Тема 14: Opiates

Opiates (narcotics) are a group of drugs used medically to relieve pain, but they also have a high potential for abuse. Some opiates (opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine) come from the Asian poppy. Heroin accounts for most of the opiate abuse in the United States.

Opiates are ingested, snorted, smoked, or injected intravenously. After causing an initial rush, they tend to relax the user. Indicators of opiate abuse include needle scars on the arms and the backs of hands, drowsiness, frequent scratching, red and watering eyes, sniffles, and a loss of appetite overall but an attraction to sugar and candies. In contrast to the effects of most other abused drugs that dilate the eye's pupils, the opiates constrict the pupils.

When an opiate-dependent person stops taking the drug, withdrawal symptoms begin within 4 to 6 hours; symptoms include anxiety, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, chills, sweating, nausea, and runny nose and eyes. The intensity of these symptoms depends on how much was taken, how often, and for how long. Withdrawal symptoms for most opiates are stronger approximately 24 to 72 hours after they begin but subside within 7 to 10 days.

Most of the physical dangers of opiate abuse are caused by overdose. Over time, opiate users may develop infections of the heart, skin abscesses, and congested lungs.

Тема 15: The Role of Culture

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behaviour. It includes ideas, values, and customs of people. Members of a society learn this culture and transmit it from one generation to another.

The aspects of culture are called cultural universals. Cultural universals include language, norms, sports, cooking, dancing, family, folklore, games, law, medicine, names, religion, sexual restrictions and so on.

Every culture is of great interest. It is possible to study the culture through such aspects as language, norms, and values. We can understand how people think, behave and live. Besides, all these aspects help to regulate and organize the people.

Sociologists distinguish formal and informal norms of behaviour in any culture. Formal norms are written down and involve strict rules for punishment of violators. They are known as laws.

By contrast, informal norms are generally understood but not precisely recorded. An example of informal norm is standards of proper dress.

All cultures change and expand through discoveries, inventions and diffusions. A discovery involves making known the existence of an aspect of reality. An invention is a combination of existing cultural items. And diffusion is the process of spreading a cultural item from group to group or from society to society.

Words and word combinations

totality – общее количество

custom - традиция

informal norms – неформальные нормы

strict rules – строгие правила

punishment of violators – наказание нарушителей

law - закон

discovery - открытие

invention - изобретение

diffusion - распространение

Тема 16: Deviance and Crime

Deviance is behaviour that violates the standards of a group or society. Alcoholics, gamblers, persons with mental illnesses are the typical representatives of deviants. Each of us violates common social norms in certain situations.

Deviance is an action, which is not a subject to prosecution. Standards of deviance vary from one group, society, and culture to another. In our society it is generally acceptable to sing along at a rock or folk concert, but not at the opera.

The highest form of deviation is crime, which is a violation of criminal laws. Sociologists distinguish five types of crime.

Index crime is the most common case such as murder, rape, robbery, theft and so on.

Professional crime involves people who make a career of illegal activities. The examples are burglary, safecracking, pick pocketing and shoplifting.

Organized crime refers to the work of a group that regulates relations between various criminal enterprises.

White-collar crime includes crimes, which are committed by “respectable” people. For example, these are income tax evasion, stock manipulation, bribery and so on.

Victimless crime includes gambling, prostitution, public drunkenness and drug taking.

Words and word combinations

deviance - правонарушение

gambler – азартный игрок

mental illnesses – душевные заболевания

typical representative – типичный представитель

prosecution – уголовное наказание

criminal laws – уголовные законы

index crime – бытовое преступление

murder - убийство

rape - изнасилование

robbery - грабеж

theft - кража

professional crime – профессиональное преступление

burglary – кража со взломом

safecracking – взлом сейфа

pick pocketing – карманная кража

shoplifting – налет на магазин, кража

organized crime – организованное преступление

criminal enterprise – криминальная группировка

white-collar crime – преступление чиновника

income tax evasion – укрытие доходов от налогов

stock manipulation – биржевая манипуляция

bribery - взяточничество

victimless crime – преступление без жертвы

gambling - шулерство

prostitution - проституция

public drunkenness – пьянство в общественных местах

drug taking – употребление наркотиков