A new employment campaign by the disability charity Scope is putting workplace attitudes to disabled people under the spotlight.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 899.

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Narrative essay

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Memo

ADue to the aggravated criminal situation in your area, the Police Department has asked you to write a short memo for children and their parents on how to secure themselves against danger.

1. Introduction

In one paragraph, give reasons for the Police Department's appeal and justify urgent measures in regard of increasing vigilance.

2. Body

In this part, you should consider the following points:

• suspicious objects and people;

• talking to strangers in the street;

• places for play;

• answering telephone calls;

• strangers ringing your door-bell;

• way to school;

• what to do if you are in trouble etc.

3. Conclusion

Thank for reading the memo, and say how to contact for further information.

B Re-tell, in English, a story of revenge. You can either tell a story that is well known in your country or write from your own experience.

1. Provide all the relevant details, and present them in an order that makes the most impact on the reader.

2. Elaborate the character and behaviour of the people involved.

3. Pay attention to the pace of the story and keep your readers interested by maintaining this.

4. Devote considerable time to planning the final paragraph so that you bring out the moral or key point of the story.

Literary approaches

What is the moral of the fable given below?

What is easier to build: fences or bridges? Why?

THE CARPENTER Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work" he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence – an 8-foot fence – so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you." The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge – a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work handrails and all – and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched. "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done." The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother. "I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have many more bridges to build." Each one of us is a carpenter so to speak. Some of us are busy building fences... and some of us are busy building bridges. It takes almost the same tools and materials to build a bridge as it does to build a bridge in someone's life. So, how will you spend your time... building fences... or being the blessed one that builds and provides the bridges in others lives, bringing them together, allowing them to have their hurts healed. I hope that you choose to wisely invest the majority of your time building and providing bridges for your friends... for your family...and for yourself. Oh, it is hard and sometimes even thankless work... but work that needs to be done nevertheless. Start building that next bridge......NOW..!!!!!!

Follow-up

A Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage with one suitable word.

B Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence printed before it.

C Fill each of the blanks with a suitable word or phrase.

D For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence, but using the word given. The word must not be altered in any way.

E Chose the word or phrase (A, B, C OR D) which best completes each sentence.

1. The failure of people to have feelings of fatigue as a consequence of physiological …………… is characteristic of some forms of hypoxia, which can be brought on in several ways.

A disorder B impairment

C loss D disability

2. To rehabilitate and resettle the ……………, either for return to work or for home employment, it is essential to assess their ability to work.

A disabled B ill

C sick D diseased

3. Kohls said the biggest …………… to reduced airfares in Cincinnati is a lack of competition.

A move B step

C direction D hindrance

4. About 7 percent of American military forces are …………… of women.

A consist B comprised

C included D occupied

5. The board of directors has been …………… on the question of pay increases for the workers.

A fudging B avoiding

C evading D dodging

6. The government may have to step ……… to settle the disagreement between the union and the employers.

A on B at

C into D in

7. Many Americans were …………… by the overwhelming use of governmental force, which they feared might be a first step to absolute power.

A attracted B appealed

C appalled D abscond

8. You can go on explaining till you're …………… in the face, you won't make him understand; it's a waste of time trying to explain things to him.

A pale B blue

C red D blow

9. She wrote numerous letters of condolence to …………… families during World War II and later devoted herself to several charities.

A bewildered B grieved

C bereaved D betrayed

10. Each society can be expected to …………… those who put their own interests too far ahead of the interests of the group.

A revile B rival

C rave D revive

11. The ……………of a Buddhist monk in May 1994 symbolized the deepening conflict between the Vietnamese government and the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.

A self-affirmation B self-assertion

C self-destruction D self-immolation

12. Mother is in the garden, …………… off the dead roses.

A laying B clipping

C raising D snipping

13. How can we seek ………… a really good person for the job?

A out B off

C into D around

14. A California highway patrolman pulled ………… a speeding car on the crowded freeway.

A over B up

C round D down

15. How many students have ……………… for this course?

A signed B enrolled

C applied D joined

Translation practice

A translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

B Read the article below and render it into English.

