years ago, Afghanistan was the world’s largest producer of heroin.

3. Poppy production in Afghanistan rose last year.

4. Growing grapes is more profitable than growing opium poppies.

5. Women are not allowed to harvest poppies.

6. Afghanistan is expected to produce a bumper opium crop this year.

7. The Taliban’s prohibition of opium production was largely ignored by the population.

8. The price of opium is higher this year than last year.

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Afghanistan’s deadly crop flourishes again
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Afghanistan's deadly crop flourishes again

When fighting broke out in United States has had a result not Ali, 35, an opium trader lamented,
Afghanistan late last year, Fahzel anticipated by Pentagon strategists – sitting on the carpet of his empty
Rahman went to his cellar and everyone is planting opium again. bazaar shack, decorated with glossy
brought out some tiny yellow seeds. "I can make $1,600 from this small pictures of the Gulf. "We are very
In a small plot next to his mud poppy patch here," Mr Rahman said, sad because we don't have a job any
house, he scattered the seeds in the pointing to his modest kitchen plot. more. We are trying to persuade the
ground. Last week he surveyed his "If I sell all of the grapes over there, government to let us sell off our
burgeoning poppy field with pride. I'll only make a fraction of that," he remaining stocks." Mr Ali said a
"You'd be stupid not to grow opium," added, gesturing towards a giant, kilogram of opium currently costs
he said, gesturing at the lettuce-like rolling vineyard framed by low between $2,200 and $2,700, down
plants pushing out of the cracked mountains and morning sunshine. from last year's price of $3,300 when
earth. "If the Americans give us some According to another opium farmer, there was no prospect of a fresh crop.
money, we'll stop planting poppy. If Abdul Ali, the harvest season But nobody at the opium bazaar
they don't, we'll carry on." between May and July is a happy seemed genuinely miserable: the
Mr Rahman lives in Singesar, a dusty time in Singesar. "We all collect the business had, it appeared, merely
village of terraced vineyards and poppy resin together, including the shifted from the front of the shop to
pomegranate trees half an hour's children. Even women do it, because a small back room accessible via a
drive from the southern desert city of the crop grows very high and nobody waist-high door.
Kandahar. The village is famous can see their faces. We are glad of Back in Singesar the local security
because Mullah Mohammed Omar, the money." chief revealed that Gul Agha had
the Taliban's fugitive leader, used to The eradication of opium is one of instructed him not to worry too much
live here - a fact that gives Mr the first big tests for Hamid Karzai, about digging up this year's poppy
Rahman's opium garden extra leader of Afghanistan's new interim harvest - a move that would undoubt-
piquancy. authority. He has taken an uncompro- edly heap much unpopularity on the
Two years ago Mullah Omar issued mising line on drugs, and called for new governor's head. "There's not
an edict outlawing opium production all poppy production to stop. But his much we can do this year because
across Afghanistan, at that time the control over much of the country is the poppy has already been planted,"
world's largest producer of heroin. tenuous; his fledgling administration Agha Wali said. "We'll make a start
Taliban soldiers ruthlessly enforced lacks resources and his local officials next year." With the Taliban gone,
the decree. "I grew tomatoes and fail to inspire the same kind of dread ending Afghanistan's status as the
other garden vegetables last year," that the Taliban once did. UN world's largest heroin producer is
Mr Rahman said. "Before that the officials privately concede that clearly going to be an uphill task. In
Taliban let us plant poppy." Afghanistan is heading for a bumper the last year before the ban came into
opium crop this year, with much of it effect the trade was worth $98m to
Nobody knows whether Mullah
destined for Britain and the rest of Afghanistan's farmers, with most of
Omar's edict was inspired by Islamic
Europe. One senior UN official the buyers wealthy businessmen
principle, was a cynical trick to drive
based in Kandahar said: "The Taliban from Iran and Pakistan. Opium has
up the price or a last-ditch attempt to
ban was implemented almost 100%. flourished in the country's southern
appease the international community.
Already we know that farmers are desert region - as well as in northern
Since the mid-1990s the Taliban had
planting opium again. Without any provinces such as Badakshan - since
earned millions of dollars from the
proper enforcement, advocacy and the time of Alexander the Great.
heroin trade. Either way, United
assistance from the donor communi- Unlike wheat, it requires little water
Nations officials last month con-
ty, the problem won't go away." and is ideally suited to the country's
firmed that poppy production in
arid valleys and unreliable rivers.
Afghanistan fell by 91% last year - Mr Karzai's representatives are - on
Opium grew in Afghanistan during
from 82,172 hectares to 7,606, with the surface at least - doing their bit.
the time of King Zahir Shah - who
most of that grown in areas con- This month Kandahar's new gover-
returns from exile next month - as
trolled by the Northern Alliance. But nor, Gul Agha, closed down the city's
well as throughout the Russian inva-
with the end of the Taliban's rule, opium bazaar, a venerable city insti-
sion, and the turbulent mojahedin
farmers across Afghanistan have tution that had survived last year's
years. Few believe that Mr Karzai
reverted to their old, lucrative ways. poppy ban. "There is nothing left for
can wipe it out.
The bombing campaign by the us now but to sit and drink tea," Shau
THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY 28-2-2002, PAGE 3

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Afghanistan’s deadly crop flourishes again
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Vocabulary work
Match the following words from the first part of the text with their meanings:

1. burgeoning a. producing a lot of money

2. fugitive b. very determined

3. an edict c. without mercy

4. to outlaw d. complete removal

5. ruthlessly e. growing very quickly

6. to revert f. strong fear

7. lucrative g. an official order

8. eradication h. to return to

9. uncompromising i. very old and wise

10.fledgling j. to prohibit

11.dread k. recently formed

12.venerable l. referring to a person on the run from justice

Fill the gaps in these sentences with appropriate forms of words taken from the second part of
the text:

1. Opium-sellers _____________________ a lack of business.

2. In Singesar there seems little propect that this year’s poppy harvest will have to be
_____________________ .

3. If a place is difficult to reach it is said to be _____________________ .

4. Persuading farmers not to grow opium will probably be an _____________________ task.

5. The Afghan king has been in _____________________ for many years.

6. Opium poppies _____________________ in dry conditions.

7. It will be very difficult for Mr Karzai to _____________________________ opium production in

Afghanistan.

8. The years when Afghanistan was ruled by the mojahideen were very _____________________ .

Discussion Point
Now that you have read the text, make a list of points for and against the growing of opium poppies
in Afghanistan.

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5. Ariana is the national airline of:
a. Pakistan b. Slovenia c. Afghanistan

It’s four o'clock in the afternoon and a hundreds of employees are leaving the
headquarters of Ariana, Afghanistan's national airline. In the boardroom, one
stays behind. Dr Muhammad Atash, a man with a kind but worried face, sits in
his chair and rubs his eyes. Ariana faces a number of "difficulties," he explains
modestly. "Embezzlement. Nepotism. Red tape. Lack of qualified staff, and a
general attitude not to work." But then he pauses. "I believe we are starting to
make progress."

Ariana has few equals in the airline business for many reasons, all of them
bad. Its history is abysmal. During Afghanistan's quarter of a century of war,
Ariana planes were shut down, shot down or hijacked. It is still nobody's
airline of choice today. A disastrous safety record means its flights are barred
from most European and American airports. It is nicknamed "Scaryana". UN
officials and foreign diplomats are forbidden to board. And most of the 1,700
staff are, Atash cheerfully admits, spectacularly incompetent or corrupt.

Is Ariana the world's worst airline? Not necessarily. There are many poor
airlines across the developing world. "I would not single out Ariana," says
David Learmount at Flight International magazine. "If a country has no safety
culture, neither does its airline." But Ariana has one advantage over other
disaster airlines - a plan to turn it around. Atash, a straight-talking Afghan-
American emigre, returned three years ago from the USA where he ran a
business. He was given the job of manager at Ariana in June.

It is not a glamorous job. Atash is paid just $100 a month and uses his own
mobile phone. But he has a can-do attitude and plan to get rid of hundreds of
deadwood staff without actually firing them. It is a difficult task but he is not
alone. Atash pushes a buzzer. In comes Hanns Marienfeld, the leader of a
six-strong team from Lufthansa hired to help with the rescue plan. He
describes the state of Ariana one year ago: "It was not up to international
standards," he says. "The flight schedule was non-existent. Customers had to
pay a bribe to get a ticket, a second bribe to get a boarding pass and
sometimes a third to get their seat in business class. We flew here or there,
whenever the pilots felt like it." Initial safety standards were not good. In 2003
and 2004, Ariana's fleet of six planes suffered six major engine failures. "In
Germany our pilots only see that sort of thing in a flight simulator. In Ariana
we do it in real life," says Marienfeld.

The early years were very different. Founded in 1955, Ariana quickly gained a
reputation as a small but proud regional carrier. It flew hippies and

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adventurers from London, Paris and Frankfurt and brought honeymooning
couples from neighbouring Pakistan. But in 1973, King Zahir Shah was
overthrown and five years later the guns of war exploded. The visitors
vanished and Ariana, like the rest of Afghanistan, fell into a steep decline.

During the 10-year Soviet occupation, when the roads were too dangerous,
Ariana became the safest way to travel. But the sense of security was strictly
relative. Thanks to US support, the mujahideen were armed with Stinger anti-
aircraft missiles. So Ariana pilots had to learn dangerous manoeuvres to avoid
the missiles while taking off and landing. Some staff could take no more. On a
flight to Kandahar in 1989, a fight broke out in the cockpit. The pilot wanted to
defect to neighbouring Iran. His co-pilot resisted. As they fought for the
controls, the plane fell out of the sky, crashing into the desert near the Iranian
border. All six people on board died.

After the Soviet departure the airline went from bad to worse. When the
Taliban took control of Kabul a year later, they changed Ariana's 20th-century
business to fit their 7th-century ideals. Stewardesses were sent home, inflight
music was banned and control was handed to a 26-year-old zealot. The
helpless pilots asked the Islamic courts for permission to trim their beards –
otherwise they could not fit the emergency oxygen masks on to their faces.
The UN imposed an international flight ban on the airline as part of a
sanctions package against the Taliban. The company's reputation for disaster
got bigger as its fleet of ageing aircraft got smaller. The former prime minister
died in a 1997 crash; two accidents in early 1998 killed about 100 people. In
2000 a flight from Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif was hijacked to Stansted airport in
the UK.

The US-led offensive the next year should have saved Ariana. Instead it
almost destroyed the company. US planes bombed the Ariana fleet,
demolishing six of its eight planes. The Taliban took $500,000 in company
cash and ran.

Now a process of change is taking root. The number of flights has increased
from 10 to 15 a week. Management claims 85% of flights are on time and the
first accounts in 16 years show that Ariana made a modest $1m profit last
year. At Kabul airport the mechanics are being given new tools and new pilots
are being trained, many of them former fighters. The old Kabul office is due to
close and a modern sales centre, complete with young, eager staff and
computerised booking, will open soon.

Meanwhile Atash plans to put half his 1,700 workforce into a "reserve pool",
asking them to stay at home but continue their pay. "We are building the
system with completely new people. We cannot afford to mix them with the

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corrupt old ones," says Atash. Success is far from guaranteed and a battle is
now under way for control of the company. "We're going to fight all the way,"
Atash promises. "Because the other option is to sit here and do nothing. And
that's not an option - either for Ariana or for Afghanistan."

Match the beginnings and the endings of the sentences:

1. Ariana has a very bad image because …

2. Ariana is different from many other ‘disaster’ airlines because …
3. Ariana is going to employ completely new people because …
4. Things got worse for Ariana after the US invasion because …
5. Ariana is nicknamed ‘Scaryana’ because …
6. There are reasons for optimism because …

a. … many of the current employees are corrupt and lazy.

b. … the number of flights has increased and the airline made a modest profit
last year.
c. … many people are too scared to fly in its planes.
d. … it has a very poor safety record.
e. … the Americans destroyed 75% of its planes.
f. … it has a plan to turn its fortunes round.

Match the verbs with the nouns they collocate with:

1. to impose a. control
2. to make b. a bribe
3. to run c. a ban
4. to pay d. engine failure
5. to gain e. a profit
6. to take f. progress
7. to make g. a reputation
8. to suffer h. a business

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Look in the text and find the words that mean:

1. excessive bureaucracy
2. to take control illegally of a plane by means of force
3. to choose one thing from a group for special attention
4. to leave a country, political party or organisation and go to another one
5. to cut hair so that it looks tidy
6. a piece of equipment used to train people to operate an aircraft
7. a group of planes owned by one organisation
8. a weapon designed to attack aircraft

Use these words to make phrasal verbs from the text:

out around down off out down

1. shut _______
2. shoot _______
3. single _______
4. turn _______
5. take _______
6. break _______

Would you travel with this airline? Why? Why not?

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 The world’s rich nations miss a golden opportunity to back fair trade
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Vocabulary

Match the words with their meanings:

1 to subsidise a to end a political or economic system

2 unprecedented b a sad, serious or difficult situation
3 to dump c to sell something at a cheaper price than someone else
4 to dismantle d dying because of a lack of food
5 a concession e to pay some of the cost of goods so that they can be sold at a lower price
6 plight f something that you agree or allow in order to reach an agreement
7 a loophole g to sell goods at a low price abroad in order to keep prices higher at home
8 to undercut h to make someone less effective, confident or successful
9 to undermine i never having happened before
10 starving j something that has been left out of a law that allows people to avoid obeying that law

2 What do you know about fair trade

Decide whether these statements are True or False:
True False

1 France recently offered to stop subsidising food exports to Africa.

2 70% of all African workers are farmers.
3 American exporters charge 10% more than the world price for wheat.
4 The Philippines receives more US food aid than Mozambique, Zambia,
Zimbabwe and Malawi.
5 When the world price of wheat falls, the volume of food aid also falls.

Now look in the text and check your answers:

1
© onestopenglish.com 2002 | This page can be photocopied.
 The world’s rich nations miss a golden opportunity to back fair trade
Level 3 | Advanced

World's rich nations miss a golden exporters. These credits, against which Chirac
was hoping to trade the European subsidies,
opportunity to back fair trade are worth some $7.7bn to US grain sellers. In
combination with other tricks, they ensure that
George Monbiot proposals addressed only part of the problem, American exporters can undercut the world
price for wheat and maize by between 10%

P
but they could have begun the process of
erhaps the defining moment of Tony dismantling the system that does so much and 16%, and the world price for cotton by
Blair's premiership was the speech that harm to the West's environment and the lives 40%.
he gave to the Labour party conference of some of the world's most vulnerable people. But the ugliest of its hidden export subsidies is
in October 2001. In June his party had returned
We might, then, have expected Blair to have its use of aid as a means of penetrating the
to office with a huge majority. In September
welcomed Chirac’s initiative. Instead the prime markets of poorer nations. While the other
two planes were flown into the World Trade
minister has single-handedly destroyed it. The major donors give money, which the World
Centre in New York. The speech appeared to
reason will by now be familiar. George Bush, Food Programme can use to buy supplies in
mark his transition from the insecure prime
who receives substantial political support from local markets, thus helping farmers while
minister to a visionary and a statesman,
US agro-industrialists, grain exporters and feeding the starving, the US insists on sending
determined to change the world. The most
pesticide manufacturers, was not prepared to its own produce, stating that this programme is
memorable passage was his declaration on
make the concessions required to match "designed to develop and expand commercial
Africa."The state of Africa", he told us, "is a
Chirac's offer. If the EU, and in particular the outlets for US products".
scar on the conscience of the world. But if the
world as a community focused on it, we could UK, had supported France, the moral pressure The result is that the major recipients are not
heal it. And if we don't, it will become deeper on Bush might have been irresistible. But as the nations in greatest need, but the nations
and angrier." soon as Blair made it clear that he would not that can, again in the words of the US
This being so, I would like to ask Britain's support Chirac's plan, the initiative was dead. department of agriculture, "demonstrate the
visionary prime minister to explain what he So, thanks to Mr Blair and his habit of doing potential to become commercial markets" for
thinks he was doing at the G8 summit in whatever Bush tells him to, Africa will continue US farm products. This is why, for example, the
France. A few weeks ago President Jacques to suffer. Several of the food crises from which Philippines currently receives more US food aid
Chirac did something unprecedented. After that continent is now suffering are made worse than Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and
years of opposing any changes to European by the plight of its own farmers. The underlying Zimbabwe put together, all of which, unlike the
farm subsidies, he approached the US problem is that the rich nations set the global Philippines, are currently suffering from serious
government to suggest that Europe would stop trade rules. The current world trade agreement food shortages.
subsidising its exports of food to Africa if was supposed to have prevented the EU and
America did the same. But US policy also ensures that food aid is
the US from subsidising their exports to delivered just when it is needed least. Oxfam
His offer was significant, not only because it developing nations. But, as the development has produced a graph plotting the amount of
represented a major policy reversal for France, agency Oxfam has shown, the agreement wheat given to developing nations by the US
but also because it provided an opportunity to contains so many loopholes that it permits the against world prices. When the price falls the
abandon the perpetual agricultural arms race two big players simply to call their export volume of "aid" rises. This is as clear a
between the European Union and the US, in subsidies by a different name. demonstration of agricultural dumping as you
which each side seeks to offer more subsidies So, for example, the EU has, in several farm could ask for. The very programme that is
than the other. The West's farm subsidies, as sectors, stopped paying farmers according to meant to help the poor is in fact undermining
Blair has pointed out, are a disaster for the the amount they produce and started instead them.
developing world, and particularly for Africa. to give them direct grants, based on the
Farming accounts for some 70% of So, when faced with a choice between saving
amount of land they own and how much they Africa and saving George Bush from a mild
employment on that continent, and most of the produced there in the past. The US has applied
farmers there are desperately poor. Part of the diplomatic embarrassment, Blair has, as we
the same formula, and added a couple of tricks could have predicted, done as his master bids.
reason is that they are unfairly undercut by the of its own. One of these is called "export
subsidised products dumped on their markets The scar on the conscience of the world has
credit": the state reduces the cost of US just become deeper and angrier.
by exporters from the US and the EU. Chirac's exports by providing cheap insurance for the
The Guardian Weekly 20-3-03 page 13

2
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 The world’s rich nations miss a golden opportunity to back fair trade
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer for each question:

1 Why, according to the author, are agricultural subsidies a bad thing?

a because they lead to cheaper food prices in Africa
b because they make the price of imported food cheaper than locally produced food
c because they only benefit the USA

2 Why is the author angry with Tony Blair?

a because he has a huge majority
b because he always supports the American position
c because he changed his mind and opposed the French proposal

3 How have the EU and the US avoided the World Trade Agreement ban on subsidising food exports?
a by giving these subsidies a different name
b by paying farmers according to the amount they produce
c by giving money directly to poor farmers

4 Why do richer countries like the Philippines receive more US food aid than poorer countries?
a because they have bigger populations
b because they are better potential markets for US products
c because they have a louder voice

4 Vocabulary: Find the Word or Expression

1 Find a noun which means "someone with clear ideas or hopes of how something should be done".
2 Find an adjective which means "continuing all the time".
3 Find an adjective which means "weak or easy to hurt".
4 Find an adverb which means "done by one person without help from anyone else"
5 Find an adjective which means "impossible to resist".
6 Find a noun which is another word for "subsidy".
7 Find a verb which means "entering" a market for the first time.
8 Find a noun which means "places where products are sold".

3
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 The world’s rich nations miss a golden opportunity to back fair trade
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Vocabulary: Collocation
Match the verbs with the nouns

1 to give a concessions
2 to undercut b a formula
3 to feed c costs
4 to provide d a speech
5 to make e a market
6 to apply f an opportunity
7 to reduce g shortages
8 to penetrate h a problem
9 to suffer from i a price
10to address j starving people

6 Discussion
What does fair trade mean to you?
Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of giving food aid to poor countries.
What should the richer countries do to help poorer countries?

4
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Airline Security
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Pre-reading activities
1 Make a list of the ways in which airlines try to ensure the security of their flights

2 The article which follows contains the words "racial profiling is one of the hottest hot-button issues
in contemporary America"
What do you understand by "racial profiling"?
What is a "hot-button issue"?

3 The article is about the case of Walied Shater, an Arab-American who was refused permission to
board a flight from Baltimore to Dallas-Fort Worth on Christmas Day. Which of the following
reasons do you think may have been responsible for this refusal:
a Mr Shater had a gun f He had an Arabic name

b He was carrying a book on Arab history g He was sweating profusely

c He was nervous and agitated h He pretended to be a secret service agent

d He was of Middle-Eastern appearance i He had weapons in his luggage

e He behaved in a confrontational manner j He filled in a form incorrectly

4 Now read the article and check your answers.

Airline Security: Dishonest words on racial profiling muddy debate on airline security
WASHINGTON DIARY JULIAN BORGER
It was a scene that a Hollywood scriptwriter might have dreamt up for one of those earnest television
dramas that explore contemporary issues. But in this real-life scenario there has been no sex or
romance.
It is Christmas Day, three months after the trauma of September 11, and a planeload of exhausted,
slightly nervous passengers are heading home at the last minute for the holidays, on American
Airlines flight 363 from Baltimore Washington International airport to Dallas-Fort Worth. As has hap-
pened on many commercial flights since the terrorist attacks, an Arab-American undergoes scrutiny.
He objects, but is ultimately left at the gate. Such situations have become a fact of life on domestic
flights in the United States, but this time it is different. It turns out that the Arab-American, Walied
Shater, is a secret serviceman on his way to guard President George Bush at the "Western White
House" in Crawford, Texas. Big trouble ensues.
The Christmas incident was doomed to degenerate into a rhetoric-laden mess as soon as the first
lawyer or television pundit used the two words "racial profiling" - one of the hottest of hot-button
issues in contemporary America. The President himself threatened he would be "madder than heck" if
it turned out that Shater was a victim of such a practice, in which citizens are picked out for special
attention because of skin colour, name or religion. American Airlines denied Shater had been kicked
off the flight because of his Arab-American identity. Instead, the troubled airline (which lost two
planes on September 11) published critical accounts of his behaviour, describing him as irate and
confrontational. He had filled in a form allowing government security officers to carry guns on planes,
but had filled it in wrongly twice. His identity was eventually confirmed by the Secret Service, but he
had become so truculent by then it was judged best to leave him behind.

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Airline Security
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Shater has hired lawyers to demand an apology and force a change in the airline's security measures.
The lawyers have gone on television to deny the claims that the presidential bodyguard had behaved
unprofessionally. It was the pilot, the lawyers insist, who was confrontational. They say that there
had been no problem with the gun-carrying forms until the pilot became aware of the passenger's
Arab-American identity and a flight attendant discovered a book on Arab history among his
possessions.
It looks like one of those simmering affairs that will run and run on the radio talk-shows. Furthermore
the whole discussion is handicapped, from the President down, by a fundamental dishonesty about
the issues in play.
It is a fact that Arab-Americans and people with Muslim names have been subjected to much more
scrutiny than fellow passengers on flights since September 11. There have been multiple cases of
people being left off planes because the flight crew and the passengers felt queasy about their Middle
Eastern appearance. A commercial airline pilot I know told me in blunt terms that one of the key
items on the "new security" checklist is scanning the passenger manifest for Islamic names. American
Airlines' claim that Shater's Arab-American identity and his book on Arab history had nothing to do
with the pilot's decision looks dubious, to say the least. It is hard to imagine the same situation arising
with a blond secret serviceman possessing a book about the American civil war, but the airline insists
it would have acted in an identical manner.
So, because ethnicity is supposed to have nothing to do with the incident, the airline has resorted to
pushing out damaging accounts of the secret serviceman's behaviour, possibly endangering his career
prospects. It is a recipe for anger. The refusal to acknowledge the issue of ethnicity has just driven it
underground, with the result that neither the effectiveness of ethnic screening nor its civil rights
implications can be properly addressed.
The fact that all 19 of the hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks were Muslim Arabs has
inevitably had an effect on the perceptions of airline pilots and crews. It would be extraordinary if it
had not. The overwhelming majority of trainees who went through al-Qaida's Afghan camps were
Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia. It is possible to argue, then, that there might be a significant
security benefit in giving particular attention to passengers who fit that profile. On the other hand, the
role of a Briton, Richard Reid, a Muslim with a non-Muslim name, in the shoe-bomb attempt on an
American Airlines flight before Christmas was a clear reminder that the assailants in the next attack
may not conform to the stereotype. Al-Qaida has shown itself adept at varying its line of attack.
This is a debate worth having. If it was decided that there was a significant benefit to using elements
of ethnic profiling in security screening, there could be further discussion of how to minimise the
trade-off between security and the civil rights of those targeted. For example, confirming that a
passenger was a secret serviceman with one of the highest security levels in the land should have been
more than sufficient to outweigh the fact that he was of Arab descent. These issues are currently being
ducked because the phrase "racial profiling", associated with redneck cops arbitrarily stopping black
motorists for questioning, is politically radioactive. But the consequences of this national queasiness
are bad for both air safety and civil rights.
The Guardian Weekly 10-1-2002, page 4

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Airline Security
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

5 Find words in paragraphs 1-3 of the text that mean the following:

a very tired f certain to happen (with a negative outcome)

b happens afterwards g expert
c careful investigation h extremely angry (2 expressions)
d in the end/finally i ejected
e follows j bad-tempered and aggressive (2 expressions)

6 Phrasal Verbs. Look at the third paragraph again. Find phrasal verbs which mean the following:

a To complete c To eject
b To select d To prove to be the case

The Christmas incident was doomed to degenerate into a rhetoric-laden mess as soon as the first
lawyer or television pundit used the two words "racial profiling" - one of the hottest of hot-button
issues in contemporary America. The President himself threatened he would be "madder than heck" if
it turned out that Shater was a victim of such a practice, in which citizens are picked out for special
attention because of skin colour, name or religion. American Airlines denied Shater had been kicked
off the flight because of his Arab-American identity. Instead, the troubled airline (which lost two
planes on September 11) published critical accounts of his behaviour, describing him as irate and
confrontational. He had filled in a form allowing government security officers to carry guns on planes,
but had filled it in wrongly twice. His identity was eventually confirmed by the Secret Service, but he
had become so truculent by then it was judged best to leave him behind.

7 Complete these sentences using vocabulary (in an appropriate form) from paragraphs
4-8 of the text:

a The claim that Mr Shater behaved unprofessionally has been ________________ by his lawyers.

b A fundamental dishonesty about the issues in play is ________________ the whole discussion,

c Since September 11th there has been much more _____________ of passengers with Muslim names.

d Passenger manifests are routinely ________________ for Islamic names.

e Mr Shater’s career prospects may have been ________________ by the incident.

f The line of attack may be ________________ next time.

g Further discussion may mean that the trade-off between security and the civil rights of those
targeted may be ________________

h For many people the phrase "racial profiling" has ________________ with redneck cops.

2 Discussion
Do you think that racial profiling is justified in the case of airline security?
Which is more important: passenger security or the civil rights of passengers?
What is the best way for airlines to maintain security?

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Fill the gaps using these words from the text.

icon derivative eclipse hype spoiler

disastrous scathing relaunch

1. In business a ____________ is a product launched by a company simply to

prevent another company’s product being successful.
2. An ____________ is a well-known symbol that represents a particular idea.
3. If you ____________ a product, you advertise and sell it again in a slightly
different way from before.
4. A ____________ product is something that has been developed or adapted
from something else.
5. ____________ is an adjective that means ‘criticising someone or something in
a very strong way’. It goes with words like ‘remark’ and ‘comment’.
6. If something is ____________ it causes a lot of damage or harm.
7. ____________ is the use of an excessive amount of publicity to influence or
interest people.
8. If you ____________ a competitor, you make them seem less successful or
important by becoming more successful and important than they are.

1. What is the A380?

2. Where are Airbus’s headquarters?
3. Where are Boeing’s headquarters?
4. Which company currently sells more planes, Airbus or Boeing?
5. Which of the two companies will produce the 787?
6. Which new plane will be bigger, the A380 or the 787?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Boeing rubbishes Airbus's A380 but seems simply cheap spoilers aimed at reducing the other
to be hedging its bets on future side’s advantage.
Oliver Morgan
Airbus insists its numbers on the A380 are
The world's largest airliner, the A380, took off correct. It claims that, out of the market for some
from its base in Toulouse last week for a test 16,000 passenger jets over the next 20 years,
flight before landing safely four hours later. It was 1,400 will be planes with more than 500 seats. On
as easy, said the pilot, as riding a bicycle. The paper the A380 has no competition in this
senior management at Airbus' owner, the category and, if Boeing stops production of the
European Aeronautic Defence and Space 747, which carries some 420 people, the next
Company (Eads), declared the flight a triumph of biggest plane will be the Boeing 777 with only
European cooperation. A press release said: 380 seats. Boeing reckons there is barely a market
"Airbus has created something that is both for 350 planes above 500 seats. It believes
marvellous for today and will also be an demand will be in long-range, ultra-efficient
aerospace icon for decades to come." planes flying 200 to 250 people up to 13,000km.
It predicts demand for some 3,100 787s over the
Across the Atlantic, Airbus' arch-rival, Chicago- next 20 years.
based Boeing, revealed first-quarter profits that
were down 14% on last year. Boeing's 40-year Observers are sceptical that A380 sales will hit
dominance of civil aviation has slipped away. For the top end of its target range, though they will
the past two years it has been outsold by Airbus, not write it off. Chris Avery, an aviation analyst,
and its forecast of 320 plane deliveries this year says: "It is hard to believe the forecasts but don't
compares with 350 to 360 for the European forget they are talking about 20 years. They might
manufacturer. So, do those two events tell us what do it." He thinks Boeing's forecast is more solid.
we need to know about the direction of the aircraft "There are around 2,000 757s and 767s that all
industry? With its $15bn giant -- providing the need to be replaced over the next 20 years. If you
cheapest flights on the busiest routes – will Airbus add on growth, a market of 3,000 sounds sensible,
eclipse Boeing forever? The hype last week made and with a new product Boeing should get half of
that seem a foregone conclusion. But might the that." But Sandy Morris, of ABN Amro, says:
Europeans be flying too close to the sun? Might "Boeing's is a good model in a growth
Boeing's less eye-catching strategy, using small, environment. But what are the costs going to be?
hyper-efficient aircraft - such as its 787 In the A380 you have a plane making 1.5 trips a
Dreamliner, carrying 200-250 people - be the day, carrying, say, 675 people, looking to get a
better one? return on $225m. On the 787, it is 375 [people] on
$150m. What looks easier to you?"
In the past year each company has begun to
market a variant of one of its existing products to If Airbus has its sums wrong, the costs could be
challenge a new model launched by the other. disastrous. Already they are creeping up - in
Airbus is planning its A350 - a derivative of its December Eads admitted the A380 was $1.9bn
A330 series, carrying 245-285 people long-haul - over budget, at $16bn. It needs to sell 250 planes
to take on Boeing's 787, while Boeing is planning to break even. So far, there are orders for 154.
an ultra-efficient version of its 40-year-old 747. Boeing continues to criticise the A380. Orders for
The moves raise two questions. Are the the 787 have flooded in and now stand at about
manufacturers losing confidence in their views of 250. In the past two weeks it has taken orders
the market? And, given that both proposed planes from Air Canada, Air India and Air Korea. So
are variants of existing models, are they not why is it is considering a lightweight version of
the 747, carrying up to 450 passengers?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
The company explains that, without the 747, there The question is which package of new plane and
would be a gap in the market between the 777 and spoiler will work best. The A380 is the new icon
the A380. It insists that the intention is not to of the air. The 787 is an attractive prospect for
compete directly with it. It denies that it is trying airlines seeking flexibility and low cost in a stable
to persuade airlines such as British Airways and market. But the A350 could deliver the same
Cathay Pacific which are considering the A380 to combination, and it is a more modern "derivative"
buy 747s instead. Airbus is scathing. A company than the 747 Advanced. The outcome will depend
official says: "Boeing has been talking about on costs and the prices both companies can charge
relaunching its 747 for 10 years. What it shows is airlines. We will not know those numbers until the
they still believe there is a market for large profit and loss figures appear - in about 15 years'
aircraft." time.
The Guardian Weekly 06/05/2005, page 26

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Choose the best answer.

1. Which of these statements best reflects the overall meaning of the text:
a. The A380 will be more successful because it will carry more passengers.
b. The 787 will be more successful because it will be more flexible.
c. It will be about 15 years before we know which product has been more
successful.

2. Why, according to market analysts, is Boeing relaunching the 747?

a. To fill a gap in the market.
b. To act as a spoiler, competing with the A380.
c. To cut costs.

3. What is the main selling-point of the A380?

a. Its price.
b. The number of passengers it can carry.
c. The fact that it is as easy to fly as riding a bicycle.

4. What is Boeing’s attitude to the A380?

a. It doesn’t believe there is a market for such huge planes.
b. It believes its planes are more modern than the A380.
c. It believes American planes are more popular than European ones.

Match the verbs with their meanings.

1. take off a. to disappear gradually

2. slip away b. to arrive in large numbers
3. take on c. to rise slowly but steadily
4. write off d. to leave the ground
5. creep up e. to decide that something will not succeed
6. flood in f. to challenge

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Fill the gaps using one of these expressions from the text:

a foregone conclusion
eye-catching
flying too close to the sun
to break even
to have one’s sums wrong

1. If you are ____________, you are taking a great risk.

2. If you ____________, you cover your costs but you don’t make a profit.
3. If you ____________, your calculations are not correct.
4. A ____________ is a result you can be certain about before it happens.
5. If something is ____________, it is attractive or unusual and therefore easily
noticed.

What is the meaning of these prefixes? Choose the best answer.

1. arch-rival a. worst b. best c. main

2. ultra-efficient a. best b. extremely c. worst
3. hyper-efficient a. strongest b. biggest c. more than usual
4. re-launch a. back b. again c. up
5. outsell a. more than b. away c. less than
6. cooperation a. off b. together c. in

Which option is better for the environment, business, travel and trade – larger aircraft
carrying more than 500 passengers or smaller, more flexible aircraft? Make a list of
points for and against each option.

Should air travel be restricted in order to save the environment?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Complete the sentences using these words from the text:

deforestation quota herd logging play down

slaughterhouse indigenous rancher justifiable restrict

1. A ____________ is a building where animals are killed for their meat.

2. A large group of animals that live and move about together is called a ____________ .
3. A ____________ is someone who owns or manages a large farm in the Americas.
4. ____________ is the process of removing all the trees from a large area of land.
5. If you ____________ something you place limits on it.
6. ____________ is the work of cutting down trees for wood.
7. If something is ____________, there is a good reason for it.
8. If you ____________ a problem, you try to make it seem less important than it really is.
9. A ____________ is an amount of something that someone is officially allowed to have or do.
10. The ____________ people of a region are the people who lived there for a very long time before
other people came to live there.

Decide whether these statements are true or false and then look in the text to check your
answers:

1. The Amazonian forest is the worldís largest continuous forest.

2. Most of Brazilís beef is exported to the United States.
3. Brazilian beef is popular in Europe because people are afraid that European cattle are diseased.
4. Logging is the main reason for deforestation.
5. Soybean cultivation causes more deforestation than cattle farming.
6. There is no foot and mouth disease in Brazil.

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Demand for beef cattle ranchers making
mincemeat out of the
market. "In the 1970s and
1980s most of the meat from
speeds destruction rainforests," said David the Amazon was being
Kaimowitz, the director general produced by small ranchers
of Amazon forest of CIFOR and one of the selling to local
report's authors. He said that slaughterhouses. Very large
Europe's demand for beef logging contributed only commercial ranchers linked to
made last year one of the worst indirectly to deforestation. The supermarkets are now targeting
yet for Amazonian Amazon's cattle population the whole of Brazil and the
deforestation, according to an more than doubled to 57 million global market," Mr Kaimowitz
international research report between 1990 and 2002, the said.
that quotes Brazilian report says. "[In that time] the
government figures due to be percentage of Europe's Last month President Luis
released soon. Last year processed meat imports that Inacio (Lula) da Silva
satellite pictures showed that came from Brazil rose from announced new measures
almost 26,000 sq km of the 40% to 74%. Markets in Russia worth $133m to restrict
world's largest continuous and the Middle East are also deforestation in the Amazon
forest was lost, 40% more than responsible for much of this and provide greater support for
in the previous year. And this new demand for Brazilian indigenous territories and
year's loss could be greater, beef." community forestry. "The
says the internationally funded government's approach goes in
Centre for International But it plays down US claims the right direction, but unless
Forestry Research (CIFOR). that GM-free soya farming for urgent action is taken the
the European market is leading Brazilian Amazon could lose an
The destruction is being driven to deforestation. "Although the additional area the size of
by a growing demand for last few years have witnessed a Denmark over the next 18
Brazilian beef in Europe great deal of justifiable concern months," Benoit Mertens,
because of the fear of mad cow about the expansion of another author of the
disease and foot and mouth in soybean cultivation into the report, said.
European herds, last week's Amazon, that still explains only
CIFOR report says. EU a small percentage of total CIFOR recommends that the
countries, it says, now take deforestation," the authors say. Brazilian government should
almost 40% of Brazil's 578,000 Mr Kaimowitz said that the rate also try to keep ranchers off
tonnes of exported beef. Egypt, of Amazonian deforestation government land, restrict road
Russia and Saudi Arabia could grow in the next few projects that open up the forest,
between them import 35%. The years as Brazil became free of and provide economic
US, which has strict beef quota foot and mouth disease. incentives to maintain land as
systems to protect its own forest.
ranchers, takes only 8%. The report suggests that giant
ranching operations linked to John Vidal
"The deforestation is being European supermarkets were The Guardian Weekly page 3
fuelled by beef exports, with now dominating the beef export

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Find an expression in the text which means ëcompletely destroyingí.

Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences:

1. Europeís demand for beef ...

2. Brazilian beef is popular in Europe ...
3. The US takes only 8% of Brazilian beef exports ...
4. GM-free soybean cultivation cannot be blamed for most of the destruction ...
5. The rate of deforestation is likely to increase ...
6. Although logging is a factor in deforestation ...
7. Unless urgent action is taken ...
8. The transformation of the Amazonian beef industry from a local industry to a global industry ...

a. ... a huge area of rainforest will be lost in the next 18 months.

b. ... because it has strict quota systems to protect its own farmers.
c. ... it only contributes indirectly to it.
d. ... because it accounts for only a small percentage of deforestation.
e. ... has led directly to an increase in deforestation in Brazil.
f. ... because Brazil will probably soon be free of foot and mouth disease.
g. ... was caused by a link-up between European supermarkets and commercial ranchers.
h. ... because European consumers are afraid of mad cow disease in European herds.

Which prepositions follow these words?

1. demand ________
2. fear ________
3. concern ________
4. linked ________
5. support ________
6. according ________
7. due ________
8. responsible ________

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Put these words into the correct box (eg ëa herd of cattleí):

dogs sheep cows birds wolves elephants

HERD FLOCK PACK

Look at this example:

The deforestation is being fuelled by beef exports.

