How to survive a plane crash

Have you ever wondered what you would do if a plane you are on had to make an emergency landing? It is a question British Airways regularly considers. Passengers are taught to be aware of their surroundings and familiarise themselves with what happens during an emergency. Andy Clubb, British Airways Safety Instructor said: “The most important thing we then go onto is the brace position – that’s vitally important – and then they learn how to get themselves out of an aircraft by opening the doors in the over-wing exits.”

Onboard simulated flights, passengers are treated to a regular safety demonstration by a flight attendant. “Passengers always feel as if they’re left out of the loop somewhere along the line so we put them through an emergency evacuation given them the opportunity to think about it,” says Clubb. “We give them the answers and they suddenly realise that in any given situation where it’s an evacuation or a decompression, there are actually positive things that they can do to put control back into their hands,” adds Clubb.

Statistically, flying remains one of the safest forms of travel. Every day, some 8.3 million people around the globe climb aboard nearly 93,500 flights and they almost always land safely.

In the past decade, there have only been 138 crashes worldwide that had fatalities, according to aviation consultancy Ascend.

Simulated – имитируемый, моделированный

Writing the future – will the tablet replace the pen?

adapted version

From early childhood we take a pen in our hand and we write. It is a discipline that has been the foundation of compulsory (обязательный) formal education since the mid-19th century. But the very act of writing is under threat (угроза).

Keyboards first, then digital tablets from 2010 have invaded  (нахлынуть; овладевать) developed countries, our homes and our workplaces and have ultimately changed our habits. We write more, but little, and less with a pen and paper. More and more schools are considering abandoning (рассматривают отказ), at least partially, the pen. In Switzerlandan English private school, Geneva College, has spent 800,000 euros over three years to equip all of its classrooms with tablets. For some courses each student has a tablet equipped with specific educational programmes.

Because with the Iphone, Ipad, you write by hand. What you lose is the contact with paper. This change in the relationship between body, writing and paper, yes, it is a significant change for civilization. Jacques Derrida, the philosopher, said ‘a new historical phase generates anxiety’, I would be careful to say it is a new culture that is developing with these electronic support tools.

“You can see that in place of writing now we have texting/ images/sound. The picture and sound are becoming increasingly (всё больше и больше) important to the text,” said Claire Clivaz of the University of Lausanne.

The pen is on the verge (быть на волоске от) of losing the battle. According to reports published since 2012 by the institute Euromonitor , sales of pens are declining (уменьшаться) in most Western countries. In Switzerland, the sales of luxury pen ranges are up. Eventually handwriting could return to art, an aesthetic (относящийся к эстетике; эстетический) discipline that connects us to our identity, our culture: calligraphy .