3. Match the words and expressions which have a similar meaning.

1) measure	a) against one’s will
2) to tackle	b) to choose
3) to select	c) severe
4) to introduce	d) sanction
5) against one’s wishes	e) to institute
6) penalty	f) to deal with
7) tough	g) punishment

Section 4. Follow up activity

4.1. Do you own research work and find information about drug-addiction among Russian schoolchildren.

Which facts about drug-addiction would you mention if you made a speech at a parents’ meeting at school being a form teacher. Prepare a speech to make parents be aware of the problem.

Unit 8 aids

Section 1. Warming-up

1.1. Read the poem written by an anonymous writer. What problem does it touch upon? What ideas does each part of the poem render?What do you know about aids?

How Many People Must Die?

How many people must die? How much money should be spent? How much of our efforts? Just tell me how much? How much before you even take notice?

They told you before and they told you the truth, AIDS is there and it kills severely. So how much must be said about it? How much before you can practice:- A - abstain B - be faithful to one partner C - condoms save lives D - death equals unprotected sex.

Live and let live The people of the world!

1.2. Look at the diagram and analyze the infection rate in various regions of the world. What are the hardest-hit areas? What can be accounted for such dismal statistics?

Section 2. Reading

2.1. Read the text informing the readers about the situation with aids in Russia. Do the vocabulary work and answer the questions below.

1. How and when did Serj Horoshikh get infected?

2. Why was there little help from the authorities for people like Serj?

3. Where is Serj working now?

4. Is the rate of infection recreasing or increasing?

5. Do only drug addicts have real chances to get the infection?

6. Which social group in Russia is the most vulnerable to the infection?

7. Is the Russian government going to put more money into Aids prevention programmes?

8. Can money alone help to cope with AIDS epidemic?

Russia Wakes Up to aids Epidemic

Serj Horoshikh is one of 20,000 people living with HIV in Moscow alone. He got infected 10 years ago, aged 18. He told me he had been injecting drugs at the time. "There was zero information. Aids was just an abbreviation, it didn't mean anything," he said. "All people of my generation who were injecting drugs got infected. No one escaped."

For people like Serj, there was little help from the authorities, who were in virtual denial that Aids could exist in Russia. Available official resources were focused on treatment not prevention. Serj is now working for an Aids charity, providing information through his internet magazine to thousands of people across Russia.

According to official statistics, at the end of last year Russia had around 340,000 registered people living with HIV. But it is widely acknowledged that the figure could be at least four times higher. To date, more than 7,500 people have died of Aids in Russia. The rate of infection is spiralling upwards.

Russia now has the fastest-growing Aids epidemic in Europe - every day 100 new HIV positive infections are registered. The problem is no longer limited to injecting drug users. The disease is moving into the wider population. And it is women who are being hardest hit. Last year, roughly 40% of all new registered cases of HIV were women, most of whom are of childbearing age.

Up until recently, the Russian government was spending less than 10 cents per person every year on Aids prevention programmes. But things are beginning to change. Last week the head of Russia's federal Aids programme confirmed that the government will massively increase its Aids budget next year. "Now our president and our government have promised to spend 10 times or 15 times as much money for the struggle against HIV infection and we hope that at the end of next year we can announce that there will be some success," he said.

Russia, it seems, is finally waking up to the problem. It cannot afford to be complacent any more. But it will take more than just money to change attitudes and raise awareness about a disease that will eventually claim many more thousands of lives.

By Emma Simpson BBC News, Moscow, 2009.