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Зарубина В.К., Махрова О.Ф.
Circumnavigating the World
Учебное пособие
По практическому курсу английского языка
Для студентов II курса
Москва
«Рема»
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Настоящее пособие предназначено для студентов, углубленно изучающих английский язык по программе дисциплин «Практический курс английского языка как 1-го иностранного» и «Практический курс английского языка как 2-го иностранного», и продолжает серию аналогичных пособий, представляющих учебный материал по принципу лексико-тематической принадлежности.
Предлагаемое пособие посвящено теме «Путешествие» и состоит из двух разделов: «Путешествие на самолете» и «Путешествие на поезде». Каждый раздел включает аутентичный текстовый материал и комплекс упражнений, организованный с учетом требований современной методики и нацеленный на формирование у студентов высокого уровня языковой компетенции, необходимого для успешного общения в реальных жизненных ситуациях, связанных с изучаемой темой. Коммуникативная направленность большей части заданий позволяет развивать навыки устной и письменной форм общения.
Разнообразный уровень сложности упражнений позволяет использовать пособие для обучения студентов с различным уровнем знаний на разных этапах обучения, обеспечивает широкие возможности аудиторной и самостоятельной работы.
Пособие может быть использовано для обучения студентов лингвистических и нелингвистических специальностей в рамках всех образовательных программ, осуществляемых в МГЛУ.
TRAVELLING BY AIR
Exercise 1. Read the text, look up the vocabulary and answer the questions below.
WORLDLY WISDOM
To circumnavigate the planet has always been the ultimate journey, but it wasn't until the 1970s that low-cost round-the-world air fares put this kind of trip within reach of the average traveller. The first round-the-world (RTW) air fares were initiated by Pan Am in the late 1970s. Today over 40 airlines have teamed up to follow suit. They offer more than 200 routes which literally span the globe.
Bookings for the first flight must be made 14 - 30 days (depending on the airline) before departure, but remaining flights can be left open dated. Most RTW fares are valid for a minimum of 14 days and a maximum of one year and you must normally make at least three stopovers.
RTW tickets do not allow backtracking, which forces you to travel in a continuous direction around the world, either east or westbound. Most airlines allow one change of route free of charge. However, some don't permit changes at all. Don't forget to budget for airport taxes, which can add considerably to your expenses.
The 'Round the World Air Guide' recommends booking all your hotels in advance, but this is plainly ridiculous as it would leave you no room for spontaneity and take a huge amount of organisation. However, you might want to book a hotel for the first few nights after landing at your initial stop to give yourself a chance to recover from jet lag and adjust to your surroundings. Most airlines have stopover deals with discounts on hotels in major cities.
Get all your visas sorted out in advance, especially if you're planning just a quick whizz round the globe; then you don't waste valuable time abroad in foreign consulates. A problem can arise with RTW trips because for some countries (in Egypt, most African countries, Taiwan and China, for instance) the visa is only valid for three months after the date of issue, so you might have to get that particular visa en route, or it can expire before you arrive. With some countries it's advisable to get the visa out of the way beforehand, even if it's due to expire - it will stand you in good stead when you apply for one at the border, or in another city.
Cover for long global trips is unfortunately very expensive, reflecting the increased probability of accidents, disease, loss of luggage and so on that you're likely to experience. Most airlines or travel agents will sell you a policy along with your RTW ticket. Curiously many of the airlines which sell RTW tickets valid for a year only sell insurance for up to six months.
1. What put round the world journeys within reach of an average traveler?
2. What restrictions do RTW tickets have?
3. What should you have to help you enjoy your first destination?
4. Why should you have cover for long global trips?
5. What might you have to get en route on long trips which include China?
Exercise 2. Match the idiomatic expressions taken from the article, with the definitions.
span the globe
team up (with someone)
follow suit
free of charge
stand (someone) in good stead
get (something) out of the way
sort out
pushing it
for no payment, without cost
join together with others to form a pair or group
complete something unpleasant in order to move on
resolve problems
cover the entire world
will be useful/to someone's advantage in the future
copy an action done by someone else
taking a risk
MAKING RESERVATIONS FOR A PLANE TRIP
There are different ways of reserving airline tickets: you can go to the travel agency or the airline office or reserve by phone.You should decide on the fare type. Open tickets cost you more. All First and Business class tickets are open. i.e. you can change your flight times. Full-fare Economy tickets are usually open. Budget fares are usually cheaper but may have restrictions (e.g. you can only travel on certain days) and are usually non-refundable (you can't get your money back) or if you cancel, you may have to pay a cancellation fee. The best known-type is APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion). Apex fares normally have to be booked a fixed number of days in advance and they offer value for money.
