Flood and Drought

0__it___ 00 _-___ 1______ 2______ 3______ 4______ 5______ 6______ 7______ 8______ 9______ 10_____ 11_____ 12_____ 13_____ 14_____ 15_____

If the experts could not agree on it the reason for the worst floods of the century in northern Europe, they are no wiser about the drought which hit is taking place in the south. The people are looking

forward at the sky for the rain clouds which never come. A lot of people think it might be such a good idea if the planes do not fly over their areas so they do not frighten of the clouds away. In some areas the drought that has been going on for five long years. Swimming pools in resort areas lie empty because residents have not put up with daily water cuts of up to 16 hours. On the other hand, in the northern part of Europe, thousands of residents have been left without some homes and have had to stay in other people's homes. Many farmers have lost a lot of money because their crops

which were destroyed and could not be sold. Although some farmers tried to get back to their arms they were not allowed to by the police. Besides from the beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables were also so badly hit that nothing could have been saved. Everyone in both the northern and southern part of the continent will have be relieved when it is all over.

Exercise 8. Optional task. Develop your communication skills.

Different ways of emphasizing what you say. Study the expressions in the box.

A. - Could it wait till this afternoon?

- No, it can't. It's extremely important that you do it right away!

B. - Was it you who appointed the meeting of... with ... ?

- Yes, but how on earth was I to know that he would raise that question?

C. - He is a typical top executive!

- Oh, I don't know. He does seem to believe in what he's saying!

D. - They've been working for hours and look absolutely exhausted. Do you

think they need meals?

- Actually, what they need is a good rest.

Work in pairs. Compose your own short dialogues giving special emphasis to what you are saying. Use both additional words (in italics) and special stress (underlined words).

Chapter 4. Famine Key words and terms:

Famine Starvation To be prone Infection diseases Medical assistance Humanitarian Avert Wither Moderate Food aid

Shortage Death rate Unsanitary conditions Scarcity Compete Deteriorate Warfare Refugee Buying power Sap

Text 9. Famine and Food Aid

A famine is a severe shortage of food accompanied by a significant increase in the death rate. Famine is a clear signal that a society is either unable or unwilling to distribute food to all segments of its population. Two factors have been the immediate causes of famines in recent years - drought and warfare.

Drought is blamed for the famines in 1968 - 74 and again in 1984 - 85 in he Sahel region of West Africa. The Sahel is a broad belt of the Sahara Desert occupied by 50 million people. The region normally has enough rainfall to support dry grasslands or savannah ecosystems. The rainfall is seasonable and undependable, and it is prone to failure. Making matters worse, population increases in the region have led to unsound agricultural practices. The results were tragic: crops withered, watering places dried up, livestock died. Farmers began leaving their land and moving towards urban centres, where they were put into refugee camps. Unsanitary conditions in the camps and the already weakened condition of the refugees led to the spread of infectious diseases, and many thousands died before effective aid could be organised. The latest Sahelian famine is thought to have been responsible for 100,000 deaths.

Famines have continued to threaten African nations since the early 1990s: Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Chad, and Liberia. The common factor in these countries is war. Devastating and prolonged civil warfare has resulted in putting some 20 million people at risk of famine. In some areas the problem is made worse by persistent drought conditions. Governments in power maintain control over food and relief supplies; relief agencies operate under dangerous conditions and frequently experience casualties.

Famines from drought and war are clearly preventable, India, Kenya, and Brazil have coped effectively with droughts in recent years by mobilising effective relief in the form of food, clothing, and medical assistance. War, however, will undoubtedly continue to create severe hunger and famine conditions. The link between arms and hunger is a significant one. Direct military aid and the international sales of weapons have encouraged the continuation of military conflict in the Third World. Also, military spending competes with spending for human and environmental improvements in both rich and poor nations. And it is likely that international food aid will continue to be necessary.

