Vocabulary Dossier

Yolanda Rodríguez Sánchez.

José Alberto Ariza Sánchez.
María Jesús Hidalgo Fernández.
Fairouz Hussein Naranjo.

Filología Inglesa
Curso 1º
Lengua Inglesa A
Index

Index

Index ……………………………………………………………………. Page 2

Natural disasters texts ………………………………..………………... Page 6

Text number 1………………………………………………………........ Page 6

(Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster)

Text number 2…………………………………………………………… Page 7

(Third World Debt and Disaster Recovery)

Text number 3…………………………………………………………… Page 8

(First Detailed Documentation Of Tsunami Erosion)

Text number 4…………………………………………………………… Page 10

(Storm Killers: Earth Scan Lab Tracks Cold Water Upwellings In Gulf)

Text number 5 …………………………………………………………... Page 14

(Warming 'big threat' to Yosemite)

Text number 6 …………………………………………………………... Page 16

(Italians Comb Through Rubble After Quake)

Text number 7 …………………………………………………………... Page 19

(Hurricane Katrina Slams Into Gulf Coast; Dozens Are Dead)

Text number 8 …………………………………………………………... Page 24

(Changes In Earth's Ozone Layer Predicted To Increase UV Radiation
In Tropics And Antarctica)

Text number 9 …………………………………………………………... Page 25

(Earth Quake Hits Britain: The Biggest Tremor in 25 Tears)

Text number 10 ………………………………………………………… Page 26

(The blame game)

Text number 11 ……………………………………………………….... Page 29

(Freezing weather brings misery to Europe)

Natural disasters vocabulary …………………………..……………… Page 31

Health & food texts ……………………………………………………. Page 35

Text number 1 ………………………………………………………….. Page 35

(Eating Right -- Not Supplements -- Is Best At Keeping Your Good
Bacteria Healthy, Dietitian Says)

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Index

Text number 2 ………………………………………………………….. Page 37

(Sesame Seed Extract And Konjac Gum May Help Ward Off Salmonella
And E. Coli)

Text number 3 …………………………………………………………. Page 38

(Comfort Food: Chocolate, Water Reduce Pain Response To Heat)

Text number 4 ………………………………………………………….. Page 40

(Diet And Intestinal Bacteria Linked To Healthier Immune Systems)

Text number 5 …………………………………………………………. Page 44

(Vitamin Pills: A False Hope?)

Text number 6 …………………………………………………………. Page 47

(The Overlooked Diagnosis of Celiac Disease)

Text number 7 …………………………………………………………. Page 49

(Spirulina helps treat anemia)

Text number 8 …………………………………………………………. Page 51

(Added Sugar in Raisin Cereals Increases Acidity of Dental Plaque)

Text number 9 …………………………………………………………. Page 52

(Livestock Lead to Better Health in Developing Nations, Rising
Consumption Poses Challenge, Study Finds)

Health & food vocabulary …………………………………………….. Page 54

Education, work and employment texts………………………………. Page 58

Text number 1 …………………………………………………………. Page 58

(Ofsted chief attacks "catalogue of myths")

Text number 2 …………………………………………………………. Page 60

(Dubai women storm world of work)

Text number 3 …………………………………………………………. Page 64

(Intern fees 'salt in the wound')

Text number 4 …………………………………………………………... Page 67

(They’ll Work for Education)

Text number 5 …………………………………………………………... Page 70

(Education, Daytime Hours, And Job Flexibility Most Help Single
Moms Of Preschoolers)

Text number 6 …………………………………………………………... Page 72

(Interactive Animations Give Science Students a Boost)

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Index

Text number 7 …………………………………………………………...

(Teamwork Improves Learning And Career Success) Page 74

Text number 8 …………………………………………………………...

(Should learning - and schools - be about learning skills for the Page 75
employment world or knowledge for knowledge's sake?)

Text number 9 …………………………………………………………..

(At Colleges, Humanities Job Outlook Gets Bleaker) Page 77

Education, work and employment vocabulary ……………………….

Page 79

Travel & holidays texts ………………………………………………...

Page 83
Text number 1 …………………………………………………………...
(Three of the best budget ski resorts) Page 83

Text number 2 …………………………………………………………...

( Nairn voted world’s second favourite destination) Page 86

Text number 3 …………………………………………………………...

(Riding the Rails) Page 88

Text number 4 …………………………………………………………...

(Before It Disappears) Page 96

Text number 5 …………………………………………………………...

(Branson to Introduce Tourist Spaceship in Mojave) Page 100

Text number 6 …………………………………………………………...

(Biking Coal Country’s Tracks and Tunnels) Page 102

Travel & holidays vocabulary ……………………………………........

Page 106

Crime and law texts …………………………………………………….

Page 110
Text number 1 …………………………………………………………...
(Woman Who Killed Her 4 Daughters Is Given 120 Years) Page 110

Text number 2 …………………………………………………………...

(Violent Crime Fell in 2008, F.B.I. Report Says) Page 111

Text number 3 …………………………………………………………...

(Bad Times Do Not Bring More Crime (if They Ever Did)) Page 114

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Index

Text number 4 …………………………………………………………...

(Justices Appear Skeptical of Anticorruption Law) Page 117

Text number 5 …………………………………………………………...

(Cleveland Man Pleads Insanity in Killings of 11 Women) Page 120

Text number 6 …………………………………………………………...

(Anti-abortion activist can't use 'necessity defense' in slaying) Page 123

Text number 7 …………………………………………………………...

(Woman convicted of killing man who taunted her over N.Y. Yankees Page 125
decal)

Text number 8 …………………………………………………………...

(Brazil high court lifts stay, allowing boy to return to U.S.) Page 126

Text number 9 …………………………………………………………...

(Florida fugitive recaptured after 30 years) Page 128

Text number 10 ………………………………………………………….

(Crime and Punishment) Page 129

Text number 11 ………………………………………………………….

(2 deputies shot in same county where 4 officers were killed) Page 131

Text number 12 ………………………………………………………….

(Martin backers' law bid 'to fail') Page 133

Crime and law vocabulary …………………………………………….

Page 135

Sense and sensibility text ………………………………………………

Page 139
Sense and sensibility vocabulary ………………………………….......
Page 175

Reference section ……………………………………………………….

Page 178

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Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster

Author and Page information

 by Anup Shah

Boxing day, 2004, one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history (measuring 9 on
the Richter Scale), struck just off Sumatra, Indonesia, in a fault line running under the
sea. The rupture caused massive waves, or tsunamis, that hurtled away from the
epicenter, reaching shores as far away as Africa. Some 230,000 people were killed and
the livelihoods of millions were destroyed in over 10 countries. This has been one of the
biggest natural disasters in recent human history.

One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history

Measuring 9 on the Richter Scale, the earthquake that hit under the sea near the northern
Indonesian island of Sumatra was the strongest earthquake in the world for 40 years.

The massive 1,000km rupture along the Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates resulted
in huge tsunami waves (or sea surges) crashing into coastal areas across south and east
Asia, even reaching eastern Africa.

Enormous Death toll and Devastation

It is believed that 230,000 people died.

The BBC also lists the worst recorded disasters in recent history, and shows that this
tsunami disaster is one of the worst.

For those who have survived, the future looks bleak as whole communities have been
wiped out, and many of the survivors have been left homeless. The United Nations
estimates that some 5 million lives have also been affected.

There is now great concern that disease will result from poor sanitation and lack of
clean water. In addition, it is feared that there will be a proliferation of endemic diseases
as a result of the stagnant pools of water that have been created. It is feared that these
will claim just as many lives as the waves did.

This disaster also has to be taken in the context of on-going problems. Some regions,
such as north eastern Sri Lanka, or Aceh in Indonesia, have seen violent conflicts for
many years, as separatist rebels struggle with the government. For example, the United
Nations reports that many landmines have been dislodged by the tsunamis in Sri Lanka.
These were planted during the long-running civil war. The tsunami waves have spread
them to other areas, and no-one would know where, exactly. As people slowly return to
their homes and villages, they could face yet more problems.

The same United Nations report above, also notes that some World Heritage sites may
have been affected, and the damage is currently being assessed.

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Third World Debt and Disaster Recovery

by Anup Shah

When poor countries face natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods and fires, the cost
of rebuilding becomes even more of an issue when they are already burderned with
debt. Often poor countries have had to suffer with many lost lives and some aid while
still paying millions a week back in the form of debt repayment.

Debt Relief and The Floods of Mozambique and Madagascar

The worst floods for 50 years and a devastating cyclone in the first three weeks of
February, 2000 in Mozambique has been met with a slow response by the international
community to provide much needed assistance and aid. As many as 300,000 were
feared to have lost everything, while there were fears of more floods.

The floods are also thought to have moved landmines from previously known minefield
areas to areas that have already been cleared. Mozambique is one of the world's most
heavily mined countries. To find out more about the terrible effects of landmines see
this site's page on landmines.

As with the effects from Hurricane Mitch, debt burdens once again have come to the
fore. Even Mozambique's government has been urging a cancellation of the country's
debts to help use those saved resources for rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure.

For more information, you can start at the coverage from Guardian.

The UN also estimates that 600,000 people have been affected in Madagascar, the
world's fourth largest island. That is twice as many in Mozambique. Two cyclones tore
through the island. One of them made its way on to Mozambique resulting in the
damage that filled headlines. However, a second cyclone that hit Madagascar didn't get
to Mozambique.

Debt Relief and Hurricane Mitch

The devastation in Central America caused by one of the deadliest storms in over 200
years, Hurricane Mitch, November 1998, has been terrible. A UN report estimates that
the destruction caused will set back development in this region by 20 years. The cost of
rebuilding after Hurricane Mitch has highlighted the problems of debt repayment and
debt relief that these countries are still facing (a repayment of about $200 million a day
from Honduras and Nicaragua, two of the worst hit areas).

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First Detailed Documentation Of Tsunami Erosion

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2009) — Tsunamis are among the most-devastating natural
calamities. These earthquake-generated waves can quickly engulf low-lying land and
bring widespread destruction and death. They can deposit sand and debris far inland
from where they came ashore.

Now, for the first time, a group of scientists working in the Kuril Islands off the east
coast of Russia has documented the scope of tsunami-caused erosion and found that a
wave can carry away far more sand and dirt than it deposits.

The fortuitous observations resulted because the Kuril Biocomplexity Project had made
detailed surveys of some Kuril Island coastlines during the summer of 2006, and then
returned for additional work in the summers of 2007 and 2008. That provided a unique
opportunity for before-and-after comparisons following a magnitude 8.3 earthquake and
accompanying tsunami on Nov. 15, 2006, and an 8.1 quake and resulting tsunami on
Jan. 13, 2007.

When the scientists revisited coastlines they had surveyed in 2006, they found that in
some places the amount of sand and soil removed by tsunami erosion was nearly 50
times greater than the amount deposited.

"It was so extreme. I was really surprised," said Breanyn MacInnes, a University of
Washington doctoral student in Earth and space sciences.

The team observed shorelines stripped of vegetation, small hills of soil and volcanic
cinders washed away to expose boulders and, in one place, the unearthed rusty remnants
of military equipment left behind at the end of World War II.

"We were there the year before and it had been completely covered with vegetation, and
there were ridges closer to shore that had been completely removed when we returned,"
MacInnes said.

She is the lead author of a paper describing the observed differences in erosion and
deposition, published in the November issue of the journal Geology. Co-authors are
Joanne Bourgeois, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences and MacInnes' doctoral
adviser, and Tatiana Pinegina and Ekaterina Kravchunovskaya of the Far East Branch of
the Russian Academy of Sciences. The work was funded by the National Science
Foundation and the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Marine Geology and
Geophysics.

The Nov. 15, 2006, Kurils earthquake was large enough to raise alarms about the
potential for a tsunami throughout the Pacific basin. Only very tiny waves were
recorded on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, relatively near the Kurils. However, a
tsunami nearly 6 feet high did more than $10 million damage to the harbor at Crescent
City, Calif., some 4,500 miles away.
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Natural disaster

The Kurils themselves were hit by tsunami waves more than 70 feet high in some
places, and changes in topography were dramatic.

The amount of erosion from a tsunami depends somewhat on the topography of the
land, but definitely is related to the force of the wave, the scientists found. They noted
that an area called South Bay on Matua Island lost about 50 cubic meters, or about
1,765 cubic feet, of sediment per meter of width, while an area called Ainu Bay lost an
astounding 200 cubic meters, or about 7,060 cubic feet, of sediment per meter of width
because of tsunami-induced erosion.

At a spot called Dushnaya Bay, where the tsunami was at a relatively low elevation at
its greatest distance from shore, the biggest change occurred on the sandy beach, with
about 5 cubic meters, or about 177 cubic feet, of sediment eroded per meter of width.

In other areas, relatively fine volcanic sand from the shore and much coarser volcanic
cinders unearthed from ridges were deposited well inland, but the amount of sediment
deposited was far less than the amount eroded, the researchers found.

Some of the landscape scars will remain visible for decades, or even centuries, the
scientists reported. For example, along Ainu Bay ridges were removed, depressions
were scoured into the topography and a lake was breached and drained.

"One thing we really noticed was that anywhere there had been human disturbance, like
the remnants of a military base or even just a fencepost, there was always some sort of
blowout or deeper erosion," MacInnes said.

She noted that geologists have long considered erosion to be an important factor in
studying tsunamis.

"There are a lot of papers that describe erosion but they can't really quantify it. Our
study is the first to say, 'This much sand was removed from the coast,'" she said.

"This emphasizes that erosion is something to consider when assessing a community's

risks and vulnerability

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Storm Killers: Earth Scan Lab Tracks Cold Water

Upwellings In Gulf
ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2009) — Complex interactions between the ocean and overlying
atmosphere cause hurricanes to form, and also have a tremendous amount of influence
on the path, intensity and duration of a hurricane or tropical weather event. As
researchers develop new ways to better understand and predict the nature of individual
storms, a largely unstudied phenomenon has caught the attention of scientists at LSU’s
Earth Scan Laboratory, or ESL. Cool water upwellings occurring within ocean cyclones
following alongside and behind hurricanes are sometimes strong enough to reduce the
strength of hurricanes as they cross paths.

“Ocean cyclones are areas of upwelling, meaning that cold water is not far from the
surface as compared to the water surrounding it,” said Nan Walker, ESL director. “The
Gulf of Mexico is full of ocean cyclones, or cold water eddies, many of which move
rapidly around the margin of Gulf’s Loop Current, which is the main source of water for
the Gulf Stream.”

While the upwelling is important to Gulf fisheries because it delivers nutrients into the
surface waters, causing algal blooms and attracting marine life to the areas,
oceanographers have recently begun to realize that these cyclones intensify currents
near the surface and along the bottom of the ocean in areas of gas and oil exploration.

“Now,” Walker added, “our research has shown that ocean cyclones also provide
temperatures cold enough to reduce the intensity of large Gulf of Mexico hurricanes.”

Walker’s research team has been looking into the upwelling phenomena since 2004,
when they were able to use satellite data received at the ESL to view ocean
temperatures soon after Hurricane Ivan’s Gulf crossing.

“Clear skies gave us a rare opportunity to really analyze the oceanic conditions
surrounding the wake of Ivan,” said Walker. “We saw abnormally low temperatures in
two large areas along the storm’s track, where minimum temperatures were well below
those required to support a hurricane, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.” This suggested to
Walker that areas of extreme cooling could be providing immediate negative feedback
to Gulf hurricanes, decreasing their intensity.

“In Ivan’s case, we found that its wind field increased the counter-clockwise spinning of
the ocean cyclones in its path, catapulting cold water to the surface, which in turn
reduced the oceanic ‘fuel’ needed for the hurricane to maintain its strength,” said
Walker. She observed that Ivan’s intensity decreased as it moved toward the
Mississippi/Alabama coast, despite the presence of a large warm eddy, a feature
generally known for its potential to increase hurricane strength. Thus, the impact of the
cold eddies overwhelmed that of the warm eddy.

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“Cool wakes are most beneficial when the storm occurs later in the season because the
Gulf doesn’t warm as rapidly in fall and may not have time to warm back up,” said
Walker.

The research being conducted at ESL could eventually lead to novel new weather study
techniques.

“Our research, in collaboration with Robert Leben at the University of Colorado, is

providing an advanced monitoring system so that likely ocean impacts can be assessed
in advance of the Gulf crossing,” said Walker. “However, it is important to remember
that we don’t predict; we provide valuable information that serves as tools for those in
the business of predicting, such as the National Hurricane Center.”

Of course, this is only one facet of the work done at LSU’s ESL. The lab has played a
major role in mapping hurricane-related flooding, tracking oil spills and determining
causes for the size and location of dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, along with many
other tasks employing satellite imagery.

ESL was founded more than 20 years ago, and employs undergraduate students, many
of whom stay on with the lab throughout their entire college career. The lab’s Web site,
serves as a wealth of information for researchers, students and the general public. It
includes real-time imagery of atmospheric, oceanic and coastal conditions, detailed
records of recent and past hurricanes, as well as various types of ocean imagery and
research summaries. ESL is part of LSU’s Coastal Studies Institute and the Department
of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences in the university’s School of the Coast &
Environment.

August 1, 2007 — Meteorologists have found a new discovery may boost the accuracy
of the forecasts. The surprising factor is dust, researchers have found that years where
there was a lot of dust, there were less hurricanes or vice versa. When wind over Africa
blows west -- towards the United States , it carries massive amounts of dust from
sandstorms in the Sahara desert. As the dust passes over the Atlantic, it blocks out the
sunlight cooling ocean temperatures below the ideal temperature to form more
hurricanes.

In 2005, a record number of hurricanes formed in the Atlantic, many striking the United
States with devastating effects. First there was Katrina, then Rita, then Wilma -- three
storms that ripped through towns, destroyed homes and killed hundreds. In 2006, most
meteorologists expected another active year, but we had a much quieter season. Now --
a new discovery may boost the accuracy of the forecasts.

"Really we are just in this, almost this era of just more hurricanes occurring," said
Amato Evan, satellite meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Scientists have made it their business to predict when and where they'll hit. Ocean and
gulf water temperatures, as well as wind shear, are two big factors scientists use now to
predict hurricanes. But one researcher has found a surprising factor: dust.

"Consistently, years where there was a lot of dust, there were less hurricanes or vice
versa. Years where there wasn't very much dust, there were more hurricanes," Evan
said.

Wind over Africa blows west -- towards the United States -- carrying massive amounts
of dust from sandstorms in the Sahara desert. As the dust passes over the Atlantic, it
blocks out the sunlight cooling ocean temperatures below the ideal temperature to form
hurricanes.

"One dust storm at the right place at the right time might really help to interrupt the
intensification, or even the genesis, of a potential hurricane," Evan said.

But before dust storms become a major player in hurricane prediction models, scientists
will need to get a better understanding of how dust interacts with individual storms --
and what triggers the dust storms in the first place.

BACKGROUND: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have

proposed an intriguing theory as to what might be causing stronger and more frequent
hurricanes. They discovered a surprising link between hurricane frequency in the
Atlantic Ocean and thick clouds of dust that periodically rise from the Sahara Desert
and blow off Africa's western coast. The findings are significant because they show that
long-term changes in hurricanes may relate to different factors. If scientists conclusively
prove that dust storms help to squelch hurricanes, weather forecasters could one day
begin to track atmospheric dust, factoring it into their predictions for the first time.

WEATHER CONUNDRUM: The question of what, if anything, might be causing

stronger and more frequent storms remains open. Some scientists point to rising ocean
temperatures, brought on by global warming, while others think the upswing is simply
part of a natural cycle in which hurricanes become worse for a decade or two before
dying down again. The UWM scientists' findings add another piece to the puzzle. They
pored over 25 years of satellite data from 1981 to 2006 and noticed a correlation
between periods of intense hurricane activity and scarce amounts of dust in the
atmosphere. In years when stronger dust storms rose up, on the other hand, fewer
hurricanes swept through the Atlantic.

DUST TO DUST: Dust storms form primarily during the summer and winter months in
the Sahara, but some years they barely form at all, and scientists are unsure why.
Attention has turned to the environmental impact of dust since it became clear that in
some years, millions of tons of sand rise up from the Sahara Desert and float across the
Atlantic Ocean, sometimes in as few as five days. The sand rises when hot desert air
collides with the cooler, dryer air of the Sahel region -- just south of the Sahara -- and
forms wind. As particles swirl upwards, strong trade winds blow them west into the
northern Atlantic. It's also possible that these dust storms might suppress the
development of hurricanes. Sahara Desert dust storms impact the atmosphere in three
ways:

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1. dust storms are extremely dry and cover a large area;

2. dust storms have strong winds; and
3. dust absorbs heat and prevents cloud formation.

Dry, dust-ridden layers of air may help to dampen brewing hurricanes, which need heat
and moisture to fuel them. That effect could also mean that dust storms have the
potential to shift a hurricane's path further to the west, giving it a higher chance of
hitting US soil.

ABOUT HURRICANES: A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, a low-pressure

system that usually forms in the tropics and has winds that circulate counterclockwise
near the earth's surface. Storms are considered hurricanes when their wind speeds
surpass 74 MPH. Every hurricane arises from the combination of warm water and moist
warm air. Tropical thunderstorms drift out over warm ocean waters and encounter
winds coming in from near the equator. Warm, moist air from the ocean surface rises
rapidly, encounters cooler air, and condensed into water vapor to form storm clouds,
releasing heat in the process. This heat causes the condensation process to continue, so
that more and more warm moist air is drawn into the developing storm, creating a wind
pattern that spirals around the relatively calm center, or eye, of the storm, much like
water swirling down a drain. The winds keep circling and accelerating to form a classic
cyclone pattern.

The American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society contributed
to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

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Natural disaster

Warming 'big threat' to Yosemite

Wildfires within California's world famous Yosemite National Park could become more
frequent and severe due to climate change, say scientists.
New research in the International Journal of Wildland Fire says warmer temperatures
pose a twin threat.
As well as directly triggering fires, they could also melt the snow that covers the forest
in winter.
Lightning strikes would then trigger more fires, burning more intensely. "People already
expect more ignitions from hotter summers," says Dr James Lutz of the University of
Washington at Seattle, US, one of the study's authors.
That is because predicted higher temperatures will make vegetation more flammable
and allow larger fires to take hold.
"But this research suggests that declines in snowpack will have an additional effect,"
says Dr Lutz.
He and his colleagues estimate that warmer temperatures will trigger a 20% increase in
both the number of fires within Yosemite and also in the area of forest that will burn
with a higher severity.
These increased fires will be triggered by lightning strikes.
The reason that will happen is two-fold. First, there is some evidence to suggest that
increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to more lightning strikes.
Second, and more important in Yosemite, Dr Lutz and his colleagues show that if
snowpack cover in Yosemite during the winter falls by 17% by 2050, an amount
predicted by conservative climate models, then lightning strikes are more likely to ignite
forest fires in the park.
"Yosemite's climate is Mediterranean, with very little summer precipitation and the
terrain is mountainous. Accordingly, winter precipitation drives landscape
flammability," says Dr Lutz.
His team examined the relationship between snowpack and the ignition and size of fires
in Yosemite between 1984 and 2005.
During this period, 1,870 fires burned over 77,000 ha (190,000 acres).
But when snowpack cover decreased in certain years, lightning-ignited fires increased
exponentially.
Using these figures, they then extrapolated what would happen if snowpack levels fell
by 17% in Yosemite, as predicted.
Using 23 years' worth of data acquired by the Landsat Thematic Mapper instrument, the
researchers also confirmed that as the area of land that burns increased, the severity of
the fire within also went up, causing yet more damage.
Overall, the number of lightning-ignited fires is predicted to increase by 19.1% from
2020 through to 2049, while the area that will burn at high severity each year will
increase by 21.9%.
The projections produced by Lutz's team depend on warming continuing according to
what is known as the B1 emissions scenario.
In 2000, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which evaluates and
summarises the work of thousands of scientists, published a number of scenarios
detailing how much greenhouse gases would be emitted as countries develop
The B1 emissions scenario assumes a low level of emissions, with carbon dioxide
emissions increasing slightly in coming decades but then falling to lower than current
levels by 2100.

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However, even this optimistic emissions scenario results in global temperatures

increasing by 1 or 2°C.
The A1 scenarios assume much more greenhouse gas would be emitted, and
temperatures would rise further.
Snowpack declines projected for the A1f1 emissions scenario were extreme," says Dr
Lutz.
In the recent meteorological record, Yosemite has always had more snow than predicted
by such a scenario.
And since 2000, greenhouse gases have been emitted at an even greater rate than the
worst A1fi scenario predicted by the IPCC.
"The current emissions trend implies a snowpack so low that we cannot accurately
project how much the fire regime will change," says Dr Lutz.
Yet the authors of the current study do not expect the outcome to be good.
"If society continues on its path to increased carbon emissions, places like Yosemite
will be inalterably changed. Fires will be more frequent and more severe," says co-
author Dr Jan van Wagtendonk of the US Geological Survey's Yosemite Field Station in
El Portal, California.

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Natural disaster

April 7, 2009

Italians Comb Through Rubble After

Quake
By RACHEL DONADIO and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

L’AQUILA, Italy — At twilight on Monday, seven wooden coffins lay on the ground
under a gnarled tree in Onna, a tiny village eight miles from here. A woman was
slumped in grief over one, while people comforted her. After a few moments, five men
strained to lift four coffins into a funeral van.

“They belonged to an entire family: a husband, wife and their two children,” said one of
the men, Piero Taffo, who runs a funeral home in L’Aquila.

As the death toll continued to rise late Monday from a powerful earthquake that shook
central Italy early in the day, officials said that as many as 150 people had been killed,
at least 1,500 injured and tens of thousands left homeless.

The 6.3-magnitude quake seriously damaged historic buildings in the medieval hill
towns of the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome. The deaths and damage was
centered in L’Aquila, a picturesque fortress town at the epicenter, but more than 26
nearby villages were also affected, some seriously. Historic buildings in the surrounding
region in the Apennine mountains were also damaged.

“Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety,” Gianfranco
Fini, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament, said in Rome before the chamber
observed a moment of silence.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who canceled a trip to Moscow to survey the region
by helicopter, declared a state of emergency.

“It’s a disaster never before seen,” said Franco Totani, a lawyer who said he was
leaving L’Aquila to stay with an uncle in Rome. “I’ve seen earthquakes before, but this
is a catastrophe.”

The narrow streets of L’Aquila’s historic center were filled with rubble, and parked cars
were crushed under large blocks of debris. About 80,000 people live in L’Aquila and
the surrounding area.

The cupola of the 18th-century Santa Maria del Suffragio church cracked open like an
eggshell, exposing the stucco patterns inside the dome. Part of the transept of the 13th-
century Santa Maria di Collemaggio basilica collapsed, as did a small cupola in the
18th-century church of Sant’Agostino.

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Natural disaster

Gianfranco Cioni, an architect in L’Aquila, said the authorities should have warned
residents of the threat of an earthquake. “We had three months of tremors, each one
stronger than the next,” Mr. Cioni said.

The earthquake struck around 3:30 a.m. Monday and could be felt as far away as Rome,
60 miles to the west, where it rattled furniture and set off car alarms. The United States
Geological Survey said it was one of several quakes to hit the region overnight. Among
the hardest hit places was Onna, a rural village of less than 400 people. At least 37
residents of the village died, the ANSA news agency reported. Onna’s older two- and
three-story stone houses had nearly all been reduced to rubble.

Aftershocks shuddered through the area all day and into the evening, when a driving
rain picked up, hampering rescue efforts. People clawed through the debris by hand,
frantically seeking survivors.

Mr. Berlusconi said Monday night on national television that 150 people had been
killed. But the ANSA news agency reported that officials said that 98 of the dead had
been identified, and that another 20 bodies were still unidentified.

Mr. Berlusconi said the government was doing everything “humanly possible” to help
those left homeless and would work to rebuild L’Aquila quickly. He said he would be in
L’Aquila on Tuesday to assess the situation.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said rescue workers would work around the clock
until all survivors had been found.

A spokesman for Italy’s Civil Protection Agency said on national television that an
estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people had been left homeless. Electricity, telephone and
gas lines were damaged.

In L’Aquila, parts of the main hospital were evacuated because they were at risk of
collapsing, The Associated Press reported, and only two operating rooms were in use;
bloodied victims waited in hospital hallways or in the courtyard, and many people were
being treated in the open.

Four children died in the hospital after their house had collapsed, ANSA reported. Part
of a building that housed university students in L’Aquila collapsed, and initial reports
said one person had died and seven people were missing. At midday, shaken students
and family members sat outside the rubble of the four-story building.

“We’re waiting for my son,” said a woman who declined to give her name. She stood
among a knot of anxious onlookers and hid her eyes behind large sunglasses.

Newer buildings in the outer part of the city were also affected. Residents, many still in
their pajamas, wheeled dusty suitcases through the streets, on their way out of town.

Outside a damaged convent, a dozen nuns, still dressed in bright orange and blue
bathrobes, climbed into a van at midday to go to an assistance center. Sister Lidia, the
mother superior, said an 82-year-old nun had died of shock. “The quake, it was very
strong,” she said.

17
Natural disaster

By evening, local residents had begun gathering at two stadiums in the town, where
rescue workers were setting up 2,000 tents for the homeless.

Outside one stadium, a grief-stricken man could be heard talking on his cellphone.
“Alessandro is still under the rubble,” he said.

Gaetana Leone said she had been evacuated from the historic center of the city. “It’s
terrible,” she said. “I can’t go back home.”

But Ms. Leone tried to put on a brave face. “We’re the miraculous ones,” she said.
“Even if we’ve lost our houses, we’re still alive.”

Speaking on Rainews 24, a new channel on state television, Guido Bertolaso, Italy’s
senior civil protection official, said that the earthquake was “comparable if not superior
to the one which struck Umbria in 1997.” That quake killed 10 people and damaged
medieval buildings across the region, including Assisi’s famed basilica with its Giotto
frescoes.

Seismic activity is relatively common in Italy, but the intensity of the earthquake on
Monday was rare. It was the worst in Italy since a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck
Eboli, south of Naples, in 1980, killing more than 2,700 people.

The last major quake to hit central Italy struck the Molise region in 2002, killing 28
people, including 27 children who died when their school collapsed.

Rachel Donadio reported from L’Aquila, Italy, and Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome.

18
Natural disaster

August 30, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Slams Into Gulf Coast;
Dozens Are Dead
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER and KATE ZERNIKE

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 29 - Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast with
devastating force at daybreak on Monday, sparing New Orleans the catastrophic hit that
had been feared but inundating parts of the city and heaping damage on neighboring
Mississippi, where it killed dozens, ripped away roofs and left coastal roads impassable.

Officials said that according to preliminary reports, there were at least 55 deaths, with
50 alone in Harrison County, Miss., which includes Gulfport and Biloxi. Emergency
workers feared that they would find more dead among people who had been trapped in
their homes and in collapsed buildings.

Jim Pollard, a spokesman for the Harrison County emergency operations center, said
many of the dead were found in an apartment complex in Biloxi. Seven others were
found in the Industrial Seaway.

Packing 145-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall, the storm left more than a million
people in three states without power and submerged highways even hundreds of miles
from its center.

The storm was potent enough to rank as one of the most punishing hurricanes ever to hit
the United States. Insurance experts said that damage could exceed $9 billion, which
would make it one of the costliest storms on record.

In New Orleans, most of the levees held, but one was damaged. Floodwaters rose to
rooftops in one neighborhood, and in many areas emergency workers pulled residents
from roofs. The hurricane's howling winds stripped 15-foot sections off the roof of the
Superdome, where as many as 10,000 evacuees took shelter.

Some of the worst damage reports came from east of New Orleans with an estimated
40,000 homes reported flooded in St. Bernard Parish. In Gulfport, the storm left three of
five hospitals without working emergency rooms, beachfront homes wrecked and major
stretches of the coastal highway flooded and unpassable.

"It came on Mississippi like a ton of bricks," Gov. Haley Barbour said at a midday news
conference "It's a terrible storm."

President Bush promised extensive assistance for hurricane victims, and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency was expected to be working in the area for months,
assessing damage to properties and allocating what is likely to be billions of dollars in
aid to homeowners and businesses.

19
Natural disaster

In Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, the governors declared search and rescue their
top priority, but they said high waters and strong winds were keeping them from that
task, particularly in the hardest-hit areas.

The governors sent out the police and the National Guard after reports of looting, and
officials in some parts of Louisiana said they would impose a curfew.

Hurricane Katrina was downgraded from Category 5 - the most dangerous storm - to
Category 4 as it hit land in eastern Louisiana just after 6 a.m., and in New Orleans
officials said the storm's slight shift to the east had spared them somewhat. The city is
below sea level, and there had been predictions that the historic French Quarter would
be under 18 or 20 feet of water.

Still, no one was finding much comfort here, with 100 m.p.h. winds and water surges of
up to 15 feet. Officials said early in the day that more than 20 buildings had been
toppled.

"I can't say that we've escaped the worst," Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said. "I
think there is still damage that can be inflicted on the city. We don't even know what the
worst is."

Preliminary damage estimates from the hurricane - which raked across southern Florida
last week as a Category 1 storm before reaching the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico
and making its run at the Gulf Coast - ranged from $9 billion to $16 billion. Only
Hurricane Andrew, which ripped through parts of Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi in
August 1992, was costlier - with nearly $21 billion in insured losses.

Beyond the property damage caused by flooding and the high winds, Hurricane Katrina
also dealt a blow to the oil industry and the lucrative casinos that have been the
economic engine for the region. Both oil production on offshore platforms and
gambling in the string of casinos that dot the Mississippi Gulf Coast shut down on
Sunday as the storm approached.

Since Friday, oil output in the Gulf of Mexico has been cut by 3.1 million barrels.
Closing the casinos cost Mississippi $400,000 to $500,000 a day in lost tax revenue
alone, and Mr. Barbour said officials had not yet been able to determine the extent of
damage to the casinos.

The storm pounded New Orleans for eight hours straight. Flooding overwhelmed levees
built to protect the city from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, sending
muddy water swirling into the narrow streets downtown. On the southern shore of the
lake, entire neighborhoods of one-story homes were flooded to the rooflines, with
nearby off-ramps for Interstate 10 looking like boat ramps amid the waves.

