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Vocabulary. Charities. Pre-reading task
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VOCABULARY
abuse v., abuse alcohol/drugs; drug abuse; alter v., alter system, situation, policy; have/get something altered; available adj., became available; readily/widely available; available for addict n., drug/heroin/morphine addict; addicted to; addiction n., drug/heroin/alcohol addiction; addiction to; feed an addic. concern n., concern about/over/with/for; contaminate v., contaminate by/with; criminal n., convicted criminal; adj. criminal activity, behaviour; curb v., to curb the spread of drugs; decriminalize v., to decriminalize cannabis; dependence n., drug/alcohol dependence; dependence on/upon; dosage n., daily/ high/low dosage of; increase/reduce the dosage; drug n., do/take drugs; drug trafficking; to experiment with drugs; handle v., to handle the matter /the situation; harmful adj., harmful to; harmful/serious/adverse/side effect; illicit adj., illicit drugs/trade; immoderate adj., immoderate behaviour/usage; increase v., increase (sth) from/to sth; increase in; induce v., induce sb to do sth; drug-induced; launder v., launder drug profit; money laundering; legal adj., legal action/proceedings; make... legal; legalize v., to legalize casino/drugs; obtain v., obtain sth from sb/sth; to obtain permission; pusher n., drug pusher; rehabilitation n., drug rehabilitation; resilient adj., remarkably resilient; supply n., supply of/to; plentiful/abundant supply; shoot up v., to shoot up heroin; susceptible adj., susceptible to; tolerate v., tolerate drinking/smoking; treat v., treat sb like/as sth; treat sb with sth; try n., give/have a try; on the first/second etc try;
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CHARITY AND VOLUNTARY WORK
CHARITIES
PRE-READING TASK
1. Answer the questions.
- What do you know about charity organizations in Belarus?
- Would you like to be involved in any kind of charity work?
Charities are independent organizations that help the poor, the homeless, children, old people and animals. They are involved with human rights, education, medical research and conservation of the environment. Many of them began in the time before governments provided any social services, when poor people had to turn to charitable organizations for help. Charities rely on money given by the public, and on help from volunteers in fund-raising and carrying out their activities.
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In 2003 there were about 187 000 charities in Britain, with a total income of £ 30 billion. The charity with the highest income was Cancer research UK. Many charities that are now known throughout the world, such as Oxfam and Amnesty International, began in Britain. Americans are also enthusiastic supporters of charities. In 2002 they gave over $240 billion. The Salvation Army received the most money.
In Britain organizations qualify for charitable status if they are established for the “public good”. Many charities ask well-known people, including members of the royal family, to become their patrons. Charities don’t pay tax on the money they receive, but they are not allowed to make a profit.
Charities in Britain are not allowed to take part in political activity, so some set up a separate pressure group which campaigns on related issues. The Charity Commission keeps a list of charities and advises them. Well-known charities working in Britain include Oxfam, the British Heart Foundation, which pays for research into heart disease, Age Concern, Help the Aged and Shelter.
In the US religious organizations receive most money from the public, followed by those concerned with social services, education and health. Well-known charities include the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the United Negro College Fund, which helps African Americans to get an education, and the American Cancer Society. Local charities operate shelters for the homeless and soup kitchens where poor people can eat free.
A lot of work done by charities in the US, such as caring for the poor or providing education, is done in other countries by the government. Americans have a strong belief that, if possible, private groups, not the government, should do this work.
The traditional method of raising money is to organize a flag day. Volunteers stand in busy streets asking members of the public to put money in a collecting tin. In exchange, they are given a paper sticker, formerly a small paper flag with a pin through it, with the charity’s name on it. This is sometimes called “tin-rattling”. The British Poppy Day has become a feature of British life. Poppy Day is a popular name for Remembrance Sunday, when many people in Britain wear plastic or paper poppies(=red flowers) in memory of the people who died in the two world wars. The poppies represent the real flowers that grew in the fields of France and Belgium, where many soldiers died.
Nearly every town in Britain has several charity shops. These are run by volunteer staff and sell second-hand clothes, books, and house-hold goods at low prices in aid of charity. At Christmas, people often buy charity cards, cards sold in aid of charity. Charity shops are less common in the US, but include shops run by the Salvation Army and Goodwill.
In recent years, the telethon has proved an effective method of fund-raising. During an evening of popular television programmes, television stars ask the public to telephone and pledge(=promise) money to the charities involved. Other fund-raising activities include fetes (outdoor sales of craftwork, plants, etc. ) and jumble sales (sales of second-hand goods). Sponsored walks, cycle rides, parachute jumps, where people agree to give money to a person completing a task, are also popular. At Christmas or Thanksgiving, schools and churches organize collections of food, called food drives in the US, for old people and the poor.
An important source of funds for charities in Britain is the National Lottery, which gives a proportion of its income to “good causes”.
In both Britain and the US many workers have money taken from their pay and sent to charity. This is called payroll giving. Some companies in the US hold fund-raising drives, in which different parts of the company compete to see which of them pledges the most money. The United Way, a national organization that collects money to give to small local charities, benefits from this. As in Britain many people leave money to charity in their will. It is also common, when somebody dies, for the family to ask people to send a contribution to a charity instead of sending flowers to the funeral. [26]
GUIDE
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