Text III

Pre-reading

Task 1. Translate the following words.

English Russian

security …

… оружие

x-ray machines …

… взрывчатые вещества

… оборудование

… твердые, жидкие, газообразные вещества

development …

deployment …

Task 2. Look up the pronunciation of the following words in the dictionary:

scan, bomb, screen, alert, radio frequencies, ceramic.

Task 3. Constitute the word family including the word “detect”.

Task 4. Form new parts of speech with the help of the given suffixes and prefixes. Consult a dictionary. Mind the spelling.

expose (-ure)

large (-ly)

(un-) changed

detect (-or)

introduce (-tion)

equip (-ment)

occasion (-ly)

Task 5. In each set of words given below find one word that doesn’t logically fit the line.

a) passenger, traveler, manufacturer

b) suitcase, luggage, security

c) checked-in luggage, carry-on luggage, airport

d) x-ray machine, metal detector, drugs

Full exposure

Despite increased airport security since September 11^th 2001, the technology to scan both passengers and baggage for weapons and bombs remains largely unchanged. Travelers walk through metal detectors and carry-on bags pass through x-ray machines that superimpose color-coded highlights, but do little else. Checked-in luggage is screened by “computed tomography”, which peers inside a suitcase rather like a CAT scan of a brain. These systems can alert an operator to something suspicious, but they cannot tell what it is.

More sophisticated screening technologies are emerging, albeit slowly. There are three main approaches: enhanced x-rays to spot hidden objects, sensor technology to sniff dangerous chemicals, and radio frequencies that can identify liquids and solids.

A number of manufacturers are using “reflective” or “backscatter” x-rays that can be calibrated to see objects through clothing. They can spot things that a metal detector may not, such as a ceramic knife or plastic explosives. But some people think they can reveal too much. In America, civil-liberties groups have stalled the introduction of such equipment, arguing that it is too intrusive.

Machines that can detect minute traces of explosive are also being tested. Passengers walk through a machine that blows a burst of air, intended to dislodge molecules of substances on a person’s body and clothes. The air is sucked into a filter, which instantaneously analyses it to see whether it includes any suspect substances. The process can work for baggage as well. It is a vast improvement on today’s method, whereby carry-on items are occasionally swabbed and screened for traces of explosives. Because this is a manual operation, only a small share of bags is examined this way.

The most radical of the new approaches uses “quadrupole resonance technology”. This involves bombarding an object with radio waves. By reading the returning signals, the machines can identify the molecular structure of the materials it contains. Since every compound – solid, liquid or gas – creates a unique frequency, it can be read like a fingerprint. The system can be used to look for drugs as well as explosives.

For these technologies to make the jump from development labs and small trials to full deployment at airports they must be available at a price that airports are prepared to pay. They must also be easy to use, take up little space and provide quick results.

Jogging your memory:

Uncountable nouns

- do not take the when used in a general sense.

- take the singular form of the verb

- have words like much, little, some, a great deal of before them

Some of the more common uncountable nouns are:

accommodation advice baggage (Am.E.)

brainstorming clothing equipment

furniture information legislation

luggage (Br.E.) money news

software traffic travel

weather work

Working on the text

Task 6. Match each countable noun to an uncountable one having a similar meaning.

traffic, equipment, journeys, machines, accidents, cars, luggage (baggage), travel, advice, belongings, legislation, damage, hints, laws

Task 7. Correct mistakes in the sentences.

1. The news are bad, I’m afraid.

2. His luggage have already been checked.

3. She is fond of giving advices.

4. In the morning there were too many traffic on the roads.

Task 8. Write out all words connected with the idea of “travel”.

Task 9. Match the words in the left column to their definitions in the right.

1. carry-on bags a) a machine or a piece of equipment that finds something

2. checked-in luggage b) a warning to be ready for possible danger

3. weapon c) very advanced

4. security d) extremely small

5. detector e) things left to be put on a plane or a train

6. alert f) things that you are allowed to take onto a plane with you

7. sophisticated g) protection from danger

8. minute (adj.) h) something you can use to fight with or attack someone with

Task 10. Look through the text and write out words that have the same form for a verb and a noun.

Task 11. Give all synonyms that you know to the verb “to check”.

Task 12. Over to you. What are traditional methods of Customs control?

Task 13. What sophisticated screening technologies are described in the text? Speak on each.

Task 14. Translate the newspaper article into Russian.

Australian Customs made a seizure of 12 kg of cocaine in Sydney. The drug was smuggled to Australia by a 50 – year – old Polish citizen. His baggage was searched and in thick covers of ten new photograph albums the cocaine was found. The smuggler was arrested.

Task 15. Translate the given article into English.

Таможенники в аэропорту Манчестера, Великобритания были поражены, увидев прилетевшего из-за рубежа чернокожего студента Фиделиса Озули. 30-летний парень бережно поддерживал свой вздутый живот.

Подозрительного пассажира задержали и просветили на рентгене. Оказалось, что в желудке у него запрятано 67 упаковок с кокаином общим весом 1 килограмм.

Содержимое “тайника” в желудке по стоимости тянуло на 300000 евро – абсолютный рекорд. Наркокурьеров с такой богатой “начинкой” британцам еще не приходилось сканировать.

Task 16. Translate the following text into Russian.

In spite of the sophisticated equipment and new technologies which have become available, the dog and, especially the sniffer dog, remains an indispensable tool for Customs enforcement. According to scientific studies a dog’s sense of smell is a million times better than man’s. For one thing, its olfactory membrane is about 30 times larger. Some 225 million olfactory cells make the dog capable of phenomenal feats of smell which man can make use of for a large variety of purposes, for example customs work and drug detection. Drug detector dogs are like X-ray machines, fiber-optic camera devices – they are a tool that extends the ability of the customs control officer in the workplace.

No piece of equipment has yet been invented that can replace the dog. Some experimental models have been tried but found to be far inferior to the canine nose.

Task 17. Discuss in small buzz groups:

What or, maybe, who is man’s best sniffer?

Choose the best answer.