I. Read the text about the causes of ferry disasters in Bangladesh and make sure your suppositions were true.

20 February, 2005

The latest disasters involving ferries in Bangladesh have once again raised questions about the government's efforts to improve safety.

Thousands of ferries cross the country's rivers and waterways. But many lack basic safety standards. The vessels are in poor condition, are often overloaded and do not have passenger lists.

Sudden storms are common at certain times of year in Bangladesh. A fine day can within minutes turn into strong winds and thick, driving rain where visibility is reduced to only a few metres. Rivers can quickly become fast flowing whirlpools.

Such conditions are risky for overloaded and top-heavy ferries which all too frequently capsize, trapping many of their passengers inside.

The government says one of its top priorities is to improve safety and warn people of the dangers. Measures to be taken include modernising old ferries, extrachecks to ensure safety certificates are up to date and monitoring to prevent overloading.

But many people have no alternative other than to travel by boat. There is also a shortage of ferries, and not enough roads and bridges for people to travel by land.

Often there are no policemen or safety officials on the riverside to prevent ferry operators from overloading.

Vocabulary

safety	безопасность
failure	неудача, провал; недостаток, отсутствие чего-либо; неспособность
to raise	ставить (вопрос); поднимать
effort	усилие, попытка
to improve	улучшать
to lack	не хватать, недоставать
to turn into	превращаться в
driving	сильный, проливной (дождь)
whirlpool	водоворот
top-heavy	перевешивающий в верхней части; неустойчивый
to trap	ловить; задерживать
top priority	высший приоритет
measure	мера, мероприятие
extra	дополнительный
check	проверка
to ensure	убедиться
monitoring	контроль
shortage	нехватка, недостаток

II. Vocabulary Practice

1. Match the words from column A and column B similar in their meaning.

A	B
1. shortage	a) inspection
2. check	b) lack
3. effort	c) preference
4. priority	d) action
5. monitoring	e) attempt
6. measure	f) supervision

2. Match the words in column A with those in column B to form a phrase. Use them in the sentences of your own.

A	B
1. take	a) safety
2. improve	b) measures
3. raise	c) safety standards
4. lack	d) question
5. prevent	e) passengers
6. trap	f) overloading

3. Fill in the blanks with one of the words from the vocabulary.

1. Many ferries … basic safety standards. (be short of)

2. A fine day can within minutes … strong winds. (develop into)

3. Ferries often capsize, and passengers are … inside. (catch)

4. Top priority of the government is to … safety. (make better)

5. Measures to be taken include extra checks to … safety certificates are up to date. (make sure)

III. Speech Practice

Answer the questions to the text above.

1. What natural conditions contribute to ferry disasters in Bangladesh?

2. What is the state of ferries?

3. What measures will be taken by the government?

Text 2. Ferry sank in Indonesia

I. Read the text and give answers to the questions below.

1. What mishap occurred in Indonesia?

2. How many people did the boat carry?

3. How many of them survived?

4. What was the weather like when the accident happened?

5. What was the cause of the tragedy? Is it similar to that in Bangladesh?

December, 30, 2006

Bad weather has prevented rescue boats from leaving port on Thursday to search for dozens of people still fearedmissing after a ferry sank in heavy seas in eastern Indonesia.

Navy warships on Wednesday picked up 116 survivors who spent a night in the ocean after their ship had broken apart in heavy seas.

One of them died before he could get to a hospital.

Estimates on the number of people missing ranged from 20 to around 50.

There was a big problem in finding out[10] how many people were on the boat because many people boarded at the last minute.

The ferry was travelling from Kupang port on the western side of Timor Island to Rote Island late on Tuesday when it reported being battered by waves as high as 3 meters (10 feet). It tried to return to port, but sank soon after.

Accidents at sea are common in Indonesia, a vast archipelago where boat travel is the only way to reach many islands.

Safety measures are poorly enforced, and a lot of craft lack enough life jackets and other safety equipment.

Vocabulary

dozen	дюжина
to fear	ожидать, опасаться
to pick up	поднимать, подбирать
survivor	оставшийся в живых, уцелевший
to break apart	развалиться на части
estimate	оценка
to range	колебаться в пределах
to batter	сильно бить
vast	громадный
safety measures	меры безопасности
to enforce	проводить в жизнь
craft	судно; суда

II. Vocabulary Practice

1. Match thewords in column A with those in column B to form collocations and translate them into Russian.

A	B
	measures
	equipment
	jacket (vest)
	harness
life	boat
safety	raft
	helmet
	certificate
	belt
	buoy
	bag
	rails

2.Find an odd word.

a) pick up, rise, recover, raise, lift;

b) hit, list, strike, batter, beat;

c) enforce, confirm, put in force, carry out;

d) huge, extensive, massive, vast, expensive.

3. Fill in the blanks with one of the words from the vocabulary.

1. Some survivors were … by warships. (raise)

2. Number of people missing … from 20 to 50. (vary)

3. The ferry was … by huge waves. (strike)

4. A lot of … are short of proper life saving appliances. (ships)

5. Safety measures are badly … . (carry out)

III. Grammar Review

1. Find in the text the sentences with the Gerund. Translate them into Russian.

2. Rephrase the following sentences:

1.	Bad weather has prevented rescue boats from leaving port.
	Rescue boats couldn't … because of…
2.	There was a big problem in finding out how many people were on the boat.
	The number of people on the boat couldn't…
3.	The ferry reported being battered by waves.
	The ferry reported that…
4.	The ship tried to return to port, but sank soon after.
	The ship sank before… (use the Gerund)

IV. Speech Practice

Describe the accident. Make a special mention of its causes.

Group work

Three texts below are about the same accident but comprise different information which is somewhat confusing. Each student has to read one text. Exchange the information. Work in groups of three. When discussing the point use the following conversational formulas:

Perhaps you are right, but on the other hand…	Возможно, ты и прав, но с другой стороны…
I am all adrift about…	Я сбит с толку, я в полной растерянности относительно…
I am totally confused.	Я совсем запутался.