Make more sentences in the same form from these prompts:

1. millions of trees cut down

2. large areas of rainforest lose
3. 40% of Brazilís beef export to the EU
4. the whole of Brazil target
5. new measures introduce

Which of these are more important: the forests, food, income for local farmers?

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Spare a tear for Argentina
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Pre-reading activities
1 Look at the headline again. What do you think the story is about?

a Football

b International politics

c Economics

2 What do you know about Argentina?

Which of these statements are true and which are false? TRUE FALSE

1 The Argentine economy is expanding at the rate of 15% a year.

2 Argentina produces enough food to feed its population 10 times over.

3 Unemployment is currently around 25%.

4 In the late 1980s inflation in Argentina was 5,000% a year.

5 In the early 1990s inflation reached 10,000% a year.

6 In the mid-1990s the Argentinian peso was still pegged to the dollar.

Now read the text and check your answers.

SPARE A TEAR FOR ARGENTINA

Once a shining star of free-market stances. Blanco's case was not con- enough to feed 10 times its popula-
capitalism, the country is in eco- sidered serious enough, and he was tion.
nomic meltdown. So where did it all offered just 10% of his money in
go wrong? devalued pesos. The operation cost Outside the Casa Rosada, where
a lot more and Blanco died two Evita waved to the adoring crowds
As Argentina followed its team in weeks before the World Cup. from the balcony, there are daily
the World Cup, one who did not take demonstrations against the Peronist
his usual place in the press box was For many Argentinians Blanco's president, Eduardo Duhalde. These
the sports journalists Horacio story summed up what has been are not demonstrations orchestrated
Garcia Blanco. A veteran reporter of happening to their country over the by the young, but by the grande
nine world cups, Blanco was past four years, as it has been trans- dames of Buenos Aires, banging
expecting to cover his 10th when his formed from the blue-eyed boy of away on their pots and pans like
doctors told him that he needed a Latin American globalisation into a May Day anarchists but with their
kidney transplant. It should not have country imploding economically, hair nicely tinted for the occasion.
been a problem because Blanco, 65, politically and socially. Argentina's middle class has been
was comfortably off. He had the Unemployment is 25%, the econo- impoverished. And it is angry. Very
money to pay for the operation. But my is contracting at a rate of 15% a angry indeed.
there was one snag. Like millions of year, the central bank is running out
other Argentinians, Blanco has had of money to defend the currency, Having been used as a test-bed for
his account frozen since December. and a quarter of children are suffer- free-market ideology, Argentina is
Banks only have to pay out if judges ing from malnutrition in a country now the laboratory mouse for what
rule that there are special circum- so rich in farmland that it produces to do when those ideas go badly

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Spare a tear for Argentina
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

wrong. All this was unthinkable as onwards. The deflationary impact of version law that was originally
recently as the mid-90s, when the the dollar peg was exacerbated by passed to deal with leftwing terror-
Peronist president, Carlos Menem, another development - the spate of ists in the 70s, but is now being used
was praised in the West for taming financial crises in developing coun- against bankers accused of spiriting
Argentina's hyper-inflation and tries that started in Mexico in 1994 millions of dollars out of the coun-
introducing a package of market- and spread to Asia, Russia and try. The fund says that the reforms
friendly reforms. Menem pegged Brazil between 1997 and 1999 are vital if the confidence of foreign
the peso to the dollar, abolished investors is to be restored.
exchange controls, privatised large Duhalde has yet to find a way of
chunks of Argentina's state-owned unfreezing deposits that satisfies the Argentinians think otherwise. "First
firms and opened up the country to depositors, compensates the banks they came for our companies and
the full blast of foreign competition. for the losses made as a result of they took them away," says a fly
The key to his early economic suc- devaluation, and alleviates the poster on the doors of Bank Boston,
cess was the dollar peg, since the IMF's fears that the country could pitted with dents from hammer
commitment to convert pesos into slip into hyper-inflation. He is now blows. "Then they came for our sav-
dollars at a one-for-one exchange trying desperately to cut a deal with ings and they stole them. Now they
rate meant that Argentina could not the IMF that would provide a bail- are coming for our whole country.
fall back into bad habits and simply out in return for the acceptance of Argentina rise - now or never."
print money when times got tough. stringent conditions. Until recently,
As a result, inflation fell from the fund's tough-love approach was Argentina is a country rich in
5,000% a year in the late 1980s to supported by Argentinians, who resources and culture. It feels its
almost zero in the early 90s. were convinced that any cash pro- humiliation deeply. The sense is that
vided would find its way into the the economic situation will get
But the "miracle cure" contained pockets of the notoriously corrupt worse before it gets better. History
within it the seeds of its own political establishment. But the suggests that the combination of a
destruction. Being pegged to the IMF's insistence on two further con- dispossessed middle class and a
dollar was fine when the United ditions has altered the public mood. working class with nothing to lose is
States currency was falling, as it did The first is that the government in a catalyst for revolution. That is the
for the first half of the 90s, because Buenos Aires changes its bankrupt- real worry. Tragedy is not losing a
that meant that Argentinian exports cy law to allow foreign - almost cer- football match. It is what is unfold-
to the rest of South America and tainly US firms - to buy up liquidat- ing in Argentina now.
Europe remained competitive. It ed Argentinian firms at bargain-
was a different story, however, once basement prices. The second is that The Guardian Weekly 13-6-2002,
the dollar started to rise from 1995 Argentina scraps an economic sub- page 10

Comprehension check
Choose the best answer for each of these questions:

1 Horacio Blanco, a leading Argentine sports journalist , died because:

a He had no money to pay for his operation.

b The bank refused to release his money.

c The price of the operation had increased by 10%.

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Spare a tear for Argentina
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

2 When the writer says the Argentinian economy is "imploding", he means:

a It is growing too rapidly.

b It is stagnating.

c It is collapsing.

3 Argentina’s middle classes are demonstrating every day because:

a They have lost their jobs.

b They are anarchists.

c They have become poor.

4 What was the initial effect of pegging the peso to the dollar?

a Inflation fell to almost zero.

b The dollar fell in value.

c Argentina printed more money.

5 What happened in 1995 when the dollar (and the peso) began to rise in value?

a There was a financial crisis in Mexico.

b Argentinian exports became more expensive.

c Inflation increased.

6 What will happen if Argentina changes its bankruptcy law?

a American companies will buy liquidated local companies at cheap prices.

b Bankers will be able to export currency freely.

c The money will go to the corrupt political establishment.

7 What is the forecast for the immediate future?

a Things will get better for a while.

b Things will get much worse.

c Things will get worse before they get better.

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Spare a tear for Argentina
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Vocabulary Work
Match the words in the left-hand column with the definitions in the right-hand column.

1 a snag a impossible to imagine

2 the blue-eyed boy b famous for something bad

3 barter c very strict

4 unthinkable d the favourite

5 a chunk e to make a problem worse

6 to exacerbate f a problem

7 to alleviate g paying for goods with other goods not money

8 stringent h something that causes something to happen

9 notorious i a large piece

10 a catalyst j to make something less serious

Vocabulary work 2 – collocations

Fill the gaps using an appropriate word from the text in the correct form.

1 In Argentina most bank accounts have been ______________________________ .

2 People have been demonstrating ______________________________ the government.

3 Carlos Menem was believed to have ______________________________ inflation.

4 Menem’s government ______________________________ exchange controls.

5 The dollar peg meant that Argentina could not ______________________________ into bad habits.

6 President Duhalde needs to find a way to ______________________________ the fears of the IMF.

7 The IMF is insisting ______________________________ two further conditions.

8 It is hoped that the reforms will _____________________________ the confidence of foreign investors.

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Spare a tear for Argentina
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Metaphorical and idiomatic phrases.

Try to paraphrase the meaning in context of the following phrases from the text. In some of the
phrases there is a transfer of meaning from one area of language to another. In 1 language from agri-
culture/horticulture is transferred to help illustrate language discussing economics. Try to identify
these transfers (using a dictionary helps!)
The first has been done for you.
1 a test bed for free market ideology ➛ a place used to experiment with ideas and practices coming from
free market ideas. (a test bed is a term from agriculture referring to an area set aside for
experimental cultivation.)

2 Argentina is now the laboratory mouse for what to do when these ideas go wrong ➛

3 Carlos Menem was praised for taming Argentina’s hyperinflation ➛

4 to cut a deal that would provide a bail-out in return for the acceptance of stringent conditions ➛

Discussion Points
Is investment from abroad the answer to the problems of a country like Argentina?

Should American companies be allowed to buy bankrupt Argentinian companies at knock-down

prices?

Is the government justified in freezing people’s bank accounts to protect the economy?

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 1. What does SUV stand for?

a. Super Useful Vehicle

b. Sports Utility Vehicle
c. Safe Use Vehicle

2. Why are environmentalists opposed to SUVs?

a. They are only owned by rich people.

b. They consume much more fuel than ordinary cars.
c. They take up a lot of space in cities.

3. Why do many Americans defend the use of SUVs?

a. They believe people should be free to choose the type of car they drive.
b. They regard buying an SUV as a patriotic act.
c. They donít care how much fuel they use.

Now look in the text and check your answers.

Match the following idiomatic expressions used in the text with their meanings.

1. gas-guzzling a. a play on words meaning ìunpleasant carsî

2. bete noire b. filling a space completely; everywhere
3. axles of evil c. fanatical environmentalists
4. hot-button issue d. using a huge amount of fuel
5. Gotham e. the favourite target for activists or protesters
6. envirocrazies f. a very controversial topic
7. wall-to-wall g. another name for New York City, derived from the city in the
Batman movies

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 need such a huge car? This is January some SUVs were set
Axles of evil not a militarized zone." alight by protesters in
Pennsylvania; in Washington
Arnold Schwarzenegger has Ron DeFore, the state they have had their
five. Mike Tyson has four. communications director of windshields smashed; in
And they account for a third of SUV Owners of America Massachusetts they were
all car sales in the US. But (SUVOA), says if anyone like spray-painted with the slogan:
now environmentalists are Weinstock touched his SUV "No Blood for Oil". Branded
going to war against the SUV. (what others call a four-wheel the "axles of evil", they have
drive or off-road vehicle), he been the target of a
It's Tuesday night on the would "hire a private nationwide advertising
Upper West Side in New York investigator, track that animal campaign. They are ticketed
and Adam Weinstock has his down and get them put in jail in their millions and attract
work cut out. As we turn the for defacement of personal bumper stickers declaring:
corner on 68th and Lexington, property". He is tired of "As a matter of fact, I do own
an entire block of sports utility "envirocrazies" giving the road," and "I'm changing
vehicles awaits him. Half car, Americans a hard time for the environment, ask me
half truck they have names their vehicle choice and how."
like Navigators, Excursions, believes their arguments
Expeditions, Pathfinders, about the environment and The row has transformed the
Cherokees and Escalades - safety are bogus. His SUV from a car into a national
names designed to evoke the message to them? "Get on metaphor that envelops just
great outdoors parked in the with your life and stop about every hot-button
wealthy heart of densely bitching." political issue and cultural
packed Gotham. Weinstock touchstone from religion to
approaches each one with a The SUV is all the rage. sex, from tax-cuts to the first
critical eye. "You'll notice the Along with its even bigger, Gulf War. These are iconic
front grilles," he says, pointing uglier, warlike cousin, the cars for iconic people.
to the bars framing the Hummer, it makes up almost
bumper. "They're particularly a third of all the cars sold in The message from SUVOA's
important for all the trees America. It has made "light founder on its website begins:
you're going to run into when trucks" the most successful "Is this a Great Country or
riding around New York City." category the US car industry What? Yes it is." Why?
And then he slaps them with has ever known and one of "Because we have the
a fake parking ticket. the most profitable. Indeed its freedom to own and operate
"Violation: Earth," it says. popularity is matched only by the vehicles of our choice and
"Open your eyes, take a few the controversy it provokes. to express our belief that
deep breaths, and get honest Its gas-guzzling reputation freedom must not be
with yourself . . . Why do you has made it the bete noire of diminished because some
environmental activists. In individuals dislike SUVs."

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
When fighting in Iraq was at Hummers are even worse. In example for the rest of the
its height, Hummer drivers comparison, the average world."
regarded their choice of petrol-fuelled saloon
vehicle as a patriotic act. manages 30mpg. In a So far the protests have had
"When I turn on the TV, I see country where, according to little effect on the American
wall-to-wall Humvees, and I'm the US department of energy, conscience. Sales of SUVs
proud," Sam Bernstein told per-capita energy continue to climb faster than
the New York Times. "They're consumption has been about those of any other type of car.
not out there in Audi A4s," he 4.5 times greater than the One of the reasons that the
said of the troops. world average, the debate protesters' entreaties may
over SUVs is linked to the have converted so few is that
Someone who drives an SUV, broader national debate - while the SUV's fuel
according to its critics, does namely what responsibility consumption makes a big
not care about the America has to the rest of the difference to the environment,
environment. At the heart of world and how it should go it has little effect on the wallet.
this controversy, like so many about fulfilling it. "You could At about $1.67 a gallon (3.8
here in recent years, is say that the American way is litres), gasoline in America is
America's favourite drug - oil. to do what you want when so cheap that an extra five
Federal figures show that you want," says Weinstock. miles to the gallon would save
four-wheel-drive SUVs "But there's another American the average American only
average 17.3 miles per gallon way where people pull $135 a year.
and on some larger models together for the common
that goes down to 12. good and we try to set an The Guardian Weekly

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
 Match the beginnings with the endings:

1. Environmentalists are opposed to SUVs because Ö.

2. The fake parking tickets that protesters place on SUVs Ö.
3. The communications director of SUVOA believes that Ö.
4. SUVs are Ö.
5. The war in Iraq made SUV owners feel that Ö.
6. In general SUVs Ö
7. US per-capita energy consumption Ö.
8. The environmentalistsí protests have fallen on deaf ears because Ö.

a. Ö is more than 4 times the world average.

b. Ö the arguments of the environmentalists are false.
c. Ö their choice of car was a patriotic act.
d. Ö they cause more damage to the environment than ordinary cars.
e. Ö consume about 45% more fuel than ordinary cars.
f. Ö the price of fuel is not an issue in the USA.
g. Ö the most successful type of car in US automobile history.
h. Ö question the ownersí need to buy such large vehicles.

1. Find two words which mean ëfalseí.

2. Find a word which means ëdamageí.
3. Find a word which means ëcomplainingí.
4. Find a word which means ëfamousí and ërepresenting a particular ideaí.
5. Find a word which means ëcriticsí or ëopponentsí.
6. Find a word which means ëa family carí.
7. Find a two-word expression which means ëto co-operateí.
8. Find a word which means ëstrong requestsí.

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 Fill the gaps with these verbs from the text.

fulfil have provoke make go

turn on express put set

1. to ____________ an example
2. to ____________ an effect
3. to ____________ someone in jail
4. to ____________ controversy
5. to ____________ a belief
6. to ____________ the TV
7. to ____________ a responsibility
8. to ____________ a difference
9. to ____________ to war

Make a list of the points for and against owning SUVs.

Should the sale of large cars be banned?

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Fill the gaps using these key verbs from the text.

mutate disclose multiply piece together

recover outweigh evolve merge

1. If something ____________ something else, it is more important, more useful or

more valuable than the other thing.
2. If two things ____________, they combine or become mixed so that you can no
longer tell the difference between them.
3. If something ____________, it changes genetically.
4. If you ____________ something ____________, you create something by combining
separate parts to make a whole.
5. To ____________ means to give information to people, especially information that
was secret.
6. The verb to ____________ means to develop gradually over a period of time.
7. If you ____________ from a disease, you become fit and healthy again.
8. To ____________ means to increase by a large amount.

Choose the best answer. Then look in the text and check your answers.

1. The Spanish flu virus of 1918 killed 3. What kind of creatures does the
a) 5 million people adjective ‘avian’ refer to?
b) 15 million people a) Insects
c) 50 million people b) Mammals
c) Birds
2. What is a pandemic?
a) A disease that affects almost 4. What does a virologist study?
everyone in a very large area. a) Birds
b) A disease that spreads very quickly. b) The treatment and study of illnesses
c) A disease that kills millions of caused by viruses.
people. c) Diseases

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Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
Back from the dead explain its lethality. But other researchers
By Ian Sample warned that the virus could escape from the
laboratory.
Scientists have recreated the deadly 1918
Spanish flu virus, to the alarm of many "This will raise clear questions among some
researchers who fear it presents a serious as to whether they have really created a
security risk. Undisclosed quantities of the biological weapon," said Professor Ronald
virus are being held in a high-security Atlas of the University of Louisville in
government laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia, Kentucky. "For me, it raises even more
after a nine-year effort to rebuild the agent concerns than I already had about the
that quickly swept the globe and claimed the potential of a flu pandemic. It looks as
lives of an estimated 50 million people. It though an avian strain evolved in 1918 and
was named Spanish influenza because it was that led to the deadly outbreak, in much the
first widely reported in Spanish newspapers. same way as we're now seeing the Asian
avian flu strains evolve."
The genetic sequence is also being made
available to scientists online, a move that The publication of the work and filing of the
some experts fear adds a further risk of the virus's genetic make-up to an online
virus being created in other labs. The virus database followed an emergency meeting
was recreated in an attempt to understand last week by the US National Science
what made the 1918 outbreak so Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which
devastating. Reporting in the journal concluded that the benefits of publishing the
Science, a team led by Dr Jeffery work outweighed the risks. Many scientists
Taubenberger in the USA shows that the remained sceptical. "Once the genetic
recreated virus is extremely effective. When sequence is publicly available, there's a
injected into mice, it quickly took hold and theoretical risk that any molecular biologist
they started to lose weight rapidly, losing with sufficient knowledge could recreate
13% of their original weight in two days. this virus," said Dr John Wood a UK-based
Within six days all mice injected with the virologist. "If the genetic sequence is on a
virus had died. database, then that is a clear security risk."
"I didn't expect it to be as lethal as it was," Only a handful of scientists have security
Dr Terrence Tumpey, a scientist on the clearance to access the Atlanta laboratory.
project told the journal Nature. In a Before entering, they must pull on a
comparison experiment, similar mice were protective hood, put on breathing apparatus
injected with a contemporary strain of flu. and pass through electronic fingerprint and
Although they lost weight initially, they retina scanners to prove their identity.
recovered. Tests showed that the Spanish flu
The recreation process was laborious.
virus multiplied so rapidly that after four
Scientists collected fragments of the virus
days mice contained 39,000 times more flu
from lung tissue taken from victims at the
virus than those injected with the more
time and preserved in formalin or, in one
common strain of flu.
case, isolated from the lungs of a woman
The government and military researchers victim whose body had become frozen in the
who reconstructed the virus say their work Alaskan permafrost. Using the fragments,
has already provided an invaluable insight they painstakingly pieced together and read
into its unique genetic make-up and helps

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the complete genetic code before using the
only if an avian strain merged with a human
flu virus.
sequence to rebuild the virus from scratch.
By creating flu strains with only certain According to Taubenberger, knowing what
parts of the 1918 virus, researchers mutations gave rise to the 1918 Spanish flu
investigated which of the eight genes that virus will help scientists check viruses to
make up the virus were most responsible for work out which, if any, are evolving to the
its virulence. point where a pandemic is possible. The
H5N1 strain of bird flu in Asia is already
They discovered that rather than being
mutating to make it more suited to infecting
caused by one or two genes, they all played
humans, he said. Despite the insights given
a part, which suggests that the virus had
by the project, many scientists were alarmed
completely adapted to cause disease in
at the recreation itself and particularly that
humans, something they say could happen
the full genetic sequence was to be made
again with avian flu strains.
public on an online genetic database.
In a second paper, published in Nature last
Viruses have escaped from high-security
week, Taubenberger and his colleagues
labs before. During the recent Sars outbreak
analysed the genetic make-up of the
the virus escaped at least twice, once in
recreated virus. Surprisingly, they found it
Taiwan and once in Singapore, when
had no similarities to any of the human
researchers became contaminated. Other
viruses in circulation, suggesting that the
scientists warned that the 1918 virus's
Spanish strain had jumped from birds to
genetic code could easily be misused. But
humans and did not mix with a human virus
some scientists believe a pandemic is
first, as had been believed. The finding that
unlikely even if the virus escapes, because
Spanish flu came straight from birds has
of most people's natural immunities and the
raised concerns among scientists.
availability of antiviral drugs and flu
Previously, a pandemic was thought likely
vaccines.
The Guardian Weekly XXX, page X

Are the following statements True or False according to the text?

1. Publishing the genetic sequence online could be risky.

2. The scientists recreated the virus in order to produce biological weapons.
3. The Spanish flu virus was 39,000 times more virulent than common flu.
4. Viruses never escape from laboratories.
5. Scientists recreated the virus from the lung tissue of victims.
6. The Spanish flu virus was a bird virus that mixed with a human virus.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
1. Find another word which means ‘deadly’.
2. What word is ‘flu’ short for?
3. Find an adjective which means ‘modern or relating to the present time’.
4. Find a noun beginning with ‘s’ that means ‘a particular type of animal, plant or
disease’.
5. Find two other verbs that means the same as ‘recreate’.
6. Find an adverb that means ‘very carefully and slowly’.
7. In the last paragraph find a past participle that means ‘made dirty, polluted or
poisonous by the addition of a chemical, waste or infection’.
8. Find an adjective which means ‘frightened or worried that something dangerous
might happen’.

Match these idioms with their meanings.

1. swept the globe

2. claimed the lives
3. a handful
4. from scratch
5. played a part
6. took hold

a. from the beginning again

b. became stronger and difficult to stop
c. spread around the world very quickly
d. just a few
e. killed
f. had a role

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Complete the expressions from the text by adding an appropriate preposition.

1. give rise _______

2. merge _______
3. _______ scratch
4. responsible _______
5. available _______
6. injected _______
7. escape _______
8. similarities _______

Is it ethically and morally right to recreate dangerous diseases for the purposes of
research? Make a list of the points for and against such research.

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Working the land to feed the people
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Brazil's landless workers' movement has radical solutions to the country's problems, writes Jan Rocha

Pre-reading activities

1 What is YOUR view? Which of the following do you regard as positive and which as negative?

a Genetically-modified foods (GM foods) e Traditional farming methods

b The removal of trade barriers f Small family farms

c Building roads and dams g Transnational food companies

d Using fertilisers and pesticides to grow crops

2 Which of these statements do you think are TRUE and which are FALSE TRUE FALSE

a Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of food.

b One third of the population of Brazil goes hungry.

c In Brazil, cattle ranchers struggle against road builders.

d Using fertilisers and pesticides means bigger and better harvests.

e Chemical farming rapidly exhausts the soil.

f Small farmers rather than big companies have benefited from the government’s reforms.

Now read the text and check your answers:

Working the land to feed reform, education and mobilisation. croppers and rubbertappers against
the people The Movimento dos Trabalhadores the powerful forces unleashed by
Rurais Sem Terra (MST) - the the military regime's economic
Hunger is spreading in a world of Landless Rural Workers Movement policy - ruthless cattle ranchers and
plenty: in Brazil, one of the world's - has become one of Brazil's biggest landowners, road and dam builders.
big food producers, a third of the popular movements, and their red T- In the 1970s this policy led directly
population goes hungry. The gov- shirts, caps and flags are now a to the displacement of almost 5 mil-
ernments and corporations that run familiar sight at every demonstra- lion people in the three southern
the world insist that only free mar- tion, rally and strike. Through direct states alone. They became sem terra
kets, the removal of trade barriers action - occupations, marches, con- - or landless. Their choices were
and the spread of GM crops will frontations with the authorities – stark: move to the cities and shanty
solve the problem. But so far this they have won land and undeniably towns or migrate thousands of kilo-
sort of globalisation has only eliminated hunger from the lives of metres north to the malaria-ridden
brought more, not less hunger. Yet a hundreds of thousands of Brazilian shallow soils of government
movement that grew out of violence families. colonies in the Amazon, far from
and despair claims to have found the roads, schools and hospitals. Those
answer. Its solutions are radically Twenty years ago war raged who tried to stop the advance of big
different from those on offer from throughout Brazil's vast interior. It capital were eliminated. Between
the rich countries. They involve was an unequal conflict: peasant 1981 and 1984 alone 277 peasant
empowering the poor through land farmers and smallholders, share- leaders, union officials and rural

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Working the land to feed the people
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

workers were killed. It was in this "Families found that, as their soils work, have benefited.
climate of violence and desperation got exhausted, they were spending
that the MST was born. With noth- more and more money on pesticides There is little room for small family
ing left to lose, families began occu- and fertilisers, and they were getting farms in this world, unless they are
pying the estates of absentee land- ill from the side effects of the chem- willing to provide what amounts to
lords. icals. It didn't make sense, either bonded labour, growing seeds for
economically or environmentally." Monsanto or rearing chickens for
"We've come a long way in 20 Sadia. The MST believes that,
years," said Vilmar Martins da Gradually the families adopted because of its extraordinary capaci-
Silva, president of a farm coopera- more environmentally friendly ways ty to mobilise the excluded, it can
tive in one of the many MST settle- of farming and went back to grow- take on these forces and win. Yet the
ments. "By occupying huge unpro- ing their own food. "I don't like call- outcome is still uncertain. Future
ductive estates, we forced the ing it subsistence farming, because historians may look back at the
Brazilian government to carry out that suggests we're sub-existing . . . MST and see landless peasants who
land reform. Today we've got about whereas really, with our concern for attempted "a revolution that never
1 million members." biodiversity, we are the truly mod- happened". Or it may just be that the
ern farmers," said Mocellin emphat- MST are front runners in the global
The learning curve has been steep. ically. "Chemical farming is movement towards greater sustain-
At first the families tried to beat the doomed, as it exhausts the soils so ability, greater equality and less
big farmers at their own game, rapidly." hunger.
planting cash crops instead of food.
Claudemir Mocellin, who as an While the government's agrarian The Guardian Weekly 4-7-2002,
eight-year-old child accompanied reform programme gave land to page 22
his father on one of the early occu- 260,000 families, in the same period
pations, today works as an agrono- (1995-99) more than 1 million small
mist on a settlement. "We used the farmers lost their land under market
most fertilisers. We bought the mod- pressures. Only the big exporters of
ern hybrid seeds and the biggest soyabeans, coffee, orange juice and
machines. We wanted the largest poultry and the transnational com-
harvests." But it did not work. panies who control the export net-

Glossary:
Smallholders Owners of very small farms
Sharecroppers A farmer who grows crops on someone else’s land and receives part of the
money earned from selling the crops.
Rubbertappers Person who taps rubber from trees
Malaria-ridden Full of ridden
Bonded labour Asituation in which workers are obliged to work for their employer in
conditions close to slavery

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Working the land to feed the people
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Comprehension check
Choose the best answer for each question:

1 What is the main objective of the MST

a to occupy land b to empower the poor c to overthrow the government

2 Who fought the "war" in Brazil’s interior twenty years ago?

a rich and poor b farmers and rubbertappers c landowners and cattle ranchers

3 How did the MST force the government to carry out land reform?
a by migrating to cities b by occupying unproductive estates c by violence

4 Why was planting cash crops unsuccessful for the peasant families?
a it was difficult to sell the crops b it didn’t make economic sense c they got exhausted

5 Why is chemical farming doomed?

a it isn’t traditional b it exhausts the soil rapidly c it requires big machines

6 Between 1995 and 1999 how many small farmers lost their land?
a 260,000 b almost one million c more than one million

7 Why does the MST believe it can take on the forces of multinational capital and win?
a because it is excluded b because it can mobilise the excluded c because the future is uncertain

Vocabulary Work 1
Find the words that mean the following:

1 a verb meaning to give power to someone or something

2 an adverb meaning certainly correct or true

3 a verb meaning to continue with force and violence

4 an adjective meaning without mercy

5 an adjective meaning without land

6 a noun meaning an area where very poor people live in improvised housing

7 an adjective meaning having no future

8 a noun meaning the eventual result

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Working the land to feed the people
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Vocabulary Work 2 – collocations

Fill the gaps with words from the text.

1 Poor farmers found themselves pitted __________________________________ powerful forces.

2 Landless peasants were left with a __________________________________ choice.

3 Poor families began to occupy the estates of __________________________________ landlords.

4 The Brazilian government was forced to __________________________________ land reform.

5 Many people got ill from the __________________________________ effects of the chemicals.

6 Chemical farming __________________________________ the soil.

7 The global food industry seems likely to __________________________________ its control.

8 Many poor farmers are forced to ______________________________________ chickens for big

companies like Sadia.

Vocabulary – Suffixes less and ful

In the text there are some words with the suffixes above. These include ruthless and landless. In both
cases here the suffix less means without. (The origin of ruth in ruth + less is in Middle English and is
opaque to most users of modern English)
Try to fill the gaps below using the following words formed with these two suffixes.

Careless Homeless Heartless Thoughtless

Meaningless Brainless Countless Topless

Thankful Meaningful Grateful

Bellyful Careful Beautiful

1 I have had a ________________________ of his rude comments. I’ve had enough!

2 Jane had a difficult past. She was ________________________ for a year until she found a place to
stay with the help of a friend.

3 I’m not getting in the car with him. I’ve never seen such a ________________________ driver.

4 The politician was photographed having a little too much fun in a ________________________ bar.

5 She was really ________________________ for all of the help you gave her.

6 The boss made some really ________________________ comments in the meeting today. He really
offended Henrik.

7 We have had ________________________ applications for the new design job. I don’t know where to start.

What are the opposites of the 14 words in the boxes? (Note some do not have clear antonyms)

© onestopenglish.com 2002 4 This page can be photocopied.

Working the land to feed the people
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Discussion Points
Do you agree with genetically modified foods (GM foods)?
Do you agree with the saying "Small is better"?
Should the government give land to everyone?

© onestopenglish.com 2002 5 This page can be photocopied.

 Koreans succeed in cloning human embryos
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Key Vocabulary
Fill the gaps using these words:

chromosome stem cells primates degenerative

cloning diabetes blatocysts fertility clinic

1. ____________ is the procedure of creating an exact copy of an animal or plant cell using DNA.
2. The agents that transform a single fertilised human egg into 10 trillion cells in just 9 months are called
____________ .
3. ____________ are a small group of human cells that become an embryo.
4. A ____________ is a place where people who are unable to have children can receive treatment.
5. A ____________ is a part of the nucleus of a human cell containing genes.
6. A ____________ disease is one that gradually gets worse.
7. If you suffer from ____________, your body does not produce enough insulin to reduce the level of
sugar in the blood.
8. Monkeys and apes belong to the group of animals known as ____________ .

2 What do you know?

Are the following statements True or False?
True False
1. Stem cell research might result in treatment for long-term diseases like
diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
2. Apart from sheep, scientists have also cloned rabbits, horses and a mule.
3. President Bush is in favour of stem cell research.
4. The human gestation period is nine months.
5. Cloning is done by replacing DNA with chromosomes from another cell.
6. The aim of stem-cell research is to produce cloned babies.
7. The US government has approved the use of government money for stem
cell research.

Now read the text and check your answers.

1
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 Koreans succeed in cloning human embryos
Level 3 | Advanced

Stem cell breakthrough brings hope of cures

for genetic diseases, but raises alarm

S
outh Korean and American scientists have with chromosomes from an adult cell. Then president's council on bioethics. Last week's
cloned human embryos and successfully they "tricked" the egg into thinking it had announcement was the culmination of years of
extracted stem cells from one of them. The been fertilised. "Nobody has cloned a human research into the potential benefits of
research opens the way for once-undreamed of here," said Donald Kennedy, a biologist and therapeutic cloning. But for those benefits to
treatments for long-term diseases such as editor in chief of Science. be realised, researchers must now work out
diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. It also how to turn the cells into replacement human
reignites the debate about human cloning. The tissue needed to treat disease.
team used 242 eggs from 16 women to clone Dr Kennedy hoped that it might prompt
30 blastocysts - the tiny ball of cells that American politicians to think again about the
become an embryo. Stem cells are the agents ban on using government money for such In the long term, some scientists believe it
that turn a single fertilised egg into up to 10 research. It could offer the possibility that could be possible to grow entire organs. Linda
trillion cells in just nine months' gestation. people with degenerative diseases such as Kelly of the Parkinson's Disease Society in the
Alzheimer's could be given tissue transplants UK said: "This announcement is clearly a
with their own genetic "signature". milestone in medical research." But the
Scientists around the world have cloned sheep, pressure group Human Genetics Alert warned
mice, rats, rabbits, horses, and even a mule. But that researchers had given a big boost to those
despite dramatic yet unsupported claims from But the White House responded to the news of who want to make cloned babies. Such fears
European fertility clinics, primates and humans the breakthrough with a reminder that arise because the initial steps in therapeutic
were thought to be almost impossible to clone. President George Bush is opposed to stem cell cloning and reproductive cloning are identical.
research. "The age of human cloning has
apparently arrived: today cloned blastocysts for
The Korean and US scientists sucked the research, tomorrow cloned blastocysts for The Guardian Weekly 20-4-02, page 3
original DNA out of the egg, and substituted it baby-making," said Leon Kass, chairman of the

2
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 Koreans succeed in cloning human embryos
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer for each question:

1. What is the main task still remaining for stem cell researchers?
a.They have to learn how to clone babies.
b.They have to work out how to turn stem cells into replacement human tissue.
c. They have to trick eggs into believing they have been fertilised.

2. Why is stem cell research controversial?

a.Because it involves using human eggs.
b.Because the US government does not support it.
c. Because some people believe it will lead to human cloning.

3. What is therapeutic cloning?

a.Treating human cells.
b.Using tissue transplants to treat degenerative diseases.
c. It is another word for reproductive cloning.

4. What warning was given by the pressure group Human Genetics Alert?
a.They claimed that the initial steps in therapeutic and reproductive cloning are identical.
b.They warned that stem cell research would lead to human cloning.
c. They said that the latest development would encourage those people who want to clone babies.

3
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 Koreans succeed in cloning human embryos
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Vocabulary: Find the word

Look in the text and find the following:

1. A phrase which means ‘reopens the discussion’.

2. A verb which means ‘to cause something to happen or de done’.
3. A noun which means ‘a discovery or an achievement which comes after a lot of hard work’.
4. A noun which means ‘the final result of a process’.
5. A noun which means ‘an event or achievement that marks an important stage in a process’.
6. An adjective which means ‘exactly the same’.

5 Vocabulary: Prepositions
Which prepositions follow these words?

1. extract ______
2. debate ______
3. substitute ______
4. respond ______
5. opposed ______
6. culmination ______
7. research ______
8. ban ______

6 Discussion

What are the points for and against stem cell research? Do you think it is morally acceptable to
create a human clone?

4
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Fill the gaps using these words from the text:

fortune doom submerged catastrophe

windfall obesity predicament expatriate

1. A ____________ is a large sum of money that is acquired unexpectedly or through luck.

2. A ____________ is a very large sum of money.
3. A ____________ is a dangerous and unpleasant situation.
4. An ____________ is someone who lives outside his or her homeland.
5. If something is ____________ it is completely covered in water.
6. ____________ is the state of being extremely overweight.
7. A ____________ is a sudden disaster.
8. ____________ refers to a bad fate or destiny.

Choose the best answer in each case:

1. Where is Tuvalu?
a. South America
b. Africa
c. The South Pacific

2. What is Tuvalu’s dotcom address?

a. tu
b. tv
c. ta

3. What will happen to Tuvalu as a result of global warming?

a. It will become a tropical paradise.
b. It will disappear under the sea.
c. It will get more tourists.

4. How much does it cost Tuvalu to be a member of the United Nations?

a. $1.5 million a year.
b. $15 million a year.
c. $150,000 a year.

Now look in the text and check your answers.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 stretches of beaches are swallowed by the
Tuvalu was the world’s third waves and the roots of trees are rotting by
poorest state until an internet the ocean. Cyclones, which used to hit the
deal made it rich. area as rarely as every 15 years, now appear
a few times every season, and the rains they
Daphna Baram
bring cause temporary floods.
If you came into a fortune all of a sudden,
how would you spend it? And if you knew But still, the Tuvalans had their newly
that your world as you know it was about to acquired money. With that they could buy
disappear, what would you do with the time themselves a future. Or at least borrow
you had left? For the people of Tuvalu, a more time. Paul Lindsay, a documentary
tiny state comprising nine islands in the film-maker, took these questions with him
South Pacific, these are crucial questions. all the way to Tuvalu, and came back with a
story that seems almost too strange to be
In 1999 Tuvalu, with its population of true. As the water rises, the Tuvalans are
11,000, was the third poorest state in the using the windfall to develop the land that is
world. But suddenly salvation was found, soon to disappear. Buildings are being
and from an extremely unlikely direction. raised, nightclubs, restaurants and hotels are
Tuvalu received a domain name on the being planned and built, newly bought cars
internet, which was none other than the are cruising on newly laid roads. The
letters ".tv". A communication company residents do not think it is strange: "Just
from California was quick to get in touch - because we are sinking, it doesn't mean we
buying the domain for the bargain price of don't want to raise our standards of living,"
$40m. For the Tuvalans, with an average Lindsay was told by Sam Teo, Tuvalu's
annual income of about $1,000, this was a minister for natural resources.
life-changing sum. The islanders became, or
at least reacted as if they had become, very Of the $40m raised by the internet deal,
rich. $10m was used to asphalt the islands' 19km
of roads. Before 1999 there were four cars
This sudden wealth was accompanied by a on the islands. The Tuvalans used to walk
firm forecast of doom. Due to global or cycle everywhere. The minister for
warming, and because the islands are only natural resources, who was in charge of
3m above sea level, Tuvalu is likely to be paving the roads, owns one of the two
the first state in the world to be submerged petrol stations on the main island.
by rising water levels. According to
scientific estimates, the islands will be The motor revolution accompanied a wave
severely flooded within the next 15-20 of other imported foods and goods and soon
years, and by the end of the century, the had unexpected consequences. Many
islands will have disappeared from sight Tuvalans, having given up their daily
altogether. exercise, were introduced to obesity, high
blood pressure and diabetes. Others
Signs of the catastrophe awaiting Tuvalu discovered that the maintenance of their
are already apparent on its slender ground. vehicles was far beyond their means, and
Ponds of seawater appear here and there, that the luxury itself is hardly necessary in a

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
state that is just 26 sq km. A huge area at do otherwise is trickier. Mass immigration
the centre of the tropical paradise is now to the nearby island of Kioa, populated with
covered with abandoned cars and other expatriates, is out of the question, due to its
rubbish. refusal to accept any more newcomers.
Australia is far from enthusiastic about
For a while vast amounts of money were letting Tuvalans in, and New Zealand
spent in an attempt to raise international agrees to accept them on the basis of an
awareness of Tuvalu's predicament. Tuvalu annual quota. The hope of keeping the tiny
joined the UN, at a cost of $1.5m a year. nation as one community after the flood is
The delegate to the UN is the prime highly unlikely.
minister's brother, and the Tuvalan
delegation was especially active in After the eight months he spent among the
promoting the Kyoto protocol to fight Tuvalans, Lindsay is not sentimental about
global warming. But while the political white sands and turquoise waters. "There
system argues about the best way to face the are no more paradises. Tuvalu is struggling
rising tides, the sea keeps going up, and the to keep its sense of social solidarity in the
dollars keep drifting away. face of progress. Nowadays even paradise
comes at a price".
All Tuvalans know that they are not likely
to die of old age on their islands. What to The Guardian Weekly 25-03-2005, page 18

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Decide whether these sentences are True or False:

1. Tuvalu became rich because it sold its domain name.

2. The amount received was the equivalent of approximately $36,000 for every Tuvalan.
3. Tuvalu will have disappeared completely within the next 15-20 years.
4. The Tuvalans have decided to spend their new wealth by organising emigration to
neighbouring islands.
5. 25% of the money was spent on roads.
6. Tuvalu is against the Kyoto protocol on global warming.
7. Australia is willing to accept refugees from Tuvalu.
8. When the islands are finally submerged it is probable that the Tuvalan community will be
split up.

