I. Problems of the Modern World
Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees international human rights. The United Nations General Assembly passed this document in 1948.
International concern for human rights has been evident outside the United Nations. The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which met in Helsinki in 1973-75, produced the Helsinki Final Act. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which first met in 1950, produced the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Social Charter; the Ninth Pan-American Conference of 1948 adopted the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man; and the Organization of African Unity in 1981 adopted the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. There are also a number of private groups involved in human-rights advocacy. One of the best-known international human rights agencies is Amnesty International (founded in 1961). This organization is responsible for broadcasting violations of human rights, especially freedoms of speech and religion and the right of political dissent.
The right to life and liberty are the basic human rights. They are proclaimed in the Covenant on Civil and Political rights and its optional protocol. One of the most vital rights granted in this Covenant is the right of people to self-determination. This document guarantees such rights as personal security, equality before the law, fair trial, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, right to marry, participation in public affairs and elections, and minority rights. Propaganda of war is prohibited. The right to security and privacy of person is very important too. The document insures fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Social guarantees of people are set forth in the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural life. This document deals with the right to work, the conditions of work, trade unions, social security, protection of the family, standards of living and health, education and cultural life. The European Commission of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights provided the most effective means for the implementation of the protection of human rights. The efforts of government in this area should be guided by these two Covenants.
Now, when Russia has entered the way of democracy it is directed by the international covenants in the field of human rights as the rest democratic countries of the world. Despite its great economic, political, and social difficulties the fundamental rights of the people are guaranteed by the Russian government. The protection of human rights is secured by the Russian constitution. Such human rights as freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, right to marry, participation in public affairs and elections are guaranteed and embodied in different political, cultural, and social institutions, religious confessions, secular organizations, in a variety of mass media productions.
Topical Vocabulary
the United Nations General Assembly – Генеральная Ассамблея ООН
evident – очевидный
the International Covenant –международное соглашение
the Charter – хартия, устав
dissent – разногласие, расхождение во взглядах
the violations of human rights – нарушения прав человека
proclaim – провозгласить
grant – разрешать, допускать. предоставлять
self-determination – самоопределение
equality before the law – равенство перед законом
fair trial – справедливый суд
freedom of opinion and expression – свобода слова
participation in public affairs – участие в общественных делах
minority rights – права меньшинств
prohibit – запрещать
set forth – излагать
deal with – иметь дело с чем-либо
provide - обеспечить
implementation – выполнение, обеспечение
embody – осуществлять, реализовать, воплощать
confession - вероисповедание
secular – мирской, светский
Answer the questions:
1. What document guarantees international human rights?
2. What international organizations are responsible for protecting human rights?
3. What are the basic human rights?
4. Do people have any social guarantees?
5.What can you say about the human rights in Russia?
6. What document is the protection of human rights secured in Russia by?
Problems of the Youth
Youth is a very important period in the life of man. This is the time when a person discovers the world and tries to determine the place in the universe. Young people face lots of problems which are very important for them and do not differ much from those that once their parents had to deal with. At the same time every generation is unique. It differs from the one that preceded it in its experience, ideals and a system of values. The adults always say that the young are not what they were. These words are repeated from generation to generation. To some extent they are true, because every new generation grows up quicker, enjoys more freedom. It is better educated and benefits from the results of the technological progress of the time.
Young people of today do not directly accept the standards of their parents who believe that they are right because they are elder. The adults don't want their values to be questioned. The young on the other hand can not accept the values of their «fathers». All these differences generate a generation gap when the young and adult do not understand one another. As a rule the adults, dissatisfied with their own lives, teach the young how to live. Unfortunately, the adults apply old standards to the new way of life. They can not leave behind their «good old days». This burden is very heavy. They think that the world is going down hill. They gloomily look ahead unable to understand the optimism of their children who want to pave their own way in life. The majority of the young people do not want to live in the past. They have their own ideals. They want to make their own mistakes rather than to listen to the warnings of the adults and repeat the mistakes of the elder generation. They want to overcome their own difficulties without looking back. However, the life of the young is frequently determined by the adults. I think that parents will never understand their children. And children, in their turn, shock their parents with their dress, language, behaviour. The existence of sub-culture which is specific for every generation is a form of protest of the young people against the values of the adults. Thus, informal groups such as Hippies, Rockers, Bikers, Skinheads, Punks, Goths, and Acid House appeared as a kind of protest against the values and lifestyles of the elder people.