Exercise 3. When booking air travel you may choose:
Flight Class Ticket Seat
Study the introductory passage above and group the words below under the respective headings.
Business, charter, direct, budget, connecting, aisle, economy, scheduled, first, APEX, non-stop, window, non-refundable
Exercise 4. Use the vocabulary from Ex. 3 to express these sentences more briefly.
1) It was a regular flight which the airline runs every day.
2) I hate those special flights where everyone is booked to the same holiday destination.
3) It was a ticket you had to book 30 days in advance to get the cheaper fare.
4) The ticket allowed us to spend up to three nights in Singapore on the journey from London to Sydney.
5) It was a special cheap fare, but there were some things you were not allowed to do.
Exercise 5. Read the conversation at a travel agency and then try to complete the customer’s sentences.
Travel Agent: Good morning. Can I help you?
Customer:..............................................................
Travel Agent: Hong Kong? Would that be a round trip ticket or one-way?
Customer:..............................................................
Travel Agent: And for what date?
Customer:...............................................................
Travel Agent: Friday, the eighteenth? Yes. That's fine. What about the return date? Do you have a fixed date in mind, or do you want an open ticket?
Customer:.......................................
Travel Agent: OK. Do you want a morning flight, or an afternoon flight?
Customer:..........................................................
Travel Agent: Well, there's a Cathay Pacific flight at ten-thirty and a US Air one at twelve-thirty.
Customer:.............................................................
Travel Agent: OK. If you'll just hold on a minute, I'll check to see if there's room. Yes, that's fine.
Customer:............................................................?
Travel Agent: One thousand, eight hundred and seventy dollars.
Customer:....................................
Travel Agent: Now, can I have your details, please?
Exercise 6. Role-play the travel agent and the customer. You want to change the date of your reservation. (This is a common problem and you don't always get the same person twice in a travel agency.)You have to explain the flight details to the new travel agent, apologize and give your new date. The travel agent deals with the problem.
Exercise 7. Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.
On by at off to through in
1. We decided to go … plane.
2. When do we take ….?
3. First you must go …. customs and immigration.
4. You'd better ask … the information desk.
5. His friend went … the airport with him to see him ….
6. You must check … at 10.30.
7. Put your luggage …a trolley.
8. He looked … my passport.
Discussion points.
2. (In) which class do you usually fly?
3. What's the difference between an open ticket and a restricted ticket?
AT THE AIRPORT
Exercise 8. Read and discuss the text.
These days aircraft technology is getting more and more sophisticated. A modern 747-400 can fly non-stop across the Pacific with only two people at the controls - it can take off and land in zero visibility and most of its operations are performed automatically. Once the flight path has been set, the computer changes course whenever necessary and can even bring the plane in to land. But we tend to forget that often more of the passengers' time is spent on the ground - at the airport.
A conventional, traditional airport consists of a central terminal, usually a rectangular block with access roads for buses and cars on one side and aircraft parked on the other side with gangways like tubes joining them to the terminal building. Some aircraft are parked further away and there are buses to take passengers across the tarmac to the stands further away.
There are two big problems that all airports have: the first is caused by the sheer number of people travelling by plane. The number of flights leads to air traffic congestion, which in turn leads to delays in flights, which means that the number of passengers waiting for their flights to leave increases, and the airport has to cope with thousands of people waiting.
The second problem is getting passengers between the terminal and the plane as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Being bussed to remote stands on the other side of the airfield is not popular with passengers.
One way of solving these problems is to have two terminals: one for the time-consuming procedures involved with international flights and the other for the faster turnaround domestic flights. But a busy airport may need more than two of these, which means separating airlines into different terminals.