Find verbs in the text that collocate with these nouns and noun phrases:

1. to ____________ a fortune 5. to ____________ in touch

2. to ____________ awareness 6. to ____________ time
3. to ____________ the UN 7. to ____________ land
4. to ____________ salvation 8. to ____________ roads (3 verbs)

Look in the text and find words which are the opposites to these words:

1. poverty ____________
2. enormous ____________
3. frequently ____________
4. predictable ____________
5. very small ____________ (2 possibilities)
6. passive ____________
7. simpler ____________
8. agreement ____________

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Look at this example from the text:

By the end of the century, the islands will have disappeared from sight altogether.

Notice that this tense is often used with time expressions beginning with by: e.g. by the
end of the month, by 2010 and so on.

Make similar sentences using these key words:

1. 2015/Tuvalans/spend/all the money

2. end of the century/Tuvala/cease/to exist
3. end of the century/the sea/flood/the islands
4. 2010/Tuvalans/pave/the whole island
5. 2050/many Tuvalans/move/to other islands
6. 2080/most of the population/leave

The Tuvalans have a lot of money but their country will soon be swallowed up by the sea.
Make a list of the possible options that the Tuvalans have. How should they spend their
money?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 ‘Old’ Europe reuniting East with West
Level 3 | Advanced

‘Old’ Europe reuniting East with West

E
urope's relations with the United helped found. French farmers will find it This wave of expansion has been in the
States have been one of the far harder to keep their generous works for a decade. The final deal was
victims of the Iraq crisis so far. But subsidies when all those Polish done at the Copenhagen summit last
as tensions increase in the countdown smallholders join. La langue de Moliere December; the accession treaty for the
to conflict, collateral damage may be has already been supplanted by English 10 newcomers is to be signed in Athens
spreading to the old continent's most as the dominant language of the in April and referendums held in the
ambitious project - reuniting its western expanding union. And, worst of all for a coming months. They are scheduled to
and eastern sides and erasing cold war country that has never really abandoned join on May 1, 2004. It is a measure of
boundaries forever. That at least was a its Gaullist instincts, the post- how angry and divided European
fair reading of what Jacques Chira c ,t h e communist governments in Warsaw, governments feel at this tense moment
French president, achieved when he Prague, Budapest, the Baltics, Slovenia in international affairs that France is
lambasted the east European countries and Slovakia are by and large pro- even considering such tactics.
that are joining the European Union American. The responses from the easterners were
next year for publicly supporting George
Last month Chirac was infuriated when measured. Bronislaw Geremek, the
Bush on tackling Saddam Hussein.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence former Polish foreign minister, pointed
Their behaviour, Chirac said at the end secretary, criticised France and Germany out that France and Germany had failed
of the emergency Brussels summit on as "old Europe" in contrast to the to consult not only the candidates, but
Iraq, was "infantile" and "dangerous". friendlier easterners of "new Europe". also the other current EU member states
Poland,Hungary, the Czech Republic The pro-American open letter of the when they launched an initiative to
and the other EU candidates had "gang of eight" - five current EU head off military action against Iraq -
"missed a good opportunity to keep members and three of the new lot - and before the two letters expressing
quiet", he said. "When you are in the then of the "Vilnius Ten" of candidate support for Bush.
family, after all, you have more rights countries, seemed to confirm the point.
than when you are asking to join, and The perceptive recognised that this was
So did the bitter month-long row inside
knocking on the door." Romania and to some extent a war by proxy. "Every
Nato, when France, Germany and
time I have a dispute with my wife I
Bulgaria were told they had been Belgium opposed alliance plans to
particularly incautious since they were shout at my sons," explained Romania's
defend Turkey in case of attack by Iraq.
still seeking to join. prime minister, Adrian Nastase. By which
France is not alone in feeling the chill he meant that France's problem was
Chirac's blunt rebuke came at the end wind from the east. Germany has with the US and Britain, but it was far
of a long day of haggling over the complained too that it is wrong of the easier to take it out on the easterners. It
summit declaration, which pulled off the candidates to accept handouts from could have been worse: no one called
trick of offering something for both Brussels and then give their support to Chirac a "worm", which is what the
hawks and doves in a divided union. Washington. Romano Prodi, the British tabloid newspaper the Sun did.
This was not just a fit of pique by a tired president of the European Commission, Still, if Europe's fissures continue to
70-year-old anxious to get back to the said he was "very, very disappointed" deepen,traditional British "frog-
Elysee for a good night's sleep, but a by the stance of the future member bashing" may turn out to be one of the
carefully calculated warning. France has states. Still,Chirac's suggestion that milder side-effects as this world crisis
always been lukewarm about the EU's enlargement might be put to a takes its course.
eastern enlargement, seeing it in some referendum in France - where it is The Guardian Weekly 20-3-03, page 6
ways as an Anglo-Saxon plot to deeply unpopular - sounded suspiciously
transform beyond recognition the club it like a threat.

2
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 ‘Old’ Europe reuniting East with West
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Match the beginnings with the endings

1. Divisions between Europe and the US over Iraq…

2. President Chirac strongly criticised the East European countries …
3. Romania and Bulgaria had been particularly careless because …
4. Chirac mistrusts the enlargement of the EU because …
5. Donald Rumsfeld praise the countries of the "new Europe" because …
6. Germany has criticised the candidate countries because …
7. When France and Germany launched their initiative to prevent war in Iraq …
8. "Frog-bashing" in the British media …

a. … they were friendlier and more pro-American.

b. … is excessive criticism of France.
c. … they accept money from the EU but then support the US.
d. … might threaten the enlargement of the European Union.
e. … they were still applying to join the European Union.
f. … they failed to consult other European countries.
g. … he sees it as a plot to transform the EU beyond recognition.
h. … for publicly supporting the Americans over Iraq.

4 Vocabulary Work
Find the word. They are in chronological order as they appear in the text.

1. Two words that together literally mean ‘ordinary citizens who are killed during a war’.
2. A verb that means ‘to criticise angrily’.
3. An adjective that means the opposite of ‘mature’.
4. A verb which literally means ‘to argue over the price of something’.
5. An adjective which means ‘not very enthusiastic’.
6. A three-word expression which means ‘for the most part’.
7. A noun which means ‘an attitude or view about an issue’
8. A two-word verb which means ‘to prevent something from taking place’

3
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 ‘Old’ Europe reuniting East with West
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Vocabulary Work: Collocations

Match the adjectives in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand column.Although there may
be more than one possibility, each word is used only once.

1. bitter a. rebuke
2. cold b. response
3. blunt c. wind
4. generous d. letter
5. chill e. row
6. measured f. subsidy
7. mild g. war
8. open h. side-effect

6 Discussion
Do you think the Eastern European countries are right to support the US over Iraq?
Is it more important for the Eastern European countries to support France and the EU?

4
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Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

override scupper barbaric entrenched fitting

invoke compromise disobedience hound brace oneself

1. If someone has ____________ opinions, these opinions have existed for a very
long time and it is difficult to change them.
2. ____________ means extremely violent and cruel.
3. A ____________ is a hunting dog.
4. If you ____________ a rule or a law, you use it in order to achieve something.
5. ____________ means not obeying orders or rules.
6. If you ____________, you get ready for something unpleasant.
7. If you ____________ someone’s plans, you spoil those plans.
8. A ____________ is a way of solving an argument in which both sides accept
they cannot have everything they want.
9. If you ____________ someone, you use official authority to ignore or change a
decision they have made.
10. ____________ is another word for ‘appropriate’.

Choose the best answer in each case.

1. For how long has fox-hunting with dogs existed in England and Wales?
a. 70 years
b. 370 years
c. 700 years

2. How many jobs depend on fox-hunting?

a. 800
b. 8,000
c. 80,000

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
3. What, in UK politics, is the Parliament Act?
a. A law that allows Parliament to make laws.
b. A law that allows the House of Commons to ignore votes in the House of
Lords.
c. A law that requires the House of Commons to respect votes in the House of
Lords.

4. Which English writer wrote the lines ‘Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war’?
a. William Shakespeare
b. Charles Dickens
c. Lord Byron

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 There are people who feel equally passionate that it is
barbaric and cruel."
Parliament brings end to 700 years
of hunting. With the threat of running battles between police,
Patrick Wintour hunters and landowners ahead of the election the pro-
hunt, campaigners were urged to accept the will of
parliament. "The hunting community say they are law-
The British government recently invoked the abiding people, so we expect those involved in hunting
Parliament Act, overriding the opposition of the House to cease their activity when they are required by law to
of Lords and bringing to an end almost 700 years of do so," said one MP. The Tory rural affairs
fox-hunting in England and Wales. Within hours, the spokesman, James Gray, called for mass legal
Queen gave her royal assent and the total ban on disobedience. Quoting Shakespeare, he said passing a
hunting with dogs will be enforced. ban with no delay sent a message to the countryside
that read: "Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war."
In the first signs of the campaign of civil disobedience
and protest promised by pro-hunt supporters, a Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside
demonstration was staged at the state banquet at Alliance, was furious to see his seven-year battle fail.
Windsor Castle where the Queen was hosting the "The chaos and deceit that has surrounded today's
French president, Jacques Chirac, and Tony Blair. events is a fitting finale to what has been one of the
most ridiculous, dishonest and time-consuming
After a day of parliamentary confusion, Mr. Blair episodes in parliamentary history," he said.
conceded that his efforts to delay the Act until after the
British general election had failed. Within 24 hours the alliance had made good its threat
to launch a legal challenge against the ban, saying it
There are 318 registered hound packs in England and was confident it could prove that the 1949 Parliament
Wales, including 184 foxhound packs. Around 8,000 Act had always been illegal, although it has been used
jobs depend on hunting, while 15,000 to 16,000 people, four times, once by Margaret Thatcher.
such as hoteliers, could also be affected by the ban.
The government and police forces around the country Meanwhile there was further confusion last weekend
must now get ready for the possibility of unrest over when the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, warned that
the next three months. police needed more time to gather intelligence on
rebels and suggested that riders would not be
Parliament was marked by political manoeuvring by prosecuted for killing foxes unless it was clearly
both pro- and anti-hunters as they sought to cast their deliberate. He said he had wanted the ban delayed to
opponents as the true enemies of compromise and allow detailed preparations to combat the expected
reason. The government made a final attempt to reach a mass disobedience.
compromise but this was unsuccessful.
Police have warned that they could be stretched to the
By a majority of 151 the MPs agreed to delay the limit in dealing with the disorder. Jan Berry, who
implementation of the bill until July 2006, but rejected chairs the Police Federation of England and Wales,
the government's preferred option of 2007. Within said that opposition to the new law would put a huge
hours the Lords, albeit by the surprisingly narrow strain on small rural forces.
margin of 153 to 114, voted to reject the 18-month
delay, leaving the Speaker with no alternative but to
invoke the Parliament Act to override the peers' The Guardian Weekly 26-11-2004, page 11
objections.

Tony Blair voiced regret at the outcome of the votes.

Explaining that he had been seeking a way through
"very, very entrenched views on both sides", the prime
minister accepted that hunting would now be a legal
and election issue: "There are people who feel
passionately that hunting is integral to their way of life.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Match the beginnings with the endings:
1. A demonstration at Windsor Castle ...
2. The government invoked the Parliament Act ...
3. Tony Blair ...
4. Pro-hunt campaigners ...
5. The Conservative party ...
6. The Countryside Alliance believes ...
7. The police have warned ...
8. Many country people ...

a. ... because the House of Lords voted to reject the compromise motion.
b. ... are expected to begin a campaign of civil disobedience.
c. ... the Parliament Act is illegal.
d. ... are firmly opposed to a ban on fox-hunting.
e. ... was the first sign of a campaign of civil disobedience.
f. ... their resources will be seriously stretched by disorder in the countryside.
g. ... supports mass legal disobedience.
h. ... was in favour of delaying the ban until after the general election.

Match the underlined words with the definitions given below:

1. Within hours, the Queen gave her royal assent.
2. ... albeit by the surprisingly narrow margin of 153 to 114.
3. ... hunting is integral to their way of life.
4. ... to combat the expected mass disobedience.
5. … campaigners were urged to accept the will of parliament

a. forming an essential part of.

b. agreement.
c. to do something to stop something bad from happening.
d. the decision.
e. a word used to introduce a comment that slightly changes the effect of what
was said before it.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Find the verbs in the text that collocate with these nouns

1. to ____________ a demonstration
2. to ____________ an attempt
3. to ____________ a compromise
4. to ____________ a bill
5. to ____________ the will of parliament
6. to ____________ a legal challenge
7. to ____________ intelligence

Look at this example from the text

The total ban on hunting with dogs will be enforced from next year.

Make similar sentences about the future using the information in the text, modal
verbs and the following prompts:

1. 15,000 to 16,000 people/ affect/ the ban

2. Police/ stretched to the limit
3. There/ widespread unrest/ in the countryside
4. The prime minister/ accept/ hunting/ a legal issue
5. The Home Secretary/ suggest/ riders/ not prosecute
6. The police/ say /opposition to the new law/put/ a strain/ small rural forces

1. Should hunting with dogs be made illegal?

2. Should the lower, elected house of parliament overrule the higher, unelected
house?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Fill the gaps using these key words from the text.
massive impoverished upheaval harassment
contemptuous unprecedented widespread ghettoized

1. If a place is ____________ , particular groups of people are forced to live in particular areas
of that place.
2. ____________ is a sudden or violent change, especially one that affects people’s lives.
3. If something is ____________ , it happens or exists in many places or affects large numbers
of people.
4. ____________ means ‘extremely large’.
5. If something is ____________ , it has never happened or existed before.
6. ____________ is another word for ‘very poor’.
7. ____________ is annoying or unpleasant behaviour towards other people that takes place
regularly.
8. If you are ____________ of someone, you show that you do not respect them.

Choose the best answer.

1. The recent riots in French cities were started by
a. police harassment of young people of North African origin
b. the deaths of two young men
c. the high level of unemployment in French cities

2. The riots began in

a. Lyon
b. a suburb in the north-east of Paris
c. the centre of Paris

3. Nicholas Sarkozy is
a. the President of France
b. the Mayor of Paris
c. the interior minister

4. When are the next presidential elections in France?

a. 2007
b. 2006
c. 2005

Now look in the text and check your answers.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Comment: Explosion in the suburbs kind of respect, the right to work, the right to
decent accommodation, what is surprising is not
The riots in France are the result of years of
that the cars are burning but that there are so few
racism, poverty and police brutality.
uprisings," he argues.
By Naima Bouteldja
Police violence and racism are major factors. In
In late 1991, after violent riots between youths
April an Amnesty International report criticized
and police scarred the suburbs of Lyon, Alain
the "generalized impunity" with which the
Touraine, the French sociologist, predicted, "It
French police operated when it came to violent
will only be a few years before we face the kind
treatment of young men from African
of massive urban explosion the Americans have
backgrounds during identity checks. But the
experienced." The many nights of consecutive
reason for the extent and intensity of the current
violence following the deaths of two young
riots is the provocative behaviour of the interior
Muslim men of African descent in a Paris suburb
minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. He called rioters
show that Touraine's dark vision of a ghettoized,
"vermin", blamed "agents provocateurs" for
post-colonial France is now upon us.
manipulating "scum" and said the suburbs
Clichy-sous-Bois, the impoverished and needed "to be cleaned out with Karsher" (a brand
segregated northeastern suburb of Paris where of industrial cleaner used to clean the mud off
the two men lived and where the violent reaction tractors). Sarkozy's grandstanding on law and
to their deaths began, was a ticking bomb for the order is a deliberate strategy designed to flatter
kind of dramatic social upheaval we are currently the French far-right electorate in the context of
witnessing. Half its inhabitants are under 20, his rivalry with the Prime Minister, Dominique
unemployment is above 40% and identity checks de Villepin, for the 2007 presidency.
and police harassment are a daily experience. In
How can France get out of this political race to
this sense, the riots are merely a fresh wave of
the bottom? It would obviously help for
the violence that has become common in
ministers to stop talking about the suburbs as
suburban France over the past two decades. Led
dens of "scum" and for Sarkozy to be removed:
mainly by young French citizens born into first-
the falsehoods he spread about the events
and second-generation immigrant communities
surrounding the two deaths and his deployment
from France's former colonies in North Africa,
of a massively disproportionate police presence
these cycles of violence are almost always
in the first days of the riots have again shown his
sparked by the deaths of young black men at the
unfitness for office. A simple gesture of regret
hands of the police, and then inflamed by a
could go a long way towards defusing the
contemptuous government response.
tensions for now. The morning after the gassing
Four days after the deaths in Clichy-sous-Bois, of the mosque, a young Muslim woman summed
just as community leaders were beginning to up a widespread feeling: "We just want them to
calm the situation, the security forces reignited stop lying, to admit they've done it and to
the fire by emptying teargas canisters inside a apologize." It might not seem much, but in
mosque. The official reason for the police action: today's France it would require a deep political
a badly parked car in front of it. The government transformation and the recognition of these
refuses to offer any apology to the Muslim eternal "immigrants" as full and equal citizens of
community. But the spread of civil unrest to the republic.
other poor suburbs across France is
Naima Bouteldja is a French journalist and
unprecedented. For Laurent Levy, an anti-racist
researcher for the Transnational Institute.
campaigner, the explosion is no surprise. "When
large sections of the population are denied any Guardian Weekly, 13/11/05, page 14

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Are these statements True or False according to the text?

1. Young people in Clichy-sous-Bois are regularly harassed by the police.

2. Clichy-sous-Bois is a rich Parisian suburb.
3. The government apologized to the Muslim community.
4. Unemployment in Clichy-sous-Bois is relatively low.
5. Police violence and racism did not play a part in the situation.
6. The interior minister insulted the rioters.
7. The children of North African immigrants regard themselves as equal citizens of the French
republic.
8. The interior minister’s remarks were designed to appeal to right-wing voters.

Find the verb that means:

1. to leave permanent marks on something

2. to make something burn again
3. to start a fire or an explosion
4. to make a situation worse by making people more angry
5. to behave in a way that is intended to get public attention and approval
6. to praise someone in order to get something you want
7. to make a situation more relaxed by making people feel less angry
8. to attack or kill someone by making them breathe a poisonous gas

Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make
collocations. Check your answers in the text.

1. security a. leaders
2. social b. bomb
3. identity c. feeling
4. community d. upheaval
5. civil e. provocateur
6. agent f. forces
7. widespread g. check
8. ticking h. unrest

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Rearrange these words to make phrases. Check your answers in the text.

1. car a parked badly

2. cycle of a violence
3. the to situation calm
4. campaigner an racist anti
5. work to right the
6. political a transformation deep

Is rioting ever justified? What factors can lead to the kind of situation seen in France?
What solutions are there?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Fur flies as Christmas sales take off - Mark Townsend
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Pre-reading activities
1 Fur as fashion. What do you know about it?
Decide whether these statements are TRUE or FALSE. Then look in the text to check your answers:

1. Fur sales have been falling consistently since the early 1980s.
2. Fur sales have just started to rise again.
3. In London fur has not been so visible on the high street for 20 years.
4. People buying fur are rebelling against the political correctness of the 1990s.
5. Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Kate Moss have all spoken out against wearing fur.
6. People in their 40s and 50s have opened up a new market for fur.
7. In the mid-90s about 90% of fur shops were forced to close.
8. According to protest groups, one coat can mean the death of more than 50 animals.

2 Key Vocabulary
The following are all key words from the text. Use them to fill the gaps in the sentences:
taboo furrier resurgence to bolster catwalk
lobby to clutch limelight a far cry gripping

1. A __________ is a group of people who try to influence politicians on a particular issue.

2. The verb __________ means to improve something or to make it stronger.
3. If you are in the __________ , you are at the centre of attention.
4. An image that captures your attention can be described as __________ .
5. A __________ is someone who sells clothes made from fur.
6. A __________ subject is one that people find offensive or embarrassing.
7. If you __________ something, you hold it very tightly.
8. Models wearing newly designed clothes usually walk along a __________ .
9. If something experiences a __________ , it returns to its previous position and grows further.
10. If something is __________ from something else, it is very different from it.

© onestopenglish.com 2003 1 This page can be photocopied.

Titleflies as Christmas sales take off - Mark Townsend
Fur
LEVEL
LEVEL ONE
THREE - ADVANCED
ELEMENTARY

Fur flies as Christmas sales take off

by Mark Townsend leading fashion houses is also credited Bextor to pose for the animal welfare
with bolstering its appeal: fur has charity People for the Ethical Treatment of

B
ritain's fur trade is enjoying its registered 300 appearances on the Animals (Peta), indicates that hostility
strongest growth for 20 years, catwalks so far this year. Celebrities such towards the trade remains. Following the
suggesting a dramatic softening of as Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, P Diddy, and publication of her clutching the bloody
public attitudes towards wearing animal the model Kate Moss are among those remnants of a fox last month, Peta
skins. Widespread hostility to wearing fur who have offered fur the celebrity badge received more than 50,000 hits on its
in the 1990s made it fashion's biggest of approval. This is a far cry from the days website within three days. The
taboo for most image-conscious when fur-coat wearers risked being organisation accused the fur trade of
consumers. Yet new industry figures have spattered with paint in public while the widespread cruelty, claiming that just one
revealed that sales rose 35% in the UK world's supermodels declared they would coat can require killing as many as 50
last year - the biggest single increase " rather go naked " than wear animal animals by various means, including
since the early 80s. skins. electrocution, poisoning or gassing. " What
the fur industry wants to hide is the
Demand has been so acute that some Fashion historian Judith Watt, who
cruelty; Sophie's picture brings home the
furriers have already sold out of stock, specialises in the history of fur, believes
reality, " says Dawn Carr, who is the
weeks before the Christmas shopping that is the twenty and thirty-something
director of Peta. " Cruelty is never going to
reaches its peak. In London fur has not women who have opened up a new
be back in fashion. "
been so highly visible on the high street market for fur. " A generation that grew up
for 20 years. Even last month's gripping as children of the anti-fur movement are Last month the organisation was also in
image of pop singer Sophie Ellis Bextor now rebelling against it " , she says. " They the limelight when a group of Peta
are bored with being politically correct. It activists targeted the fur industry's latest
clutching a skinned fox to register her
doesn't mean they haven't got a high-profile recruit, the supermodel Gisele
disgust at the trade will fail to quash fur's
conscience; they just want to make up Bundchen, at a New York fashion show.
resurgence, according to retailers. They
their own minds. They were furious over Bundchen's
believe that its sudden popularity is partly
decision to spearhead an advertising
fuelled by a new generation of consumers At the height of the successful protests
campaign for leading US fur company
who are rebelling against the anti-fur from the anti-fur lobby in the mid-90s, an
Blackglama in exchange for a reported
movement and the political correctness of estimated 90% of shops were forced to
$500,000 and two black mink coats.
the 90s. close. Yet despite fur's growing
acceptance, the decision of 23-year-old The Guardian Weekly 5-12-2002, page 22
The heavy promotion of mink and fox by

© onestopenglish.com 2003 2 This page can be photocopied.

Fur flies as Christmas sales take off - Mark Townsend
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

3 Comprehension check. Which of the answers given best reflects the meaning of the text?

1. The sudden popularity of fur is due to:

a. the support of people like Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.
b. a new generation of consumers rebelling against political correctness.
c. the anti-fur movement.

2. Another factor in the increase in the appeal of fur is:

a. the fact that fur-coat wearers no longer risk being spattered with paint.
b. it is cheaper than it used to be.
c. the fact that leading fashion houses are promoting fur.

3. According to the fashion historian, who has opened up the new market for fur?
a. people born in the 1920s and 1930s.
b. people in their twenties and thirties.
c. People who are politically correct.

4. What does Peta believe in?

a. the humane treatment of animals.
b. ethically produced fur.
c. hostility towards the fur trade.

5. Why has Gisele Bundchen been criticised?

a. because she models fur coats.
b. because she accepted a lot of money and two mink coats to lead an advertising campaign.
c. because she is a high-profile model.

© onestopenglish.com 2003 3 This page can be photocopied.

Fur flies as Christmas sales take off - Mark Townsend
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

4 Vocabulary work – Collocations 1

Without looking back at the text, fill the gaps in these sentences. Then look back in the text and check your answers:

1. Her fur coat was ____________ ____________ paint.

2. Christmas shopping ____________ a peak in the middle of December.
3. Many people are ____________ against the anti-fur movement.
4. Fashion houses are trying to ____________ the appeal of fur.
5. Younger women have ____________ ____________ a new market for fur.
6. The fur industry has been ____________ ____________ widespread cruelty.
7. The picture of the model with the skinned fox ____________ home the reality.
8. Gisele Bundchen agreed to ____________ an advertising campaign.

5 Reformulation
Match the beginnings with the endings:

1. Public attitudes towards the wearing of a. … will probably fail to prevent the recovery in the
animal skins … sale of fur.
2. Some furriers are already out of stock … b. … to wearing animal skins.
3. The gripping image of the pop singer holding c. … requires the killing of as many as 50 animals.
the skinned fox …
d. … appear to be softening.
4. The sudden popularity of fur …
e. … appears to be the result of people rebelling
5. In the 1990s many supermodels declared they against the political correctness of the 1990s.
would prefer being naked …
f. … as a result of protests by the anti-fur lobby.
6. About 90% of fur shops had to close …
g. … provoked a furious response from Peta activists.
7. Peta claims that the production of a single
h. … as a result of exceptionally high demand.
coat …
8. Gisele Bundchen’s actions …

6 Discussion
Do you think that people should wear fur?
Make a list of the arguments for and against the fur trade.

© onestopenglish.com 2003 4 This page can be photocopied.

 IS IT CLOSING TIME FOR THE
BIG GAME ATTRACTIONS?
Level 3 Advanced

1. Pre-reading task
Before you read the text, answer these questions about zoos.

1. Which are the most popular animals with visitors to zoos?

2. What are some of the problems faced by urban zoos?
3. How can zoos help conservation?

Now read the text and check your answers.

Is it closing time for the big game attractions?

Last month the senior elephant keeper at London Zoo, Jim Robson, was killed by one of the
elephants he loved. Robson had worked at the zoo for 26 years, the past 16 in the elephant
house. Those who knew him say he lived for the elephants.
The sign beside the elephant house now seems tragically ironic: "The keepers are regarded
as part of the herd and build up strong bonds with the elephants. It is important that the
keepers are seen as the leaders of the herd, or they wouldn't be able to keep control. If the
elephant is nervous he will run to the keeper. It must be funny to have four tonnes of elephant
hiding behind you." Robson was crushed to death in front of about 100 onlookers. It was not
funny.
Now there is another large sign, paying tribute to Robson's work. Beside it flowers and plastic
models of an elephant and a rhinoceros. "We will miss your strange humour," says the
bouquet from the zoo's events department.
A tragic death, and one that could also spark the end of London Zoo - perhaps of all Britain's
urban zoos. Last week the zoo announced that its three elephants were to be moved to
Whipsnade wild animal park, its sister organisation in Bedfordshire. A terse statement from
the zoo said that said Robson's death had not forced a change of policy and that the intention
had always been to move the elephants. "Even though the move cannot take place
immediately, we feel it right to make this announcement now because of the high level of
current interest following the tragic death of our colleague, Jim Robson," said the zoo's
director-general, Michael Dixon, in the statement. "We will be sorry to see the elephants go;
there have been elephants in London Zoo since 1831. But Whipsnade is very accessible, and
these elephants will be able to benefit from the larger group." The zoo does not appear to
welcome that high level of current interest.
There were several extra reptiles at the zoo last week, representing newspapers that wanted
to know whether the departure of the elephants meant the beginning of the end for the zoo.
The elephants were not talking - and the zoo's PR representatives were lying low, too. As one
article put it, this is a crisis for the zoo, and by implication for all zoos, because once London
Zoo admits that it cannot house "charismatic megaspecies", it is accepting that its days are
numbered. Ultramarine grosbeaks, Congo peafowl, Pope cardinals and green imperial
pigeons are a delight, but they will not make many adults part with the price of a ticket or
children squeal with delight. Lions, tigers, gorillas, giraffes, pandas, rhinos - and most of all
elephants - are what makes a visit to the zoo memorable.
Despite this, London Zoo aims to try without the traditional star performers. The rhinos are
going too - there is insufficient space to add the extra female that European breeding
requirements stipulate. Most of the bears have already gone and the famous terraces where
they were housed are, apart from two sloth bears, deserted.

 The Guardian Weekly and onestopenglish.com 2001 Photocopiable

Those bears - a female and its recently born cub - symbolise the dilemma facing zoos. The
female used to be in Prague zoo where it learned that if it danced for visitors they would feed
it. Now it sits rocking in a curious imitation of a dance: it has a beautiful cub who stays close
to its mother, but still it rocks.
The sorrowful sight of this rocking bear seems to support the case against zoos. But then you
read the sign on the enclosure: "Sloth bears are illegally killed for their gall bladders, which
are used in traditional oriental medicine. They also suffer from loss of habitat and are used as
dancing bears. Our bears are part of the European conservation breeding programme. The
first cub was born in January 1998." So, do we mourn the bear from Prague that is doomed to
dance? Or do we celebrate the fact that her cubs will never have to perform as their mother
did?
A group of girls were in raptures over the cub. "Oh, bless him," said one. "She's lost the plot,"
said a young father more brutally when he saw the mother bear's perpetual rocking. "She's
been in a zoo too long." "How do you spell colour," shouted one excited little boy clutching a
zoo quiz. "C-O-U-L-O-R" came his friend's reply. Do we applaud an institution that inspires
the young - that might even teach them to spell - or do we close it down?
Back at the elephant house a middle-aged woman called Mary was in no doubt. "I'm all for
zoos. This is the only way the next generation can see animals without travelling abroad.
Their work is invaluable." Zoos are not perfect habitats, but they have inspired children who
have gone on to become eco-activists, enthusiasts, donors. Zoos have also aided
conservation.
Alan, an elderly man who has visited the zoo - "an oasis in the middle of London" - every day
for the past three years, was equally positive. "The alternative is to return them to the wild
where they'll all be killed. There has been a zoo here since 1828, and this is the first fatality.
The zoo is now under attack from do-gooders on every front. The seals have gone; the bears
have gone; the rhinos and now the elephants are going; the gorilla will be next. Once you
take away the big animals, attendance figures will fall and so will revenue. The zoo more or
less pays its way at the moment, but it won't in the future."
The zoologist Colin Tudge, a former council member of London Zoo, believes its days as a
home for large animals may be numbered. "It may no longer be very appropriate to keep
elephants and rhinos in urban zoos," he says, "though it may be perfectly reasonable to keep
all sorts of birds or smaller creatures." But whatever the arguments about ethics or
conservation, he sees a financial imperative for retaining urban zoos. "Everything has to pay
for itself these days, and the revenue is in the cities."
Mary Rosevear, director of the Federation of Zoos, believes that urban zoos can survive the
loss of their large animals. "A few years ago Edinburgh Zoo decided they couldn't keep
elephants any more, but they did not see a downturn in visitor numbers. Certain key species
are very valuable in terms of visitor numbers, but I'd hope that people would also be
interested in less well-known creatures. Of course you have to inspire them first. More and
more schools are using zoos to teach children and inspire them to look beyond the obvious."
The actress Virginia McKenna, founder of the Born Free foundation, who has campaigned for
the removal of the elephants from London Zoo, rejects Rosevear's defence of urban zoos.
"She's looking at it from the human point of view. I'm trying to speak up for the animals'
needs. This type of zoo isn't about wildlife - the animals are living museum pieces. An urban
zoo is no place for large predators. This is a fabulous opportunity for London Zoo to transform
the elephant and rhino pavilion into an educational centre where people can learn about
conservation."
But will the crowds flock to a conservation centre if the star attractions are not there? "They've
just got to make the smaller animals more appealing," says McKenna. "It's no good saying,
'We've got to have elephants to save beetles.' Beetles, ants, bees are absolutely riveting
once we understand their lives and customs. We don't need to keep elephants to find ants
more appealing." McKenna's argument ignores one thing - the interest of younger visitors in
the scatological aspects of large animals. There is only one thing that excites them more than
the sight of large animals - the smells. At the elephant house it was the excretory habits of
Dilberta, Mya and Layang Layang that caused the greatest delight - the Niagara of urine, the
football-sized piles of dung. Can that be worked into a shiny new conservation centre?
The Guardian Weekly 8-11-2001, page 2

 The Guardian Weekly and onestopenglish.com 2001 Photocopiable

2. General Meaning
Which of these best reflects the general meaning of the text:
a. Urban zoos should be banned.
b. Only small animals should be kept in urban zoos.
c. The question of whether to keep large animals in urban zoos is a controversial one.
d. Urban zoos will close if large animals are removed.
3. Comprehension
Find the answers to the following questions in the text:
1. How was the elephant keeper killed?
2. Apart from elephants, which other animals are leaving London zoo?
3. Why did the bear learn to dance?
4. How can zoos inspire children?
5. How many fatalities have there been since London Zoo opened in 1828?
6. What is the argument against returning animals to the wild?
7. Why does the zoologist think that urban zoos should be retained?
8. What was the effect on visitor numbers when Edinburgh Zoo got rid of its elephants?
9. What is the actress’s criticism of urban zoos?
10. What excites young visitors even more than the sight of large animals?
4. Vocabulary
Choose the correct meaning for each word from the text:
1. terse
a. long and complicated b. brief and unfriendly c. sudden

2. deserted
a. empty b. crowded c. clean

3. habitat
a. dwelling b. natural environment c. custom

4. in raptures
a. furious b. ecstatic c. saddened

5. clutching
a. waving b. filling in c. holding tightly

6. fatality
a. problem b. death c. accident

7. fabulous
a. fantastic b. growing c. unexpected

8. riveting
a. boring b. interesting c. fascinating
5. Discussion Point
What are the arguments for and against keeping animals in zoos? What do you think the ideal
solution would be?

 The Guardian Weekly and onestopenglish.com 2001 Photocopiable

Scientists express shock at scale of disaster facing planet as Pacific islanders plan exodus to
New Zealand.

Fill the gaps using these key words from the text.

extinct conservation irreversible species

startling migration curb (verb) doomed

1. ____________ means ësurprisingí or ëvery unusualí.

2. An ____________ condition or situation is one which is impossible to change or bring back.
3. If something is ____________ , it is certain to fail or to be destroyed.
4. An ____________ animal or plant no longer exists.
5. If you ____________ something, you limit or control it.
6. ____________ is the process by which land and water is managed to prevent it being destroyed or
damaged.
7. A ____________ is a plant or animal group whose members all have similar general features.
8. ____________ is the process of moving to another part of the world.

Look in the text and answer these questions.

1. How many species are expected to be lost by the year 2050?

2. How much of the land surface of the world does the report on global warming cover?
3. How many species of butterfly did they study in Australia?
4. How many species of South African plants are expected to die out?
5. How many species were examined in Mexico?
6. How long does it take for the greenhouse effect to have its full effect on the planet?
7. Which gases cause the greenhouse effect?
8. Which human activities produce greenhouse gases?

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Global warming regions of the world taking in 20% of
the land surface. The research in
that up to 70 would become extinct.
Many of the plants and trees that
threatens to kill off a Europe, Australia, Central and
South America, and South Africa,
exist in this savannah occur
nowhere else in the world. In
million species showed that species living in
mountainous areas had a greater
Europe, the continent least affected
by climate change, survival rates
chance of survival because they were better.
The changing climate over the next
could move uphill to get cooler.
50 years is expected to drive a
Studies in Mexico's Chihuahuan
quarter of land animals and plants
Professor Thomas said: "When desert confirmed that on flatter land
into extinction, according to the first
scientists set about research they extinction was more likely because
comprehensive study into the effect
hope to come up with definite a small change in climate would
of higher temperatures on the
results, but what we found we wish require migrations over vast
natural world. The scale of the
we had not. It was far, far worse distances for survival. One third of
disaster facing the planet shocked
than we thought, and what we have 1,870 species examined would be in
those involved in the research. They
discovered may even be an trouble.
estimate that more than 1 million
underestimate."
species will be lost by 2050.
So many species are already
Among the more startling findings of destined for extinction because it
The results are described as
the scientists was that of 24 species takes at least 25 years for the
"terrifying" by Chris Thomas,
of butterfly studied in Australia, all greenhouse effect - or the trapping
professor of conservation biology at
but three would disappear in much of the sun's rays by the carbon
Leeds University, who is lead author
of their current range, and half dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -
of the research from four continents
would become extinct. to have its full effect on the planet.
published last week in the magazine
The continuous discharge of more
Nature. Much of that loss - more
In South Africa, major conservation greenhouse gases, particularly by
than one in 10 of all plants and
areas such as Kruger National Park the United States and European
animals ñ is already irreversible
risked losing up to 60% of the nations, is making matters worse.
because of the extra global warming
species under their protection, while The research says that, if mankind
gases already discharged into the
of 300 South African plant species continues to burn oil, coal and gas
atmosphere. But the scientists say
studied, more than one third were at the current rate, up to one third of
that action to curb
expected to die out, including the all life forms will be doomed by
greenhouse gases now could save
national flower, the King Protea. 2050.
many more. It took two years for the
largest global collaboration of
In the Cerrado region of Brazil which The Guardian Weekly, page 3
experts to make the first major
covers one fifth of the country, a
assessment of the effect of climate
study of 163 tree species showed
change on six biologically rich

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Choose the best answer for each question.

1. Why is the loss of more than 10% of all plants and animals described as ìirreversibleî?

a. Because it is impossible to prevent the greenhouse effect.

b. Because the gases that will kill these species have already been discharged into the atmosphere.
c. Because it took two years for the scientists to make their assessment.

2. Why do species living in mountainous areas have a greater chance of survival?

a. Because the air is cooler.

b. Because they can move to where the air is cooler.
c. Because there are fewer species in mountainous areas.

3. Which sentence best describes how Professor Thomas feels about the results of the research?

a. He is pessimistic.
b. He is optimistic.
c. He is terrifying.

4. What will happen to the national flower of South Africa?

a. It will be conserved in the Kruger National Park.

b. It will be protected.
c. It will become extinct.

5. What is the greenhouse effect?

a. The continuous discharge of greenhouse gases.

b. The trapping of the sunís rays by greenhouse gases.
c. The burning of oil, coal and gas.