Traditionally, young people were looking at their elders for guidance. Today the situation is different. Sometimes the young people share information and experience with their parents. I think that it is not bad, especially when the adults really try to understand what is going on in the lives of their children. Moreover, young people grow up so quickly that they almost do not have time to enjoy their childhood.
Another problem that young people face today concerns their relationship with their friends. As far as friendship is concerned, I think that a person can and should have a lot of friends. He/she can be on good terms with the classmates. But at the same time there can be only two or three real friends. I believe that real friends will never betray each other. They will always understand and help each other. I agree that tolerance is the pledge of friendship. It is wonderful if a school friend will remain your friend for the rest of your life. But in this case everything depends on the person. The problem of love is very important for young people. Today they fall in love when they reach the age of Romeo and Juliet. Romanticism and idealism very often accompany the love of the young. They can love deeply and passionately, they believe that their love will last forever. Unfortunately, often their hearts are broken!" Young people are not always ready to have stable relations. In many cases they are too young and inexperienced to begin a family life. They have to continue their education, while family obligations will force them to make money. At the same time without good education it is not easy to find a good job.
Communication has always been an important part of young people's lives. Today they can choose between traditional and new ways of communication. Traditionally the young meet after classes with their school friends, make parties, go to the movies or disco clubs to have fun, relax and acquire new friends. But if the young people do not like noisy clubs and other places of entertainment, they can find friends without leaving their homes — the Internet gives such an opportunity. Although this international Web Wide Web is intended for getting knowledge, only few users employ it in this way. Others use different computer programs to chat with their friends from all over the globe. They can sit for twenty four hours staring at the monitors. Such young people do not eat, sleep, work or learn properly. Their parents think that they are doing nothing, but this is not absolutely correct. They only thing many young people are interested in is navigating through the net and checking their e-mail boxes. And it is a great problem of the present and future! In general all the problems of the youth are linked with the present rather than with the past or future.
Topical Vocabulary
determine - определить
universe - вселенная
generation - поколение
unique - уникальное
experience - опыт
adult - взрослый
accept - принимать
value - ценность
question - ставить под сомнение
generate - порождать
generation gap - разрыв между поколениями
burden - тяжесть
gloomy - мрачный
pave one's own way - проложить собственный путь
warning - предупреждение
overcome - преодолеть
behaviour - поведение
guidance - руководство
concern – касаться
leisure centers — центры отдыха
stretching - растягивание
jogging - бег трусцой
promote - способствовать развитию
avoid - избегать
swimming pool - плавательный бассейн
tropical plants - тропические растения
faster - быстрее
moderate physical activity - умеренная физическая активность
protect - защитить
heart disease - болезнь сердца
improve general health - улучшить общее самочувствие
benefit - получит выгоду
cycling - езда на велосипеде
bring people close - объединить людей
roller-skating - катание на роликовых коньках
overweight - лишний вес
give up smoking - бросить курить
ban – запретить
Answer the questions:
1. Do your parents like music?
2. Do you often quarrel with your parents?
3. Do you think that a generation gap can be bridged?
4. Do you think that people can live without problems?
5. What problems do you have?
Environmental Potection
Environmental protection is one of the main problems of today. Industrial civilization is characterized by numerous factories and power stations, automobiles and airplanes. Technological progress improves people's lives, but at the same time it causes numerous problems that were unimaginable in the past centuries. Through their daily activities people pollute and contaminate land, water and air. Today pollution has become a universal problem. Both the atmosphere of the Earth and the depths of the oceans are poisoned with toxic wastes created by the humans. Millions of species — animals, birds, fish have already disappeared from our planet; thousands of others will be gone tomorrow. Natural resources are exhausted; the ecology of the planet is disbalanced. The survival of our civilization depends on the ability of mankind to find a way out. The task of protecting the nature is of primary importance now.
Big cities face the environmental catastrophe. Concentration of millions of people on a tiny area causes numerous problems. Some of them can be solved only at the expense of creating new ones. For example, air pollution is caused by the ever-increasing number of automobiles that help to cope with the transportation problem. The need for energy generates pollution on a large scale. Energy that derives from fossil fuels contaminates the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants threaten air, water and land. The necessity to employ all the inhabitants of the city leads to the creation of new factories that produce not only consumer goods, but wastes and smog as well. Constant carbon dioxide emissions is a characteristic feature of big cities. Pollution of water by both industrial and domestic users creates the problem of water deficit. One form of pollution that is characteristic of large urban cities is noise that has destructive influence on a person's mind. Litter is another issue that people face in big cities. As a result of it big industrial centers today look more like garbage dumps.
