2. Match the words from the first four paragraphs (1-10) with their meanings (a-j):

1. euphoria a) treatment

2. transformation b) uncommon

3. fatal c) great happiness

4. therapy d) put in

5. flaw e) weakness

6. rare f) deadly

7. disorder g) liquid

8. insert h) disease

9. fluid i) protection

10. immunity j) change

3. Do you think these statements are true or false?

1. Measles, diarrhea and pneumonia kill an estimated seven million children a year.

2. Each year 600.000 babies pick up tetanus bacteria and die - even though there is a vaccine.

3. Many children still suffer from polio; every year the disease disables 140.000 children.

4. Over two million people a year get malaria and die, mostly in Africa.

5. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis, which kills almost three million people per year.

6. By the year 2000, more than 20 million people had contracted and died of Aids since the outbreak of the epidemic.

4. Complete these sentences from the text in your own words:

1. The baby had to be kept in an airtight bubble because…

2. The parents were allowed to take the boy home because

3. Adrian Thrasher believed gene therapy could work because…

4. Doctors are careful not to be too optimistic about the operations because…

5. Doctors should be able to cure more illnesses in the future because…

UNIT 3

Super Athletes

I. Vocabulary focus

1. Useful words for learning:

to enhance - увеличивать

threat - угроза

dubious - сомнительный, подозрительный

contemporary - современный

amateur - любитель

II. Reading

1. Read and translate the text:

Many contemporary amateur athletes and swimmers would have broken world records if they had taken part in the first Olympic Games. Since then, records have tumbled in track, field and swimming events as performance has improved dramatically.

If records fall, it is usually due to better equipment, training and diet but recently improvements have begun to slow down. In Sydney, only three runners achieved Olympic bests with no world records. Some experts predict a ceiling for many events, such as 9.5 seconds for the 100 metres - Maurice Greene’s current record is 9.79 seconds.

However, past predictions are nearly always wrong. All the levels of performance predicted in the 1930s had been reached by the 1970s. Ron Maughan, from Aberdeen University, believes that if more people around the world took part in organised sport, more records would have fallen.

One factor is the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or ‘doping’. Ben Johnson would still be the 100 metres world record holder if he had not been caught taking drugs. Other records remain dubious, like Florence Griffith’s 100 metres record back in 1988. Did she take drugs? If current Olympic champion, Marion Jones, took such drugs, she would probably have broken that world record more than once. Unless we are careful, ‘gene-doping’ will be the next big threat.

For medical purposes, scientists have already found ways to build muscle and increase stamina through gene therapy. If gene therapy were used now, it would be almost impossible to detect. In the future, genetically-modified athletes might be able to run the 100 metres in 8 seconds or the marathon in under two hours. However, if a generation of genetic monsters were created, it would show that the whole point of sport has been lost.

It would be much better to forget the records and return to the original Olympic spirit - taking part is more important than winning.