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Look in the text and find these words:

1. A word which means a wrong idea that something is smaller or less important than it really is.
2. Another word for ësizeí or ëextentí.
3. A noun which means the process of working together with other people on a specific project.
4. A noun used to describe a large flat area of land covered with grass in a warm part of the world.
5. A two-word verb which means the same as ëto become extinctí.
6. An adjective which means ëextremely largeí.

Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition.

1. A number of people were involved _______ the research.

2. The scientists hoped to come up _______ definite results.
3. Some areas risk losing up _______ 60% of their species.
4. Europe is the continent least affected _______ climate change.
5. A number of species are already destined _______ extinction.
6. It takes 25 years for the greenhouse effect to have its full effect _______ the planet.
7. More than one _______ 10 _______ all plants and animals may be lost.
8. Up to one third will become extinct _______ the year 2050.

A major contributor to the greenhouse effect is the burning of fuel by cars and aeroplanes. Make a list of the
points for and against travelling by car and plane. How do you think our travel habits will change in the next
25 years?

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
 France to ban pupils’ religious dress
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Key Vocabulary

Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

secular neutrality conspicuous ombudsman commission outlaw (vb)

headscarf absurd

1. If something is ____________________ , it is very noticeable or easy to see.

2. France is a ____________________ country. In other words, there is no official state religion.
3. If you ____________________ something, you prohibit it or make it illegal.
4. A ____________________ is a piece of cloth that a woman or girl wears on her head and ties under
her chin.
5. ____________________ is behaviour that does not show strong feelings or opinions and, for
example, does not support either side in a war or a disagreement.
6. If something is ____________________ , it is completely stupid.
7. A ____________________ is a group of people who are officially asked to investigate something.
8. An ____________________ is a person whose job is to deal with complaints made by people about
official organisations.

2 What do you know?

Which of the following words from the text do you associate with the Muslim religion, which with the
Christian religion and which with the Jewish religion?

1. headscarves
2. Yom Kippur
3. crosses
4. skullcaps
5. Eid

Now read the text.

1
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 France to ban pupils’ religious dress
Level 3 | Advanced

France to ban pupils' religious dress

Jon Henley in Paris

M
uslim headscarves and other religious In a gesture of respect to "all spiritual Mr Stasi said the proposed law aimed to
symbols are almost certain to be options", the report said the Jewish and preserve constitutional secularism and counter
banned from French schools and Muslim holy days of Yom Kippur and Eid should "forces trying to destabilise the republic", a
public buildings after a special commission told be made official school holidays, and clear reference to Islamic fundamentalism. But
the government recently that legislation was companies should consider ways of allowing he stressed that the law was not directed at
needed to defend the secular nature of the their employees to take off the religious holiday the mainly moderate Muslim community of 5
state. The 20-member group, appointed by of their choice. million. "Muslims must understand that
President Jacques Chirac and headed by the Mr Chirac said that he favoured a law secularism is a chance for Islam," Mr Stasi said.
national ombudsman, Bernard Stasi, protecting France's secular republic, "I will be "Secularism is the separation of church and
recommended that all "conspicuous" signs of guided by republican principles and the state, but it is also the respect of differences."
religious belief – including Jewish skullcaps, demands of national unity and the solidarity of The main teachers' union, the SNES, said that
oversized Christian crosses and Islamic the French people," he said. The question of the proposals did not go far enough to
headscarves – be outlawed in state-approved whether a "secularism law" is desirable or promote secularism in schools.
schools. necessary- particularly to deal with the
increasing number of Muslim girls wanting to The Guardian Weekly 20-12-03, page 4
The report, compiled after six months of study, wear headscarves at school - may seem
also recommended that the laws should abstract, or even absurd, to those used to
include a clause requiring "the strict neutrality British or US notions of multiculturalism.In
of all public service employees". Some Muslim France, where secularism is a constitutional
women had reportedly been insisting that their guarantee and everyone, in the eyes of the
husbands accompany them at all times in republic, is supposed to be equally French
hospital and would accept only female doctors. regardless of ethnic or religious differences, the
The report said the legislation must remind all issue has dominated media and political
health service users that "it is forbidden to debate for several months.
reject a healthcare worker, and that the rules of
hygiene must be respected".

2
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 France to ban pupils’ religious dress
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer:

1. The Stasi commission has recommended that the wearing of headscarves in French schools be banned
because ...
a. they are conspicuous.
b. they represent forces trying to destabilise the republic.
c. the commission wants to defend the secular nature of the French state.

2. The commission recommended a clause requiring the strict neutrality of all public service employees
because ...
a. they wanted to remind people that it is forbidden to reject a healthcare worker.
b. some people only accept female doctors.
c. it took six months to compile the report.

3. The commission recommended the introduction of new public holidays ...

a. in order to allow workers to choose their holidays.
b. as a gesture of respect to all religions.
c. in order to ensure the strict neutrality of all public service employees.

4. The constitutional guarantee of secularism under French law means ...

a. that people cannot wear headscarves to school.
b. that everyone is regarded as equally French whatever their religion or ethnic background.
c. that the issue has dominated media and political debate for several months.

5. The main teachers’ union criticised the proposals because ...

a. they were too radical.
b. they were not radical enough.
c. they promoted secularism in schools.

3
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 France to ban pupils’ religious dress
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Vocabulary: Find the word

Find the following from the text.

1. A verb which means ‘to prepare by bringing together information from different sources’.
2. An adverb which is used to suggest that something may have happened. Possible synonyms are
‘apparently’ and ‘allegedly’.
3. A verb which is the opposite of ‘to accept’.
4. An adjective which means ‘very large’.
5. A noun which means ‘an idea or understanding of something’.
6. A noun which means ‘the belief and practice of giving equal importance to each of the different
cultures in a society’.
7. A verb which means ‘to emphasise’.
8. A noun which means ‘the belief that original religious laws should be followed very strictly’.

5 Discussion
What are the arguments for and against the wearing of religious symbols in public?
Do you think that girls should be free to wear headscarves to school?

4
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 World’s richest man tries to hold back ‘gathering tempest’ with $100m gift
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Vocabulary

Match the following words with their definitions:

1• donation a• to completely accept

2• grudging b• extremely upsetting or frightening
3• to shrug off c• mainly
4• to embrace d• money given to an organisation
5• a hospice e• to bring positive results
6• to endorse f• done in an unwilling way
7• harrowing g• to express support for something
8• a pandemic h• a hospital that looks after the terminally ill
9• to pay off i• to deal with something easily and without concern
10• predominantly j• a disease that affects almost everyone in a large area

2 What do you know about HIV/Aids?

Decide whether the following statements are True or False:

1• South Africa is currently the country with the largest number of AIDS cases.
2• More than 25 million Indians will probably have the Aids virus by 2010.
3• Up to 105 million people in India, Russia and China could die of Aids by 2025.
4• Currently 7% of the adult population of India is carrying the HIV virus.
5• The problem of Aids in India is complicated by the fact that there is little public debate on sexual
matters.

Now read the text and check your answers.

1
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 World’s richest man tries to hold back ‘gathering tempest’ with $100m gift
Level 3 | Advanced

World’s richest man of an Aids epidemic. They were

“completely inaccurate”, he said. The

tries to hold back government has not given an alternative

projection, but says it does not expect a
dramatic increase by the end of the

‘gathering tempest’ decade. Aids prevention programmes

are paying off and the number of HIV
carriers has stabilised to around 4

with $100m gift million - 0.7% of its adult population -

over the past three years, it claims.
Other experts say that 5 million to 8
Luke Harding million Indians are already infected. “I
don’t think anyone should contribute to

I
f Bill Gates was disappointed by be known it was deeply unhappy with a spreading general panic,” Mr Sinha
India’s apparent lack of gratitude, he report endorsed by Gates that predicted added.
did a good job of hiding it on that 20 million to 25 million Indians Mr Gates’s intervention was always
Monday as he announced his biggest were likely to have the virus by 2010 - likely to be controversial in a
philanthropic donation yet - a $100m to and that India was poised to overtake conservative, predominantly Hindu
fight the spread of HIV/Aids in India. But South Africa as the country with the country where, as one Aids expert put it,
the vast donation from the world’s largest number of Aids cases. “only the intelligentsia” talk about sex.
richest man has so far only had a Campaigners have accused the Despite the riotously erotic sculptures in
grudging response from India’s government of deliberately several ancient Indian temples,
rightwing government. It had earlier underestimating the extent of the there is little public debate on sexual
accused him of “spreading panic” in a epidemic to the point of being in denial. matters and, it seems, widespread
row over the probable future spread of Their claims were endorsed this week by confusion as to how to wear a condom.
the disease. However, Mr Gates a new, harrowing report that suggests Screen kisses between Indians are still
shrugged off the controversy. “Whatever that Eurasia - India, China and Russia - banned, and Bollywood directors get
the figures are now or seven years from are soon likely to suffer the same kind round the problem of portraying sex
now, there is a big, big problem [in of Aids pandemic that is currently with wet sari scenes and less-than-
India],” he said. “We have seen in other decimating sub-Saharan subtle dance numbers.
countries what happens if you don’t act Africa. The disease in these three Mr Gates said it was not just developing
early. You don’t get involved in Aids countries alone could kill between 43 countries that were reluctant to talk
without being willing to embrace some million and 105 million people by 2025, about sex: the same problem existed in
degree of controversy.” it says. The report, published in the the US. “We have the Catholic church.
Before announcing his long-term American magazine Foreign Affairs, is We have people who tell us that talking
“commitment” to slowing the spread of unlikely to go down well with India’s about sex will encourage young people
HIV/Aids, he paid a visit to an Aids Hindu nationalist establishment which, to engage in rampant sexual
hospice in Delhi. There was no Princess as Bill Gates found out, sharply resists behaviour,” he said.
Diana-style hugging, though a serene- all forms of external interference.
looking Gates did sit cross-legged on Last week India’s health minister,
the floor next to an Aids patient. Shatrughan Sinha, rubbished The Guardian Weekly 14-11-2002, page 2
The Indian government had earlier let it suggestions that India was on the brink

2
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 World’s richest man tries to hold back ‘gathering tempest’ with $100m gift
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer for each question

1• How was Bill Gates’ $100 million donation 4• Why is the latest report on Aids in Eurasia likely to
received by the Indian government? prove unpopular with the Indian establishment?
a• With great enthusiasm. a• Because they do not like interference from
b• With extreme gratitude. outside.
c• With grudging acceptance. b• Because they believe it is inaccurate.
c• Because they do not like Bill Gates.
2• How did Bill Gates react to the controversy?
a• He rejected it. 5• Why was Bill Gates’ intervention controversial in
b• He was not concerned by it. India?
c• He denied that he was responsible. a• Because he is a conservative.
b• Because people do not talk about sexual
3• What do Aids campaigners accuse the Indian matters much.
government of? c• Because sex is banned in Indian films.
a• Completely ignoring the problem of Aids.
b• Not accepting the extent of the epidemic.
c• Over-estimating the number of people with
Aids.

4 Find the word

Find:

1• An adjective which means “helping people, especially by giving money to those who need it”.
2• An adjective which means “calm or peaceful”.
3• An adjective which means “about to do something”.
4• An adverb which means “intentionally”.
5• A verb which means “to criticise something by saying it is stupid”.
6• An adverb which means “in a very lively and noisy manner”.
7• An adjective which means “affecting many people”.
8• An adjective which means “unwilling”.
9• An adjective which means “uncontrolled”.

3
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 World’s richest man tries to hold back ‘gathering tempest’ with $100m gift
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Expressing probability
There are a number of expressions in the text that refer to things that will probably happen in the very
near future:

Likely to ….
Unlikely to ….
Poised to ….
On the brink of …

Rewrite these sentences using the word in brackets:

1• India will soon overtake South Africa as the country with the largest number of Aids cases. (poised)
2• India will probably soon have an Aids epidemic. (brink)
3• Local politicians will probably not accept the latest report. (unlikely)
4• 20 to 25 million Indians will probably have the HIV virus by 2010 (likely)
5• Some people say that India will soon have an Aids disaster. (brink)

6 Discussion points
Do you think that governments spend enough money on Aids treatment and on research
into finding a cure for Aids?
Is education the solution?

4
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Bali bomber to face firing squad
Level 3 Advanced


Pre-reading
1 What do you know about the Bali bombing?

Choose the best answer:

1. How many people were killed in the Bali bombing?

a. about 500 b. about 200 c. about 100

2. How many night-clubs were bombed?

a. 3 b. 2 c. 1

3. When did the bombing take place?

a. October 2002 b. December 2002 c. March 2003

4. Amrozi, the man convicted of the bombing, came to be known as:

a. the laughing bomber b. the shouting bomber c. the smiling bomber

2 Legal Terms

Match these legal terms from the text with their meanings:

1. to acquit
2. to convict
3. to sentence
4. public gallery
5. summing-up
6. defence

a. to state what someone’s punishment will be.

b. a statement made by a judge that gives a summary of the evidence in a case.
c. all the things that are said in a court case to prove that someone is not guilty.
d. to state officially that someone is not guilty of the crime they were accused of.
e. the place in the courtroom where members of the public sit.
f. to prove in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime.

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2003

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Bali bomber to face firing squad
Level 3 Advanced


survivors and victims' explosion. He was also
 relatives said they were found guilty of buying
 not surprised by such most of the chemicals
Amrozi bin Nurhasyim defiance. "He's been used to make the bombs,
raised his thumbs and doing it since the very transporting them to Bali
grinned at the five start, so I wouldn't and helping with other
judges in front of him. expect anything preparations for the
He then turned to face different," said Natalie terrorist attack.
the hundreds of Juniardi, from Australia,
cheering, applauding who lost her Balinese In their summing up the
and weeping people in husband, John, and two judges branded Amrozi's
the public gallery and of her staff when actions as
gave them the same Paddy's Bar and the Sari "extraordinary" and
victory salute. "Allahu Club in Kuta were "crimes against
Akbar [God is most blown up on October 12. humanity". They
great]," he yelled in "We try not to let it rejected his defence that
exultation. bother us." he was a mere foot
soldier and that his
It was as if the radical Some relatives of those actions were justified
Islamist, a poorly who died in the blast under Islam. "Islam
educated village car said they feared the never teaches violence,
mechanic from east death penalty would murder or any other
Java, had just been only make him a martyr. crime," the judges said.
acquitted of taking part "This adds further fuel "You never have the
in the bombing of two to fundamentalism," said right to slaughter other
Bali nightclubs last Susanna Miller, whose people." They concluded
October that killed 202 brother Dan died in the that the attack had been
people, rather than blast. coordinated by Jemaah
becoming the first Islamiyah (JI), the
person to be sentenced Amrozi, who has Southeast Asian Islamist
to death by firing squad. repeatedly said he was terrorist group linked to
As the 41-year-old seeking to strike at al-Qaida.
"smiling bomber" was America and its allies,
escorted out of the especially Israel, and The Guardian Weekly 20-08-
Balinese courtroom with hoped "whites" would 03, page 2
his trademark grin fixed die, was convicted last
firmly in place and week of buying and
shouts of "Die Amrozi!" adapting the vehicle
ringing in his ears, used in the main

©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2003

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Bali bomber to face firing squad
Level 3 Advanced


3 Comprehension Check
Decide whether these statements are true or false according to the text:

1. Amrozi was acquitted of all the charges against him.

2. The survivors and relatives were surprised by his behaviour in the courtroom.
3. Some people are afraid that his execution will make him a martyr.
4. Amrozi’s actions were described as crimes against humanity by the judges.
5. Amrozi claimed that his actions were justified by his religion.
6. Amrozi seemed angry at the guilty verdict.
7. The judges made it clear that Islam does not teach murder.

4 Vocabulary
Find the words that mean:

1. to smile broadly
2. to cry
3. to shout
4. to accompany
5. an explosion
6. someone who dies for a political or religious cause
7. extreme pleasure and excitement
8. someone with a junior position in an organisation

5 Verbs
Fill the gaps using an appropriate verb

1. Amrozi was ____________ guilty of murder.

2. He was ____________ to death by firing squad.
3. Some people are afraid that this will ____________ fuel to fundamentalism.
4. Amrozi was ____________ of buying and adapting the vehicle used in the attack.
5. He also bought the chemicals and ____________ them to Bali.
6. The judges ____________ his actions as extraordinary.
7. They ____________ his defence that his actions were justified under Islam.
8. They concluded that Jemaah Islamiyah had ____________ the attack.

6 Discussion
Is violence and murder justified as a means to a political end?


©Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2003

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
 America’s crude tactics for Iraq war
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Words

Match the words with the definitions

1• to topple a• to provide the money for something

2• to guzzle b• to deal with
3• to bankroll c• to make someone in authority lose their power; to overthrow
4• to lobby d• to reach the highest point or level
5• to diminish e• to control or limit something that is harmful
6• to tackle f• to become less; to decrease
7• to peak g• to drink a lot quickly and with enthusiasm
8• to curb h• to continue to exist
9• to persist i• to try to influence politicians on a particular subject

2 What do you know?

Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1• Iraq has more than 10% of the world’s oil reserves.

2• The discovery of oil reached in peak in the mid-1980s.
3• The US produces enough oil to meet its own needs.
4• More efficient oil production would lead to higher global oil prices.
5• Saudi Arabia has 25% of the world’s oil reserves.
6• The US government has refused permission for oil companies to extract oil in Alaska.

Now read the text and check your answers.

1
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 America’s crude tactics for Iraq war
Level 3 | Advanced

America’s crude of oil through more efficient

production would lead to lower global

tactics for Iraq war

prices and stronger growth. It might
also be environmentally less damaging.
The possibility that a US occupation of
the Middle East will destabilise the
Larry Elliot
region, putting pressure on the

L
et’s get one thing straight. George proved, is therefore vulnerable to its autocratic rulers of Western client states,
Bush’s determination to topple imported supplies being cut off. The is a second, perhaps greater, threat. It
Saddam Hussein has nothing to do discovery of oil peaked in the mid-1960s would be a bitter irony if the US found
with oil. Iraq may account for 11% of but the world continues to use faster itself in possession of 11% of the
the world’s oil reserves, but the military than it is being found. Bush and his world’s known reserves only to find that
build-up in the Gulf is about making the team know all this. They have worked the 25% in Saudi Arabia had been
world a safer and more humane place, for the oil industry, been bankrolled by seized by a regime with no love for
not about allowing motorists to guzzle the oil industry, and have listened hard America.
gas to their heart’s content. to what the oil industry would like. The third choice for the US and the rest
So, let me spell it out. This. Has. Faced with the prospect that on current of the developed world is to tackle the
Nothing. To. Do. With. Oil. Got that? Of trends the gap between demand and imbalance between demand and supply
course you haven’t. It takes a trusting, supply will widen, Bush has three from the other end - by limiting
nay naive, soul to imagine that the choices. First, he could listen to the demand rather than by increasing
White House would be making all this lobbying of executives such as Longwell, supply. Most governments, including
fuss were it not that Iraq has something who are convinced that there is still that in Washington, acknowledge the
the US needs. There are plenty of small, plenty of oil out there provided the need to take steps to curb emissions of
repressive states where the regimes are exploration teams are given the greenhouse gases.
being allowed to quietly kill and torture freedom to find it. That is why Bush has The first problem with this is political
their people. There are plenty of small, courted the wrath of the environmental will. If governments took steps to
repressive states with weapons of mass lobby in the US to sanction exploration increase energy efficiency by 20% and
destruction - North Korea, for example - and extraction in the to commit to producing 25% of energy
which appear to pose a more immediate wilds of Alaska. from renewable sources by 2020, it
threat to international security. But only The second option is to ensure that, to would be costly, both in terms of money
with Iraq do you get a small, repressive buy time, the US secures a bigger share and effort. But wars, too, are costly. The
country with weapons of mass of diminishing stocks. The seizure intact depletion of non-renewable energy
destruction that also happens to be of Iraqi oil is a prime war aim of the US, resources is a problem that will persist
floating on oil. and it is likely that, once Saddam has long after the butcher of Baghdad is
Moreover the realities of oil dependency been toppled, the big oil companies will dead and buried.
are catching up with the world’s biggest be called in to modernise the country’s
economy. The US has long ceased to be oil infrastructure. In one sense, such an The Guardian Weekly 12-02-2003, page 12
self-sufficient in oil and, as the recent outcome would be no bad thing. A
shutdown of Venezuela’s refineries has modernisation that increased the supply

2
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 America’s crude tactics for Iraq war
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Match the beginnings with the endings:

Choose the best answer to each question.

1• According to the writer, the US is targeting Iraq because …

a• It is a small repressive state.
b• It has weapons of mass destruction.
c• It is a repressive state that has weapons of mass destruction and lots of oil.

2• Why is the US vulnerable to its imported supplies being cut off?

a• Because it is no longer produces enough oil to meets its needs.
b• Because Venezuela’s refineries have been shut down.
c• Because the world continues to use oil faster than it is being found.

3• Why is the environmental lobby angry with Bush?

a• Because he has agreed to allow oil companies to look for oil in Alaska.
b• Because the gap between supply and demand is widening.
c• Because the oil companies are convinced there is more oil to be found.

4• Why does the US want to seize the Iraqi oil intact?

a• In order to modernise the country’s oil infrastructure.
b• In order to increase the supply of oil.
c• In order to get a bigger share of decreasing stocks of oil.

5• What, according to the writer, is the third choice for the US and the rest of the
developed world?
a• To curb emissions of greenhouse gases.
b• To limit demand by increasing energy efficiency.
c• To remove the “butcher of Baghdad” from power.

3
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 America’s crude tactics for Iraq war
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Word Building: Collocations

Match the verbs with the nouns they collocate with.

1• to topple a• a threat
2• to make b• a region
3• to pose c• an imbalance
4• to lobby d• a regime
5• to court e• energy efficiency
6• to buy f• a fuss
7• to destabilise g• emissions
8• to tackle h• politicians
9• to curb i• disaster
10• to increase j• time

5 Word Building: Adjectives

Fill the gaps by using an appropriate adjective from the text.

1• ____________ regimes rule by the use of force or violence.

2• Someone who is ____________ is easy to hurt physically or mentally.
3• If something is ____________ it is not harmed, damaged or lacking any parts.
4• ____________ means absolutely certain.
5• A ____________ person lacks experience of life and believes things too easily.
6• People who rule with complete power can be described as ____________ .
7• ____________ is another word for expensive.

6 Discussion
What are the arguments for and against an attack on Iraq?
What are the alternative energy sources to oil?
Can the world live without oil?

4
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 America’s crude tactics for Iraq war
Level 3 | Advanced

Key

1 Key Verbs 5 Adjectives

1c; 2g; 3a; 4i; 5f; 6b; 7d; 8e; 9h 1 repressive

2 vulnerable
2 What do you know? 3 intact
4 convinced
1T; 2F; 3F; 4F; 5T; 6F 5 naïve
6 autocratic
3 Comprehension Check 7. costly

1c; 2a; 3a; 4c; 5b

4 Word Building – Collocations

1d; 2f; 3a; 4h; 5I; 6j; 7b; 8c; 9g; 10e

5
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Fill the gaps using these keywords from the text:

smokescreen ivory poacher wipe out mantra

moratorium habitat thrive

1. The type of place that an animal normally lives in is called its ____________ .
2. A ____________ is an official agreement to stop an activity temporarily.
3. A ____________ is something that you say or do that hides your real
intentions or activities.
4. A ____________ is a word or phrase that is often repeated.
5. ____________ is the yellowish-white bone that an elephant’s tusks are made
of.
6. If something ____________ it becomes very successful or healthy.
7. A ____________ is someone who hunts animals illegally.
8. To ____________ means to destroy something completely.

Choose the best answer

1. The elephant population of Africa is 2. Most elephants are killed by

a) falling a) disease
b) rising b) official hunters
c) stable c) poachers

3. Which countries want to trade in ivory? 4. To conserve elephants we should:

a) South Africa and Namibia a) regulate the ivory trade
b) Kenya and Angola b) ban the ivory trade
c) Egypt and Namibia c) allow an unrestricted trade in ivory

Now look in the text and check your answers

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 be slaughtered tomorrow and yet an
We need a total ban on ivory sales economically sustainable ivory trade
Richard Leakey maintained for years to come with invested
profits could provide an income in perpetuity.
Fifteen years ago, the world's television
Swayed by a few pro-trade southern African
screens relayed images of Daniel arap Moi,
countries, whose fenced-in elephant
Kenya's then president, and myself setting fire
populations were relatively unaffected by
to 2,000 elephant tusks. Kenya could have
poaching, Cites agreed to allow sales of
earned millions of dollars by selling the
stockpiled ivory. Subsequently, we have
stockpile. But we had to illustrate graphically
witnessed a resurgence in poaching and ivory
the impact of the ivory trade, and show that
seizures. And yet the push to reopen the trade
the only way of saving Africa's elephants was
continues: Namibia is asking Cites for an
to destroy the trade.
annual ivory export quota, as well as
permission to trade in worked ivory,
Throughout the 1980s, ivory trading, most of
elephant hair and, with South Africa, leather.
it fed by poaching, had slashed the continent's
elephant population from 1.3 million to just
These countries say they have the right to
625,000. Kenya, especially, was hit hard:
profit from their natural resources. This
80% of its elephants were massacred. A few
sounds reasonable until one considers that
months after the burning, the UN Convention
many poorer countries are campaigning
on International Trade in Endangered Species
against this. Kenya, supported by many other
(Cites) banned the trade, and the bloodshed
African states, is proposing a 20-year
slowed. Recently Cites adopted an "action
moratorium on ivory trade. The economics of
plan" that places further controls on the illegal
the ivory trade do not add up. Most countries
ivory trade in Africa by calling on African
where elephants live are poor, and the effect
"range states" with large elephant populations
of allowing even a limited trade would
to prohibit unregulated domestic sales in
outweigh any benefits. Already struggling to
ivory. But conservationists say the plan does
protect their wildlife, these countries will be
not go far enough.
the first port of call for poachers.
The mantra of "use it or lose it" holds that
With human populations growing, many
conservation is only possible if a price is put
countries are experiencing serious habitat
on the heads of endangered species, and that
destruction and human-wildlife conflict. We
people in developing countries will only hold
should compensate farming communities for
back from wiping out species if they can see a
destruction caused by animals. However,
financial benefit in preserving them. Yet,
given that Kenya still has only 20% of the
historically, trade has been the foremost factor
elephants it had in 1970, this is an issue to be
in the decimation of many species, from tigers
resolved by developing long-term land-use
to cod. Opening up a limited legal trade
policies rather than exterminating wildlife.
creates a smokescreen, allowing the illegal
market to thrive. Sustainable use may sound Richard Leakey was director of the Kenya Wildlife
reasonable, but in reality it dodges definition. Service until 1999
There is a gulf between ecological and
economical sustainability. All elephants could The Guardian Weekly 15/10/2004-10-15, page 13

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Decide whether the following statements are True or False according to the text:

1. The author of the text believes that the only way to conserve Africa’s elephants
is to prohibit the ivory trade.
2. Kenya lost nearly half its elephant population in the 1980s.
3. Africa as a whole lost half its elephant population in the 1980s.
4. Conservationists are happy with the new proposals put forward by Cites.
5. Trade is the main factor in the decimation of animal species.
6. If all the elephants in the world were killed tomorrow, people would still profit
from ivory.
7. Most countries where elephants live are rich.
8. The author of the text believes that the best solution for farmers is to
exterminate wildlife.

1. Find four verbs which mean ‘to kill’.

2. Find a two-word expression that means ‘for ever’.
3. Find a noun which means ‘a large collection of things that may be needed in
the future’.
4. Find a verb which means ‘to reduce dramatically’.
5. Find a verb which means ‘to influence or change someone’s opinion’.
6. Find a noun which means ‘the start of something again that quickly increases
in influence or effect’.

Which prepositions follow these words? Check your answers in the text:

1. to campaign __________ 2. to profit __________

3. to hold back __________ 4. to trade __________
5. a moratorium __________ 6. to compensate __________
7. to set fire __________ 8. the impact __________

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Gerunds and infinitives.

Fill the gaps using either the gerund or infinitive form of the verb in brackets,
eg:
Many countries have banned the killing of elephants for their ivory.
Cites is trying to limit trade in ivory.

1. __________ the stockpile would have earned Kenya millions of dollars.

(SELL)
2. Cites has called on states __________ unregulated domestic sales in ivory.
(BAN)
3. __________ up a limited legal trade creates a smokescreen. (OPEN)
4. Some countries are trying __________ the trade in ivory. (RESTRICT)
5. Other countries, on the other hand, want __________ from their natural
resources. (PROFIT)
6. Namibia wants permission __________ in worked ivory, elephant hair and
leather. (TRADE)
7. Many countries are struggling __________ their wildlife. (PROTECT)
8. The author believes long-term land-use policies are better than __________
wildlife. (EXTERMINATE)

Should a regulated ivory trade be allowed?

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Aid agencies warn of Iraq pullout after kidnappings

Fill the gaps using these keywords from the text:

prompt (vb) abduction expatriate claim (vb)

right-hand man deteriorate (vb) sacred reassess

1. ____________ is another word for ‘kidnapping’.

2. An ____________ is someone who lives in a foreign country.
3. If you ____________ something, you evaluate it again.
4. A ____________ is the person that you regularly depend on to help you.
5. If a situation ____________ it becomes worse.
6. To ____________ means to cause something to happen or be done.
7. If you ____________ something, you say that it is true, even if there is no
specific evidence.
8. If something is ____________ , it is considered to be connected with God in a
special way.

1. Two women were kidnapped recently in Iraq. What was their nationality?
2. Who is Silvio Berlusconi?
3. Ayman al-Zawahri is the right-hand man of which famous individual?
4. What is Medecins sans Frontiers?
5. Of which country is John Howard the prime minister?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Aid agencies warn of Iraq pullout takers, who have not targeted aid workers or
after kidnappings women, except for one Japanese woman.
Sophie Arie and Luke Harding
In Italy the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi,
The remaining international aid agencies in called on leftwing opposition leaders to stand
Iraq were considering pulling out after the with the right in the crisis. He was said to be
kidnapping of four humanitarian workers, "aghast and flabbergasted" that women were
including two Italian women, from their being harmed because "Islam teaches that
headquarters in Baghdad, it was claimed they are sacred". Opposition leaders repeated
recently. Jean-Dominique Bunel, a their hostility to the war in Iraq and Italy's
coordinator for the agencies, said the military presence there, but said the priority
abduction last week had already prompted was to save the hostages. The deputy prime
some aid workers to leave and others would minister, Gianfranco Fini, said the kidnapping
follow soon. showed that "terrorists had made a quantum
leap in their strategy".
Speaking to Agence France-Presse, he said:
"It seems that most of the international non- The kidnapping came 10 days after the
governmental organisations are preparing to murder of the Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni,
leave Iraq and some expatriate [staff] already kidnapped while travelling to Najaf with the
left . . . More will follow in coming days." Mr Italian Red Cross. Italy had rejected
Bunel said he had no idea who had abducted kidnappers' demands for its troops to quit
the Italians, who work for Bridge to Baghdad, Iraq. Another militant group released a video
an organisation helping children across the of a Turkish hostage having his head cut off.
country. In the tape from Tawhid and Jihad, a group
inconclusively linked to the Jordanian al-
An Iraqi group called Ansar al-Zawahri said it Qaida militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
had kidnapped the women. In a message on Durmus Kumdereli, a driver, said he had been
an Islamist website, it claimed: "This is the captured while delivering goods to a US base
first of our attacks against Italy." The name, in Mosul. He urged other transport companies
Partisans of Zawahri, appears to refer to and drivers "not to aid the occupiers". Masked
Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, Ayman men then beheaded him.
al-Zawahri. Almost all major aid
organisations have left Iraq because of the The Australian prime minister, John Howard,
deteriorating security situation, including the said he would not withdraw troops from Iraq
UN, the International Red Cross and as demanded by militants who claimed to
Medecins sans Frontieres. Those that have have taken two Australians hostage.
stayed have had to reassess the situation
because of the nature of the latest kidnapping, The Guardian Weekly 20-09-04
which involved 20 gunmen bursting into the
organisation's office in central Baghdad. It
marked a change in strategy by hostage-

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Choose the best answer to each question.

1. Why are aid agencies considering pulling out of Iraq?

a. Because of the war last year.
b. Because their headquarters are being bombed.
c. Because of the number of kidnappings.

2. How were the Italian women kidnapped?

a. They were kidnapped while travelling to Najaf with the Red Cross.
b. Twenty armed men burst into their office.
c. They were taken from their hotel.

3. What was the priority of the Italian Opposition?

a. To oppose the war in Iraq.
b. To save the lives of the hostages.
c. To change the strategy of the terrorists.

4. Why was the Turkish lorry driver executed by his kidnappers?

a. Because his company was delivering supplies to the Americans.
b. Because Turkey supported the war in Iraq.
c. Because he was a fellow Muslim.

5. Which answer best reflects the general meaning of the text?

a. The situation in Iraq is bad and many aid agencies are thinking about leaving.
b. The situation in Iraq is bad and the few aid agencies that remain are thinking
about leaving.
c. The situation in Iraq is bad and a few aid agencies are thinking of leaving.

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Find the words or phrases that mean:

1. a verb that means ‘to leave; to stop being involved in a situation’.

2. a verb which means ‘to enter a room very suddenly’.
3. an adjective which means ‘extremely shocked and upset’.
4. an adjective which means ‘extremely surprised’.
5. an expression which means ‘to make a very big change’.
6. an adverb which means ‘without complete proof’.
7. a verb which means ‘to cut someone’s head off’.
8. a noun which means ‘a person who has been kidnapped’.

Fill the gaps and complete the sentences.

1. Aid agencies are considering pulling ______ ______ Iraq.

2. An Islamist website claimed the kidnapping was the first attack ______ Italy.
3. Targeting women is a change ______ strategy by the kidnappers.
4. Many Italians are hostile ______ the war in Iraq.
5. The gunmen burst ______ the women’s office in Baghdad.
6. The women were abducted ______ their headquarters.
7. The group’s name appears to refer ______ Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man.
8. The Italian prime minister called ______ the opposition to support him.

Check your answers in the text.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
There are 6 examples of past perfect tenses in the text.

1. Find and underline or highlight the 6 examples of the past perfect.

2. Find the one example of the past perfect that is not an example of reported
speech but is an action in the past occurring prior to another past action.
3. Find an example of a passive form of the past perfect.

Is it ever right for people to kidnap others in order to make political demands?
Should television stations broadcast pictures of kidnappers and their victims?
If your country is occupied by a foreign army, does that give you the right to kidnap
and kill foreign civilians?

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Health crisis looms as life expectancy soars
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Scientists warn of complacency as Western governments drastically underestimate average lifespan

James Meek

1 Pre-reading activities
Before you read the text, decide which of these statements about life expectancy you think are true
and which are false: TRUE FALSE

1. Life expectancy for men in Britain in 1901 was only 48 years.

2. In 2000 this had risen to 88 years.

3. By 2070, life expectancy in the USAcould be as high as 110 years.

4. Female babies born this year in Japan have a 50/50 chance of reaching the age of 100.

5. By 2060 female life expectancy in Japan will reach 100 years.

6. To match increasing life expectancy, the retirement age in the UK should already be 74.

7. Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world.

8. In the 1880s nearly 25% of those born died before the age of 5.

9. The maximum lifespan that any human being has lived is 130.

10.Male life expectancy is higher than female life expectancy.

Now read the text and check your answers.

Western governments are drastically females from 49 to 80 years, will to be 100. The Science paper gives
underestimating how long their not continue. In the journal Science, no estimates for Britain, but using
citizens are likely to live, scientists however, two scientists from the same methodology, female life
warned last week. This oversight Cambridge and Rostock in expectancy in Japan would reach
threatens to put strains on the health, Germany state that life expectancy 100 in 2060, with Britain following
welfare and pensions systems of the will go on increasing indefinitely. in 2085. If true, the study has impli-
developed world far more serious cations not just for pensions but for
than previously thought. Until By comparing differences in life healthcare and social services, since
recently the growing awareness that expectancy between the world's there is no guarantee that average
governments were living a lie over wealthier countries, they conclude healthspan - the time people are free
life expectancy was mostly confined that as early as 2070 female life of chronic illness - will keep pace
to a small circle of specialist expectancy in the United States with average lifespan. Government
demographers. But the latest could be as high as 101 years. The figures show that for men, life
critique of scientific complacency official US forecast for 2070 is only expectancy went up from 70.9 to
on increasing average lifespans will 83.9 years. One of the 74.6 between 1981 and 1997, but
be hard to ignore. For years scien- scientists, James Vaupel of the Max healthy life expectancy went up
tists have been advising govern- Planck Institute for Demographic from 64.4 to 66.9. In women, the
ments that the increases in life Research in Rostock, believes that a healthy life expectancy increase
expectancy over the past century, typical female baby born this year in lagged a year behind life expectancy.
which saw typical British male France or Japan - the two countries
lifespans rise from 48 years in 1901 with the greatest life expectancy - A British MP welcomed the report.
to 75 years in 2000, and those of already has a 50/50 chance of living He called for an independent body

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Health crisis looms as life expectancy soars
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

to be set up, such as the monetary Life expectancy is an average and Vaupel. "The officials responsi-
policy committee that sets interest figure. In the 1880s many people ble for making projections have
rates, to fix increased retirement lived to their 60s and 70s, but recalcitrantly assumed that life
ages. "If you look at life expectancy almost a quarter of those born died expectancy will increase slowly and
in 1948 when the state pension was before they were five. The maxi- not much further."
introduced, and take that as a mum lifespan that any human being
reasonable length of time to receive has lived is currently 122. During The official forecasts distort
a pension, you would have a the 20th century a succession of people's decisions about how much
retirement age of 74 today," he said. scientists declared absolute limits to to save, and when to retire. They
Dr Vaupel's co-author, Jim Oeppen, life expectancy. In 1928 the US give politicians licence to postpone
of Cambridge University's Group demographer, Louis Dublin, said painful adjustments to social
for the History of Population and that it was unlikely to exceed 64.75 security and medical care systems."
Social Structure, said that at the years. In 1990 Dublin's successors Professor Alan Walker of Sheffield
moment the Government predicts said that without fundamental University said the paper's
British male life expectancy will breakthroughs in controlling ageing conclusions were not news to him
rise from 75 to 79 and female from itself, 50-year-olds could not expect but, with the possible exception of
80 to 83 by 2025. Yet Japan has to live for more than another 35 Germany, were not yet being faced
already reached both these levels. years. Six years later, however, life up to by governments. "Policy mak-
"We have to strongly consider that expectancy for Japanese women ers are now just beginning to recog-
current forecasts of the elderly are passed this figure. "The ignomin- nise the potential significance of
actually too low. Not only will the ious saga of life expectancy increased life expectancy."
numbers be greater, but there will be maxima is more than an exquisite
more at the older end of the scale," case for historians intrigued by the The Guardian Weekly 16-5-2002,
he said. foibles of science," write Oeppen page 11

2 Comprehension check
1. If governments drastically underestimate life expectancy, what is likely to happen?

2. What is the main finding of the report by the scientists in Cambridge and Rostock?

3. What is the definition of ‘healthspan’?

4. What change in the retirement age is being proposed by a British MP?

5. How is life expectancy calculated?

6. What is the result of errors in official forecasts?

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Health crisis looms as life expectancy soars
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

3. Vocabulary work
Match the following words with their meanings:

1. drastically a. over-confidence

2. oversight b. fascinated

3. complacency c. a discovery or achievement that follows hard work

4. demographer d. a long story

5. breakthrough e. to an excessive degree

6. ignominious f. to delay or put back

7. intrigued g. likely to happen very soon

8. imminent h. shameful

9. saga i. a person who studies population features

10.postpone j. something forgotten or not noticed

4. More vocabulary – prepositions

Fill the gaps using appropriate prepositions

1. Healthspan is not keeping pace _____________________________ lifespan.

2. In other words it is lagging _____________________________ lifespan.

3. This has many implications _____________________________ pensions, health and welfare.

4. Healthspan means the period of life that people are free _____________________________ chronic
illness.

5. Governments will have to face up _____________________________ the changing situation.

6. The awareness of the lifespan situation was previously confined _____________________________ a

small group of specialists.