It would be naive to think that the environmental problems are limited to big cities only. Our Earth is a living entity; land, air and water are inseparable. Water contaminated in big cities runs to the major rivers that then flow into oceans and seas, thus affecting places far from the point of origin. The atmosphere is in constant movement; the air polluted in the United States can travel the next day to Russia poisoning our people.
Another source of global danger is acid rain. It is a relatively new kind of pollution. Acid rains appeared as a reaction of the atmosphere to the air contamination. Acid rains damage water, forest, and soil resources. Acid rains cause the disappearance of fish from many lakes, bring death to the forests and woods in Europe and America. One more danger comes from the depletion of the ozone layer, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. If it continues it will damage all living organisms on our planet.
The only thing that people fail to realize is that humanity is also part of the biosphere and that people depend completely on the environment. The war on nature that mankind is waging today is a kind of collective suicide. People pollute the air that they breathe, poison the water that they drink. The most evident example of such suicidal tendencies is smoking. Smoking not only harms the health of the smoker, but also is destructive for others. That is why many countries passed laws to restrict smoking in public and at work.
Beginning with the 1960s the pollution problems have received great publicity. Recently the environmental movement has gained widespread support. Environmental activists, organizations of volunteers do their best to stop pollution of our planet. Due to such groups many laws aimed at environmental protection have been passed. Such laws as the Clean Air Act, Water Pollution Control Act, Endangered Species Act led to considerable specific improvements in the environment. Numerous chemicals, fertilizers and gases that were once used in agriculture and industry are banned today. Standards for food have become strict, because agricultural chemicals, used for growing crops, may poison people and end up in food and water supply. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters.
Greenpeace organization was created in 1987. This organization carries out numerous campaigns against the global environmental pollution. The protection of natural resources and wild animals is becoming a political program in every country.
Public attention to the problem of pollution has now become part of the contemporary life. The solution of this global problem requires the cooperation of all nations. People also worry about the dangers resulting from massive releases of radioactive materials from nuclear weapons, which, if used on a major scale, could seriously endanger the humanity. Another concern is accidents at nuclear power plants. In 1978 a nuclear power plant in the United States suffered a severe accident leading to radioactive contamination of water and atmosphere. In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev suffered a fire and a serious breakdown that led to a radioactive explosion. The contaminated air was soon carried to northern and eastern European countries that suffered radioactive rains.
To protect nature people should change their attitude to it. Man should stop taking from nature everything he needs and give it his love instead. Otherwise the price that mankind will have to pay will be too high. It is good that at last people started to realize that they should keep air and water clean by establishing strict pollution control. Efforts are made to reduce pollution from automobile engines by developing pollution-free engines, which may eventually eliminate the more serious air pollution problems. Certain countries have already agreed to limit their carbon dioxide emissions.
Topical Vocabulary
environmental protection – защита окружающей среды
pollute – загрязнять
contaminate – загрязнять, портить, осквернять
poison - отравлять
disappear – исчезать
exhaust - истощать
survival - выживание
depend on – зависеть от
to find a way out – найти выход
face – сталкиваться
cause – быть причиной
threaten – грозить, угрожать
have destructive influence - иметь разрушительное влияние
restrict smoking in public – ограничить курение в общественных местах
purifying systems – очистительные сооружения
install - устанавливать
endanger – подвергать опасности
ban – запрещать
contemporary life – современная жизнь
solution – решение
require - требовать
attitude – отношение
reduce – уменьшать, сокращать
carbon dioxide emissions – выбросы углекислого газа
Answer the questions:
