4. Read the text below to talk about the national variations in selection of the most important topics of social concern in Western Europe. What are the most important social problems in Russia?

MAJOR TOPICS OF CONCERN

In Western Europe, unemployment is by far the most important issue. When presented with a choice of 15 different areas of concern, every west European nation put unemployment either first or in the top three.

There were some national variations: Germany, Belgium and Britain put crime slightly higher than unemployment. France gave AIDS a very high priority, placing it second after unemployment. Italians were worried about corruption, Scandinavians about pollution, and the Dutch about religious fundamentalism. For Russians, however, crime is by far the most important topic of concern, followed by inflation and personal lack of money.

In addition, Europeans felt that unemployment was the main cause of poverty. Elsewhere in the world, people were more likely to select lack of education as the main reason. Europeans also put great emphasis on insufficient welfare, unlike the rest of the world.

People from the former eastern bloc put slightly less emphasis on unemployment and more on alcohol abuse. These countries also tend to be more concerned about the environment than they are about economic growth as is Austria, Britain, France, Hungary, Belgium and Holland and more concerned about the economy.

5. Mass media is known to make a great impact on public opinion. This opinion can be either positive or negative. Very often some of the mass communication media seem too offensive to society. Using the word-combinations below prove or reject the claim “There should be some kind of censorship in our country to control mass media”.

to affect moral attitudes of the young; to be critical of the cultural wealth; to be (get) involved with immoral activities; to be undesirable for people; to be unfair to the elder; to be unfit for children; to destroy a human psyche; to develop a doubting state of mind; to place an emphasis on human vices; to prohibit a book, film, an exhibition, work of art, etc; to propagandize immoral values, religious fanaticism or violence; to restrict (to place restrictions on) the availability of some TV programmes, periodicals, plays, etc; to underline the negative aspects of life.

6. The crime rate is increasing in Russia as well as in many European countries. What factors contribute to this process? Which of the following do you think can cause a considerable decline in crime rates? Explain your answer.

better economic conditions

better rehabilitation programmes for young offenders

improved leisure activities

more visible militia (police) presence in the streets

more serious punishment

What else do you think should be done by the government (each individual) to decrease the crime rate in Russia?

7. Role-play the situation.

Setting: a courtroom.

Participants: the jury (a group of twelve people who listen to all evidence about the crimes and then decide whether or not a person is guilty).

Goal: You are a member of the jury whose task is to consider the four cases before they pass the verdict.

Cases under consideration:

a) The teenager called the secondary school to say that the school had been mined and was going to blow up in an hour.

b) The man shot in the knee the unarmed man who had broken into his house. The “victim” spent six months in hospital as a result of his injury and is still unable to walk.

c) The small business is caught selling unlicensed videos and CDs.

d) The teenager hacked into a bank’s computer system and introduced a virus.

Now decide on the variants of punishments: long prison sentence; short prison sentence; community service; fine; a formal warning. Explain your decision.