Unit 12. Language practice, watching video and writing

I. Linking words.

Similar meanings to and: also, besides, what’s more Similar meanings to but: despite this, however Similar meanings to so: as the result, for that reason, therefore

The words in the box are used to join sentences and link ideas. Put them in the text.

also, besides, what’s more as the result, for that reason, therefore, despite this, however

Homeless in the usa

The city streets of America’s urban metropolises have remained crowded with homeless men and women for decades.  (1) …. government agencies, religious organizations, and community outreach programs have aided in the health and welfare of the homeless but none have solved the problem or offered any long-term answers to homelessness. (2) …. at the root of the issue lie mental illness concerns, government bureaucracy, and humanitarian apathy towards a national problem that is often easier to turn away from than to look straight in the eyes of the homeless for the answer. (3) …. the solution appears to lie somewhere between the hands of the caring and the powers of government. An unprecedented trend is emerging in America to merge the division between church and state and work towards the mutual goals of solving social problems as a united force. 

(4) …. the magnitude of the problem of homelessness in America is incontrovertible.  According to the Homes for Homeless organization:

• The typical homeless family is a 20-year-old mother with children under the age of 6 (in the early 80's it consisted of a middle aged woman with adolescent children).

• Today's homeless mother has probably never been married, has an incomplete education, and has never been employed.

• 22% of homeless mothers grew up in foster care.

• 22% reported they lived in shelters as a child.

• 80% of homeless families moved two or more times before becoming homeless.

• 63% doubled up with friends or relatives before becoming homeless.

(5) …. the need for affordable housing reaches into the middle class, as the line between poverty and survival becomes blurred.  Take for example the cost of housing in San Francisco. The Bay Area is a classic example of the need to serve people above and below the poverty line.  According to Davis, federal guidelines assert that no more than 30 percent of a person’s income should go for housing.  A household earning $18,000 a year would then spend $450 a month on housing.  However, the median rent in San Francisco is $700, illustrating the need for affordable housing above low-income standards. These numbers cut across race lines and also illustrate the state of homelessness among racial discrimination lines. According to U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness (based on statistics from 26 cities between November 1, 1992 and October 31, 1993) and data from Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the homeless.

Getting ready for the exam texts for written translation Stalin's Reign and the Great Purges

During his entire reign, Stalin used the threat of force to gain power and concessions. When the peasant farmers failed to show allegiance to Stalin’s banners and government propaganda, Stalin reacted with harsher controls on them. Party members that showed dissent were executed, such as Sergei Kirov, one of Stalin’s chief aids. The secret police rounded up thousands of Soviet citizens, gave them mock trials and executed them via firing squad during the Great Purges. In public, Stalin offered conciliatory gestures that seemed, on the surface, to be peaceful in nature. In reality, he wanted nothing less than world domination. Thus, Stalin's foreign policy was one of expansionism. He constructed an enormous propaganda machine that relied on the falsification of history and total control over all forms of media. It is tempting to suggest that the terror that accompanied the Great Purge of the late 1930 must have made him unpopular in the Russia but, given the fact that public opinion could not possibly be accurately measured under such conditions, this cannot be proved and there is evidence that Stalin was regarded by the people of Russia as being unaware of what was going in with respect to the terror.