1. Why do some species of animals and plants disappear from the Earth?
2. What can you say about global warming?
3. What caused the «greenhouse effect»?
4. Has anything been done to solve ecological problems?
5. What will happen if nothing is done to protect the environment?
Advantages and Disadvantages of TV
Television is one of the greatest achievements of the 20-th century. It is the most popular part of mass media. Today every family has a TV-set. TV has changed much since the time of its invention and so has its role. There have been numerous debates concerning advantages and disadvantages of television. When TV first appeared its main purpose was to give official information to people. It was supported by the government. Now television plays a big role in every civilized society. Today television gives people a possibility to be well informed and enjoy «civilized pleasures». The programs are various and people have a chance to select what they want to see. Television provides great opportunities for education. There are programs devoted to specialized subjects. With the help of TV it is possible to learn foreign languages, to know a lot of wonderful things concerning the world flora and fauna. TV teaches the ideals of democracy and political argument. Watching television can be compared with reading books. It provides an outlet for creative talents. By the beginning of the 21st century TV became a colored world network. Numerous programs people can receive by satellite or cable. The choice of the channels ranges from six to twenty. These channels show programs of various kinds from documentaries, current events and sports to programs American films and science fiction cartoons. Now this medium of communication allows people to see and speak with each other if they are separated by thousands of kilometers. TV bridges between Russia and the USA once were very popular. They showed that TV was a unifying force and that our planet in reality is a small world. Previously innovations were promoted on TV. TV shocked, surprised and stimulated. It brought ballet, opera, and theatre to big masses of people. It was even in the vanguard of new drama. Moreover, TV can keep children quiet. If they are noisy their mothers turn on the set. If people do not like TV they do not buy it or switch it off.
At the same time there are a lot of arguments against TV. It is said that only three generations have grown up with television, but they managed to forget how to spend their free time without television. Its role is increasing not because it is an entertainer or informant, but because of the grip it has on many people. It is called a «living room monster» or «one-eyed monster.» It is established that the biggest viewers are pensioners and housewives. The latter watch TV while their husbands are at work. In total they spend five hours daily sitting before the «boxes». Children watch commercials, horror films or films of violence. TV prevents children from creating their abilities. They get accustomed to TV to such an extent that they watch it all the time. To force their children away from their favourite evening programs to their homework has eventually become the main problem of the parents of different countries.
Moreover, TV is damaging for health. It has bad effect on the eyes, particularly of children. The physicians proved that if children do not watch TV their eyesight improves. But if children do not watch TV they find themselves without anything to talk about at school, where comedians and singing stars are major topics during breaks between classes. The same is true about some adults. Sometimes TV programs become the topics of common interest of the people and without them they have nothing to talk about.
Nowadays some people in our country watch television programs from about six in the morning to the early hours of the next day. It means that contemporary people for various reasons depend upon television. They watch everything from news and sports reports to dramas, educational and entertainment programs. Today some people become TV addicts and feel — unhappy if they fail to find another way of passing leisure time. Free time is regulated by television. TV occupies our free time. Instead of going to the theatre or reading books people watch TV. People rush home, gulp food to be in time to watch their favourite programs. Very often programs are bad, as TV cannot keep pace with demand. People have stopped reading books and depend on TV pictures. Spoken words become more important that the written ones. TV cuts people from the real world. The virtual world becomes more important. TV is absolutely irrelevant to real living. No surprise that television is often called «chewing gum for men's brains». People become lazy, instead of doing sports they watch TV. Television takes free time of the people. Instead of joining a choir or playing football or reading books people watch various programs. Dinnertime is often pressed by television if it is not in the kitchen. If people are deprived for various reasons of watching their favourite programs they feel inconvenience. The best thing is to watch only selective TV programs and not to be governed by them. Only few people today can live without television. It should be said that television continues to play an important part in the human life despite increasing influence of the Internet, video games and other high-technology sources of information.
Topical Vocabulary
invention - изобретение
numerous debates - многочисленные споры
purpose - цель
various - разнообразный
provide - предоставлять
outlet - выход
science fiction cartoons - научно-фантастическая мультипликация
separate - разделять
previously - ранее
viewers - телезрители
housewife - домохозяйка
horror film - фильм ужасов
depend upon - зависеть
damaging for health - вреден для здоровья
choir - хор
inconvenience - неудобство
science fiction serials - научно-фантастические сериалы
European Football Cup - Чемпионат Европы по футболу
«soap opera» - мыльная опера = сериал
extraordinary circumstances - необычные обстоятельства
attractive - привлекательный
unpredictable - непредсказуемый
substitute - заменить
cameraman - оператор
Answer the questions:
1. Do you like to watch TV?
2. What programs do members of your family like to watch?
3. What kind of TV is most popular today?
4. What influence on the health does TV have?
5. What is your favourite program?