7. Many historians are intrigued _____________________________ the strange characteristics of science.

8. People will have to adapt _____________________________ the new situation.

9. There may be no absolute limit _____________________________ life expectancy.

10.Governments are responsible _____________________________ setting retirement ages.

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Health crisis looms as life expectancy soars
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

5. Reported Speech
Reporting verbs. In this passge a lot of reports are made of what people other than the writer have
said or written about the issues. In the first sentence, for example, the opinions of some scientists are
introduces using the phrase:

. . . scientists warned last week.

Look through the passage again and underline all of the phrases used to report speech or written text.

Complete each sentence with one suitable word. Do not use say.

a) The pupils ____________________ that the teachers never trusted them.

b) She ____________________ me that the road over the mountain was often impassable.

c) It has been ____________________ that global warming will create vast desserts around the world.

d) The army officer ____________________ that all soldiers had been issued with orders not to shoot.

e) Scientists ____________________ that obesity is set to become an even bigger health problem.

6. Discussion
Developments in science and medicine may eventually make it possible to delay, slow down or even
reverse the ageing process. This could mean a life expectancy of 150 or even 200 years, Make a list of
the pros and cons of such a situation. What would happen to the world if we all lived to the age of
200? How would this change people's behaviour?

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Where men are men .... and women don’t know the recipe for equality
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

1 Pre-reading discussion
Are there specific jobs that men and women do in the home in your country? Make a list of jobs and
tasks that are specific to women and another list of jobs and tasks that are typically done by men.

Men Women
________________________________________ ________________________________________

________________________________________ ________________________________________

________________________________________ ________________________________________

________________________________________ ________________________________________

Which of these professions are more likely to involve women and which are more typical of men?
Enter M or W.

bus-driver _______ nurse _______

police officer _______ farmer _______

coal miner _______ night-club bouncer _______

primary school teacher _______ fashion model _______

2 Pre-reading questions
The text that follows is about typical male attitudes in Southern Spain to household tasks such as
cooking and ironing. Decide whether you think the following statements are true or false.

TRUE FALSE

a. Many Spanish men still consider domestic tasks to be women’s work.

b. Spanish men are fiercely proud of their cooking skills.

c. Working women don’t have to do housework when they finish work.

d. Spanish men usually do the shopping in the market.

e. Unisex fashion is in vogue at the moment.

f. On "The Day of the Book", it is the custom to give women a rose.

Now read the text to check your answers.

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Where men are men .... and women don’t know the recipe for equality
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Compared with the seductive advertisements for cigarettes, underwear and alcohol, the recent billboard
posters appear stark: "Dare to ... if you’re a man," they proclaim. But far from being challenged to some
daredevil macho stunt, the males of Granada are merely being exhorted to tackle the washing-up. The
adverts, which depict a huge stack of dirty dishes, form part of the town council’s campaign for the greater
sharing of responsibilities and domestic tasks between men and women.
As in other Western countries, the struggle for gender equality continues. Parity in terms of pay and
opportunities has improved enormously in recent years. It is in the home that traditional ideas are more
difficult to change. Although most women now have jobs outside the home, many Spanish men still consider
domestic tasks to be women’s work: "Leave that to your sister," Yolanda’s father commanded with a frown
on seeing his son pick up a tea towel, "It’s not your job."
Often, though, it is the women themselves, especially those of the older generation, who insist on serving
the rest of the family. They see it as their duty, and are fiercely proud of their culinary and housekeeping
skills. Life for the housewife is an endless faena, a round of tasks to ensure the comfort of every (other)
member of the family.
Maria is in her late 50s and works full-time, cleaning the large building where I work, and running the
cafeteria. Her husband works there too, although his job is less physically demanding. When Maria arrives
home, exhausted after a long and tiring day, her work begins anew. While the rest of the family relaxes, she
sets about the household chores, prepares a meal and stares aghast at the vast pile of ironing that awaits
her. Most of it belongs to her five adult children, who see no reason to leave home in the foreseeable future.
"It’s not fair," Maria agrees, "but what can I do? When I ask them to help, they always have something more
important to do – an outing with friends, a series of phone calls. Or they point out how much better their
shirts look when I iron them." She shrugs: "Young people ..... " Neither can Manolo, her husband, be expected
to change his ways: "It’s not what he’s used to".
On the other hand, it is not true to say that all Spanish men are parasites in the home. They too have their
duties. My landlord, Pablo, is retired and, it seems, entirely at the disposal of his wife. It is clear from the
string of orders, issued in peremptory tones each day, who is boss. However, she would never dream of
asking him to shop for food in the market.
Clear demarcation lines exist in the division of tasks. For example, it is Pablo who carries the washing up to
the terrace, but Emilia who must hang it out. Pablo takes care of any outside jobs, such as hosing the
terrace and watering the garden, but indoors is the undisputed domain of his wife.
There are some signs of change amongst younger couples, but the pace of progress is painfully slow. The
men in my mixed class of adult students were completely stumped when asked to relate a simple recipe.
"But I’ve never cooked anything," protested 27-year old Javier. "My mother always cooks." Part of the
council’s programme aimed at relieving the burden on women and mothers involves teaching boys to cook.
Clearly its work is cut out. Perhaps the difficulty in changing attitudes to domestic responsibility in a
Mediterranean culture merely reflects the wider picture of differentiation between the sexes. Here there is
no room for equivocation: men are men and women are women. Unisex fashion is an unknown concept.
Chicos and chicas do not wear the same clothes, or shuffle along in the same uniform manner. They dress
differently, carry themselves differently, displaying with pride their masculinity or femininity.
In the squares of the town, the parents and grandparents of these young people gather on warm summer
evenings to chat and pass the time of day with their neighbours. Men congregate on one side, women on
the other. It has always been that way it seems.
And it has always been that way on "The day of the book", which is celebrated every year on April 23, the
day of Cervantes’s burial, when it is the custom to give friends a book as a present. "Yes, but not to
women," Javier explained earnestly, "To women you give a rose."

Letter from Spainfrom Barbara Lamplugh

The Guardian Weekly Dec 6 2001

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Where men are men .... and women don’t know the recipe for equality
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

3 Vocabulary Work 1
Match the words in the left/hand column with the meanings in the right/hand column

a. stack relating to cooking

b. exhorted unable to answer

c. culinary boring, everyday tasks

d. anew horrified, disbelieving

e. chores doubt

f. aghast urged, encouraged

g. stumped again

h. equivocation pile

4 Vocabulary Work 2
Find the words in the text that mean:

a. attractive, enticing __________________________________________________

b. portray, show __________________________________________________
c. equality __________________________________________________
d. enormous __________________________________________________
e. lazy people __________________________________________________
f. bossy __________________________________________________
g. without argument __________________________________________________
h. gather in a group __________________________________________________

5 Discussion
Compare the situation described in the article with the situation in your country. Are both sexes
treated equally or are there some jobs and tasks that are left exclusively to women. Do women receive
equal pay for the same work?

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Croat and Muslim politicians in Mostar continue scheming to ruin the dream of a
reunified Bosnia.

Decide whether these statements are True or False:

1. The Bosnian war ended in 1995.

2. The famous old bridge in Mostar was built by the Italians.
3. Temperatures in Mostar in the summer can be higher than 40 degrees Celsius.
4. The old bridge was destroyed by the Serbs.
5. The Croats of Mostar are Roman Catholics.
6. The bridge will never be rebuilt.

Now look in the text below and check your answers.

Fill the gaps using an appropriate form of these verbs. There is one sentence for each
paragraph of the text.

erase merge erect respond overlook

undo deliver confound make up

1. Recently a Croatian ambulance driver crossed the river Neretva in Mostar to

____________ to an emergency call on the Muslim side.
2. The local takeaway pizza restaurant will not ____________ to customers on
the other side of the river.
3. Croatian and Serbian nationalists wanted to ____________ Bosnia-
Herzegovina from the map of Europe.
4. The famous old bridge in Mostar was ____________ in 1566.
5. Extremists on both sides continue to ____________ all international attempts
at reunion.
6. Recently the Muslim and Croat emergency medical services were
____________.
7. There have been many international attempts to ____________ the ethnic
division of Mostar.

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8. Croats now ____________ 60% of the voters in the city of Mostar.
9. Hum hill ____________ the old Muslim sector of Mostar.

Now look in the text and check your answers:

Bridge cannot span the divide

Ian Traynor in Mostar

In a city which has long been an emblem for the bigotry in Bosnia, Milan Milesovic struck a small blow for
decency and common sense this month. Two weeks ago the ambulance driver from the Croat west side of a
city divided ethnically for 10 years switched on his flashing blue lights and raced across the bridges over the
Neretva river to respond to the emergency call of a sick Muslim on the other side. "I am just doing my job.
It's normal," Mr Milesovic said.

But in a town where the takeaway pizza joint will not deliver to the Muslims across the river, where Croats
and Muslims can be identified by their different mobile phone numbers and servers, where education from
kindergarten to university is strictly segregated, and where you still cannot take a city bus across the old front
line from the Bosnian war, the ambulance driver's mission of mercy was anything but normal.

Until the Bosnian war of 1992-95, Mostar was probably the most ethnically integrated city in all of former
Yugoslavia. But the city became a laboratory for experiments in extreme ethnic engineering. The result is
that Mostar mutated into the most divided town in Bosnia, a triumph for the Croatian nationalists who, with
their Serbian counterparts, sought to destroy the city and to erase Bosnia-Herzegovina from the map of
Europe.

The most vivid symbol of that Croatian triumph came just over 10 years ago, when a couple of well-aimed
Croatian artillery shells brought the city's world-famous Old Bridge, a masterpiece of Ottoman Turk
architecture erected in 1566, tumbling into the fast green waters of the Neretva.

The bridge defined Mostar. Its destruction seemed to augur the city's death. But last week, after years of
painstaking work and at a cost of $9m, the Old Bridge stands again, a perfect replica built of the same
creamy local limestone. In searing heat of more than 40C, princes, presidents and prime ministers from all
over Europe and the Middle East attended the opening of the "new Old Bridge" whose restoration is being
hailed as the start of a happier new era for Mostar. Perhaps. But ever since the war the Croatian extremists
of west Mostar and the ruling Bosnian Muslim party on the east bank have connived in the city's partition,
dividing the spoils between them and confounding all international attempts at reunion.

In March Paddy Ashdown, international governor of Bosnia, acted to reverse a process that has left Mostar
as a Balkan Beirut or Nicosia. He ordered the dissolution of the ethnically divided municipalities and
imposed a new statute defining Mostar as a single unified city. Mr Milesovic's ambulance crossing the divide
is a first fruit of the Ashdown diktat. This month the Muslim and Croat emergency medical services were
merged. That was preceded by a merger of the twin firefighting services. And the rival city authorities agreed
a single city budget for the first time since the war.

Lord Ashdown's move is one of the most ambitious projects since he took on the running of Bosnia two
years ago. It comes after the failure of several international attempts to undo Mostar's division. "This time it's

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different," said Sanela Tunovic from Lord Ashdown's office. "It's imposed. The political parties were not
able to agree, but now it's being implemented." A western official who has been in Bosnia for more than five
years warns, however, that the main Croat and Muslim parties are manipulating the Ashdown plan to their
own ends. "They've pushed out the moderates and entrenched the divisions within the city administration.
Things are getting better, but it's very hard with these nationalist parties in power."

Lord Ashdown's staff talk of reunifying and restructuring 70 city institutions - from rubbish collection to
sewage works to the make-up of the city council in a town of just over 100,000, whose demographic
composition was thoroughly altered by the war and ethnic cleansing. The Croats who partitioned and
destroyed the city comprised a third of the population before the war. They drove almost all the Muslims
across the river. Now they make up more than 60% of city voters, which helps to explain why their
leadership is more open to the Ashdown scheme. "The Croats have got a majority now, and they think they
can control the councils," said the western official.

"I'd drive to the other side if there was a need," said a driver of the No 10 bus service operating in the
Muslim east. "But hardly anyone goes from one side to the other." The Croats have just agreed that Muslims
can join the splendid old grammar school in September, but only on a separate, segregated floor still to be
built, and with separate curriculums for both communities. The landmarks of Roman Catholic triumphalism
remain. A new steeple on the cathedral has been built to dwarf the tallest minaret of the city's 16th-century
mosques. And the Croats have erected a 30m illuminated cross on Hum hill overlooking the old Muslim
sector of Mostar.

The Guardian Weekly 20-07-04, page 3

Choose the best answer in each case:

1. Which of these best describes the city of Mostar?

a. A mixture of Serbs and Croats.
b. A mixture of Serbs and Muslims.
c. A mixture of Croats and Muslims.

2. How was the old bridge in Mostar destroyed?

a. It was burnt down.
b. It was destroyed by shells.
c. It was bombed.

3. What action has the international governor of Bosnia taken?

a. He has ordered the two sides to live together in peace and harmony.
b. He has introduced a new law defining Mostar as a single unified city.
c. He has called for new municipal elections.

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4. What is the main obstacle to the reunification of Mostar?
a. The old bridge.
b. The single city budget.
c. The nationalist Muslim and Croat political parties.

5. What is the significance of the new bridge?

a. It allows ambulances and buses to cross the river.
b. It is a symbol of hopes for the future unification of the city.
c. It is a bridge between Europe and the Islamic world.

Find the words which mean:

1. A noun meaning the practice of having very strong and unreasonable opinions
about politics, race or religion. (paragraph 1)
2. A verb meaning to separate groups of people because of race, sex or religion.
(para 2)
3. A verb meaning to become physically different. (para 3)
4. A verb meaning to fall to the ground. (para 4)
5. An adjective meaning ‘careful and slow’. (para 5)
6. A noun which means the process of officially ending the existence of an
organisation. (para 6)
7. A verb meaning to influence or control someone or something in a clever or
dishonest way. (para 7)

Match the words in the left-hand column with the ones they collocate with in the
right-hand column.

1. searing a. collection
2. ambitious b. symbol
3. flashing c. divisions
4. vivid d. heat
5. entrenched e. line
6. rubbish f. light
7. front g. work
8. painstaking h. project

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Look at this example from the text:

A new steeple on the cathedral has been built.

This is an example of a passive sentence in the present perfect tense.

Look in the text and find examples of the following:

1. A example of a passive with the modal verb ‘can’. (paragraph 2)

2. An example of the present simple passive. (para 2)
3. An example of the present continuous passive. (para 5)
4. Two examples of the past simple passive. (para 6)
5. Another example of the present continuous passive. (para 7)
6. Another example of the past simple passive. (para 8)
7. An example of the passive infinitive. (para 9)

Should people be allowed to live separately because of their ethnic background or

religion? Make a list of points for and against ethnic separation.

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Fill the gaps using forms of these key verbs from the text.

vaporise excavate obliterate probe

ensue monitor eject estimate

1. To ___________ means to happen after something else, often as the result of it.
2. If you ___________ something, you guess or calculate it from the available
information.
3. If something is ___________ , it is changed into steam or hot air.
4. If you ___________ something, you observe it closely and check it regularly.
5. To ___________ means ‘to make a hole in the ground’.
6. If something is ___________ , it is completely destroyed.
7. If you ___________ something, you investigate it carefully.
8. The literal meaning of to ___________ is ‘to throw out’.

1. What is TNT?
2. What does NASA stand for?
3. What is a comet?
4. What is a crater?
5. What is a person who studies the stars called?

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Nasa gladly loses a spacecraft school, Canterbury, using data from the 2m
By Tim Radford Faulkes telescope in Hawaii, an instrument
intended for schools. But long before giant
A little American spacecraft flew into a comet telescopes could begin to analyse the minutiae
the size of a city last week 133m km from of the collision in the optical ultraviolet, infra-
Earth, taking pictures at the rate of one a red and x-ray wavelengths, astronomers and
minute before it vaporised in an explosion planetary scientists from the US and around
equivalent to exploding five tonnes of TNT. the world were enjoying a moment of triumph.
For the first time, they had clear and close-up
The $335m mission involved split-second studies of a comet. They could count the
timing, collision speeds of 37,000km/h and a impact craters on its surface, they could hazard
triumphant series of pictures that ended with a an early guess at its density and they could
close-up just three seconds before the craft's estimate the firmness of its surface from the
own destruction. "Right now we are minus one violence of the flare after the collision. And in
spacecraft," a delighted NASA engineer said, the gusts of material ejected from the collision
while a colleague at the Jet Propulsion crater, they could begin to see the pristine raw
Laboratory in Pasadena said, "There is a comet material of the whole solar system.
in the sky wondering what the hell hit it." Deep
Impact was a July 4 fireworks display which Frequent visitors such as comet Halley fly
took many years to plan and which ended in a close to the sun and have been weathered and
flash. altered by solar radiation. But comets such as
Tempel 1 have spent most of the past 4.6bn
A mothership dropped a copper projectile the years parked far beyond the orbit of the
size of a washing machine in the path of comet outermost planets. Because of their relative
Tempel 1 and then photographed the resulting isolation, these icy time capsules could hold
jet of ice, dust and organic chemicals from the the secrets of the planets, the Earth's oceans
surface, as the explosion excavated a huge and even of the primeval organic chemistry
impact crater and dramatically intensified the from which life must have been fashioned. "If
native brightness of the mysterious visitor. you are thinking of comets as possible sources
of organic material, then you want the organic
The celestial traffic accident obliterated the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen.
projectile but barely affected the comet: And we now know enough about comets to
experts estimate that the impact would have know that some of these elements are in the
slowed it by no more than 1/10,000th of a form of organic molecules," said John
millimetre a second. The aim was to probe for Zarnecki of the Open University.
the first time the interior of one of the ghostly
visitors that have haunted human imagination For Andrew Coates of the Mullard space
throughout history. It is likely to become one science laboratory of University College
of the most intensely studied encounters made London, it was one of the most audacious
in space. Deep Impact's copper-coated bullet experiments in history. "You have the comet
carried its own camera and radio. getting bigger and bigger in the field of view,
the level of detail on the comet getting better
The mothership steered a course 480km from and better," he said. "We know that comets
the explosion and observed the impact, and the produce jets. What we have now is the first
ensuing jet eruption, with instruments for 800 artificial jet from a comet," he added. "The fact
seconds. Seven satellites, including the Hubble that there are craters tells us the surface has a
space telescope, monitored the moment of solid type of composition. We see a relatively
drama, and over the next day and night an dark surface, probably some organic molecules
estimated 50 earthbound telescopes locked on and silicates, and it is the composition of that
the tiny, faraway flare. mixture which is going to be really exciting."
The first to produce pictures in Britain, even The Guardian Weekly 15/07/2005, page 19
ahead of NASA, were pupils from King's

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Choose the best answer.

1. Why were scientists at NASA pleased that they had lost a spacecraft?
a. because the spacecraft was old and was no longer useful.
b. because they wanted to see what would happen when it crashed into the
comet.
c. because they preferred it to crash into a comet rather than a planet.

2. What was the effect of the collision?

a. it produced clouds of smoke.
b. it produced a crater and ejected clouds of material.
c. it produced hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon and oxygen.

3. Why are comets like Tempel 1 interesting to scientists?

a. because they are outside the solar system.
b. because they are isolated.
c. because they might hold the secrets of the planets.

4. What did scientists have for the first time as a result of the experiment?
a. craters full of material.
b. the pristine raw material of the whole solar system.
c. clear close-up studies of a comet.

Find the adjectives that mean:

1. extremely successful
2. very large
3. clean, neat and new (in a natural state)
4. relating to the period when the earth first began to exist
5. very bold or daring
6. relating to the sky
7. happening very often
8. very distant

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Make 5 three-word expressions beginning with each of the words in Box 1 and
adding two from Box 2. Check your answers in the text.

Box 1
split
celestial
pristine
primeval
icy

Box 2
second
raw
timing
organic
time
traffic
accident
chemistry
material
capsules

Look at this example from the text:

It is likely to become one of the most intensely studied encounters made in space.
Rewrite these sentences using the word likely.

1. The Deep Impact mission will probably be regarded as a landmark in space

exploration.
2. Scientists will almost certainly get valuable information from the data they record.
3. The mission probably won’t be the last of its type.
4. Scientists will probably be able to learn a lot about the solar system.
5. Comets like Tempel 1 may hold the secrets of the planets.
6. The impact probably won’t affect the comet at all.

Should money be invested in space exploration or used to fund more urgent

projects on Earth?

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Match the verbs with their definitions

circumvent curb veer proclaim

threaten figure out launch query

1. To start a major activity, such as a military attack, an investigation, a new career

or a project.
2. To move suddenly in a different direction.
3. To solve a problem.
4. To control or limit something that is harmful.
5. To state something publicly.
6. To find a way of avoiding a law or a rule.
7. To ask a question about something because you have doubts about it.
8. To endanger.

Decide whether the following statements are True or False.

1. There are 80 million gun owners in the USA.

2. NRA stands for National Rescue Association.
3. The First Amendment is an American law which allows people to own guns.
4. Free speech is guaranteed under the American constitution.
5. John Kerry is the Republican presidential candidate at the next US presidential
election.
6. ABC news is owned by Disney.

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Gun Lobby fires shot The broadcasts were C grade for writing a pro-
for ‘free speech’. launched via a satellite gun essay in a philosophy
network which reaches class. "They're trying to
American talk radio tends 400,000 listeners. bend the law," said Robert
to veer to the right of the Politicians in Washington Ricker, a former lobbyist
political spectrum, but a wanted "some nebulous for the firearms industry
new station launched last agency" to decide who who switched sides and
week eliminates the last could and could not now works for an anti-gun
trace of ambiguity on the broadcast, threatening free campaign group.
matter. It is owned and speech, Mr LaPierre added.
operated by the National "I hope we open a Pandora's The NRA is now simply
Rifle Association, the Box on what they're doing trying to drum up publicity.
loudest voice lobbying on to the first amendment," he "Do you think John Kerry
behalf of the nation's 80 added, referring to the could all of a sudden
million gun owners. NRA clause in the US declare himself a journalist,
News, which began constitution protecting free start his own newspaper and
broadcasting a fiercely speech. Until now the NRA legitimately claim he was a
partisan schedule of has been more concerned news outlet instead of a
firearms-related coverage with the second candidate for president?" he
last week, has been amendment: the right to said. "The NRA was formed
condemned as an attempt to "keep and bear arms". to get involved in elections
circumvent new US laws and to lobby Congress. But
curbing political It interprets this as an I think the American people
campaigning. individual right, while are smart enough to figure it
opponents say it refers only out."
The legislation severely to the US military. Mr
limits special interest LaPierre said he hoped that Despite the traditional
groups' ability to buy NRA News would be "a alliance between rightwing
advertising to argue on shot heard round the lobby groups and big
behalf of a candidate. But world". Initially it will be business, the NRA is
the NRA says the radio heard for only three hours a skillfully trying to play on
station makes it a media day. "Some of these big the unease that many people
organisation, so its media conglomerates have have expressed about the
broadcasts are journalism - so warped coverage of the fact that CNN is owned by
not adverts. Within minutes firearms industry," he said. Time Warner, ABC by
of the start of broadcasting He promised that his station Disney and NBC by
the NRA's executive vice- would be "balanced, General Electric. "They
president, Wayne LaPierre, objective and the truth". often contribute to political
told listeners: "The great campaigns and are still able
thing about the USA is that He followed this with a to maintain their news
anyone can walk into a vigorous condemnation of source," said Kelly Hobbs,
radio studio and proclaim the Democratic presidential an NRA spokeswoman.
themselves a journalist." candidate, John Kerry, and
an interview with a college The Guardian Weekly 20-04-
student who had received a 06, page 6

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Choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is the main purpose of NRA News, according to the article?

a. To oppose the Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry.
b. To campaign for the right to own firearms.
c. To fight for free speech.

2. How did the NRA get round the new laws curbing political campaigning?
a. It used a satellite network.
b. It used the first amendment.
c. It started its own radio station.

3. What is the second amendment?

a. The right to keep and carry firearms.
b. The right to freedom of political expression.
c. The right to oppose the government.

4. How do the NRA’s opponents interpret the second amendment?

a. They say it only applies to the army.
b. They use big media conglomerates.
c. They say it is illegal.

5. What is a lobby group?

a. A political group.
b. A group that tries to influence politicians on a particular subject.
c. A group that is only interested in one subject.

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The 5 verbs on the left each ‘go with’ two of the nouns or phrases on the right.
Decide which ones they collocate with.

1. to drum up a. the rules

b. people’s fears
2. to disband c. support
d. inflation
3. to bend e. a group
f. political activity
4. to play on g. the law
h. publicity
5. to curb i. people’s prejudices
j. an association

Fill the gaps using one of these words from the text:

nebulous warped vigorous partisan (adj)

unease smart lobbyist Pandora’s Box

1. Someone who is ____________ has ideas that most people think are strange or
frightening.
2. If you open ____________, you do something that could cause a lot of problems.
3. A ____________ is a person who goes to politicians in order to campaign for a
particular issue.
4. If something is ____________ it is not developed or clear enough to describe.
5. ____________ is another word for ‘intelligent’.
6. ____________ is an adjective meaning ‘full of energy, enthusiasm or
determination’.
7. If something is described as ____________, it is very one-sided or biased.
8. ____________ is a feeling of being uncomfortable or unhappy about a situation.

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Look at this sentence from the text:

‘The NRA was formed to get involved in elections’

The infinitive is used here to express purpose.

Match the beginnings and endings to form similar sentences:

1. The main aim of the NRA is ...

2. Apart from getting involved in elections, the NRA was formed ...
3. NRA News has been described as an attempt ...
4. The NRA says US politicians want to create an agency ...
5. Critics say the NRA is simply trying ...
6. The NRA’s vice-president says the aim of NRA News is ...

a. ... to get round new US laws limiting political campaigning.

b. ... to drum up publicity.
c. ... to decide who can and who cannot broadcast.
d. ... to lobby Congress.
e. ... to be “balanced and objective and to tell the truth”.
f. ... to defend the right “to keep and bear arms”.

In the USA people have the right to own and carry firearms. Do you agree with this
right?
If everyone owned a firearm to protect themselves, would the world be a safer place?

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Portuguese nurse who ran abortion clinic jailed
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

Pre-reading activities

A Discussion point
Abortion is a controversial subject for many people. Make a list of the points for and against abortion.

B Find the Answers

Read the text and find the answers to these questions:

1. How long was the prison sentence given to the nurse who ran the abortion clinic?

2. What other offence, apart from breaking the abortion laws, was she charged with?

3. What was the unusual setting for the trial?

4. How did the women find out about the illegal clinic?

5. What items did the women leave as surety while they tried to find the money to pay for
the operation?

6. Where did most of the women involved in the case come from?

7. Why do the supporters of the accused women regard politicians and bishops as hypocrites?

8. How many Portuguese women visit illegal clinics each year?

Portuguese nurse who ran abortion clinic jailed

The trial of 17 women accused of having abortions at a backstreet clinic in a northern Portuguese town
ended last week with a prison sentence for the nurse who ran the clinic, but only one of the women
found guilty. Sandra Cardoso, 21, who had pleaded that extreme poverty, the violence of her partner
and sickness of her daughter had driven her to seek out the clandestine clinic in Maia three years ago,
was ordered to pay a small fine or spend four months in prison. The judges could have sentenced her
to up to three years in prison.
They were not so lenient with Maria do Ceu, the nurse who ran the clinic. She was sentenced to eight-
and-a-half years in prison. Three of those years were for breaking the notoriously strict abortion laws
in this strongly Roman Catholic country. The rest were for stealing morphine and other dangerous
drugs from a hospital. Six other people who worked with her were given the option of paying fines or
serving up to six months in jail.
The panel of three judges said: "We are aware of the political, social and scientific debates surrounding
this matter, but must stick to the law." The mass trial was held in a packed marquee at Maia's tennis
club, because the town's ordinary courts were not big enough.
Supporters of the accused women had mixed reactions to the judgment. "We are glad for these
women, because none of them will go to jail now," said Silvestrina Silva, of the Right to Choice group.
"But that does not stop it being shameful that they have been put through this trial with all the pain
that involves. "The trial shows that clandestine abortions in this country are a fact, and that people are

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Portuguese nurse who ran abortion clinic jailed
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

still punished for aborting in this country," she said. Dina Nunes, a psychologist, said: "The court
could have put thousands of women on trial because there are many, many more who have illegal
abortions.
This is the 21st century, but women in Portugal still do not have the right to decide what they do with
their own bodies and lives."
The court heard that women who became pregnant in Maia or nearby Oporto and did not have the
money to travel to abortion clinics in Spain were told about the clandestine clinic by hospital person-
nel, chemists, taxi drivers or their own friends or relatives - many of whom were also on trial last
week. At the clinic set up in the nurse's home, in exchange for the equivalent of $450, the pregnant
women were given an injection that knocked them out for the duration of the operation. However,
none of the women had enough money to pay the nurse the full fee. All left items of jewellery - wed-
ding rings, necklaces or earrings – as surety while they tried to scrape together the remaining cost.
The case split Portuguese opinion and brought humiliation and the trauma of reliving painful
moments to the 17 accused. Most of the women come from the working-class districts of Maia, from
backward villages in the Tras Os Montes region in the north, or Oporto's slums. All were caught
because of the jewellery they gave the nurse who ran the clinic. "They are all poor, otherwise they
would have gone to Spain or somewhere else," said Ms Silva, whose group helped to organise interna-
tional support for the Maia women.
Supporters say the women are martyrs to the hypocrisy of politicians and bishops who know that, as
long as abortion remains illegal, Portuguese women will turn to backstreet clinics in their thousands
every year. "Women are scared of sex, scared of being punished and scared of dying in the clinics.
There is evidence that pregnancy is a significant factor in adolescent suicides," said Milice Ribeiro, a
psychologist. The church's position was summed up 16 years ago by the then president of the
Portuguese bishops' conference, after a 15-year-old raped by her father had the country's first legal
abortion. "She ought to have been helped to accept her pregnancy as a form of martyrdom," he said.
Campaigners demanded a new abortion law for Portuguese women last week, saying that the current
law put lives at risk, and was ignored by up to 40,000 women who visited illegal clinics every year.
Duarte Vilar, the director of Portugal's Family Planning Association, said: "Clandestine abortions have
caused a number of deaths and thousands of hospital admissions. It is time this was treated as a mat-
ter of public health."
The Guardian Weekly 24-1-2002, page 4

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Portuguese nurse who ran abortion clinic jailed
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

C Vocabulary 1
Find the following words in the text:

1. an adjective meaning "secret"

2. a noun meaning "a financial penalty"

3. an adjective meaning the opposite of "strict"

4. an adjective meaning "very crowded"

5. a noun meaning "a large tent"

6. a noun meaning "the money you pay for a service"

7. a verb meaning "to collect something with difficulty"

8. a noun meaning "severe shock"

9. a noun meaning "areas with sub-standard conditions"

10.a noun meaning "a person who suffers because of a cause they believe in"

D Vocabulary 2 – Verb collocations

Match the verbs in the first column with the nouns they go with in the second column.

1. to pay a. on trial
2. to break b. an injection
3. to hold c. a fine
4. to put someone d. a business
5. to sentence someone e. a trial
6. to give someone f. to prison
7. to run g. death
8. to cause h. the law

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Portuguese nurse who ran abortion clinic jailed
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

E Complex verb patterns.

1) There are 10 verb structures in the three sentences below. Verb (3) is the main verb structure in the
first sentence. Which verb structures are the main verbs in sentence 2 and 3? (There may be more than
one in each sentence)
The trial of 17 women (1) accused of (2) having abortions at a backstreet clinic in a northern
Portuguese town (3) ended last week with a prison sentence for the nurse who (4) ran the clinic, but
only one of the women (5) found guilty. Sandra Cardoso, 21, who (6) had pleaded that extreme
poverty, the violence of her partner and sickness of her daughter (7) had driven her (8) to seek out the
clandestine clinic in Maia three years ago, (9) was ordered to pay a small fine or (10) spend four
months in prison. The judges (11) could have sentenced her to up to three years in prison.

2) Verb structures (6), (7) and (8) are all part of a relative clause. Journalists often use these clauses to
give us information about people or things following this pattern:
The person, who does this and looks like this and did this, is important.
Why in the second sentence does the writer use the past perfect (had pleaded + had driven)?

3) Complete the paragraphs below by inserting the correct verb patterns and tenses.
Fence (be)_____ a true story of three Aboriginal girls who (be)______ forcibly (take) _____ from their
family during a government programme in the first half of the 20th century (be + train) ______ as
domestic workers and integrated into white society.
The now discredited policy, which (begin)_____ in 1918, (displace)________ thousands of Aborigines
who (become + know)_______ as the Stolen Generation.

F Discussion
Do you think abortion should be legal or not?

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Use these words from the text to fill the gaps in the sentences below:

comeback mourn disillusionment underestimate

stunt resonance stronghold resemble

1. If you _____________ when someone dies, you feel very sad that they
have died and you express this in public.
2. A _____________ is a silly or unusual action performed to attract public
attention.
3. If something _____________ something else, it looks almost the same.
4. A _____________ is a period when someone or something becomes
popular again.
5. If you _____________ something, you do not take it seriously enough.
6. _____________ is the disappointed feeling you have when you discover
something is not as good as you had believed.
7. _____________ is an emotional effect produced by something that
reminds you of something else.
8. In political terms, a _____________ is a place where you enjoy strong
support.

1. Where does the German government sit?

2. In what year did Adolf Hitler come to power in Germany?
3. In what year did the bombing of Dresden take place?
4. How many people died in the bombing of Dresden?
5. What is the name of the neo-Nazi party in modern Germany?
6. In what year did the Third Reich end?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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 confident that German history wasn't
Rebirth of the Reich land repeating itself. "I'm here to try to stop 1933
Luke Harding from happening again. That is why I'm
It is one of Germany's most picturesque standing here," he said. "If it happened, I
regions. Germans call it Saxon Switzerland. would be the first person to leave."
Until recently this region in former Koenigstein, with a population of 3,200, is
communist East Germany was known as a a small town in the heart of Saxon
centre for walking and kayaking. Now it is Switzerland. During last September's
famous for something else: as Germany's elections almost 20% of its population
new Nazi-land. Sixty years after the end of voted for the NPD. Who, then, are the
the Third Reich and the Second World War, NPD's supporters? "They look like you and
Germany's far right is back in business. me. They are completely normal," says
Haase, an independent. "They work on
It has staged a remarkable comeback here building sites. They are women shop
in Saxon Switzerland. In federal elections assistants. They don't look like skinheads."
in Saxony last September, the neo-Nazi
National party of Germany (NPD) won The German media has given differing
9.2% of the vote, giving it 12 MPs in the explanations for the NPD's rise. They
new Saxon parliament in Dresden. Since include the fact that the communists ran the
then the NPD has staged a series of area until 1989; the unemployment rate of
parliamentary stunts -- for example, 18%; and disillusionment with Germany's
walking out last month during a one-minute red-green government in Berlin. But while
silence for Holocaust victims. Last weekend German politicians have argued endlessly
the party and its supporters carried out a about economic reforms, the NPD has
"funeral march" to mourn the 35,000 quietly built up its local base. Since the late
Germans killed during the raid on Dresden 90s it has fielded well-known candidates for
60 years ago by Allied bombers. According key elections. And it has carefully gathered
to Holger Apfel, the NPD's 33-year-old support among its core supporters - the
leader, the allied attack on Dresden during young - with barbecues, discos and
February 13-14, 1945, was a war crime. canoeing trips.

The NPD's rise has caught most German The NPD's new MPs don't look like
politicians by surprise. But it comes against skinheads either. They wear suits; they are
a background of mass unemployment, with in their 30s; and they are extremely polite.
more than 5 million Germans out of work Speaking at his office in Dresden's
and disillusionment with the main parties parliament building, Holger Apfel says that
increasing. Edmund Stoiber, the other parties made a classic mistake: they
conservative leader of Bavaria's CSU party, underestimated him. "We have very good
recently said that present-day Germany was local structures" he says. Other
beginning to resemble 1932, when mass parliamentarians in Dresden have
unemployment helped Hitler seize power responded to the NPD by trying to ignore
the following year. them. The Greens turn their backs
whenever an NPD member gets up to
Frieder Haase, the mayor of Koenigstein, a speak. German television stations refuse to
town 30km south of Dresden, said he was interview Apfel. Still, the NPD's views find

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
a resonance among some German voters – only two non-Germans in Koenigstein.
and above all its argument that it is time "Most people round here are very nice,"
Germans stopped feeling guilty about Minh says. Afterwards locals collected
being, well, German. “Young people are €1,000 to buy him a new window. A short
fed up with being told: 'Guilt, guilt, guilt.' walk away is the Crime Store, a clothing
Why should I feel any less proud of being shop popular with the far-right. Outside
German?" says Peter Marx of the NPD. someone has sprayed an anti-Nazi slogan.
"The Nazi phenomenon is not going to
Haase and other Koenigstein citizens are happen again," Haase predicts. "In 1933
doing their best to counteract the town's Germany was broken, the war had been
reputation as a neo-Nazi stronghold. Last lost, and along came a big, powerful man --
November someone broke the windows of Adolf Hitler. Things are different now."
the shop belonging to Koenigstein's
Vietnamese grocer, Herr Minh. Although The Guardian Weekly 18-02-2005, page 20
the NPD blames many of Germany's
problems on "foreigners", Minh is one of

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Choose the best answer:

1. According to the author, what was the main reason for the rise of Adolf
Hitler?
a. Guilt.
b. Economic factors.
c. Mass unemployment.

2. What has been the NPD’s most successful tactic?

a. The unemployment rate in former East Germany.
b. The fact that it has built up local support.
c. The fact that it blames most of Germany’s problems on “foreigners”.

3. What is the NPD’s view of the bombing of Dresden?

a. It was part of the Holocaust.
b. It was a war crime.
c. It was an act of disillusionment.

4. Which of these statements is correct, according to the text?

a. Most people in Saxon Switzerland support the NPD.
b. Many German politicians have been surprised by the support for the
NPD.
c. The NPD enjoys national support in Germany.