Heathrow, for example, has four terminals, each dealing with different airlines that operate to different destinations.
Gatwick airport is untypical in that almost all flights from here are international, and both scheduled and charter flights use the same terminals.
Dulles Airport in Washington has less traffic and it can concentrate on convenience for the passenger, instead of processing huge numbers of people. Here the remote aircraft stands are serviced by 'mobile departure lounges': there's a central terminal building with a number of departure lounges adjoining it. Now, you go through the departure gate, take a seat in the departure lounge, the doors are closed and the whole lounge drives off to the other side of the airfield where your plane is parked. Of course it's only feasible at a relatively un-busy airport.
1. Describe the layout of a ‘conventional’ airport.
2. What are the two problems that all airports have?
3. Why do some airports have two terminals?
4. Which of the information in the text interested or surprised you most?
5. Describe the design and convenience of your local airport – perhaps comparing it with another airport you’ve visited or flown from.
6. If you’ve flown a lot, which is the nicest airport you know – and the worst?
7. What do you like and dislike about visiting an airport?
Exercise 9. Match the airport (named after a famous person) with its city. Check your pronunciation of all the place names.
a) Leonardo da Vinci 1) Paris, France
b) J. F. Kennedy 2) Caracas, Venezuela
c) Charles de Gaulle 3) New Delhi, India
d) John Lennon 4) Rome, Italy
e) Simon Bolivar 5) New York, U.S.A.
f) Cristoforo Colombo 6) Liverpool, U.K.
g) Indira Gandhi 7) Genoa, Italy
Exercise10. Divide the words from the list below into the following categories:
• different kinds of vehicle
• parts of vehicle
• people working with it
• associated facilities
aeroplane, lockers, jet, cockpit, nose, tail, pilot, ground staff, helicopter, wings, porthole, steward, ramp, supersonic aircraft, radio operator, air traffic controller, cabin, control tower, emergency exit, seatbelt, galley, hangar, runway, jumbo jet, life-jacket, flight attendant, chute.
Exercise 11. Where do you go first when you arrive at the airport? Put these places in the correct order.
passport control ________
baggage reclaim ________
the check-in desk ________
the plane _______________
the arrival hall ___________
the departure lounge ______
duty free ______________
customs ______________
security check __________
Exercise 12. Read the dialogue and study the vocabulary in bold.
Jeff Langdon is flying to Denver. He's at the check-in desk now.
Check-in clerk: Your ticket, please, sir.
Jeff: There you go.
Check-in clerk: Flight UA755 to Denver, then you're going on to Aspen, on flight RM002?
Jeff: That's right.
Check-in clerk: Do you have any baggage to check, Mr. Langdon?
Jeff: Yes. I do. Just one piece.
Check-in clerk: And did you pack it yourself, Mr. Langdon?
Jeff: Yes, I did.
Check-in clerk: Are any of the articles on this list in your bag?
Jeff: Um... No.
Check-in clerk: Would you like me to tag this bag through to Aspen? Then you won't have to pick it up in Denver.
Jeff: That would be great. Thanks.
Check-in clerk: Do you have a seating preference, Mr. Langdon?
Jeff: An aisle seat. Extra legroom, if possible.
Check-in clerk: Yes, I have a seat next to the emergency exit. So that's Flight UA755 to Denver, departing at 5:30 p.m., boarding at Gate Number 2 in 20 minutes. The flight's scheduled to depart on time. Here's your boarding pass. You'll have to report to the Transfer Desk in Denver for a seat assignment on your connecting flight.
Jeff: Thank you.
Check-in clerk: You're welcome. Have a good flight.
Note:
Travelling with overweight baggage can cost you dearly. On long-haul flights, the airlines give you a free baggage allowance of between 20 and 64 kilos, depending on the class of travel and the route. Every excesskilo is charged at one per cent of the first-class fare. One way round this is to hand over your baggage to an excess-baggage company, which can save you as much as 70 per cent on airline fees. Your luggage will then travel to your destination unaccompanied, and you can either collect it from the airport or have it delivered to your destination address. It won't usually arrive the same day, though.