Зависть

Зависть – это “ядовитая” черта характера, она появляется тогда, когда человек хочет иметь что-то, что есть у другого. Это может быть и успех, и любовь, и благосостояние. Зависти подвержены все люди. Каждый из нас хотя бы раз в жизни завидовал кому-нибудь из окружающих. Если уколы зависти редки и не отражаются на близких, они полезны.

Но если человек завидует постоянно, то вызывает в себе чувство обиды и неудовлетворенности, желание побудить окружающих иметь то же, что есть у него. Зависть вызывает отрицательные реакции, как физические, так и духовные. Физические проявления – это удары, которые часто остаются незамеченными (подножки, дергание за волосы и т. д.). Так в большинстве случаев поступают дети, подростки. У взрослых удары другие. Зависть толкает их на непристойное поведение, они начинают грубить, сплетничать, “подсиживать” того, кому завидуют.

Конечно, нет в жизни более прекрасного чувства, чем радость победы, и более горького, чем поражение. У нас начинается депрессия, мы выплескиваем свое недовольство судьбой на близких и любимых, мы уверяем себя, что события, происходящие в нашей жизни, несправедливы. А взгляд на победителей усиливает негативизм, недовольство. Благодаря таким действиям, человек скоро превращается в завистливого неудачника. Окружающие чувствуют себя рядом неловко, боясь задеть больное место. Завидующий похож на одержимого, который действует открыто или замаскированно. Он начинает критиковать “победителя”, находя в нем недостатки и смакуя их.

Не поддавайтесь чувству зависти. Старайтесь подавить ее. Это возможно, если вы будете стараться доброжелательно относиться к людям. Порадуйтесь за победителя, это поможет вам вдохновить себя на удачу. Не пытайтесь ему “насолить” – это вернется к вам бумерангом. Если вы верите в себя и честны сами с собой, то, скорее всего, вы найдете причину зависти и убедите себя, что она не стоит ссоры с друзьями. Английские психологи советуют избавиться от зависти, радуя себя покупкой или хорошей прогулкой. Также можно отвлечься от объекта зависти, так как установлено, что люди, которые занимаются интересным делом, редко завидуют.

Несколько способов поведения для улучшения взаимоотношений с другими людьми.

1. Снимите напряжение. В основе этого метода лежит контроль над своим физическим состоянием. Несколько раз вздохните глубоко и посчитайте до десяти. Хорошо, если вы будете смотреть на часы. Этот способ помогает избавиться от раздражения, что дает возможность не нагрубить начальнику или спокойно поговорить с женой. Также он восстанавливает дикцию, если вы волнуетесь.

2. Юмор — это хороший способ улучшить свои отношения с окружающими. Если вас не принимают в коллектив и посмеиваются над вашими физическими или духовными недостатками, попробуйте пошутить над собой или тем человеком, кто является подстрекателем в сложившейся ситуации. Но шутка не должна быть злой, язвительной.

Психологи считают, что тот человек, который шутит над своими недостатками, избегает шуток над собой. “Любят тех, кто смеется над самим собой”. Если вам с ходу сложно придумать смешную фразу, заведите записную книжку и имейте в запасе несколько хороших шуток.

3. Этот способ можно определить одним словом: “Забыть”. Забывая свои неприятности, вы набираетесь новых сил для работы и общения. Никому не нравится общаться с человеком, который озабочен своими проблемами, постоянно ходит с усталым видом, никогда не улыбается. Скажите себе: “Я себя люблю. Я способен забыть, не думать о неприятностях”. Повторяйте это чаще.

4. Для того чтобы улучшить отношения с окружающими, не теряйте самообладания, не выходите из себя. Следует успокоиться, все время улыбаться и говорить мягким, дружелюбным тоном. Этот способ творит чудеса. Даже “злой” начальник смягчается при таком обращении.

5. Английские психологи советуют пользоваться способом “Фантазирование”. Если вы раздражены и хотите освободиться от своего негативизма, представьте, что вы делаете что-то своему обидчику, от чего ему становится плохо (бьете его, плюете ему в суп и т. д.).

Это никогда не сбудется, но напряжение пройдет, и вам будет легче общаться с обидчиком. Нарисуйте своего обидчика, а потом порвите рисунок. Сожгите фото. Все эти действия освобождают положительную энергию.

