Read the supporting article and provide detailed answers to the case questions below.

Drinking alcohol in bars has become risky business in Fairfax County¹ — especially for those who totter² or slur their speech³. Police in the suburban Virginia county have taken to arresting³"³ people who ap­pear drunk in a bar or restaurant. Over the Christmas holidays⁴, police raided twenty bars in the towns of Herndon and Reston, and arrested nine people for intoxication⁵.

Under Virginia law, a bar or restaurant qualifies as a public place⁶ and officers can arrest people for merely seeming drunk — without even confirming with a breathalyzer⁷ test. Bar owners complain that the raids are keeping customers away⁸, and note that the people arrested were not driving⁹. In a nod to the public outcry¹⁰, Virginia's Alcohol Beverage Con­trol Agency reminded agents to get approval for big undercover raids¹¹ [6].

Notes

1. country – адм.-террит. Единица: графство, (в Англии) или округ (в США)

2. totter – идут неверной, шаткой походкой

3. slur their speech – говорят заплетающимся языком, досл. – произносят слова невнятно (будучи в подпитии), 3-а. have taken to arresting – стали арестовывать (to take to doing smth=start doing smth)

4. over the Christmas holidays – в период Рождественских праздников

5. intoxication – опьянение, интоксикация

6. a bar of restaurant qualifies as a public place -бар или ресторан считается общественным местом. Возможен перевод и в пассивном залоге без изменения смысла: «бар или ресторан квалифицируется [считается, рассматривается..] как общественное место».

7. breathalyzer -аппарат для получения пробы на содержание алкоголя в крови (у водителя). Ср. русск. «трубка гаишника»;

8. are keeping customers away -отпугивают клиентов, досл. держат клиентов на отдалении

9. were not driving – не были за рулем, досл. не вели машину

10. in a nod to the public outcry – уступая бурным протестам общественности

11. undercover raids – внезапные, без предупреждения проверки (с целью застать врасплох, «застукать») [6]

Case questions:

1.Why has drinking alcohol in Fairfax County bars become risky business?

2.Why do bar or restaurant customers all over the world sometimes totter or slur their speech?

3. What sort of people have police taken to arresting?

4. What did police of Virginia county arrest nine people for?

5. How many bars did police raid in the towns of Herndon and Reston?

6. What do bar owners complain about?

7. Were those arrested driving cars?

8. What agency reminded agents to get approval for big undercover raids? Why?

Role-play:

Pretend you are a bar owner in Nizhny Novgorod. Earlier this month, militia have already raided your bar twice and arrested five cus­tomers who seemed to be drunk. Your bar is going to be underpa-tronized, and therefore it won't be able to operate at a profit. What measures would you take to improve the situation?

While making your decision consider the following issues:

• militia have taken to arresting people merely seeming drunk only recently;

• potential customers would be scared of such big undercover raids;

• drinking alcohol is a centuries-old tradition in Russia;

• it is fairly natural that bar customers are not quite sober;

• the customers arrested were not driving;

• installing soft drink machines;

• to complain about militia's raids.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04