Exercise 13. Use the words in bold from Ex. 12 to describe the routine of checking in for the flight.
Exercise 14. Read and remember the names of the items on the Restricted Articles List.
What can be packed where varies between airlines and, if in doubt, phone the airline's customer services department. A few airlines have this information on their websites.
The following items are not permitted in hand luggage: toy or replica guns, catapults, household cutlery, knives with blades of any length, razor blades, tradesmen's tools, darts, scissors, syringes (unless supported by medical evidence), knitting needles, sporting bats and cues.
Dangerous or perishable substances are not permitted in baggage in the hold; nor are electronic devices, precious metals and heated hair appliances using gas cylinders (these must all be carried in hand luggage).
Some airlines allow travel kettles and irons in hold baggage, while others do not, so it is important to check with the airline about these and any battery-operated items.
Exercise 15. The following enquiries and statements were all made at an airport. Read through the list and then answer the questions below.
1. Where do I check in?
2. I can't find a porter.
3. Which gate is my flight?
4. Does it matter if the label comes off?
5. I can't do my zip up.
6. How much hand luggage can I take?
7. Will the connection wait for me?
8. I've just noticed my passport is out of date. What shall I do?
9. Is it likely to be a bumpy flight?
10. Where have all the trolleys gone?
11. Will I have to pay excess baggage?
12. Is there a wheelchair somewhere?
13. I'm looking for some string.
14. Where's the gents?
15. Do they take traveller's cheques in the duty free?
16. I can't find my boarding card.
17. I have never left my bags unattended at any time.
18. Do I have to be X-rayed?
- Which of the enquiries and statements are connected (or probably connected) to a problem with luggage?
- How many of the enquiries would you describe as routine, and how many would you describe as unusual?
Exercise 16. Translate into Russian.
1) Our luggage was well under the weight when we passed through customs in Paris.
2) The loudspeaker called flight 1214 and the passengers began taking leave of their friends and relatives.
3) It was a non-stop plane bound for Riga.
4) The ramp was wheeled to the plane and the first passengers alighted.
5) Seat allocated and luggage labelled we were off to the Air France lounge to relax before the flight.
6) Once airborne, the cabin crew offered refreshments.
7) Due to short connection time on arrival at Sheremetevo I was met by an attendant for a speedy transit.
8) The flight attendants working the cabin were friendly and efficient in their service and quick to clear trays.
9) The first class cabin is smaller on the Airbus, with only eight luxurious seats that convert into fully-flat beds.
10) Please do not leave your seat while the warning light is on.
11) May we remind passengers to read the emergency procedures.
12) Would you like to see the flight deck?
13) Please keep your belts fastened. We're going through turbulence.
14) Come on dear... you can make it! Just slide down the chute.
15) He was stranded at the airport overnight. The plane was delayed by fog.
Exercise 17. Read the following article carefully and choose the best phrase or word in bold.
Delays
No one likes delays. They can be just as frustrating for the crew as/than for the passengers.
Moreover/Although everything is done to ensure that most flights take off and land on time, inevitably there are times when an aircraft is being held up/will be held up. Some people mistakenly assume that if they are delayed for a long time then something serious must be/can be wrong. But it is more often air traffic controllers who have taken/took the decision to delay an aircraft from taking off, and the safety of passengers is always the most important reason behind their taking such action.
Pilots have to file a flight plan before their aircraft can take off. This plan is distributed to every controller along the flight route so that/in order that everyone is aware of the time of arrival. If there is a shortage of landing space at the end destination or the air space above a certain country is very crowded, then air traffic control will not allow/are not allowed an aircraft to start its engines. If an aircraft will take off/is taking off from a particularly busy airport, pilots will be given a specific time to start their engines. If, for whatever reason, pilots are not able/cannot to make their time slot then it can result in quite considerable delays. Pilots then have to/must ask for a new time slot which could mean 'going to the back of the queue'.
Exercise 19. Fill in the blanks using words and expressions from below. You don't have to use all the words.