Along the lake were snapped telephone poles, trees blocking roads and live wires
scattered over the roads. In one cabin, a family was cooking a chicken dinner over
charcoal briquettes on a hibachi. They had lost power like everyone else in the area.

Windows were blown off condominiums, hotels, office buildings and Charity Hospital,
sending chards of glass into the winds. Fires broke out despite torrential rain, some

20
Natural disaster

ignited, the authorities said, by residents who lighted candles after the electricity went
out.

The storm knocked out telephone and cellular service across swaths of the gulf region,
and officials in New Orleans said parts of the city could remain without power for
weeks.

Two nuclear plants near the path of Hurricane Katrina appear to have weathered the
storm without major damage, and a third shut down on Saturday, in anticipation of the
hurricane, according to Entergy Nuclear, which owns all three. The extent of damage to
the plant that shut down, Waterford, 20 miles west of New Orleans, was still unknown
late Monday afternoon because the wind was blowing too hard to go out and look, said
Diane Park, a spokeswoman.

The more sparsely populated parishes east of New Orleans, meanwhile, got hit much
harder than anyone had expected.

Ms. Blanco said Plaquemines, Orleans, St. Bernard, Jefferson and St. Tammany
Parishes had been "devastated by high winds and floodwaters." In St. Bernard, the
emergency center was submerged, and officials estimated that 40,000 homes, too, were
flooded.

Parish officials reported in early afternoon that many residents had been driven to their
roofs.

Officials estimated 80 percent of New Orleans residents had obeyed the order to
evacuate. But in areas that had been expecting less damage, officials were worried - and
annoyed - that large numbers of people tried to ride out the storm.

In Plaquemines and Terrebonne Parishes, south and west of the city, officials said they
were particularly concerned about commercial fisherman who had decided to remain on
their boats.

"My biggest concern is the loss of life," said State Senator Walter J. Boasso. "We have a
lot of people down there hiding in their attics, and I don't know if we will get to them
fast enough."

In Mississippi, Mr. Barbour said many people suffered from what he called "hurricane
fatigue," deciding not to evacuate this time after having done so in the past only to be
spared.

"We pray that those people are O.K.," he said. "But we don't know."

In Diamondhead, Miss., Don Haller and his 17-year-old son, Don Jr., were left clinging
to the remains of their house when a 23-foot surge of water hit it, flexing the roof like a
deck of cards.

They had decided against evacuating, Mr. Haller said, judging the storm "just a lot of
rain."

21
Natural disaster

"We rode the house," Mr. Haller said, emerging from the waters here, his son carrying
their dachshund, Kuddles.

Mr. Barbour said casinos along the coast near Biloxi and Gulfport had been hit by
surges of more than 20 feet. But casino workers could not reach them to survey the
damage, he said, because U.S. 90 had "essentially been destroyed."

Along the coast in Mobile, Ala., 150 miles east of New Orleans, thousands of evacuees
from Mississippi and Louisiana were filling shelters and the hotels that had remained
open.

The lowest-lying areas of Mobile and Baldwin Counties in Alabama were evacuated on
Sunday night. By noon, areas south of Interstate 10 were already flooding, and the
storm surge was pushing the water toward the city of Mobile and Mobile Bay as the
hurricane progressed.

Downtown Mobile, which is right on the bay, was severely flooded by Monday
afternoon, the water pushing down the main streets around the county courthouse and
lapping at the sandbagged doors and windows at the Mobile Museum. Water all but
covered a number of street signs and parking meters, and large, heavy planters and some
newspaper boxes floated down the streets.

The main hotels in the city were just a block or two from the worst flooding, causing
concerns that they, too, would be flooded, at least in the main floors. And as power and
phone lines went down, evacuees were getting restless.

Paul Weir said he had not left his home in Meraux, La., just outside New Orleans,
during a storm since Hurricane Betsy in 1965, and left on Sunday morning only after
hearing that Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5. He drove with his wife, daughter and
four friends to Mobile; with roads clogged with other residents fleeing, what is normally
a three-hour drive took 12.

By Monday afternoon the family was obsessing about what they would find when they
got home.

"If I was home, I would've went on a roof for two days just like everybody else," said
Susan Weir, Mr. Weir's wife, said. "I'd rather be in that situation than here, honestly.
This is expensive and I've only got a credit card with a $2,000 limit."

At the Ramada Hotel in downtown Mobile, Edith Frieson sat anxiously in a soggy room
wondering why her husband had not returned. "He left maybe three hours ago to go
down and see if he could check the house," said Mrs. Frieson, who lives on Dauphin
Island, a narrow barrier island south of Mobile. The island was already flooding on
Sunday afternoon.

Like most storms, Hurricane Katrina weakened as it came onshore, and by Monday
evening the National Hurricane Center had downgraded it to a tropical storm. The
center of the storm had moved its heavy rains toward Jackson, Miss.

22
Natural disaster

But state officials said the hurricane had been an unusually large one, causing a wide
swath of damage, and they expected to be dealing with damage for days if not weeks.

In Louisiana, Ms. Blanco pleaded with residents who had evacuated not to rush back.

"The roads are flooded, the power is out, the phones are down and there is no food or
water, and many trees are down," she said.

"Wherever you live, it is still too dangerous for people to return home," she continued.
"If you evacuated and you're in a shelter, if you're with friends and family, please,
please stay there. Stay safe."

Michael D. Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,

reminded people that most injuries from hurricanes occurred after the storm had passed.

"Be careful," Mr. Brown said, standing next to the governor at a news conference.
"Don't get in that water. Watch for downed power lines. If you're going to use a
chainsaw, know how to use a chainsaw. If you're going to have a generator, know how
to exercise and operate the generator. Be very, very careful. The storm is not over."

Mr. Brown also discouraged fire and emergency agencies outside the storm area from
sending in crews unless they had been asked.

Even before the hurricane hit the New Orleans area, FEMA had positioned 23 of its
disaster medical assistance teams and 7 search and rescue teams around the region. It
also delivered generators, and stockpiles of water, ice and ready-to-eat meals. It even
sent in two teams of veterinarians to provide care to any injured pets or other animals.

As of early Monday, about 52,000 people were in 240 shelters in Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Florida and Texas, with the majority in the Superdome in New Orleans.

Joseph B. Treaster reported from New Orleans for this article, and Kate Zernike from
Montgomery, Ala. Reporting was contributed by Abby Goodnough in Mobile, Ala.;
Michael M. Luo in New York; James Dao in Hattiesburg., Miss.; Jeremy Alford in
Baton Rouge, La.; Ralph Blumenthal in Hammond, La.; and Diane Allen in
Diamondhead, Miss.

23
Natural disaster

Changes In Earth's Ozone Layer Predicted To

Increase UV Radiation In Tropics And Antarctica
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2009) — Physicists at the University of Toronto have discovered
that changes in the Earth’s ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation in northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia
and northern Canada. Other regions of the Earth, such as the tropics and Antarctica, will
instead face increasing levels of UV radiation.
Climate change is an established fact, but scientists are only just beginning to
understand its regional manifestations,” says Michaela Hegglin, a postdoctoral fellow in
the Department of Physics, and the lead author of the study published in Nature
Geoscience on September 6.
Using a sophisticated computer model, Hegglin and U of T physicist Theodore
Shepherd determined that 21st-century climate change will alter atmospheric
circulation, increasing the flux of ozone from the upper to the lower atmosphere and
shifting the distribution of ozone within the upper atmosphere. The result will be a
change in the amount of UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface which varies
dramatically between regions: e.g. up to a 20 per cent increase in UV radiation over
southern high latitudes during spring and summer, and a nine per cent decrease in UV
radiation over northern high latitudes, by the end of the century.
While the effects of increased UV have been widely studied because of the problem of
ozone depletion, decreased UV could have adverse effects too, e.g. on vitamin D
production for people in regions with limited sunlight such as the northern high
latitudes.
“Both human and ecosystem health are affected by air quality and by UV radiation,”
says Shepherd. “While there has been much research on the impact of climate change
on air quality, our work shows that this research needs to include the effect of changes
in stratospheric ozone. And while there has been much research on the impact of ozone
depletion on UV radiation and its impacts on human and ecosystem health, the notion
that climate change could also affect UV radiation has not previously been considered.
This adds to the list of potential impacts of climate change, and is especially important
for Canada as northern high latitudes are particularly affected.”
The research was funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric
Sciences through the C-SPARC project. The C-SPARC project is a national
collaboration between Environment Canada and several Canadian universities

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915113534.htm

24
Natural disaster

EARTH QUAKE HITS BRITAIN : THE BIGGEST

TREMOR IN 25 YEARS
On 27th February 2008, something very unusual happened in the UK; there was a rather
large earthquake It was the biggest earthquake in 25 years in the UK. There have been
very small tremors in the past but they pale into insignificance compared to this one. It
was felt in a large area across the country too, from as far north as Edinburgh in
Scotland to as far south as Plymouth on the south coast of England. The epicentre of the
earthquake was in a small town in Lincolnshire, which is an area about two and a half to
three hours north of London by car. A magnitude of 5.2 was registered on the Richter
scale. There were lots of reports in the news from people who felt the earth move. One
man said, "We had loads of vibrating and wall shaking and stuff, noise coming off the
roof. I came outside - the chimney's on the floor!" A collapsed chimney was the cause
of what was probably the worst injury from the earthquake; a man broke his pelvis
when the chimney fell on him. Another man who spoke to the BBC described the
moment the earthquake occurred, "Everything was shaking. As soon as it happened we
all went outside and saw everyone else down the street, coming out and just realised it
was an earthquake".

The huge rumble that was felt by a lot of people, surprisingly caused very little
structural damage to property.

Most British people would be surprised to learn that there are 200-300 earthquakes in
Britain every year - but most of them are so small, they go unnoticed. The magnitude of
this earthquake is fairly small in comparison to some other natural disasters that have
made international news, but for the people affected, it certainly came as quite a
surprise.

www.bbc.learningenglish.com

25
Natural disaster

The blame game

Who is responsible for natural disasters? God, nature, governments... These days, says
Frank Furedi, we are more likely to pin the blame on people in power. But that can
leave victims even more traumatised.

As we know from the recent tragedy of 11 September, major catastrophes and disasters
serve as historical markers. The phrase "after this event nothing will ever be the same
again" has been frequently repeated after many other major disasters.

Frederick Francis Cook, the chronicler of the 1871 fire that destroyed a large part of
Chicago wrote that "in the minds of Chicagoans the city's past is demarcated from the
present by the great fire of 1871".

Since biblical times, disasters have been experienced as key defining moments in the
human experience. Events such as the Fall of Adam or Noah's flood were interpreted in
a similar fashion and Martin Luther represented the biblical deluge as a catalyst for
speeding up the world's decay.

Disasters make fascinating stories. They are fortunately infrequent but when they occur
they have a formidable impact on imagination of the generations that follow.

They are often used as the headline of the master narrative through which we
understand reality and through which we make sense of human transience.

We live in a world where we can no longer accept that accidents or disasters are natural

Since they are as bad as things can get, disasters represent a major challenge to values
and meanings. That is why over the centuries, disasters have acquired significant moral
connotations.

Often perceived as Acts of God - a form of divine retribution - disasters are frequently
depicted as punishment for human transgression.

Before modern times, great catastrophes served to underline the transient quality of
human existence and the futility of all purely human ends and acted as a stimulus for
religious contemplation.

Even in today's secular times, disasters are often invested with some hidden meaning.
They are rarely perceived as just an accident - disasters appear as events of profound
significance.

Our ideas about what causes disasters have undergone three important phases.

Traditionally, catastrophes were attributes to supernatural forces. Throughout most of

history they were seen as an act or God or of fate. As an act of fate, catastrophes were
portrayed as an inevitable occurrence, whose destructive power could not be avoided.

26
Natural disaster

The rise of secularism led to an important shift in the way society conceptualised
disasters. The development of science as the new source of knowledge altered people's
perception of disasters. They were increasingly defined as an act of Nature. Though
science could explain why and how it occurred, a natural disaster has no special
meaning.

In recent times we still talk about natural disasters but we increasingly look for someone
to blame. As a result the view that disasters are caused by acts of nature is being
gradually displaced by the idea that they are the outcome of acts of human beings.

In the aftermath of a disaster today, the finger of blame invariably points towards
another person. Government officials, big business or careless operatives are held
responsible for most disasters.

Today, floods are less likely to be associated with divine displeasure than with greedy
property developers recklessly building in flood plains. Events like last week's
catastrophe in New Orleans are seen as destructive events that could have and should
have been avoided.

How people perceive a disaster has an important impact in the way in which it is
experienced. However, perceptions regarding causation are shaped by cultural attitudes
that endow events, especially extreme ones with meaning.

So in the 19th Century many "technologically-caused" disasters were interpreted as a

manifestation of God's anger toward human arrogance. In such instances, anxiety about
the consequences of technological change encouraged the perception that ultimately a
disaster was caused by an Act of God.

Today such events would be associated with human action and the cause would be
perceived as that of human irresponsibility or malevolence. When a train crashes or a
mine is flooded we spontaneously ask the question "who is there to blame".

Legacy of bitterness

We are far less likely to represent floods, hurricanes, earthquakes or tsunamis as natural
disasters than 40 or 50 years ago. Why? Because we live in a world where we can no
longer accept that accidents or disasters are natural.

It is worth recalling that although 20 million people died as a result of the influenza
pandemic of 1918 there was little finger pointing or blame. Today, even a small flu
epidemic would lead to an outcry against irresponsible officials, politicians or health
professionals.

Whatever its causes the blame for the loss of lives in such an epidemic would be placed
on people rather than nature.

Today, the meaning of a catastrophe, like the one unleashed by Hurricane Katrina, is
fiercely contested. There is no one moral story that we are all prepared to accept. That
means we are in danger of facing a double disaster. One that is about physical

27
Natural disaster

destruction and loss of life, and the other which is the legacy of bitterness, confusion
and suspicion.

Instead of a powerful story that we can learn from there is a risk that we will become
disoriented by an obsession to blame.

Frank Furedi is a professor of sociology at the University of Kent. His book Politics of
Fear, Beyond Left and Right will be published later this month by Continuum Press.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4217024.stm

28
Natural disaster

Freezing weather brings misery to Europe

Much of Europe continues to face severe transport upheaval as a cold snap sweeps
the continent.
More than 80 people have died across Europe, including at least 42 in Poland and
another 27 in Ukraine who have frozen to death.
Another 13 people died in car accidents in Austria, Finland and Germany, where
temperatures dropped well below zero.
Air, rail and road transport has been severely disrupted across northern Europe and
more snow is expected.
The disruption has come during the busy Christmas holiday season, affecting many
people's travel plans.
Stranded travellers
The bitterly cold weather across much of the continent combined with heavy snow in
some areas has caused cancellations and delays at airports and forced train lines to
close.
But after three days of cancelled services, Eurostar trains began running between
Brussels, Paris and London.
The backlog of thousands of stranded travellers was expected to take several days to
clear.
Domestic rail services across the UK have been severely delayed, with buses replacing
trains in many areas.
British Airways said the majority of its flights were operating again after it had
cancelled all its domestic and European flights from the main London airport,
Heathrow, on Monday.
Other airlines, including EasyJet and Ryanair, have cancelled dozens of flights and told
travellers to expect delays.
Frankfurt airport, Europe's third largest, re-opened on Tuesday morning after closing on
Monday because of icy conditions.
In France, Belgium and the Netherlands, airport operators cleared runways after thick
snowfall caused major disruption to flight patterns.
Road traffic in the UK was severely disrupted across the UK, including the south-east
where roads were gridlocked late on Monday after numerous crashes in heavy snowfall.
Major roads elsewhere in Europe were blocked after some regions had snowfall of up to
50cm (20in).
Homeless deaths
The Eurostar crisis prompted the French transport ministry to order an investigation into
the shutdown.
Meanwhile Eurotunnel - which carries vehicles under the Channel between England and
France - cancelled day trip bookings on Tuesday and warned that heavy traffic levels
were expected through the day.

29
Natural disaster

In Poland, police appealed for people to help if they came across homeless or drunk
people lying outside, as temperatures dropped towards -20C in some areas.
Most of the 42 people who froze to death in the country over the weekend were
homeless, police said.
Cold-related deaths were also reported in France, where two homeless people died.
Treacherous travel conditions also caused havoc for rail services.
Fifty people were injured when a train hit a buffer in the Croatian city of Zagreb, while
36 were injured when a passenger train derailed in Paris after a car slipped on ice and
knocked concrete on to the tracks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8425805.stm

30
Natural disaster

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

Aftermath /æftərmæθ/ Signs or results of an event Repercusión
st
1 or occurrence considered
collectively, especially of a
catastrophe or disaster.

2nd Aftershock /æftər ʃɑːk/ A quake of lesser Réplica

magnitude, usually one of a
series, following a large
earthquake in the same area.

3rd Basin /beɪsn/ A depression in the earth’s Cuenca

surface.

5th Bleak /bliːk/ Desolated and exposed. Inhóspito

6th Boulder /bəʊldər/ A smooth rounded mass of Roca

rock shaped by erosion.

7th Breach /briːtʃ/ To break through or make an Abrir brecha en

opening or hole in.

8th Burden /bɜːrdn/ Something that is exacting, Carga

oppressive, or difficult to
bear.

9th Calamity /kəlæməti/ A disaster or misfortune. Catástrofe,

desastre

10th Cinder /sɪndər/ A piece of incombustible Carbonilla,

material left after the ceniza
combustion of coal.

11th Collide /kə'laɪd/ Crash together with a violent Chocar,

disagree. colisionar

12th Clog /kl ɑːg/ Obstruct or become Obstruir, atascar

obstructed with thick or
sticky matter.

13th Curfew /kɜːfju/ An official regulation setting Toque de queda

restrictions on movement.

14th Dampen /dæmpən/ To reduce the intensity of. Enfriar, refrenar

To deaden, restrain.

15th Debris /ˈdəbriː/ Fragments or remnants of Escombros

something destroyed or
broken.

31
Natural disaster

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

16th Deluge /'deljuːdʒ/ A great flood of water. Inundación

17th Dislodge /dɪslɑːdʒ / To remove (something)from Desplazar, sacar

a previously fixed position.

18th Disrupt /dɪs'rʌpt/ To interrupt the progress of Perturbar

(a movement, meeting, etc.).

19th Eddy /'edi/ A circular movement of air Remolino

and water.

20th Engulf /ɪn'ɡʌlf/ To immerse, plunge, bury, Absorber o

or swallow up. envolver

21st Fault /fɔːlt/ A fracture in the earth's crust Falla

resulting in the relative
displacement and loss of
continuity of the rocks on
either side of it.

22nd Flux /flʌks/ A flow or discharge. Flujo

continuous change;
instability.

23rd Heap /hiːp/ To collect into a pile. Amontonar

24th Hurtle /'hɜːtəl/ To project or be projected Precipitarse

very quickly, noisily.

25th Levee /'lɛvɪ/ An embankment alongside a Dique

river, produced naturally by
sedimentation or constructed
by man to prevent flooding.

26th Moisture /'mɔɪstʃə/ Water or other liquid Humedad

diffused as vapour.

27th Offshore /'ɒf'ʃɔː/ Away from, or at some Cercano a la

distance from the shore. costa

28th Overwhelm /əʊvəwɛlm/ To cover over or bury Abrumar,

completely. aplastar

29th Pound /paʊnd/ To strike heavily and often Golpear

with violent blows.

30th Ride out / raɪd aʊt/ To endure successfully; Sobrevivir

survive.

32
Natural disaster

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

31st Ridge /rɪdʒ/ A long narrow raised land Cresta, cadena
formation with sloping
sides.

32nd Rip /rɪp/ To tear or be torn violently Arrancar

or roughly.

33rd Rumble /'rʌmbəl/ A deep resonant sound. Estruendo

34th Rusty /'rʌstɪ/ Discoloured by age. Oxidado

35th Scatter /'skætə/ To throw about in various Dispersar

directions.

36th Scope /skəʊp/ Area covered by an activity, Ambito, campo

topic, etc.

37th Sea surge /siːsɜːrdʒ / Large sea wave. Golpe de mar

38th Snowpack /snəʊpæk/ A layer of snow on the Zona llena de

ground. nieve

39th Stockpile /'stɒk'paɪl/ A large store or supply Reserva

accumulated for future use.

40 th Squelch /skwɛltʃ/ To suppress or inhibit. Sofocar, acabar

con

41th Stagnant /stæɡnənt/ Standing still; without flow Estancado

or current.

42th Swath /swɔːθ/ A long narrow strip of land. Franja

43th Swirl /swɜːl/ To turn round and round Girar,

with a twisting motion. arremolinarse

44th Toll /təʊl/ The number of people killed Número de

or injured in a particular víctimas
accident, by a particular
illness, etc.

45th Topple /'tɒpəl/ To fall down or inward Derribar

suddenly.

46th Trigger /'trɪɡə/ To set an action or process Provocar

in motion.

33
Natural disaster

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

47th Unearth /ʌn'ɜːθ/ To dig up out of the earth. Desenterrar

48th Upwell /'ʌpwɛl/ A process in which cold, Corriente

often nutrient-rich waters ascendente
from the ocean depths rise to
the surface.

49th Wildfire /'waɪldfaɪə/ A raging and uncontrollable Fuego

fire. incontralado

50th Wind shear /wɪndʃɪr/ A change in wind speed and Cizalla del viento
direction in a short distance.

34
Health and food

Science News

Eating Right -- Not Supplements -- Is Best At Keeping Your Good

Bacteria Healthy, Dietitian Says
ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2009) — Healthy eating, not supplements, is the best way to
keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy, says a dietitian and researcher.

As with vitamins, it's best to get the bacteria you need from healthy food rather than
taking often expensive and potentially ineffective supplements, says Gail Cresci,
Medical College of Georgia dietitian and researcher.

"Consumers are buying stuff like crazy that is probably not even helping them and
could potentially hurt them," says Ms. Cresci, assistant professor of surgery at the MCG
School of Medicine and winner of the 2009 Excellence in Practice Award for Clinical
Nutrition by the American Dietetic Association.

Increasing awareness of the benefit some of these organisms play in sickness and in
health has resulted in an explosion of prebiotic and probiotic additives and products
marketed directly to consumers. It's also created confusion -- even among nutrition and
other health care experts -- about how best to use them, says Ms. Cresci, who prescribes
them to help surgery patients recover and works in the lab to learn more about their
potential. She discussed the latest findings about their implications for clinical practice
at the association's 2009 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Denver, Oct. 17-20.

She equates the good bacterium in your gastrointestinal tract to another living being
inside that helps keep you healthy. "If you do good by your bacteria, they will do good
by you," Ms. Cresci says.

There are about 800 bacterial species with more than 7,000 strains inhabiting the
average gut and even though many sound similar they likely aren't: a little Lactobacillus
acidophilus combined with some Lactobacillus bifidus, for example, has been shown
extremely beneficial in preventing antibiotic-induced diarrhea while Lactobacillus
bulgaricus with some Streptococcus thermophilus is useless.

"You need to be careful," Ms. Cresci says. "You don't just give the same probiotic to try
and treat everybody." That's why she lectures to dietitians, physicians and anyone
interested in how to make good use of these front-line protectors that attack invaders
that enter the body via the mouth and help the immune system keep a more global watch
over the body, as well.

There is even mounting evidence that a healthy gut microbiota helps maintain a healthy
weight. Studies have shown, for example, that when bacteria from a genetically fat
mouse are placed in a lean germ-free mouse, it gains weight without changing its food
intake.

Unfortunately poor diets are hurting the bacteria in many of us and the overuse of
antibiotics is taking its toll as well, she says, particularly the common, broad spectrum
antibiotics that wipe out anything in their path, good and bad bacteria included.

35
Health and food

Diarrhea is an extremely common consequence of disturbing the natural balance of your

gut's microbiota. In generally healthy individuals, a good diet, rich in fiber, protein and
low in fat, will quickly help restore good bacteria. But in older individuals or those with
an underlying condition, probiotics may be needed to avoid potentially deadly problems
such as overgrowth of bad bacterium like Clostridium difficile. When that bacteria starts
to thrive, it can result in an extremely enlarged colon that must be removed and, even
then, about 80 percent of patients die.

To avoid such havoc, it's important that you pull the right live bugs off the shelf and that
they survive to reach the lower gut, Ms. Cresci says of fragile bacteria that can be
lambasted by gastric juices or killed off by even a short-term exposure to ambient heat.

The right combination is essential as well. "A lot of these probiotics have only one
bacterium but we have trillions of colony forming units in our gut," she says. There is
mounting evidence that one of the best ways to quickly restore the complex gut
complement is by using feces from healthy individuals. It's called fecal bacteriotherapy,
when feces mixed with a little saline, is given typically via a rectal enema or a
nasogastric tube.

The good news is, if you eat right, you likely won't need such extremes.

Ms. Cresci says a good daily diet has:

30 percent or less of calories coming from fat and saturated fats comprising no more
than 10 percent of that. The majority should come from monounsaturated fats such as
olive and canola oils.
25-30 grams of fiber, not from supplements, but from fiber-rich foods like whole
grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, which also provide needed vitamins and
minerals.
If tolerable, dairy products to help ensure adequate protein, calcium, and other
nutrients.
Protein, through meat or dairy products, or nuts and beans, which also provide fiber
and healthy fats

36
Health and food

Science News

Sesame Seed Extract And Konjac Gum May Help Ward Off
Salmonella And E. Coli
ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2008) — A new study in SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture shows that konjac gum and sesame seed extract may offer protection
against different strains of E. coli and Salmonella bacteria.

The study by Dr Petra Becker et al from Wageningen University and Research Centre,
the Netherlands, shows that these foodstuffs act as binders for E. coli and Salmonella
bacteria. The bacteria attach themselves to the fibrous foods instead of the gut cells of
the host.

Dr Becker says that eating a diet full of these foodstuffs may offer protection from
gastro-intestinal infections or reduce the severity of symptoms caused by E. coli or
Salmonella.

Other foods that were shown to have a beneficial effect included yeast, tomato, and
pumpkin.

In the lab study which also included negative controls, the scientists looked at 18 food-
related products including coffee beans, carrot, mango, fermented soya, and food
stabilizers such as locust bean gum and konjac gum. All were subjected to in-vitro
exposure to various bacteria which were allowed to attach themselves to the test
products. The levels of bound bacteria were determined in a microplate-based method
specifically developed for this purpose.

The results showed that sesame seed extract and konjac gum had the greatest number of
adhered bacteria, leading to the conclusion that they may have a part to play in
preventing certain E. coli and Salmonella from latching onto the host.

Dr Becker said: ‘The importance of fibre, particularly from certain foodstuffs, in

maintaining a healthy gut and digestion cannot be underestimated. The study shows that
these foods bind certain bacteria and may be a means of stopping bacteria from entering
host cells thereby preventing disease.’

37
Health and food

Science News

Comfort Food: Chocolate, Water Reduce Pain

Response To Heat
ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2009) — People often eat food to feel better, but researchers
have found that eating chocolate or drinking water can blunt pain, reducing a rat's
response to a hot stimulus. This natural form of pain relief may help animals in the wild
avoid distraction while eating scarce food, but in modern humans with readily available
food, the effect may contribute to overeating and obesity.

The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by authors Peggy Mason, PhD,
professor of neurobiology, and Hayley Foo, PhD, research associate professor of
neurobiology at the University of Chicago, is the first to demonstrate that this powerful
painkilling effect occurs while the animals are ingesting food or liquid even in the
absence of appetite.

"It's a strong, strong effect, but it's not about hunger or appetite," Mason said. "If you
have all this food in front of you that's easily available to reach out and get, you're not
going to stop eating, for basically almost any reason."

In the experiments, rats were given either a chocolate chip to eat or had sugar water or
regular water infused directly into their mouth. As the rat swallowed the chocolate or
fluid, a light-bulb beneath the cage was switched on, providing a heat stimulus that
normally caused the animal to lift its paw off the floor. Mason and Foo found that rats
were much slower to raise their paw while eating or drinking, compared to tests
conducted while they were awake, but not eating.

Surprisingly, the researchers found no difference in the delayed paw-lift response

between when the rat was eating chocolate and when it was drinking water, despite
previous research indicating that only sugary substances were protective against pain.

"This really shows it has nothing to do with calories," Mason said. "Water has no
calories, saccharine has no sugar, but both have the same effect as a chocolate chip. It's
really shocking."

Mason and Foo then repeated the heat test as the rats were given quinine, a bitter drink
that causes rats to make an expression called a gape that's akin to a child's expression of
"yuck." During quinine administration, the rats reacted to heat as quickly as when not
eating, suggesting that a non-pleasurable food or drink fails to trigger pain relief.

The context of ingesting was also important to whether eating or drinking blunted pain,
the researchers found. When rats were made ill by a drug treatment, eating chocolate no
longer delayed their response. However, drinking water still caused a reduced pain
response, indicating that drinking water was considered a positive experience while ill.

By selectively inactivating a region in the brainstem called the raphe mangus – an area
previously shown to blunt pain during sleep and urination – Mason and Foo were able

38
Health and food

to remove the effect of drinking water on the rat's pain response. The brainstem controls
subconscious responses such as breathing and perspiration during exercise.

"You're essentially at the mercy of your brainstem, and the raphe magnus is part of
that," Mason said. "It tells you, 'you're going to finish eating this, whether you like it or
not,' just like you sweat while running whether you like it or not."

In the wild, Mason said, rats and other animals would not want to be distracted during
the rare but important times that they were able to eat or drink. Therefore, the activation
of the raphe magnus during eating or drinking would allow the rat to filter out
distractions until their meal was completed. For obvious reasons, this natural pain relief
would be activated when an animal is eating or drinking something pleasurable, but not
when it tastes something that could be toxic or harmful.

Don Katz, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brandeis

University who studies taste, said that Mason and Foo's paper brings together two
systems – taste and pain – that are usually studied separately.

"They're saying the purpose of the taste system is to give the animal a cue that helps it
decide what stimulus they should or shouldn't pay attention to," Katz said. "This shows
there is a whole region there to enable the animal to keep eating."

Mason believes that this effect is also present in humans (studies by other labs have
observed similar pain reduction in infants receiving sugar water during a booster shot),
but that it has detrimental effects in modern society given our ready access to large
quantities of pleasurable and fattening foods. Opening up a bag of chips could activate
the brainstem such that you don't stop eating until the bag is empty, even while realizing
that such behavior is bad for you.

"We've gotten a lot more overweight in last 100 to 150 years," Mason said. "We're not
more hungry; the fact of the matter is that we eat more because food is readily available
and we are biologically destined to eat what's readily available."

But the painkilling effect can be turned to our advantage, Mason said, perhaps as a
replacement for the practice of using candy to calm children – or even adults – in the
doctor's office.

"Ingestion is a painkiller but we don't need the sugar," Mason said. "So replace the
doctor's lollipop with a drink of water."

The research was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the
Women's Council of the Brain Research Foundation. The paper, "Analgesia
accompanying food consumption requires ingestion of hedonic foods," appears in the
October 14th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Chicago Medical Center, via

EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

39
Health and food

Science News

Diet And Intestinal Bacteria Linked To Healthier

Immune Systems
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps you
regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system,
keeping certain diseases at bay.

The indigestible part of all plant-based foods pushes its way through most of the
digestive tract unchanged, acting as a kind of internal broom. When it arrives in the
colon, bacteria convert it to energy and compounds known as 'short chain fatty acids'.
These are already known to alleviate the symptoms of colitis, an inflammatory gut
condition.

Similarly, probiotics and prebiotics, food supplements that affect the balance of gut
bacteria, reduce the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, also inflammatory
diseases. Until now no-one has understood why.

Published October 28 in Nature, breakthrough research by a Sydney-based team makes

new sense of such known facts by describing a mechanism that links diet, gut bacteria
and the immune system.

PhD student Kendle Maslowski and Professor Charles Mackay from the Garvan
Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with the Co-operative Research Centre
for Asthma and Airways, have demonstrated that GPR43, a molecule expressed by
immune cells and previously shown to bind short chain fatty acids, functions as an anti-
inflammatory receptor.

"The notion that diet might have profound effects on immune responses or
inflammatory diseases has never been taken that seriously" said Professor Mackay. "We
believe that changes in diet, associated with western lifestyles, contribute to the
increasing incidences of asthma, Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. Now
we have a new molecular mechanism that might explain how diet is affecting our
immune systems."

"We're also now beginning to understand that from the moment you're born, it's
incredibly important to be colonised by the right kinds of gut bacteria," added Kendle.
"The kinds of foods you eat directly determine the levels of certain bacteria in your
gut."

"Changing diets are changing the kinds of gut bacteria we have, as well as their by-
products, particularly short chain fatty acids. If we have low amounts of dietary fibre,
then we're going to have low levels of short chain fatty acids, which we have
demonstrated are very important in the immune systems of mice."

Mice that lack the GPR43 gene have increased inflammation, and poor ability to resolve
inflammation, because their immune cells can't bind to short chain fatty acids.

40
Health and food

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that bacteria and their by-products play an
important role in people. An American study published in Nature in 2006 compared the
bacteria in the guts of obese and lean people. The obese people were put on a diet, and
as they lost weight their bacteria profile gradually came to match that of the lean people.

Another study looked at what diets might do to short chain fatty acid levels. Obese
people were put on three different diets over time -- high, medium and low fibre -- and
there was a direct correlation between the level of carbohydrate, or fibre, in the diet and
the level of short chain fatty acids.

The conclusions drawn from the current research provide some of the most compelling
reasons yet for eating considerably more unprocessed whole foods -- fruits, vegetables,
grains, nuts and seeds.

Dietary fibre, of course, has many known health benefits in addition to those discussed
above, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers 5, and
various health organizations around the world recommend daily minimum levels. 6 It is
certain that the majority of people in countries like Australia, the United States and
Britain eat much less fibre than they need to stay healthy.

"The role of nutrition and gut intestinal bacteria in immune responses is an exciting new
topic in immunology, and recent findings including our own open up new possibilities
to explore causes as well as new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as asthma,"
said Professor Mackay.

