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; vital statistics; 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 and Analysis 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.

Exercise 7. Make a summary of the above text in 5-7 short sentences using verbs in the passive forms.

Here’s the beginning: TECS platform is used to access different databases.

Exercise 8. Watch some YouTube videos or others about dogs inspecting passengers and vehicles at border ports. Make notes and be ready to discuss the advantages of this unique tool in Customs' drug fight.

Exercise 9. Read Part II of the text using the dictionary and making notes.

PART II

Eleven days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office oversaw and coordinated a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks.

With the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department. On March 1, 2003, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began its operations, unifying 22 agencies within a single department with a common mission: to safeguard America and integrate the Nation’s capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats and disasters of all kinds.

Employees from the U.S Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service came together to create the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which established CBP, required the agency to maintain the same level of effort in the traditional customs, immigration and agricultural areas. This included seizing illegal drugs and other contraband, determining the admissibility of people and goods, detaining people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally, protecting agricultural interests from pests and diseases and collecting duties and fees.

While much of the efforts to create seamless services within CBP was unseen by the public, the most visible change was at ports of entry. Before the creation of CBP, travelers to the U.S. had to make two or three separate stops - for immigration inspection, customs inspection, and, if they were carrying food or plants, agriculture inspection - with three separate employees.

To streamline this process, CBP initiated its "one-stop processing" to maximize efficiency for travelers by reengineering separate staff positions into a single CBP officer. In addition to the CBP officers, agriculture specialists were stationed at ports to analyze agriculture imports and examine cargo to protect agricultural and economic interests from harmful pests and diseases.