English is my cup of tea. Part 5. Учебное пособие

Supplementary Reading

7.Where can you find members of left-wing and right-wing groups?

8.What does this sentence mean?

A month before, a US freelance journalist had been desaparecidoed there.

Road Rage (by Robert Nemerovski)

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

-Buddha

We all know “Road Rage.” As portrayed in the media, it is a potentially deadly, destructive roadway phenomenon. In fact, around the world, violent acts of road rage kill hundreds and injure thousands of people each year, and they cause millions of dollars of damage. These acts include ramming one’s car into another car; getting out of one’s car and assaulting another driver with fists, baseball bats, and tire irons; or attempting murder with weapons such as firearms and knives. However shocking and damaging these acts of violence are, they are extremely rare compared to the millions of safe, uneventful journeys taken each day around the globe.

For many of us, when we think about road rage, we conjure up mental images of other drivers’ anger-fueled expressions and behaviors like “flipping the bird,” cutting someone off, tail-gating, shaking a fist, honking, and yelling obscenities. Witnessing these offensive displays stirs up intense feelings of shock, disbelief, and anger. When they happen to us, we can feel threatened, vulnerable, and furious.

For a significant number of drivers, it doesn’t take obvious, provocative, aggressive gestures and behaviors by others to set us off. In fact, many drivers report being frustrated, angered, and even enraged merely by what they perceive as incorrect, problematic driving by others. These acts might seem discourteous (e.g. not letting us merge, driving too slow, taking a parking space we wanted, etc.) or dangerous (e.g. speeding, running a red light, weaving, tail-gating, etc.). These and other driving behaviors may trigger feelings of frustration, injustice, or being threatened. Each of these feelings is a common trigger for anger, rage, and aggression.

Yet, these descriptions of road rage are incomplete. They focus on external factors that upset us emotionally yet allow us to maintain a victim stance.

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Feeling like a victim not only leaves us feeling powerless over our reaction and distress to others’ behavior; it ignores our role in on-road interactions that may anger other drivers. Are you shocked? Ironically, most of us are guilty at one time or another of committing some driving behavior that often without our self-awareness causes anger or even rage in other drivers. In my recent study on road rage, located at www.Marin-Psychotherapy.com, participants were surprised to discover they were not simply victims of road rage, but they at times were instigators of road rage. This insight can be helpful in recognizing that we are all responsible for driving safely and with consideration of and compassion for–other drivers at all times.

What can we do to minimize driving in ways to anger other drivers? What can we do to bring down the volume of anger and rage inside of us while driving? Answers to both questions over-lap. The cycle of road rage isn’t simply one driver angering another. The roadway is a sort of moving community, and we are only one of many who are on our way somewhere to do something that is important to us. Just as we don’t all rush en mass into the local coffee shop and shout out our drink orders without any semblance of order, societal rules, and common courtesy, we truly can all get along and get to our destinations in an orderly, safe, and peaceful manner. Here are some helpful ideas:

Top Ten Ways to Avoid Road Rage (yours and the other guy/gal’s):

10. Think socially rather than selfishly, and try to imagine the other driver’s perspective (e.g., “I bet he’s late for work like I was yesterday. I’ll let him pass.”)

9. Play it safe and smart (e.g., move to a different lane; pull over and calm down)

8. Don’t be a vigilante (e.g., let the highway patrol, not me, punish dangerous drivers)

7. Practice acceptance (e.g., “Let it go” or FIDO–“Forget it; Drive on”) and don’t take it personally;

6. Use humor (e.g., Tell yourself, “He must be rushing to his driving school class. He needs it!” or “I bet she has to pee!”);

5. Exercise altruism (e.g., purposely allow others to merge and pass.);

4. Reduce your stress and anger triggers (e.g., practice mindful breathing; listen to relaxing music instead of aggravating talk radio; put down the phone; etc.)

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3. Enjoy the ride (e.g., focus on the scenery; enjoy the company of your passengers, etc.)

2. Leave 10 minutes early, so you won’t be rushed and stressed.

1. Take public transportation or ride a bike!

Give these a try. Unfortunately, many people with road rage or general anger problems won’t seek help until someone in their life suggests it, or until they have something to lose, such as a relationship, job, their freedom, or worse, or someone has been injured or killed. Stay calm out there!

18 Ways to Navigate Stress at the Airport

Even before takeoff, the airport itself can be a stressful phase of travel. Here are strategies for dealing with anxieties and annoyances, large and small.

Between the crowds, the security hassles, the need to be timely, the frustration of flight delays and perhaps even a fear of flying, the airport can be a stress-invoking phase of travel. The following tips address strategies for dealing with anxieties and annoyances large and small to help make your next plane trip less turbulent before takeoff.