1. In several trials, people with colitis have been given dietary fibre, resulting in
beneficial anti-inflammatory effects:

Harig, J. M., Soergel, K. H., Komorowski, R. A. & Wood, C. M. Treatment of diversion

colitis with short-chain-fatty acid irrigation. N. Engl. J. Med. 320, 23-28 (1989).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2909876?dopt=Abstract

Kanauchi, O. et al. Treatment of ulcerative colitis by feeding with germinated barley

foodstuff: first report of a multicenter open control trial. J. Gastroenterol. 37 (suppl.
14), 67-72 (2002). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12572869?dopt=Abstract

Breuer, R. I. et al. Rectal irrigation with short-chain fatty acids for distal ulcerative
colitis. Preliminary report. Dig. Dis. Sci. 36, 185-187 (1991).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1988261?dopt=Abstract

Scheppach, W. Treatment of distal ulcerative colitis with short-chain fatty acid enemas.
A placebo-controlled trial. German-Austrian SCFA Study Group. Dig. Dis. Sci. 41,
2254-2259 (1996). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8943981?dopt=Abstract

Vernia, P. et al. Short-chain fatty acid topical treatment in distal ulcerative colitis.
Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 9, 309-313 (1995).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7654893?dopt=Abstract

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Health and food

2. Ley, R. Turnbaugh, P.J. Klein, S Gordon, J.I Human gut microbes associated with
obesity. Nature 444, 1022-1023 (2006).
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7122/abs/4441022a.html

3. Duncan, S.H Belenguer, A. Holtrop, G. Johnstone, A.M. Flint, H.J. Lobley, G.E.
Reduced Dietary Intake of Carbohydrates by Obese Subjects Results in Decreased
Concentrations of Butyrate and Butyrate-Producing Bacteria in Feces. Applied and
Environmental Microbiology, 1073-1078 (2007)
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/4/1073

4. There are many online sources where information can be found about foods and their
levels of soluble and insoluble fibre -- the effects of the latter investigated in this
research. Some foods, such as wheat bran, chick peas, dried fruits (apricots, peaches,
figs and dates) and berries (raspberries and blackberries) have particularly high levels of
insoluble fibre. CSIRO produces a useful fact sheet.
http://www.csiro.au/resources/DietaryFibre.html#1

5. O'Keefe, S Ou, J Aufreiter, S O'Connor, D Sharma, S Sepulveda, J Fukuwatari, T

Shibata, K Mawhinney, T. Products of the Colonic Microbiota Mediate the Effects of
Diet on Colon Cancer Risk. J. Nutr. 2009 139: 2044-2048. First published online
November 1, 2009; doi:10.3945/jn.109.104380
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/11/2044

6. Australian Dietary Guidelines, produced by the National Health and Medical

Research Council recommend a daily intake of 30-35 grams of fibre.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/content/eating

Global Warming Will Not be Halted by Current Human Civilization, Warn Scientists
Friday, October 02, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Key concepts: Global warming, Civilization and Human civilization
View on NaturalPedia: Global warming, Civilization and Human civilization

Email this article to a friend Printable Version FREE Email Newsletter

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... and much more.

42
Health and food

(NaturalNews) Nearly 90 percent of climate experts say that current efforts to reign in
global warming will fail to prevent an average temperature rise of two degrees Celsius,
according to a poll conducted by the British newspaper The Guardian.

The paper sent the survey to all 1,756 participants in a March climate conference in
Copenhagen, and received 261 responses from 26 different countries. Two hundred of
the respondents were climate researchers, while 61 worked in fields such as industry,
economics or social sciences. They included authors of the groundbreaking 2007 report
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as laboratory directors
and university department heads.

Many of the papers presented at the conference presented evidence that the world's
climate is likely to warm faster than previously anticipated.

In the survey, The Guardian asked researchers whether it was still possible to prevent
global temperatures from rising to two degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is the
threshold that has been set as a target by most climate activists and policy makers, and
forms the basis of most planned or suggested emissions cuts.

Average global temperatures have already increased by 0.8 degrees since the Industrial
Revolution, and would continue to increase another 0.5 degrees even if all burning of
fossil fuels ceased tomorrow.

Sixty percent of survey respondents said it was still technically and economically
possible to cut fossil fuel emissions enough to prevent a two degree increase. Only 14
percent, however, thought that such cuts would actually occur.

Even among those who believed that a two degree temperature increase would be
averted, many admitted that they based this belief on hope rather than on evidence.

Forty-six percent of respondents said that a temperature increase of three to four degrees
was most likely by 2100. Twenty-six percent said that temperatures were more likely to
rise only two to three degrees, 13 percent predicted increases of four to five degrees, 10
percent predicted increases of two degrees or less, and 5 percent predicted increases of
six degrees or more.

43
Health and food

Vitamin Pills: A Fa By TARA PARKE http://w w w .nytim default

FEB 17 2009 The New York Tim nytimes.com 1120

February 17, 2009

Well

Vitamin Pills: A False Hope?

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Ever since the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Linus Pauling first promoted
“megadoses” of essential nutrients 40 years ago, Americans have been devoted to their
vitamins. Today about half of all adults use some form of dietary supplement, at a cost
of $23 billion a year.

But are vitamins worth it? In the past few years, several high-quality studies have failed
to show that extra vitamins, at least in pill form, help prevent chronic disease or prolong
life.

The latest news came last week after researchers in the Women’s Health Initiative study
tracked eight years of multivitamin use among more than 161,000 older women. Despite
earlier findings suggesting that multivitamins might lower the risk for heart disease and
certain cancers, the study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, found no
such benefit.

Last year, a study that tracked almost 15,000 male physicians for a decade reported no
differences in cancer or heart disease rates among those using vitamins E and C
compared with those taking a placebo. And in October, a study of 35,000 men dashed
hopes that high doses of vitamin E and selenium could lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Of course, consumers are regularly subjected to conflicting reports and claims about the
benefits of vitamins, and they seem undeterred by the news — to the dismay of some
experts.

“I’m puzzled why the public in general ignores the results of well-done trials,” said Dr.
Eric Klein, national study coordinator for the prostate cancer trial and chairman of the
Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute. “The public’s belief in
the benefits of vitamins and nutrients is not supported by the available scientific data.”

Everyone needs vitamins, which are essential nutrients that the body can’t produce on
its own. Inadequate vitamin C leads to scurvy, for instance, and a lack of vitamin D can
cause rickets.

But a balanced diet typically provides an adequate level of these nutrients, and today
many popular foods are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals. As a result, diseases
caused by nutrient deficiency are rare in the United States.

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Health and food

In any event, most major vitamin studies in recent years have focused not on
deficiencies but on whether high doses of vitamins can prevent or treat a host of chronic
illnesses. While people who eat lots of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables have long
been known to have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, it hasn’t been clear whether
ingesting high doses of those same nutrients in pill form results in a similar benefit.

In January, an editorial in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute noted that most
trials had shown no cancer benefits from vitamins — with a few exceptions, like a
finding that calcium appeared to lower the recurrence of precancerous colon polyps by
15 percent.

But some vitamin studies have also shown unexpected harm, like higher lung cancer
rates in two studies of beta carotene use. Another study suggested a higher risk of
precancerous polyps among users of folic acid compared with those in a placebo group.

In 2007, The Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed mortality rates in
randomized trials of antioxidant supplements. In 47 trials of 181,000 participants, the
rate was 5 percent higher among the antioxidant users. The main culprits were vitamin
A, beta carotene and vitamin E; vitamin C and selenium seemed to have no meaningful
effect.

“We call them essential nutrients because they are,” said Marian L. Neuhouser, an
associate member in cancer prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
in Seattle. “But there has been a leap into thinking that vitamins and minerals can
prevent anything from fatigue to cancer to Alzheimer’s. That’s where the science didn’t
pan out.”

Everyone is struggling to make sense of the conflicting data, said Andrew Shao, vice
president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a
vitamin industry trade group. Consumers and researchers need to “redefine our
expectations for these nutrients,” he said. “They aren’t magic bullets.”

Part of the problem, he said, may stem from an inherent flaw in the way vitamins are
studied. With drugs, the gold standard for research is a randomized clinical trial in
which some patients take a drug and others a placebo. But vitamins are essential
nutrients that people ingest in their daily diets; there is no way to withhold them
altogether from research subjects.

Vitamins given in high doses may also have effects that science is only beginning to
understand. In a test tube, cancer cells gobble up vitamin C, and studies have shown far
higher levels of vitamin C in tumor cells than are found in normal tissue.

The selling point of antioxidant vitamins is that they mop up free radicals, the damaging
molecular fragments linked to aging and disease. But some free radicals are essential to
proper immune function, and wiping them out may inadvertently cause harm.

In a study at the University of North Carolina, mice with brain cancer were given both
normal and vitamin-depleted diets. The ones who were deprived of antioxidants had
smaller tumors, and 20 percent of the tumor cells were undergoing a type of cell death

45
Health and food

called apoptosis, which is fueled by free radicals. In the fully nourished mice, only 3
percent of tumor cells were dying.

“Most antioxidants are also pro-oxidants,” said Dr. Peter H. Gann, professor and
director of research in the department of pathology at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. “In the right context and the right dose, they may be able to cause problems
rather than prevent them.”

Scientists suspect that the benefits of a healthful diet come from eating the whole fruit
or vegetable, not just the individual vitamins found in it. “There may not be a single
component of broccoli or green leafy vegetables that is responsible for the health
benefits,” Dr. Gann said. “Why are we taking a reductionist approach and plucking out
one or two chemicals given in isolation?”

Even so, some individual vitamin research is continuing. Scientists are beginning to
study whether high doses of whole-food extracts can replicate the benefits of a
vegetable-rich diet. And Harvard researchers are planning to study whether higher doses
of vitamin D in 20,000 men and women can lower risk for cancer and other chronic
diseases.

“Vitamin D looks really promising,” said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the chief of preventive
medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an investigator on several Harvard
vitamin studies. “But we need to learn the lessons from the past. We should wait for
large-scale clinical trials before jumping on the vitamin bandwagon and taking high
doses.”

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Health and food

December 16, 2009

The Overlooked Diagnosis of Celiac Disease

By CAROLYN SAYRE

It took three decades to figure out what was making Donna Sawka so sick. Her
symptoms — bloating, chronic diarrhea and weight loss — began early in childhood,
and they only became worse as she aged.

Nine years ago, after developing severe anemia, a specialist told Ms. Sawka that she had
celiac disease. The digestive disorder causes damage to the small intestine when gluten,
a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is ingested. People with the disease need to
follow a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of their lives to avoid serious complications
like osteoporosis and lymphoma, an immune system cancer.

Ms. Sawka, 48, of Fairless Hills, Pa., said she “was overwhelmed” upon learning she
had the disease.

“I kept thinking about everything I wouldn’t be able to eat,” she went on. “I couldn’t
even receive communion at church.”

Ms. Sawka’s reaction is a familiar one at the support group she attends. It takes the
average patient 10 years to receive a diagnosis. And according to specialists, they are
the lucky ones. Studies show that 3 million Americans, or 1 in every 133 people, have
celiac disease. But 95 percent of them have yet to learn they have it, according to the
National Institutes of Health.

“The entire disease and all of its manifestations are incredibly underdiagnosed,” said Dr.
Charles Bongiorno, the chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “Patients often have it for a
decade or two before they are diagnosed.”

Celiac disease is often difficult to detect because the symptoms vary so widely from
person to person. Ten years ago, the medical community thought it was a rare disorder
that affected only 1 in every 10,000 people, primarily children who had digestive
problems and failure to thrive.

But physicians now know that the disease is much more common. Most patients never
experience the so-called classic symptoms: bloating, chronic diarrhea and stomach
upset. Instead, the signs are often as nebulous as anemia, infertility and osteoporosis.

“It’s a problem,” said Dr. Ritu Verma, section chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and
nutrition and director of the Children’s Celiac Center at the Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. “The majority of patients do not have the traditional signs and symptoms.
If someone’s only presenting symptom is anemia, physicians will think of a hundred
other things before they think of celiac disease.”
47
Health and food

As a result, the condition is also commonly mistaken for other ailments. Ms. Sawka, for
one, was told she had everything from irritable bowel syndrome to lupus to an allergic
reaction from a spider bite before celiac disease was confirmed.

Part of the problem is also a lack of education among physicians, particularly internists.
According to Dr. Bongiorno, most primary care physicians are simply unaware of new
research that shows the disease is common and can manifest itself in unusual ways.

“They think it is an exotic malady,” he explained. “That persistent fallacy causes a less-
than-appropriate effort to order the right blood tests and refer to gastroenterologists for
care.”

In 2006, the National Institutes of Health started a campaign to raise awareness of the
disease among both the general public and physicians. A goal was to increase rates of
diagnosis because, unlike many ailments, there is a definitive way to stop celiac disease
from progressing once it is recognized.

“The vast majority of cases experience a complete remission from symptoms once they
are diagnosed and go on a gluten-free diet,” said Dr. Stefano Guandalini, director of the
University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. “So essentially, you have no disease. That
is what makes it all the more important to be diagnosed.”

And there is no better time to be on a gluten-free diet. In 2008, 832 gluten-free products
entered the market, nearly 6 times the number that debuted in 2003. Last year, gluten-
free even emerged as a fad diet in the general population.

“The quantity and quality of these products is amazing,” said Dr. Alessio Fasano, the
medical director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland
Medical Center.

Dr. Fasano said gluten-free products used to taste like cardboard but had significantly
improved in recent years. “The only problem,” he said, “is that they cost five or six
times more than their normal counterparts.”

Researchers are also beginning to experiment with drugs that may be able to block the
immune response to gluten, much like a lactate pill. If the clinical trials are successful,
individuals with celiac disease may be someday able to ingest small amounts of gluten.

Until then, the gluten-free diet is working for patients like Ms. Sawka. “I am perfect
now,” she said after 35 years of feeling sick. “Every system in my body was in an
uproar, and then everything just quieted down.”

http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-celiac-ess.html?ref=health#

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Health and food

Spirulina helps treat anemia

Saturday, October 10, 2009
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Many people don't know this, but spirulina is an outstanding dietary aid
to help prevent (or reverse) anemia. What follows is a compilation of expert quotations
on precisely this topic, cited from some of the most authoritative books and authors in
the world. Feel free to cite this information in your own book or website. Be sure to cite
the original author and source.

An excellent summary study of Spirulina was done in 2002. The authors summarized
the many potential benefits of Spirulina: "Spirulina has been experimentally proven, in
vivo and in vitro that it is effective to treat certain allergies, anemia, cancer,
hepatotoxicity [toxicity of the liver], viral and cardiovascular diseases, hyperglycemia
[high blood sugar], hyperlipidemia [high cholesterol and triglycerides],
immunodeficiency, and inflammatory processes, among others.
- Spirulina: Nature's superfood by Kelly J Moorhead

Unlike other algaes, the cell wall of spirulina has high concentrations of
mucopolysaccharides, which are easily digested and form glycoprotein complexes that
are important in the formation of protein and the building of cell membranes. Primitive
foods such as spirulina contain the highest food energy, the highest nutrient value, and
use up the least amount of the planet's resources. Spirulina is also a powerful
alkalinizing and healing food. It is an excellent support for the healing of hypoglycemia,
diabetes, chronic fatigue, anemia, ulcers, and for boosting the immune system.
- Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

Spirulina and other micro-algae are excellent remedies for most cases of anemia, and
B12 is essential for building red blood. Most cases of anemia, however, are not merely a
result of B12 deficiency alone; it may be that the massive amounts of chlorophyll, iron,
protein, and other nutrients in micro-algae overcome anemia. In our personal
experience, we have observed many people who have taken various micro-algae
regularly for a decade or more, and when other sources of B12 are included in the diet,
B12 deficiency does not arise.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford

A third of an ounce (10 g) of spirulina powder is enough to cover the daily need for
vitamin B12 five times over, four times that for vitamin A, 83 percent of the daily
requirement for iron, 30 percent of vitamin B2, and 25 percent of vitamin Bj. Spirulina
is particularly recommended for fatigue, anemia, eyesight problems, menstrual
problems, and skin disorders. In addition, it helps strengthen the immune system and
facilitates the elimination of toxins that have collected inside the body. It comes in the
form of a deep-green powder with a faint aroma, and also in tablets or capsules.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford

49
Health and food

It is a rich source of amino acids, chlorophyll, B vitamins, GLA, carotenoids, and other
nutrients. Spirulina has been shown to have immune-enhancing effects, it detoxifies
heavy metals, and it protects against radiation sickness. A phytonutrient in spirulina
known as phycocyanin has been shown to stimulate the production of blood cells.

50
Health and food

Science News

Added Sugar in Raisin Cereals Increases Acidity of

Dental Plaque
ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2009) — Elevated dental plaque acid is a risk factor that
contributes to cavities in children. But eating bran flakes with raisins containing no
added sugar does not promote more acid in dental plaque than bran flakes alone,
according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Some dentists believe sweet, sticky foods such as raisins cause cavities because they are
difficult to clear off the tooth surfaces, said Christine Wu, professor and director of
cariology research at UIC and lead investigator of the study. But studies have shown
that raisins are rapidly cleared from the surface of the teeth just like apples, bananas and
chocolate, she said.

In the study, published in the journal Pediatric Dentistry, children ages 7 to 11

compared four food groups -- raisins, bran flakes, commercially marketed raisin bran
cereal, and a mix of bran flakes with raisins lacking any added sugar. Sucrose, or table
sugar, and sorbitol, a sugar substitute often used in diet foods, were also tested as
controls.

Children chewed and swallowed the test foods within two minutes. The acid produced
by the plaque bacteria on the surface of their teeth was measured at intervals.

All test foods except the sorbitol solution promoted acid production in dental plaque
over 30 minutes, with the largest production between 10 to 15 minutes.

Wu says there is a "well-documented" danger zone of dental plaque acidity that puts a
tooth's enamel at risk for mineral loss that may lead to cavities. Achint Utreja, a
research scientist and dentist formerly on Wu's team, said plaque acidity did not reach
that point after children consumed 10 grams of raisins. Adding unsweetened raisins to
bran flakes did not increase plaque acid compared to bran flakes alone.

However, eating commercially marketed raisin bran led to significantly more acid in the
plaque, he said, reaching into what Wu identified as the danger zone.

Plaque bacteria on tooth surfaces can ferment various sugars such as glucose, fructose
or sucrose and produce acids that may promote decay. But sucrose is also used by
bacteria to produce sticky sugar polymers that help the bacteria remain on tooth
surfaces, Wu said. Raisins themselves do not contain sucrose.

In a previous study at UIC, researchers identified several natural compounds from

raisins that can inhibit the growth of some oral bacteria linked to cavities or gum
disease.

51
Health and food

Science News

Livestock Lead to Better Health in Developing Nations,

Rising Consumption Poses Challenge, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2009) — In the face of reports about the ills livestock generate
for the climate, environment and health, a new study published in the December issue of
the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability emphasizes that livestock
production in developing and developed countries are very different animals.

While rising consumption of meat, milk and eggs is one of the factors in epidemics of
obesity and heart disease in developed countries, consumption of meat and milk in
developing countries is associated with good rather than bad health. In poor countries,
where most people subsist on poor starchy diets, the study highlights the fact that
modest amounts of these foods improve people's nutrition and health, lower mortality
rates, and enhance child development.

Furthermore, the new analysis by researchers at the Nairobi-based International

Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
and the Center for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University, finds that
the current environmental risks posed by livestock are driven mainly by the impacts of
over-consumption of livestock foods in wealthy countries and rapidly growing demand
in emerging economies, particularly in China, Southeast Asia, and Brazil. "Livestock
are a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people, for whom livestock represent one of
few options available to improve their incomes and nutrition," said Carlos Seré, director
general of ILRI.

Nowhere is the "meat divide" between rich and poor greater than in levels of
consumption of livestock foods. The authors note, for example, that although annual
consumption of milk in the developing world is expected by 2050 to rise from an
average of 44 to 78 kilograms per person, this is still far less than the 202 kilos per
person consumed today in wealthy countries.

"It would be unethical, even for the sake of the environment, to advocate policies that
prevent the poor from increasing their consumption of milk and meat, when they
consume significantly less than people in rich countries," said Mario Herrero, the
paper's lead author and a senior scientist at ILRI, which is one of 15 research centers
supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
"However, without further investments in livestock that improve production and
marketing efficiencies, rapid increases in milk and meat consumption in developing
countries pose serious threats to the environment and will still fail to feed many of the
world's poorest and hungriest people."

Milk, beef, eggs, chicken, and pork are key global commodities. Livestock production
systems occupy 45 percent of the earth's land surface, excluding Antarctica, and are
52
Health and food

worth at least US$1.4 trillion. Livestock production employs 1.3 billion people globally
and is directly responsible for the livelihoods of 600 million poor livestock keepers. The
market for dairy products produced by smallholders, for example, is significant in many
developing economies, with India now the largest dairy producer in the world. And
growing dairy enterprises mean more jobs for the poor: every 100 litres of milk handled
daily in Kenya, for example, provides two full-time jobs, and at higher than the
minimum wage.

According to the ILRI study, most livestock operations in sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia are far from industrial. Livestock are either raised on small farms where they feed
largely on leaves, stalks and other non-edible remains of food crops, or are herded over
marginal lands unsuited for crop cultivation by pastoralists in search of grass.

Emissions from animal products account for about 18 percent of the global greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Expanding industrial livestock operations in China and other
emerging Asian economies, and deforestation driven by large-scale cattle farming, are
significant sources of livestock-related GHG emissions in developing countries.

"Livestock are not bad for the environment everywhere," said Herrero. "We need a
thorough consideration of the trade-offs involved in livestock systems, so that we know
where and how it makes sense to limit livestock production and consumption and where
and how to increase production in sustainable ways."

The authors cite major opportunities for easing the tradeoffs, such as improved
management of vast rangelands to remove significant quantities of carbon from the
atmosphere in exchange for environmental service payments. There are also
opportunities for exploiting synergies among different components of livestock-based
agro-ecosystems, such as by breeding food crops to make better and wider use of their
stover for livestock feed and providing incentives to pastoral livestock herders to
continue to conserve the wildlife on their rangelands.

Changes in animal diets can dramatically reduce the amount of methane produced per
animal. Shifting to more productive breeds would allow farmers to reduce the number
of animals they keep while increasing their production levels.

"Governments and policymakers need to design policies that cap animal numbers, while
at the same time providing incentives that encourage farmers to feed their animals
better, so they can produce more food with fewer emissions," said Seré.

There are also proven technologies that significantly reduce emissions from manure on
industrial farms. According to the ILRI study, paying communities for their
"environmental services" would encourage herders on vast rangelands of Africa and
Latin America to adopt practices that would help protect biodiversity, as well as store
carbon.

"Right now, farmers get paid only for the beef or milk that they produce. If these other
options come on board, then people will adopt more sustainable practices to cash in on
environmental services," said Seré.

53
Health and food

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

1st Ailment /ˈeɪlmənt/ A slight illness. Enfermedad

2nd Alleviate /əˈliːvɪeɪt/ To lessen (pain or Aliviar

suffering).

3rd Barley /ˈbɑːlɪ/ A tall grass like plant Cebada

with dense bristly
flower spikes, widely
cultivated for grain.

4th Bloating /ˈbləʊtɪŋ/ Any abnormal general Hinchazón

increase in diameter of
the abdominal area.

5th Bowel /ˈbaʊəl/ An intestine, especially Intestino

the large intestine in
man.

6th Brainstem /breɪn stem/ The most primitive Tronco del

structure at the base of encéfalo
our brain.

7th Bran flake /bræn fleɪk/ A small thin piece Copo de salvado
chipped off an object
or substance.

8th Breeding /ˈbriːdɪŋ/ The process of Cultivo

producing plants or controlado
animals by controlled
methods of
reproduction.

9th Cavity /ˈkævɪtɪ/ A decayed area on a Caries

tooth.

10th Commodity /kəˈmɒdɪtɪ/ Something that can be Materia prima

bought or sold.

11th Compelling /kəmˈpelɪŋ/ Convincing. Convincente

12th Crop /krɒp/ The season’s total Cultivo

yield of farm produce.

13th Decay /dɪˈkeɪ/ The process of Descomposición

something rotting.

14th Deplete /dɪˈpliːt/ To use up (supplies or Empobrecer,

money). reducir

54
Health and food

15th Dismay /dɪsˈmeɪ/ A feeling of alarm or Consternación

depression.

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

16th Edible /ˈedɪbl/ Fit to be eaten. Comestible
17th Enamel /ɪˈnæməl/ The hard white Esmalte
substance that covers
teeth.

18th Fad /fæd/ An intense but short- Moda pasajera

lived fashion.

19th Feces /ˈfiːsiːz/ Bodily waste matter Escrementos

discharged through the
anus.

20th Glycoprotein /ˈɡlaɪkəʊprəʊtiːn/ A protein with Glucoproteina

covalently bonded
carbohydrates.

21st Gobble up /ˈɡɒbl ʌp/ To consume something Engullir

rapidly.

22nd Gut /ɡʌt/ The part of the Intestino

alimentary canal
between the stomach
and the anus.

23rd Havoc /ˈhævək/ To cause a great deal Estragos

of damage or
confusion to.

24th Lambast /læmˈbeɪst/ To beat severely. Vapulear

25th Latch onto /lætʃ ˈɒntʊ/ To get and keep hold Pegarse a algo o
of something. alguien.

26th Lean /liːn/ Having a trim body Delgado, flaco

with no surplus flesh.

27th Liver /ˈlɪvəʳ/ A large glandular Hígado

organ which secretes
bile, balances
nutrients, and removes
certain poisons from
the body.

55
Health and food

28th Locust bean /ˈləʊkəst biːn/ A seed of the carob Algarroba

tree.

29th Manure /məˈnjʊəʳ/ Animal excrement Abono, estiércol

used as a fertilizer.

30th Microplate /ˈmaɪkroʊˌpleɪt/ A flat plate with Placa de pocillos

multiple "wells" used multiples
as small test tubes.

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

31st Mounting /ˈmaʊntɪŋ/ Increasing, rising. Creciente, cada
vez mayor

32nd Nourish /ˈnʌrɪʃ/ To provide with the Alimentar, nutrir

food necessary for life
and grouth.

33rd Pan out /pæn aʊt/ To give a result, Ser un éxito

especially as compared
with expectations.

34th Perspiration /ˌpɜːspəˈreɪʃən/ The act of sweating. Transpiración

35th Pull off /ˈpʊlɒf/ To succeed in Lograr algo

accomplishing difícil
(something difficult).

36th Puzzled /ˈpʌzld/ Confused or perplexed. Confundido,

perplejo

37th Raisin /ˈreɪzən/ A dried grape. Uva pasa

38th Randomized /ˈrændəmaɪzt ˈtraɪəl/ A study in which Ensayo aleatorio

trial participants are
randomly (ie, by
chance) assigned to
one of two or more
treatment arms of a
clinical trial.
Occasionally placebos
are utilized.

39th Rickets /ˈrɪkɪts/ A disease of children, Raquitismo

caused by a deficiency
of vitamin D and
characterized by
softening of

56
Health and food

developing bone, and

hence bow legs.

40th Roughage /ˈrʌfɪdʒ/ The coarse indigestible Fibra

constituents of food, alimenticia
which help digestion.

41st Scurvy /ˈskɜːvɪ/ A disease caused by a Escorbuto

lack of vitamine C,
resulting in weakness,
spongy gums and
bleeding beneath the
skin.

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

nd
42 Starchy /ˈstɑːtʃ/ Of or containing starch Con fécula
(a carbohydrate
forming the main food
element in bread,
potatoes and rice).

43rd Stem from /stem frɒm/ Originate from. Provenir de

44th Strain /streɪn/ The collective Tipo, variedad.

descendants of a
common ancestor; a
race, stock, line or
breed.

45th Sucrose /ˈsuːkrəʊz/ Sugar. Sacarosa

46th Tradeoff /ˈtreɪdɒf/ An exchange, Elemento de

especially as a compensación,
compromise. concesión mutua

47th Underlying /ˈʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ/ Not obvious but Subyacente

detectable.

48th Undeterred /ˈʌndɪˈtɜːd/ Not put off or Inmutable

dissuaded.

49th Wipe out /ˈwaɪpaʊt/ To destroy or get rid of Aniquilar

completely.

50th Yeast /jiːst/ A yellowish fungus Levadura

used in fermenting
alcoholic drinks and in
raising dough for
bread.

57
Health and food

58
Education, work and employment

Ofsted chief attacks "catalogue of myths"

The head of England's schools watchdog has defended her inspectors' emphasis on raw
exam results.

Ofsted chief Christine Gilbert said no employer would offer young people without
decent qualifications jobs.

They would not be taking into account a school's ability to deal with pupil's social
circumstances as recorded by its CVA score, she said.

Ofsted was being mis-represented by a "catalogue of myths", she wrote in a Times

Educational Supplement article.

These included newspaper reports that schools had been failed for offering inspectors
coffee before asking them for their IDs or that they were marked down for having a hole
in the fence.

'Bottom line'

"I'd have been as outraged as you if they were true. Inspection myths like these are
gaining currency," she said.

Very few schools had been judged "inadequate" because of safety issues alone, and
where this had been the case, the safety breaches had been very serious, she said.

"No less pernicious are the suggestions that Ofsted no longer pays any attention to a
school's value-added, or that we have some secret formula for assessing pupil
achievement," she said.

Ms Gilbert said she had no doubt that school's value-added measures provided useful
information showing how far pupils had progressed and how they compared with others
elsewhere.

59
Education, work and employment

"But the bottom line must be: what matters for a young person trying to get an
apprenticeship, job, sixth-form or college place?

"No employer is going to offer a young person a position if they have no decent
qualifications, no matter how strong the contextual value-added score - just as no pupil
is likely to do well in secondary school without learning to read, write and do arithmetic
confidently in primary school," she said.

Inspectors did take account of value-added measures, but it would be wrong to ignore
the importance of exam results overall, she added.

Ms Gilbert said Ofsted's criteria for inspections had changed in September after 18
months of consultation.

The new system allowed inspectors to spend more time observing lessons and making
better, detailed recommendations, she argued.

60
Education, work and employment

Dubai women storm world of work

By Heather Sharp
BBC News, Dubai

As part of a series about young people in the Middle East, the BBC News website
explores how young women in Dubai are overturning a traditionally patriarchal culture
to find their feet in the workplace.When Fatma Mohamed Haj, 21, decided she wanted
to train as a radiologist, her family objected. She would have to touch men she barely
knew, which is forbidden in the traditional Islamic culture of the United Arab Emirates.
And she would have to work nights in a society where it is frowned upon for young
women to be out after 10pm. But she argued her case and is now seeking her first job.

A UAE national living in Dubai, she is one of a generation of young women at the
forefront of fast-paced cultural change.
Opportunities
Dubai's nationals have become a minority in their own land as international expatriates
have flocked to the hi-tech, high-rise city which has sprung up in the desert in little
more than 30 years.

With the job opportunities of a booming economy, a government drive to empower and
educate women and exposure to other cultures, Dubai's women are moving in increasing
numbers into a wide range of professions.

The newspapers proudly tout the achievements of women firefighters, police officers,
business leaders and the much-vaunted Economics and Planning Minister, Sheika
Lubna Qasimi, appointed in 2004.

Among UAE nationals it is generally considered inappropriate for women to speak to

men they are neither married nor related to in public. All government universities are
single-sex.

But contact with male work colleagues is increasingly seen as acceptable.

61
Education, work and employment

Amna Mazam, a UAE national, is a student counsellor at Dubai Women's College. She
says 50-60% of their 2,300 students are likely to continue into employment.

The majority of the others do not work because of pressure from their parents or
husbands, she says, although some choose to stay at home to raise children full time.

Husbands' views

However, among Dubai students I meet a stream of highly ambitious, determined young
women with supportive families.

Several, like business marketing student Maria Hanif Qassimi, 20, say they would
refuse to marry a man who would not allow them to work.

"I've worked very hard to have a career, and I don't want to just blow it off," she said.

Few, like IT graduate Salama, would accept a future husband's demands to stay at
home: "It's our religion - what he says, I must do," she says.

Others like Bushra Mohammed Roken, 19, the leader of the student council at Zayed
University, would work around such views.

"If he doesn't want me to go out, it's not like I'm in prison, because I could set up my
own business from home."

Some young women face painful conflicts, Ms Mazam says, and her role is to help them
develop the negotiating skills they need to resolve them.

"I think it is new in the culture," she says. In many families the father is prime decision-
maker. "If he says yes it means yes, if he says no it means no - there is no negotiation."

62
Education, work and employment

Working wives

The professions that prove most problematic are those involving a mixed-gender
environment, or a lot of contact with the public or those from other cultures.
But sometimes a girl simply arranging for her father or husband to visit a potential
workplace can be enough to ease his concerns, Ms Mazam explains.

Views among unmarried young men vary. Some, like IT student Fahad Qahtani, 25,
stipulate that they want a working wife.

"I want her to know something about life," he says, joking that if she comes home tired
she will not annoy him by chattering about domestic trivia.

He is willing to help with the housework and childcare: "It's the man's house as well. If
she has work and she's doing well, she's helping in other aspects and she has the right to
get some help from the man."

Many UAE households have a maid, however, and it is not unusual for married couples
to stay with the husband's family. "We could always live with Mum," adds Fahad.

Female bosses

In contrast to Fahad, Salim Alakraf, 25, would prefer a future wife to be "a queen"
presiding over the home, rather than "a worker".

"If she wants to work, I don't have any problem, but she will be tired. She cannot look
after me, the children and the house. After a while, she will lose everything," he says.

And Mohammed Fahim, 24, says he would prefer a future wife to work in a more
"closed" environment like a bank, where she would have less contact with the public
than in a shop or hotel.

63
Education, work and employment

With UAE national women rising to ever-higher professional positions, their male
counterparts are increasingly finding themselves under female authority - traditionally a
no-no.

Virtually everyone I speak to points out that attitudes are changing.

"At the beginning, it could be something I wouldn't feel very comfortable with. But
after some time, when the lady has proved herself in her position, it becomes normal,"
says Mohammed Fahim.

And while it will take a while for such attitudes to filter through to the less developed,
more traditional parts of the UAE, for men in Dubai the transition is well under way.