What is the proper role of food aid? Clearly, aid is vitally important in saving lives where famine occurs. Numerous humanitarian efforts to end world hunger have been mounted in the last 50 years. A number of serious famines have been moderated or averted by these efforts. But on the other hand the food aid of industrial countries has done very much to sap the vitality of agriculture in developing countries. People will not pay more than they have to for food. Therefore, free or very cheap foreign food undercuts the local market. In effect, local farmers must compete economically with free or low-cost imported food. When they cannot earn profit, they stop producing and eventually enter the ranks of the poor. The cycle continues as people who sell goods to the farmer also suffer when the farmer loses buying power. In the long run, the entire local economy deteriorates. So, food aid will undoubtedly continue to be an international responsibility.

Exercise 1. Choose the correct ending to each sentence (according to the text).

1) The following factors have been the causes of famine:

a) rainfalls

b) increase of population

c) drought and wars

d) infection diseases

2) As a result of famine in the Sahel region

a) many thousands refugees died

b) local population started to use unsound agricultural practices

c) the effective aid could not be organized

d) farmers moved back from urban centres

3) Famines from drought and war

a) are almost unavoidable

b) cause the growth of international sales of weapons

c) are not affected by any relief agencies

d) are clearly preventable

4) The proper role of food aid is that

a) it increases the vitality of agriculture

b) several serious famines were made less severe

c) people started to pay more for food

d) farmers earn larger profit

Exercise 2. Match the words in column A with their definitions in column B.

A	B
1) famine 2) devastation 3) starvation 4) shortage 5) deteriorate 6) prone 7) compete 8) refugee	a) likely to suffer from something harmful b) suffering or death caused by lack of food c) to become worse d) try to be more successful e) damage to an area when most of it is destroyed f) someone who has been forced to leave their country g) lack, scarcity of something h) a situation in which many people have little or no food for a long time and die

Exercise 3. Find in the text the synonyms to the following words:

1) deficiency 5) illness

2) conflict 6) critical

3) decline 7) avoid

4) relief 8) revenue

Exercise 4. Match the words from column A with the words with opposite meaning from column B.

A	В
1) significant 2) undependable 3) wither 4) deteriorate 5) proper 6) cheap	a) thrive b) expensive c) meaningless d) wrong e) certain f) improve

Exercise 5. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. Засуха часто является причиной голода.

2. Голод может также быть результатом разрушительных военных действий.

3. Доставка гуманитарной помощи ослабляет возможность возникновения голода или полностью препятствует его возникновению.

Exercise 6. Optional task. Develop your communication skills.

Organising relief. Conducting meetings.

Meeting is the gathering together of a group of people for a controlled discussion with a specific purpose. A chair person is essential for every meeting. Study the main tasks that the chairperson needs to perform.

Meeting flowchart

Open the meeting

- invite introductions from participants (if necessary)

- explain the purpose of the meeting

- present the agenda

- discuss the ground rules (who speaks, when to speak, decision-making, etc.)

Move to the first point of the agenda

Hand over to another person

Bring people into the discussion

Ask for repetition and clarification

Paraphrase

Summarise

Move to the next point, etc.

Close the meeting

Study the expressions in the box.

I'm glad to see that you could all make it to this morning's meeting.

Shall we get started?

Today I'd like to look at our possibilities to organise the effective food aid ...

In today's session I'd like to consider ...

Let's start by looking at...

Mr. Brown, would you like to start? Ms. Watson, over to you,

What do the others think?

Can you explain what you mean by "..."?

Sorry, Mr. Black, but could you just go over those figures again, please?

So, in other words you suggest that we...

So, in short, you think that...?

Now let's have a look at what we've got so far.

Time is pressing. Can we move to the next point now?

Can we take item 5 now, please?

Well, I think that covers all today's business.

In groups role-play a meeting, following the flowchart. Choose the chairperson, which should rotate so that each person chairs at least one point of the agenda.

Agenda:

1) Review the results of the last study of the region suffered from the famine.

2) Measures to be taken to organise food relief to the region.

3) Costs and expenditures.

4) Participants and possible sponsorship of the process.

5) Transportation problems.