Мгимо 2005
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Lead-in1 a Discuss the following questions.
• surgeon • airline pilot • construction worker • school bus driver • football manager • newspaper reporter • solicitor • war correspondent • investment consultant • army officer Surgeons have quite high social status; however, they are under a lot of stress, which is caused by the responsibility they bear, since the lives of their patients are in their hands. b What do the following proverbs imply? Do you agree with them?
2 Complete each sentence with one of the words or phrases given. • tossed • daredevil • playing chicken • lucky charm • peril • accept the consequences • thrill • life and limb • drew straws • claims • challenge • endangered • death toll • risk • hazardous • jeopardy • take a chance
3 Explain the following words and phrases and answer the questions: • play chicken • toss a coin • sheer folly • routine • heedless • lull • notwithstanding
4 Complete the text using the words and phrases given. • warning • chances • run • heedless • foreseen • safety-conscious • odds • security • hazardous • numbed • precautions • sheer folly • relatively • mistaken belief • charmed life • peace of mind • safety records Taking Risks Statistics prove that the ............................ (1) of having a serious accident in your own home or car are .............................. (2) high. However, people's perception of the risks they ........................... (3) while engaged in everyday activities is quite low, and this often leads to inexplicable acts of ..............................(4). 'Familiarity breeds contempt', as the saying goes. People have been known to search for a gas leak using a candle for illumination, for example, or to hold their babies on their laps in the front seat of cars, instead of securing them safely in the rear seat, in the ........................... (5) that they can protect them in the event of a collision. The familiarity of the surroundings lulls people into a false sense of ….................. (6), often to such an extent that they do not allow even obvious danger signals to disturb their ........................... (7).'I never thought it would happen to me,' is the refrain of those surprised by dangers that could have been ........................... (8) and avoided. However, when it comes to travel by air or train, people are often extremely anxious about the potential dangers, despite the fact that airlines and railways have excellent ........................... (9), notwithstanding the occasional spectacular crash. The fixed routines necessary for the safe operation of transport systems carry their own dangers, however. It can happen that drivers and pilots, their brains ........................... (10) by the monotony of repetitive tasks, fail to take notice of .......................... (11) lights and signals. Occasionally, someone, so .............................. (12) of his own safety, so desperate for thrills, or so convinced that he bears a(n) ............................ (13), will play such deadly games as Russian Roulette, in which even if the .......................... (14) are six to one, the consequences can be fatal. Such games, whether prompted by bravado or a sort of death wish, cannot be compared with unavoidably ......................... (15) activities such as mountain-climbing and deep-sea diving where taking .............................. (16), not risks, is uppermost in the minds of the participants. The main danger to us all lies in the unexpected accidents of everyday life and it is therefore essential to be alert and .......................... (17) while at home or work. a. Answer the following questions:
6 Discuss the following questions:
THEME ONE Driving into Danger Motorcycle races (known as TT – Tourist Trophy – races) are held annually on the ordinary roads of the Isle of Man, an island situated between England and Ireland. 7 Before reading the text discuss the following questions.
Death Race The 1977 TT was freaky. No one was killed. The organisers and supporters were jubilant: you see, they said, it's not really dangerous at all, and those who say otherwise are just spoilsports who don't understand the freedom of the individual. In 1978 five were killed, which came close to the record, and last year two more died, which was about average. The Isle of Man TT is as blood-stained as any sporting event this side of the Roman circus. No one, evidently, has bothered to keep an account of the lives claimed by the two annual events held on the course, but it is probably very little short of two hundred. The cases of permanent brain damage, paralysis, and the loss of the use of arms, eyes and legs will amount to several hundred more. Notwithstanding its self-induced obscurity, the public is aware, by now, that the TT is dangerous and probably that it is more dangerous than most other racing events. What it does not know is that the TT is merely the extreme expression of an approach so to safety that at times is little short of anarchic. Already this year, perhaps two dozen people have died in motor-cycle sport around the world. Not because it is inherently dangerous (which certainly it is) but because the participants are exposed to insane levels of unnecessary danger. Furthermore, the rules governing medical provision are astoundingly inadequate. What has happened in motorcycle racing, for complex historical