Safely Clearing Security

There’s nothing like entering an airport and seeing an hourlong security line to send your stress levels soaring. Couple that anxiety with the bark of a T.S.A. agent instructing you to divest of all electronic devices, shoes and jackets and just getting to the gate can be harrowing.

The simplest way to avoid the stress caused by security lines is to arrive at the airport early for your flight. That cushion may vary, based on the size of the airport and your own comfort level, but should be at least 90 minutes for domestic flights and three hours for international.

Another way is to buy your way out of the lines with T.S.A. PreCheck. Getting the clearance, which puts members into separate, expedited security lanes, requires an online application, an in-person interview, fingerprinting and an $85 fee. Once approved, PreCheck status is good for five years and allows members to keep their laptops and toiletries in their bags and keep their shoes and light jackets on. In April 2018, the agency said 92 percent of travelers with the status waited less than five minutes to clear security.

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With or without membership, once fliers reach the metal detectors and body scanners, an aggressive security agent can compound stress and present the potential for conflict. Generally, because fliers are required to follow agents’ orders, they can do little to control the situation other than to control their attitude toward it.

“If you want to fly, you have to comply,” said Jeff Price, a professor in aviation and aerospace at the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the co-author of “Practical Aviation Security.” “The passenger attitude goes a long way to what the screening experience will be like.”

Mr. Price suggests “being polite in the face of impoliteness,” noting that agents “have the ability to make your life miserable if they want.” In the case of extreme harassment or escalation with a particular officer, ask for a supervisor. Travelers also can request a private screening, in which case they are allowed to bring along a witness.

Overcoming Annoyances

The potential for annoyance at an airport, even after the security process, is seemingly infinite. Traveling crowds, directional confusion and the blare of televisions tuned to cable news stations in gate areas can make it hard to relax.

Fortunately, many airports, recognizing this, have begun adding more serene spaces, including yoga rooms equipped with yoga mats. Look for them at

Dallas Fort Worth, San Francisco International and at both of Chicago’s airports, O’Hare and Midway. The app GateGurusometimes lists such amenities.

For cardio-induced stress relief, download the app Sanctifly that identifies gyms near 90 global airports offering day passes for an average of $25. Roam Fitness, an airport gym with showers and rental fitness gear, is currently available only at Baltimore Washington International Airport, but plans to open a second location later this year at San Francisco International Airport.

When you can’t find a space to chill, make your own.

“Find a quiet corner, whether that’s an empty gate, a lounge, or even a chapel,” said Sara Clemence, the author of “Away and Aware: A Field Guide to Mindful Travel.” She also recommends standing yoga poses. “In order to reduce the jumpiness that comes from being away from my gate, I set a timer on my phone to remind me to check the departures board, say, every 15 minutes.”

Come prepared with a meditation app or two and some relaxing music. Or seek a therapy animal, if you didn’t bring your own. (An accompanying animal

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generally requires a prescription from a mental health professional.) As used in airports, therapy animals are said to raise spirits, reduce anxiety and improve communication by being available for travelers to pet and interact with. A number of airports have therapy dogs including Denver International, which has 100 dogs and one cat in its volunteer pool, Phoenix Sky Harbor and San Francisco International, which also has a pig on patrol. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport even brings in miniature horses as therapy animals.

Fear of Flying

The prospect of hurtling hundreds of miles an hour in a metal tube at 35,000 feet is a very common stress-inducing idea. The National Institute of Mental Health has found that 6.5 percent of Americans have a phobia that prevents them from flying. Estimates of regular flight anxiety are much higher.

“Because fearful flying is so common, it’s hard to know from an epidemiological point of view how many people have it,” said Julie L. Pike, a clinical psychologist in Durham, N.C., who specializes in treating anxiety disorders.

Her first approach is rational: learn the odds. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, some 42,000 flights take place daily carrying 2.5 million passengers. Accidents are rare. The National Transportation Safety Board found 412 people died as a result of aviation accidents in 2016 versus 37,461 in automotive accidents. Analyzing data from 1983 to 2000, the board found more than 95 percent of fliers involved in accidents survived.

“We encourage locating the problem in yourself and not in the industry. That empowers the individual,” Ms. Pike said. “I have zero control over whether the pilot lands the plane or not, but I have a strategy to deal with physical discomfort.”

Some specific strategies for dealing with symptoms of anxiety, such as hyperventilation, include holding your breath for four seconds and exhaling through your mouth. Repeat 10 times.

“This deprives the body of oxygen and forces you to slow down,” Ms. Pike said. “You can’t make yourself relax but you can starve the body of oxygen and force it to shut off.”

Another physical approach at the gate or in an airplane seat: place your arms inside the armrest and press out against it as hard as possible for as long as possible while also contracting your legs and core, forcing your muscles to fatigue. Repeat three to four times.

