Unit 6.

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

Vehicle extrication

Vehicle collisions unfortunately result in numerous variations of wreckage in which people may be trapped. The first impulse of witnesses or rescuers may be to bring and use the tools at hand to free the victims as quickly as possible. It should be remembered that any life-threatening conditions must be stabilized immediately if the extrication is going to serve its purpose. This means attention to breathing, heartbeat, bleeding, and shock prevention. For the first operations the rescuers should do everything in their power to get into the vehicle so that life-support activities can be initiated and so that the victim can be readied for extrication.

First it is necessary to check the victim for laboured breathing or the absence of breathing. If breathing difficulty is discovered, maintain an open airway and provide artificial respiration if possible. Then check rate, regularity and quality of pulse. The pulse rate is normally taken at the wrist and indicates heart action. If the pulse cannot be felt at the wrist, place your fingers over the carotid or femoral artery. If a victim is bleeding, control it by direct pressure or by tourniquet.

Much information about specific injuries can be received from the victim if he is conscious. Observe his state of awareness and calm him down if necessary. Sometimes the victim can be a great help with his own extrication, but unless he is moving around with a minimum of pain assume that the spine or neck is injured. If that is more likely the case, do not move anything until all fractures are immobilized with backboards and cervical collars.

Do not remove foreign objects such as a piece of metal which may be lodged in the body, or serious bleeding may result. Cut the impaled object free from the auto and apply bandages. Transport a victim to a hospital for removal, with the exception of an object impaled in the cheek. Such an object should be removed and bandages should be placed both inside and outside the cheek to control bleeding.

Although attention to life-threatening conditions is of utmost importance, first arriving firefighters must also attend to any present fire hazard while the victim is still trapped. Firefighters should immediately prepare a hose line in anticipation of a possible fire even if a fuel spill is not apparent, because undetected fuel vapours may have collected at a dangerous spot. Turning off the ignition and disconnecting the battery both lessen the danger of fire.

When it is determined that the victim is not in danger of dying immediately or that everything possible has been done to help the condition of the victim, extrication procedures may begin. The condition of the vehicle and the specific location of the victim will determine the best access route. If the doors open or can be made to open, that way usually would be the first choice. Otherwise, rescuers will have to extricate through the windows or through the body of the vehicle.

Exercise 2. Read the definitions of the words. Translate and memorize them.

• absence – 1) the state or a period of being away; 2) non-existence, lack;

• to anticipate – 1) to be aware of a future event and take action; to regard as possible; to look forward to; 2) to act or happen before;

• apparent – 1) easily seen or understood; evident; 2) seeming real or true;

• to arrive – 1) to reach a place at the end of a journey; 2) to be brought or delivered to a place;

• artificial – 1) made by humans, especially as a copy of something natural; 2) lacking true feelings, insincere; 3) happening as a result of human action, not through a natural process;

• to assume – 1) to accept as true without proof; suppose; 2) to take responsibility or control; 3) to begin to have (a specified quality, appearance, extent);

• backboard – a board used to support or straighten a person’s back;

• bandage – a strip of woven material used to bind up a wound or protect an injured part of the body;

• to bleed – to lose blood;

• to calm down – to make or become quiet, untroubled;

• cervical – relating to the neck;

• to check – 1) to test, examine the accuracy, quality, condition; 2) to stop, control, hold back, restrain;

• to choose – 1) to pick out as being the best of two or more alternatives; 2) to decide;

• collar – the part of a shirt, dress, coat, that stands up or folds down round the neck;

• to collide – 1) to crash violently; 2) to come into disagreement, be opposed;

• to discover – 1) to find something that already existed but was not known about before; 2) to find out (a fact, an answer, etc.);

• except – 1) not including, leaving out; 2) apart from;

• to extricate – to set free from a constraint or difficulty;

• fracture – the cracking or breaking of a bone;

• heartbeat – the action or sound of the heart as it pushes the blood round the body;

• immediate – 1) done or needed at once and without delay; 2) nearest in time, space or degree; next;

• to impale – to run a sharp stick or weapon through someone’s body;

• laboured – showing signs of effort and difficulty;

• to lodge – 1) to stay usually for a short time in return for paying rent; 2) to settle or become fixed firmly in a position;

• to maintain – 1) to continue to have, do as before; 2) to keep in good condition by making repairs and taking care; 3) to support with money;

• neck – 1) the part of the body by which the head is joined to the shoulders; 2) the part of a garment that goes round the human neck;

• to observe – 1) to see and notice; 2) to act in accordance with;

• power - 1) control over others, influence; 2) governmental control; 3) right to act given by law, rule or official position; 4) ability to do something or act in a particular way; 5) physical force, strength; 6) energy that is produced by mechanical, electrical or other means;

to power – to supply power to (especially a vehicle);

power point – socket;

high-powered – showing great force, ability;

power station (plant) – an installation where electricity is generated;

power cut – a temporary withdrawal or failure of an electrical power supply;

• to receive – 1) to come into possession, get; 2) to experience, undergo; 3) to accept as a visitor or member, welcome;

• to spill – 1) to pour out accidentally; 2) to spread beyond limits;

• spine – the row of bones in the center of the back of human beings and certain animals that supports the body;

• to support – 1) to bear the weight; 2) to provide money to live on; 3) to show the truth or correctness; 4) to be loyal by attending matches or performances;

• threat – 1) an expression of an intention to hurt, punish, cause pain; 2) a person, thing or idea regarded as a possible danger; 3) a sign, warning, possibility of coming danger;

• tourniquet – a band of cloth, that is twisted tightly round an arm or leg to stop bleeding;

• vehicle – a thing used for transporting people or goods on land;

• witness – someone who is present when something happens;

• to wreck – to bring to a ruined or unusable state, destroy;

• wrist – the joint between the hand and the lower part of the arm.

Exercise 3. Translate the following words without a dictionary.

Fortune, to result, variation, impulse, to stabilize, to serve, shock, operation, to concentrate, to initiate, respiration, pulse, regular, normally, to indicate, to act, artery, to control, information, minimum, to immobilize, object, metal, serious, auto, to transport, to detect, to collect, negative, chance, to create, accident, procedure, location, route, specific.

Exercise 4. Spell the words. Write them in alphabetical order.

Collision, check, condition, concentrate, carotid, calm, control, conscious, case, cervical, collar, cut, cheek, collect, chance, create, choice, choose.

Exercise 5. 1) Translate the following words. Name parts of the speech.

Freedom, unfortunate, fortunately, numerous, wreckage, concentration, regularity, active, transportation, removal, exception, importance, arrival, anticipation, apparently, undetected, disconnecting, dangerously, trapped, ignition, creativity, accidental, determination, dying, prepared, collection, present, bleeding, chosen, receiving, maintenance, immediately, extrication, collision, discovery.