Text 4. В Балтийском море столкнулись два судна, есть жертвы

Give a free translation of the story.

Три человека погибли в результате столкновения двух судов в Балтийском море. Инцидент произошел в субботу в первой половине дня у восточного берега шведского острова Готланд.

Спасательная служба Швеции сообщила, что столкновение произошло между кипрским судном и судном из Антигуа. В общей сложности на обоих судах находилось 16 человек.

После столкновения изолированными (trapped) оказались три человека на кипрском судне. Первые попытки извлечь их из перекрытого (blocked) отсека (compartment) не увенчались успехом. Позже, когда пострадавшее судно было отбуксировано к берегу, спасатели сообщили, что все трое моряков были найдены в отсеке мертвыми.

Причина аварии пока не установлена. Национальности членов экипажа и погибших пока также не сообщаются.

 

UNIT 2. Sinking

Text 1 (А). Rescuers in search for 50 missing after ferry sinks

I. Read the text and give answers to the questions below.

1. What happened with the ferry?

2. Why did it overturn?

3. How many people were able to survive?

May 4, 2002

Fifty people were missing today after a ferry sank in Bangladesh.

The boat, which had 150 people on board, ran into trouble while sailing in the south of the country.

About 100 of the passengers managed to swim to shore.

But this morning a search was launched for the remaining 50.

Officials said rescuers rushed to the scene and started looking for passengers in the water. "The mishap occurred when the overloaded boat capsized on the Kirtankhola River in fine weather", said a police officer at Barisal town, 190 miles from the capital, Dhaka.

He said the single-decker ferry listed to one side and sank immediately. The people on the roof were able to swim to safety. But there were concerns over the fate [9] of about 50 others on deck.

Ferry accidents are relatively common in Bangladesh, with hundreds dying every year.

Vocabulary

ferry	паром
to rush	устремляться, бросаться
scene	место происшествия, события
mishap	происшествие, несчастье
to capsize	опрокидываться
to list	крениться
concerns	вопросы (вызывающие озабоченность)
common	частый, обычный

II. Vocabulary Practice

1.Find an odd word.

a) disaster, accident, mishap, event;

b) confirm, occur, happen, take place;

c) list, tilt, heel, hit;

d) overturn, capsize, undergo, keel over;

e) common, usual, occasional, regular.

2. Fill in the blanks with one of the words from the vocabulary.

a) Rescuers … to the place of the accident. (hurry)

b) The … happened when the overloaded boat keeled over in the river. (disaster)

c) The overloaded ferry … and … in fine weather. (heel, overturn)

d) Ferry accidents are quite … in Bangladesh. (usual)

III. Grammar Review

1. Find in the text the sentence with a modal verb. Explain its meaning.

2. Transform the sentences using modal verbs (be able to, have to).

a) The people were forced to abandon the ship.

b) About 100 of the passengers managed to swim to shore.

c) The rescuers were pressed to launch a search for passengers in the water.

d) Those remaining on deck failed to escape.

IV. Speech Practice

1. Say what the following words and word-groups mean:

an overloaded boat; a single-decker ferry; to run into trouble; scene; concerns.

2. Speak about the accident. Study the map of the country below paying attention to its natural conditions. The map will help you get an idea about the transport system of the country. Now you must be able to make conclusions about the causes of the accident. Work in pairs.

When discussing the point use the following conversational formulas:

Expressing ignorance/uncertainty
I'm afraid I don't know.	Боюсь, что я не знаю.
I've no idea!	Не имею представления!
I might be wrong but I think…	Я могу ошибаться, но, по-моему,…
Agreeing
I quite agree with you…	Я с тобой абсолютно согласен…
That's true…	Да, это так…
Disagreeing
I don't think so…	Я не думаю, что…
I don't agree…	Я не согласен…

 

Text 1 (В). Bangladesh's ferry safety failures