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Arrival Issues

Arriving from an international flight and answering questions from customs and immigration authorities can invoke stress. Immigration and civil liberties advocates say that the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and travel ban on five majority Muslim countries Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia as well as North Korea and Venezuela has heightened tension. The Supreme Court upheld the travel ban on June 26.

“For anyone passing through the inspection process, facilitate entry by being prepared to answer questions about how long is your trip, the purpose of your trip, where you’re staying,” said Elizabeth Foydel, the deputy policy director of International Refugee Assistance Project, a nonprofit legal aid group in New York. “The more you stay calm and know what you need to say, the easier the process generally is.”

Know your rights at the airport. Fliers called out for secondary inspection are entitled to a translator if they have difficulty communicating in English. They are also entitled to food, water and bathroom breaks.

The legal group advises foreigners or American citizens anticipating the need for a lawyer to engage one before travel on a provisional basis and to fill out and carry form G-28 from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The form indicates that the traveler has an attorney to represent them.

Customs and Border Protection agents are not required to disclose the reasons for a traveler’s detention to anyone awaiting them. American travelers concerned about this may request a privacy waiver form from the congressional representative in your district, execute it in advance and give it to family or colleagues in the district. The form will enable those relations to contact a congressional representative who can then approach the authorities and learn the reasons for a detention.

Before travel, both domestic and international travelers can contact the International Refugee Assistance Project for advice at airport@refugeerights.org or call the Council on American-Islamic Relations at 646-665-7599.

The American Civil Liberties Union also has a page devoted to travelers rights and what to do when encountering law enforcement at airports.

Answer the following questions.

1. What’s the simplest way to avoid the stress caused by security lines?

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Supplementary Reading

2.What do passengers need to get a PreCheck status?

3.What should be done in the case of extreme harassment or escalation with a particular officer?

4.Which airports have serene spaces, including yoga rooms?

5.What is the app Sanctifly used for?

6.Which therapy animals can be found in American airports?

7.How many Americans have a phobia that prevents them from flying?

8.What strategies for dealing with symptoms of anxiety can be named?

9.What are the rights of fliers called out for secondary inspection?

10.What does form G-28 indicate?

Why Sailing Is Something to Savour (by Paul Heiney)

A brusque exchange with a barroom boor brings to mind why sailing is something to savour. Not rushed like a pint that’s drunk too quickly to enjoy, says Paul Heiney

So there I was, standing at a yacht club bar, having a Sunday lunchtime pint with a friend who was a member – I wasn’t. Then, out of the blue, this chump comes lumbering up, well ahead on pints judging by his stagger, and asks me what sort of sailing I did? I told him I went cruising. He shrugged, then bellowed in a voice like Brian Blessed at full bore, “I am a racing man. I wouldn’t waste my time on all that caravanning business”. I don’t know much about caravans, but I don’t think he meant it kindly.

What do you say to the likes of him who have no understanding of what cruising under sail is like? Those who have no comprehension of the rewards of reaching out towards the horizon? I was tempted to be unkind, but I was a guest in his club so manners trumped instinct. However, I’m not a guest now so I can point out that his idea of ‘sport’ is to dash up and down the muddy creek he calls ‘his’ river, swirling with foul coloured, putrid water, avoided like the plague by any form of marine life. And he’s sailing as fast as he can, trying his very best to be the first boat home. Why does he want to be back first? Possibly because he hates it so much he wants the misery over with as quickly as possible. I could have boomed all that back at him, but I didn’t.

The real argument about what makes cruising different didn’t occur to me till a few weeks ago as I walked the streets of Reykjavik in Iceland. I’ve recently had a couple of seasons sailing up there, but this was a fleeting visit by air and I

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was immediately struck by what a different experience it was. Cruising and tourism are miles apart, so far indeed that you can’t even call them distant relations. My first-ever arrival in Iceland had been under sail; a wild ride from Orkney, via the Faroe Islands, thence to Iceland to arrive in the middle of the night when daylight still persists. The past couple of 100 miles had been a magical sail in a decreasing wind and sea, a fair breeze, and the kettle never off the boil keeping our spirits and our temperatures up as we tramped along. We aimed for a small harbour, Hafnarfjörður, which had been recommended and here, in this deeply maritime community, we were greeted like brothers of the sea. This is far removed from the tourist’s airport arrival experience, I can tell you.

As with any voyage, the harsh business of cruising soon sets in; finding supermarkets, hauling diesel, filling water tanks, working out how the buses run, getting to grips with the currency and, in Iceland, deciding which extras to have on their near-national dish – the hot dog. Advice: it’s best to ask for ‘everything’.