"For an Emerati man it can get scary, because women are working so hard to prove
themselves. They're doing a very good job and they're giving us big competition," says
Fahad Qahtani.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/

64
Education, work and employment

Intern fees 'salt in the wound'

By Sean Coughlan

BBC News education reporter

Job-hunting university leavers are being warned against paying for services to help get
them internships.
A university careers adviser says it is "rubbing salt in the wound" to ask students to pay
to find internships for which they will not even be paid.

There are websites charging hundreds of pounds for letters of introduction for
internships.

There are warnings the UK could follow the US example where wealthy parents can
buy internships for their children.

In a recent charity auction in the UK, work experience in the media was offered
alongside a range of showbusiness prizes.

'Fear and doubt'

Alex Try, author of the blog Interns Anonymous, says an industry seems to be growing
up around internships - and that a "climate of fear" can stop graduates from talking
openly about their experiences. The director of the National Council for Work
Experience, Heather Collier, says there is "definitely a problem that needs sorting out"
about internships - particularly over when they should really be paid at least the
minimum wage.

Students facing a tough jobs market are increasingly worrying not just about getting
good degree grades, but also gaining the right work experience.

And there are concerns that instead of opening doors, these stretches of unpaid work
could become commodities acquired by more affluent students, enabling them to access
the most sought-after jobs.

The director of Oxford University's career service, Jonathan Black, says there has been
a growth in companies trying to make money from internships.

They are playing on "fear, uncertainty and doubt", he says.

Mr Black says careers services have been trying to rebuff attempts to sell services to
students when careers advisers can arrange internships for them without any charge. All
work and no pay

These services can include charging hundreds of pounds for introductory letters - and
Mr Black says he has heard of fees up to £1,000. In particular, Mr Black says it is unfair
for vulnerable students who are worried about needing "an extra edge".

And he warns that introducing a financial barrier to getting internships could have a
"huge impact on diversity": perpetuating the longstanding lack of social mobility in the
UK.

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Targeting people wanting to get into industries such as investment banking and financial
services, there are offers to write internship applications, re-write CVs, prepare answers
and rehearse interviews - with fees of £100 to £250 for each stage of the process.

Katie Dallison, careers adviser at Goldsmiths, University of London, says careers

offices are being "contacted frequently by these types of companies".

"I think it's hard enough that students have to work for free, often full time for months.

"Paying for this privilege is really just rubbing salt into the wound. However,
realistically, it's very competitive out there and many students will make large sacrifices
to gain experience."

Social mobility

A report into social mobility by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn highlighted
internships as an obstacle for young people without social connections. The report
argued that the networking skills of middle class parents helped them find internships
for their children - and they can also afford to keep their children in unpaid work. There
are worries that even though young people might compete on a level playing field in the
exam hall, the internship system creates another layer of privilege.

The government has sought to match job-hunters with internships that are available -
with a free service called the Graduate Talent Pool.

But Heather Collier of the National Council for Work Experience questions whether
some of the unpaid internships on offer might really be seen as jobs. And on other jobs
websites, a quick search for internships finds many requests for full-time, well-qualified
staff, who would be expected to work for several months without pay. A spokesperson
for the Business, Innovation and Skills department said: "The government is committed
to offering real help to graduates during these difficult economic times and internships
are great way for them to get real life work experience to kick start their careers."

'Expendable commodity'

For those who are at the sharp end of internships, there can be mixed feelings. Alex Try
is one of the co-founders of the Interns Anonymous website - which he says was set up
to share the experiences of individuals working in companies, sometimes for many
months, without being paid.

"It's a really strange phenomenon - it's almost an unspoken understanding that you'll do
unpaid work," he says.

Young people in this situation are made to feel like "expendable commodities", he says.
Even though they are working without pay, he says interns are "scared to kick up a
fuss... employers are in such a position of power". "Some internships are good and are
passages to decent jobs, but most are unregulated and with no guarantees, based on the
assumption that you can work for free and live in London," he says. "They are actually
jobs - working nine to five, not shadowing anyone because no-one else is doing their
jobs," he says.

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Education, work and employment

People contacting the blog have claimed that some recession-hit companies are cutting
paid staff and replacing them with unpaid interns.

"It's not all a rip-off - it's what you can get out of it. But many people are being taken for
a ride.

"After three months they'll be replaced by another equally well-qualified, unpaid

intern."

And he says there are horror stories - such as an intern who travelled to a PR job in
London from Slough every day at her own expense.

"They dangled the carrot of a job, but at the end of the seven months it disappeared," he
said.

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Education, work and employment

They’ll Work for Education

For 10 hours each week, Anna Rice can be found behind a desk in the hallway of a
dorm at Northeastern University in Boston, her books spread in front of her so she can
study. Every so often students will approach the desk, and Ms. Rice will ask for ID, and
rustle up the vacuum or pool table equipment or DVDs they have come to borrow for
the evening. Then she’ll go back to her work. For this she receives $10 an hour, up to, in
her case, $1,250 a semester, which she uses for groceries and spending money.
Ms. Rice’s job, through the federal work-study program, is one piece of the financial
puzzle that college has become, dependent on the government, the economy and, to
some extent, the whims and work ethics of each year’s crop of teenagers.

Time was when work-study meant taking shifts at the campus commons, wearing a
paper hat and serving mystery meat and creamed spinach as your classmates shuffled
through. But with dining services mostly outsourced, and everything about college life
more complex, work-study jobs have come to fill a variety of needs — beyond the
obvious one of putting cash in the pockets of undergraduate and graduate students.
Some want to develop a skill, or beef up a résumé. Some seek an “in” with a certain
professor. Ms. Rice’s goal was to make as small a dent in study time as possible.

Work-study lies somewhere between a grant and a loan in the college-aid universe —
the institution promises to make a job available, at a rate of pay that is at or slightly
above minimum wage, up to a maximum that depends on other ingredients of your
financial aid package. The government pays 75 percent of those wages, and the college
pays 25 percent. You don’t get the money unless you put in the hours.

Right about now, participating institutions are learning how much money they will have
to allot (based on a complex formula that includes size of the student body and
percentage of students in financial need), and thus how many jobs they can offer for the
fall. Students typically have to apply for jobs, a process that is becoming more
challenging — even with stimulus money on the way.

Established as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, work-study mirrors the
economy: demand for the jobs is lower in good times and higher in bad times.

It was not that long ago that campuses had more jobs than students who were willing to
do them. A year ago the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor designated four times as
many students to be eligible as there were available jobs, because most students simply
never signed on. Reasons for sniffing at self-help aid vary. Some parents don’t want
their children to work, particularly freshman year, for fear it will interfere with their
studies. Some students are in time-intensive majors and can’t fit in regular work shifts.
Families somehow pony up more money or the students take out loans — the average
award is just $1,500 a year.

In the last year, the ratio of jobs to students has decreased, says Pam Fowler, the director
of financial aid at Michigan, and she expects that trend will continue. “We are definitely
seeing an increase in student acceptance” of work-study jobs. Ms. Fowler is confident
Michigan will be able to offer enough jobs next year for the students who need (and
accept) them, but administrators at some small, less-wealthy colleges are not as sure.

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Education, work and employment

At Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., Jose A. Mazorra is hoping that its yearly work-
study allotment of $150,000 will last until the school year ends. He is human resources
coordinator at Lynn, and this year saw the largest number of students taking the offered
positions.

In Virginia, Danville Community College began turning students away this year. Time
was when every student who qualified for financial aid was able to get a $7-an-hour
work-study job. But this past fall, the college started ranking students by need, and
giving jobs to those at the top of the list. The city of Danville “has one of the highest
unemployment rates in Virginia,” says Andrea J. Burney, the director of public relations
for the 6,300-student college, which means students are unlikely to find work off
campus either.

That is the bind that Justin Callaway, a junior and aspiring entrepreneur at Auburn
University in central Alabama, finds himself in. Last year, he qualified for work-study
but didn’t take the job, opting to start a restaurant delivery business instead. That failed,
and this year he was denied work-study in his financial aid package. There were too
many students ahead of him, and the jobs ran out. He looked for work in town, but most
required 25 or 30 hours a week, and he worried about having sufficient time to study
(work-study workweeks tend not to exceed 20 hours).

For now he is getting by with the help of his mother, who is widowed and works as an
office manager for the Macon County Racing Commission. “I am lucky enough to have
a mother who is able to help me get through everything, and who also taught me some
important lessons on living on a little bit of money,” he says.
There may be a light at the end of Mr. Callaway’s tunnel, in the form of an extra $200
million in stimulus money earmarked for work-study, which could help finance 130,000
students for a year. Whether more jobs are created by the promised funds will depend on
a number of factors, including the fact that the minimum wage will increase in July, to
$7.25 an hour. An analysis by The Chronicle of Higher Education concludes that “some
of the new money will be absorbed by this increased cost at affected campuses.” In
addition, The Chronicle says, “even if a college does offer more work-study jobs, it
might do so by converting regular on-campus jobs into work-study ones,” leading to no
net increase in available work.

And should there be an increase in available jobs after all those maybes sort themselves
out, it might not be enough. Not for schools like Bellarmine University in Louisville,
Ky., where about 40 percent of the 2,600 students are the first generation in their
families to go to college, and 100 percent of full-time students receive some aid. Yet
only 12 percent of students hold work-study jobs because “we ran out of funds,” says
Heather H. Boutell, director of financial aid. Bellarmine got about $22,000 for this year.
Ms. Boutell thinks any additional allocation will be offset by the increased request for
financial aid in the last year.

“We certainly could use more,” she says, “as we have many, many more eligible
students who would like to work.”

So what kind of work do students want to do?

Chloe Hamrick, a sophomore biology major at Ohio Wesleyan, wanted a real job, not
the “make-work jobs designed to give students something to do that they can get paid

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Education, work and employment

for.” She is a tour guide, a job that, for reasons administrators say they don’t really
understand, is consistently in great demand. It’s brutal on rainy and snowy days.
“Recruitment makes a huge difference in the future of a college, and I wanted to be part
of that,” Ms. Hamrick explains. And she had professional skills to develop.
“Communication, flexibility, diction and enthusiasm are traits tour guides use every day,
but they are also traits I will use as a physician.”

Ben Erickson, a mechanical engineering major, is finishing his junior year at Valparaiso
University southeast of Chicago. He works 10 hours a week in the lab of a professor
who is designing “a frame-and-mirror-holding apparatus for the concentrator portion of
a solar furnace.” Mr. Erickson is considering a solar-energy focus in graduate school, so
this job is a trial run.

Amanda Williams, a senior at the University of Michigan, seeks to give back to the
community. She has spent four years at a work-study job with America Reads, which
employs 200 students on her campus to go into elementary schools and tutor students.
She found the position on the campus work-study Web site before she even began her
freshman year, and her pay has increased over time, to $11 an hour for mentoring other
tutors. Altogether she earns up to $2,200 a year.

For a while Ms. Williams worked at the recreation center, sitting in an empty building
until 2 a.m., which allowed her to get schoolwork done but was “not very fulfilling,”
she says.

For Anna Rice at Northeastern, unfulfilling was more or less what she was looking for.
She arrives for her shift and finds maybe “a stack of posters for me to hang up, and
some envelopes to distribute to residents,” she says. “I can do these things whenever I
want during my shift and do homework the rest of the time.” A perfect solution, she
says, to her shortage of both time and money.

She is worried about talk that the work-study program might constrict with the
economy. Because at heart, it’s about need. “I really depend on it,” she says.

http://www.nytimes.com

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Education, work and employment

Education, Daytime Hours, And Job Flexibility Most

Help Single Moms Of Preschoolers
ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2009) — What contributes most to a nurturing home
environment for three- to five-year-old children of single working mothers? A new
University of Illinois study reports that the mother's education is the most important
factor, followed by her employment in jobs that offer either standard daytime hours or
some flexibility.

If young single mothers had even one more year of school, they did much better in
terms of parent-child relationships," said Christy Lleras, a U of I assistant professor of
human and community development.

"Mothers with more schooling may also be better able to find jobs that pay higher
wages and allow them to work a daytime shift or have predictable work schedules with
some flexibility, which is important with preschool children," she said.

Moms who work nonstandard hours--evening or night shifts or weekends--may face

more difficulty finding reliable, high-quality care for their children while they are at
work, she said. Mothers with children under five are now the fastest-growing segment
of the female labor force. In the past decade, huge changes in welfare policy have
resulted in increased pressure for low-income single mothers to work, she said.

According to Lleras, work conditions and their effects on the home environment are a
concern because most emotional and social development of preschool children occurs in
the home. A nurturing early home life has also been linked to positive educational
outcomes and positive relationship outcomes for kids in later life, she said.

Lleras's study followed 737 single mothers, 417 of them employed, in a national sample
taken from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth in 1990, 1992, and 1994, in the
years before welfare reform was enacted. The mothers ranged in age from 25 to 32
years.

"It's the last time we have a national picture of single working mothers before welfare
reform, which occurred in 1996," she said. "After that, it became very difficult to
compare working and non-working moms because states adopted these reforms at
different rates and also enforced them at varying levels," she said.

The survey included in-home observers who rated the home environment. Included
were such measures as maternal warmth and responsiveness (does the mom talk to the
child, hug and kiss him, respond when he asks a question?), cognitive stimulation (is the
mom teaching her child shapes and colors, does she read to the child at least three times
a week, are there 10 or more books in the home, is there a music player?), and physical
environment (does the play area appear clean, safe, light, uncluttered?).

In one part of the study, Lleras compared employed moms to unemployed moms,
expecting to find that working moms would be able to create better home environments.
That didn't happen.

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Education, work and employment

"Much of the literature on maternal employment suggests that working increases

income and enhances self-esteem. These factors are then thought to influence parenting
behavior. So I expected working status to be a significant predictor of improved home
life, but single working moms really didn't get the boost I thought they'd get," she said.

"Instead it seems that for single mothers the benefits associated with paid employment
are offset by the added difficulties that accompany working, such as less time spent with
their children," she said.

However, job schedules did matter, and stable jobs on a day shift or with some
flexibility—for example, a rotating shift—translated into a big boost in the home
environment, said Lleras.

"Almost all the research on working moms has focused on number of hours worked per
week and wages. But the flexibility of a rotating shift, which changes periodically from
days to evenings to nights, may allow mothers to spend more time with their preschool
children during waking hours. They have more time to form an attachment," she said.

"If you don't have stable day care, if you're relying on family and friends, a rotating shift
may work for you because a friend or relative may be able to take care of the baby in
the evening or at night even if these persons work during the day. Rotating shifts may
provide just enough flexibility to allow a single mom to patch a reliable child-care
schedule together," she said.

Lleras said her study highlights the need for flextime and standard working hours for
single moms with preschool-aged children. The results also point to a growing need for
high-quality, affordable day care that meets the needs of single working mothers who
often work nonstandard hours, she said.

The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Family Issues.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

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Education, work and employment

Science News

Interactive Animations Give Science Students a Boost

ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2009) — For a generation of students raised and nurtured at the
computer keyboard, it seems like a no-brainer that computer-assisted learning would
have a prominent role in the college science classroom.
But many difficult scientific concepts are still conveyed through dry lectures or
ponderous texts. But that could change if science professors take a cue from a new study
on the use of interactive animations in the college science classroom. The findings,
presented at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, show that university
students who supplement their studies with interactive, game like computer animations
retain a much better understanding of a scientific concept than those who don't.

"It works, which is a bit of a surprise," says Steve Ackerman, a University of

Wisconsin-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences who led the new
study. "We didn't expect this kind of impact on the understanding of fundamental
concepts."

Ackerman and UW-Madison graduate student Tim Wagner conducted the study using
an introductory meteorology course of 400 students as a crucible for testing the efficacy
of short animations that can demonstrate such things as tracking hurricanes and ice
bergs, heat transfer, and how rain or snow form in the atmosphere.

The animations, which in actuality are small computer programs called applets, can be
manipulated by students to adjust real-world variables that may come into play. For
example, in the case of precipitation formation, such things as temperature or altitude
can be tweaked to change rain to sleet or snow.

Seeing how the different variables come into play and how changing them can alter the
type of precipitation you get is a hard demonstration of the physics of weather, says
Wagner.

"Meteorological education is sometimes a little tricky," Wagner explains. "There are not
a lot of things you can demonstrate in front of the classroom."

The animations reside on a Web site, and visits by individual students are recorded.
Some animations are required for homework while others are optional. Class instructors
can look at the Web site visitor data and can see which students are using the programs
and for how long.

At exam time, the students who used the animations demonstrated greater mastery of
concepts included on the test.

"The students who used the applets performed much better on those questions," notes
Wagner.

The new findings by Wagner and Ackerman are important because they begin to inform
the use of interactive teaching materials in the science classroom and how teachers can

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take better advantage of their students' deep familiarity with computers and computer
games.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

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Education, work and employment

Teamwork Improves Learning And Career Success

ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2007) — A two-year study of college students at The
Pennsylvania State University (PSU) shows that students learn better and develop
higher-level skills by participating in cooperative (team) activities, compared to
traditional classroom teaching methods.

Elsa Sánchez and Richard Craig, professors in the Department of Horticulture at PSU,
surveyed students enrolled from 2003-2005 in their Plant Systematics course. The
specialized course was designed around a cooperative learning model that required
students to work in teams on a variety of activities. For example, students organized a
learning fair for elementary school students, participated in hands-on laboratories and
worked in randomly assigned teams for their final exam.

"We were interested in learning students' perceptions and sharing our experiences. We
found that students liked the cooperative activities and learned from other.

team members. As instructors, we found that students participated more in the lecture
part of the course as team activities were completed.", Sánchez stated.

The study has additional implications for how teachers prepare for and deliver
classroom instruction. Sánchez noted "it took more organization and planning to use
cooperative activities compared to the traditional lecture method", and added that
lectures are far less conducive to facilitating higher levels of thinking than cooperative
learning strategies. Student outcomes of class participation showed an increase in
several indicators of higher-level thinking, such as application of concepts and analysis
and synthesis of information.

"While traditional lectures transfer knowledge, lectures are far less conducive to
facilitating higher levels of thinking, such as application of concepts and analysis and
synthesis of information." - Dr. Elsa Sánchez

Using cooperative activities also allows students to practice skills that will enhance their
future careers, including communication, conflict resolution, creativity and time
management. Sánchez sees benefits of using collaborative processes that extend beyond
the college classroom, noting that "students benefit from practicing real-world skills that
they will need after graduation, and the industry will benefit from future employees who
possess skills that promote success."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

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November 19, 2009

Should learning - and schools - be about learning skills

for the employment world or knowledge for
knowledge's sake?
What should the aims of education be? I ask this because I've recently come across a
number of people who seem to think that education should be all about skills and
competencies, about equipping people for the world and enabling them to get a job.
That does sound good, but it also seems to lack something. It might just be me, but I
feel that there's a distinct lack of thought about whether children should, perhaps, be
acquiring knowledge because of the joy of learning.

The two, of course, shouldn't be seen as completely unconnected, and this push to link
them more closely together does make some sense. However, as we rush towards a
world where there's funding for people who want to study science as opposed to arts,
and the promotion of curricula and qualifications which are all about skills, we shouldn't
lose sight of the fact that learning can be glorious in its own right.

"I've come to the conclusion" said a teenager at a talk I recently attended, "that most of
what I learn in school is completely and utterly useless." I thought that was very sad, but
was surprised to find that some of the other guests thought he was right. "What
matters," one ex-teacher said to me, "is that he's equipped for the world, and that he can
function in it. It doesn't really matter whether he knows about history or literature, but
that he can problem solve and work in a team."

The media coverage of diplomas has, largely, been negative. But at a Westminster
Education Forum conference I recently attended, the panel was very positive about
them. In fact, they raved about how useful the new qualification was for businesses,
about the "functional skills" they involved and how they were so beneficial because
employers and businesses had got involved in setting them up. Diplomas, it was
claimed, produce students who are valued by employers, and what could be better than
that?

It was a stimulating discussion, as was that at another conference (yes, I've been busy!)
that I attended at the Royal Society of Arts. It was focused on their Opening Minds
curriculum (and particularly on how it could be moved into primary schools).

The RSA is very interested in schooling based on skills as much as the acquisition of
knowledge. The Opening Minds curriculum is not particularly prescriptive, it's more of
a framework than that, but the idea is still that it will, in their words, "provide young
people with the real world skills or competencies they need to thrive in the real world."

This is all within the limits of the National Curriculum, but has a very different focus. In
particular, it features 24 "competences" organised into five categories: learning,
citizenship, relating to people, managing situations and managing information. The
National Curriculum is rearranged around these.

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Education, work and employment

The teachers who have introduced Opening Minds into their schools were certainly
enthused about it, proclaiming their pupils to be more engaged and attentive. But I still
felt that something was missing - that elusive love of learning. And I was struck by how
those at the conference who were following the programme seemed to be from schools
which were struggling. In fact, the statistical analysis of the schools following Opening
Minds suggests that most of them are not deemed as particularly good or outstanding
schools by Ofsted.

Today I was sent details of a new - and free - online resource from the Royal Albert
Hall. It is, the press release says set up to "develop children's functional skills" (a true
buzzword of the moment). It adds:

"Many of us have experienced that feeling at school, sitting in a lesson and thinking
‘when would I ever need this in the real world?’ When students think about their future
careers it is hard for some to see where skills such as trigonometry would fit. January
2010 will see the Royal Albert Hall release Showtime, a free e-learning resource for
schools, which helps place functional skills into context by showing how English,
Maths and ICT work behind the scenes at one of the world’s most famous cultural and
entertainment venues."

The resource is probably fantastic, and a great way of combining education for
education's sake, and education for employment's sake. But it is all part of an interesting
conundrum. Obviously schools are failing some children, who leave ill-equipped for
either future study or the world of work. Initiatives like Opening Minds may have some
answers. However, I still fear that we are moving towards a world where wanting to
learn because of a simple reason - the joy of a poem or the fascination with a period of
history - is slipping away.
www.timesonline.co.uk

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Education, work and employment

At Colleges, Humanities Job Outlook Gets Bleaker

December 17, 200

With colleges and universities cutting back because of the recession, the job outlook for
graduate students in language and literature is bleaker than ever before.
According to the Modern Language Association’s forecast of job listings, released
Thursday, faculty positions will decline 37 percent, the biggest drop since the group
began tracking its job listings 35 years ago.

The projection, based on a comparison between the number of jobs listed in October
2008 and October 2009, follows a 26 percent drop the previous year.

“Students thinking of going to graduate school in English should understand that right
now their chance of landing a job that provides them a livable wage is 50-60 percent,”
said Rosemary Feal, executive director of the M.L.A., the world’s largest association of
scholars and professors of language and literature. “What I often hear from grad
students is, ‘I had no clue it was this bad.’ They need to go into it with their eyes wide
open.”

While the association does not having listings for every academic position available, its
list does track the overall faculty job market.

The association expects about 900 English language and literature positions to be filled
over the next year, a 35 percent decline from the previous year; it projects about 750
foreign-language jobs, a 39 percent drop from the year before. Typically, 1,000 to 2,000
positions have been advertised each year in each category.

To make matters worse, the share of tenure-track jobs available has been shrinking.
Tenure-track positions for assistant professors made up 53 percent of the English jobs
advertised and 48.5 percent of those in foreign languages. From 1997 until recently, the
group said, 55 percent to 65 percent of the advertised positions were tenure-track jobs.
And since part-time adjunct positions are less likely than those for tenure-track jobs to
be listed with the language association, the overall share of faculty members being hired
for tenure-track jobs is probably smaller than the survey indicates.

Ms. Feal said the trend toward hiring adjunct faculty members rather than permanent
tenure-track professors had been going for about three decades, but was more
pronounced than ever, as a growing number of struggling colleges and universities hired
by the course or by the semester — usually paying little, and providing no benefits.

“Having so many contingent faculty diminishes the overall quality of teaching and
learning,” she said. “The individual course might be great, but you can’t expect
temporary hires to do the kind of curricular planning it takes to maintain a successful
department.”

The language association recommends that, in baccalaureate institutions, 70 percent of

the courses should be taught by tenure or tenure-track professors.

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Education, work and employment

For English professors, the group said, most of the advertised jobs are in rhetoric and
composition (20.1 percent), British literature (17.9 percent), multiethnic literature (13.7
percent), creative writing (7 percent), and American literature (6.1. percent).

For those who have specialized in 20th-century American literature, finding a job is
especially tough.

“A single listing gets flooded with 300 to 400 applicants, and grads are up against
formidable odds,” said Alysia Garrison, a Ph.D. candidate in English at the University
of California, Davis, who is also president of the Graduate Student Caucus at the
language association.

This year, some of Ms. Garrison’s friends in the department are having a tough time.
“Two particularly strong candidates, one on the market for the second time, have sent
out maybe 40 to 50 applications and gotten three interviews,” she said.

For languages other than English, the jobs are concentrated in Spanish (35.5 percent),
French (16 percent), Chinese (9.5 percent), German (4 percent), Arabic (3 percent) and
Italian (2 percent).

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Education, work and employment

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

st
1 Allot /ə'lɒt/ To assign or distribute Adjudicar
(shares, etc),to designate for
a particular purpose.

2nd Apprenticeship /ə'prentəs ʃɪp/ The service or condition of Aprendizaje

an apprentice.

3rd Assumption /ə'sʌmpʃən/ Something that you think is Suposición

true although you have no
definite proof.

4th Beef up /bi'f ʌp/ To fortify, make strong or Reforzar

stronger.

5th Boom /bu:m/ To grow, develop, or Prosperidad

progress rapidly: flourish.

6th Boost /bu:st/ Encouragement or help. Estímulo,

impulso
7th Bottom line /bɒtəm laɪn / The conclusion or main Lo
point of a process, fundamental
discussion, etc.

8th Buzzword /ˈbʌzwɜːd/ A stylish or trendy word or Palabra que

phrase. está de moda
9th Conundrum /kə'nʌndrəm/ A puzzling question or Acertijo
problem.

10th Counterpart /'kaʊntəpɑːt/ Someone or something that Homológo

has the same job.

11th Crucible /'kru'sɪbəl/ A container in which Crisol

substances are heated to
very high temperatures.

12th Cutting back /'kʌtɪŋbæk/ A decrease or reduction. Restringir,

reducir

13th Dangle /'dæŋɡəl/ To hang or swing loosely. Colgar

To display (something
attractive) as an enticement.

14th Deem /di:m/ To judge or consider. Juzgar,

considerar

15th Ease /i:z/ To make a process,happen facilitar

more easily.

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Education, work and employment

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

16th Elusive /ɪˈlu:sɪv/ Difficult to find or catch. esquivo

17th Enhance /ɪnˈhɑːns/ To intensify or improve. Realzar,

mejorar
18th Entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːʳ/ The owner of a business Empresario
who attempts to make
money by risk and initiative.

19th Expendable / ɪksˈpendəbl / Not needed enough to be Prescindible

kept or saved.

20th Fast-paced / fɑːstˈpeɪst/ That proceeds rapidly. Ritmo

trepidante

21st Flock /flɒk/ To go in a large number. Multitud

22nd Odds / ɒdz/ The likelihood that a certain Probabilidades

state of affairs will be so.

23rd Frown upon /fraʊnəˈpɒn/ To disapprove of. Desaprobar

24th Fuss /fʌs/ Anxious behaviour or Alboroto

activity.

25th Grant /ɡrɑːnt/ A public fund to finance Beca

educational study.

26th Kick-up /kɪkʌp / To cause (trouble, a fuss, Provocar

etc).

27th No-brainer /nəʊˈbreɪnə/ A decision that is easy, and Cosa fácil

that you do not need to think
about.

28th no-no /nəʊ- nəʊ/ Something unacceptable or Inaceptable,

impermissible imposible

29th Nurture /nɜːtʃə/ The act or process of Criar, cuidar

promoting the development,
etc, of a child.

30th Outrage /ˈaʊtreɪdʒ/ To cause profound Indignar,

indignation, anger. ultrajar

31st Outsource /aʊtsɔːs/ To subcontract (work) to Subcontratar

another company.

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Education, work and employment

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

32nd Ponderous /pɒndərəs/ Of great weight; heavy; Pesado
huge.

33rd Pony up /pəʊni/ To give the money required. Pagar

34th Rebuff /rɪˈbʌf/ To snub, reject, or refuse (a Rechazar

person offering help or
sympathy.

35th Rehearse /rɪˈhɜːs/ To practise (a play, concert, Ensayar

etc) in preparation for public
performance.

36th Rip-off /´rɪpɔ:f/ Steal, trick. Robo

37th Sixth-form /sɪksθ fɔːm/ the two years of post- Sexto grado
compulsory education for
students aged 16-18.

38th Sophomore /ˈsɒfəˈmɔː/ A second-year student at a Estudiante de

secondary (high) school or segundo curso
college.

39th Sort out /ˈsɔːtaʊt / To find a solution to (a Solucionar

problem, etc).

40th Tenure-track /ˈtenjʊəʳ træk/ The holding of an office or Puesto con

(position) position. posibilidad de
obtener la
permanencia

41st Thrive /θraɪv/ To grow strongly and Prosperar

vigorously.

42nd Trait /treɪt/ A characteristic feature or Rasgo

quality distinguishing a
particular person or thing.

43rd Trend /trɛnd/ A general tendency in the Tendencia

way a situation is changing
or developing.

44th Tout /taʊt/ To praise something or Pregonar

someone in order to
persuade people that they
are important or worth a lot.

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Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

45th Tweak /twi:k/ To make a minor alteration. Ajustar

46th Uncluttered /ʌnˈklʌtəd/ Not having too many Despejado

objects, details, etc.

47th Vaunt /vɔːnt/ To talk with excessive Hacer alarde

pride. de

48th Wage /weɪdʒ/ The money paid in return Sueldo

for a person’s work,
especially when paid
weekly or daily rather than
monthly.

49th Watchdog /ˈwɒtʃdɒɡ/ A person or group of Protector

persons that acts as a
protector or guardian
against inefficiency.

50th Whim /wɪm/ A sudden feeling that you Capricho

would like to do or have
something, especially when
there is no important or
good reason.

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From The Sunday Times

October 4, 2009

Three of the best budget ski resorts

Europe’s top ski resorts are hideously expensive - but
we have a solution. Sean Newsom visits Bansko, Tignes
and Soldeu
Sean Newsom

British skiers and snowboarders got a fright last winter. When the pound sank beneath
1.10 to the euro and 1.70 to the Swiss franc, we woke up to the horrors of high prices in
the big-name ski resorts of the Alps.

Six quid for a beer, £15 for a plate of spaghetti and lift passes for £220 were not
uncommon, and the old faithfuls such as Val d’Isère, Verbier and St Anton suddenly
didn’t seem quite so faithful any more.

This winter, many of us are casting about for alternatives, and suddenly the bargain-
basement destinations of Bulgaria and Andorra are back in the frame. So what are they
really like — and is there a way of holidaying cheaply in the Alps that can match their
prices? If you’ve been wondering, here are your answers.

Bansko, Bulgaria

I skied Bansko for the first time last winter, and in one important respect, I was
impressed.

The ski instructors are good. I’d still rather be taught by someone in the Rockies or the
Alps, but all the same, I found that Bulgarian tuition was patient, painstaking and
effective. You get a lot of it for your money, too.

When you sign up for a week of ski school — often as part of a tour- operator’s “ski
pack”, which includes lift pass and ski hire, and costs £140-£180 — you commit to four
hours a day, six days a week. In the Alps, you get roughly half that.

It’s a good job there’s so much of it, though. Officially, Bansko’s ski area offers 40
miles of pistes, but when I was there in January, several runs were shut because of poor
snow cover. Effectively, we had just three pistes to play on. I’m glad we skied them one
turn at a time, discussing technique all the way down, otherwise I’d have chewed my
arm off in frustration after day one.

At least, up on the mountain, Bansko looked like a proper ski resort. Down below, the
new town is still a building site. It’s actually a suburb of old Bansko and was thrown up

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in a frenzy of development during the bubble years. Work has now ground to a halt,
leaving plenty of abandoned, half-finished apartment blocks.

The roads are strung with telegraph wires and, in one street, I could smell the drains.
You won’t want to go out much.

Yet, despite all the limitations, I met plenty of Brits who were on their second or third
holiday there.

In part, that was simply because of the low prices (see box), but there’s more to it than
that. Nothing is more satisfying than becoming a better skier — not the food, not the
drinks, not the size of your hotel room — and with so much tuition on offer,
improvement is pretty much a certainty. Clearly, these Bansko loyalists are having too
much fun to notice the unfinished buildings.

Sample package: with Inghams (020 8780 4444, inghams.co.uk), a week in the four-
star Lion hotel, arriving on January 16, costs £355pp, half-board, including flights and
transfers. Or try Crystal (0871 231 2256, crystalski.co.uk).

Soldeu, Andorra

The Pyrenean principality of Andorra likes to think it has moved on from its days as
Europe’s bargain basement for skiers, and this is especially true of Soldeu. Back in
2002, the resort joined forces with its neighbour, Pas de la Casa, to create the
Grandvalira mega-area. Together, they offer an impressive 120 miles of pistes, spread
out across a series of high and undulating hills.

With this expansion has come a different set of aspirations. Soldeu is now home to a
five-star hotel and a vast four-storey spa, and thinks of the big resorts in the Alps as its
rivals, rather than Bulgaria. In some respects, it has reason to.

If you’re the wobblier sort of intermediate, who’s looking for lots of easy-going,
confidence-boosting pistes to play on, it’s a good choice. Beginners will like it, too. The
ski school is run by an Englishman, and there’s a good, flattish plateau halfway up the
slopes offering snowsure nursery areas to practise on. All-in-one beginner packages
offering a local lift pass, five half-days of tuition and equipment cost about £200pp a
week.

Just don’t come expecting Alpine sophistication or visual drama. There’s nothing to see
here to match the likes of Mont Blanc or the Matterhorn, and the fact that the main road
into France runs through the middle of the village sucks away a good deal of charisma.
Despite its ambitions, Soldeu will always be B-list, but I think it’s better for it: less
snobby, more reasonably priced and offering good value for money.

Sample package: with Crystal (0871 231 2256, crystalski.co.uk), one week, at the
three-star Soldeu Maistre hotel, arriving on January 17, costs £565pp, half-board,
including flights and transfers. Or try Neilson (0844 879 8155, neilson.co.uk).

