Talking points. Task 13. Read the following stories and choose one for commenting on:

Task 13. Read the following stories and choose one for commenting on:

Text A

Primorye customs officers detained a Chinese man on Tuesday who tried to smuggle out Soviet coins and medals with cultural value, the customs authorities said, the 24-year-old Yan Khan Si, returning from a business trip, carried three medals with the inscription “Veteran of Labor”, one dedicated to the 70^th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the USSR, a World War Two order and nine Soviet coins dating back to 1922 and 1957. He said that he intended them for hi collection in his Harbin homers.

Text B

The Federal Government is planning to introduce new customs measures for all passengers entering Australia to help identify people who may have been exposed to the SARS virus. As part of the immigration process, plane or sea arrivals already fill out an incoming passenger card (IPC), which requires personal information and details on food, plant or animal matter being brought into Australia. The Government now intends to introduce an additional card, which will contain questions to determine the extent to which a person may have been exposed to SARS, the deadly pneumonia which has already killed more than 500 people worldwide.

Text C

AMMAN – The Customs Department seized an estimated 80, 000 packs of cigarettes at dawn Sunday and foiled an attempt to smuggle 40 kilogrammes of silver into the country two days ago, a senior department official said on Sunday. “The cigarettes, which included both US Marlboro and French Gauloises brands, were confiscated in Karamah near the eastern border with Iraq, ” Department Director General Mahmoud Qteishat said. Even though Marlboro and Gauloises are being locally manufactured, attempts to smuggle the brands into the country are in the increase.

Task 14. Say whether the following statements are true or false. Explain your opinion:

1. The Customs agency is planning to introduce new measures only for female passengers entering Australia.

2. The Customs Department in Amman seized 40 kilos of silver.

3. Smuggler of Soviet orders told he had intended them for his relatives.

4. Marlboro and Gauloises are not manufactured in Amman.

5. The smuggler from Harbin tried to smuggle out nine coins three orders and two medals from Russia.

6. Attempts to smuggle cigarettes into Amman are decreasing.

Task 15. Act out a few dialogues between a foreigner and Russian speaking about wages, salaries and overtime payments in the countries you have already learnt about. The following may be of help:

- Excuse me, may I ask you a question?

- I’m afraid I don’t understand …

- What do you mean by saying …

- Could you give me an example?

- It’s quite different from our practice.

- It’s practically the same with us.

Task 16. A snow-ball game. Work in chain. Add your opinion to the previous ones, concerning a topic word:

1) kidnapping;

2) hostage;

3) terrorism;

4) security;

5) prevention.

Step 4