It is not long before you are becoming an honorary Icelander yourself, learning the coffee haunts away from the tourist throng, the garage that has the widest range of oil filters. Soon you will be giving bewildered tourists directions as if you’d lived there all your life. A cruising relationship with a country is not a casual affair, and totally unlike a weekend dash from Gatwick.

All this was brought home to me on that walk down the main street in

Reykjavik. Here they have the equivalent of London’s Bond Street where the shiniest shops are to be found and where the prices make your eyes water. How much for a pair of socks?? I could get a new set of Mustos for that! Then I came across a shop I fondly remembered. Tucked away between the throng of shops selling cuddly puffins and whales, is a small hardware shop. Blink and you’ll miss it. Tourists wouldn’t give it a second glance, sailors are grateful for it.

At the time I was sailing here, I was desperate to replenish my meths, used for lighting the diesel heater – always handy in Iceland even in high summer. Here, I found what I wanted and chatted to the guy behind the counter about the fishing, the harbours, the weather. Talk of the sea brought us together and I felt part of the community, as if a little bit of me really lived here. Tourists don’t feel that. I like the way that cruising forces you to lock yourself into the lives and needs of others at a very basic level, and forces you to understand differing ways of life and tastes. Tourism rarely offers you that.

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Or perhaps I am missing something. Dashing up and down a river on a Sunday morning is perhaps the real way to broaden your horizons, but I have no plans to test that theory anytime soon.

Top 10 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights

A handy guide to help you save those pennies!

For many finding a plane ticket at a good price is like battling through an obstacle course. It’s happened to all of us – you’ve seen a flight and said you’ll book it the next day, only to see in horror that prices have shot up overnight! To help you find cheaper tickets and save money when booking your holidays, read on for some handy tips picked by yours truly!

Seeing as its pretty much my daily mission to spot cheap holidays and flights, I can say that I’ve got plenty of experience in finding the cheapest prices! Many readers e-mail or comment asking for cheap flights, or say that they’re struggling to find holidays within their budget because flights are too expensive. Well, take a little time to read through my top 10 tips for finding cheap flights.

Hopefully you’ll be able to take a little bit of my know-how with you and use it to bag yourselves some cheap deals. You’ll be experienced bargain hunters in no time, I’m sure! :)

Top 10 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights

Tip #1 – Be flexible with your dates

Plane tickets are generally 9.5% cheaper in November and 20% more expensive in August

I know – this piece of advice is quite difficult to follow if you have children or if you can only get certain dates off work, but if you can even be just a little flexible with when you travel, you’ll be surprised by how much it really can help you save money. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to set off in

September instead of July (even if I do heartily recommend it!), but you can also apply it to the days of the week. In fact, you can spend a lot less money on your plane ticket if you decide to fly mid-week, rather than opting for travelling over the weekend. So, when you’re searching for tickets, remember to look for tickets on a couple of days either side of your original plans . You’ll see that it can really make a big difference. Another tip is that airlines may only have direct flights

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from Ireland to a destination on certain days of the week. Do a bit of research in advance if you’re not sure, otherwise you might be flying indirect to a destination that’s only really 2 hours away!

Tip #2 – Be flexible with your destination

You’re probably thinking “easier said than done!” again! And I totally understand that. But, I often have problems when some of you ask me to look for a holiday to a particular place from a particular airport. Unfortunately, not all destinations are accessible from every airport! So, before looking at the price of plane tickets, take a look at the website of your nearest airport to see which routes are operated by airlines from there. Of course, it’s possible to stop over if you really want to go to a particular holiday destination. However, if you’re thinking about travelling to Sardinia, but you can only get flights to Sicily, then maybe consider spending a holiday there instead! All things considered, when a destination is that beautiful anyway you’re hardly missing out. :)

Tip #3 – Be picky with your flight search engines

The first step in finding a plane ticket is usually choosing which flight comparison website to use. Just remember that not all of them are reliable! Choose one which genuinely lets you see all your options and not one which only shows you flights on certain dates. I particularly recommend Skyscanner. They have a fantastic feature where you can jump straight to the cheapest time of year to fly to a particular airport, and you can even pair up return flights on the calendar and compare fares across the different dates. This website has saved me a lot of time in finding deals that I publish on the website – an essential tool for all bargain hunters!

Oh, and here’s another small piece of advice for you! Once you’ve found your flight on a flight comparison website, I would recommend going directly to the airline’s web page to compare the price there. Handling fees are often a lot cheaper if you buy your plane ticket directly from the airline itself.

Tip #4 – Buy your ticket at the right time

The best time of day to buy your plane ticket is between 4 am and 6 am on a Wednesday morning.

Again, it’s difficult to really figure this one out. Some swear by last-minute deals, whereas others advise buying well in advance. Statistics suggest that you should book short flights seven to eight weeks in advance, and long haul flights

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