and psychological reasons, is that power and responsibility have been almost entirely polarised between riders and organisers. The riders, in spite of repeated and strenuous and indeed rebellious attempts to acquire power, have been firmly repressed and find that if they ride at all, they ride on the organisers' terms. On the other hand, they are assumed, since they take part of their own free will in a dangerous sport, to bear all the consequences of their actions. It is out of this that the anarchy arises. When men and women die, there is no visible investigation, no recrimination, no attempt to apportion blame, or to effect compensation, even when there has been self-evident neglect on the part of the organisers (except in Italy, where the laws of criminal negligence apply). This is so in spite of the fact that large sums of money are made out of motor-cycle racing, and perhaps, indeed, because of it. A recent incident illustrates the way this moral side-step works. It concerns a quiet Geordie side-car racer, Mac Hobson, and his young passenger, Kenny Birch. During TT practice week in 1978, the word spread quickly that a bump at the top of Bray Hill was causing a lot of excitement. Solos were shaking as they hit it, but side-cars, which have a natural tendency to turn around their side-car wheels, were going sideways, skating and slithering down the road at maybe 130 meters per hour. Everyone knows what happens when a motor cycle changes direction at the bottom of Bray Hill at 150 m.p.h.; but it was something new to have such antics at the top. The bump was a new pipeline, complete with manhole cover, which had been laid by the Manx authorities during the previous winter. The inspection committee of the Auto-Cycle Union (the governing body of British motor-cycle sport, as well as the organiser of the TT) had seen the bump and asked for its removal. Come practice week, it was still there; practice began. The ACU worried about the bump. They drew a yellow circle round the manhole, and a long yellow line back towards the oncoming racing traffic. They issued a circular, drawing attention to the new hazard. Side-cars, by that time, were slowing down for no the bump and avoiding the manhole cover. Then came the race. Hobson and Birch headed for the bump for the first time under racing conditions. Under full acceleration, at a peak of adrenalin, they had probably forgotten all about it. There was no slowing down and no room to avoid it. When their outfit left the ground, it turned in the air, bounced on the road, turned again and smashed into a garden wall. Seconds later, Ernst Trachsel, a Swiss competitor, flew through the wreckage. At the bottom of the hill, he too crashed and died. The race was not stopped, even for the purpose of hosing down the road. The press officer soon arrived to announce that there had been an accident, that the ACU would not issue a statement since they didn't know enough about it, but that it definitely had nothing to do with the bump in the road. Advised to produce a statement forthwith, he came back with the ACU's comment that they were sorry about Mac Hobson, Kenny Birch, and Ernst Trachsel, but that what happened was "part and parcel of a speed sport'. Not even the supporters of the event had expected such callousness. Someone had built a bump into the most critical point on the TT course and a disgusting fatal accident had ensued. But there was no blame, no recrimination, certainly no compensation. The responsibility was assumed to be entirely Hobson's. They have an expression for this: “The throttle goes both ways,” they say, and: 'Nobody made him race.' Perhaps the most striking thing about the TT is that we allow it to take place at all. It does not seem entirely compatible with the standards of a civilised community. An Italian journalist recently put it harshly, but fairly, as follows: 'The British are hard to understand. They care about animals and the preservation of endangered species. They hate bullfights because they are uncivilised, but they tolerate the TT. Let me say that it seems to me that the only difference between the TT and a bullfight is that nobody cuts off the ears of fallen riders and presents them to the clerk of the course.' Barry Coleman, The Guardian 8 Find English equivalents to the following word combinations. • взять на себя труд и подсчитать • унести жизнь • около двухсот жизней • сознательное нежелание видеть и понимать реальность • почти анархический подход • правила, определяющие условия медицинской помощи • с другой стороны • по собственному желанию • поделить вину • выплатить компенсацию • со стороны организаторов • недавнее происшествие • сделать заявление • не иметь отношения к чему-либо • неотъемлемая часть • не соответствовать нормам общества 9 Find a word or phrase in the text, in context, is similar in meaning to: Paragraph 1 • strange and unusual • overjoyed • people who ruin others’ enjoyment Paragraph 2 • taken the trouble • nearly Paragraph 3 • despite • only • without order • astonishingly Paragraph 4 • energetic • kept down Paragraph 5 • mutual accusations Paragraph 6 • sliding out of control • fun and games Paragraph 9 • immediately • cruel insensitivity Paragraph 10 • remarkable • severely 10 Answer the following questions:
11 Summarise in 100-120 words the writer’s general criticisms of motor-cycle racing. THEME TWO All Part of the Job 12 Before reading the text discuss the following questions.