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Tignes, France

Can you still ski the best of the Alps if your budget is tighter than a whalebone corset?
The answer is yes — but only if you’re prepared to make sacrifices.

I tested the theory in Tignes last winter, at a time when the pound was at its lowest ebb:
money-changers at the airport were doing a straight swap — £1 for €1. It meant staying
in the cheapest self-catering flat, cooking all my own meals, eating out of a rucksack at
lunchtime and eschewing any kind of tuition.

It was hard work — but for someone like me, absolutely worth the sacrifices. Tignes
lies in the better half of one of the world’s best ski areas — the Espace Killy — and
offers a mouthwatering array of top-class slopes at every level. Of course, my budget
meant I couldn’t afford to hire a mountain guide, so Tignes’s stupendous off-piste
descents were out of the question. But I still had 200 miles of A-grade pistes to play on.

What’s more, the flat, in the ageing, ugly Hameau du Borsat development, was ski-in,
ski-out. Each morning, I walked out of the back door, clicked into my skis and I was
off. Neither Bansko or Soldeu can match that. Nor can most luxury ski hotels, for that
matter.

This kind of holiday is not for everyone — particularly those who want tuition, or for
whom a ski holiday also means a holiday from cooking. But if you’re a more advanced
skier and you want to spend all day on the mountain, then there really is no alternative.

Sample package: with Inghams (020 8780 4444, inghams.co.uk), a week in a basic
self-catering studio in the Hameau du Borsat, arriving on January 16, costs £432pp,
based on four sharing and including flights and transfers. With Erna Low (0845 863
0525, www.ernalow.co.uk), the same apartment costs £159pp, self-drive, including
Eurotunnel crossings. You’ll need to factor in about £100pp for fuel and tolls.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/winter_sports/article6858005.ece

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From The Times

December 21, 2009

Nairn voted world’s second favourite

destination
Mike Wade

The sleepy seaside town of Nairn is looking forward to a bumper summer season after it
was voted second in a survey of the world’s top five holiday destinations for 2010 in a
poll of American tourists.

The Victorian town, nestling on the shores of the Moray Firth, may long have been
overlooked by Scots but it came second only to Troncones, a fashionable beach resort in
Mexico, in a sample of 3,000 holildaymakers, carried out by the website Tripadvisor.
Resorts in Patagonia, Turkey and Germany were also rated highly.

The old-world charms of Nairn appealed most to respondents on the US-based website.
“The rooms were good, the staff was pleasant, the breakfast excellent and the location
perfect,” one correspondent wrote. “You can walk a few blocks to quaint downtown
Nairn or drive a couple of minutes to the Cawdor Tavern for a great Scottish dinner or
go right next door to the Cawdor Castle, where Lady Cawdor still inhabits this
inspiration for Macbeth.”

Another couple wrote: “We met many nice locals in their ‘Late’ bar and the two
championship [golf] courses were simply immaculate.”

These days Nairn enjoys a certain celebrity cachet beause among its 3,000 inhabitants is
the Holywood actress Tilda Swinton. Even from Victorian times its sunny — if not
always warm — climate and beautiful beaches attracted tourists from far and wide,
including many inspired by Queen Victoria’s love of Scotland. Notable visitors in the
20th century included Charlie Chaplin, Burt Lancaster and Charlton Heston.

In its heydey the town was known as the “the Brighton of the North”. Sandy Park,
convenor of Highland Council, said that the latest accolade could help to rekindle
Nairn’s prosperous past. “I am absolutely delighted the town has been recognised in this
way,” Mr Park said. “Visitors will not be disappointed wherever they come from.
Chaplin used to love the place and would stay at the Newton Hotel. He knew a good
place when he found it.”

Fiona Stewart, consumer PR manager for North America at VisitScotland, said that her
opinion on the town was coloured by the fact she was Nairn born and bred — but she
argued that it should be No 1 in the world. “It has a mild climate and wonderful
beaches. Americans love it because it has great scenery and culture and good food —
and they also get a chat with the locals,” she said.

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The Cairngorms National Park sits close to the town while the Culloden battlefield
offers visitors a chance to look back at a bloody period in Scotland’s history.

Third in the survey was El Chalten, Patagonia, a Unesco World Heritage site, while
Patara, in Turkey, ranked fourth. Fifth was Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber in Bavaria,
southern Germany.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6963532.ece

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March 8, 2009

Riding the Rails

By ANDY ISAACSON

SOMEWHERE on the west side of Illinois, the Amish men broke out a deck of Skip-Bo
cards and I joined them as the cafe car attendant, using an iPod and a set of portable
speakers, broadcast Eckhart Tolle, author of “A New Earth,” discoursing on the virtues
of stillness.

“Life gets discombobulating,” the attendant said, calmly. “This helps.”

On both sides of the train window, American scenery unfolded. A dirty layer of ice and
snow subdued the still cropland to the distant horizon. At the next table a woman stuck
her nose in a novel; a college kid pecked at a laptop. Overlaying all this, a soundtrack:
choo-k-choo-k-choo-k-choo-k-choo-k — the metronomic rhythm of an Amtrak train
rolling down the line to California, a sound that called to mind an old camera reel
moving frames of images along a linear track, telling a story.

The six Amish men were in their mid-20s, and they were returning home to Kalona,
Iowa, after a three-week cross-country tour. They had especially liked the Creation
Museum, in Petersburg, Ky., and Niagara Falls. As we rolled across white plains, they
pointed out which plots grew beans and which grew corn. To my eye, the dormant land
revealed few clues.

Around the train car lounged Americans traveling for work and others for family,
people for whom train travel is a necessity and those for whom it’s merely quaint, first-
time riders and probably even a few “foamers” — the nickname that train workers
privately give the buffs who salivate over the sight of a locomotive.

I had ridden long-distance trains in India and China but never across my own country. I
suppose that after two years of receiving images saturated in red, white and blue from
all corners of the nation, I wanted to make my own. The fading glow of the
Inauguration, I thought — a moment for national unity and new beginning, both
imagined and real — would be a good light in which to meet the country again. And it
was winter, after all; I didn’t feel like driving.

With every uptick in gas prices, Americans in general are thinking less about driving.
With each degree of global warming, trains become even more sensible. And with each
new surcharge and each new item of clothing one is required to remove to board an
airplane — and with every small-town commercial airport and cabin amenity that
vanishes forever — the rails beckon. Last year, Amtrak set all-time ridership records.

Traveling cross-country by train takes time, but less than I expected: within four days,
one crosses the Hudson River and reaches San Francisco Bay at Emeryville, Calif. I

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gave myself a week, stopping in Chicago, Denver and, for variety, a remote town in
Nevada that had a nice ring to its name.

THE Amtrak Cardinal rolled out of New York’s Pennsylvania Station slightly before
dawn on a frigid January morning. I had booked a roomette — a cozy compartment just
larger than a Japanese capsule that converts from two facing seats into bunk beds. The
attendant asked if I wanted a wake-up call the next morning, pointed out the showers
down the hall and said that breakfast would be served after Trenton.

The roomette’s décor — blue curtains, a (sealed) metal ashtray on the armrest —
evoked the era of Pan Am. On the upholstered seats rested two hangers, two pillows and
a crisp copy of The New York Times, which on that morning featured a photo of the ex-
Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, projecting an image of false calm. Chicago, all
aboard.

On a two-dimensional map, the crosshatched lines that represent railroad tracks

resemble stitches binding patches of textured fabric. Essentially, these remnants of
America’s rail network predate 1910, and unless you’re on it, you scarcely notice it —
crossing under our freeways, passing through once-thriving rural towns that today’s
highways avoid. We consider train tracks indifferently, the way we do electricity wires:
as behind-the-scenes infrastructure, a ubiquitous but background feature of our
landscape.

At least this is how it seemed en route to Washington, as the train rolled past unkempt
backyards and graffitied factory walls, icy ball fields and the back doors of crumbling
buildings. America presents itself to the streets; the tracks take in a less manicured
backside. How refreshing a sight.

Our consumer society may still rely on trains to transport things, but those things are
pitched to drivers in cars, not to passengers on trains. And so, as early as New Jersey, I
realized something that would only feel remarkable a few days later, in the Nevada
desert: it’s still possible to travel 3,585 miles across the United States without being the
target of billboards, golden arches or absurdly large twine balls. The rails offer a view
onto Unbranded America — the land as it was.

The Cardinal makes 31 stops in 27 hours on a southerly, U-shaped path from New York
to Chicago. It’s not the most direct of Amtrak’s routes, but it charts a course through
textbook American history: Baltimore; Washington; Manassas, Va.; Cincinnati.

At Philadelphia, a woman named Mary Ellen Phillips Belcher and her grown daughter
Ladonna settled into the roomette across from mine. They were returning home to
Kentucky after visiting a relative in suburban Pennsylvania. They usually drive; the
train ride was satisfying a long-held curiosity.

Life stories and first names have a way of surfacing between strangers. Mary Ellen lived
her girlhood days in Junction City, Ky., with four brothers and a single mom, along the
old Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks.

“We didn’t have money to buy cigarettes, so we’d get us a coffee can and collect the
butts thrown off the train,” she said. “Mother would always leave a skillet of cornbread

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and brown beans outside the house for the hobos coming through. Evidently, they had
passed word on to their friends that Mother was a kind lady. She’d never have enough
food for us, but she’d always have something for somebody.”

“I said, ‘One of these days I’m going to ride a train to remember Mother and those
hobos’ ” she told me, in way that moved me. “I guess I had to be 65 before I took that
’venture.”

Behind her, Washington’s monuments drifted slowly across the glass, and as we passed
the Capitol, I imagined a bureaucrat inside considering what to do about Amtrak. As a
quasi-public rail service, Amtrak stays afloat with a little more than $1 billion a year
from the federal government. Last September, for the first time since 1997, Congress
approved an Amtrak authorization bill that could nearly double it. The stimulus package
President Obama signed in February includes $8 billion for high-speed and intercity rail
projects, and one would think that so long as “Amtrak Joe” Biden holds high office,
trains will continue to get some love.

After Charlottesville, Va., I planted myself in the lounge car, which divides the coach
and sleeper cars and serves the social function of the train’s town square or
neighborhood pub — an egalitarian place for conversation and chips.

“D’ya see that doe?” a man from Virginia asked me, pointing outside. “Still as can be.”

I was curious about whether he hunted. He laughed and said, “Don’t need to now; my
boy does it for me.”

A man nearby overheard and chuckled. “I used to,” he said, “before I started huntin’ the
two-legged kind.”

“I wish they had a gambling car.”

“At least they got beer.”

“Uh-huh.”

Along the tracks, a tranquil scene of rolling farmland speckled with horses eventually
became steep slopes of forest in a haze of swirling flurries. I asked the two men if these
were the Allegheny Mountains.

“Outside of here, they call them the Appalaychians,” one of the men told me. “We call
them the Appalaachians. Hell, I just call them swampy, wooded-ass areas.”

Meals on board are white-tableclothed affairs; however, these days the $22 flat iron
steaks are served on plastic replicas of Amtrak’s former china. Passengers are seated
together. For dinner, I enjoyed my cheese ravioli across from an Amish man from
Minnesota who was escorting his wife home from hernia surgery in South Carolina.
(Many Amish are uninsured, he told me, and some take trains to Mexico for less costly
medical care.)

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Travel and holidays

After he finished, one of the attendants — not the 27-year veteran with eyebrows
painted red-and-blue Amtrak stripes and a customized “Amtrak” belt buckle sparkling
with bling, but the other — seated a couple from suburban Colorado. He was a retired
defense contractor; she, a former Delta flight attendant.

“The food’s better here,” she said, a remark I took as authoritative. Cutting into her
baked potato, she added, “You couldn’t get this on a plane.”

By the time we rolled into Ashland, Ky., at 11 p.m., the temperature had plummeted
enough to freeze the track switch, waylaying us at the platform for two hours. I passed
the time in the lounge car with four other travelers, all quick to make acquaintance. One,
from the Bronx, was seeking a football coaching job in Arizona; another, from Indiana,
had just visited relatives in Virginia.

Every so often, someone would look at a watch and feign complaint. But really, it was
half-hearted; on a long-distance train, it seems, the fluid movement across space induces
a surrender to the natural unfolding of time.

At some hour during a fitful sleep, the heat in my roomette stopped working. The
attendant call button didn’t work, either. I froze until morning. Even if mine was an
aging, government-subsidized room on wheels, I wondered whether after paying more
than $200 for that night, it wasn’t reasonable to have certain expectations.

Before it was possible to travel across the troposphere, nearly all cross-country journeys
passed through Chicago. I spent a night in the city, and the next afternoon boarded the
California Zephyr.

New relationships quickly formed in the observation car, which on the double-decker,
Airstream-like Zephyr was outfitted with curved glass walls and padded chairs.
Passengers lounged together, sharing snacks or packed beverages, and making
commentary as the landscape — cold metal silos, lonely farmhouses on windswept plots
— passed across the great picture window in high definition.

Under streaks of pink and orange, we crossed the icy Mississippi River on an old steel
bridge. Dozens of bald eagles, pointed out by the conductor in an announcement,
perched on the western bank, presumably fishing. We rumbled along the main streets of
small but once prosperous Iowa towns and glimpsed architectural treasures like
Omaha’s former Union and Burlington train stations, which are now, sadly but
symbolically, a museum and a condo development.

We were making good time, which is not a reputation Amtrak usually enjoys. Seventy
percent of Amtrak’s service — basically everywhere but in the Northeast — operates on
freight railroad tracks, where inefficiencies cause frequent delays. According to federal
law, but not always in practice, passenger trains have priority. Two years ago, Union
Pacific agreed to reduce the speed restrictions it imposes on Amtrak trains while it does
track maintenance, but a Department of Transportation report last September said that
little had changed.

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Conductors told me it has, some. But for now, the crippling economy has significantly
lessened freight traffic across the country. One conductor told me that he trades stocks
based on looking out the window; when he sees less freight, he sells.

So owing in part to the recession, we coasted at dawn — ahead of schedule — into

Union Station in Denver, where a friend picked me up for a quick drive into the
mountains for a day of skiing. It felt good to jump off the train: even with utter freedom
to move about the cabin and an onboard minimart, the mind and body, before long,
yearn for solid ground.

After riding my own set of metal edges through ankle-high powder, I slept across from
the station at the upscale Oxford Hotel. In this 1891 institution, I could briefly
reimagine the romance of cross-country rail travel (and where, as an Amtrak passenger,
I got a special $150 rate, compared with $210).

In the morning, I boarded another westbound Zephyr. Leaving Denver, the rails snake
through 29 tunnels on their ascent into the Rockies. In a single bend, we turned from the
great brown plains, and the dominant impression of America — which 2,000 miles east
had been industrial and, later, agricultural — suddenly turned geological.

We passed old mines and mountain ranges, red rock canyons and ranches blanketed by
snow, glistening under the winter sun. For hundreds of miles, the train coursed along icy
green stretches of the Colorado River accessible only by raft or rail.

Vacationers heading for resorts debarked at the Glenwood Springs and Fraser-Winter
Park stations, and a man who had introduced himself as Oscar — a Mexican migrant
from North Carolina — got off at Grand Junction to pursue a restaurant job.

I sat with Steve Nykorchuk, a man from Pittsfield, Mass., with a scraggly gray beard
and cane, who rides from Albany to Reno five times a year to play the penny slots.
Before every trip, his 90-year-old mother slips him an envelope with spending money,
and every time he feels bad about taking it. When he arrives in Reno, people say, “Here
comes the Train Man.”

“I come so often they know exactly what beer I’m drinking,” he said. “That’s funny, to
come 3,000 miles and people know what you’re drinking.”

As Colorado’s majesty faded into the Utah night, I drank coffee with Ben Kinsinger, a
kindly, 63-year-old Amish butcher from Lancaster, Pa. Every February, he and his wife
ride to the country’s warmer climes. In Phoenix, they visit the airport to watch planes
take off and land, and on the train he likes to chat with passengers, like me, who never
visit Lancaster. I was touched watching him connect with a young couple from Nepal.

“No electricity, stitching clothes — wow!” the Nepalese girl said. “That would be like
giving up everything, like a nun.”

On the way to the dining car the next morning, Ben patted me. “The cows are milked,
the horses are fed,” he said, jokingly. “It’s time for breakfast!”

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But instead, I got off the train in Winnemucca, Nev., a small town dwarfed by big sky
and high mountain desert. And for no particular reason, really. (“We don’t usually get
many Winnemuccas,” the conductor said as I got off.) But train routes are about
connecting — and appreciating — the points in between, the country’s negative spaces,
those places that urban dwellers might deride as “middle of nowhere.”

A century ago, Basque sheepherders jumped off at Winnemucca by the hundreds, and
that evening, I had Picon Punches and lamb shank with their descendants at the 110-
year-old Martin Hotel, a wooden bar and restaurant beside the tracks with scrapbook-
lined walls and a small claim to still being a boardinghouse — a retired man named Phil
occupied a room upstairs.

Today, many of the Basque work for gold mines outside town. The flow of Picon
Punches follows the price of gold, and these days, both are up. I slept the night at a
cheap motel after playing a penny slot at Winners Casino, and caught the next Zephyr
rolling through.

In dawn’s light, the train streaked across the Great Basin Desert, blurring the view of
tufted yellow shrubs flanking the rails but framing the white-dusted, mineral-stained
mountains beyond in an unfolding panorama across the observation car windows. Choo-
k-choo-k-choo-k-choo-k-choo-k: that hypnotic rhythm and empty Nevada landscape
stilled the mind to a slow, meandering drift. I looked around the observation car to see
four other passengers sitting silently; a fifth gazed out the window, picking his guitar.

In Reno, a dozen gamblers boarded, and we climbed to the Sierra Nevada pass named
after the hapless westbound journeyers who ate some of their own to last the winter of
1846. Forty years later, the Donner Party would have had a transcontinental train. The
Zephyr’s engineer made steady, giant slalom turns along that original route, weaving
through the snowy backcountry on a 7,000-foot descent toward the shining sea.

Docents from the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, who regularly ride
the train back and forth to Reno, filled in the passing scenery with history. Chinese
laborers, they told us, forged much of this mountain route.

AS the train bisected California, the impressions mirrored the country east of the
Continental Divide: craggy mountains and the ghosts of gold mines became fertile
cropland until once again we rolled through industrial yards, these lining San Francisco
Bay.

Almost every veteran conductor I talked with on the trip lamented that something of
train travel’s former magic had slipped away. Yet I witnessed something very precious
that remains.

Mr. Kinsinger, the Amish butcher, had remarked in astonishment: “I met a man who
said he spent 12 hours on an airplane, sitting right next to someone, and they never said
a word to each other!” A former New York City cop-turned-massage-therapist from
Oregon, who had ridden the Zephyr with her husband, carried cards printed with their
contact information, and the headline: “There Are No Strangers on a Train.”

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Abraham Lincoln’s idealism about the first transcontinental railroad’s forging national
unity may have been bound up in political pragmatism and economic ambition, but a
core sentiment remains true: as a train crosses borders, the boundaries between its riders
dissolve. Those crosshatched lines on the map stitching the country together are also a
metaphor. I witnessed community and saw everybody cherishing it.

At least for now, train travel remains in what the former flight attendant I met called an
“age of innocence,” by which she meant that you can keep your shoes on to board. It is
a relapse into a simpler time.

With some cash, Amtrak could add modern amenities like Wi-Fi and still preserve that
slower pace that makes train travel a salve for our modern psyche, the perpetual motion
lulling the rider to stillness, like a rocking cradle, and that hushing sound: choo-k-choo-
k-choo-k-choo-k-choo-k.

SPECTACULAR TRIPS ON 2 RAILS

Trains continue to inspire wanderlust, and around the world, several trains run on
particularly scenic routes, across continents or on small slices of inviting terrain.

THE CARDINAL AND THE ZEPHYR

An Amtrak cross-country trip from New York to San Francisco can begin with the
Cardinal, which runs three days a week from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to
Chicago, heading south before turning west. From Chicago, the California Zephyr runs
daily to Emeryville, Calif. (buses take riders into San Francisco), using double-decker
trains with wraparound windows in an observation car.

The full trip, which can take less than four days, journeys in textbook American history
and geography: the industrial Northeast, Washington, Civil War Virginia, Chicago, coal
towns and cornfields, Rocky Mountain meadows and red rock canyons, the stark
Nevada desert, the Sierra Nevada and San Francisco Bay.

Fares begin at $84 for the Cardinal and $145 for the Zephyr (www.amtrak.com; 800-
872-7245). Sleeper upgrades — two-bed roomettes to family-size bedrooms — start at
$184 a person on the Cardinal and $262 on the Zephyr, and include meals. Multistop
itineraries should be booked when you reserve. For extended touring, USA Rail Passes
allow segments in three durations (eight segments in 15 days, $389; 12 segments in 30
days, $579; 18 segments in 45 days, $749; sleeper upgrades are extra).

THE CANADIAN, CANADA

The Canadian, VIA Rail’s cross-country service, traverses the lakelands of northern
Ontario, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba prairies, and the soaring Canadian Rockies on
a spectacular three-day, four-night journey from Toronto to Vancouver. The refurbished
1950s Art Deco trains have two classes: Comfort (off-peak from 574 Canadian dollars,
about $452 at 1.27 Canadian dollars to the U.S. dollar), with reclining seats, a domed
viewing car and a coffee shop (drinks and meals are extra); and Silver & Blue (from 993
dollars), which includes sleeping accommodations, meals, a plush bar/lounge and a
private sightseeing car. With 48 hours’ notice, passengers can request unscheduled stops

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on some segments. Through March 31, regular peak fares for travel before May 31 are
half price (888-842-7245; www.viarail.ca).

THE OVERLANDER, NEW ZEALAND

The Overlander’s 423-mile, 12-hour journey from Auckland to Wellington down the
lush spine of New Zealand’s North Island passes farming hamlets, snow-capped
volcanoes and steep river gorges. The train runs on a line built in 1908 with engineering
features like the Raurimu Spiral, with two tunnels, three horseshoe curves and a
complete circle. The train runs daily from December through April, and on weekends
from May through November; one-way fares start at 89 New Zealand dollars, $44.50 at
2 local dollars to the U.S. dollar (64-4-495-0775; www.tranzscenic.co.nz).

GLACIER EXPRESS, SWITZERLAND

This breathtaking, seven-and-a-half-hour journey from St.-Moritz or Davos to Zermatt

through a Swiss alpine wonderland rollercoasters across 291 bridges, through 91 tunnels
and over the Rhone and Rhine Rivers and the 6,670-foot-high Oberal Pass. The postcard
views include the Matterhorn. One-way fares begin at 143 Swiss francs, about $120 at
1.19 francs to the dollar; 184 francs includes a three-course lunch (41-27-927-7777;
www.glacierexpress.ch; but for fewer than 10 tickets, passengers must go to a travel
agency, a main railway station or www.raileurope.com).

THE BERGEN RAILWAY, NORWAY

From Oslo, this scenic seven-hour journey ascends to the mountain resort towns of
Geilo, Gol and Nesbyen and across the vast Hardanger plateau on the way to the
charming port city of Bergen. One-way fares start at 199 kroner, about $28 at 7 kroner
to the dollar (47-23-15-15-15; www.nsb.no).

EL CHEPE, MEXICO

The 408-mile, 14-hour Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway, or El Chepe, links the Pacific
coast in Sinaloa with the Chihuahua desert on a spectacularly rugged route though the
Copper Canyon. Between Los Mochis and Chihuahua, it climbs 8,000 feet on 37
bridges and through 86 tunnels. It runs daily; one-way economy class is 854 pesos, $57
at 15 pesos to the dollar, first express is 1,708 pesos (888-484-1623;
www.chepe.com.mx).

ANDY ISAACSON lives in New York and Berkeley, Calif., but this was his first train
trip across the United States.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: March 22, 2009

An article on March 8 about a cross-country trip on Amtrak misspelled the name of the
Iowa hometown of six Amish men who took a three-week trip. It is Kalona, not Kolona.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/travel/08amtrak.html

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December 16, 2007

Before It Disappears
By ALLEN SALKIN

Correction Appended

QUITO, Ecuador

DENNIS and STACIE WOODS, a married couple from Seattle, choose their vacation
destinations based on what they fear is fated to destruction.

This month it was a camping and kayaking trip around the Galápagos Islands. Last year,
it was a stay at a remote lodge in the Amazon, and before that, an ascent of Mount
Kilimanjaro.

“We wanted to see the islands this year,” Mr. Woods, a lawyer, said last week in a hotel
lobby here, “because we figured they’re only going to get worse.”

The visit to the Amazon was “to try to see it in its natural state before it was turned into
a cattle ranch or logged or burned to the ground,” Mr. Woods said. Kilimanjaro was
about seeing the sunrise on the highest peak in Africa before the ice cap melts, as some
forecasters say it will within the next dozen years.

Next on their list: the Arctic before the ice is gone.

The Woodses are part of a travel trend that Ken Shapiro, the editor in chief of
TravelAge West, a magazine for travel agents, calls “the Tourism of Doom.”

“It’s not just about going to an exotic place,” Mr. Shapiro said. “It’s about going
someplace they expect will be gone in a generation.”

From the tropics to the ice fields, doom is big business. Quark Expeditions, a leader in
arctic travel, doubled capacity for its 2008 season of trips to the northern and
southernmost reaches of the planet. Travel agents report clients are increasingly
requesting trips to see the melting glaciers of Patagonia, the threatened coral of the
Great Barrier Reef, and the eroding atolls of the Maldives, Mr. Shapiro said.

Even the sinking of the Antarctic cruise ship Explorer, which hit an iceberg last month,
has not cooled interest. Other Antarctic tour operators say they have received frantic
calls asking for last-minute berths from those who had been scheduled to take future
Explorer voyages. Since most trips are already full, would-be paying customers are
being turned away.

What these travelers are chasing may be a modern-day version of an old human impulse
— to behold an untrammeled frontier. Except this time around, instead of being the first

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to climb a mountain or behold a glacier-fed lake, voyagers like the Woodses are eager to
be the ones to see things last.

Almost all these trips are marketed as environmentally aware and eco-sensitive — they
are, after all, a grand tour of the devastating effects of global warming. But the travel
industry, some environmentalists say, is preying on the frenzy. This kind of travel, they
argue, is hardly green. It’s greedy, requiring airplanes and boats as well as new hotels.

However well intentioned, these trip takers may hasten the destruction of the very
places they are trying to see. But the environmental debate is hardly settled. What is
clear is that appealing to the human ego remains a terrific sales tool for almost any
product.

“Doom tourism has been with us for a long time indeed,” Jonathan Raban, the travel
writer, said by phone from Seattle, his home. “It’s about the world being spoiled and the
impulse of the tourist industry to sell us on getting there before it is too late, before
other people spoil it.

“I’m thinking of the opening up of the West by the railroads aided by unforgivable
painters like Albert Bierstadt, who sold that idyllic version of the pristine West
populated only by deer and their fauns and picturesque Indians. There was a rush from
the East to get there one step before the miners, who were going to spoil it, and before
other tourists started trampling it.”

Back then, the images were of geysers and antelope-dotted Rocky Mountain sunsets.
Now the worried traveler, motivated by promotional Web sites showing images of
smiling natives in face paint and flocks of colorful exotic birds, hastens to the
vulnerable Amazon. Not that this tourist will be roughing it: bamboo-floored lodges
await, where hot showers come courtesy of solar power and squawking toucans can be
viewed from laddered observation towers.

At hundreds of dollars or more a night, people do want hot water and other comforts.

In November, Travel + Leisure magazine came out with a “responsible travel” issue and
listed on its cover “13 guilt-free travel deals,” No. 5 being an Inkaterra Rain Forest
package. For $497 a person, it included a three-night stay in a cabana on stilts, an
excursion to the hotel’s private ecological reserve, a boat trip to a native farm and a 30-
minute massage at the hotel spa.

A “Green Serengeti package” in Tanzania started at $836 a night per person, with all
drinks “excluding Champagne.”

This is all a ruse, said John Stetson, a spokesman for the Will Steger Foundation, an
environmental education organization in Minnesota. “Eco-tourism is more of a term for
the marketer,” he said. “Many people want to do what’s right, so when something is
marketed as the right thing, they tend to do that.”

But, he says, traveling by jet to see the icebergs contributes to global warming, which
makes the icebergs melt faster. “It’s hard to fault somebody who wants to see something

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before it disappears, but it’s unfortunate that in their pursuit of doing that, they
contribute to the problem,” he said.

Advocates of green tourism counter that even carbon-consuming travel can help
preserve destinations, as local people learn that there is more economic value in
preserving nature for tourists than in farming or timber harvesting, said Lene
Oestergaard, the executive director of the Rainforest Foundation. The organization was
founded by Sting and Trudie Styler in 1989 to help the indigenous people of the world’s
rain forests protect their environments.

“There are environmentally friendly resorts,” she said. “This is possible.”

Some travel companies have tried to reconcile the conflicting ideas of seeing the planet
while also somehow saving it.

Abercrombie & Kent, a luxury travel company, is offering “mission trips” to

environmentally sensitive locales. For the Antarctica mission under way now, the 22
participants, who paid $6,190 each for a 13-day tour, gave an additional $500 each to
Friends of Conservation.

Some of that money helped buy a high-definition video camera, which the tourists will
deliver to Palmer Station, an American ecological research center on the Antarctic
peninsula, said Pamela Lassers, a spokeswoman for the tour operator. The camera will
be used to film the behavior of krill, she said.

Each tourist receives a certificate of participation and a Climate Change Challenge

Mission patch.

“For their expedition parka,” publicity materials instruct.

Another mission in October delivered a weather-monitoring station to researchers on

Mount Kilimanjaro, Ms. Lassers said.

In a way, these earnest expeditions say much about how the very idea of adventure has
changed. Once naturalists like Darwin made sense of a wild world. Explorers like Lewis
and Clark sought to map what seemed limitless wilderness. Adventurers like
Livingstone and Scott sought to conquer the earth’s natural challenges and sometimes
died trying.

Over the last half-century, backpackers and other adventurers took a gentler route,
beating new paths across Asia, South America and other locales — only to realize years
later that some paths had been clear-cut into highways fit for Holiday Inns. There is a
Baskin-Robbins in Katmandu, and a strip of five-star hotels in Goa, India.

Those who fancy themselves world travelers are scrambling for something untouched.
But what is left to brag about at post-voyage cocktail parties? Traveling to India was
common by the late 1990s. By 2003, everyone had to rush to dance the tango in Buenos
Aires. Moon shots are not yet bookable on Orbitz.

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“From where I sit,” said Nancy Novogrod, the editor of Travel + Leisure, “traveling to
Mongolia now is almost cliché. Last summer, it seemed like everybody was going to
Mongolia. The bar keeps getting higher.”

But are there any thrills left?

No one is yet offering an Antarctic trip in which tourists will be allowed to kill and eat
sled dogs, as Ernest Shackleton did in desperation on his 1914-16 expedition. For now,
travelers to the icy reaches must satisfy themselves with smaller diversions.

Everen T. Brown, a photographer from Salt Lake City, paid Quark Expeditions about
$22,000 to be one of the 300 people it leads to the North Pole annually on icebreakers.

“You hear so much about global warming, you almost expect that when you get to the
North Pole, there will be nothing there,” Mr. Brown said. “But there still is ice there.”

At the pole, tour leaders plant a sign and have a ceremony with colorful flags, followed
by a picnic lunch on the ice and, for the truly intrepid, a tethered plunge into the
freezing deep.

“We have this romanticized view of what the North Pole is,” said Mr. Brown, who
posted a panoramic photo of the pole on his Web site 360atlas.com. “And then there’s
the reality. It’s cold. It’s stark. Santa Claus wasn’t waiting to greet us.”

Correction: December 23, 2007

An article last Sunday about travelers who seek destinations that they think are
ecologically endangered misspelled the surname of the editor in chief of Travel &
Leisure. She is Nancy Novogrod, not Novograd.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/fashion/16disappear.html

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December 7, 2009

Branson to Introduce Tourist Spaceship

in Mojave
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LOS ANGELES (Agence France-Presse) — Richard Branson, the British billionaire,

will unveil a craft on Monday that could soon carry tourists on a trip into space for
$200,000 each.

The craft, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, will make its debut on the moonlike
landscape of the Mojave desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

SpaceShipTwo, which can carry six passengers and two pilots, is scheduled to begin test
flights next year and start commercial flights in 2011 or 2012.

Virgin Galactic, owned by Mr. Branson’s Virgin Group and Aabar Investments of Abu
Dhabi, says about 300 people from around the world have paid a total of $40 million in
deposits to guarantee spots on the carbon composite aircraft.

Aerospace experts are already bidding on suborbital flights as the next generation of
business travel.

Pamela Hurley-Moser, owner of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland, Ore., is among 50

travel consultants chosen as accredited space agents for Virgin Galactic.

But space tourism, for now, remains an exclusive experience reserved for those willing
to pay the hefty fee for a seat on the two-and-a-half-hour flights about 60 miles above
Earth.

“First a few will go to space, but ultimately, over the next hundred years or so,
spaceflight will become commonplace,” said Charles Chafer, chief executive of Space
Services, a Houston company that specializes in space funerals.

In 2007, the company released into space the ashes of the actor James Doohan of “Star
Trek.”

A Space Services spokeswoman, Susan Schonfeld, said the company now takes the
ashes of hundreds of people at a time into space, compared with 27 people in 2007.

“Through the years, I have had the opportunity to speak to hundreds and hundreds of
people from all over the world,” she said, “but 99 percent of the people are everyday
people like myself that have a very deep sense of exploration I do believe is in all of
us.”

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The WhiteKnightTwo mothership, which has a wingspan of 140 feet, is intended to

carry the smaller SpaceShipTwo 50,000 feet into the sky before it detaches and shoots
up to the edge of space.

There, the tourists could experience five minutes of weightlessness in a cabin with
circular windows on the sides and the ceiling.

Mr. Chafer predicted, “As humanity eventually moves to other planets and bodies
throughout the solar system, we will of course fly into — and eventually live in —
space.”