Bad weather plays an important part in deciding------1------to delay a flight. If the crew predict possible strong turbulence then,------2------there is no danger in flying in------3------ conditions, they will------4------choose to delay take-off------5-----the weather calms down purely for the sake of the passengers' comfort. ------6------airborne, an aircraft can lose time ------7------it has to fly against a strong head wind. Heavy fog at a destination can also be a main delaying factor,------8------ can freezing rain,------9------snow is not normally too------10------of a problem.
although as because even if
if many much nevertheless
once otherwise since such
than unless until whether
Exercise 20. That’s the information the Departure Board can carry. Give the Russian equivalents.
Delayed; Closed; Last call; Now boarding; Wait in lounge; Cancelled; Departed.
Exercise 21. Read the text below and choose the most appropriate participle clause.
PUSHY PASSENGERS WIN AIRLINE DISPUTE
Fifty-four economy class passengers, spending / having spent / spent three hours waiting at Heathrow airport, were finally informed that their flight had been cancelled due to technical problems. On hearing / having heard / heard the news, one of the older passengers marched up to the airline offices, demanding / having demanded / demanded that they all be put on the next possible flight. However, overbooking / having overbooked / overbooked the next flight, there was very little the airline could do.
The passengers all crowded around the airline desk, shouting and protesting / having shouted and protested / shouted and protested. Wanted / Having wanted / Wanting to do something to appease the angry crowd, they finally offered all the passengers free flights to the destination of their choice. Appeasing / Having appeased / Appeased by this offer, they calmed down, took their seats and waited another three hours before they finally took off, more than six hours late.
Exercise 22. S upply prepositions or adverbs wherever necessary:
1. Passenger planes usually fly—a speed— 300 km.—hour—an altitude—2,000 m.
2. Passengers can make reservations—seats five days—advance.
3. To alight means to get—a horse, a car, a plane, etc.
4. When does the plane—London take—?
5. As soon as the passengers had taken their seats the plane began to pick—speed. It tore—the runway and—a few seconds it hopped ____the air (it was—the ground).—two minutes we lost sight—it—the clouds.
6. How can one keep—being airsick—board a plane?
7. Throughout the whole—our flight we were fighting— a strong (heavy) cross wind (head wind).
8. The plane was delayed because—heavy contrary (head) winds.
9. A friend—mine left—Berlin—the other day. I went—Vnukovo Airport to see him—, but unfortunately I was late. When I got there the passengers had already boarded (got—)the plane. I only saw it taxiing— the field. I did not even catch a glimpse—my friend.
10. They tied—a special tag—my handbag when they weighed it—the scales.
11. Have they already called—the plane—Edinburgh?
12. All modern first-class passenger planes are fitted ___ ___ adjustable chairs. The chairs are adjustable—three or four positions so that the passenger might sit back or lie relaxing —a most comfortable way.
Exercise 23. How do you feel about airport security? Tick your answers.
1. When you are at an airport, what do you prefer?
Some security checks Very careful security checks No security checks
2. Do you mind opening your carry-on luggage?
No. I don't mind Yes, I do mind
3. Do you mind when they ask you questions?
Not at all Not if they are polite Yes
4. Do you mindwhen they search you after you have walked through the scanner?
No Yes
5. How do you feel about airport security staff?
Why do they always stop me?
I think they could be more polite.
They are doing a difficult but important job. I wouldn’t like to do it.
I don’t like it when they are talking to each other instead of looking at the X-ray scanner.
Now answer these questions.
1. Why do you think Security is necessary?
2. What sort of things go ‘beep’ when you walk through the scanner?
3. Have you ever had an object go ‘beep’ at an airport security check? What happened?
4. Why do you think Security can ask a passenger to turn on his Walkman?
Exercise 24. The US has decided to introduce compulsory photographing and fingerprinting at its airports for many business visitors and tourists. Will this help security? Read the texts and say whose view you support and why.
BIOMETRIC ID
Farewell freedom
Now most of us wishing to go to the States will be photographed and fingerprinted, before being checked against a list of terrorist suspects and criminals. Our details will be stored on a database.
What now? I already need a machine-readable passport – the next step is a ‘smart’ passport, one that contains biometric details like a fingerprint or an iris scan. The European Union has already authorised airlines to give passenger information to US security services in advance – home and e-mail address and credit card details.
