Interpreting skills training

1. Beer Flood Claims Nine Souls

On October 17, 1814, a very unfortunate beer-related incident occurred in London. A huge vat which held over 135,000 gallons of fermenting beer succumbed to the wounds of age, and let its bounty loose with explosive force. The impact caused several other vats in the same building to rupture, and almost instantly the combined 1.5 mln litres of ale crashed through the brick structure and poured into the London parish of St. Giles, a slum area.

The impact of this massive wave of beer was disastrous. Men and women were caught in the wave, tossed against walls and buried in debris. The beer completely destroyed two homes, and flooded many others. A wall at a nearby pub crumbled under the force, burying a barmaid there for several hours. Nine people were killed by the drink that day, all but one due to drowning. The ninth died of alcohol poisoning. Most of the victims were poor individuals who either lost their lives, or everything they owned.

Soon after the flood, survivors rushed in to save what they could of the precious ale, collecting it in pots, cans, and kettles. Some simply used their cupped hands to lap up the tepid pools of dirty beer.

It took weeks for the stink of beer to completely fade from the area. The brewery was later taken to court over the accident, but the entire event was determined to be an “Act of God” by the judge and jury, leaving no one responsible.

2. Sweet Horror: Great Boston Molasses Flood

On January 15, 1919, people in Boston's North End were startled by a loud rumbling noise and then a "rat-a-tat-tat" that witnesses described as sounding like a machine gun. The ground shook as if a train were passing overhead. The five-story molasses tank had come apart unleashing a wave of molasses 15 feet high and 160 feet wide. Moving at 35 miles per hour, it traveled over two blocks and engulfed everything in its path. The devastation was horrific: the buildings on the dock were flattened or swept off their foundations and crushed. The next day, the Boston Post carried a graphic account. "The sight ….is almost indescribable in words. Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage. …Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly paper…... Human beings — men and women — suffered likewise."

The disaster killed 21 people, injured 150, and caused property damage of more than 100,000,000 in today's dollars. The tank's owners claimed that anarchists had dynamited it as a protest against the American government, but few people accepted this explanation. Other theories ascribed the explosion to overfilling and structural defects of the tank. After much legal wrangling, the production company was held liable for the damage and paid $1,000,000 in compensation to the victims of the disaster.

Massachusetts and most other states responded to the verdict by passing laws to certify engineers and regulate construction. The molasses case marked the beginning of the end of an era when big business faced no government restrictions on its activities — and no consequences.

3.Australia seeks more palatable name for kangaroo steaks

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has launched a competition to find a new way of describing kangaroo meat which will be less offensive to diners sensitive about eating the national symbol.

Organisers point out that a slice of cow or pig on a plate is called by the more palatable euphemisms of beef or pork, and they want to find a similarly savoury name for cute kangaroos.

Kangaroo meat sales have grown 50-fold in the past decade to create a 200 million dollar a year industry, with Europe a major export market for the low-fat red meat and Russians lapping it up in sausages.But Australians have been reluctant to eat an animal so closely linked to the national identity, and most kangaroo meat consumed locally is in the form of pet food.

The competition to find a new name for the meat has the support of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia.The organisers said there were more than 300 words for kangaroo and its meat in Aboriginal dialects and suggested entrants give one of those words a "sexy twist".

Hundreds of names have already been put forward, including "Skippy" (the name of a favourite TV kangaroo character), "Yummy" and "Kanga" -- none of which stand a chance of success, the Australian newspaper reported. The industry's national quota for culling kangaroos is 3.9 million animals, a number described by some wildlife activists as a cruel slaughter but defended by the industry as necessary to keep down booming kangaroo populations.

4.Отдых на диване — лучшая зарядка

В ряде случаев физические упражнения, безусловнo, полезны. Однако в некоторых случаях путь к долголетию может лежать не через спортзалы, изнуряющие забеги и купание в холодной воде. Для многих людей лучшим тренажером, обеспечивающим здоровье на долгие годы, может стать любимый диван, лучшим упражнением — дневной сон, а лучшим побуждением к «занятиям» — простая здоровая лень.

К таким абсурдным на первый взгляд выводам пришел немецкий профессор Питер Акст. В своей книге «Радость лени», которая вышла несколько лет назад, он призывает читателей просто растрачивать с вое свободное время, наслаждаясь ничегонеделаньем. По его мнению, люди, которые через силу добираются до спортзала для того, чтобы отдаться не приносящему никакой радости занятию, вредят себе. А ведь лень, кроме того, служит хорошей защитой от стресса. По мнению профессора Акста, хорошо поддерживает форму легкая прогулка, но не более того. Это относится, прежде всего, к людям старшего возраста, которые должны тщательно следить за расходуемой энергией. Исследования показали, что люди старше 50 лет. которые занимаются бегом, расходуют на него ту энергию, которая совершенно необходима им на другие цели, У них, по словам Акста, может наблюдаться потеря памяти и ускоренное старение.