Hazard at Work I was nearly killed on Boxing Day. My job nearly got me killed. To start with, it was not a serious incident: one car off the road and 5 two very shocked but not terribly injured passengers. I was giving assistance that is my job: rural GPs are often called out to traffic accidents because they can sometimes get there first and often help the ambulance crews prepare patients for a long journey to hospital. The next car down the road changed it all. I saw it coming and had time to think: surely it will stop. I remember the noise as it hit me. No pain at this stage. I was tossed across the road and scrambled up on to the verge. Straightaway I knew that my leg was broken. Well, that's my job too. Still no pain. I didn't want to die, that was my foremost thought. I didn't want to die here on the roadside, so I worried about bleeding to death, about internal injuries or an unsuspected head injury. I waited for the signs of shock and tried not to pass out. The scene was now full of shouting and crying. No one seemed to notice me. The village bobby arrived on cue. Sure my leg was broken, but I wasn't going to die. Now it hurt. 'Burn out' sums up how anyone in a caring profession can end up responding to chronic job-related stress by loss of concern and complete withdrawal from their work. GPs are not immune. Well, I suffered a ‘flash out’. Nothing chronic about this stress. Suddenly, lying there on the roadside with a smashed-up leg, it didn't seem worth it any more. That was three months ago. I'm still only mobile with crutches. The practice has carried on without me - which is how it should be, for no one is indispensable in a good system. I don't need to be a doctor for a while. My patients kindly showed their concern and wished me well while they took their problems to the locum. Because I have spent nearly nine years working often in excess of a hundred hours a week, everyone assumes my enforced idleness to be a heavy burden. It isn't. I'm more concerned that I'm not missing my work and that I'm certainly not bored. Does this mean that I don't need to be the doctor permanently? I know why I like being a GP. I live in a good place and I work for myself. I'm responsible only to my patients, myself and my partner. It is probably useful. It involves practising a set of skills that could never be perfected and so is always a challenge. My staff and local colleagues are good company. It pays well. I get home for lunch every day. The more nebulous rewards, so the sort of things many non-doctors think we do it for - like being in a position to 'help people' - tend to be counter-balanced by the reasons I don't like the job. I get used. I have to try to help with problems that should never have come my way, to which the solutions are invariably political and not medical. I cannot prescribe jobs or better houses or better relationships. I can try to be supportive, but just a few patients can create a mountain of hassles. I'm sometimes over-committed and frequently over-tired. Stress is an everyday problem. My job nearly got me killed. Three days after I was admitted to hospital my wife went into a different hospital and had our second baby. It is impossible for me to express how unhappy my unforeseen absence made me. I couldn't decide whether to blame the accident (but accidents happen) or my job (but no job is without risk) or just to assume no blame. Well, the balance remains tipped. Despite the apparent no usefulness of being a GP and the satisfaction it gives me, I have discovered that the only certain reason I do it is for my family. Along with paying the mortgage, it allows us to live how and where we like. Everyone in a caring profession knows that if they do not ration their caring they can end up emotionally and intellectually burnt out. They separate themselves from their families by giving too much. I suppose I'm still bitter because there are few precautions I could take to avoid the way I was almost permanently separated from my family - and at such an important time. My resolve has been questioned. Do I need to be a doctor? The jury is still out. Stephen Singleton, The Guardian 13 Find Russian equivalents to the following word-combinations: • вызывать на дорожные происшествия • потерять сознание • появиться как раз вовремя • передвигаться на костылях • быть незаменимым • работать свыше ста часов в неделю • стараться поддерживать людей • я не принял еще окончательного решения 14 Explain the meaning of these words and phrases from the text. • Boxing Day • rural GPs • The village bobby arrived on cue • “burn out” • “flash out” • the locum • the more nebulous rewards • I get used • a mountain of hassles • the balance remained tipped • paying the mortgage • the jury is still out 15 Answer the following questions:
16 Summarise in 100-150 words the rewards and losses in a caring profession. THEME THREE High Risk 17 Before reading the text discuss the following questions.
