The U.S. Customs Service. Grammar: Passive Voice

Exercise 1. Read the text using the dictionary and making notes. Make up a list of essential words and phrases from the text.

PART I

Since the 1960s, Customs officers have faced the almost overwhelming task of fighting the influx of opium, heroin, cocaine, hashish, marijuana, and amphetamines into the United States. A unique tool in Customs' drug fight is its force of drug detector dogs, their trainers, and the Customs officers who work with these canine detectors.

First used on a wide scale in 1970, Customs narcotic detector dogs save countless man-hours in locating narcotics in vehicles, mail, unaccompanied baggage, and on cargo ships. A dog and his handler can check 500 packages in 30 minutes; it would take a Customs mail examiner several days to inspect as many. At border ports, a dog can inspect a vehicle in about two minutes; the same search by a Customs inspector would take at least 20 minutes.

The seizure of contraband and the continuing efforts to eliminate illegal traffic in narcotics and other drugs are some of the more dramatic episodes in Customs Service history. Today these tasks are made easier by the use of modern technologies and by improved equipment.

Customs fleet of specially fitted interdiction aircraft pursues would-be smugglers to remote landing spots in difficult terrain. Science and analytical research assist Customs officers in their efforts to stop illegal and fraudulent activities. The Customs Service maintains numerous laboratories, where sophisticated equipment analyzes certain imports to determine their appropriate classification.

Computer technology has also increased and accelerated Customs' ability to perform surveillance and enforcement missions and has enhanced its role as registrar of statistics vital to U.S. trade, commerce, and security. In 1969 the Treasury Enforcement Communications Systems (TECS) was introduced to help Customs perform instant checks on suspicious travelers, vessels, aircraft, and importers, and to expedite the processing of law-abiding travelers.

Vocabulary Notes

to face the task стоять перед выполнением задачи

influx приток, наплыв

to use on a wide scale широко использовать

man-hours трудозатраты в человеко-часах

fleet парк (транспортных средств)

interdiction запрещение, препятствование незаконной деятельности

difficult terrain труднопроходимая местность

surveillance наблюдение, контроль

registrar of statistics регистратор статистических данных

Exercise 2. Explain the meaning of the following words used in the text: overwhelming task; canine detectors; to use on a wide scale; to save countless man-hours; a dog handler; mail examiner; to eliminate illegal traffic; dramatic episodes in the history; would-be smugglers; to stop illegal and fraudulent activities; sophisticated equipment; surveillance and enforcement missions; vitalstatistics; law-abiding travelers.

Exercise 3.Make up questions to Part I and ask your fellow students to answer them.

Exercise 4. Scan Part I of the text and make a statement of 5-8 sentences summarizing the contents of it.

Exercise 5. Turn the following sentences into the active voice. Where no agent is mentioned one must be supplied.

1. The first canines were trained to detect and respond to marijuana and hashish.

2. The same dogs could be trained to detect the additional odors of heroin and cocaine.

3. The toy was hidden and when the dog found it, the handler rewarded the dog with lots of praise.

4. At first, beagles were selected as the breed of choice.

5. Canines had been used by the military as sentry dogs and also on the battlefield for a variety of uses.

6. Today a wide range of materials is used as the reward in the training process.

7. The shipments were targeted by the CBP Commercial Targeting andAnalysis Center (CTAC).

8. Thanks to the personnel of the CTAC, no harm was caused by the unsafe imported products.

9. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

10. The document reading kiosks are positioned before the primary inspection booth and can scan the entry document of a traveler before arrival at the inspection station.

11. Customs special agents are recognized as being among the finest criminal investigators in the world.

12. To accomplish the goals of the Center, the participating government agencies have been developed.

Exercise 6. Translate the following paragraphs twice: yourself and with the aid of any computer translation system. Which translation do you like best? Discuss the details with another student.

TECS is the updated and modified version of the former Treasury Enforcement Communications System. It is an information-sharing platform, which allows users to access different databases that may be maintained on the platform or accessed through the platform, and the name of a system of records that include temporary and permanent enforcement, inspection, and operational records relevant to the anti-terrorism and law enforcement mission of CBP and numerous other federal agencies that it supports. TECS not only provides a platform for interaction between these databases and defined TECS users, but also serves as a data repository to support law enforcement “lookouts”, border screening, and reporting for CBP’s primary and secondary inspection processes.

As part of their mission responsibilities, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents may enter free-form text reports based upon their observations and interactions with the public at the border. CBP officers and Border Patrol agents create MOIRs (Memoranda of Information Received), when using TECS, to document an observation relating to an encounter with a traveler, a memorable event, or noteworthy item of information particularly when they observe behavior that may be indicative of intelligence gathering or preoperational planning related to terrorism, criminal, or other illicit intention.