A) Find the words in the text that mean:

to cause to explode, a disease which is widespread, stupid or unnecessary mistakes, sacrificial death, trying to escape or hide, a difficult/unpleasant situation, weak.

B) Discuss the following points:

1. What does Dr. Searle predict could happen in the next five years?

2. What illusions does he feel America has today? Are there any you would add to the mentioned in the text?

3. The author` s prescription includes both actions and attitudes. What are they?

X.  Read the text and tell what cyberterrorism is. Is cyber­terrorism the same as haching? How do cyberattacks work? What other form of terrorism are you aware of?

BRITAIN FACES THREAT FROM CYBER-TERRORISTS

Britain faces a growing threat of an electronic attack by terrorists linked to Al-Qaida that could paralyse key public services, including electricity and water supplies, the Government’s adviser on computer security has told the Guardian.

For terrorist groups like Al-Qaida with limited resources, it would be “a very attractive method” of attack, that would cause “huge damage”, said Stephen Cummings, who is director of the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre. The unit is working with the intelligence services to gather information about the electronic capabilities of terror groups.

It was set up three years ago to alert government agencies and companies to threats to computer networks, and protect what it calls Britain’s Critical National Infrastructure or CNI.

The CNI includes those parts of the country’s infrastructure “for which continuity is so important to national life that loss, significant disruption, or degradation of service would have life-threatening, serious economic, or other grave consequences for the community”. It includes telecommunications, energy, finance, transport, central government, water, health and emergency services.

Terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, are aware of the potentially devastating effect of such electronic attacks, which would be hard to trace, according to Mr. Cummings.

Newspapers in the United States this summer reported that signs of Al-Qaida’s skills in cyberspace prompted officials to conclude that terrorists were at the threshold of using the internet as a weapon to kill – by taking control of floodgates in a dam, for example.

However, Mr. Cummings stressed that terror groups did not yet have the capability to mount such attacks. Much more likely and more common would be further attacks on individual websites using a virus through hacking. But he said that while the threat of an attack that would knock out a critical public service or power source was lower than attacks on websites, it was increasing.

(By Richard Norton-Taylor From Guardian Weekly)

A) Find a proper Russian equivalent:

1. He has a disruptive influence on other students.

2. Tension mounted as we waited for the decision.

3. The old lady mounted the stairs with difficulty.

4. The dead insect was mounted on a card by means of transport services.

5. The debt continued to mount up.

6. We didn't meet in San-Francisco – we met in cyberspace.

7. They've started a campaign to alert the public to the dangers of smoking.