Text 7. Homeless Young homelessness is a problem which is getting worse and worse. In Britain there are about

150,000 Teenagers who have run away from home.

Many people think that homeless teenagers have run away from home because they can't get their own way - for example, they can't watch their favourite TV programme because their parents want to watch the news. This is very seldom true. If teenagers leave home, it is usually because they can see no other way out of a very difficult situation.

Out of all the people who are homeless, the under-18s are the most difficult to help. They often end up squatting (occupying an empty house) or sleeping rough (sleeping on the streets).

Shelter, the National Campaign for the Homeless, recently gave young homeless people diaries and asked them to write about their situations. A 17-year-old boy from Manchester, who had been homeless in London for over a year, wrote: "I really need some money desperately now. I'm starving and I just can't handle it any more. I've been getting into fights while I’m sleeping rough on the streets. It's beyond a joke now”.

If young people become homeless, it can damage them for life. A press officer for Shelter says, "One of the first things to go is their health. They also get very depressed, because it's so degrading. Many suffer from bad feet, asthma and heavy colds that won't go away. Normally, if you have a heavy cold, you go to bed for a few days - homeless people can't do that. Then there's the problem of malnutrition, which is normally a Third World problem. But living on the streets, chips and coffee might be all they get.”

“There is also a risk of them becoming involved in prostitution and crime. In fact this problem is so great in London, that the police have a special unit which searches the streets for young people in dangerous situations. "Just last weekend we found a young boy of 14 who'd left his home in the Midlands and had come to London looking for work with only £1.50 in his pocket," a police sergeant says. "Sometimes there are cases of missing boys and girls who are never found again. They just disappear.”

Young homelessness is a difficult problem which is getting worse and worse. If a young person ends up on the streets, it can be very difficult to go back home. That is why it is important that young people know who they can go to for help before they leave home. There are organisations such as Shelter, Childline and Cemrepoint where young people can get advice, and help.

A press officer for Centrepoint says, "What we tell young people is: don't let home on the spur of the moment. Seek help before the situation gets impossible either from friends, your school or by phoning Childline."

And the next time you see young people sleeping rough on the streets - they may have problems you know nothing about.

(2330)

Notes:

way out – выход;

to handle – терпеть;

heavy colds - сильная простуда;

malnutrition – недоедание;

a special unit – машина;

on the spur – поспешность.

TEXT 8. Russians Distrust Globalization Which They Don't Understand

By Marina Pustilnik, Moscow News

Globalization refers to the increasing unification of the world's economic order through reduction of such barriers to international trade as tariffs, export fees, and import quotas. The goal is to increase material wealth, goods, and services through an international division of labor by international relations, specialization and competition. It is the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through communication, transportation, and trade.

(The free Internet-based encyclopedia, Wikipedia)

Recently Russia's ROMIR Monitoring, part of the international research company Gallup International, published the results of a public opinion poll which sought to determine how Russian citizens view the process of globalization. The results showed that 61% of Russians believe that globalization creates more problems than it solves. The research was conducted within the framework of the project "Voice of the People" in more than 60 countries.

Only 19% of the Russian respondents disagreed with this statement. Another 20% were unable to provide a clear answer. Such figures make Russia stand out in the overall picture, especially in terms of the people who disagreed with the statement. The experts at ROMIR Monitoring say that this can be explained by the fact that worldwide globalization processes have not overtaken Russia yet and many people have not been able to clearly define their priorities.

Personally, it is surprising that only 20% of the polled were unable to give a clear answer; I believe that the percentage of Russians who don't clearly understand the term "globalization" is in reality much higher. I am more than sure that globalization, at least economic globalization, has not touched the lives of these 61% and that they are simply making judgments based on what they see in the TV news. And what they see are violent protests and the destruction of McDonald`s restaurants; they see anti-globalism becoming a fashion fad among young people, where protesters are driven away with water cannons. And it is a well-known trait of Russian people - they side with the weak, the ones who are being offended. This is why I believe that the 61% who answered that globalization does more wrong than it does right, did so not because globalization hurt them in some way, but because the television - which for many is the only connection to the outside world - tells them that it's bad.

In this connection it is very interesting to compare the Russian figures with those of Africa, where the majority of people are much poorer than Russians, but where 50% said that globalization solves more problems than it brings. Other interesting figures come from Japan, whose hi-tech corporations and automakers are the outposts of economic globalization and where 70% of those polled called globalization a problem.

I am not saying that globalization is without its faults. I am not saying that it doesn't hurt certain people, like for example when automakers close factories in one country and transfer production to another one, where the workforce is cheaper. But it seems to me that Russia and its citizens could in fact reap the benefits of globalization instead of eating its sour fruits. And if so far globalization hasn't acquired a positive image in Russia, may be it's the fault of the over-protective government which is afraid for its "national sovereignty" and not of globalization per se.

(2750)

Notes:

a public opinion poll – опрос общественного мнения;

a fashion fad – причуда моды.