III. Speech Practice

1. Explain the underlined parts in your own words.

1. He must have gone overboard deliberately.

2. He was spotted "still very much alive".

2. Rephrase the following sentences:

1.	The death of a man who drowned when he fell overboard was due to negligence.
	Negligence resulted in…
2.	About five minutes after Mr Davis went overboard he was seen in the sea by a number of passengers and the alarm was raised.
	The alarm was raised after…
3.	A lifeboat was launched, two rescue helicopters were scrambled and a nearby container ship joined in the search.
	The search operation involved…
4.	The probability was that Mr Davis had lost his footing and fallen over the safety rails.
	Mr Davis might have…

3. Answer the questions to the text above.

1. What happened with Mr Davis?

2. What is the opinion of the firm about his death?

3. What does the judge consider to be the cause of the accident?

4. What fact proves that this was a casualty (несчастный случай)?

4. Find some ambiguity (неясность) in the description of the accident and express your opinion about the mishap.

Text 2. Two rowers trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean have been rescued

I. Read the text and give answers to the questions below.

1. Who were the men rescued by the tanker?

2. Why were they forced to send a distress call?

3. How long did they have to wait for help?

Make sure you understand the words below:

beside	next to, close to
upturned	capsized
delight	happiness

Two rowers trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean have been rescued by a tanker. The pair, who are both from Ireland, were taking part in the Atlantic rowing race and they were rescued after spending six hours in a life-raft.

The men were rescued more than two thousand kilometres southeast of the island of Bermuda from a life-raft which was floating beside their upturned boat. They were saved by the crew on board a huge Spanish tanker, who answered their distress call and hauled the men on board in heavy seas and high winds.

They had begun the race in the Canary Islands at the end of November and were heading for the Caribbean island of Antigua. But in a storm they lost the use of the rudder on their small rowing boat and it quickly capsized. US coastguards picked up an emergency beacon signal and ships in the area were alerted.

One of them said he thought he was certain to drown but he managed to swim to find his friend. They then settled down for a long wait in the middle of the ocean.

The Spanish vessel, the Hispania Spirit, diverted to help and the crew saw a red flare. The two rowers then clambered safely on board, uninjured. They said they were disappointed their race was over, but were simply happy to be alive. And family members back in Ireland expressed their delight. The ship carrying them is due to reach Spain at the weekend.