Medals for large families

On 1st June, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, announced a plan to encourage Russian families to have more children.

Demographers are people who study populations. They predict how populations of different countries will increase or decrease in the future.

Demographers in Russia have been warning the government that the country's population is decreasing*. The current population of Russia is around 142 million people. The demographers estimate if nothing is done to stop the decrease, the number of people living in the country may go to about 110 million within 40 years.

To make his announcement, Mr Medvedev held a special ceremony at the Kremlin, in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Many families with four or more children were invited to the event. Some families had as many as 11 children. President Medvedev awarded each family a special medal called the 'Order of Parental Glory'. The medal showed a golden two-headed eagle — the symbol of Russia.

During his speech President Medvedev thanked the couples for having large families. He said they were a good example to other Russians. The ceremony was shown live.

The size of a country's population is important to governments. Countries need enough people of the right age to work in companies' offices and factories. If there are not enough workers, it can be difficult for the economy to grow. Older people who are retired are often supported by the government. Some of the money for this support comes from the taxes workers pay. If there are fewer workers, the government collects less money in taxes.

Russian men now live for an average of 60 years. This is much lower than in other European countries. Experts agree there are several reasons for this including AIDS, drinking too much alcohol, poverty and pollution.

The Russian government has also started to give families money for having a second child. Those who are awarded the new 'Order of Parental Glory' medal are given a cash payment of 50,000 roubles.

2. The author says what changes demographers predict. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3.What are the reasons that make people live shorter lives? 4.Why is a country's population important to its government?

№43

1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

a jammer

устройство радиоэлектронного подавления

to claim

заявлять, утверждать

to disrupt

нарушать, мешать

Mobile phone protest

Students in a school in Canada walked out of lessons to protest about the action of their headteacher. They said the headteacher had broken the law and violated their rights.

The headteacher had installed a mobile phone jammer* within the school. The jammer stops signals from reaching mobile phones, so it stopped all the students' mobile phones from working.

Teachers at the school claim* that students using mobile phones in lessons especially for texting — has become a major problem. In 2007 the school banned students from taking phones into the classroom.

But teachers say they were each still having to confiscate two or three phones a day because students were ignoring the rule and texting in class. The teachers say this was very annoying because it was disrupting* lessons.

It took two days for pupils to work out that a jammer was the reason thei phones weren't working. A group of the students used the internet to find out about the use of mobile phone jammers. They found a reference to a law ca the Canada Radiocommunications Act. This law says it's illegal to use air device that blocks people's mobile phone signals. The students then held a protest rally against the use of the jammer. As soo~ as the headteacher learnt it was illegal, he switched the jamming device off. H said he was impressed by the way the pupils had done their research into t1 Radiocommunications Act.

Mobile phones in school classrooms cause a lot of arguments. Many studen say it is their right to have them wherever they want. Some parents say the_ want to be able to contact their children. But many teachers say they can't teacii lessons when there are so many disruptions from using mobile phones. Not all teachers think mobile phones should be banned, though. Many say th best action would be to educate students on when it's appropriate to use mobiL phones.

2. The author says that mobile phones in classroom can lead to disturbance at the lesson. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3. What made the headteacher switch off the mobile phone jammer?

4. Why did the headteacher decide to install the jammer?

№43

1.Read the review and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Pride and Pregudice

«Гордость и предубеждение»

a clergyman

священник

to rebel

протестовать, оказывать сопротивление