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/business/07branson.html

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Biking Coal Count By DAN WHITE http://w w w .nytim default

OCT 23 2009 The New York Tim nytimes.com 1840

October 23, 2009

Biking Coal Country’s Tracks and Tunnels

By DAN WHITE

Frostburg, Md. — THREE hours by bike from Cumberland, Md., on the Great
Allegheny Passage, I rode into the mouth of the abandoned Borden Tunnel near here,
where freight trains once rumbled, hauling coke, steel and coal. The air was black as
engine oil.

In the middle of the tunnel, darkness swallowed my pedals and handlebars. My wheels
wobbled on crushed limestone, but I couldn’t see them anymore. My friend David
Howard was pedaling far in front of me and loving every minute of it. “I can’t see a
thing,” he said gleefully. “It feels like an out-of-body experience.”

But I was so unnerved that my bike spun out of control and I nearly slammed into the
wall.

As I discovered on a three-day trip this year, the passage, which travels 132 miles from
McKeesport, Pa., to Cumberland, Md., is part industrial history lesson, part nature
excursion and part fun house, with thrilling and spooky moments: barely lighted
corridors through mountainsides, whitecaps on rivers a hundred feet below and the
lonely sound of a freight-train whistle.

Word is getting out that the trail is a world-class biking destination. Linda Boxx,
president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven organizations that
oversee the project, said 10,000 to 15,000 people rode a long-distance trip along it last
year. The trail was built at the cost of $65 million after the rail tracks were abandoned in
1975.

The trail — which will eventually reach Pittsburgh, 18 miles from McKeesport — feels
remote but is within a half-day’s drive of much of the Northeast. Along the way,
bicyclists cross the Mason-Dixon Line, sweep through farmland and gain 1,750 feet of
elevation from Cumberland west to the Eastern Continental Divide.

At Cumberland the Great Allegheny Passage joins the C&O Canal towpath, which
stretches east to the District of Columbia. When the trail is complete, hardy bicyclists
will be able to travel unimpeded from Pittsburgh to Washington, some 335 trail miles.

Yet the railroad grade route is so gradual that riders usually can’t see the hills they are
climbing, even when they feel the slow burn in their quads. Travelers have the uncanny
feeling that they are burrowing through the Allegheny Mountains instead of traveling
up, over and around them. In a sense this is true; the trail builders have made ingenious
use of old trestles, bridges, viaducts and tunnels to help bicyclists punch through.

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Although I’d heard the trail was nicely graded, I decided to take some backup: my good
friend David, who is the executive editor of Bicycling Magazine.

In Cumberland I rented a Cannondale touring bicycle and overloaded it with tools and
spare tires I wouldn’t need, and we started off. Buildings vanished as we pedaled
through a forest canopy and past the Bone Cave, where scientists scraped out the
remains of cave bears and saber-toothed cats.

As we made our way through a mile-long slash between the Haystack and Wills
Mountains known as the Narrows, a murky yellow light levitated like a ghost, followed
by a horn blast. A carbon smell burned in the air. A steam train took shape on a working
track next to us, trailing vapor. David waved as the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
train clanked past and rolled out of sight, a reminder of the route’s original purpose.

That day, after a long climb, we paused for breath near a row of benches. Everything
we’d passed through in the last few hours lay beneath us: fields and hills, and pillars of
smoke from farmhouse fireplaces miles away in Allegany County, Md. Fog boiled out
of Cash Valley.

Soon afterward we came face to face with the 3,294-foot-long Big Savage Tunnel.
Inside, the tunnel was dreamlike, like a Roman catacomb or a secret passageway
between the Great Pyramids. Every hundred feet or so a pale yellow light hanging from
the ceiling showed the way.

I was enjoying the echoes and the distant drip of water, when David warned me about a
burned-out light. Darkness fell suddenly and I slammed the brakes; I skidded, lost
control of the bike and fell to the gravel with a heavy plop.

It was a harmless fall, but the adrenaline helped me with the last hard push to the
crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide, where we swept through a short tunnel.
Inside is a sign showing the elevation gain of the trail as a series of frightening, near-
vertical peaks. At the highest point was a small arrow and the message, “You are here.”

We high-fived. Now the way was paper flat or downhill.

Satisfied, aching and a bit torn up after more than 30 miles, I was glad to hear the porch
swings creak at Gram Gram’s Place, a new bed-and-breakfast/bike shop in Meyersdale,
Pa. Craig Bowman, who runs Gram Gram’s with his wife, Jackie, drove us to the White
House Restaurant, which has flag-motif knickknacks and crockery, a “God Bless
America” sign above the bar and an enormous century-old butcher’s block turned into a
groaning board for homemade bread.

At the restaurant time’s passage was irrelevant; our waitress was the sprightly Lil
Drake, 79, who had worked there for 40 years. Even the house specialty — fried
haddock — came from a recipe unchanged since the 1950s. David admired his gooey
heap of buttery sour-cream splattered mashed potatoes. “If I ate this stuff every day, it
would probably kill me,” he said.

But there was no danger of that. The next day was 42 miles, starting with a bridge that
someone had festooned with toilet paper, the only litter or vandalism we saw on the

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immaculately clean trail. Soon we pedaled across the Salisbury Viaduct, a 101-foot-high
1,908-foot-long steel trestle that gave me the feeling of hang-gliding over the valley.

We made great speed over skinny bridges, dodging rabbits and wobbling past the
closed-off Pinkerton Tunnel, which looked like the entrance to a ruined temple. But the
trouble began in the oldest section of the trail, in Ohiopyle State Park, where the
pathway got narrower and lost its right shoulder.

The right edge dropped to a forested slope, giving way to the middle fork of the
Youghiogheny River. Rafters bobbed and screamed in the whitewater. Unnerved by the
drop, and having some difficulty with my heavily laden bike, I lost control again and
fell, but didn’t go over the edge.

By the time we reached Ohiopyle I had three narrowly avoided head-on collisions under
my belt. Hemmed inside 20,000 acres of state park land, it was a good place to
recuperate: Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Fallingwater was an easy shuttle ride
away, Class 3 and Class 4 rapids coursed through town, and the local pub served craft
beers while music played at tinnitus-inducing volume.

Later we wandered around and watched bats wheel in front of a full moon. We joined
40 people who had set up a TV outside and were watching a hockey game. People
gobbled hot dogs, drank Pabst Blue Ribbon and groaned in despair.

In attendance was Jim Greenbaum, general manager of White Water Adventurers, one
of four outfitters in town. Sobered by watching his favorite team, the Pittsburgh
Penguins, get knocked down, he changed to a more uplifting topic, the bicyclists
“discovering” a town once known as a river-running nexus.

Mr. Greenbaum noted that the motel where we were staying was attracting new visitors,
thanks in part to the Great Allegheny Passage.

“Thirteen years ago they built the motel for rafters,” he said. “Now only 18 percent are
rafters. The rest are bikers and Fallingwater people. Who would have ever thunk it?”

IF YOU GO: INFORMATION

The Great Allegheny Passage, between Cumberland, Md., and McKeesport, Pa., is
complete — but trail builders are raising money to finish bicycle/pedestrian bridges
between McKeesport and Pittsburgh. Information about the trail is at www.atatrail.org.

In 2006, trail builders linked the passage to the C & O canal towpath, creating a 318-
mile motor-vehicle-free bike and walking path from McKeesport to Washington, D.C.
Information about the C & O trail is at www.bikewashington.org/canal.

Cumberland is a logical starting point for an adventure because the serious climbing is
largely out of the way within the first 24 miles — with mostly straightaways and
descents after the trail crosses the Eastern Continental Divide. The passage is on a
railroad grade, meaning there are no sustained strenuous climbs.

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ALONG THE WAY

In Cumberland: Cumberland Trail Connection, Building A-2, Canal Place, (301) 777-
8724, www.ctcbikes.com. Bike rentals start at $25 per day for full travel days, or $15
for half days. Arrange with the owners to park free near the shop. The owners can also
supply information about shuttle pickups, trail logistics and conditions.

Some riders cut out much of the first day’s climbing by traveling on the Western
Maryland Scenic Railroad (13 Canal Street, Cumberland; (800) 872-4650,
www.wmsr.com), which accepts bicycles and travels to Frostburg, Md., a convenient
stop along the trail. In summer months, the train departs Thursday through Sunday at
11:30 a.m., and Friday through Sunday in September at 11:30; in October, for the fall
foliage, the train departs Tuesday through Sunday at 11:30 (second departure at 5 p.m.
on Saturdays). In November and December it reverts to weekends only (but runs on the
Friday after Thanksgiving). Fares start at $30 per person, with an extra $5 fee for bikes.
On Thursdays through the end of August, the train offers a one-way bicyclist discount
of $25, which includes the bike fee. Trains do not operate January through April.

In Meyersdale, Pa: Gram Gram’s Place, 508 Main Street, (814) 634-0461,
www.gramgramsplace.com. Double-occupancy rooms, with continental breakfast
included, start at $65 per night. Levi-Deal Mansion Bed and Breakfast, 301 Meyers
Avenue, (814) 289-7600, www.levidealmansion.com. Double-occupancy rooms start at
$90 on weekdays, and $110 on weekends.

The White House, 515 Thomas Street, (814) 634-8145. Deep-fried haddock dinner with
soup, bread bar and choice of potato or vegetable is $12.50.

In Ohiopyle, Pa.: Yough Plaza Motel, 28 Sherman Street, (800) 992-7238,

www.youghplaza.com. Double-occupancy rooms start at $109 per night.

Falls City Restaurant & Pub, 112 Garrett Street, (724) 329-3000. Nachos grande with
tortilla chips, red peppers, black beans, onion, olives, cheddar and jalapeno are $6.95.
www.fallscitypub.com.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

White Water Adventurers, 6 Negley Street, Ohiopyle; (724) 329-8850;

www.wwaraft.com, offers guided and unguided rafting trips along the Youghiogheny
River. Guided trips (in the middle Yough), during the weekday, start at $34.50 per
adult, $45.50 on Saturday and $40.50 on Sunday. For a fee, the company will provide
shuttle service to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house, as well as shuttle rides back
to Cumberland for cyclists.

Fallingwater, (724) 329-8501, www.fallingwater.org, is halfway between Mill Run and

Ohiopyle on State Route 381. Adult admission with tour is $18. Because of its remote
location, there is no public transportation to Fallingwater; you must drive there or
arrange shuttle transport from Ohiopyle.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/travel/escapes/23passage.html

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Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

st
1 Atoll /ætɒl/ A circular coral reef Atolón
surrounding a lagoon.

2nd Backcountry /bækkʌntrɪ/ A sparsely inhabited rural Zona remota

region.

3rd Bargain - /ˈbɑːɡɪn Retail location of a main Sección de

basement ˈbeɪsmənt/ store, where discounted ofertas
merchandise is sold.
4th Beckon /bekən/ To summon with a Atrer
gesture.

5th Berth /bɜːθ/ A bunk in a ship or train. Camarote

6th Beverage /bevərɪdʒ/ Any drink other than Bebida

water.

7th Boardinghouse /bɔːdɪŋhaʊs/ A private house that Pension, casa

provides accommodation de huéspedes
and meals for paying
guests.

8th Brag /bræɡ/ To speak of (one's own Jactarse,

achievements, possessions, fanfarronear
etc) arrogantly and
boastfully.

9th Bunk bed /bʌŋkbed/ One of a pair of beds Litera

constructed one above the
other to save space.

10th Chart /tʃɑːt/ To plot the course of. Trazar (una

ruta)

11th Condo /kɒndəʊ/ An apartment building in Condominio.

which each apartment is Bloque de
individually owned. pisos o
apartamentos
12th Craggy /kræɡɪ/ Rocky and steep. Rocoso,
escarpado

13th Debark /dɪˈbɑːk/ To unload, as from a ship Desembarcar,

or an airplane. tomar tierra

14th Detach /dɪˈtætʃ/ To disengage and separate. Desacoplarse

15th Discombobulate /dɪskəm To disconcert or confuse. Dislocar, hacer

ˈbɒbjʊleɪt/ confuso

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Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

16th Ebb /eb/ The flowing back from its Reflujo
highest point.

17th Eschew /ɪsˈtʃuː/ To avoid doing or being Renunciar

involved in something.

18th Fare /fɛəʳ/ The amount charged or Precio, tarifa

paid for a journey in a bus,
a train or plane.

19th Half-board /hɑːfˈbɔːd/ The daily provision by a Media pensión

hotel of bed, breakfast and
evening meal.

20th Hang-glide /hæŋˌɡlaɪd/ To fly by means of a hang Volar con ala

glider. delta

21st Haul /hɔːl/ To drag or to pull Transportar,

(something) with effort. acarrear

22 nd Hefty /heftɪ/ Large in size, weight or Cuantioso

amount. Involving a large
amount of money.

23st Heyday /heɪdeɪ/ The time of most power, Auge

popularity, or success.

24th Hideous /hɪdɪəs/ Extremely ugly or Espantoso

unpleasant.

25th Lodge /lɒdʒ/ Any of various Native Vivienda tribal

American dwellings, such
as a hogan, wigwam or
longhouse.

26th Lounge car /laʊndʒ kɑːʳ/ A railroad passenger car Vagón

equipped with lounge restaurante
chairs, tables, a buffet or
bar and other comforts.

27th Pad /pæd/ To fill (something) out Acolchar

with soft material for
comfort, shape or
protection.

28th Outfit /aʊtfɪt/ To supply what is needed Equipar

for some activity or
purpose.

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Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

29th Quaint /kweɪnt/ Attractively unusual, Pintoresco,
especially in an old- peculiar
fashioned style.

30th Quid /kwɪd/ A pound (sterling). Libra

31st Reel /riːl/ A cylindrical object or Carrete

frame that turns on an axis
and onto which film, tape,
wire or thread is wound.

32nd Rekindle /riːˈkɪndl/ To arouse. Reavivar

33rd Roomette /ruːˈmet/ A type of sleeping car Departamento

compartment in a railroad de coche cama
passenger train.

34th Scrapbook /skræpbʊk/ A book of blank pages in Album de

which newspaper cuttings fotos
or pictures are stuck.

35th Self-catering /selfˈkeɪtərɪŋ/ (Of accommodation) for Apartamento

(flat) tenants providing and con acceso a
preparing their own food. cocina

36th Shoot up /ʃuːt ʌp/ To rise dramatically. Salir

disparado,
alzarse de
repente

37th Snow-sure /snəʊ ʃʊəʳ/ A number of resorts which Nieve

(ski resort) have access to glaciers or asegurada
have great snow-making.

38th Spoil /spɔɪl/ To make (something) less Estropear,

valuable, beautiful or arruinar
useful.

39th Steep /stiːp/ Having a sharp slope. Escarpado,

empinado

40th strenuous /strenjʊəs/ Requiring or involving the Intenso, arduo,

use of great energy or agotador,
effort. fatigoso

41st Swap /swɒp/ An exchange. Canje

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Travel and holidays

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

42nd Throw up /θrəʊ/ To construct (a building or Construir
structure) hastly. rápidamente.

43rd Towpath /təʊpɑːθ/ A path beside a canal or Camino de

river, formerly used by sirga
horses pulling barges.
44th Trestle /tresl/ A succession of towers of Caballete
steel, timber or reinforced
concrete supporting the
horizontal beams of a
roadway, bridge or other
structure.

45th Tuition /tjʊˈɪʃən/ Instruction, especially that Clases

received individually or in particulares
small group.

46th unkempt /ʌnˈkempt/ Untidy or slovenly. Desordenado,

poco cuidado

47th Upscale /ʌpˈskeɪl/ Of, intended for, or De lujo

relating to high-income
consumers.

48th uptick /ʌpˈ tɪk/ An increase, especially a Incremento

small or incremental one.

49th wanderlust /wɒndəlʌst/ A great desire to travel. Pasión de

viajar, ansia de
ver mundo

50th Wingspan /wɪŋspæn/ The distance between the Envergadura

win tips of a bird, insect,
bat or aircraft.

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Woman Who Killed Her 4 Daughters Is Given 120

Years
By IAN URBINA
Published: December 18, 2009

WASHINGTON — A woman convicted of killing her four daughters and living for
months with their decomposing bodies was sentenced Friday to 120 years in prison.

The woman, Banita M. Jacks, 35, was found living with the corpses of her daughters,
ages 5 to 16, when deputy federal marshals served an eviction notice at her home in
southeast Washington on Jan. 9, 2008. Autopsies later indicated that the girls had been
dead for at least seven months.

The deaths plunged the local child welfare agency into turmoil amid accusations that
more should have been done to prevent them. The agency has been under federal court
oversight for two decades.

This case “will probably haunt me for the rest of my life,” Judge Frederick H. Weisberg
of the District of Columbia Superior Court said as he handed down the mandatory
minimum sentence of 30 years for the murder of each child. He rejected a request from
Ms. Jacks’s lawyer that the sentences run concurrently.

During her trial, Ms. Jacks’s lawyers had pressed her to plead not guilty by reason of
insanity and argued that she was not competent after she rejected that advice.

An April report by the city inspector general cited a lack of follow-through and
coordination among city agencies as the reason the girls were not saved.

“Multiple entities worked effectively, but largely obliviously to each other’s efforts, to
put in place many of the elements necessary for the family to sustain itself,” the report
said. “Yet, no single organization seemingly had the full perspective necessary to see
and follow the family’s progress, and intervene when these elements of self-sufficiency
began to destabilize.”

The Jacks family was supposed to receive monthly visits based on its housing
placement, but it never did, the report said. Education officials failed to follow through
when the girls dropped out of school.

In May, Judith W. Meltzer, who was appointed to track the child welfare agency by a
federal judge, Thomas F. Hogan, said the agency was still failing to offer adequate care
for abused and neglected children.

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Violent Crime Fell in 2008, F.B.I. Report Says

By DAVID STOUT
Published: September 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — A young black man being shot to death by another black man who
is an acquaintance continues to be the most “typical” homicide in the United States,
according to a Federal Bureau of Investigations report released on Monday that showed
an overall drop in violent crime for the second year in a row.

The F.B.I. figures show that nearly as many black people as white were homicide
victims in 2008, even though 80 percent of Americans are white, compared with 13
percent who are black, according to Census Bureau figures.

To put it another way, based on census figures for white and black men of all ages, a
black man was roughly six times as likely to be a homicide victim as a white man in
2008.

Of the nearly 17,000 homicide victims last year, 6,782 were black and 6,838 were
white, the F.B.I. said, with men several times more likely to be victims than women.
Several hundred other victims were classified as belonging to other races or as race
unknown.

Of the more than 16,000 people arrested for homicide in the United States in 2008,
5,943 were black and 5,334 white, with several thousand other suspects classified as
belonging to other races or as race unknown.

For both whites and blacks, men ages 17 to 30 were the most “typical” victims and
killers. Over all, men were several times more likely than women to be the victims and
the killers.

Justifiable killings by the police or civilians, suicides and deaths due to negligence are
not included in the homicide statistics.

While the estimated number of all violent crimes in the nation declined for the second
year, property crimes also fell over all in 2008, the sixth straight yearly drop in these
offenses.

The information, based on data sent to the F.B.I. from police agencies, is explained in
detail in the report, “Crime in the United States,” which is offered with caveats.

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Aware of the temptation to rank cities or regions according to how safe they are, the
F.B.I. cautioned that “these rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous
variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state or region.” The report
continued, “Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often
create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents.”

As Bill Carter, an F.B.I. spokesman, said Monday, the agency does not “cite any
specific reasons” for crime rising or falling.

“We leave that up to the academics and the criminologists and the sociologists,” Mr.
Carter said.

The F.B.I. data released Monday showed that 23.3 percent of murder victims were slain
by family members, and 54.7 percent were killed by acquaintances, while only 22
percent were murdered by strangers. Of last year’s homicides, 9,484 involved firearms,
6,755 of which were handguns, the F.B.I. said.

In each of the four violent crime offenses, the 2008 rates were down from 2007. Murder
and non-negligent manslaughter dropped 3.9 percent; aggravated assault declined 2.5
percent; forcible rape declined 1.6 percent; and robbery was down 0.7 percent. The
figures are based on offenses per 100,000 people.

Burglaries rose 2 percent in 2008, and larceny-thefts went up three-tenths of 1 percent.

But motor vehicle theft dropped 12.7 percent.

The 2008 violent crime rate was 454.5 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants (a 2.7 percent
decrease from the 2007 rate), and the property crime rate was 3,212.5 per 100,000
persons (a 1.6 percent decrease from 2007).

Crime statistics can vary, depending on who is doing the counting. Information from the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, which like the F.B.I., is a Justice Department agency, is
based on surveys of households and individuals, instead of relying on police data. On
Sept. 2, the statistics bureau said its figures showed that violent crime was unchanged in
2008 and that property crime was down slightly.

And the F.B.I. report released on Monday, while packed full of statistics, is based in
part on estimates, since some of the more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies that
participate in the F.B.I. survey could not or did not provide complete totals for the year.
Hence, while 14,180 homicides were documented in 2008, the F.B.I. estimated the
actual number at just over 16,700.

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While Mr. Carter of the F.B.I. declined to discuss crime trends, he speculated that better
medical care in recent years has spared some assault victims from being listed
eventually as homicide victims.

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Crime and law

Bad Times Do Not Bring More Crime (if They Ever

Did)
By AL BAKER
Published: November 29, 2009

Unemployment has reached 10.3 percent in New York City, higher than it is in the state
and nationally. The Bloomberg administration is weighing cuts from every city agency
to help close a $4.1 billion deficit next year. Homelessness among families is at a record
high, with more than 28,000 men, women and children now in the city’s shelter system.

In 2009, the signs of a bad economy are like blinking neon lights on Broadway.

Yet Police Department statistics show that the number of major crimes is continuing to
fall this year in nearly every category, upending the common wisdom that hard times
bring more crime.

“The idea that everyone has ingrained into them — that as the economy goes south,
crime has to get worse — is wrong,” said David M. Kennedy, a professor at the John
Jay College of Criminal Justice. “It was never right to begin with.”

Murder, considered the bellwether crime, is down by nearly 13 percent so far this year,
to 413 through Nov. 22, compared with 473 in the same period last year, the statistics
show. Rape, robbery, burglary, grand larceny and car theft are also on the decline.

There has been a decrease in overall crime in all but two of the city’s 76 police
precincts. Crime in the subways and in public housing complexes is down. The number
of shootings citywide has fallen, as has the number of people hurt or killed by gunfire
— despite the recent shootings of two teenagers in the Bronx and Queens who were not
the intended targets.

Even the number of petty larceny complaints — the theft of items valued at less than
$1,000, a crime mostly associated with shoplifting — has fallen, to 72,971 from 74,631
in the same period a year ago, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

New York has seen a steady drop in crime over the last 16 years, through Wall Street
booms and dot-com busts, amid the devastation of the Sept. 11 attack and the
revitalization that followed. Mr. Kelly said he was worried not that a floundering
economy would turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals, but that there would
not be enough city funds to replenish a depleted police force.

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“People, generally speaking, are not committing crime to address a basic need for food
or shelter,” he said in a recent interview at 1 Police Plaza. “The economy goes up, the
economy goes down — there’s still an element of people who are committing crime not
motivated by the economic environment that we all find ourselves in.”

Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said he
thought the commissioner was too modest. “It’s been very clear, since the beginning of
time, that when things are bad, crime goes up,” he said, crediting Mr. Kelly’s strategies
as the only thing keeping crime from spiking.

Experts have long studied how shifts in crime might be attributed to economic
indicators like consumer confidence, unemployment or a faltering housing market,
particularly when it comes to property crime, burglary and robbery. The findings have
been “rather equivocal,” said Steven F. Messner, a sociology professor at the State
University of New York at Albany who has studied homicides in New York City.

While there is generally thought to be a lag between changing economic conditions and
new crime patterns, he said, it is curious that there has been no pronounced jump in
street crimes associated with the most recent recession, which took root last year.

“But it could take a while to work its way through the system and into people’s
psychology,” he said. “I would say the jury is still out on the impact of this most recent
economic collapse.”

Jesenia Pizarro, an assistant professor of criminology at Michigan State University, said

crime was indirectly linked to the economy. Most crime is committed by the poor and
uneducated, she said, and a bad economy can aggravate poverty in ways that are not
obvious.

“The bad economy leads to social processes that are then more directly related to
crime,” she said, citing “less services for youth and young people who are less occupied
and don’t have the guardianship they need” or cuts in education “that can lead to
crime.”

Another indirect effect on crime is opportunistic: Scavengers steal copper, appliances

and “anything else they can get their hands on” from homes foreclosed on or
abandoned, said John F. Timoney, a former first deputy commissioner in New York
who recently resigned as the Miami police chief. That kind of mini-trend can occur in
cities like Miami where overall crime is on the decline, he said.

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But anemic tax receipts have perhaps the most troubling effect on law enforcement
agencies, leading to cuts in overtime or delays in hiring, according to a survey of 233
police agencies conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group.

“The plans to discontinue special units are especially disconcerting,” Chief Timoney,
the group’s president, wrote in the report.

In New York, the Police Department’s head count has dropped to 35,200 officers from a
peak of about 40,800 officers in 2001, Commissioner Kelly said. And it could go lower,
as the city’s fiscal problems have forestalled hiring and as the department is trying to
find more cuts in a budget eaten up mostly by personnel costs.

“My primary concern is resources,” said the commissioner, who blamed the economic
crisis for keeping staffing at what he called undesirable levels. “And there’s an impact
— a very real impact — on policing.”

Though during his tenure crime has not risen in bad times, Commissioner Kelly said
that increased crime and disorder would erode a city’s prosperity.

Public safety is “the foundation of everything else, you name it,” he said. “If you don’t
have a safe environment, nothing is going to flourish, except the drug trade.”

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Justices Appear Skeptical of Anticorruption Law

By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: December 8, 2009

WASHINGTON — A federal law that is a favorite tool of prosecutors in corruption

cases met with almost universal hostility from the justices in Supreme Court arguments
on Tuesday.

The law, enacted in 1988, makes it a crime “to deprive another of the intangible right of
honest services.” The law is often used to prosecute corporate executives and politicians
said to have defrauded their employers or constituents.

Justices across the court’s ideological spectrum took turns on Tuesday attacking the law
as hopelessly broad and vague.

Justice Steven G. Breyer estimated that there are 150 million workers in the United
States and that perhaps 140 million of them could be prosecuted under the government’s
interpretation of the law.

Complimenting the boss’s hat “so the boss will leave the room so that the worker can
continue to read The Racing Form,” Justice Breyer said, could amount to a federal
crime.

The justices heard arguments in two separate cases concerning the law on Tuesday. One
involved Conrad M. Black, the newspaper executive convicted of defrauding his media
company, Hollinger International. In his Supreme Court briefs, Mr. Black argued that
the law should not apply to him because he had not contemplated that Hollinger would
suffer “some identifiable economic injury.”

But at Tuesday’s argument, Mr. Black’s lawyer, Miguel A. Estrada, spent much of this
time urging the court to strike down the law entirely as unconstitutionally vague. That
idea seemed attractive to several justices, though Justice Breyer suggested that the court
might want to ask for additional briefing on the point.

The justices allowed Mr. Estrada to speak for long stretches, which is unusual, and the
tone of the argument was more brainstorming session than oral advocacy, with several
justices and Mr. Estrada trying to identify the smartest way to fix the law.

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Crime and law

In the first of the two hour-long arguments, Mr. Estrada was asked only about 25
questions; his adversary, Deputy Solicitor General Michael R. Dreeben, was asked more
than 60.

The second appeal was from a former Alaska legislator, Bruce Weyhrauch, who did not
disclose that he had been soliciting work from a company with business before the
Legislature. Mr. Weyhrauch argued that the federal honest services law should not
apply in public corruption cases where no violation of a state disclosure law was
alleged.

Some justices seemed uncertain about the wisdom of that particular limiting principle.
But that discomfort did not seem to make them any more sympathetic to the law as a
whole.

The court will hear a third honest-services case in the spring, that one involving Jeffrey
K. Skilling, the former chief executive officer of Enron Corporation.

Mr. Dreeben defended the honest-services law in both arguments on Tuesday, and he
was given a rough time by the justices.

The law effectively overruled a 1987 Supreme Court decision, McNally v. United
States, which limited the federal mail fraud statute to deprivations of tangible property.
Justice John Paul Stevens dissented in McNally and was the only justice at Tuesday’s
argument who appeared sympathetic to the government.

Mr. Dreeben’s argument leaned heavily on judicial decisions before 1987, which he said
established “the core understanding of the duty of loyalty” that the 1988 law had
restored. That core, he said, includes forbidding kickbacks, bribes and “undisclosed
conflicts of interest by an agent or fiduciary who takes action to further that interest.”

Mr. Dreeben’s formulation did not seem to satisfy most of the justices, on several
grounds.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that “the lower courts were massively confused”
before 1987 and so could not have agreed on core concepts.

Justice Breyer said the law “covered 6,000 things,” of which the government has now
“picked, perhaps randomly, three.”

Justice Antonin Scalia added that, in any event, the government’s preferred
interpretation cannot be rooted in the actual text of the statute.
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Crime and law

“You speak as though it is up to us to write the statute,” Justice Scalia told Mr. Dreeben.
“That’s not our job.”

In quick succession, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Scalia and Breyer
recited what they called a fundamental principle: that the public must be able to
understand what a criminal law means.

“If it can’t,” Chief Justice Roberts said, “then the law is invalid.”

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Cleveland Man Pleads Insanity in Killings of 11

Women
By LIZ ROBBINS

Anthony Sowell, the registered sex offender accused of killing 11 women and burying
their remains in and around his house in Cleveland, pleaded not guilty by reason of
insanity on Thursday morning.

The courtroom was crowded with reporters and television crews, but Mr. Sowell, 50,
who was indicted on Tuesday on 85 counts, appeared on a video hookup from his jail
cell. The charges included 11 counts of murder, as well as attempted murder,
kidnapping, rape, assault and corpse abuse.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Bill Mason, said in an interview on Thursday that he
would seek the death penalty.

In order to prove his insanity defense, under Ohio law, Mr. Sowell must show that at the
time of the act he could not differentiate between right and wrong as a result of “severe
mental disease or defect.”

Mr. Mason said that he was “very confident” that the evidence his office had would
refute both of these conditions for the defense.

“He knew what he was doing by the way he covered it up,” Mr. Mason said. “He took
the bodies and hid them. He obviously knew that if he left them lying on the front porch
he would get caught.”

Mr. Mason said he was not surprised at all with Mr. Sowell’s plea.

“There are 11 dead bodies and three documented assaults, I don’t know what else he
could have done,” he said. “In these types of very heinous crimes, the only place you
can turn is to say you’re insane.”

Such a defense, however, has not worked in recent cases of other serial killers, from Lee
B. Malvo, one of the D.C. snipers, to Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and dismembered 15
men and boys and admitted to killing two others.

“It’s fair to say that the defense of insanity is the defense of last resort for any criminal
defense attorney,” said Joshua Dressler, a professor at Ohio State’s Mortiz College of
Law. “Juries don’t like the defense. Despite the fact that there are so many myths about
the defense, that it’s easy and people get off on it, it’s actually an extraordinarily hard
defense.”

Mr. Dressler added in a telephone interview on Thursday: “Jurors bring their own moral
judgment to the situation. Ultimately the insanity defense tries to distinguish between
the evil person or the sick person, or, as I tell my students, ‘the mad versus the bad.’ ”

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The National Public Radio station at Cleveland State University, WCPN, produced a
stimulating discussion about the insanity defense plea — at least as it relates to serial
killers — earlier this month. The program quoted Dr. Sara West, a forensic psychiatrist
at the Cuyahoga County Jail, who said that serial killers often suffer from personality
disorders, diseases commonly known as sociopathy or psychopathy. But just because
these suspects cannot express empathy, she said, does not mean they did not understand
what they were doing.

“The serial killer has to be able to plan out a crime so that he or she won’t be caught
when committing the crime and do this over and over again and sometimes do this for
years,” Dr, West said on the program. “Mental illness tends to cause disorganization and
dysfunction in a way that doesn’t really allow this to happen.”

Perhaps the most notable criminal in the last few decades to be found not guilty by
reason of insanity was John W. Hinckley Jr., in the 1981 shooting of President Ronald
Reagan. Congress responded by adopting a much more narrow insanity defense, and
four states even abolished it.

Although some jurisdictions require a defendant to “appreciate” the crime committed,

the Ohio law is narrower in putting the burden of proof of insanity on the defendant,
Mr. Dressler said.

The defendant must show there is a “preponderance of the evidence” (one step below
the burden of “clear and convincing” proof), but Mr. Mason said that based on the
evidence he has, Mr. Sowell will have trouble doing that.

Or, as his assistant prosecutor Richard Bombik said after Mr. Sowell’s arraignment,
“there was a distinct pattern in what he did,” said, according to The Plain Dealer, “a
pattern. If you will, a method to his madness.”

It is rare that a defendant is acquitted by reason of insanity. Most recently, in a widely

publicized 2006 retrial, Andrea Yates was found not guilty of drowning her five
children in a bathtub because mental illness made her unable to distinguish right from
wrong.

In the case of a serial killer, however, visceral emotions — namely fear — can factor
into a jury’s decision. And the decision to declare a defendant not guilty by reason of
insanity must be unanimous.

Mr. Dressler said that some jurors are wary of the “not guilty” term. Some might
believe that by finding a serial killer — “the most dangerous human beings on the face
of the earth” — not guilty, the killer might somehow walk back on the street.

In some states, a person found not guilty will automatically be committed to a

psychiatric institution. In Ohio, however, that is not the case, explains a colleague of
Mr. Dressler, Ohio State emeritus professor Lawrence Herman.

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Crime and law

“The judge is required to hold a hearing,” Mr. Herman said in an interview. “If a judge
has probable cause to believe that if the defendant is still mentally ill and dangerous,
then a judged commits a defendant to a mental institution for evaluation.”

Mr. Herman said that the doctors must report back to the judge and if they find the
defendant still mentally ill and dangerous (like the defendant’s condition when the acts
were committed), the defendant is then “semi-permanently committed and subject to
periodic reviews.”

Of course, this process is far in the future. First, Mr. Sowell will be subject to intense
psychiatric review to help determine whether the insanity defense is even justified in his
case.