The UK is ready to pilot biometric ID cards, but these are not 100% reliable in confirming identity. Such cards will not help reduce illegal immigration, as employers who are willing to break the law will simply continue to hire workers illegally. Few terrorists use false identification anyway. The government will create a national database of sensitive personal information such as medical records. Who has access to this information?
ID cards are an infringement of my personal freedom.
A secure future
Given the rise in terrorism, I have no problem being photographed or fingerprinted when I go to the States. September, 11 changed everything. Plans to store biometric data about an individual simply ensure that people are who they say they are. It will mean that stolen passports cannot be re-used by criminals. Iris-scanning technology as a means of identification is already being used at Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Canadian airports and is being introduced at UK airports.
Introduction of biometric ID cards in the UK is welcome; they will be essential in the fight against identity fraud. In my own company, we have tightened security and all visitors now need to produce identification. Employers have a secure way of knowing if people are actually allowed to work. Social security, tax codes – everything will be in one ID card. This, in my view, will reduce crime and make the world a safer place.
Exercise 25. Match the following words to make collocations taken from the articles. Can you make other collocations?
(a) biometric (1) immigration
(b) false (2) records
(c) personal (3) identification
(d) identity (4) ID cards
(e) illegal (5) information
(f) national (6) fraud
(g) medical (7) database
Exercise 26. Have you experienced any of the following ways of identifying somebody for security purposes? Which do you feel is the most / least effective?
Photograph, thumb print, voice pattern, fingerprinting, passwords, iris scanning, signature
Exercise 27. Choose the correct word or phrase in the text below.
A London based newspaper recently decided to test security in various key 'Hot Spots' around England. In the first of a series of tests a journalist, (a) hiring / having hired a pilot's uniform from a fancy dress shop, and after (b) reproducing / reproduced an official-looking document on his word processor, walked into a London airport and (c) passed through passport security / passed passport security through without a single question. He even asked the security man the way, telling him that he was new to the job and didn't know how to get down to the staff room. Within 20 minutes he (d) boarded I had boarded a plane and was in the cockpit. At this point, as he didn't know how to fly the Jumbo 747, and (e) not knowing / not known how to operate the radio, he phoned the airport security office using his mobile phone and told them of his whereabouts. A spokesman for airport security said 'We wish (f) to state / stating here and now that security at London airports is second to none. We regret (g) not to have stopped / not having stopped the intruder but he used exceptional methods to enter the airport. Rarely (h) does anyone get past / anyone gets past our security checks and we would like to add that at no time (i) there was / was there any danger to the public.' The fancy dress uniform has (j) been since returned / since been returned to the shop.
Exercise 28. A. The article below is about the case of Walied Shater, an Arab-American who was refused permission to board a flight from Baltimore to Dallas-Fort Worth on Christmas Day. Which of the following reasons do you think may have been responsible for this refusal:
Mr Shater had a gun
He had an Arabic name
He was carrying a book on Arab history
He was sweating profusely
He was nervous and agitated
He pretended to be a secret service agent
He was of Middle-Eastern appearance
He had weapons in his luggage
He behaved in a confrontational manner
He filled in a form incorrectly
B. Read the text and see whether you were right. Get prepared to discuss the text in detail.
AIRLINE SECURITY: DISHONEST WORDS ON RACIAL PROFILING MUDDY DEBATE ON AIRLINE SECURITY
It was Christmas Day, three months after the trauma of September 11, and a plane load of exhausted, slightly nervous passengers were going home at the last minute for the holidays, on American Airlines flight 363 from Baltimore Washington International airport to Dallas-Fort Worth. At the check-in desk, an Arab-American was asked a series of questions and, in the end, he was refused permission to board the plane and was left at the gate. This has happened many times on domestic flights in the United States since September 11th, but this time it was different. The Arab-American, Walied Shater, was, in fact, a secret serviceman on his way to guard President George Bush at the "Western White House" in Crawford, Texas. This meant big trouble.