5. How does the NPD gather support amongst the young?

a. It offers barbecues and discos.
b. It recalls the bombing of Dresden.
c. It blames Germany’s problems on “foreigners”.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Find the word in the text that means:

1. A young, shaven-headed man, often a football hooligan or a far-right

supporter.
2. The collective word for the murder of Jews in the Second World War.
3. ‘Attractive’.
4. Unusual in a way that surprises or impresses you.
5. A place where construction workers work.
6. A person who stands in an election.
7. A short phrase used by a political party.
8. A surprising event or situation that can be seen to happen or exist.

Add a suitable preposition.

1. famous _______
2. proud _______
3. popular _______
4. fed up _______
Nouns + Prepositions
5. explanation _______
6. disillusionment _______
7. attack _______
8. candidate _______

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Look at this example from the text:

It is time Germans stopped feeling guilty.

The expression “It’s time…” is followed, unusually, by the past simple.

Use these prompts to make sentences beginning “It’s time…”

1. time/we/have/a new government

2. time/people/forget/the past
3. time/we/face/facts
4. time/people/wake up/to the danger
5. time/people/take/the far right seriously
6. time/we/go/home

Should neo-Nazi parties have freedom of speech?

Should people be allowed to make racist statements in public?

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Match the words with the definitions:

1. posturing
2. shabby
3. coup de grace
4. vendetta
5. clampdown
6. sinister
7. vigilante
8. rogue (adj)

a. the final and most important act in a series of events (either bad or good)
b. a person who tries to catch and punish criminals without informing the police
c. threatening to do harm or something evil
d. old and in a bad condition
e. not behaving in the same way as other members of a group or organisation
f. behaving in a way that makes other people notice you, admire you or be afraid
of you
g. a determined attempt by someone in authority to stop people doing something
bad or illegal
h. a situation in which one group tries to kill or harm another as an act of revenge

Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible:

1. Of which city is Queimados a suburb?

2. How many people were killed in Nova Iguacu?
3. How many people were killed in total during that one night?
4. How many police officers were charged?
5. What is the homicide rate in Baixada Fluminense?
6. What is Viva Rio?

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Police accused of Rio massacre
Gareth Chetwynd in Rio de Janeiro Local people suspected members of the local
military police force and Rio de Janeiro
authorities quickly arrested 11 police officers and
Sixteen-year-old Marcelo Julio Gomes do
charged six of them. Off-duty police officers'
Nascimento admitted to a sneaking admiration for
participation in death squads is a sinister feature
the police, and saw the respect that they
of the poor suburbs to the northwest of Rio de
commanded in his poor community with their
Janeiro, in a region known as the Baixada
tough-guy posturing and powerful weapons.
Fluminense. Here the homicide rate is 76 per
Julinho, as he was known to his friends, was
100,000, compared with 50 per 100,000 in
chatting on the porch of a shabby bar in the Rio de
metropolitan Rio, itself one of the highest rates in
Janeiro suburb of Queimados, when the vicious
the world.
reality of this image exploded in his face on a
balmy evening last week.
In some communities the role of vigilante groups
is tacitly accepted as a way of reducing crime or
An unmarked car swung into view, and its masked
preventing power slipping into the hands of the
occupants unleashed a hail of bullets so accurate
drug-trafficking gangs in the shanty towns. But
that barely a mark was left on the crumbling walls
last week's massacre was all the more sinister
of the bar. But this was not a drive-by shooting
because most of the victims happened to be in the
carried out by petty criminals. Instead enough
wrong place at the wrong time. The killers were
information has emerged to show that the killers
apparently protesting against a disciplinary
were off-duty police officers acting out a private
clampdown by a commanding officer recently
vendetta with their own bosses.
installed at a local police battalion.
A short walk away from the abandoned bar, 33-
Two days before the shootings, two men, one of
year-old Adriana Paz Gomes sits on the steps of
them a convicted drug dealer, were dragged from
her modest home weeping for the loss of her son.
a bar and killed. A severed head was thrown into
"I was watching the evening soap opera when I
the compound in protest against the disciplinary
heard the shots. In my heart I knew immediately
measures. Uniformed officers were caught on film
what had happened," she recalls. Ms Gomes ran
disposing of bodies, and eight were later arrested.
into the street and found four bodies in the road,
Authorities have agreed that last week's massacre
blood pouring from lethal head wounds. Then
was a show of force by rogue police officers who
someone pointed to a fifth body, that of her son. "I
opposed the arrests. "This was a group protecting
have such lovely memories of my son, but I can't
its interests within a corporation and reducing
remove the image of that hole in his head. He
people to symbols to send a message to their
seemed to be sleeping and I took him in my arms,
unpopular boss," said Pedro Strozenburg, a
but he wouldn't wake up," she says.
coordinator with Viva Rio, an anti-violence
group.
Julio's death was the coup de grace of a bloody
massacre that left 30 people dead in one night.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has demanded
The shooting began in the town of Nova Iguacu,
swift action. "They say they are making arrests,
where 18 people were killed. Some just happened
but this is just for show. I know that one day I'll
to be in the street as the killers drove past, while
be seeing the man who killed my son driving past
nine of the victims, including three teenagers,
me in the street," Ms Gomes said.
were in a bar playing video games. The gunmen
then moved on to Queimados where they killed 12
The Guardian Weekly 15/04/2005, page 7
more.

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Choose the best answer:
1. The main reason for the violence described in the article was:
a. a vendetta between the police and local drug dealers
b. a protest by rogue police officers against their own bosses
c. an attempt to reduce crime

2. Who shot Marcelo Julio Gomes do Nascimento?

a. petty criminals
b. a drug-trafficking gang
c. off-duty police officers

3. What is the role of vigilante groups in the poor suburbs of Rio?

a. to traffic in drugs
b. to reduce crime
c. to send messages to the police

4. What does Marcelo’s mother think will happen to the men who shot her son?
a. She believes they will not be punished
b. She believes they will be punished
c. She believes they will be shot

Match the adjectives in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand
column. Check your answers in the text.

1. off-duty a. reality
2. sneaking b. massacre
3. powerful c. bar
4. vicious d. vendetta
5. bloody e. weapons
6. swift f. police-officers
7. shabby g. admiration
8. private h. action

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Look at these three words from the text and their definitions:

a. tacit expressed or understood without being said directly

b. sneaking secret, suppressed, hidden or unexpressed
c. petty insignificant and not worth worrying about

Which of these can be used with these nouns?

1. ____________ suspicion, admiration, respect, fear, feeling.

2. ____________ thief, criminal, offence, cash
3. ____________ agreement, acceptance, approval, consent, support

Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences

1. A severed head …
2. Uniformed officers …
3. Eight police officers …
4. Two men …
5. Marcelo Julio Gomes do Nascimento …
6. Vigilante groups …

a. … were later arrested.

b. … was shot by masked gunmen.
c. … are tacitly accepted in some communities.
d. … was thrown into a police compound.
e. … were dragged from a bar and killed.
f. … were caught on film disposing of bodies.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
A high crime rate, drug dealing, low police pay and extreme poverty form a deadly
combination of circumstances in poor suburbs of cities like Rio. What is the answer
to this complex problem? How could life be improved for ordinary people? Would
legalising drugs help the situation?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Rwanda
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

1 Pre-reading activities
The text that follows is about events in the African country of Rwanda. What do you know about
Rwanda and its recent history? Which of these statements do you think are true and which are false?

1. During the 1990s there was a civil war in Rwanda.

2. The two main tribes in Rwanda are called Hutus and Tutsis.

3. More people died in the wars in Yugoslavia than in the civil war in Rwanda.

4. An International Tribunal has been set up to investigate war crimes in Rwanda.

5. The International Tribunal is based in The Hague.

6. More than 600 Rwandans are in custody awaiting trial for genocide.

Now read the text and check your answers.

Second-class justice system

It is eight years since Rwanda was the international court trying is for the wrong reasons, such as
engulfed by genocide. Prosecutors Slobodan Milosevic at The Hague, the incident late last year when
at the international court trying is an ad hoc creation of the United three judges laughed as a woman
Hutu extremists who started the Nations Security Council. But the gave lengthy testimony about being
slaughter planned to mark the Rwandan court has been very much raped. The judges later said they
anniversary by laying bare the the poor relation. At least twice as were laughing at the defence
political conspiracy behind it. They many people died in Rwanda as in lawyer's questions, not the victim.
wanted to use the trial of Theoneste the former Yugoslavia, but the tri- The genocide survivors' confidence
Bagosora, the army colonel who is bunal trying Bagosora and his in the court is so low that witnesses
the alleged mastermind behind the cohorts has had neither The are now threatening a boycott of
murder of hundreds of thousands of Hague's resources nor political the tribunal.
Tutsis over 100 days, to blow away clout. Milosevic was brought to
The Rwanda court has had success-
myths about the killing and draw trial within a few months of his
es. It was the first international tri-
attention to one of the 20th centu- arrest in the Balkans. Bagosora has
bunal in history to convict anyone
ry's last great crimes. But, after been in custody for six years and
of genocide and it broke new legal
opening Bagosora's trial recently, Rwandans are still waiting to hear
ground four years ago when judges
the judges postponed it for six the case.
– in pronouncing on the guilt of a
months – because they did not have
While Belgrade is gripped by particularly brutal mayor, Jean-Paul
a translation of two simple docu-
Milosevic's performance in the Akayesu - declared for the first
ments. It was a fitting letdown for a
dock, many genocide survivors are time that rape is an act of genocide
tribunal that has vainly raised so
indifferent to the fate of Bagosora when a woman is attacked because
many expectations and become a
at the hands of the international of her ethnicity. That ruling was
potent argument for and against the
court. They have lost faith in the picked up by the Yugoslav tribunal.
international criminal court.
ability of the tribunal to deliver jus- The tribunal has also been remark-
Some say Rwanda's tribunal - tice. Too many years of delays, ably successful at laying its hands
based in Arusha, Tanzania - lays incompetence and a perception that on the main perpetrators of the
bare why international justice does- the court is soft on the accused genocide, if not actually getting
n't work. Others claim it is evi- have undermined the tribunal's them to trial. Sixty people are in
dence of why a standing court is standing in Rwanda. And when the detention, including much of the
required. The Rwanda tribunal, like court does catch public attention it cabinet that oversaw the slaughter.

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Rwanda
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

The then prime minister, Jean fuelled the hatreds and fears that erate their behaviour. Instead, the
Kambanda, was persuaded to plead make genocide possible. The court genocide's survivors often find
guilty to genocide. has been plagued by difficulties more reasons for bitterness at the
since its inception seven years ago, tribunal's activities than hope for
But justice has been so long in
most notably mismanagement, justice. They resent the fact that
coming - only eight people have
underfunding, corruption, internal Kambanda and Bagosora, in jail,
been convicted so far - and is so
politics and racial tensions between are in better accommodation than
distant for the survivors and
Western prosecutors and African many survivors - and that the inter-
Rwandans in general that it is of
tribunal managers. national court can impose a maxi-
marginal consequence to many of
mum life sentence, while those
them. One of the original concepts It is probably all too late. The tri-
who carried out their orders, on
of the court was that it would play bunal's chance to influence the
trial in Rwandan courts, could face
a central role in promoting recon- shape of post-genocide Rwanda has
a firing squad.
ciliation and decent government in gone. It is doubtful that the dis-
Rwanda by establishing that even pensing of international justice on THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY 18-4-2002,
the most powerful could not escape African soil for the first time has PAGE 11
justice and by exposing the lies that persuaded other extremists to mod-

Glossary of legal terms. Supplied by the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners

Prosecutor a lawyer whose job is to prove in court that someone accused of a crime is guilty

Trial the process of examining a case in a court of law and deciding whether someone is
guilty or innocent.

Alleged claimed to be true, even though this has not been proved

Tribunal a special law court organized to judge a particular case

In custody a situation in which someone is kept in prison until they go to court for trial

Case a legal matter that will be decided in a court

The dock the part of a court of law where the person who is accused of a crime stands or sits

The accused someone who is accused of a crime in a court of law

Testimony a formal statement about something that you saw, know, or experienced, usually
given in a court of law

Ruling an official decision made by a court or by someone in a position of authority

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Rwanda
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

2 Comprehension
Choose the best answer for each question. Each question refers to one paragraph.

1. Why was the trial of Theoneste Bagosora postponed?

a. There was no evidence

b. Some documentation was missing

c. He was not the mastermind behind the killings

2. Why has it taken so long for the case of Bagosora to come to court compared with the case of
Slobodan Milosevic?

a. There was more political will to try Bagosora

b. More people died in Yugoslavia

c. The Milosevic trial has more resources and more political will

3. What is the attitude of many genocide survivors to the Bagosora trial?

a. They are gripped by it

b.They oppose it

c. They don’t care about it

4. What are the three major successes that have been achieved by the Rwanda court?

5. In paragraph 5, find 6 reasons why the Rwanda court has been plagued by difficulties.

6. Why are the genocide survivors bitter about the activities of the tribunal?

a.The tribunal has not curtailed ethnic attacks.

b.The accused live in better conditions than many of the survivors.

c. Extremists have not modified their behaviour.

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Rwanda
LEVEL THREE - ADVANCED

3 Vocabulary
Matched the words in the left-hand column with the definitions in the right-hand column:

1. engulfed a. suitable

2. to lay bare b. to limit

3. fitting c. unplanned

4. ad hoc d. significantly

5. tellingly f. endless

6. chaotic g. to expose

7. to curtail h. insignificant

8. interminable i. very disorganised

9. marginal e. covered

4 Word Partnerships
1. In 1994 Rwanda was engulfed a. boycott the tribunal

2. They want to draw b. expectations

3. The tribunal has raised c. of genocide

4. Milosevic was brought d. by genocide

5. The tribunal’s standing has been e. to genocide

6. Witnesses are threatening to f. attention to the slaughter

7. The ex-prime minister pleaded guilty g. undermined

8. Only eight people have been convicted h. to trial very quickly

5 Metaphor and phrasal verbs

Match the definitions below with phrases or words from the passage.

1. To make something known that has been hidden or secret.

2. To do something completely different from what has been done before
3. A disappointment.
4. To disprove something that people wrongly believe to be true
5. To watch something in order to check that it works or happens in the way it should

6 Discussion
Should those responsible for war crimes in civil wars be tried by International Courts and tribunals or
by the courts in their own countries?

© onestopenglish.com 2002 4 This page can be photocopied.

 Match the words (1 - 8) with their meanings (a ñ h):

1. deadly a. very serious

2. respiratory b. able to be passed from one person to another
3. outbreak c. able or likely to kill people
4. severe d. a report containing the latest information
5. tribute e. relating to the process of breathing air in and out
6. communicable f. the careful observation of something
7. surveillance g. the sudden start of a disease
8. update h. a speech or article in praise of another person

1. What does SARS stand for?

a. Severe acute respiratory syndrome

b. Strong acute respiratory syndrome
c. Severe active respiratory syndrome

2. Where did SARS originate?

a. South-East Asia
b. Hong Kong
c. Beijing

3. What is SARS?

a. A bacterial infection
b. A chronic illness
c. A virus

4. What part of the body does SARS affect?

a. The heart
b. The lungs
c. The brain

Now look in the text and check your answers

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 strengthening infection control chemical protection suits on
Doctor who procedures." the streets.

identified The WHO issued a statement

praising Urbani, 46, an expert
Beijing has agreed to publish
daily updates on the spread
SARS in communicable diseases.
"Because of his early
of the disease, but critics in
Hong Kong say the Chinese
becomes its detection of SARS, global
surveillance was heightened
move has come two months
too late to save lives. Vital
victim and many new cases have
been identified and isolated
information on the virus,
including the speed with
The doctor who identified the before they infected hospital which it spread in hospitals
deadly flu-like virus that has staff," the statement read. But treating patients, was not
claimed the lives of hundreds despite the fact that the virus initially released by China.
of people worldwide and has been identified, it
infected thousands of others continues to spread rapidly Dozens of medical staff were
fell victim to the disease and across East Asia. The infected by the virus when it
died recently. Dr Carlo disease has so far infected reached Hong Kong, which
Urbani, who worked for the thousands of people in 15 was infected initially by Liu
World Health Organisation in countries, and has killed Jianlun, a Guangdong doctor
Vietnam, identified the hundreds. China, Hong Hong, who arrived in February.
outbreak of the severe acute Singapore and Vietnam are
respiratory syndrome (SARS) among the hardest hit. In the The Guardian Weekly
in an American businessman first weeks of the spread
admitted to hospital in Hanoi. more than 530 cases were
treated in Hong Kong. At least
But the virus, which is fast- 60 of these came from a
moving and creates severe single building in Kowloon
breathing difficulties, also Bay, raising questions about
infected the Italian father of the way the virus spreads.
three. A tribute was paid to
him by his colleague Pascale Hong Kong has closed
Brudon, who said: "Carlo was schools for a million students
the one who very quickly saw for 10 days, but some doctors
that this was something say this should be extended
strange. When people to a month. Normal daily life
became very concerned in has changed beyond
the hospital, he was there recognition for residents as
every day, collecting samples, they avoid restaurants,
talking to the staff and theatres and taking taxis, and
wear face masks and even

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 Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences:

1. Dr Carlo Urbani died from Ö

2. Dr Carlo Urbani Ö
3. The fact that Dr Urbani detected SARS quickly Ö
4. The fact that 60 people in a single building in Hong Kong have been infected Ö
5. Although the virus has been identified Ö
6. Life in Hong Kong has changed radically Ö
7. The Chinese government has been criticised Ö
8. The Chinese government failed Ö

a. Öhelped to save the lives of many hospital workers.

b. Öit has continued to spread rapidly.
c. Öwas the first to see that there was something strange.
d. Öto provide information about the spread of the virus.
e. Öthe disease that he was the first to identify.
f. Öhas led to questions about how the disease spreads.
g. Öas people avoid meeting in public places.
h. Öfor its delay in reporting the outbreak of the disease.

Fill the gaps using verbs from the text.

1. At the time of writing, SARS had ____________ hundreds of lives worldwide.

2. Thousands of people had ____________ victim to the virus.
3. The virus ____________ severe breathing difficulties.
4. Dr Urbaniís colleagues ____________ tribute to him.
5. Infection control procedures have been ____________ .
6. Global surveillance has been ____________ .
7. The spread of the virus has ____________ a number of questions.
8. The Chinese government has agreed to ____________ daily updates.

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 Fill the gaps using prepositions. Look in the text to check your answers.

1. The doctor fell victim ____________ the disease.

2. The businessman was admitted ____________ hospital in Hanoi.
3. He was an expert ____________ communicable diseases.
4. The disease is spreading rapidly ____________ East Asia.
5. Questions have been raised ____________ the way the disease spreads.
6. Life has changed ____________ recognition.
7. Vital information ____________ the virus was not released.
8. Dozens of medical staff have been infected ____________ the virus.

How can a virus like SARS be prevented from spreading around the world?

Will SARS have an effect on the world economy and particularly on the airline business?

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Fill the gaps using these words:

conspicuous painstakingly prosperity repugnant

insurgency maverick emulate elude
devastating humiliating

1. A ____________ is an independent person with ideas very different from

those of other people.
2. If something is done ____________, it is done very carefully and slowly.
3. If something is ____________, it makes you feel very embarrassed and
ashamed.
4. If you ____________ someone, you try to be like them or copy them in
some way.
5. If something ____________ you, you do not manage to achieve your
ambition or aim.
6. ____________ means very noticeable or easy to see.
7. ____________ means causing a lot of harm or damage.
8. ____________ is another word for wealth.
9. An ____________ is an attempt by a group of people to take control of a
country by force.
10. If something is ____________ it is extremely unpleasant or offensive.

Find the answers to these questions in the article.

1. Which war started in 1950 and ended in 1953?

2. Which war started in 1964 and ended in 1975?
3. Who was US president from 1981 to 1989?
4. Who is the founder of Microsoft?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 Vietnam War the day after its envoy was
Send Julia Roberts, not tanks humiliatingly evacuated from the roof of
Max Hastings the Saigon embassy in April 1975. The
There is growing dissension and dismay in military conflict was lost -- but, Luttwak
the US armed forces about their prospects argued, the US began to achieve victory
of victory in Iraq. The signs expressing culturally and economically. Vietnam may
solidarity with the nation's soldiers are still still be a communist state in theory, but in
conspicuous around army bases across reality capitalism is taking hold at every
America. But commanders and soldiers level. American values, represented by
alike are conducting an increasingly corporatism and schools of management
anguished debate. The spectre of Vietnam studies, are gaining sway over Vietnam as
looms large in the minds of many US surely as they are over every other nation
soldiers. In recent years the US army has possessed of education and aspirations to
been forged into a motivated, effective tool prosperity.
for large-scale military operations overseas. Luttwak describes what is happening as the
But it has never been suited to combating US acquiring a "virtual empire", founded
insurgency. Guerrillas and suicide bombers upon cultural dominance - a convincing
can impose a deadly corrosion on proposition, certainly in the eyes of Osama
conventional forces. bin Laden, who is attempting to mobilise
Years ago, I heard an American general's the Muslim world to resist it. Al-Qaida is
lament for what was once a formidable cold seeking to combat through terrorism a
war fighting machine. He said to me: "We cultural invasion more effective than stealth
went into Korea in 1950 with a very poor bombers and Bradley fighting vehicles. Bill
army, and came out of it in 1953 with a Gates and Steven Spielberg represent
very good one. We went into Vietnam in influences much harder to repel than a field
1964 with a fine army, and came out in army.
1975 with a terrible one." This is the threat Luttwak's remarks raise the fascinating
that some thoughtful American officers see possibility that, while the US might be
hanging over the Iraq deployment. The US obliged to abandon its military struggle in
armed forces are fighting the sort of conflict Iraq, its values will still triumph. Might
that least suits their capabilities. It would be Baghdad emulate Saigon in surrendering its
a devastating blow to the confidence soul to the US, in a fashion Bin Laden
painstakingly rebuilt since Vietnam if the would find repugnant, long after the last
US, having committed enormous resources American soldier has gone home? I am not
and suffered painful casualties, was obliged arguing that military power is redundant.
to quit Iraq without achieving its purposes. But recent history suggests that America is
Yet would military failure represent less skilful in exploiting armed might to
decisive defeat? Might not America fulfil its national purposes than in using
ultimately prevail in Iraq by means in economic and cultural power, without a
which armed forces play no part? Consider soldier in sight.
this proposition from Edward Luttwak, the Last spring in a refugee camp in Gaza, I
maverick American strategy guru. In a was quizzing a cluster of children about
recent speech to a British audience, he what they enjoyed watching on television.
suggested that the US began to win the

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Without hesitation they cried: "Rambo! brought the Soviet "evil empire" to its
Rambo!" It is hard to think of a less knees, but economic failure, and it was the
appropriate role model. What seemed same force that obliged the South African
significant, however, was not the identity of apartheid regime to surrender.
their icon, but its source. These children's In the poorest and least educated societies
parents had come to fear, mistrust and, on earth it is likely that power will continue
often, hate America. Yet Hollywood to be contested at gunpoint. But wherever
possesses a power greater than any that
people are susceptible to external cultural
President Bush can exercise through the influences -- and, in fairness to George
Pentagon. Whatever the political hostility of Bush, "wherever they are given freedom to
young Palestinians to the US, they cannot receive such influences" -- soldiers are
escape its cultural ubiquity. likely to find their relevance diminished.
To return to Iraq: even if the insurgents are I do not think the US armed forces will
successful in forcing the US to abandon its achieve their military purposes in Iraq. The
armed struggle, they have much less chance soldiers who have become pessimistic
of prevailing against Tom Hanks, Julia about the campaign they are waging are
Roberts and their kind, who can sustain an probably right. But in a long historic view,
occupation of Iraqi homes effortlessly now
Microsoft and DreamWorks could achieve
that satellite TV is almost universally a dominance of Baghdad and a power over
available. Iraqi society that eludes George Bush and
How fascinating it will be if great armies his armoured legions.
prove less relevant to the movement of
societies in the 21st century than cultural The Guardian Weekly 2005-01-28, page 13
forces. We saw a foretaste of this in the last
part of the 20th century. It was not Ronald
Reagan's rearmament of America that

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Choose the best answer according to the text:

1. The basic message of the text is:

a. America cannot win the war in Iraq.
b. Iraq is the same as Korea and Vietnam.
c. America will not win the war in Iraq through military activity but
through external cultural influences.

2. What brought about the end of the Soviet Union and the apartheid regime in
South Africa?
a. Ronald Reagan’s rearmament of America.
b. Cultural influences.
c. Economic failure.

3. Which of these sentences is true according to the text?

a. The USA had a good army at the start of the Korean War.
b. The USA had a good army at the start of the Vietnam War.
c. The USA had a good army at the end of the Vietnam War.

4. Why will it be difficult for the insurgents in Iraq to stop the cultural
invasion?
a. Because Microsoft is very powerful.
b. Because many people have access to satellite TV.
c. Because they are fighting against the US army.

Find a word in the text….

1. which is another word for ‘ghost’.

2. which literally means ‘a sad song’ but can also mean words expressing
sadness or disappointment.
3. which is an adjective meaning ‘very impressive in size, power or skill’.

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4. which means ‘no longer needed’.
5. which means ‘a small group of people very close together’.
6. which means ‘the state of being present everywhere’.
7. which is a verb meaning ‘to defeat someone’.
8. which means the same as ‘reduced’.

Fill the gaps with the prepositions that normally follow these words:

1. suited _______
2. commitment _______
3. represented _______
4. hostility _______
5. relevant _______
6. susceptible _______
7. pessimistic _______
8. power _______

Look at this sentence from the text:

What seemed significant…was not the identity of their icon, but its
source.

The writer is saying that it was not the identity of their icon but its source
that was significant. He uses the word order in the example to give his
sentence a more emphatic style.

Rewrite these sentences in the same way. Here is an example to help.

Economic aid is most important.

What is most important is economic aid.

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1. Cultural influences tend to be extremely powerful.
2. Guerrilla warfare defeated the Americans in Vietnam.
3. American values and corporatism will take over.
4. The availability of satellite TV is a key factor.
5. Economic failure brought the Soviet Union to its knees.
6. Cultural forces will prevail.

Do you agree with the main idea of the text that cultural and economic forces
are more powerful than conventional military forces?

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Boom in budget flights means that system will soon be unable to cope

Fill the gaps using these words and phrases from the text:

cope with congested collision close shave

no-frills up to speed proliferation consternation

1. If you are ____________, you know everything that you need to know about something.
2. A ____________ is a situation in which you only just avoid something dangerous or unpleasant.
3. ____________ is another word for ëcrowdedí and is often used to refer to roads or airports.
4. A ____________ airline is one which offers cheap fares and no extra services.
5. ____________ is a feeling of extreme concern or worry.
6. If you ____________ a difficult situation, you deal with it successfully.
7. A ____________ is a crash between two or more vehicles.
8. ____________ is a sudden increase in number or amount.

Choose the best answer in each case:

1. How many flights cross Europe in a typical 24-hour period?

a. 2,900
b. 29,000
c. 290

2. How many aircraft are in the sky above Europe at any given daytime moment?
a. 35
b. 350
c. 3,500

3. How many passengers are in the sky above Europe at any given daytime moment?
a. 4,000
b. 40,000
c. 400,000

4. What percentage of flights are operated by so-called ëno-frillsí budget airlines?

a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 30%

5. What is the minimum height separation between aircraft?

a. 1,000 feet
b. 2,000 feet
c. 5,000 feet

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Safety fears over Safety experts are now working
towards "self-separation"
secretary of the International
Transport Workers' Federation, said:
Europeís busy skies technology that will limit the role of
controllers by improving electronic
"There's a Europe-wide shortage of
controllers. There needs to be
The swarms of brightly painted equipment that allows aircraft to harmonisation of pay and
budget aircraft flying over Europe set safe paths away from each conditions, otherwise these new
are busier, cheaper and more other automatically. member states are going to lose
plentiful than ever. But they are out." Cost pressures are tight: no-
creating a painful headache for air At any daytime moment there are frills carriers are reluctant to pay for
traffic controllers, who face a 3,500 aircraft over Europe, any air traffic control measures they
challenge in coping with skies carrying some 400,000 people. can avoid.
packed with a record number of One in ten is operated by low-cost
flights. At the present rate of growth, airlines. To the consternation of Swiss air traffic control said last
Europe's skies will become "full" in experts, much of the growth is week that there were four near-
little more than a decade, with forecast to come from east misses in its airspace in April alone.
current procedures unable to cope, European states, where budget A close shave between an Iberia
according to Europe's top air traffic airlines are looking for new passenger plane and a business jet
controller. destinations. Safety chiefs have over Zurich could have had
warned that the quality of air traffic "disastrous consequences",
The warning will reopen fierce control in Europe's new member according to a Swiss newspaper
controversy over the safety of the states is variable. Erik Merckx, report. The Swiss, who handle a key
continent's congested skies. It came Eurocontrol's head of safety corridor for aircraft passing over the
just days ahead of the publication of enhancement, said: "If we don't heart of the continent, will come
an official report this week that is get these new states up to speed, under further pressure this week.
likely to blame failures in air traffic with the increasing traffic levels German investigators are due to
control for one of the most we're predicting we will have a publish the results of a two-year
devastating European air disasters - problem." examination of the Uberlingen
a mid-air collision over Lake disaster, in which a DHL freight
Constance two years ago that Scores of companies have entered aircraft crashed into a charter flight
claimed 71 lives. National control the no-frills market, including nine packed with Russian schoolchildren.
centres across the continent are budget airlines based in Germany The accident is expected to be
coordinated by a network run by a alone. Next month a Hungarian blamed on mistakes by Peter
Brussels-based agency, carrier, Wizz, will enter the battle, Nielsen, a controller working the
Eurocontrol, which matches take-off offering flights from Luton in night shift at an inadequately staffed
and landing slots in 33 countries England to Budapest and to Swiss control centre. Mr Nielsen
from Ireland to Ukraine. Eurocontrol Katowice in Poland. While annual was stabbed to death in February by
looks after 29,000 flights in a typical growth in traffic is set to be a a grieving Russian father who lost
24-hour period. Despite a slowdown modest 3% in Britain and 2.9% in his wife and two children in the
in air travel after September 11 France, a proliferation of services crash.
2001, it predicts that annual traffic is forecast to increase flights over
across Europe will double to 16m Ukraine by 7%, over Belarus by The Uberlingen crash was Europe's
aircraft by 2020. 5.5%, over Turkey by 5.9% and third fatal accident in three years
over Bulgaria by 5%. caused by errors in air traffic control.
Victor Aguado, director general of It followed collisions on the ground
Eurocontrol, said last week: "In the Eurocontrol reckons six states at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport
middle of the next decade, we will have safety management that is in 2000 and Milan's Linate airfield in
reach capacity using the present below "acceptable" levels, though 2001. The sequence ended a 16-
systems. Beyond that, we'll need it declines to name them. Unions year run without any deaths.
something else, which today's warn that progress could be tough Eurocontrol admits it is concerned
technology can't provide." To cope as free movement of labour within about the trend.
with the flights boom, minimum the enlarged EU allows
Andrew Clark,
height separation between aircraft experienced controllers to move
The Guardian Weekly
has been cut from 2,000ft to 1,000ft. west in search of better-paid
vacancies. Shane Enright, aviation

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences.

1. If the present rate of growth in air traffic continues, ...

2. If air traffic control in Europeís new member states does not improve ...
3. While air traffic in Britain and France will increase by only a modest amount, ...
4. According to Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control agency, ...
5. One of the main problems facing the aviation industry is ...
6. The Swiss are under particular pressure because ...
7. The crash over Uberlingen was caused by ...
8. Experts expect that much of the growth in low-cost airlines ...

a. ... will come from east European countries.

b. ... the shortage of air traffic controllers.
c. ... in some east European countries it will increase by more than 5%.
d. ... experts say there will be a problem.
e. ... their country is a key corridor for aircraft passing over the heart of Europe.
f. ... Europeís skies will become ìfullî in just over ten years.
g. ... 6 countries in Europe have unacceptable safety management levels.
h. ... mistakes made by an air traffic controller.

Match the words in the left-hand column with the words they collocate with in the right-hand column.
Check your answers in the text.

1. fierce a. shift
2. inadequately b. airline
3. close c. expert
4. disastrous d. controversy
5. night e. accident
6. safety f. shave
7. budget g. staffed
8. fatal h. consequences

1. Find a noun that means ëlarge groups of insects flying togetherí.

2. Find a noun that means ë10 yearsí.
3. Find an adjective that means ëvery shockingí.
4. Find another word for ëimprovementí.
5. Find a noun which means ëlarge numbersí and which literally means ëgroups of 20í.
6. Find another term for ëa close shaveí.
7. Find a verb meaning ëto attack with a knifeí.
8. Find an adjective which means ëworriedí.

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Look at these examples from the text:

Much of the growth is forecast to come from east European states.

The accident is expected to be blamed on mistakes by an air traffic controller.

Rewrite these statements in an appropriate passive form using the verbs in brackets:

1. Air traffic will double by 2020. (PREDICT)

2. Safety will be a major concern. (EXPECT)
3. Europeís skies will become ìfullî in little more than a decade. (EXPECT)
4. Human error was the cause of the Uberlingen crash. (THINK)
5. Extra services will increase the number of flights over Ukraine by 7%. (FORECAST)
6. Experienced controllers are moving in search of better pay. (BELIEVE)
7. Six states have safety management below ìacceptableî levels. (RECKON)
8. The quality of air traffic control in some countries is variable. (THINK)

Which is more important, safety or cost?

Make a list of points for and against using budget airlines.

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Aznar is punished for bloodshed and for 'hiding the truth'.

Fill the gaps using these key words from the text.

aftermath convinced custody pledge

withdraw reflection resentment swap

1. If you are ____________ about something, you are absolutely sure it is true.
2. ____________ is another word for ëexchangeí.
3. The results and effects of something bad are known as its ____________ .
4. ____________ means thinking carefully about something.
5. ____________ is an angry, unhappy feeling that you have when you feel you have been treated unfairly
or without enough respect.
6. If you are in ____________ , you are being kept in prison before your trial.
7. A ____________ is a serious and public promise to do something.
8. The new Spanish government says it will ____________ its soldiers from Iraq. In other words, it will bring
them home.

1. How many people were killed by the terrorist bomb in Madrid?

2. Who was the Prime Minister of Spain at the time of the attack?
3. Who carried out the bombing?
4. How many Spanish troops are in Iraq?
5. What percentage of the Spanish people opposed the war in Iraq?
6. Who is the new Prime Minister of Spain?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
Angry Spain ousts with three Moroccan suspects in
police custody, most voters
outside his party headquarters in
the capital.
ruling party believed the Spanish capital had
suffered its equivalent of the Angry protests on the streets of
September 11 attacks in the large cities overnight - in contrast
Spanish voters punished Prime
United States. to the almost silent march by
Minister Jose Maria Aznar's
millions of Madrilenos the day
People's Party for the bloodshed
The Socialist leader, Jose Luis after the attacks - set a tone of
of last week's terrorist attacks in
Rodriguez Zapatero, swept to a brooding resentment. Protesters
Madrid, throwing it out of
surprise victory that was a blow to accused the government of trying
government in an angry reaction
the Bush administration. He to hide the fact that Islamists
to his handling of the aftermath.
followed his win with a pledge to were to blame and demanded
In one of the most dramatic
withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops explanations for Mr Aznar's
elections of the post-Franco era,
from Iraq and accusations that backing of the Iraq war against
voters turned on the ruling party,
Tony Blair and President Bush the will of some 90% of
convinced that the multiple bomb lied about the war. "Mr Blair and Spaniards.
attack that killed 200 people and
Mr Bush must do some reflection
injured 1,500 on Madrid's packed
. . . you can't organise a war with It was the first example of a
commuter trains had been carried
lies," he said in his first radio single terrorist attack having a
out by Al-Qaeda and with a
interview. direct effect on the outcome of an
growing sense that the People's
election in a Western country. Mr
Party had tried to hide the truth.
Mr Zapatero began his victory Zapatero, a 43-year-old lawyer,
The government had blamed the
speech with a minute's silence for had pledged during campaigning
Basque separatist group Eta.
the victims of last Thursday's to swap Mr Aznar's pact with Mr
attacks - a series of 10 bomb Bush for a return to a European
With intelligence agencies around
blasts on commuter trains at alliance with France and
the globe trying to identify a man
Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Germany.
who, in a videotape found in
Eugenia stations in the south of
Madrid, claimed responsibility for
Madrid. "Together we will defeat The Guardian Weekly
the attacks for Al-Qaeda, and
[terrorism]," he told supporters

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Match the beginnings and endings of the sentences.

1. Mr Aznarís party lost the Spanish election because ...

2. Protesters wanted Mr Aznar ...
3. Instead of blaming Al-Qaeda for the bombing, ...
4. Mr Zapatero accused Blair and Bush ...
5. Protesters accused the government ...
6. Mr Zapatero plans ...

a. ... of lying about the war in Iraq.

b. ... to return to an alliance with France and Germany.
c. ... to explain why Spain had supported the war in Iraq.
d. ... of trying to hide the fact that Islamists were responsible for the bombing.
e. ... the Spanish people believed the government had tried to hide the truth about the bombing.
f. ... the government tried to blame Basque separatists.

Choose the best meaning

1. Mr Zapateroís victory was a blow to the Bush administration means:

a. It was welcomed by the Bush administration.

b. It was a shock to the Bush administration.
c. It was ignored by the Bush administration.

2. A growing sense means:

a. An increasing feeling.
b. A feeling of disbelief.
c. A new idea.

3. He swept to victory means:

a. He won narrowly.
b. He won with difficulty.
c. He won very easily.

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4. Voters turned on the ruling party means:

a. They ignored it.

b. They attacked it.
c. They defended it.

5. A commuter train is:

a. An express train.
b. A local train that carries people to work in the city.
c. A non-stop train.

Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand column. Check your
answers in the text.

1. to claim a. an attack
2. to carry out b. an effect
3. to hide c. an explanation
4. to demand d. terrorism
5. to have e. responsibility
6. to defeat f. the truth

Look at this sentence from the first paragraph:

ëThe government had blamed the Basque separatist group Etaí.

The past perfect tense here is used to refer to an earlier event, before the election in Spain.

Here are some more sentences, some from the text and others related to it. Rewrite them in the
correct order.

1. had people attack were out convinced carried Al-Qaeda the

2. government they to thought hide the tried had the truth
3. believed many the had government lied people
4. his Aznar the Iraq war support Mr given to had
5. had a formed Bush pact he with Mr
6. before Socialists the promised Iraq to the withdraw election Spanish troops had from

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Do you think the Spanish electorate was influenced by the terrorists bombing?

Do you think it is right to link the bombing with the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq?

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Fill the gaps using one of these key words from the text:

tag surveillance safeguard beam (vb)

theft monitor (vb) ethical warehouse

1. ____________ means relating to beliefs about right and wrong.

