Shopping Carts Covered in Bacteria
1. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from
Panhandler Controversy Takes to the Street-Signs
From a news story by
San Francisco KPIX CBS 5 News Reporter Hank Plante
November 2003
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The homeless have long been a political issue in San Francisco, but now there are competing campaign-style signs on how to handle panhandlers.
First, the Hotel Council put up placards that say the starving artist you see on the street is really a con artist, or when you give to a panhandler, you're really donating for crack. The Hotel Council's president, John M. Hutar, says the signs are necessary to get attention.
"They're to the point. They are meant to provoke thought," said Hutar. "Some have said we're mean spirited, and that's not what we set out to achieve."
"Now you know your critics say these ads are cruel and that you are bashing the homeless and the poor, what do you say to that?" asks Hank Plante. "One hundred-fifty people died on the streets of San Francisco last year; that is very cruel," replies Hutar.
The council recommends that people donate directly to agencies that help the poor, rather than giving to panhandlers. But it's all too much for long time San Francisco legislator State Senator John Burton, D-San Francisco, who has put up his own signs.
"It reminds people that Jesus gave money to poor people in the streets of Galilee," Burton said of the signs. "St. Francis was a street beggar in Assisi. I've given money to women in the streets, and I know they feed their kids with it. I've given money to Vietnam vets, and I know they buy blankets or things to keep them warm. I just want people to know that there's another side to the issue, and they ought to think about this. I guess if some people had their way and Saint Francis showed up here, we would probably arrest him."
Burton paid for the signs personally out of his campaign account, which is appropriate since this is a campaign, as the homeless becomes a hot political issue in this election year.
Further discussion
From freeways to Haight Ashbury to Fishermen’s Wharf, panhandlers are everywhere in San Francisco. Since the days of the Barbary Coast, San Francisco has been soft on beggars and panhandlers. This acceptance of the homeless has encouraged other poor and needy to move to the city. Now the homeless plight is having an economic effect on tourism.
In 2001, hotel vacancies for conferences in San Francisco were at the lowest level in eight years. Hotel owners feel this drop is due to increased numbers of panhandlers on the streets. The hotels have spent $65,000 on their ad campaign asking people to give to agencies that aid the needy instead of to individuals. San Francisco has been known as a popular city for tourists, but most visitors don’t want to be confronted by the homeless on a daily basis.
Lesson 4 A - Pollution
Pollution
Western countries are currently rethinking their attitudes towards the environment. Water, air and noise pollution are continually becoming more of a threat to the environment. Further, there is increasing evidence that the ozone layer is being slowly threatened by the ever-increasing output of carbon monoxide which, in turn, has begun to play havoc with world weather patterns. El Nino is just one example of these changes to our environment.Governments are now beginning to combat these problems with a series of different measures. They are increasingly regulating industry and employing sophisticated scientific research to develop new solutions to the threat of pollutants. Recently, noise pollution has also begun to be noticed, as it has become increasingly difficult to escape the noise of the city. There are also conferences being held on a world level to combat these serious problems. Working together, governments hope to soon find solutions.
Which phrases express the idea that there are problems with our world?
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Which phrases express governments' reaction to these problems?
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Which words or phrases express types of pollution?
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Lesson 4 - Terrorism
France gunman 'set to kill again'
The Frenchman suspected of a spate of shootings in the Toulouse area planned more killings, prosecutors have said.
Anti-terror chief Francois Molins said the suspect, named as Mohammed Merah, 23, of Algerian descent, intended to kill a soldier and two police officers.Merah, who says he was trained by al-Qaeda, is suspected of murdering three soldiers and four Jewish people.
Police have surrounded his flat and are trying to persuade him to surrender. He is said to be heavily armed.
Earlier reports said he had been captured, but officials later rebuffed the claims.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has attended a memorial at a military base in nearby Montauban for the three murdered soldiers.
He earlier told Jewish community leaders that the gunmen had been planning more attacks before police had surrounded his apartment block.
'Vengeance' claim Police moved into Merah's block after two officers were shot at when they tried to get into his flat.Officials say he is heavily armed with a Kalashnikov high-velocity rifle, a mini-Uzi 9mm machine pistol, several handguns and possibly grenades.
The five-storey block of flats was evacuated earlier, and police were also moving residents of nearby buildings.
Hundreds of officers are now stationed outside the block.Elsewhere in the city, police are hunting for accomplices and have detained several members of his family.
His mother was taken to the scene in the hope that she could persuade him to surrender, but she told police that she had no influence over her son.
Negotiators have been talking to Merah all morning, but officials said he appeared to have no particular demands.
The suspect has said he acted to "avenge Palestinian children" and said he would give himself up.
Merah claimed to have received al-Qaeda training in Pakistan's Waziristan area, and also said he had been to Afghanistan, prosecutors said. Afghan officials told the BBC he had been jailed in Kandahar for planting bombs in 2007, but escaped in a Taliban-led break-out in 2008. Other Afghan sources cast doubt on the claims, saying the man jailed in Kandahar might have been a different person with the same name.Mr Molins said Merah had visited Afghanistan twice. He gave no details of the first visit, but said that during his second trip last year, Merah was captured by Afghan forces and handed to the Americans, who put him on a plane back to France. But American officials told CNN that US forces had not dealt with Merah, and that the Afghans had handed him to French forces, who had returned him to France.
At the scene
But minutes later came the denials. First by local officials in Toulouse, then by the interior minister himself. It all added to the tension. How will the siege, which began at 3am local time on Wednesday morning, be brought to an end?
Officially, the French government says it wants to capture him alive so that he can stand trial on charges of murdering seven people and injuring at least two others.
But it will not be an easy operation if he decides to stand and fight. He is reported to have an automatic rifle, a sub machinegun and grenades inside his apartment.
The killings took place in and around Toulouse in three separate incidents earlier this month.
On 11 March, a soldier was shot and killed while waiting to see a man about selling his motorcycle.Days later, two soldiers were shot and killed, and a third was wounded while waiting at a cash machine.
Then earlier this week, three children and an adult were shot and killed outside a Jewish school.
The four Jewish victims were buried in an emotional funeral in Jerusalem earlier.
In a news conference, Mr Molins said Merah had planned to kill a soldier later on Wednesday and also had plans to target the police.
"If he's telling the truth, he would have left his house this morning and he would have once again killed any soldier that he came across," the prosecutor said.
Mr Molins said the suspect had expressed no regret for the killings, but had said he wanted to kill more people and "bring France to its knees".
At the scene
But minutes later came the denials. First by local officials in Toulouse, then by the interior minister himself. It all added to the tension. How will the siege, which began at 3am local time on Wednesday morning, be brought to an end?
Officially, the French government says it wants to capture him alive so that he can stand trial on charges of murdering seven people and injuring at least two others.
But it will not be an easy operation if he decides to stand and fight. He is reported to have an automatic rifle, a sub machinegun and grenades inside his apartment.
The killings took place in and around Toulouse in three separate incidents earlier this month.
On 11 March, a soldier was shot and killed while waiting to see a man about selling his motorcycle.Days later, two soldiers were shot and killed, and a third was wounded while waiting at a cash machine.
Then earlier this week, three children and an adult were shot and killed outside a Jewish school.
The four Jewish victims were buried in an emotional funeral in Jerusalem earlier.
In a news conference, Mr Molins said Merah had planned to kill a soldier later on Wednesday and also had plans to target the police.
"If he's telling the truth, he would have left his house this morning and he would have once again killed any soldier that he came across," the prosecutor said.
Mr Molins said the suspect had expressed no regret for the killings, but had said he wanted to kill more people and "bring France to its knees".