Are We Gamblers? We all take risks every day of our lives. Driving to work, catching an aeroplane, even crossing the road. These sorts of risk are qualified by actuaries and covered by insurance policies. The insurance company, working on the past record of many hundreds of thousands of instances, calculates the probability of a particular accident befalling the individual seeking cover and sets the premium for the policy accordingly, plus a healthy margin to take care of its operating costs and profits. Exactly as the casinos do. But whereas most prudent people would take out an insurance policy, as a basic part of their game-plan for living, gamblers choose to take a wholly unnecessary and avoidable risk. Seeking risk for its own sake, as a diversion. Part of the attraction, I feel sure, is the physical sensations offered. Consider simply the case of someone like you or me, planning to spend a night out at the casino. First comes the pleasure of anticipation, thinking through the day about going out to gamble; then perhaps comes the agreeable social pleasure of making arrangements to meet friends, other gamblers; not forgetting the important point of ensuring that you have the money to gamble. That may well be a nervous-making element, especially if you can't really afford it, or can't afford to lose; then comes the physical sensation, the pitter-patter of excitement as you walk through the doors of the casino, the sight and sound of action in the gambling-rooms ... twitches of nervous tension ... finally the see-saw sensations of each coup, one after the other in rapid succession, as the wheel spins or the dice roll or the cards fall; the exhilaration of winning and the depression of losing. The same sequence of sensations applies to any other kind of bet, or, for that matter, an investment in the stock market. Currency speculation, which I have tried, is much the best for round-the-clock action: as soon as the market in London closes, the dealing starts up in New York, and then moves to the Far East, and so back to London again. All bets are essentially the same, it is the time scale that's different. However this amalgam of sensations, of anticipation, excitement and resolution, may be described, the impact is in the body, physical. Such feelings are not limited to gamblers. The same sort of sensations, I suppose, are felt by glider pilots, racing drivers, deep-sea divers, to name but three (operating as it were above, on and below the level of everyday living). The difference is in the pay-off: the thrill of trusting to the wind, speed around the track, piercing the darkness of deep water. When you come to think about it, almost all human activities carry an emotional charge, in varying degrees - the actor going on stage, the politician at a public meeting, the salesman trying to close a deal. In this sense gamblers are not so different. The emotional charge is a common experience, known colloquially as 'getting the adrenalin going'. There is one key difference, though, which distinguishes the activity of gambling from gliding, racing, diving and all the other things that people do when they are enjoying themselves. In all these activities, the pilot, driver, swimmer, or whoever, has trained or practised or worked out the right and the wrong way of doing it, has been taught and tested at some length how to perform and has, in sum, established that he or she is in a position to carry through the action successfully. There may be accidents - freak winds, oil on the track, oxygen failure - but the chances are very strongly in their favour. In gambling it is exactly the opposite! The odds are against the player and everyone knows it. The risk is worse than fifty-fifty. Gamblers who manage to get a fifty-fifty break count themselves lucky! After all, you cannot win at gambling in the long run, and that is the basic truth and the basic point about it. The very point that makes the motive for gambling such a mystery. Put it this way: suppose you're walking down the street and you meet some fellow who offers to toss a coin with you, heads or tails: the only snag is, when you lose you pay a dollar, when you win, you get paid only 99 cents. You wouldn't do it, would you? You'd be out of your mind to do it. But that is what happens, exactly what happens, when you bet in a casino. I do it, you do it, and everybody does it. That is how the casinos make their huge profits. So why gamble? The reasons are as many and various as the stars in the sky. I prefer to take the question the other way round. Why do some people not gamble? It's such a widespread trait of human conduct that it might be considered abnormal not to do it. The thought is not new. Gaming in all its forms - casinos, horse-racing, lotteries, card-games - is simply too large an industry to be based on services catering for a deviant sub-group of the population. As the great gambler and early student of probability, Geronimo Cardano (c. 1530) observed, 'Even if gambling were altogether an evil, still on account of the very large number of people who play, it would seem to be a natural evil.' Easy Money by David Spanier 18 Explain the meanings of these words and phrases from the text. • sets the premium • a healthy margin • game plan for living • pitter-patter of excitement • twitches of nervous tension • sea-saw sensations • coup • exhilaration • amalgam • contention 19 Read the text and answer the following questions.
20 In the introduction to his book the writer says: “Gambling is a deeply-rooted human instinct, as strong as hunger, thirst or sex. As such, it is my contention that Gambling is Good for you.” Do you agree with him? Can you think of arguments against his point of view? Put down your ideas in 150-200 words. LANGUAGE FOCUS Asking and Promising Discretion 21 Below are boxes which contain useful language for asking and promising discretion.
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