II. Vocabulary Practice
1. Find the words from the text which mean the following:
a religious person who travels a long way to a holy place;
to make it difficult for someone to do something;
to decide that something is not possible or suitable;
legally acceptable;
the act, system, or business of providing financial protection for property, life, health, etc., against specified contingencies.
2. Give synonyms or synonymous phrases which mean the following:
to go down; high winds; not aware of smth; due to arrive.
Group Work
Two texts below are about the same accident but comprise different information. Each student has to read one text. Exchange the information. Work in pairs.
Text 8. There are conflicting reports on whether the al-Salam Boccaccio'98 met all regional safety requirements
There are conflicting reports on whether the al-Salam Boccaccio'98 met all regional safety requirements. The speed at which the ship sank and the fact there were not enough life rafts on board confirmed that there was a safety problem.
The 35-year-old ship, previously operated in Italy, was of a design that has not been allowed to operate everywhere. Besides, the ship was modified in the 1980s, with two more passenger decks placed on the top of the vessel.
As a result, the ferry had an unusually high profile, sitting much taller in the water than it was originally designed to do.
The ship was a "roll on-roll off" (ro-ro) ferry, on which vehicles drive on at one end of the ferry, and then off at the other. Ships are equipped with large doors close to the waterline at the front and rear of the vessel, which create a risk of flooding if they are not properly sealed. Even if a small amount of water enters through the doors, it starts slopping from side to side, making the ship rock.
As the water moves it gathers momentum, causing the rocking to become more pronounced. The shifting water quickly makes the ship unstable and can capsize it within a short space of time.
This phenomenon – known as the Free Surface Effect – played a key role in the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry off Zeebrugge in 1987, after it set sail with its bow doors open.
After this, and the loss of the Estonia ferry in the Baltic Sea in 1994, the EU reinforced its regulations on ro-ro ferries, but less stringent regulations continue to apply in some other parts of the world.
Experts call on the government to stop certifying old ships. Buying older vessels and then charging cheap prices allows ship owners turn a much quicker profit than if they operated newer, more expensive vessels.
Vocabulary
to slop |
плескаться (о воде) |
to rock |
качать(ся) |
momentum |
движущая сила |
pronounced |
резко выраженный, отчетливый |
stringent |
строгий, обязательный |
Text 9. The sinking of a passenger ferry in the Red Sea Friday is one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent years
to push over |
to capsize |
to flee |
to run away, to escape |
The sinking of a passenger ferry in the Red Sea Friday with some 460 survivors – out of 1,400 passengers and crew members – is one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent years.
Initial reports indicate that soon after departing from Dubah, Saudi Arabia a fire started in the 35-year-old vessel's parking bay. Assuring passengers that the fire was under control, the crew decided to continue on the 120-mile journey to the Red Sea port of Safaga, Egypt.
"We told the crew, 'Let's turn back, let's call for help', but they refused and said everything was under control", said an Egyptian passenger who works in Saudi Arabia.
The car deck flooded as crew members pumped water in to battle the fire. An explosion was heard and within minutes the ship began to list, and high winds reportedly helped push the ship over. The ship reportedly sank before most of the life boats could be lowered or inflated.
Some survivors claimed the ship's captain and some crew members fled the sinking ship in a lifeboat. The captain is still reported missing.
Analysts questioned whether the crew members on the al-Salam Boccaccio'98 were properly trained. If so, they should have been able to put out the fire, or at least to safely evacuate all the ship's passengers.
Vocabulary
parking bay |
участок для парковки автомобилей |
to inflate |
надувать, накачивать |
After reading the texts and exchanging the information about causes of the accident, do your best to describe the disaster using the facts from the three texts.
Text 10. Divers to survey Channel wreck
Skim the text and express your opinion of the causes of the accident.
The 55,000-ton Tricolor – carrying nearly 3,000 luxury cars – capsized and sank in the early hours of Saturday (Dec 14, 2002) after a collision with a cargo freighter Kariba about 48 km east of Ramsgate, Kent.
No-one was injured. A salvage team is preparing to send divers down to the sunken car carrier in the English Channel on Sunday.
A team had been at the scene of the wreck overnight but had been hampered by bad weather conditions and a high tide.
None of the ship's estimated 2,000 tons of oil was leaking into the sea.
The method of removing the ship had still to be decided by the owners and insurers. It could be refloated or lifted by floating cranes.
The Norwegian-registered Tricolor had been travelling from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Southampton with its multi-million pound cargo of vehicles, including BMWs, Volvos and Saabs, and 77 containers.
The 20,000-ton Bahamas-registered freighter Kariba was badly damaged in the collision but limped back to port in Antwerp, Belgium.
The wreck must really go as soon as possible, because the Dover Straits is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world – and this is the actual crossroads where ships come from and to the European ports.
The value of the cargo was put at £30m, though the cars would have fetched double that at retail prices.
The estimated value of the Tricolor itself is about £25m.
The Tricolor was initially only partly submerged because of a low tide but later disappeared from view.
An inquiry will be launched by the French authorities into the cause of the accident.