In a discussion about this incident on American TV, an expert used the two words "racial profiling" –one of the most controversial issues in contemporary America. The President said he would be furious if it turned out that Shater was a victim of this practice, in which citizens are selected for special attention because of their skin colour, name or religion. American Airlines said Shater had not been refused permission to board the flight because of his Arab-American identity. Instead, the troubled airline (which lost two planes on September 11) published critical accounts of his behaviour, describing him as angry and aggressive. He had filled in a form which gives permission for government security officers to carry guns on planes, but had filled it in incorrectly twice. His identity was eventually confirmed by the Secret Service, but he had become so aggressive by then that airline officials thought it was best to leave him behind.
Shater has hired lawyers to demand an apology and to force a change in the airline's security measures. The lawyers have gone on television to deny the claims that the presidential bodyguard had behaved unprofessionally. They say it was the pilot who was confrontational. They say that there had been no problem with the gun-carrying forms until the pilot became aware of the passenger's Arab-American identity and a flight attendant found a book on Arab history among his possessions. It is a fact that Arab-Americans and people with Muslim names have been subjected to much more attention than other passengers on flights since September 11. There have been many cases of people being left off planes because the flight crew and the passengers were worried about their Middle Eastern appearance. One pilot said that one of the key items on the "new security" checklist is checking the passenger list for Islamic names. American Airlines' claim that Shater's Arab-American identity had nothing to do with the pilot's decision looks very dubious. It is hard to imagine the same situation happening to a blond secret serviceman possessing a book about the American civil war, but the airline insists it would have acted in an identical manner.
The fact that all 19 of the hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks were Muslim Arabs has inevitably had an effect on the perceptions of airline pilots and crews. It would be extraordinary if it had not. The majority of trainees who went through al-Qaida's Afghan camps were Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia. It is possible to argue, then, that there might be a significant security benefit in paying particular attention to passengers who fit that profile. On the other hand, the role of a Briton, Richard Reid, a Muslim with a non-Muslim name, in the shoe-bomb attempt on an American Airlines flight before Christmas was a clear reminder that the assailants in the next attack may not conform to the stereotype. Al-Qaida has shown itself to be very skilled at varying its line of attack.
This is a valuable debate. If there is clearly a significant benefit to using ethnic profiling in security screening, there could be further discussion of how to balance security and the civil rights of those people who are screened. Sure l y, the fact that Mr Shater was a secret serviceman with one of the highest security levels in the USA was more important than the fact that he was of Arab descent. These are important issues but they are currently being avoided because the phrase "racial profiling", usually associated with redneck cops stopping black motorists for questioning, is politically sensitive.
The Guardian Weekly 10-1-2002
Exercise 30. Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand column:
1 refuse a an apology
2 board b a claim
3 fill in c a stereotype
4 deny d a profile
5 demand e a form
6 pay f permission
7 fit g attention
8 conform to h a plane
Exercise 31.Complete these sentences using an appropriate form of words from the text:
1 Mr Shater was __________________________ permission to board the plane.
2 He was __________________________ by the airline as being "angry and aggressive".
3 The Secrete Service eventually __________________________ his identity.
4 His lawyers are __________________________ an apology.
5 They deny that his __________________________ was unprofessional.
6 A book on Arab history was __________________________ among his possessions.
7 The passenger list is often __________________________ for Islamic names.
8 There is now a discussion about how security and civil rights can be ____________________.
Exercise 32. Complete these sentences using vocabulary (in an appropriate form) from the text:
1. The claim that Mr Shater behaved unprofessionally has been _____ by his lawyers.
2. A fundamental dishonesty about the issues in play is _____ the whole discussion,
3. Since September 11th there has been much more _____ of passengers with Muslim names.
4. Passenger manifests are routinely _____ for Islamic names.
5. Mr Shater’s career prospects may have been _____ by the incident.
6. The line of attack may be _____ next time.
7. Further discussion may mean that the trade-off between security and the civil rights of those targeted may be _____.
8. For many people the phrase "racial profiling" has _____ with redneck cops.
Discussion
What do you understand by "racial profiling"?
Do you think that racial profiling is justified in the case of airline security?
Which is more important: passenger security or the civil rights of passengers?
What is the best way for airlines to maintain security?
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