Dean Thomas is special, part of a very select group – he is a British world champion. But unlike other British sporting heroes, Dean is not popular on the after-dinner circuit. His name graces no letterheads. He is not asked to sit on advisory committees. He does not run motivational courses. The sport he plays is boccia, and in June the 31-year-old led the UK team to victory at the world championships in Portugal. Boccia is like bowls – but it is only played competitively by disabled people.

Dean has cerebral palsy. He is a wheelchair user with a severe speech impairment. And he says he cannot get a job. Dean left his last employment, as a sports development officer for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, in February. He had just been through a divorce and found himself having to re-locate. After moving to Nottingham, Dean applied for three jobs – two related to disability access or information provision. He was not asked to attend a single interview.

Dean has had jobs, about six or seven – but they never last more than a couple of years. Even though he has usually been employed to work with other disabled people, a major problem is simply access to buildings and offices in a wheelchair. But that's not all – the real problems have been what he calls "attitudinal". "We always encounter individuals who just cannot deal with disability. People are uncomfortable in my presence. You can see it in their body language. They turn away or sit out of my range of vision. They never look me in the eyes. And they avoid asking me direct questions. It does not make it easy for you to communicate with them."

Dean is the first to admit communicating with him can be a painstaking process at the best of times. "In a meeting, with the conversation moving quite quickly, I do not stand a cat in Hell's chance of putting my point across. By the time I get myself heard the conversation has moved on." As you might expect from a world-beating champion, Dean has developed a strategy for coping. "I raise my hand and make all my points in one go – but it is not participating in the normal way."

A major part of Scope's new campaign is an online survey, to "identify and overcome barriers that prevent disabled people finding work". But while Dean welcomes the initiative, he cannot help sounding slightly sceptical. "Anything that raises awareness can only be a good thing – but you cannot help becoming blasé about another survey talking about something that should already be publicly acknowledged. You can go on raising awareness all you like – but you are not going to change attitudes if people are not prepared to change." Dean believes energies should be channelled into reforming a system that makes many disabled people unwilling to even look for work.

"Even if I am offered a job, before I can take it I have to apply for funding for equipment and to pay for a support worker to assist me. I have to recruit that support worker and I have to train them. And only then can I go into work on the first day feeling vaguely prepared. The welfare system does not help. It is a complete nightmare – so rigid it does not allow for any flexibility or acknowledge people's complexities. When you leave work like I did in February it can take months and months to get back all the benefits you were on before." And then there are the salaries. To cover all the "hidden costs" – prescriptions, transport, equipment – he receives benefit while unemployed, Dean needs to take home about £18,000 a year, which means a salary of £25,000. That's far above anything he could hope to earn in the kind of jobs he has worked in and applied for so far.

But, like any sporting champion, Dean is no quitter. This month, as well as starting courses in web design and accounting, he is embarking on a sports coach education programme. "I want to put my sporting experience to use," he explains. A better job is his aim – but an improvement in attitudes amongst other people is his real hope.

(By Stephen Hawkes)

B Answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think Dean's colleagues never look him in the eye?

2. Which strategies does Dean Thomas use to make himself heard and noticed?

3. What are the barriers that prevent disabled people finding work?

4. Which care and support do disabled people need?

5. Do you think the mentally handicapped should be returned to their families, or accommodated in neighbourhood hostels providing adequate support and supervision?

6. Are there any special facilities for disabled people in your area?

7. Do disabled people in Russia have any privileges or fringe benefits?

8. Do you ever feel uncomfortable in the presence of a disabled person?

C Discuss the following topics with the group:

“We are all just temporarily able-bodied. We don't know what can happen to any of us tomorrow.”

“The biggest enemy in society is a poor attitude ... enhanced by ignorance.”

“Public needs to change attitude to the disabled.”

Dishonest people

D Say whether the following statements are true or false according to the information given on the tape.

E How is theft punished in different cultures?

Can you think of any cases when theft could be justified?

Have you ever felt like stealing something from your friends, parents, or any other people?

Now read the article below and check if you can call yourself an honest person.