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Anti-abortion activist can't use 'necessity defense' in

slaying
December 22, 2009 2:35 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- An anti-abortion activist charged with gunning down a Wichita, Kansas,

doctor cannot use the "necessity defense" at trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.Scott Roeder,
51, is set to stand trial January 11 on one count of first-degree murder in the death of
Dr. George Tiller, who was shot to death at his church May 31. Tiller ran a women's
clinic in which he performed abortions.

Tiller, 67, was one of the few U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortions. He had
already survived one attempt on his life before he was slain.

Under a necessity defense, a defendant argues an action was justified because breaking
the law was more advantageous to society than following it. Several anti-abortion
activists facing criminal charges have attempted to use the defense but none has been
successful.

In an Associated Press interview last month, Roeder admitted killing Tiller and said he
plans to argue at this trial that the shooting was justified.

"Because of the fact preborn children's lives were in imminent danger, this was the
action I chose," he said. "... I want to make sure that the focus is, of course, obviously
on the preborn children and the necessity to defend them."

Roeder's comments prompted prosecutors to file a motion asking Sedgwick County

Judge Warren Wilbert to bar Roeder's attorneys from using the defense.

Wilbert noted that the Kansas Supreme Court, in a previous case regarding blocking
entrance to an abortion clinic, ruled the necessity defense cannot be used when the harm
the defendant claims to be avoiding through his or her actions is a constitutional and
legal activity, and the defendant broke the law.

That precedent, Wilbert said, required him to rule that the necessity defense is not a
viable defense in Kansas or in the Roeder case.

Defense attorney Mark Rudy pointed out to Wilbert that the defense team has not yet
acknowledged what their tactic might be. Roeder, however, filed a 100-page motion on
his own behalf, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said Tuesday, on the
necessity defense, acknowledging it previously has been unsuccessful.

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Crime and law

Prosecutors also asked Wilbert to bar Roeder's attorneys from claiming his alleged
actions were justified because he used force in the defense of another -- the unborn.
Wilbert said that would require further argument -- particularly an offering from defense
attorneys regarding the evidence they plan to present in support of that premise at trial.

"I will leave the door open on the issues surrounding use of force in defense of another,"
the judge said, adding he does not mean it's "wide open."

Under the law, such a defense can only be used if a defendant was preventing unlawful
conduct. Foulston argued that Tiller posed no threat that would justify his shooting. "Dr.
Tiller was not an aggressor," she said.

Roeder is also charged with two counts of aggravated assault for threatening two church
members. Dressed in a coat and tie, he conferred with his attorneys and listened intently
to the arguments on Tuesday.In a June interview with CNN's Ted Rowlands, Roeder
would not admit that he killed Tiller, but said that if he is convicted, "the entire motive
was the defense of the unborn."Roeder's attorneys also argued Tuesday that the trial
should be moved outside Wichita because extensive pretrial publicity in the case could
have tainted the jury pool. Foulston, meanwhile, noted that Roeder, who has talked
often to the media, brought some of that publicity on himself.Wilbert said 300 jury
summonses have gone out in the case, and he was optimistic that some impartial jurors
could be found. However, he said he would revisit the issue later if the court
experienced difficulty in picking jurors.

Rudy also asked that the judge prohibit prosecutors from excluding potential jurors
because they have anti-abortion beliefs. The judge said he was confident that some
individuals who are anti-abortion would still be able to make an impartial decision, but
suggested the issue be examined on a juror-by-juror basis if the court recognizes a
pattern of exclusion during jury selection.

"I can't make a pretrial ruling and just make a broad-brush approach," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/22/kansas.doctor.killed/index.html

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Crime and law

Woman convicted of killing man who taunted her over

N.Y. Yankees decal
By Jason Kessler, CNN
December 22, 2009 7:28 p.m. EST

New York (CNN) -- A New Hampshire jury on Monday found a Nashua woman guilty
of second-degree murder for running over a man who had heckled her for being a New
York Yankees fan.
Ivonne Hernandez, 45, was accused in the May 2008 killing of 29-year-old Matthew
Beaudoin.

Prosecutors said the confrontation began as a dispute between Hernandez and a female
friend of Beaudoin's outside a bar. It escalated when Beaudoin noticed a large Yankees
decal in the rear window of Hernandez's Dodge Intrepid and started to taunt her about
the major league baseball team.

When Hernandez started to drive away, Beaudoin briefly followed the car on foot.
Hernandez then turned her car around and returned to the alley where Beaudoin and his
friends remained and struck him. He later died from his injuries, which included
multiple skull fractures.

The defense argued Hernandez's actions were accidental -- a byproduct of her

disorientation and panic after the confrontation. But prosecutors said in New Hampshire
Superior Court, "a few curse words and some insults to a baseball team do not justify
murder."Beaudoin's sister, Faith, said her family was delighted with Monday's verdict.
It's "absolutely wonderful to have a Christmas gift like this," she told CNN.The
prosecution also expressed satisfaction with the jury's decision."We're very pleased with
the verdict," senior assistant attorney general Susan Morrell said. "We believe it's a fair
and just verdict based on the evidence."Calls to Hernandez's attorneys weren't returned
Monday.Hernandez could face a sentence of up to life in prison.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/22/yankees.fan.murder.verdict/index.html

126
Crime and law

Brazil high court lifts stay, allowing boy to

return to U.S.
December 23, 2009 5:18 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- The chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of

an American father in an international custody battle.

The ruling by Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes will reunite a 9-year-old boy with his

father, David Goldman, who has been locked in a custody battle with the family of the

boy's deceased mother. Last week, a lower court unanimously upheld a decision

ordering that Sean Goldman be returned to his father in New Jersey.David Goldman

arrived in Rio de Janeiro to reunite with his son, but one Supreme Court justice issued

a stay, ordering Sean to remain with his Brazilian relatives until the high court could

consider the case.Mendes' decision lifted the stay, paving the way for Goldman to be

reunited with his son. Sean's grandmother, Silvana Bianchi, was expected to

immediately file appeals to Tuesday's ruling. In a letter to Brazilian President Luiz

Inacio Lula da Silva, Bianchi said that the legal process was overlooking the boy's

own desires. "I feel threatened by losing my grandson Sean because of international

pressures that don't consider the interest of a 9-year-old child who passionately desires

to remain among those that gave him comfort in the mother's death," the letter states in

part. "They allege that the Hague Convention determined to hand him over

immediately. I am not a lawyer. But what I know is that the Convention establishes as

priority the interest of the child, and the child wasn't heard."

The custody battle began in 2004, when Goldman's wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their

then-4-year-old son from their home in New Jersey to Rio de Janeiro for what was to

have been a two-week vacation. She never returned, instead remarrying there and

retaining custody of Sean. She died last year in childbirth.

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Crime and law

Goldman has argued that as the sole surviving parent, he should be granted custody.

The Bianchi family argues it would traumatize Sean to remove him from what has

been his home for five years.

The custody battle garnered much media attention and spilled over into the political

arena as well.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, had placed a hold on a trade bill that

would have benefited Brazil to the tune of $2.75 billion, but he lifted it on the court's

ruling, spokesman Caley Gray said.

The bill in question, which sailed through the Senate after the senator dropped the

hold, would provide export tariff relief to 130 countries, of which Brazil would be the

fifth largest recipient, Gray said.

Lautenberg's hold was designed to exert additional pressure on Brazilian authorities to

abide by the court order to return Sean to his father, he said.

While the chief justice was still studying the case, Brazilian Attorney General Luis

Inacio Adams said the executive branch sides with Goldman.

"Once we stop cooperating and start breaking our treaties and international

obligations, Brazil risks the chance of not having its own requests in the matters

regarding international judicial help granted, based on the principle of international

reciprocity," Adams said Monday.

"Not releasing the minor into the custody of his father could bring sanctions against

Brazil," he added. "It could damage Brazil's image before the international

community."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/22/brazil.custody.battle/index.html

128
Crime and law

Florida fugitive recaptured after 30 years

December 21, 2009 7:51 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- A man who escaped from a Florida work release center in 1979 while serving
a sentence for armed robbery has been captured in Missouri, authorities said Monday.
Oscar Eugene Richardson, 61, was arrested Saturday in Ridgedale, Missouri, as a result
of information received through a police hot line, the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement and the state Department of Corrections said. He is the first fugitive
captured as part of the Florida "12 Days of Fugitives" campaign. "Richardson is the
oldest case among the dozen escapees and it is fitting that justice caught up with him
first," said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Richardson escaped from the Kissimmee Work Release center in March 1979 after
serving less than two years of his 10-year sentence, police said.

He had robbed a Tampa, Florida, drugstore in January 1977, holding two employees at
gunpoint as he demanded money from the store's safe. Two months later he robbed a
convenience store in Tampa, holding the clerk at gunpoint and demanding she fill a bag
with money, authorities said. He fled but was apprehended minutes later.

At the time of his arrest Saturday, Richardson was living under the alias Eugene Ward
and using a false Social Security number, officials said. Police believe he had been
living in the same area of Missouri for many years. He was arrested by a U.S. Marshals
Service task force.The 12 Days of Fugitives campaign, launched December 7, is aimed
at Florida's oldest and most violent prison escapees, the departments' statement said.
Newspapers are featuring the fugitives in print and online photo galleries and the
Florida Outdoor Advertising Association and its member companies are providing
donated space on billboards."The campaign is designed to reach the public during the
holiday season, when investigators believe the wanted men are most likely to contact
friends, family and loved ones," the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

More than $22,000 in reward money is available -- up to $2,500 per fugitive -- for
information leading to their capture. The money is provided by the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections and the Florida Police Chiefs'
Association.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/21/florida.fugitive.captured/index.html

129
Crime and law

Crime and Punishment

Some of you have e-mailed me to say that you would like more podcasts about life and
politics in Britain. The subject of the podcast today is a difficult and serious one. It is
about a small boy who was murdered 17 years ago. The murder and what happened
afterwards are still very controversial and arouse strong emotions in this country.

In February 1993, James Bulger was nearly 3 years old. He lived in Bootle, which is a
town north of Liverpool in the north-west of England. One day he went shopping with
his mother Denise. She went into a butcher's shop to buy some meat. James stayed
outside. When Denise returned a few minutes later, James was gone.

Some children found James's body on ground beside a railway line a few days later. He
had been beaten to death with bricks, stones and an iron bar. Whoever had killed him
then placed James's body on the railway line, so that it would look as if he had been
killed by a train.

There were CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras in the shopping centre where
James had disappeared. The police found pictures of James. He was holding the hand of
an older boy or a young man. Together with another boy, they were leaving the
shopping centre. The police published the photos in the press, and a member of the
public was able to identify the people who had taken James. They were two 10-year old
boys, called Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. The police arrested them, and they
were later found guilty of the murder of James Bulger.

The story was headline news for many weeks. The whole country was horrified, both by
the mindless murder of a small child, and also by the fact that the killers were
themselves children. In Liverpool, feelings ran particularly high and the families of the
two 10-year old killers were forced to go into hiding.

After the trial, Jon and Robert spent 8 years in secure children's homes, where they
received an education. Then, when they were 18 years old, they were let out, but with
strict conditions about where they could live and what they could do. They were given
new identities (new names etc), to protect them from the media and from people who
might want to kill them. Was this the right punishment for them?

James's mother, Denise, describes Jon and Robert as pure evil. She says that they have
never been sorry for what they did, and that the justice system let them off lightly. She,
and many others, think that it was wrong to release the two young men so soon; they
should have been sent to prison for many years when they were 18. At one point,
indeed, the government tried to have Jon and Robert kept in prison at least until they
were aged 25, but the courts said that the government had no power to interfere.

Now the case is back in the news. A few weeks ago, the police arrested Jon Venables
and he is now in prison. The government have refused to say why, but the press have
reported that it is connected with pornographic images of children. Immediately, the old
controversy started again. Many people say, “I told you so. It was a mistake ever to
release Jon and Robert. They are dangerous and ought to be in prison for many years.

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Crime and law

And it was a mistake too to give them new identities. People should know who they are
and what they have done.”

What does this tell us about the sort of country which Britain is? We send a lot of people
to prison – in fact, we have more people in prison in relation to population than
anywhere else in Europe. But we still do not feel safe. Sometimes it seems that crime is
a national obsession. At the same time, we know that many prisoners, when they leave
prison, go back to a life of crime. A government minister once remarked that prison is
an expensive way of making bad people worse. A recent survey showed that most
people agree that it is important to help people who have committed crimes to re-
organise their lives,to stop using drugs,to get an education and a job. But cases like the
murder of James Bulger create a very strong emotional reaction, and this make rational
discussion of how best to deal with crime and criminals much more difficult.

There are some new phrasal verbs in this podcast. I have posted a separate grammar and
vocabulary note about them.

http://www.listen-to-english.com/index.php?
id=517&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed
%3A+ListenToEnglish-LearnEnglish+%28Listen+to+English+-+learn+English
%21%29

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Crime and law

2 deputies shot in same county where 4 officers were

killed
December 22, 2009 2:56 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Two sheriff's deputies responding to a domestic dispute between a pair of

brothers Monday night were shot and badly injured in the same Washington county
where four officers were killed last month, authorities said.
The Pierce County deputies were wounded while responding to a domestic violence
incident at home near the town of Eatonville, south of Seattle, said Hunter George, a
county spokesman. They killed the gunman, identified as David E. Crable, in an
exchange of fire, authorities said.

Sgt. Nick Hausner, 43, a 20-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, was
transported to Madigan Army Medical Center where he was in serious condition, the
department said. He is married and has children who are 14 and 12 years old.

Deputy Kent Mundell, 44, a nine-year veteran, was airlifted to the trauma center at
Harborview Medical Center where he was in critical condition with life-threatening
injuries, the sheriff's department said. He also is married and has two children, a 16-
year-old and a 10-year-old.

Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Crable had a history of protection orders
sought by family members.

Earlier this year, Crable pleaded guilty to malicious mischief and brandishing a knife in
an incident involving his brother, Lindquist said, and protection orders were imposed
afterward, telling him to stay away from his brother and a female minor.

Both counts were misdemeanors. Lindquist said Crable had no felony convictions.

The protective orders were not in effect during the Monday night shooting, Lindquist
said.

The prosecutor said other protection orders that emerged were not the result of charges
filed.

"They are a result of people saying this guy is a danger to me," Lindquist said. "I think
you can reasonably infer from his history, he had an alcohol problem."

Crable went to his brother's house Monday night and there was a domestic dispute, said
Sheriff's detective Ed Troyer.

One of the men invited the officers inside the house, while the other man went upstairs.
He returned with a weapon and shot at the deputies, striking them several times, Troyer
said.

Local coverage from CNN affiliate KIRO

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Crime and law

The deputies returned fire, killing the alleged shooter, he said.

"There were a lot of rounds fired," Troyer said.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire issued a statement saying, "My thoughts and prayers
are with the two wounded Pierce County deputies, their families, friends, and the entire
law enforcement community."

This incident comes in the aftermath of two other recent cop shootings in the Seattle
area. Since October 31, eight police officers or deputies have been shot. Five have died
in the attacks.

On Halloween night, Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton was fatally shot while
sitting in his patrol car. Brenton, 39, was reviewing paperwork from a traffic stop when
someone fired into his patrol car. An officer Brenton was training was wounded in the
shooting. A suspect in that case was arrested and pleaded not guilty.

On November 29, four officers from Lakewood, Washington, were killed in an ambush-
style shooting at a coffee shop.

Police shot and killed the suspect in that attack after a two-day manhunt.

Troyer said it was "surreal" to be responding to another shooting that involved officers.
His department has led the investigation into the shooting of the four Lakewood
officers.

"I am deeply troubled by the recent series of attacks on our law enforcement officers,"
Gregoire said in the statement. "I ask that all Washington citizens join me in sending a
clear message that these assaults on law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.

"The people of Washington and across America know that those who wear a badge
show us the true meaning of service. They sacrifice their safety for ours. We owe them
and their families our gratitude, respect and support."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/22/washington.deputies.shot/index.html

133
Crime and law

Martin backers' law bid 'to fail'

A plan to allow homeowners to use "any means" to defend their homes is unlikely to
receive parliamentary support, John Prescott has predicted.
"We can't have a situation of vigilante law," he told BBC Radio 4's Today show.

The bid topped the programme's poll on the private member's bill people would most
like to see become law.

Meanwhile, Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, whose fatal shooting of a burglar in 1999
sparked a national debate, said he would do the same thing again.

'Unworkable' bill

More than 26,000 votes were registered by listeners taking part in the poll and MP
Stephen Pound originally pledged to champion the winning bill.

He would have had to persuade the 20 MPs who have been chosen to put forward
private member's bills to take up the poll winner's suggestion.

But after he heard the result, the Labour politician appeared to withdraw his support,
arguing: "This bill is unworkable," as it "endorses the slaughter of 16-year-old kids".

His reaction prompted the deputy prime minister to tell Today: "That blew up in your
face, didn't it?"

Mr Prescott said it was important for householders to express their views on potential
legislation but this proposal amounted to "vigilante law".

Crime resistance

"I don't think for a moment this will take off in Parliament - I mean, to give somebody
the right just to shoot somebody...

"You can't ignore people's concerns about security in the home... but if you are then
going to give the right to somebody to pick up a gun because they have seen somebody
in the house and then shoot them, then I'm afraid that's the kind of vigilante law that I
don't think Parliament would agree to."

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell, who topped the private member's bills' ballot,
indicated he is unlikely to be swayed by any appeals for support for the listeners'
preference.

He has already decided the measure he wants to introduce - and it is unlikely to " tackle
the heart of the point" voters had put forward, he said.

Instead he has plans for a bill that will improve crime resistance in the home.

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Crime and law

"At the moment we have regulations which talk about fire escapes, but no regulations
which talk about making houses burglar proof and I hope my bill will do something to
put that right," he told Today.

But Mr Stunell added: "I had hundreds of people get in touch with me about what bill I
should take and interestingly, not one of them made what I would call the Tony Martin
point."

'Shake-up' needed

Mr Martin, who was released from jail last summer after serving two-thirds of a five-
year sentence for manslaughter, welcomed the poll result.

He said a change in the law was needed to protect homeowners.

"This is wrong, heinously wrong, that you should actually live in fear in your home that
if somebody breaks in that, basically, you are going to have the law jump down on you.
It is just not right," he said.

Asked whether he would do the same thing again, he said: "In the same circumstances,
yes, if I am terrorised."

Burglar Fred Barras, 16, died after Mr Martin shot him in the back with an illegally-held
pump-action shotgun in August 1999.

Wild west

His accomplice Brendan Fearon, 33, suffered leg wounds.

Mr Martin's MP, Conservative Henry Bellingham said the listeners' proposal went too
far by suggesting homeowners should use "any means" to protect their property.
But leading criminal barrister John Cooper warned that the idea was dangerously
flawed.He said: "The law as it stands at the moment, despite its critics, is functioning. If
you are in your house and you are attacked by someone or threatened by someone, you
can use proportionate force.

"We do not live in the wild west. This legislation that is proposed effectively may well
turn us into that."

The second most popular bill in the poll calls for an opt out clause in organ donation, so
that the organs of those who have died are used automatically unless the deceased
person specifically stated a refusal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3362661.stm

135
Crime and law

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

1st Abide by /əˈbaɪd baɪ/ To act in accordance with Respetar,

something. acatar

2nd Alleged /əˈlɛdʒd/ Stated but not proved. Presunto

3rd Alley /ˈælɪ/ A narrow passage between or Callejuela

behind buildings.

4th Ambush /ˈæmbuʃ/ The act of waiting in a Emboscada

concealed position to make a
surprise attack.

5th Apprehend /æprɪˈhɛnd/ To arrest and take into Detener

custody.

6th Assault /əˈsɔːlt/ A violent attack, either Asalto,

physical or verbal. agresión,

H7th Attorney /əˈtəːnɪ/ A person legally appointed to Abogado

act for another.

8th Ballot /ˈbælət/ The practice of selecting a Votación

representative.

9th Barrister /ˈbærɪstəʳ/ A lawyer who is qualified to Abogado

plead in the higher courts.

10th Bid / bɪd/ An earnest effort to win or Tentativa

attain something.

11th Billboard /ˈbɪlbɔːd/ A hoarding. Vallas

publicitarias

12th Brandish /ˈbrændɪʃ/ To wave (a weapon, etc.) in a Blandir

triumphant or threatening
way.

13th Bribe /braɪb/ To promise, offer or give Soborno

something, often illegally, to
a person to receive services or
gain influence.

14th Caveat /ˈkævɪæt/ A warning or caution Advertencia

15th Confer /kənˈfəːʳ/ To grant or give (the power Otorgar

136
Crime and law

conferred by wealth).

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

16th Deceased /dɪˈsiːst/ A dead person, the deceased. Difunto

17th Deputy /ˈdɛpjutɪ/ A person appointed to act on Representante

behalf of another. legal

18th Enact /ɪnˈækt/ To establish by law. Promulgar

19th Escalate /ˈɛskəleɪt/ To increase or be increased in Intensificar

size.

20th Eviction /ɪˈvɪkʃən/ The act or process of Desahucio

expelling (someone) legally
from his or her home or land.

21st Felony /ˈfɛlənɪ/ A serious crime, such as Delito grave

murder or arson.

22nd Flaw /flɔː/ A mistake in something that Defecto

makes it invalid, a flaw in the
system.

23rd Flee /fliː/ To run away from (a place, Huir

danger, etc.).

24th Hand down /hænddaun/ To announce (a verdict). Imponer

25th Heckle /ˈhɛkl/ To interrupt (a public Interrumpir

speaker) with comments,
questions, or taunts.

26th Heinous /ˈheɪnəs/ Evil and shocking. Atroz

27th Ingrained /ɪnˈɡreɪnd/ (of a habit, feeling, or belief) Arraigado

deeply impressed or instilled.

28th Jury pool /ˈdʒuərɪpuːl/ A group of, usually, twelve Jurado

people, sworn to deliver a
true verdict according to the
evidence upon a case
presented in a court of law.

29th Kickback /kɪkbæk/ Part of an income paid to a Soborno

person in return for an
opportunity to make a profit,

137
Crime and law

often by some illegal

arrangement.

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

30th Larceny /ˈlɑːsənɪ/ Theft. Hurto

31st Law-abiding /ˈlɔːəbaɪdɪŋ/ Obeying the laws, a law- Respetuoso

abiding citizen. con la Ley

32nd Let off /letɒf/ To spare (someone) the perdonar

expected punishment.

33rd Manhunt /ˈmænhʌnt/ An organized search, usually Búsqueda (de

by police, for a wanted man delincuente,
or fugitive. desaparecido)

34th Manslaughter /ˈmænslɔːtəʳ/ The unlawful but not Homicidio

deliberately planned killing of involuntario
one human being by another.

35th Misdemeanor /ˌmɪsdɪ An offence less serious than a Delito menor

felony.
ˈmiːnəʳ/

36th Opt out /ɔptaut/ To choose not to be involved Optar por no

(in) or part (of).

37th Oversight /ˈəuvəsaɪt/ A mistake caused by not Descuido

noticing something.

38th Plead /pliːd/ To declare oneself to be Declararse

(guilty or not guilty) of the
charge made against one.

39th Pledge /plɛdʒ/ A solemn promise. Prometer

40th Prosecutor /ˈprɔsɪkjuːtəʳ/ To bring a criminal charge Fiscal

against (someone).

41st Ruling /ˈruːlɪŋ/ A decision of someone in Fallo,

authority. decisión

42nd Shoplifting /ˈʃɔplɪftɪŋ/ The practice of stealing Ratería, robo

merchandise from shops.

43rd Slaughter /ˈslɔːtəʳ/ The indiscriminate or brutal Masacre

killing of large numbers of

138
Crime and law

people.

44th Slay /sleɪ/ To kill someone. Matar

Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

45th Summons /ˈsʌmənz/ A call or an order to attend a Citación

specified place at a specified
time.

46th Sway /sweɪ/ To influence (someone) in his Influir en

or her opinion or judgment.

47th Tackle /ˈtækl/ To attack and fight. Atacar,

abordar

48th Taint /ˈteɪntɪd/ To spoil or contaminate by an Manchar,

undesirable quality. corromper

49th Taunt /tɔːnt/ A jeering remark. Burlar

50th Turmoil /ˈtəːmɔɪ/ Disorder, agitation or Desorden

confusion.

139
Sense and Sensibility

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

by Jane Austen

(1811)

CHAPTER 1

The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex. Their estate
was large, and their residence was at Norland Park, in the centre of
their property, where, for many generations, they had lived in so
respectable a manner as to engage the general good opinion of their
surrounding acquaintance. The late owner of this estate was a single
man, who lived to a very advanced age, and who for many years of his
life, had a constant companion and housekeeper in his sister. But her
death, which happened ten years before his own, produced a great
alteration in his home; for to supply her loss, he invited and received
into his house the family of his nephew Mr. Henry Dashwood, the legal
inheritor of the Norland estate, and the person to whom he intended to
bequeath it. In the society of his nephew and niece, and their
children, the old Gentleman's days were comfortably spent. His
attachment to them all increased. The constant attention of Mr. and
Mrs. Henry Dashwood to his wishes, which proceeded not merely from
interest, but from goodness of heart, gave him every degree of solid
comfort which his age could receive; and the cheerfulness of the
children added a relish to his existence.

By a former marriage, Mr. Henry Dashwood had one son: by his present
lady, three daughters. The son, a steady respectable young man, was
amply provided for by the fortune of his mother, which had been large,
and half of which devolved on him on his coming of age. By his own
marriage, likewise, which happened soon afterwards, he added to his
wealth. To him therefore the succession to the Norland estate was not
so really important as to his sisters; for their fortune, independent
of what might arise to them from their father's inheriting that
property, could be but small. Their mother had nothing, and their
father only seven thousand pounds in his own disposal; for the
remaining moiety of his first wife's fortune was also secured to her
child, and he had only a life-interest in it.

The old gentleman died: his will was read, and like almost every other
will, gave as much disappointment as pleasure. He was neither so
unjust, nor so ungrateful, as to leave his estate from his nephew;--but
he left it to him on such terms as destroyed half the value of the
bequest. Mr. Dashwood had wished for it more for the sake of his wife

140
Sense and Sensibility

and daughters than for himself or his son;--but to his son, and his
son's son, a child of four years old, it was secured, in such a way, as
to leave to himself no power of providing for those who were most dear
to him, and who most needed a provision by any charge on the estate, or
by any sale of its valuable woods. The whole was tied up for the
benefit of this child, who, in occasional visits with his father and
mother at Norland, had so far gained on the affections of his uncle, by
such attractions as are by no means unusual in children of two or three
years old; an imperfect articulation, an earnest desire of having his
own way, many cunning tricks, and a great deal of noise, as to outweigh
all the value of all the attention which, for years, he had received
from his niece and her daughters. He meant not to be unkind, however,
and, as a mark of his affection for the three girls, he left them a
thousand pounds a-piece.

Mr. Dashwood's disappointment was, at first, severe; but his temper was
cheerful and sanguine; and he might reasonably hope to live many years,
and by living economically, lay by a considerable sum from the produce
of an estate already large, and capable of almost immediate
improvement. But the fortune, which had been so tardy in coming, was
his only one twelvemonth. He survived his uncle no longer; and ten
thousand pounds, including the late legacies, was all that remained for
his widow and daughters.

His son was sent for as soon as his danger was known, and to him Mr.
Dashwood recommended, with all the strength and urgency which illness
could command, the interest of his mother-in-law and sisters.

Mr. John Dashwood had not the strong feelings of the rest of the
family; but he was affected by a recommendation of such a nature at
such a time, and he promised to do everything in his power to make
them comfortable. His father was rendered easy by such an assurance,
and Mr. John Dashwood had then leisure to consider how much there might
prudently be in his power to do for them.

He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted

and rather selfish is to be ill-disposed: but he was, in general, well
respected; for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of
his ordinary duties. Had he married a more amiable woman, he might
have been made still more respectable than he was:--he might even have
been made amiable himself; for he was very young when he married, and
very fond of his wife. But Mrs. John Dashwood was a strong caricature
of himself;--more narrow-minded and selfish.

When he gave his promise to his father, he meditated within himself to

increase the fortunes of his sisters by the present of a thousand
pounds a-piece. He then really thought himself equal to it. The
prospect of four thousand a-year, in addition to his present income,
besides the remaining half of his own mother's fortune, warmed his
heart, and made him feel capable of generosity.-- "Yes, he would give

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them three thousand pounds: it would be liberal and handsome! It would

be enough to make them completely easy. Three thousand pounds! he
could spare so considerable a sum with little inconvenience."-- He
thought of it all day long, and for many days successively, and he did
not repent.

No sooner was his father's funeral over, than Mrs. John Dashwood,
without sending any notice of her intention to her mother-in-law,
arrived with her child and their attendants. No one could dispute her
right to come; the house was her husband's from the moment of his
father's decease; but the indelicacy of her conduct was so much the
greater, and to a woman in Mrs. Dashwood's situation, with only common
feelings, must have been highly unpleasing;--but in HER mind there was
a sense of honor so keen, a generosity so romantic, that any offence of
the kind, by whomsoever given or received, was to her a source of
immoveable disgust. Mrs. John Dashwood had never been a favourite with
any of her husband's family; but she had had no opportunity, till the
present, of shewing them with how little attention to the comfort of
other people she could act when occasion required it.

So acutely did Mrs. Dashwood feel this ungracious behaviour, and so

earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the
arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had
not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the
propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children
determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach
with their brother.

Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed

a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified
her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and
enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all,
that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led
to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;--her disposition was
affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern
them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which
one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

Marianne's abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor's.

She was sensible and clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her
joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable,
interesting: she was everything but prudent. The resemblance between
her and her mother was strikingly great.

Elinor saw, with concern, the excess of her sister's sensibility; but
by Mrs. Dashwood it was valued and cherished. They encouraged each
other now in the violence of their affliction. The agony of grief
which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought
for, was created again and again. They gave themselves up wholly to
their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every reflection that

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could afford it, and resolved against ever admitting consolation in

future. Elinor, too, was deeply afflicted; but still she could
struggle, she could exert herself. She could consult with her brother,
could receive her sister-in-law on her arrival, and treat her with
proper attention; and could strive to rouse her mother to similar
exertion, and encourage her to similar forbearance.

Margaret, the other sister, was a good-humored, well-disposed girl; but

as she had already imbibed a good deal of Marianne's romance, without
having much of her sense, she did not, at thirteen, bid fair to equal
her sisters at a more advanced period of life.

CHAPTER 2

Mrs. John Dashwood now installed herself mistress of Norland; and her
mother and sisters-in-law were degraded to the condition of visitors.
As such, however, they were treated by her with quiet civility; and by
her husband with as much kindness as he could feel towards anybody
beyond himself, his wife, and their child. He really pressed them,
with some earnestness, to consider Norland as their home; and, as no
plan appeared so eligible to Mrs. Dashwood as remaining there till she
could accommodate herself with a house in the neighbourhood, his
invitation was accepted.

A continuance in a place where everything reminded her of former

delight, was exactly what suited her mind. In seasons of cheerfulness,
no temper could be more cheerful than hers, or possess, in a greater
degree, that sanguine expectation of happiness which is happiness
itself. But in sorrow she must be equally carried away by her fancy,
and as far beyond consolation as in pleasure she was beyond alloy.

Mrs. John Dashwood did not at all approve of what her husband intended
to do for his sisters. To take three thousand pounds from the fortune
of their dear little boy would be impoverishing him to the most
dreadful degree. She begged him to think again on the subject. How
could he answer it to himself to rob his child, and his only child too,
of so large a sum? And what possible claim could the Miss Dashwoods,
who were related to him only by half blood, which she considered as no
relationship at all, have on his generosity to so large an amount. It
was very well known that no affection was ever supposed to exist
between the children of any man by different marriages; and why was he
to ruin himself, and their poor little Harry, by giving away all his
money to his half sisters?

"It was my father's last request to me," replied her husband, "that I
should assist his widow and daughters."

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"He did not know what he was talking of, I dare say; ten to one but he
was light-headed at the time. Had he been in his right senses, he
could not have thought of such a thing as begging you to give away half
your fortune from your own child."

"He did not stipulate for any particular sum, my dear Fanny; he only
requested me, in general terms, to assist them, and make their
situation more comfortable than it was in his power to do. Perhaps it
would have been as well if he had left it wholly to myself. He could
hardly suppose I should neglect them. But as he required the promise,
I could not do less than give it; at least I thought so at the time.
The promise, therefore, was given, and must be performed. Something
must be done for them whenever they leave Norland and settle in a new
home."

"Well, then, LET something be done for them; but THAT something need
not be three thousand pounds. Consider," she added, "that when the
money is once parted with, it never can return. Your sisters will
marry, and it will be gone for ever. If, indeed, it could be restored
to our poor little boy--"

"Why, to be sure," said her husband, very gravely, "that would make
great difference. The time may come when Harry will regret that so
large a sum was parted with. If he should have a numerous family, for
instance, it would be a very convenient addition."

"To be sure it would."

"Perhaps, then, it would be better for all parties, if the sum were
diminished one half.--Five hundred pounds would be a prodigious
increase to their fortunes!"

"Oh! beyond anything great! What brother on earth would do half so

much for his sisters, even if REALLY his sisters! And as it is--only
half blood!--But you have such a generous spirit!"

"I would not wish to do any thing mean," he replied. "One had rather,
on such occasions, do too much than too little. No one, at least, can
think I have not done enough for them: even themselves, they can hardly
expect more."

"There is no knowing what THEY may expect," said the lady, "but we are
not to think of their expectations: the question is, what you can
afford to do."

"Certainly--and I think I may afford to give them five hundred pounds

a-piece. As it is, without any addition of mine, they will each have
about three thousand pounds on their mother's death--a very comfortable
fortune for any young woman."

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"To be sure it is; and, indeed, it strikes me that they can want no
addition at all. They will have ten thousand pounds divided amongst
them. If they marry, they will be sure of doing well, and if they do
not, they may all live very comfortably together on the interest of ten
thousand pounds."

"That is very true, and, therefore, I do not know whether, upon the
whole, it would not be more advisable to do something for their mother
while she lives, rather than for them--something of the annuity kind I
mean.--My sisters would feel the good effects of it as well as herself.
A hundred a year would make them all perfectly comfortable."

His wife hesitated a little, however, in giving her consent to this

plan.