2. If you ____________ someone or something, you regularly check their
development or progress.
3. ____________ is the crime of stealing.
4. ____________ is the careful watching of someone, especially by an
organisation like the police or the army.
5. A ____________ is a large building where goods are stored.
6. If you ____________ information, you send it by means of electronic
equipment.
7. An electronic ____________ is a small device that enables a person to be
located.
8. A ____________ is a measure that protects people from being harmed.

Which 5 of the activities in this list do you think will be mentioned in the article?

1. instructing employees to collect goods from warehouse shelves

2. sending orders from stores to warehouses
3. telling employees when to start work and when to stop work
4. checking whether workers are taking unauthorised breaks
5. checking that employees are wearing the right uniform
6. finding out when employees are outside the building
7. working out the shortest time it takes an employee to complete a job
8. monitoring the productivity of secretaries

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Firms tag workers to improve In his report for the GMB union, Professor
efficiency Blakemore said the new technology was
David Hencke raising a host of ethical issues, with the
danger that the computer was taking over the
Workers in warehouses across Britain are human rather than humans using computers.
being “electronically tagged” by being asked There is also concern that the new technology
to wear small computers to cut costs and might create industrial injuries because of the
increase the efficient delivery of goods and need for workers to make repetitive
food to supermarkets, a report revealed this movements with their arms and wrists, similar
week. New US satellite- and radio-based to repetitive strain injuries caused by
computer technology is turning some overusing computers.
workplaces into “battery farms” and creating
conditions similar to “prison surveillance”, But the companies say that the system makes
according to a report from a professor of the delivery of food more efficient, cuts out
geography at Durham University, Michael waste, reduces theft and can reorder goods
Blakemore. more quickly. A spokeswoman for one
supermarket chain insisted that the company
The technology, introduced from the US at was not using the technology to monitor the
the start of the year, is spreading rapidly, with staff and said it was making employees’ work
up to 10,000 employees using it to supply big easier and reducing the need for paper.
retail chains. Now trade unionists want
safeguards to be introduced to protect worker But at the GMB’s annual conference in
privacy. Newcastle this week one of the union’s
national officers, Paul Campbell, said: “We
Under the system workers are asked to wear are having reports of people walking out of
computers on their wrists, arms and fingers, jobs after a few days’ work, in some cases
and in some cases to put on a vest containing just a few hours. They are all saying they
a computer that instructs them where to go to don’t like the job because they have no input.
collect goods from warehouse shelves. The They are just following a computer’s
system also allows direct access to the instructions”.
individual’s computer so orders can be
beamed from the store. The computer can also Other monitoring devices are being developed
check on whether workers are taking in the US, including ones that can check on
unauthorised breaks and work out the shortest the productivity of secretaries by measuring
time a worker needs to complete a job. the number of key strokes on their word
processors; satellite technology is also being
Academics are worried that the system could developed to monitor productivity in
make Britain, which already has the largest manufacturing jobs.
number of street security cameras, the most
The Guardian Weekly 10/06/2005, page 9
surveyed society in the world.

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Choose the best answer according to the information in the article.

1. Why are academics worried about electronic tagging in the workplace?

a. because worker privacy will not be protected.
b. because workplaces will be like prisons.
c. because Britain might become the most surveyed society in the world.

2. What does the supermarket spokeswoman say about the benefits of electronic
tagging?
a. it makes employees’ work easier and reduces the need for paper.
b. it enables the company to monitor staff carefully.
c. it is cheaper.

3. What do trade unions want?

a. more input by employees.
b. the introduction of safeguards to protect worker privacy.
c. measures to prevent industrial injuries.

4. What is the main aim of asking workers to wear electronic tags?

a. to monitor their movements.
b. to increase the efficient delivery of goods and food to supermarkets.
c. to check whether workers are taking unauthorised breaks.

Use prefixes to form the negatives of these adjectives:

1. efficient ____________ 2. similar ____________

3. direct ____________ 4. authorised ____________
5. ethical ____________ 6. overused ____________
7. productive ____________ 8. repetitive ____________

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Look in the text and find the word or phrase that means:

1. an injury caused by a repeated action

2. a very large number
3. a joint which links the arm and the hand
4. to leave a job suddenly
5. farms where chickens are kept in very small cages
6. very quickly
7. a sleeveless shirt
8. to eliminate or remove

Look at this example from the text:

Workers are being electronically tagged.

This form is used to describe a current activity (present continuous) where the
subject is either unknown or unimportant (passive).

Make further examples using these prompts:

1. They/ask/wear/small computers
2. Other monitoring devices/develop/US
3. The equipment/use/increase/efficient delivery of goods
4. The need for paper/reduce
5. Satellite technology/develop/monitor productivity
6. Workers/ask/wear/computers/on their wrists

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
1. Do you think it is an infringement of privacy to ask people to wear tags that can
identify where they are and what they are doing?
2. Would you be willing to wear one at work?

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 The ‘Dirty War’
Level 3 | Advanced

The "Dirty War"

E
xtraordinary things have been to create the notion of a phantom, all- Human Rights Watch last month. "The world
happening over the past few weeks in purpose "terrorist" who carries out his will be watching to see if the attorney
Latin America. In Argentina measures atrocities for no other apparent reason than general puts the necessary effort into
have been passed to remove the immunity he is "evil" and "hates freedom". When investigating and prosecuting these cases."
from members of the military who took part dealing with such people, goes the These are matters not just for the countries
in the disappearances and torture during the argument, any methods are allowable. concerned but for the international
"dirty war" against the left in the 70s and One theory used to justify a general amnesty community, and there are lessons to be
early 80s. This means that Argentinians will is that of the "two demons". This suggests learned today. President Carter, alone of his
be able to examine what happened during that the militaries in the three countries were fellow office-holders, stood out against the
those dark years, who was responsible and all fighting communist or extremist elements abuses in Argentina. The then US secretary of
why they were able to get away with it for and fire had to be fought with fire. The state, Henry Kissinger, who connived in and
so long. argument goes that war is war and both celebrated the Chilean coup, now has to
sides do hellish, demonic things that cannot consult his lawyers before he travels abroad
In Chile last month President Lagos be examined fairly in peacetime. This is a to ensure that he will not be arrested in a
announced plans to explore the equally grim dangerous argument. On a numerical basis country that seeks to examine his shabby
period in his country's history that followed alone, it does not stand up. In Argentina role during that period. That is as it should
the 1973 military coup. His measures, set out leftist guerrillas in a 20-year period were be. Once a state suspends its laws and
in the document No Tomorrow Without A responsible for an estimated 600 deaths, excuses its actions on a threat of terrorism,
Yesterday, would allow immunity to some of compared with the state's 15,000 killings the slope is a slippery one, whether the
those who took part in the atrocities in and disappearances. In Chile the military was country is a democracy or a dictatorship.
return for their cooperation in the responsible for an estimated 3,000 deaths
investigation into what happened to the In The Real Odessa, his book about the
while around 150 members of the security Nazis' escape route to Argentina Uki Goni
more than 3,000 who died at the hands of forces were killed. In Peru the Shining Path is
the military. recalls an episode in Buenos Aires in 1974. A
blamed for a larger proportion of deaths, but billboard was suspended around the obelisk
In Peru last month there was the publication the state is held responsible for around on the city's main avenue with the message:
of the truth and reconciliation commission's 20,000. The argument, however, is not to do Silence is Health. The sign was meant to
report about that country's own troubled with body counts but the fact that the discourage motorists from blasting their
period, mainly in the 80s, when 60,000 died murders and torture were carried out under horns, but it seemed at the time to carry a
or "disappeared." This, too, could lead to the authority of the state. much deeper, Orwellian meaning. That
prosecutions, and a reopening of what The whole apparatus of the state, from its silence is finally being broken. Those who
happened and why. intelligence-gathering to the use of its have had the courage to raise their voices
These developments have met with a mixed barracks and naval schools, was employed in and to seek justice over the years in
reaction in the respective countries. The illegal activity in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Argentina,Chile, Peru, deserve the world's
periods under examination represent Whatever one thought of the guerrillas or admiration and encouragement.
extremely painful times. Some, mainly what they were fighting for, what they did The Guardian Weekly 20-09-03, page 14
conservative, commentators have argued for was punishable by law and through the
"drawing a line" under the events so that, in courts. The state almost invariably acted with
that over-used phrase, people can "come to impunity. "The real test of Peru's willingness
terms with what has happened" and move to confront its past lies in how the
on. Some commentators have also co-opted government handles the question of
the rhetoric of President Bush, who has tried prosecutions," said Jose Miguel Vivanco of

2
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 The ‘Dirty War’
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Match the beginnings of the sentences with the appropriate endings.

1. In Argentina the government has decided ....

2. In Chile the government has decided ....
3. In Peru ....
4. Some right-wing commentators have argued that ....
5. The argument that fire must be fought with fire does not stand up because ....
6. Another difference is that while the guerrillas were subject to the law ....
7. The threat of terrorism ....
8. The author suggests that those who are seeking justice ....

a. .... any methods are allowable when dealing with "terrorists".

b. .... the state could act with impunity.
c. .... is not an excuse for states to suspend their laws.
d. .... to remove immunity from members of the military who took part in the "dirty war".
e. .... a report has been published about the troubled period of the 1980s.
f. .... deserve our admiration and support.
g. .... far more people were killed by the state than by the guerrillas.
h. .... to allow immunity in return for cooperation.

4 Vocabulary: Collocations

Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns and phrases in the right-hand column.
Check your answers in the text.

1. to set out a. what has happened

2. to meet with b. atrocities
3. to come to terms with c. human rights abuses
4. to draw a line under d. measures
5. to carry out e. events
6. to act with f. justice
7. to stand out against g. impunity
8. to seek h. a mixed reaction

3
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 The ‘Dirty War’
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Vocabulary: Prepositions
Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition. Check your answers in the text.

1. to be responsible ____________________________ something

2. to get away ____________________________ a crime
3. to take part ____________________________ an atrocity
4. to lead ____________________________ prosecutions
5. to come to terms ____________________________ what has happened
6. to blame someone ____________________________ something
7. to connive ____________________________ something
8. to discourage someone _________________________________ doing something

6 Vocabulary: Various
Match the words with their meanings:

1. grim a. to plan secretly to do something illegal

2. to co-opt b. extremely unpleasant
3. shabby c. to take someone’s idea and use it as your own
4. to connive d. a large place for advertisements (usually American English)
5. a billboard e. extremely dishonest

Discussion

Make a list of points for and against granting immunity to those accused of crimes against the people.
Is it ever right to forget history so that a country can have a better future?

4
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Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

chewy euphemism scarce bewildered

inundated ban sushi whale

1. If something is ____________ , it is rare or there is not much of it available.

2. ____________ food is food which is tough and rubbery, and difficult to eat.
3. If you are ____________ , you are extremely confused.
4. A ____________ is a very large sea animal that breathes air through a hole on the
top of its head.
5. ____________ is a Japanese dish with cold rice and fish, egg or vegetables.
6. A ____________ is a word that people use when they want to talk about something
unpleasant or embarrassing without mentioning the word itself.
7. ____________ means the same as ‘prohibition’.
8. ____________ literally means ‘flooded’. If you are ____________ with requests,
for example, it means that you receive an extremely large number of them.

Decide whether the following statements are True or False. Then look in the text
and check your answers.

1. Whaleburgers are very popular in Japan and can be found everywhere.

2. Whale meat is more popular among elderly Japanese than among the young.
3. Whale hunting is a relatively recent phenomenon in Japan.
4. Summers are usually extremely hot in Japan’s major cities.
5. Whale meat was an important part of the Japanese diet in the years following the
Second World War.
6. Most Japanese believe whale hunting should be banned.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
Savouring the whale whaleburgers to their menu. Hakodate is
By Eric Johnston one of the most beautiful cities in Japan
and has a long association with the world's
Foreign visitors to Japan can find a variety
biggest mammal – it was the port where
of sandwiches not available at most local
Japanese whaleships would deposit their
fast food restaurants back home, but
catches.
Lucky Pierrot, a restaurant chain based in
the port of Hakodate, has decided to Now the city is a popular destination for
broaden its range of products. It is now Japanese tourists seeking to escape the
selling whaleburgers. sweltering summers elsewhere in the
country. Shops across the harbour provide
The restaurant serves 16 different varieties
them with a vast array of seafood; huge
of hamburgers, 10 different kinds of curry
frozen whole salmon, live crabs and a
and 12 different kinds of ice cream.
package clearly labelled "whale bacon".
Virtually everyone in the shop, just a
Beside it sits a small can of something
stone's throw from the waterfront, is
called "red meat" in Japanese. When
around high school or college age. It's
asked, a fishmonger says it is a
nearly 3.30pm and I had been warned by
euphemism for whale.
the friendly owner the day before that, as
only 20 whaleburgers a day were Traditionally in Japan, whale meat was
available, they could be sold out by the enjoyed mainly by coastal communities.
time I arrived. But it is also fondly remembered by many
older Japanese in the cities. In the
I get to the counter and find that I'm in
immediate postwar years in Tokyo, when
luck. After paying for the order and
food was scarce, other meat too expensive,
receiving a ticket (number 97), I sit down
and people were starving to death, whale
and wait for my number to come up.
meat kept many alive. In addition, whale
When the whaleburger arrives, it has been
oil was given to a generation of Japanese
deep fried and placed on a bun with lettuce
children as a vitamin supplement.
and mayonnaise. It was black and chewy.
The cost was 380 yen ($3.35). I look It is this combination of postwar memories
around to see if I am the only one eating a and a desire to preserve ancient traditions
whale. It seems that I am. of coastal whaling that is driving much of
the demand for whale meat. But while
Selling whaleburgers was not originally
Lucky Pierrot may be unique in selling it
Lucky Pierrot's idea. Earlier this year the
in burger form, whale meat in Hakodate is
restaurant sent out a survey asking
quite common; the ninth of each month is
customers what new foods they would like
designated "Whale Day", when shops and
to see on the menu. Responses showed the
local restaurants offer discounts on their
number-one choice was for "Ghengis
usual prices.
Khan" burgers. In Japanese-English, this
means thin strips of barbecued lamb, Later I meet with Inge Arnold, a young
which is all the rage in the province of Australian woman, and her friend
Hokkaido. The second choice was whale. Takashige Arai at a local sushi restaurant.
Arnold, who worked briefly in the
Given the long history of whaling in
Hakodate fish market, refuses to touch
Japan, and the fact that whale meat is
the whale sushi we ordered. But Arai and
easily available in any port, such as
I eat it. Unlike the whaleburger, this sushi
Hakodate, it is perhaps not surprising that
is red, tender and juicy, and has a taste,
somebody would eventually add

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

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we agree, that is somewhere between tuna those killed for research purposes in
and mackerel. waters as far away as Antarctica. The
Japanese government points out that the
While Hakodate merchants are well aware
International Convention for the
of the international controversy over the
Regulation of Whaling requires that the
killing of whales, they are bewildered, and
by-products of whale research be
sometimes defensive, when confronted
processed and that whale meat on the
with the protestations of anti-whaling
market, whether it ends up as burgers,
campaigners. After news of Lucky
bacon or sushi, fulfils the treaty obligation,
Pierrot's whaleburgers spread, the
while the sale of the meat helps to partially
restaurant's management were inundated
offset research costs.
with angry letters and emails. "We're not
unique. Whale meat is widely available at However, whale appears to be something
many places in Japan," said Miku Oh, a of an acquired taste and, after growing up
spokesman for Lucky Pierrot. on a diet of fast food, not many young
people seem to be acquiring it. "Right
Opinion polls show that the majority of
now, I'd say most of my friends far prefer
the Japanese public are against a
other forms of seafood to whale.
comprehensive whaling ban. A survey of
Especially here in Hakodate, where
5,000 people, conducted by the country's
salmon and crab are so widely available,"
Fisheries Agency in 2001, found that only
said Jun Matsuda, a college student from
22.6% of those asked were in favour of a
Tokyo who was visiting with his friends.
complete whaling ban, while 39% opposed
"Whale meat is what my parents ate when
such a move.
they were young, and they said it wasn't
In truth much of the meat available in very good. I've not seen the whaleburger,
Hakodate, and Japan in general, is not and I don't think I want one."
from whales found in local waters but The Guardian Weekly 22/7/2005, page 17

Choose the answer that best reflects the meaning of the text:

1. The demand for whalemeat is driven by

a. a desire to preserve traditions.
b. postwar nostalgia.
c. a combination of the two.

2. What is the attitude of young Japanese towards whalemeat?

a. they love it.
b. they don’t seem keen on it.
c. they dislike it very strongly.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
3. What is the reaction of the fish merchants of Hakodate to protests by anti-whaling
campaigners?
a. they are extremely angry and defensive.
b. they are confused and defensive.
c. they are negative and defensive.

4. What does the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling require?
a. that the by-products of whale research are processed in some way.
b. that whale meat must not be eaten by humans.
c. that whaling is limited to Antarctica.

Find the word or phrase that means:

1. very near
2. extremely popular and fashionable
3. something you do not like at first but gradually start to enjoy
4. to balance the effect of something with the result that there is no advantage or
disadvantage
5. extremely easy to obtain
6. fortunate
7. extremely hot in an unpleasant or uncomfortable way
8. price reductions

Match the verbs with the nouns and noun phrases they collocate with:

1. to fulfil
2. to conduct
3. to preserve
4. to offset
5. to broaden
6. to keep

a. a range of products
b. ancient traditions
c. someone alive
d. an obligation
e. costs
f. a survey

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
Look in the text and find and highlight (or underline) the following:

1. An example of the past perfect passive.

2. Two examples of the present simple passive.
3. Three examples of the past simple passive.
4. An example of the present perfect passive.
5. Three examples of passives where the personal pronoun and the appropriate form
of the verb to be have been omitted for the sake of style.

Should whale-hunting be completely banned by international law?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
 Offshore wind farms to power one in six households in Britain
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Vocabulary

1. Types of renewable energy

Match the terms with the definitions:

1. solar energy a.This type of energy uses the power of running water.
2. wind power b.This type of energy uses the power generated by the heat of the sun.
3. tidal energy c. This type of energy uses the power of the wind.
4. hydro-electric power d.This type of energy uses the power of the sea.

2 Key Vocabulary
Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

renewable greenhouse gas decade offshore

expertise decommissioning grid escalating

1. A ___________________________ is a period of 10 years.

2. The process of closing down a nuclear power-station is known as ___________________________ .
3. ___________________________ costs are costs that are increasing extremely rapidly.
4. If something can be replaced by natural processes it is said to be ___________________________ .
5. The network that carries the electricity supply is called the national __________________________ .
6. If something is ___________________________ it is found in the sea and not on the land.
7. Carbon dioxide is a ___________________________ .
8. ___________________________ is a special skill or knowledge that you get from experience,
training or study.

1
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 Offshore wind farms to power one in six households in Britain
Level 3 | Advanced

Offshore wind farms to power one in six

households in Britain
Terry Macalister
The British Wind Energy Association The cost of decommissioning the
country's Magnox nuclear power

T
he renewable energy industry and (BWEA) welcomed the government
green groups in Britain expressed push. "We are sixth in the world stations could be double the estimated
delight this week at government behind countries such as Germany, level, leaving the taxpayer with a
plans to start a £6bn wind power Spain and Denmark, yet we are the £3.2bn bill, it emerged last weekend.
revolution that could create 20,000 windiest country in Europe. We have British Nuclear Fuels said that it could
jobs and provide fuel to one in six the best offshore expertise and not put a definite cost on the
households by 2010.The Trade and workforce, and all of this can be used decommissioning of all eight Magnox
Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, to make Britain the leader in this new plants because it had only worked out
announced a second round of offshore industry worldwide," said Alison Hill, a figures for the first two.
wind licensing, which she says puts BWEA spokeswoman. But the
the Government on track to generate organisation also warned that the The rapidly escalating cost is being
10% of electricity from greenhouse Government needed to resolve blamed on tighter regulation - and on
gas-free means by the end of the difficulties connecting remote wind the fact that the original estimates
decade. schemes with the national grid, a were made 10 years ago. BNFL
Crown Estates, which has financing premium on renewable originally earmarked £380m to run
responsibility for the licensing, hopes schemes due to political uncertainty, down Hinkley Point, closed in 2000,
to attract 6,000 megawatts of offshore and opposition from the Ministry of and Bradwell, which was shut down
capacity. The cost of developing 6,000 Defence to some turbine plans. The last year. It has now been forced to
MW is expected to be about £6bn and BWEA wants Ms Hewitt to confirm put aside a further £415m.
to create 20,000 jobs in the aspirations expressed in the recent The Guardian Weekly
engineering and construction sectors. White Paper that the UK obtains 20% 20-3-0717, page 10
of electricity from renewables by 2020.

2
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 Offshore wind farms to power one in six households in Britain
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer to each question:

1. What percentage of British households could be powered by wind power by 2010?

a. 10%.
b. More than 15%.
c. 50%.

2. Apart from creating jobs, what other benefit will this development bring?
a. It will attract 6,000 megawatts of offshore capacity.
b. It will remove political uncertainty.
c. It will help to reduce greenhouse gases.

3. Why is it a paradox that Britain is sixth in the world in the use of wind power?
a. Because Britain has the best offshore expertise and workforce.
b. Because Britain is the windiest country in Europe.
c. Because the Ministry of Defence is opposed to wind power.

4. What is the problem with decommissioning the nuclear power stations?

a. It could cost up to twice as much as originally forecast.
b. The regulations are not tight enough.
c. The original estimates were made 10 years ago.

4 Word Building

The key word in the text is ‘renewable’, meaning ‘it can be renewed. Make further words ending in ‘-able’
from the following definitions. Note that some will be negative.

1. cannot be broken _____________________________

2. can be negotiated _____________________________
3. cannot be returned _____________________________
4. cannot be accepted _____________________________
5. cannot be avoided _____________________________
6. can be predicted _____________________________
7. cannot be transferred _____________________________
8. can vary _____________________________

3
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 Offshore wind farms to power one in six households in Britain
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Collocations
Without looking back at the text, match the verbs with the nouns. Then look in the text to check your
answers.

1. express a. fuel
2. create b. difficulties
3. provide c. funds
4. generate d. development
5. encourage e. aspirations
6. resolve f. jobs
7. confirm g. delight
8. earmark h. electricity

6 Discussion
Make a list of all the ways of producing energy. Then decide which of these are bad for the environment
and which are good for the environment.

What is the best method of generating energy in your country?

4
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200,000 troops 10,000 killed 1 (old) vial of botulinum

Match the words from the text with their meanings.

1. arsenal
2. toxin
3. vial
4. potency
5. regime
6. dossier
7. incontrovertible
8. flawed

a. a government that controls a country strictly or unfairly

b. a small bottle used for storing medicine
c. the strength of a medicine, drug or chemical
d. true and impossible to doubt
e. a large collection of weapons and military equipment
f. full of errors
g. a set of documents about a person or situation
h. a poisonous substance that causes disease

1. What are WMD?

2. What does ISG stand for?
3. What is botulinum?
4. What is botox used for?
5. Who is Jack Straw?

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2003

Taken from the News section in www.onestopenglish.com
 $300m search could have been used to absence of anything
for WMD vaccinate livestock or even in
the form of Botox, used in
resembling a smoking gun in
the report dismayed
draws a blank cosmetic surgery to get rid of
wrinkles.
Democrats and Republicans
alike. However, the US
Congress appeared split on
The man in charge of a $300m "We don't know from this if party lines on whether to
hunt for Saddam Hussein's this scientist was going to get approve the $600m the
weapons of mass destruction rid of Saddam's wrinkles or kill administration is asking for to
recently admitted that no people," said Joseph continue the ISG's search.
hidden arsenal had been Cirincione, a weapons expert.
found, and the only potential On Monday it appeared that The leading Democrat on the
weapon uncovered was a even this slender evidence of Senate intelligence committee,
single vial containing a potential WMD material had Jay Rockefeller, said: "To be
biological toxin widely used in been undercut, as it emerged where we are today, asking for
cosmetic surgery. According to that the vial had been sitting in another six to nine months and
a progress report by the Iraq the Iraqi scientist's refrigerator a good deal of money, leads
Survey Group (ISG), delivered at home for 10 years. Many me to believe we need to do
to the US Congress by the passages in the report some serious thinking about
group's leader, David Kay, contrast with the UK the doctrine of pre-emption,
Saddam had taken no steps to government's dossier on Iraq's that we need to do some
revive his nuclear weapons banned weapons programme serious thinking about [how]
plan since 1998, and had published last September. It did our intelligence allow us to
abandoned any large-scale claimed that Iraq had chemical get so that we could decide to
chemical weapons programme and biological weapons go to war." Donald Rumsfeld,
more than a decade ago. Mr "available". The ISG found no the defence secretary, said: "It
Kay said he thought a evidence of that. will be unfortunate if it turns
comprehensive search might out that intelligence used to
take another six to nine But the British Foreign justify the war in Iraq turns out
months. Secretary, Jack Straw, to have been seriously
maintained that the report flawed."
The sole exception in the ISG justified the war, arguing that it
report was a vial containing a contained "incontrovertible
botulinum toxin found hidden in evidence" that Saddam was in Julian Borger, Ewen MacAskill and
the home of an Iraqi scientist, breach of UN resolutions. His Richard Norton-Taylor
among a batch of other remarks echoed those of Tony
biological samples. The Iraqi Blair, who stressed before the The Guardian Weekly
regime was known to have report was released that the
experimented with botulinum ISG had only been actively
as a weapon. However, the searching for weapons for
type found appears to be of three months. The clear
limited potency, and

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Match the beginnings and the endings of the sentences.

1. The ISG believes that ...

2. According to the ISGís progress report, the nuclear weapons plan ...
3. The only thing the ISG found was ...
4. The vial of botulinum ...
5. The ISG found no evidence that ...
6. The British Foreign Secretary claimed the ISGís report ...
7. Both Democrats and Republicans ...
8. The US Congress is still split over whether ...

a. ... Iraq has chemical and biological weapons available.

b. ... a vial of botulinum.
c. ... were disappointed by the findings of the report.
d. ... Saddam Hussein abandoned his weapons programme more than 10 years ago.
e. ... justified the war against Iraq.
f. ... was abandoned in 1998.
g. ... to approve an additional $600m to continue the ISGís search.
h. ... was found in the refrigerator of an Iraqi scientist.

Find a word or expression that means the following:

1. a verb which means to bring something back to life

2. a noun which means lines on the skin which appear as people get older
3. an adjective which means very small in degree and only just enough
4. a past participle which means made less effective
5. an idiomatic expression which means clear proof that someone has done something wrong
6. an adjective which means extremely disappointed or upset
7. a noun which means information collected about the secret plans of a foreign government
8. an expression which means a policy designed to make it impossible or difficult for the enemy to
attack

Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition. Check your answers in the text.

1. David Kay is ______ charge of the ISGís search for weapons of mass destruction.
2. A vial of botulinum was found ______ a batch of biological samples.
3. The botulinum might have been used to get rid ______ wrinkles.

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4. The report contrasts ______ the UK governmentís dossier.
5. According to Jack Straw, Saddam was ______ breach of UN resolutions.
6. The ISG found no evidence ______ available weapons.

Do you think it is right that the ISG should continue to look for weapons in Iraq?

Was the war justified? Make a list of points for and against military action in Iraq.

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Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

oversee put-down resign espouse

wiggle (vb) mockery outlaw (vb) promotion

1. If you ____________ a cause, you support it actively.

2. If you ____________ something, you move it rapidly from side to side.
3. A ____________ is a critical remark intended to make another person feel bad.
4. ____________ is the process of ridiculing the actions of other people.
5. If you ____________ something, you supervise it on an official basis.
6. If you ____________ from a job or a position, you quit that job or position.
7. If something is ____________ it is prohibited.
8. If you get a ____________, you get a better job or position within an
organisation.

1. What is the name of the lower chamber of the British Parliament?

2. What are British members of parliament usually known as?
3. What are the three main parties in the British Parliament?
4. What is another word for Conservative?
5. Who are or were the ‘Blair babes’?
6. Who chairs the debates in the British Parliament?

Now look in the text and check your answers.

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 when stepping on to traditionally male territory. When
Labour's Dari Taylor resigned from the defence select
Women MPs bullied and abused in committee - one of only two women on it - the
Commons chairman, Bruce George, stood up and said: "Well, I
Jackie Ashley have to make this announcement: one down, one to
go."
The most comprehensive survey of female MPs ever
conducted has revealed the reactionary attitudes to The hostility from some male MPs was astonishing.
women held by many MPs in the British Parliament. Even those who publicly espoused equality were
Based on interviews with 83 current and recent MPs, it furious to see women getting promotion. One current
contains some frank comments about certain male MPs member of the cabinet was asked, when she was
making sexist remarks and gestures as women try to promoted: "Oh, you've had a very fast rise, who have
speak in the Commons. you been sleeping with?" Male MPs and officials
seemed reluctant to accept the new Labour women,
The study, Whose Secretary Are You, Minister? was many of them in their 30s and 40s. Some simply could
overseen by Professor Joni Lovenduski of Birkbeck not believe that youngish women could be members of
College, London, and Margaret Moran MP. They parliament.
gathered more than 100 hours of taped interviews, to
be placed in the British Library. Many female MPs say the introduction of "family
friendly" hours have improved things, undermining the
When Gillian Shephard arrived in the House of old male drinking culture. But it isn't perfect yet. Sarah
Commons as a new Tory MP in 1987 she was confused Teather, the new Liberal Democrat MP, says: "Lots of
to find herself and her fellow women MPs being called people say it's like an old boys' club. I've always said,
Betty. "There was a Conservative MP who called us all to me it feels rather more like a teenage public school*
Betty," she recalls, "and when I said, 'Look, you know -- you know, a public school full of teenage boys."
my name isn't Betty', he said, 'Ah, but you're all the
same, so I call you all Betty, it's easier'." Worse than all the sexism and the mockery, women
MPs are angry that their achievements are not
Barbara Follett says: "I remember some Conservatives recognised. They insist that they have brought a new
whenever a Labour woman got up to speak taking their feminised agenda to Westminster politics, in particular,
breasts - their imaginary breasts - in their hands and the rise of childcare to the top of the domestic agenda.
wiggle them and say 'melons' as we spoke." When Many other policies are cited too. Marion Roe, a Tory
scores of female MPs - 120 in all - arrived in the MP, is proud of her bill outlawing female circumcision
Commons in 1997, Labour's Claire Curtis-Thomas in 1985 -- "when I did that, nobody knew what female
assumed that the red ribbons tied to coat hangers were circumcision was". Ruth Kelly cites parental leave,
for Aids day, only to be told they were for members to while Teresa Gorman says bluntly: "I put menopause
hang up their swords. on the map."

The Guardian Weekly 2004-12-10, page 11

Another new MP, Yvette Cooper, found it hard to
persuade Commons officials that she was not a
researcher or secretary. Jackie Ballard, a Liberal
Democrat who left parliament at the last election, cites * Note: In the UK, so-called ‘public’ schools are not
a leading Tory MP who kept up a stream of remarks public at all. They are private schools for the children
just out of hearing of the Speaker, "maybe about of rich parents.
someone's legs or someone being a lesbian . . . if he
worked for me he'd probably be sacked". The same MP
is reported as announcing, while drunk in the chamber,
that he'd like to "make love to" a nearby woman.

The interviews show how even after the arrival of the

"Blair babes", female MPs were expected to stick to
"women's issues", such as health and education.
Several complain of the put-downs they experienced

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Choose the best answer in each case:

1. Which statement best reflects the main idea of the text?

a. All British male MPs have a negative attitude to female MPs.
b. Many British male MPs have a negative attitude to female MPs.
c. A few British male MPs have a negative attitude to female MPs.

2. What, in particular, seems to make male MPs angry?

a. Women MPs getting special treatment.
b. Women MPs getting promotion.
c. Women MPs getting equal pay.

3. What, in particular, makes women MPs angry?

a. The sexism of their male colleagues.
b. The fact that their achievements are not recognised.
c. The fact that the House of Commons is full of old-fashioned practices.

4. What, according to some female MPs, does the House of Commons feel like?
a. A teenage public school.
b. A gentleman’s club.
c. The British Library.

Find the verbs that collocate with these nouns or noun phrases:

1. to ____________ a survey
2. to ____________ an attitude or a view
3. to ____________ promotion
4. to ____________ an achievement
5. to ____________ a remark
6. to ____________ a put-down
7. to ____________ an announcement
8. to ____________ something on the map

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Find the adjectives in the text that mean:

1. complete 2. resistant to change

3. extremely surprising 4. very angry
5. unwilling 6. open and honest
7. showing prejudice against the opposite sex 8. honoured

Look at these examples from the text:

… as women try to speak …. … I remember them taking …

Both ‘try’ and ‘remember’ can be followed by either the gerund or the
infinitive but with a different meaning.

To try to do something means ‘to attempt’, while to try doing something means
‘to experiment’.

To remember to do something means not to forget to do it, while to remember

doing something means to recall the action later.

Fill the gaps with either the gerund or the infinitive of the verbs in brackets.

1. Several women MPs remember male MPs ____________ sexist gestures.

[MAKE]
2. There was a lot of noise when they tried ____________. [SPEAK]
3. It’s the election next week. I must remember ____________. [VOTE]
4. All the women MPs remember ____________ the House of Commons for the
first time. [ENTER]
5. During the debates they tried ____________ the comments but without
success. [IGNORE]
6. Try ____________ your coat off if you’re hot, but don’t hang it on that hook.
It’s reserved for swords. [TAKE]

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
How does this compare with the situation in your country?
Do you have women MPs?
Are there more male or female MPs?
Do you think positive discrimination to try to attract more female MPs is a good
thing?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

humility cardinal (n) attribute (n) rhetoric

adversary lethal blur (vb) knee-jerk

1. If something is described as ____________, it is very dangerous and can kill

you.
2. If something ____________, it becomes difficult to see it clearly often because
its edges are not clear.
3. A ____________ response is one that is immediate and not carefully
considered.
4. A ____________ is a priest with a very high position in the Catholic Church.
5. Behaving with ____________ shows that you do not think you are better or
more important than other people.
6. An ____________ is a quality or feature of someone or something.
7. An ____________ is an enemy or an opponent.
8. ____________ is a style of speaking or writing that is intended to influence
people.

The text is about the Catholic Church’s view of the nature of women in society. The
Vatican lists 6 typical characteristics of women. Which 6 of these 10 characteristics
do you think it chose?

1. listening 2. organising
3. competing 4. welcoming
5. humility 6. strength
7. aggression 8. faithfulness
9. praise 10. waiting

Now look in the first paragraph of the text and check your answers.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
A woman’s talent is to listen harmful confusion . . . which has its most
John Hooper and Jo Revill in Rome. immediate and lethal effects in the structure
of the family".
The Vatican has depicted what it claims are
women’s characteristic traits: "Listening, Gender war encouraged a perilous blurring of
welcoming, humility, faithfulness, praise and the distinctions. "To avoid the domination of
waiting." In its most important statement on one sex or the other, their differences tend to
the role of women in almost a decade, the be denied, viewed as mere effects of historical
Roman Catholic Church said these virtues of and cultural conditioning." Such a view
the Virgin Mary were ones women displayed ignored qualities that arose from a woman's
"with particular intensity and naturalness". unique ability to give birth. This "allows her
to acquire maturity very quickly, and gives a
The 37-page statement was written by the sense of the seriousness of life and of its
Pope's leading theologian, Cardinal Joseph responsibilities. A sense and a respect for
Ratzinger. As a statement of official doctrine, what is concrete develop in her, opposed to
it would have been read, and very likely abstractions which are so often fatal for the
amended, by the Pope himself before existence of individuals and society". The
publication. cardinal uses the document to argue that,
The document, which will prompt a fierce because they have something unique to
debate about the attributes of women, added: contribute, "women should be present in the
"Although a certain type of feminist rhetoric world of work and in the organisation of
makes demands 'for ourselves', women society".
preserve the deep intuition of the goodness in
their lives of those actions that elicit life, and The comments drew a mixed reaction from
contribute to the growth and protection [of feminists and women writers. Erin Pizzey,
others]. This intuition is linked to women's founder of the international women's refuge
physical capacity to give life. Whether lived movement, said: "I don't think the Catholic
out or remaining potential, this capacity is a Church, whose priests and bishops cannot
reality that structures the female personality marry, is in a position to make such
in a profound way." statements."

In his Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic But Catherine Pepinster, editor of the British
Church on the Collaboration of Men and Catholic journal The Tablet, said the
Women in the Church and in the World, comments would resonate with many women.
Cardinal Ratzinger takes aim at "currents of "For feminists to rubbish it is a knee-jerk
thought that are often at variance with the response. It does make a distinction between
authentic advancement of women". Chief the sexes, but it also points out that women
among these is a tendency to "emphasise have a big role to play in society."
strongly conditions of subordination in order
to give rise to antagonism". It implied that The Guardian Weekly 20-06-0
"women, in order to be themselves, must
make themselves the adversaries of men".
Such confrontational thinking was "leading to

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Choose the best answer

1. What does the document regard as the main influence on the female personality?
a. A deep intuition of goodness.
b. The physical capacity to give life.
c. Being the adversaries of men.

2. What does the document regard as the source of “harmful confusion”?

a. The idea that women must make themselves the adversaries of men.
b. Confrontational thinking.
c. The structure of the family.

3. What, according to the document, allows women to become mature very quickly?
a. Gender war.
b. Their ability to give birth.
c. A sense of the seriousness of life.

4. Why, according to the cardinal, should women be present in the world of work?
a. Because they are good organisers.
b. Because they have the ability to give birth.
c. Because they have something unique to contribute.

5. Why does the founder of the international women’s refuge movement disagree
with the document?
a. Because she doesn’t think Catholic priests are in a position to make statements
about women.
b. Because it does not make a distinction between the sexes.
c. Because her reaction is simply a knee-jerk response.

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Match the adjectives in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand
column. Look in the text to check your answers.

1. characteristic a. intuition
2. official b. ability
3. fierce c. traits
4. deep d. thinking
5. confrontational e. doctrine
6. knee-jerk f. effect
7. lethal g. reaction/response
8. unique h. debate

Complete the chunks by adding a preposition. Look in the text to check your answers.

1. ______ a profound way

2. at variance _______ something
3. to give rise _______ something
4. a blurring _______ the distinctions
5. to arise _______ something
6. to be _______ a position to do something
7. to contribute _______ something
8. to take aim _______ something

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Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
Look at this example from the text:

The Roman Catholic Church said these virtues were ones women displayed
“with particular intensity and natural ness”.

The direct words were:

“These virtues are ones women display with particular intensity and
naturalness.

Rewrite these statements from the text in reported speech:

1. This intuition is linked to women’s physical capacity to give life.

2. I don’t think the Catholic Church is in a position to make such statements.
3. It also points out that women have a big role to play in society.
4. A woman’s unique ability to give birth allows her to acquire maturity very quickly.
5. The gender war encourages a perilous blurring of the distinctions.
6. Differences between the sexes tend to be ignored.

Look again at the list of qualities in Exercise 2. Add some more qualities that apply to
women in general. Now make a list of qualities that apply to men.

Do you agree that there are fundamental character differences between men and
women?

 Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2004

Taken from the news section in www.onestopenglish.com
 Words are weapons
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading

The following words are all taken from the text.Which of them do you regard as positive, which as negative
and which as neutral?

1. liberation
2. dark forces
3. civilisation
4. terrorist
5. militant
6. freedom-fighter
7. guerrilla
8. insurgent
9. hero
10. martyr

2 Key Vocabulary
Match these words from the text with their meanings:

deadly crusade reckless divisive salient

unpalatable unwary secular vague loaded

1. not connected with religion

2. with a second or hidden meaning
3. able or likely to kill people
4. not thinking about the possible bad effects of one’s actions
5. extremely unclear
6. likely to cause arguments between people
7. unpleasant to think about or accept
8. a holy war
9. not paying attention to the dangers around you
10. particularly noticeable or relevant

Now read the text

1
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 Words are weapons
Level 3 | Advanced

From ‘civilisation’ to ‘WMD’,

words are weapons
Simon Tisdall
Terrorism is a salient case in point. In the is ignored. In fact, WMD is a vague term that
abstract, "terrorism" is a terrible thing; can be used to cover a multitude of supposed

S
econd world war posters warning that everybody deplores it; nobody supports it. Why sins. Developed countries have their own WMD,
"careless talk costs lives" represented a then is terrorism such a growth industry? of course, but their arsenals are somehow
lasting truth. Then the fear was that spies Because its definition is not agreed. It depends regarded as acceptable. Not so the WMD in
might overhear conversations of value to the where you stand. Terrorism has thus become a developing countries or "rogue states"
Nazis. The equivalent US slogan was "loose lips much abused word. (whatever that means). This species of
sink ships". Sixty years on, in another era of For Donald Rumsfeld, for example, the recent unauthorised WMD is deemed destabilising.
conflict, the careless talk comes more often helicopter attack at Falluja was simply the work There are certain words, conversely, that the
from politicians - but it is potentially just as of "terrorists". That statement conceals a West’s leaders carefully avoid. These include
deadly. When George Bush, soon after larger, unpalatable truth. To the oppressed of "resistance" - too encouraging a label for the
September 11, referred to a "crusade" against the world, the men of violence are, variously, "remnants" opposing Iraq’s emancipators,
al-Qaida, he helped persuade Muslims that militants, freedom-fighters, guerrillas, especially when used with a capital "R", as in
they were under renewed attack from Richard insurgents, heroes, martyrs. The real terrorists French. And then there is "occupation".
the Lionheart in a US navy bomber jacke t .I n belong to the "other side". Yet "state Occupation, as in Iraq, is a no-go word;
the context of a potential "clash of terrorism" is a concept that is barely liberation is far preferable. Occupation makes it
civilisations",Bush’s loose use of language was recognised by the ostensible oppressors. Which sound as if the US has barged uninvited into
not only insensitive. It was unthinkingly brings us back to Bush. By declaring an open- somebody else’s country and refuses to go
reckless. ended, global "war on terror", Bush invited away. It makes Iraq sound like Palestine, Tibet,
Bush has avoided the word "crusade" ever every aspiring autocrat to do his worst in the Afghanistan or, heaven forbid, Vietnam. That
since. But he still regularly talks about the need name of "security" (another much-scandalised really is careless, ship-sinking talk.
to defend "civilisation" and "the civilised word). From Chechnya to Colombia, Pakistan to
world" against "dark forces". He never quite the Philippines, the anti-terror "war" has Greater sensitivity in use of language is
says which part of the planet is the expanded with Bush’s blessing. required of politicians – and indeed the media.
"uncivilised" or "dark" bit. Perhaps he means The urge to suppress arguably loaded words
Kandahar in Afghanistan or Eastbourne in In this loose-lipped, rapid-fire lingo, such should as a rule be resisted as inimical to free
England. It is unclear. But the unspoken people, whether killed or locked up in Bagram expression and better understanding. As every
implication is deeply divisive, even racist, not to or Guantanamo or a thousand other hell-holes, spin doctor knows, acceptance of "official"
say insulting. are by definition "evil". Here, you might think, terminology can amount to implicit
is another trap for the unwary, to be endorsement of official policy. But the search
Words can define how a people sees itself: the sidestepped by sensible politicians in the for the right word requires constant awareness
US declaration of independence is one obvious
secular West. Not a bit of it. The latest addition of ambiguity and politically and culturally
example. Yet modern-day Palestinians also see to the modern leader’s essential vocabulary, is charged, multiple meanings. As ever in human
themselves engaged in a struggle for WMD. This is now a universally understood discourse, there is truth and there is
"independence" and "freedom" from external term, or so you might think. WMD is propaganda. It is important to be able to tell
oppression. The current US government ignores proliferating, it’s deeply frightening, and it’s the difference. Before passing the ammunition,
such semantic paradoxes. Words such as coming to a cinema near you. pass the word.
"imperialism","emancipation","self-
determination" and "liberation" define how Yet symbolic WMD is also a reason why civil
history is scripted, how the future will be liberties are everywhere under siege, why
military budgets are rising, why the developing The Guardian Weekly 20-11-03, page 14
shaped, how contemporary conflicts are
perceived and thus how they may be resolved. world is not developing, and why your opinion

2
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 Words are weapons
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Which of these statements best reflect the meaning of the text as a whole?

1. When George Bush used the word ‘crusade’…

a. it had a negative impact on everyone.
b. it started a war with Muslims.
c. it had negative associations for Muslims.

2. Which words have replaced the word ‘crusade’ in Bush’s vocabulary?

a. attack and defend
b. uncivilised and dark
c. self-determination and liberation

3. What is the problem with the definition of terrorism?

a. t is a growth industry.
b. Terrorists are freedom-fighters or heroes.
c. The definition depends on your perspective.

4. Why do Western politicians avoid words like ‘resistance’?

a. Because such words might encourage people fighting against occupation.
b. Because they are too negative.
c. Because they want to ignore political problems.

5. Which of these titles best reflects the general theme of the article?
a. Freedom and terrorism
b. The power of words
c. Weapons of mass destruction

3
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 Words are weapons
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Vocabulary: Find the word

The words and expressions are in chronological order in the text.

Find
1. A word which means ‘people inside a country who secretly support the enemies of that country’.
2. A word which means ‘a person who has complete power in a country’.
3. A slang word for ‘language’.
4. An expression which means ‘a terrible place’.
5. An expression which means ‘under prolonged attack’.
6. An expression which means ‘a country which is considered to be dangerous by other countries’.
7. An exclamation which you use when you hope something will not happen.
8. An expression used to describe a person who helps politicians to present their policies in a positive
light.

5 Vocabulary: Collocations
Match the verbs with the nouns they collocate with. Check your answers in the text.

1. to overhear a. war
2. to shape b. an urge
3. to resolve c. someone’s opinion
4. to declare d. a conversation
5. to ignore e. a conflict
6. to resist f. a policy
7. to endorse g. the difference
8. to tell h. the future

6 Discussion

Do you agree that the words used by politicians can shape our opinions of world events?
Think of examples of terrorists and freedom-fighters in history and discuss why they are labelled in this
way.

4
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 Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Words

There are three main options for dealing with waste. Match the words with the definitions:

1• landfilling a• burning at very high temperatures

2• incineration b• treating waste materials so that they can be used again
3• recycling c• making everything from material that can be repaired,
4• zero waste reused or recycled
d• burying waste in a large hole in the ground

2 What do you know about waste?

Choose or guess the best answer.

1• By the year 2020 how much household waste will be produced each year in Britain?
a• 10m tonnes b• 20m tonnes c• 40m tonnes

2• What happens to 80% of household waste in Britain?

a• it is recycled b• it is dumped c• it is burnt

3• What kind of waste makes up the largest part of household waste?

a• plastics b• organic material c• paper

4• Which kind of waste causes the biggest risk to health?

a• plastics b• organic material c• batteries

5• What percentage of waste is difficult or expensive to recycle?

a• 15-20% b• 35-40% c• 75-80%

Now look in the text and check your answers:

1
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 Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up
Level 3 | Advanced

Radical plans for There’s money to be made, too, say the

zero-waste proponents. In a US survey

waste could herald

of high recycling programmes, savings
were made in 13 out of the 14 cases.
Resource recovery facilities and

a big clean-up
exchange networks were found to be
turning waste into an asset, creating
small business opportunities and
employment in struggling communities.
Joanna Collins This has been a key factor in New
are now following. “Zero waste is, to Zealand, where zero waste is regarded

M
any local authorities are in a me, a grassroots movement from local more as a driver of local economic
deep hole over waste. With the authorities and people,” says Bath development than a matter of
amount of household rubbish councillor Roger Symmonds. He was environmental conscience. “It’s very
set to double by 2020 to more than won over to the concept two years ago much a case of the people led and the
40m tonnes a year, and new European at a conference in Geneva, where New government followed,” says Warren
Union directives insisting that countries Zealand authorities that had taken the Snow, of the New Zealand Zero Waste
significantly reduce landfilling, the plunge recounted their experience. “The Trust.“It’s a quiet revolution where non-
incineration option looks attractive, but word ‘zero’ is not strictly accurate,” he profit community groups are turning
is proving politically and financially cautions. “It may not be achievable. But waste into jobs.”
difficult. Many local authorities around if we get anywhere near, then the Radical thinking about waste is seen to
the world are turning to a system called benefits for health and jobs will be be essential. When it comes to the
zero waste, which would abolish enormous.” 15%-20% of waste that is difficult or
landfills and reduce dramatically the Where Britain currently recycles 11% of expensive to recycle, zero waste
need for incinerators. household waste, burns 8% and dumps proposes a new way of looking at the
The premise is that everything we buy is, the rest, within six years of a change in problem: anything that cannot be
or eventually will be, made from policy Canberra is recycling 59% of its recycled or reused should be designed
materials that can be repaired, reused or rubbish and Edmonton, Canada,has out of the system. Industry is seen as a
recycled. So governments, councils and reached 70%. Surprisingly, organic key player in this system. “The
industry should be working together to waste makes up the bulk of a bin-load multinationals are on to this far quicker
find ways to turn waste into a profitable and causes the nastiest health risk when than governments or environmental
resource or designing it out of the it rots and leaks from landfills. In many groups,” says Mr Murray. Many large
system altogether. Canberra, Toronto, cases the high-achieving cities and companies, he says, already foresee the
California and, lately, New Zealand - councils have introduced three-stream arrival of legislation that makes
where 45% of all local authorities have collection,separating organics, dry producers take responsibility for what
signed up to zero-waste policies - are recyclables such as bottles and plastics, happens to their products at the end of
convinced enough to make it a target to and tricky residuals such as batteries. the life cycle.
be reached by 2015 or earlier. According to Robin Murray, a leading
In Britain, Bath and Northeast Somerset zero-waste economist in Britain, as soon
as this is done “they find suddenly that The Guardian Weekly 3-10-2002, page 25
council is the first authority to have
adopted the zero-waste vision. Others they are recycling more than 50%”.

2
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 Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check
Match the beginnings with the endings:

1• Many local authorities are turning to the a• …. believe that zero waste can be
zero waste option because …. achieved within 15 years.
2• Zero waste is based on the idea that b• …. now recycles 70% of its waste.
everything …. c• …. it can create small business
3• Authorities in the USA, Australia and opportunities.
New Zealand …. d• …. landfilling has to be reduced and
4• Even a partial conversion to zero waste incineration is politically unpopular.
policies …. e• …. it can rot and leak from landfill sites.
5• The Canadian city of Edmonton …. f• …. to design it out of the system.
6• Organic waste can cause health g• …. is made from materials that can be
problems because …. repaired, recycled or used again.
7• Zero waste can help local economies h• …. would bring enormous benefits for
because …. health and jobs.
8• The solution to the problem of the 15-
20% of waste that cannot be recycled is
….

4 Vocabulary Work: Reformulation

Fill the gaps using an appropriate word from the text. You may need to change the form of the word.

1• The amount of household waste is expected to ____________ by the year 2020.

2• Zero waste would lead to the ____________ of landfills.
3• There would also be a dramatic ____________ in the need for incinerators.
4• Zero waste is based on the ____________ that everything can be repaired, reused or recycled.
5• It may not be possible to ____________ 100% zero waste.
6• At present only 11% of household waste in Britain is ____________ .
7• Health risks are ____________ by organic waste leaking from landfills.
8• The ____________ of organics, dry recyclables and residuals is known as three-stream collection.
9• Waste can be ____________ into an asset through resource recovery facilities.
10• New legislation could mean that producers will be ____________ for what happens to their products
at the end of the life cycle.

3
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 Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up
Level 3 | Advanced

5 Find the word

Find the word or expression which means:

1• to be in a very difficult situation

2• to officially get rid of a law, system or practice
3• a principle that ideas and actions are based on
4• to persuade someone to agree with you
5• to finally do something difficult or dangerous after thinking about it
6• someone who publicly supports an idea, policy or plan
7• a major benefit
8• a person or organisation that influences a situation

6 Discussion
Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of incineration, landfilling and recycling.
Do you think zero waste is achievable?
What products are particularly bad for the environment?

4
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 Giving power to the people
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Vocabulary

Fill the gaps using words from the list below:

purchasing power invincible sweatshop

boycott culpable outrage

1• To ____________ something means to refuse to buy or use something as a protest.

2• ____________ is a general feeling of shock and extreme anger.
3• The ability of people to buy goods and services based on the amount of money they earn is known as
____________ .
4• A ____________ is a factory where people work very hard in bad conditions for very little money.
5• ____________ means “responsible for doing something bad or illegal”.
6• Someone or something that is too strong to be defeated can be described as ____________ .

2 Why were they boycotted?

The following companies are mentioned in the article as victims of consumer boycotts:

1• Nike 2• Shell 3• Nestle 4• Barclays 5• Esso

Match the company with the reason for the boycott.

a• This company tried to dump an oil platform in the Atlantic.

b• This company is said to use sweatshop labour to produce its products cheaply.
c• This company had large investments in South Africa during the period of apartheid.
d• This company was seen to be against the Kyoto Protocol.
e• This company is demanding the payment of a large debt by Ethiopia.

Now read the text and check your answers

1
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 Giving power to the people
Level 3 | Advanced

Giving power equivocal about asking consumers to

boycott the likes of Gap or Nike. They
would rather encourage the companies

to the people
to improve conditions for their workers
than simply withdraw from the area and
create more unemployment.”
The Stop Esso campaign, organised by a
coalition of Greenpeace and Friends of
the Earth might have appeared to be an

T
overly ambitious boycott. But it emerged
he outrage generated by the encouraging individuals to connect their as a result of the public desire for an
revelation that Nestle is purchasing power with international outlet for their anger and frustration at
demanding a $6m payment from politics. President Bush’s decision to pull out of
famine- and debt-ridden Ethiopia has Boycotts need to have a clear outcome the Kyoto Protocol process, says climate
become a more palpable force, as and a moral premise to be effective, campaigner Nick Rau. “We identified
shoppers hesitate before opting for their argues comedian and activist Mark Esso as the most active anti-Kyoto
usual KitKats or Perrier. The question of Thomas, who has made two television company behind Bush. It’s hard to hit
boycotts and their effectiveness has programmes about Nestle’s practices. the company unless you target
been endlessly debated. “An individual has to both feel that they consumers,” Rau says. By last June a
There have been notable successes. will be making a difference by not Mori poll found that the campaign had
When Greenpeace called for a boycott buying or joining something, but also brought about a 7% drop in the
of Shell in June 1995 over the have a sense that they would actually number of regular petrol buyers who
company’s decision to dump the Brent think less of themselves if they did,” he said that they used Esso (in Britain),
Spar oil platform at the bottom of the says. “You can’t ever underestimate the while 47% claimed they would join the
Atlantic, sales plummeted by 70% in ability of consumers to annoy boycott if they were asked to do so by
some countries, prompting a dramatic companies. No brand is invincible, and it environmental groups.
change of heart within days. does seriously affect their “The logic is that you don’t need to
During the 80s, growing international image to be seen to be in conflict.” have 100% success. Levels as low as
horror at the injustices of apartheid The rise of ethical consumerism has 5% can have an effect on a company’s
prompted a proliferation of boycott been a significant factor in how the profits. We are always hearing about
campaigns. Following an intensive push tactics of campaigners have changed, he public apathy, but the experience of our
from Britain’s National Union of adds. “We have come quite a long way campaigners at the pumps is that there
Students, for example, Barclays’ share of from saying, ‘Don’t buy that,’ to saying, is a high level of awareness and
the student market dropped 10% within ‘Here’s a fairly traded alternative.’” support, and that people do welcome
two years. The anti-apartheid movement Campaigners are becoming far more the opportunity to express themselves,”
insisted that a consumer buying South sophisticated, agrees Scott Clouder, Rau says.
African oranges or wine was as culpable research manager of Ethical Consumer
as a multinational investor, and became magazine. “Groups campaigning against The Guardian Weekly 12-1-2003, page 21
the first campaign to succeed in sweatshops, for example, are extremely

2
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 Giving power to the people
Level 3 | Advanced

3 Comprehension Check

1• Why has the revelation that Nestle is demanding a $6m payment from Ethiopia caused such outrage?
a• Because Nestle is a multi-national company.
b• Because Ethiopia is a desperately poor country.
c• Because shoppers are hesitant when buying Nestle products.

2• What happened when Greenpeace called for a boycott of Shell in 1995?

a• The company dumped the oil platform somewhere else.
b• Sales of Shell products in some countries fell by 70%.
c• Nothing.

3• What was the effect of the National Union of Students campaign against Barclays?
a• People began to connect their purchasing power with international politics.
b• People bought more oranges and wine.
c• Barclays’shares fell by 10%.

4• According to the text, why are companies annoyed by consumer boycotts?

a• Because their sales are affected.
b• Because their brands are not invincible.
c• Because their image is affected.

5• Why might a boycott of Nike or Gap products have a negative effect?

a• It might create unemployment in their shops.
b• Companies might improve conditions for their workers.
c• It might cause hardship for the people who work in sweatshops.

6• Why was Esso the subject of a boycott?

a• Because Esso was seen as the most active anti-Kyoto company.
b• Because it supports President Bush.
c• Because its products pollute the atmosphere.

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 Giving power to the people
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Find the Word

Find the words in the text that mean the following:

1• a serious lack of food that continues for a long time and causes many people to die
2• to choose something from a range of possibilities
3• to fall suddenly and very sharply
4• a sudden increase in number or amount
5• a principle or statement that you consider to be true and that you base other ideas and actions on
6• morally right
7• knowing and understanding a lot about a subject (eg culture, fashion, the modern world)
8• a way of expressing strong feelings that you would not normally express
9• an occasion when a lot of people are asked their opinions about something
10• a feeling of having no interest in or enthusiasm about anything

5 Collocations: Odd One Out

One word in each of the groups does not collocate with the head word. Which one?

1• ____________-ridden a• crime b• debt c• injustice d• disease

2• to call for ____________ a• a boycott b• an election c• an image d• an inquiry

3• to prompt ____________ a• a rethink b• a brand c• a boycott d• a change of heart

4• to generate ____________ a• income b• profits c• outrage d• effectiveness

6 Discussion
Make a list of the pros and cons of the kind of boycotts described in the article.
Do you think consumer boycotts are an effective means of protest?

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 ‘America wants to wage war on all of us’
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Key Terms

Match these terms with their meanings:

1. to take the pulse of a. a cruel and violent act

2. the aftermath b. to be the best example of something
3. an atrocity c. a violent attack
4. to boil down to d. to measure/ to gauge
5. an assault e. without the necessary resources
6. to embody f. the effects and results of something
7. ill-equipped g. very basic
8. to give rise to h. to cause
9. root and branch i. obviously and without shame
10. blatantly j. to be the main reason for something

‘America but dilapidated medieval city, the independence, dignity, the unity and

wants to
preoccupation with the two things that collective purpose of the greater Arab
seem most fateful for the future - the “nation” - which, after centuries of
Israeli-Palestinian struggle and US plans foreign conquest and control, the pan-

wage war for a possible war against Iraq - is

overwhelming.
Arabism of Nasser so triumphantly, if
defectively, embodied. Internally they are

on all of us’
“Bin Laden may have lost a lot of his ill-equipped to meet the external
appeal,” says Dia Rashwan, an expert challenge, racked as they are by all
on Islamist fundamentalism, “but that manner of social, economic, cultural and
Arabs see regime change not as doesn’t mean the US isn’t hated. It is, institutional
cure for political backwardness more than ever, and more now from an sicknesses. These, the US says, are the
but as new term for old enemy: Arab than an Islamic standpoint.” It is very conditions that gave rise to Bin
colonisation much darker for most Arabs than it Ladenism. Few Arab opinion-makers
might have appeared in the immediate would dispute it, or doubt their

T
here is no better place to take the aftermath of that apocalyptic atrocity in societies’ desperate need of root-and-
pulse of Arab and Muslim New York and Washington. One year on, branch reform, ushering in democracy,
sentiment than Cairo, hub of the it seems clearer to them in its human rights, accountability.
two great movements that swept the consequences. “For us”, says Muhammad Said, a
region in recent times, the pan-Arab As they see it, the US’s post-September columnist at Egypt’s leading newspaper,
secular nationalism of which President 11 “war on terror” now boils down to al-Ahram, “the West always preferred
Nasser was the champion, and the an assault on them. For in the Bush control to democracy. Now 90% of the
“political Islam” that began with universe of good versus evil, it is problem flows from the Arab-Israel
Nasserism’s failure and decline. essentially they, with Iran thrown in, conflict, that continuous reminder of our
Today, from the air-conditioned who are the evil ones. In the colonised past.” Never before, in Arab
thinktanks on the banks of the Nile to collision to come, the Arabs risk further eyes, has the US acted so blatantly in
the sweltering alleyways of the splendid blows to all those aspirations - favour of Israel. So the Arab world, says

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 ‘America wants to wage war on all of us’
Level 3 | Advanced

Said, now risks being “subjected to says Said, is to “terminate” the spawn terrorism through their misrule or
direct or indirect colonialism”. And the Palestinian question by war at the a general “culture” of religious
very “backwardness of the Arab order expense of the Arabs as a national extremism.
makes the pursuit of such imperial group. With the overthrow of Saddam, If Arabs really believed that, in removing
designs possible”. For Arab societies are the US hopes to make this richly Saddam, the US were bent on
seen as “incapable of modernising on endowed country the linchpin of a promoting a democratic order in his
their own, thus providing a natural whole new pro-American geopolitical place, they would be readier to join the
gateway to colonisation”. order. Witnessing such a demonstration Iraqi opposition in tolerating such a war
Such neo-colonialism involves “regime of US will and power other regimes at least. But they don’t.
change” by force for those the US would have to bend to US purposes or “The US may be preparing a big
deems beyond the pale, and the suffer the same fate, be they such surprise for the region,” warns Lebanese
imposition of reforms, from the school traditional, “terrorist-sponsoring” commentator Saad Mehio, “but the
curriculum to their position on Palestine, opponents such as Syria, or traditional Middle East may be preparing an
on those who remain within it. The idea, friends, such as Saudi Arabia, held to equally big one for the Americans.”
The Guardian Weekly 12-9-2002, page 7

2 Comprehension
Choose the best answer for each of these questions:

Why is Cairo the best place to test the mood of Arab and Muslim public opinion?
because it is a pan-Arab city
because it embodies both pan-Arab nationalism and political Islam
because it is the centre of the Arab world

For people in Cairo the Israeli-Palestinian struggle and the possible war against Iraq are
not really important
a topic of conversation
an everyday concern

The USA is
hated less than before September 11th
hated to the same degree as before September 11th
hated even more than it was before September 11th

For many Arabs, the “war on terror” is:

a war against Osama bin Laden
a war against Egypt
a war on all Arabs

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 ‘America wants to wage war on all of us’
Level 3 | Advanced

Why are they ill-equipped to meet the external challenge?

because they have a range of social, economic and cultural problems
because they lack unity and collective purpose
because they support Bin Ladenism

What, according to the Egyptian journalist, Muhammed Said, is the main cause of the
problem?
the colonial past
Western control
the Arab-Israeli conflict

Why, according to Said, is the Arab world at risk of colonialism?

because the US acts in favour of Israel
because Arab societies are regarded as backward
because Arab societies are regarded as incapable of modernising on their own

What, according to Said, is the main goal of American policy in the region?
to make Iraq the centre of a new geopolitical order
to overthrow other Arab regimes
to impose reforms

3 Vocabulary Work
Fill the gaps using words or phrases from the text. They are in chronological order.

A ____________ is a group of people working together to produce ideas.

Very hot and humid weather can be described as ____________.
If something is ____________ , it is very old and in a very bad condition.
An ____________ feeling is a very, very strong one.
If something is described as ____________ , it suggests that the world will be destroyed.
Hopes for the future and things you wish to achieve are known as ____________ .
If someone is regarded as being outside civilised society, they can be described as ____________ .
The ____________ is the person or thing that is absolutely essential to a group, organisation, system or plan.

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 ‘America wants to wage war on all of us’
Level 3 | Advanced

4 Collocations
Which of the 3 words does NOT collocate with the verbs or adjectives from the text:

to meet
a• a fight b• a deadline c• a challenge
racked by
a• problems b• disease c• illness
to usher in
a• reforms b• new laws c• problems
to impose
a• reforms b• a position c• a new regime
to overthrow
a• a government b• a dictator c• a country
to promote
a• democracy b• efficiency c• opposition

5 Prepositions
Fill the gaps using an appropriate preposition:

Nasser was the champion ______ pan-Arab nationalism.

People are preoccupied ______ the Israeli-Palestinian question.
______ an Arab standpoint, the US is hated.
Many Arabs regard the “war on terror” as an attack ______ them.
A number of conditions gave rise ______ Bin Ladenism.
The West is said to prefer control ______ democracy.
Arab societies are said to be incapable ______ modernising.
The US may impose reforms ______ other nations.

6 Discussion Point
Do you agree with the opinion expressed in the article that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root cause
of resentment in the Arab world?

What are the solutions to the many problems of the Middle East?

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 A chance to save millions of lives by freeing up drug patents
Sarah Boseley
Level 3 | Advanced

1 Pre-reading | Vocabulary
Match the words from the text with their meanings below:

1• barrier a• completely; one hundred per cent

2• patent b• to try to influence people in authority on a particular subject
3• R&D c• something that causes a lot of harm
4• lock, stock and barrel d• something sold without a trademark; a copy
5• innovation e• an official document that gives an inventor the right to make
6• a generic drug (or other product) or sell an invention for a fixed period of time and prevents
7• scourge anyone else from doing so
8• to lobby f• most important; most basic; central
9• to entice g• the invention or use of new ideas, methods and equipment
10• core (adj) h• to persuade someone to do something, often by offering an
advantage or reward
i• short for research and development
j• something that prevents progress; an obstacle

2 What do you know about pharmaceuticals and patents?

Decide whether these statements are true or false:

1• Drugs exist which could keep millions of HIV sufferers in poor countries alive.
2• The patent system means that drugs are very cheap in poor countries.
3• Patents last for 10 years.
4• Patents mean that generic versions of drugs may not be produced in poor countries.
5• The pharmaceutical industry is opposed to any changes to the current system.

Now read the text and check your answers.

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 A chance to save millions of lives by freeing up drug patents
Sarah Boseley
Level 3 | Advanced

A chance to save system designed to protect technologies

and drugs in affluent northern countries
millions of lives by lock, stock and barrel to the poor
southern nations. Who has most to

freeing up drug patents gain? The commission says that Trips is

not always appropriate, and that poorer
countries should be allowed

E
very now and then something they guarantee -have insisted that the to set up levels of intellectual property
happens to make the most cynical patent system is the lifeblood of the protection that are right for them.
of us think that maybe this could industry. Without it there would be no Most important, there have to be ways
one day become a better world: that it’s R&D for new drugs. But last month a for poor countries with rampaging
not naive to believe there could be commission presented a report which disease - not just Aids, but malaria, TB
justice, fair play and equal life chances states loud and clear that patents can and others - to bypass patents. Not only
for rich and poor. be bad for poor countries. should they be allowed to make cheap
Most people will have missed what’s All sorts of things are remarkable about generic versions of patented drugs
happened because it is a “good news” this. On the commission on intellectual themselves, but they should also be
story, so the headlines were small. But property rights sat not only lawyers, permitted to buy generics made
the consequences could be large. It scientists and a bio-ethicist, but a senior elsewhere if they do not have the
could help save the lives of millions in director from the drug company Pfizer. capacity to make them at home. The
the poor countries of Africa and This person’s core involvement suggests commission is not preaching the
elsewhere who are at the moment that the radical road the report lays out overthrow of capitalism. It does not
under the death sentence of HIV would not do such serious harm to the want to cause damage to the
infection. Medicines could keep them industry. It could be argued that patents pharmaceutical industry. It says that
alive, but although those medicines do not necessarily encourage innovation patents are important and must be
have come down - even in the developed world. respected in wealthy countries, but that
in price dramatically, they are not low Sometimes they block scientists from they operate against the interests of the
enough for someone who can barely going down promising avenues of poor, who must be allowed a way out.
feed his or her family. One very research. Sometimes they force Of course, the industry does not agree.
important barrier to rock-bottom prices companies to fight each other in court, “Patents are essential if new medicines
is the patent system. For developing a wasting potentially millions of dollars. are to be developed to fight disease in
drug, the giant pharmaceutical Certainly they do not, and will not, both the developed and developing
companies are rewarded with 20 years’ entice the drug companies to invent world,” responded the ABPI bluntly. No
protection, enabling them to recoup new medicines for diseases of poor doubt ministers are being lobbied. But
their costs through high prices and people; the report says the only way to the fact that the report even exists hints
substantial profits. Fair enough in the do that is to spend public money. that there may have been a shift in
moneyed, northern hemisphere. But At the heart of the patent issue is the thinking within government - a
fatal in the South. trade and intellectual property rights willingness to put humanity ahead of
For years the pharmaceutical companies (Trips) agreement of the World Trade the old cosiness with the drug giants.
and the governments of countries such Organisation, which is due to be ratified
as Britain and the United States - which by the poorest countries by 2006. The Guardian Weekly 3-10-2002, page 24
enjoy the taxes they pay and the jobs Effectively, Trips transfers a patent

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 A chance to save millions of lives by freeing up drug patents
Level 3 | Advanced Sarah Boseley

3 Comprehension Check
Choose the best answer according to the ideas expressed in the text:

1• The recent report from the commission on pharmaceutical patents:

a• concluded that the patent system should continue in its present form.
b• concluded that patents are bad for poor countries.
c• attacked the pharmaceutical industry.

2• The patent system means that poor countries:

a• are not allowed to produce drugs.
b• are not allowed to copy drugs.
c• cannot import drugs.

3• The pharmaceutical companies argue that patents are essential:

a• to increase their profits.
b• to guarantee more jobs.
c• to provide funds for R&D.

4• Some people believe that patents discourage innovation because

a• they waste millions of dollars.
b• they prevent companies from inventing new medicines for poor people.
c• they prevent scientists from following promising avenues of research.

5• The commission recommended that poor countries:

a• should be able to buy expensive drugs at cheaper prices.
b• should ignore patents.
c• should be allowed to produce and import generic drugs.

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 A chance to save millions of lives by freeing up drug patents
Sarah Boseley
Level 3 | Advanced

4
Find the word

1• Find three other words in the text that mean ‘rich’.

2• Find an adjective which means the opposite of ‘sky-high’.
3• Find an adverb which means the same as ‘hardly’.
4• Find a verb which means ‘to avoid dealing with someone or something’
5• Find a verb which means ‘to say what you are thinking or feeling in an indirect way’
6• Find a verb which means ‘to recover’ or ‘to get back’.
7• Find a verb which means ‘to make an agreement official by signing it’.
8• Find an adjective which means ‘deadly’ or ‘lethal’.

5 Collocations | Verb + Noun

Match these verbs from the text with the nouns they collocate with.

1• to recoup a• harm
2• to develop b• an agreement
3• to do c• losses
4• to waste d• disease
5• to ratify e• taxes
6• to fight f• lives
7• to save g• a new product
8• to pay h• money

6 Discussion
Make a list of the points for and against the use of pharmaceutical patents. Make one list from the point of
view of the pharmaceutical companies and the other from the point of view of the poor countries.
What, in your view, is the solution to the problem?

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Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:

fizzy complacent obesity auction stagnant

lukewarm frank leverage fad wane

1. If you give someone a ____________ answer to a question, it is honest

and direct.
2. A ____________ is something that is popular or fashionable for only a
short time.
3. If you are ____________ you are too confident and relaxed because
you think you can deal with something easily, even though this may not
be true.
4. ____________ is a condition in which someone is too fat in a way that
is dangerous for their health.
5. A ____________ drink has gas bubbles in it.
6. When something ____________ it becomes smaller, weaker or less
important.
7. An ____________ is a public sale when things are sold to the person
who offers the most money for them.
8. ____________ means not hot or cold enough to be enjoyable.
9. ____________ means the power to make someone do what you want.
10. If something is ____________ it is not growing or developing.

1. Which company is currently more valuable – Pepsi or Coca Cola?

2. What are Pepsi and Coca Cola made of?
3. Which of the two companies produces Tropicana fruit juices?
4. Which of the two companies produces Gatorade sports drinks?
5. What is Aquafina?
6. Which company has a bigger share of the sports drink market in the
US – Pepsi or Coca Cola?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
The fizzy drink of choice at PepsiCo on December 12 was more likely to have
been champagne than cola. By the end of trading on Wall Street that day, the
company's market capitalisation reached $98.4bn - while the market valued
rival Coca-Cola at $97.9bn. For the first time in the history of the two
companies, PepsiCo was valued more highly than its old arch enemy. It was
chiefly a symbolic shift, but what a symbol - and one that persisted over
ensuing days. The "real thing" is suddenly second-best.

The battle for supremacy between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo is one of the great
rivalries in business. The two firms remain the number one case study for
marketing students on how to create a powerful brand around something as
humble as brown carbonated water laced with caffeine and vegetable
extracts. More recently they have become case studies for another reason:
PepsiCo for its ability to spot consumer trends and adapt its business to a
changing climate; Coca-Cola for failing to do the same, perhaps complacent
due to its long history as the number one best-selling drink in the world.

In early 2000 Coca-Cola's market capitalisation was about $128bn, almost

three times that of PepsiCo, which was valued at $44bn. Fizzy drinks sales at
both companies are flat in developed markets. The crucial factor in the
differing fortunes of the two has been PepsiCo's diversification away from
sugary carbonated drinks and the realisation that
consumers were worrying more and more about obesity and health.

In 1998 the company acquired the fruit juice business Tropicana. Three years
later it won an auction for Quaker Oats, paying $14bn and adding the energy
drink Gatorade to its portfolio. Coca-Cola pulled out of the bidding after its
independent directors expressed concerns about the high price. That proved
a poor decision. Today PepsiCo has about 81% of the fast-growing sports
drink market in the US. It has the number one fruit juice brand in Tropicana
and the leading bottled water brand in the US, Aquafina. In the most recent
quarter sales of PepsiCo's non-carbonated drinks grew by 24%.

PepsiCo generates about 23% of its worldwide profits from the near-stagnant
carbonated drinks sector while Coca-Cola relies on its fizzy drinks for 85% of
profits. PepsiCo owns snack foods including Walkers Crisps and Doritos, and
its diverse range of products, analysts note, is helping it to gain leverage with
supermarket chains.

Coca-Cola is playing catch-up. In June it launched its Minute Maid pure juice
range in Britain. It has also introduced the Dasani bottled water brand and the
Powerade energy drink. Powerade is about one-fifth as big as Gatorade in the
US. When Coca-Cola did eventually launch its bottled water brand in Britain, it
met first with derision when the press realised it was distilled tap water and

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
then horror as it was pulled from shelves in a health scare.

PepsiCo shares have risen 14% the past year while Coca-Cola's fell 1.2%.
Coca-Cola's problems appear to have begun with the death in 1997 of the
highly regarded chief executive Roberto Goizueta. The company
subsequently suffered from under-investment, heavy job cuts and
management upheaval. In May 2004 the company hired its third chief
executive since Mr Goizueta's death, persuading the Irishman Neville Isdell to
come out of retirement. Mr Isdell's appointment received a lukewarm
reception on Wall Street. At 60 and a company veteran, he was not seen as
the new blood or the agent for change that Coca-Cola needed.

Shortly after he joined, Mr Isdell was frank about Coca-Cola's mistakes. He

sharply reduced the company's long-term profit and sales targets, and
admitted there were "no quick fixes". The company, he said, had missed
consumer trends and under-performed since 1997. There had been an
absence of "brand-building iconic advertising". He promised an additional
$400m for marketing and promised to address emerging markets such as
China and India more energetically. The company has committed more funds
to product innovation. He has since shaken up management, including the
departure of marketing and retail chiefs, and got rid of poorly performing
brands including a vanilla
variant of Coke and lemon and lime versions of Diet Coke. The most
spectacular disaster was the launch of C2, a low carbohydrate version of
Coke, which came on the market as the fad for low-carb diets was beginning
to wane.

Mr Isdell appears to have made some progress and analysts have begun to
express a cautious optimism. The company has posted improving profits over
the past four quarters. Third-quarter earnings were up 37% to $1.28bn, chiefly
on the back of double-digit volume growth in developing markets such as
China, Russia and Latin America.
PepsiCo meanwhile continues to press home its advantage. The company
says it is focusing its research and development efforts on healthier products
including Tropicana fruit bars and a carbonated version of the brand.

Choose the answer that best reflects the sense of the text:

1. Coca Cola has been overtaken by Pepsi because

a. Pepsi has a new chief executive
b. Pepsi has diversified its product range
c. Pepsi has had a large growth in sales in China, Russia and Latin

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
 America

2. The fizzy drinks market is

a. booming
b. declining
c. not moving much

3. Coca Cola makes most of its profits from

a. fruit juices
b. bottled water
c. fizzy drinks

4. Dasani was withdrawn from the market because

a. there was a health scare
b. it was distilled tap water
c. the press criticised it

5. Coca Cola has begun to recover because of

a. optimism on Wall Street
b. new products
c. growth in developing markets

Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand
column:

1. acquire a. funds
2. express b. a new product
3. launch c. targets
4. make d. a business
5. generate e. leverage
6. commit f. profits
7. reduce g. progress
8. gain h. concern/optimism

Find the phrases in the text that mean the following:

1. a fight to become more powerful than a rival

2. biggest or worst enemy

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com
 3. the most important element or reason
4. large numbers of redundancies
5. trying to make as much progress as a rival or competitor
6. easily recognised advertising that brings a large rise in sales of a
product

Which of these expressions from the text are used to describe Pepsi and
which are used to describe Coca Cola?

1. poorly performing
2. adapting its business to a changing climate
3. relying on fizzy drinks for 85% of its profits
4. suffered from under-investment
5. committing more funds to product innovation
6. focussing its research and development efforts on healthier products

Which company has a higher profile in your country? Why? What do

you think each company should do to improve its position?

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Taken from the Magazine section in www.onestopenglish.com