"To be sure," said she, "it is better than parting with fifteen hundred
pounds at once. But, then, if Mrs. Dashwood should live fifteen years
we shall be completely taken in."

"Fifteen years! my dear Fanny; her life cannot be worth half that
purchase."

"Certainly not; but if you observe, people always live for ever when
there is an annuity to be paid them; and she is very stout and healthy,
and hardly forty. An annuity is a very serious business; it comes over
and over every year, and there is no getting rid of it. You are not
aware of what you are doing. I have known a great deal of the trouble
of annuities; for my mother was clogged with the payment of three to
old superannuated servants by my father's will, and it is amazing how
disagreeable she found it. Twice every year these annuities were to be
paid; and then there was the trouble of getting it to them; and then
one of them was said to have died, and afterwards it turned out to be
no such thing. My mother was quite sick of it. Her income was not her
own, she said, with such perpetual claims on it; and it was the more
unkind in my father, because, otherwise, the money would have been
entirely at my mother's disposal, without any restriction whatever. It
has given me such an abhorrence of annuities, that I am sure I would
not pin myself down to the payment of one for all the world."

"It is certainly an unpleasant thing," replied Mr. Dashwood, "to have

those kind of yearly drains on one's income. One's fortune, as your
mother justly says, is NOT one's own. To be tied down to the regular
payment of such a sum, on every rent day, is by no means desirable: it
takes away one's independence."

"Undoubtedly; and after all you have no thanks for it. They think
themselves secure, you do no more than what is expected, and it raises
no gratitude at all. If I were you, whatever I did should be done at
my own discretion entirely. I would not bind myself to allow them any
thing yearly. It may be very inconvenient some years to spare a

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hundred, or even fifty pounds from our own expenses."

"I believe you are right, my love; it will be better that there should
by no annuity in the case; whatever I may give them occasionally will
be of far greater assistance than a yearly allowance, because they
would only enlarge their style of living if they felt sure of a larger
income, and would not be sixpence the richer for it at the end of the
year. It will certainly be much the best way. A present of fifty
pounds, now and then, will prevent their ever being distressed for
money, and will, I think, be amply discharging my promise to my father."

"To be sure it will. Indeed, to say the truth, I am convinced within

myself that your father had no idea of your giving them any money at
all. The assistance he thought of, I dare say, was only such as might
be reasonably expected of you; for instance, such as looking out for a
comfortable small house for them, helping them to move their things,
and sending them presents of fish and game, and so forth, whenever they
are in season. I'll lay my life that he meant nothing farther; indeed,
it would be very strange and unreasonable if he did. Do but consider,
my dear Mr. Dashwood, how excessively comfortable your mother-in-law
and her daughters may live on the interest of seven thousand pounds,
besides the thousand pounds belonging to each of the girls, which
brings them in fifty pounds a year a-piece, and, of course, they will
pay their mother for their board out of it. Altogether, they will have
five hundred a-year amongst them, and what on earth can four women want
for more than that?--They will live so cheap! Their housekeeping will
be nothing at all. They will have no carriage, no horses, and hardly
any servants; they will keep no company, and can have no expenses of
any kind! Only conceive how comfortable they will be! Five hundred a
year! I am sure I cannot imagine how they will spend half of it; and as
to your giving them more, it is quite absurd to think of it. They will
be much more able to give YOU something."

"Upon my word," said Mr. Dashwood, "I believe you are perfectly right.
My father certainly could mean nothing more by his request to me than
what you say. I clearly understand it now, and I will strictly fulfil
my engagement by such acts of assistance and kindness to them as you
have described. When my mother removes into another house my services
shall be readily given to accommodate her as far as I can. Some little
present of furniture too may be acceptable then."

"Certainly," returned Mrs. John Dashwood. "But, however, ONE thing

must be considered. When your father and mother moved to Norland,
though the furniture of Stanhill was sold, all the china, plate, and
linen was saved, and is now left to your mother. Her house will
therefore be almost completely fitted up as soon as she takes it."

"That is a material consideration undoubtedly. A valuable legacy

indeed! And yet some of the plate would have been a very pleasant
addition to our own stock here."

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"Yes; and the set of breakfast china is twice as handsome as what

belongs to this house. A great deal too handsome, in my opinion, for
any place THEY can ever afford to live in. But, however, so it is.
Your father thought only of THEM. And I must say this: that you owe no
particular gratitude to him, nor attention to his wishes; for we very
well know that if he could, he would have left almost everything in the
world to THEM."

This argument was irresistible. It gave to his intentions whatever of

decision was wanting before; and he finally resolved, that it would be
absolutely unnecessary, if not highly indecorous, to do more for the
widow and children of his father, than such kind of neighbourly acts as
his own wife pointed out.

CHAPTER 3

Mrs. Dashwood remained at Norland several months; not from any

disinclination to move when the sight of every well known spot ceased
to raise the violent emotion which it produced for a while; for when
her spirits began to revive, and her mind became capable of some other
exertion than that of heightening its affliction by melancholy
remembrances, she was impatient to be gone, and indefatigable in her
inquiries for a suitable dwelling in the neighbourhood of Norland; for
to remove far from that beloved spot was impossible. But she could
hear of no situation that at once answered her notions of comfort and
ease, and suited the prudence of her eldest daughter, whose steadier
judgment rejected several houses as too large for their income, which
her mother would have approved.

Mrs. Dashwood had been informed by her husband of the solemn promise on
the part of his son in their favour, which gave comfort to his last
earthly reflections. She doubted the sincerity of this assurance no
more than he had doubted it himself, and she thought of it for her
daughters' sake with satisfaction, though as for herself she was
persuaded that a much smaller provision than 7000L would support her in
affluence. For their brother's sake, too, for the sake of his own
heart, she rejoiced; and she reproached herself for being unjust to his
merit before, in believing him incapable of generosity. His attentive
behaviour to herself and his sisters convinced her that their welfare
was dear to him, and, for a long time, she firmly relied on the
liberality of his intentions.

The contempt which she had, very early in their acquaintance, felt for
her daughter-in-law, was very much increased by the farther knowledge
of her character, which half a year's residence in her family afforded;
and perhaps in spite of every consideration of politeness or maternal

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affection on the side of the former, the two ladies might have found it
impossible to have lived together so long, had not a particular
circumstance occurred to give still greater eligibility, according to
the opinions of Mrs. Dashwood, to her daughters' continuance at Norland.

This circumstance was a growing attachment between her eldest girl and
the brother of Mrs. John Dashwood, a gentleman-like and pleasing young
man, who was introduced to their acquaintance soon after his sister's
establishment at Norland, and who had since spent the greatest part of
his time there.

Some mothers might have encouraged the intimacy from motives of

interest, for Edward Ferrars was the eldest son of a man who had died
very rich; and some might have repressed it from motives of prudence,
for, except a trifling sum, the whole of his fortune depended on the
will of his mother. But Mrs. Dashwood was alike uninfluenced by either
consideration. It was enough for her that he appeared to be amiable,
that he loved her daughter, and that Elinor returned the partiality.
It was contrary to every doctrine of her's that difference of fortune
should keep any couple asunder who were attracted by resemblance of
disposition; and that Elinor's merit should not be acknowledged by
every one who knew her, was to her comprehension impossible.

Edward Ferrars was not recommended to their good opinion by any

peculiar graces of person or address. He was not handsome, and his
manners required intimacy to make them pleasing. He was too diffident
to do justice to himself; but when his natural shyness was overcome,
his behaviour gave every indication of an open, affectionate heart.
His understanding was good, and his education had given it solid
improvement. But he was neither fitted by abilities nor disposition to
answer the wishes of his mother and sister, who longed to see him
distinguished--as--they hardly knew what. They wanted him to make a
fine figure in the world in some manner or other. His mother wished to
interest him in political concerns, to get him into parliament, or to
see him connected with some of the great men of the day. Mrs. John
Dashwood wished it likewise; but in the mean while, till one of these
superior blessings could be attained, it would have quieted her
ambition to see him driving a barouche. But Edward had no turn for
great men or barouches. All his wishes centered in domestic comfort
and the quiet of private life. Fortunately he had a younger brother
who was more promising.

Edward had been staying several weeks in the house before he engaged
much of Mrs. Dashwood's attention; for she was, at that time, in such
affliction as rendered her careless of surrounding objects. She saw
only that he was quiet and unobtrusive, and she liked him for it. He
did not disturb the wretchedness of her mind by ill-timed conversation.
She was first called to observe and approve him farther, by a
reflection which Elinor chanced one day to make on the difference
between him and his sister. It was a contrast which recommended him

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most forcibly to her mother.

"It is enough," said she; "to say that he is unlike Fanny is enough.
It implies everything amiable. I love him already."

"I think you will like him," said Elinor, "when you know more of him."

"Like him!" replied her mother with a smile. "I feel no sentiment of
approbation inferior to love."

"You may esteem him."

"I have never yet known what it was to separate esteem and love."

Mrs. Dashwood now took pains to get acquainted with him. Her manners
were attaching, and soon banished his reserve. She speedily
comprehended all his merits; the persuasion of his regard for Elinor
perhaps assisted her penetration; but she really felt assured of his
worth: and even that quietness of manner, which militated against all
her established ideas of what a young man's address ought to be, was no
longer uninteresting when she knew his heart to be warm and his temper
affectionate.

No sooner did she perceive any symptom of love in his behaviour to

Elinor, than she considered their serious attachment as certain, and
looked forward to their marriage as rapidly approaching.

"In a few months, my dear Marianne." said she, "Elinor will, in all
probability be settled for life. We shall miss her; but SHE will be
happy."

"Oh! Mamma, how shall we do without her?"

"My love, it will be scarcely a separation. We shall live within a few

miles of each other, and shall meet every day of our lives. You will
gain a brother, a real, affectionate brother. I have the highest
opinion in the world of Edward's heart. But you look grave, Marianne;
do you disapprove your sister's choice?"

"Perhaps," said Marianne, "I may consider it with some surprise.

Edward is very amiable, and I love him tenderly. But yet--he is not
the kind of young man--there is something wanting--his figure is not
striking; it has none of that grace which I should expect in the man
who could seriously attach my sister. His eyes want all that spirit,
that fire, which at once announce virtue and intelligence. And besides
all this, I am afraid, Mamma, he has no real taste. Music seems
scarcely to attract him, and though he admires Elinor's drawings very
much, it is not the admiration of a person who can understand their
worth. It is evident, in spite of his frequent attention to her while
she draws, that in fact he knows nothing of the matter. He admires as

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a lover, not as a connoisseur. To satisfy me, those characters must be

united. I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every
point coincide with my own. He must enter into all my feelings; the
same books, the same music must charm us both. Oh! mama, how
spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night!
I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much
composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my
seat. To hear those beautiful lines which have frequently almost
driven me wild, pronounced with such impenetrable calmness, such
dreadful indifference!"-- "He would certainly have done more justice to
simple and elegant prose. I thought so at the time; but you WOULD give
him Cowper."

"Nay, Mamma, if he is not to be animated by Cowper!--but we must allow

for difference of taste. Elinor has not my feelings, and therefore she
may overlook it, and be happy with him. But it would have broke MY
heart, had I loved him, to hear him read with so little sensibility.
Mama, the more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I
shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much! He
must have all Edward's virtues, and his person and manners must
ornament his goodness with every possible charm."

"Remember, my love, that you are not seventeen. It is yet too early in
life to despair of such a happiness. Why should you be less fortunate
than your mother? In one circumstance only, my Marianne, may your
destiny be different from her's!"

CHAPTER 4

"What a pity it is, Elinor," said Marianne, "that Edward should have no
taste for drawing."

"No taste for drawing!" replied Elinor, "why should you think so? He
does not draw himself, indeed, but he has great pleasure in seeing the
performances of other people, and I assure you he is by no means
deficient in natural taste, though he has not had opportunities of
improving it. Had he ever been in the way of learning, I think he
would have drawn very well. He distrusts his own judgment in such
matters so much, that he is always unwilling to give his opinion on any
picture; but he has an innate propriety and simplicity of taste, which
in general direct him perfectly right."

Marianne was afraid of offending, and said no more on the subject; but
the kind of approbation which Elinor described as excited in him by the
drawings of other people, was very far from that rapturous delight,
which, in her opinion, could alone be called taste. Yet, though
smiling within herself at the mistake, she honoured her sister for that

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blind partiality to Edward which produced it.

"I hope, Marianne," continued Elinor, "you do not consider him as

deficient in general taste. Indeed, I think I may say that you cannot,
for your behaviour to him is perfectly cordial, and if THAT were your
opinion, I am sure you could never be civil to him."

Marianne hardly knew what to say. She would not wound the feelings of
her sister on any account, and yet to say what she did not believe was
impossible. At length she replied:

"Do not be offended, Elinor, if my praise of him is not in every thing

equal to your sense of his merits. I have not had so many
opportunities of estimating the minuter propensities of his mind, his
inclinations and tastes, as you have; but I have the highest opinion in
the world of his goodness and sense. I think him every thing that is
worthy and amiable."

"I am sure," replied Elinor, with a smile, "that his dearest friends
could not be dissatisfied with such commendation as that. I do not
perceive how you could express yourself more warmly."

Marianne was rejoiced to find her sister so easily pleased.

"Of his sense and his goodness," continued Elinor, "no one can, I
think, be in doubt, who has seen him often enough to engage him in
unreserved conversation. The excellence of his understanding and his
principles can be concealed only by that shyness which too often keeps
him silent. You know enough of him to do justice to his solid worth.
But of his minuter propensities, as you call them you have from
peculiar circumstances been kept more ignorant than myself. He and I
have been at times thrown a good deal together, while you have been
wholly engrossed on the most affectionate principle by my mother. I
have seen a great deal of him, have studied his sentiments and heard
his opinion on subjects of literature and taste; and, upon the whole, I
venture to pronounce that his mind is well-informed, enjoyment of books
exceedingly great, his imagination lively, his observation just and
correct, and his taste delicate and pure. His abilities in every
respect improve as much upon acquaintance as his manners and person.
At first sight, his address is certainly not striking; and his person
can hardly be called handsome, till the expression of his eyes, which
are uncommonly good, and the general sweetness of his countenance, is
perceived. At present, I know him so well, that I think him really
handsome; or at least, almost so. What say you, Marianne?"

"I shall very soon think him handsome, Elinor, if I do not now. When
you tell me to love him as a brother, I shall no more see imperfection
in his face, than I now do in his heart."

Elinor started at this declaration, and was sorry for the warmth she

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had been betrayed into, in speaking of him. She felt that Edward stood
very high in her opinion. She believed the regard to be mutual; but
she required greater certainty of it to make Marianne's conviction of
their attachment agreeable to her. She knew that what Marianne and her
mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next--that with them,
to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect. She tried to explain
the real state of the case to her sister.

"I do not attempt to deny," said she, "that I think very highly of
him--that I greatly esteem, that I like him."

Marianne here burst forth with indignation--

"Esteem him! Like him! Cold-hearted Elinor! Oh! worse than

cold-hearted! Ashamed of being otherwise. Use those words again, and I
will leave the room this moment."

Elinor could not help laughing. "Excuse me," said she; "and be assured
that I meant no offence to you, by speaking, in so quiet a way, of my
own feelings. Believe them to be stronger than I have declared;
believe them, in short, to be such as his merit, and the suspicion--the
hope of his affection for me may warrant, without imprudence or folly.
But farther than this you must not believe. I am by no means assured
of his regard for me. There are moments when the extent of it seems
doubtful; and till his sentiments are fully known, you cannot wonder at
my wishing to avoid any encouragement of my own partiality, by
believing or calling it more than it is. In my heart I feel
little--scarcely any doubt of his preference. But there are other
points to be considered besides his inclination. He is very far from
being independent. What his mother really is we cannot know; but, from
Fanny's occasional mention of her conduct and opinions, we have never
been disposed to think her amiable; and I am very much mistaken if
Edward is not himself aware that there would be many difficulties in
his way, if he were to wish to marry a woman who had not either a great
fortune or high rank."

Marianne was astonished to find how much the imagination of her mother
and herself had outstripped the truth.

"And you really are not engaged to him!" said she. "Yet it certainly
soon will happen. But two advantages will proceed from this delay. I
shall not lose you so soon, and Edward will have greater opportunity of
improving that natural taste for your favourite pursuit which must be
so indispensably necessary to your future felicity. Oh! if he should
be so far stimulated by your genius as to learn to draw himself, how
delightful it would be!"

Elinor had given her real opinion to her sister. She could not
consider her partiality for Edward in so prosperous a state as Marianne
had believed it. There was, at times, a want of spirits about him

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which, if it did not denote indifference, spoke of something almost as

unpromising. A doubt of her regard, supposing him to feel it, need not
give him more than inquietude. It would not be likely to produce that
dejection of mind which frequently attended him. A more reasonable
cause might be found in the dependent situation which forbade the
indulgence of his affection. She knew that his mother neither behaved
to him so as to make his home comfortable at present, nor to give him
any assurance that he might form a home for himself, without strictly
attending to her views for his aggrandizement. With such a knowledge
as this, it was impossible for Elinor to feel easy on the subject. She
was far from depending on that result of his preference of her, which
her mother and sister still considered as certain. Nay, the longer
they were together the more doubtful seemed the nature of his regard;
and sometimes, for a few painful minutes, she believed it to be no more
than friendship.

But, whatever might really be its limits, it was enough, when perceived
by his sister, to make her uneasy, and at the same time, (which was
still more common,) to make her uncivil. She took the first
opportunity of affronting her mother-in-law on the occasion, talking to
her so expressively of her brother's great expectations, of Mrs.
Ferrars's resolution that both her sons should marry well, and of the
danger attending any young woman who attempted to DRAW HIM IN; that
Mrs. Dashwood could neither pretend to be unconscious, nor endeavor to
be calm. She gave her an answer which marked her contempt, and
instantly left the room, resolving that, whatever might be the
inconvenience or expense of so sudden a removal, her beloved Elinor
should not be exposed another week to such insinuations.

In this state of her spirits, a letter was delivered to her from the
post, which contained a proposal particularly well timed. It was the
offer of a small house, on very easy terms, belonging to a relation of
her own, a gentleman of consequence and property in Devonshire. The
letter was from this gentleman himself, and written in the true spirit
of friendly accommodation. He understood that she was in need of a
dwelling; and though the house he now offered her was merely a cottage,
he assured her that everything should be done to it which she might
think necessary, if the situation pleased her. He earnestly pressed
her, after giving the particulars of the house and garden, to come with
her daughters to Barton Park, the place of his own residence, from
whence she might judge, herself, whether Barton Cottage, for the houses
were in the same parish, could, by any alteration, be made comfortable
to her. He seemed really anxious to accommodate them and the whole of
his letter was written in so friendly a style as could not fail of
giving pleasure to his cousin; more especially at a moment when she was
suffering under the cold and unfeeling behaviour of her nearer
connections. She needed no time for deliberation or inquiry. Her
resolution was formed as she read. The situation of Barton, in a
county so far distant from Sussex as Devonshire, which, but a few hours
before, would have been a sufficient objection to outweigh every

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possible advantage belonging to the place, was now its first

recommendation. To quit the neighbourhood of Norland was no longer an
evil; it was an object of desire; it was a blessing, in comparison of
the misery of continuing her daughter-in-law's guest; and to remove for
ever from that beloved place would be less painful than to inhabit or
visit it while such a woman was its mistress. She instantly wrote Sir
John Middleton her acknowledgment of his kindness, and her acceptance
of his proposal; and then hastened to shew both letters to her
daughters, that she might be secure of their approbation before her
answer were sent.

Elinor had always thought it would be more prudent for them to settle
at some distance from Norland, than immediately amongst their present
acquaintance. On THAT head, therefore, it was not for her to oppose
her mother's intention of removing into Devonshire. The house, too, as
described by Sir John, was on so simple a scale, and the rent so
uncommonly moderate, as to leave her no right of objection on either
point; and, therefore, though it was not a plan which brought any charm
to her fancy, though it was a removal from the vicinity of Norland
beyond her wishes, she made no attempt to dissuade her mother from
sending a letter of acquiescence.

CHAPTER 5

No sooner was her answer dispatched, than Mrs. Dashwood indulged

herself in the pleasure of announcing to her son-in-law and his wife
that she was provided with a house, and should incommode them no longer
than till every thing were ready for her inhabiting it. They heard her
with surprise. Mrs. John Dashwood said nothing; but her husband
civilly hoped that she would not be settled far from Norland. She had
great satisfaction in replying that she was going into
Devonshire.--Edward turned hastily towards her, on hearing this, and,
in a voice of surprise and concern, which required no explanation to
her, repeated, "Devonshire! Are you, indeed, going there? So far from
hence! And to what part of it?" She explained the situation. It was
within four miles northward of Exeter.

"It is but a cottage," she continued, "but I hope to see many of my

friends in it. A room or two can easily be added; and if my friends
find no difficulty in travelling so far to see me, I am sure I will
find none in accommodating them."

She concluded with a very kind invitation to Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood
to visit her at Barton; and to Edward she gave one with still greater
affection. Though her late conversation with her daughter-in-law had
made her resolve on remaining at Norland no longer than was
unavoidable, it had not produced the smallest effect on her in that

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point to which it principally tended. To separate Edward and Elinor

was as far from being her object as ever; and she wished to show Mrs.
John Dashwood, by this pointed invitation to her brother, how totally
she disregarded her disapprobation of the match.

Mr. John Dashwood told his mother again and again how exceedingly sorry
he was that she had taken a house at such a distance from Norland as to
prevent his being of any service to her in removing her furniture. He
really felt conscientiously vexed on the occasion; for the very
exertion to which he had limited the performance of his promise to his
father was by this arrangement rendered impracticable.-- The furniture
was all sent around by water. It chiefly consisted of household linen,
plate, china, and books, with a handsome pianoforte of Marianne's.
Mrs. John Dashwood saw the packages depart with a sigh: she could not
help feeling it hard that as Mrs. Dashwood's income would be so
trifling in comparison with their own, she should have any handsome
article of furniture.

Mrs. Dashwood took the house for a twelvemonth; it was ready furnished,
and she might have immediate possession. No difficulty arose on either
side in the agreement; and she waited only for the disposal of her
effects at Norland, and to determine her future household, before she
set off for the west; and this, as she was exceedingly rapid in the
performance of everything that interested her, was soon done.--The
horses which were left her by her husband had been sold soon after his
death, and an opportunity now offering of disposing of her carriage,
she agreed to sell that likewise at the earnest advice of her eldest
daughter. For the comfort of her children, had she consulted only her
own wishes, she would have kept it; but the discretion of Elinor
prevailed. HER wisdom too limited the number of their servants to
three; two maids and a man, with whom they were speedily provided from
amongst those who had formed their establishment at Norland.

The man and one of the maids were sent off immediately into Devonshire,
to prepare the house for their mistress's arrival; for as Lady
Middleton was entirely unknown to Mrs. Dashwood, she preferred going
directly to the cottage to being a visitor at Barton Park; and she
relied so undoubtingly on Sir John's description of the house, as to
feel no curiosity to examine it herself till she entered it as her own.
Her eagerness to be gone from Norland was preserved from diminution by
the evident satisfaction of her daughter-in-law in the prospect of her
removal; a satisfaction which was but feebly attempted to be concealed
under a cold invitation to her to defer her departure. Now was the
time when her son-in-law's promise to his father might with particular
propriety be fulfilled. Since he had neglected to do it on first
coming to the estate, their quitting his house might be looked on as
the most suitable period for its accomplishment. But Mrs. Dashwood
began shortly to give over every hope of the kind, and to be convinced,
from the general drift of his discourse, that his assistance extended
no farther than their maintenance for six months at Norland. He so

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frequently talked of the increasing expenses of housekeeping, and of

the perpetual demands upon his purse, which a man of any consequence in
the world was beyond calculation exposed to, that he seemed rather to
stand in need of more money himself than to have any design of giving
money away.

In a very few weeks from the day which brought Sir John Middleton's
first letter to Norland, every thing was so far settled in their future
abode as to enable Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters to begin their
journey.

Many were the tears shed by them in their last adieus to a place so
much beloved. "Dear, dear Norland!" said Marianne, as she wandered
alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; "when
shall I cease to regret you!--when learn to feel a home elsewhere!--Oh!
happy house, could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this
spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more!--And you, ye
well-known trees!--but you will continue the same.--No leaf will decay
because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we
can observe you no longer!--No; you will continue the same; unconscious
of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any
change in those who walk under your shade!--But who will remain to
enjoy you?"

CHAPTER 6

The first part of their journey was performed in too melancholy a

disposition to be otherwise than tedious and unpleasant. But as they
drew towards the end of it, their interest in the appearance of a
country which they were to inhabit overcame their dejection, and a view
of Barton Valley as they entered it gave them cheerfulness. It was a
pleasant fertile spot, well wooded, and rich in pasture. After winding
along it for more than a mile, they reached their own house. A small
green court was the whole of its demesne in front; and a neat wicket
gate admitted them into it.

As a house, Barton Cottage, though small, was comfortable and compact;

but as a cottage it was defective, for the building was regular, the
roof was tiled, the window shutters were not painted green, nor were
the walls covered with honeysuckles. A narrow passage led directly
through the house into the garden behind. On each side of the entrance
was a sitting room, about sixteen feet square; and beyond them were the
offices and the stairs. Four bed-rooms and two garrets formed the rest
of the house. It had not been built many years and was in good repair.
In comparison of Norland, it was poor and small indeed!--but the tears
which recollection called forth as they entered the house were soon
dried away. They were cheered by the joy of the servants on their

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arrival, and each for the sake of the others resolved to appear happy.
It was very early in September; the season was fine, and from first
seeing the place under the advantage of good weather, they received an
impression in its favour which was of material service in recommending
it to their lasting approbation.

The situation of the house was good. High hills rose immediately
behind, and at no great distance on each side; some of which were open
downs, the others cultivated and woody. The village of Barton was
chiefly on one of these hills, and formed a pleasant view from the
cottage windows. The prospect in front was more extensive; it
commanded the whole of the valley, and reached into the country beyond.
The hills which surrounded the cottage terminated the valley in that
direction; under another name, and in another course, it branched out
again between two of the steepest of them.

With the size and furniture of the house Mrs. Dashwood was upon the
whole well satisfied; for though her former style of life rendered many
additions to the latter indispensable, yet to add and improve was a
delight to her; and she had at this time ready money enough to supply
all that was wanted of greater elegance to the apartments. "As for the
house itself, to be sure," said she, "it is too small for our family,
but we will make ourselves tolerably comfortable for the present, as it
is too late in the year for improvements. Perhaps in the spring, if I
have plenty of money, as I dare say I shall, we may think about
building. These parlors are both too small for such parties of our
friends as I hope to see often collected here; and I have some thoughts
of throwing the passage into one of them with perhaps a part of the
other, and so leave the remainder of that other for an entrance; this,
with a new drawing room which may be easily added, and a bed-chamber
and garret above, will make it a very snug little cottage. I could
wish the stairs were handsome. But one must not expect every thing;
though I suppose it would be no difficult matter to widen them. I
shall see how much I am before-hand with the world in the spring, and
we will plan our improvements accordingly."

In the mean time, till all these alterations could be made from the
savings of an income of five hundred a-year by a woman who never saved
in her life, they were wise enough to be contented with the house as it
was; and each of them was busy in arranging their particular concerns,
and endeavoring, by placing around them books and other possessions, to
form themselves a home. Marianne's pianoforte was unpacked and
properly disposed of; and Elinor's drawings were affixed to the walls
of their sitting room.

In such employments as these they were interrupted soon after breakfast

the next day by the entrance of their landlord, who called to welcome
them to Barton, and to offer them every accommodation from his own
house and garden in which theirs might at present be deficient. Sir
John Middleton was a good looking man about forty. He had formerly

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visited at Stanhill, but it was too long for his young cousins to
remember him. His countenance was thoroughly good-humoured; and his
manners were as friendly as the style of his letter. Their arrival
seemed to afford him real satisfaction, and their comfort to be an
object of real solicitude to him. He said much of his earnest desire
of their living in the most sociable terms with his family, and pressed
them so cordially to dine at Barton Park every day till they were
better settled at home, that, though his entreaties were carried to a
point of perseverance beyond civility, they could not give offence.
His kindness was not confined to words; for within an hour after he
left them, a large basket full of garden stuff and fruit arrived from
the park, which was followed before the end of the day by a present of
game. He insisted, moreover, on conveying all their letters to and
from the post for them, and would not be denied the satisfaction of
sending them his newspaper every day.

Lady Middleton had sent a very civil message by him, denoting her
intention of waiting on Mrs. Dashwood as soon as she could be assured
that her visit would be no inconvenience; and as this message was
answered by an invitation equally polite, her ladyship was introduced
to them the next day.

They were, of course, very anxious to see a person on whom so much of

their comfort at Barton must depend; and the elegance of her appearance
was favourable to their wishes. Lady Middleton was not more than six
or seven and twenty; her face was handsome, her figure tall and
striking, and her address graceful. Her manners had all the elegance
which her husband's wanted. But they would have been improved by some
share of his frankness and warmth; and her visit was long enough to
detract something from their first admiration, by shewing that, though
perfectly well-bred, she was reserved, cold, and had nothing to say for
herself beyond the most common-place inquiry or remark.

Conversation however was not wanted, for Sir John was very chatty, and
Lady Middleton had taken the wise precaution of bringing with her their
eldest child, a fine little boy about six years old, by which means
there was one subject always to be recurred to by the ladies in case of
extremity, for they had to enquire his name and age, admire his beauty,
and ask him questions which his mother answered for him, while he hung
about her and held down his head, to the great surprise of her
ladyship, who wondered at his being so shy before company, as he could
make noise enough at home. On every formal visit a child ought to be
of the party, by way of provision for discourse. In the present case
it took up ten minutes to determine whether the boy were most like his
father or mother, and in what particular he resembled either, for of
course every body differed, and every body was astonished at the
opinion of the others.

An opportunity was soon to be given to the Dashwoods of debating on the

rest of the children, as Sir John would not leave the house without

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securing their promise of dining at the park the next day.

CHAPTER 7

Barton Park was about half a mile from the cottage. The ladies had
passed near it in their way along the valley, but it was screened from
their view at home by the projection of a hill. The house was large
and handsome; and the Middletons lived in a style of equal hospitality
and elegance. The former was for Sir John's gratification, the latter
for that of his lady. They were scarcely ever without some friends
staying with them in the house, and they kept more company of every
kind than any other family in the neighbourhood. It was necessary to
the happiness of both; for however dissimilar in temper and outward
behaviour, they strongly resembled each other in that total want of
talent and taste which confined their employments, unconnected with
such as society produced, within a very narrow compass. Sir John was a
sportsman, Lady Middleton a mother. He hunted and shot, and she
humoured her children; and these were their only resources. Lady
Middleton had the advantage of being able to spoil her children all the
year round, while Sir John's independent employments were in existence
only half the time. Continual engagements at home and abroad, however,
supplied all the deficiencies of nature and education; supported the
good spirits of Sir John, and gave exercise to the good breeding of his
wife.

Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the elegance of her table, and of
all her domestic arrangements; and from this kind of vanity was her
greatest enjoyment in any of their parties. But Sir John's
satisfaction in society was much more real; he delighted in collecting
about him more young people than his house would hold, and the noisier
they were the better was he pleased. He was a blessing to all the
juvenile part of the neighbourhood, for in summer he was for ever
forming parties to eat cold ham and chicken out of doors, and in winter
his private balls were numerous enough for any young lady who was not
suffering under the unsatiable appetite of fifteen.

The arrival of a new family in the country was always a matter of joy
to him, and in every point of view he was charmed with the inhabitants
he had now procured for his cottage at Barton. The Miss Dashwoods were
young, pretty, and unaffected. It was enough to secure his good
opinion; for to be unaffected was all that a pretty girl could want to
make her mind as captivating as her person. The friendliness of his
disposition made him happy in accommodating those, whose situation
might be considered, in comparison with the past, as unfortunate. In
showing kindness to his cousins therefore he had the real satisfaction
of a good heart; and in settling a family of females only in his
cottage, he had all the satisfaction of a sportsman; for a sportsman,

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though he esteems only those of his sex who are sportsmen likewise, is
not often desirous of encouraging their taste by admitting them to a
residence within his own manor.

Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters were met at the door of the house by
Sir John, who welcomed them to Barton Park with unaffected sincerity;
and as he attended them to the drawing room repeated to the young
ladies the concern which the same subject had drawn from him the day
before, at being unable to get any smart young men to meet them. They
would see, he said, only one gentleman there besides himself; a
particular friend who was staying at the park, but who was neither very
young nor very gay. He hoped they would all excuse the smallness of
the party, and could assure them it should never happen so again. He
had been to several families that morning in hopes of procuring some
addition to their number, but it was moonlight and every body was full
of engagements. Luckily Lady Middleton's mother had arrived at Barton
within the last hour, and as she was a very cheerful agreeable woman,
he hoped the young ladies would not find it so very dull as they might
imagine. The young ladies, as well as their mother, were perfectly
satisfied with having two entire strangers of the party, and wished for
no more.

Mrs. Jennings, Lady Middleton's mother, was a good-humoured, merry,

fat, elderly woman, who talked a great deal, seemed very happy, and
rather vulgar. She was full of jokes and laughter, and before dinner
was over had said many witty things on the subject of lovers and
husbands; hoped they had not left their hearts behind them in Sussex,
and pretended to see them blush whether they did or not. Marianne was
vexed at it for her sister's sake, and turned her eyes towards Elinor
to see how she bore these attacks, with an earnestness which gave
Elinor far more pain than could arise from such common-place raillery
as Mrs. Jennings's.

Colonel Brandon, the friend of Sir John, seemed no more adapted by

resemblance of manner to be his friend, than Lady Middleton was to be
his wife, or Mrs. Jennings to be Lady Middleton's mother. He was
silent and grave. His appearance however was not unpleasing, in spite
of his being in the opinion of Marianne and Margaret an absolute old
bachelor, for he was on the wrong side of five and thirty; but though
his face was not handsome, his countenance was sensible, and his
address was particularly gentlemanlike.

There was nothing in any of the party which could recommend them as
companions to the Dashwoods; but the cold insipidity of Lady Middleton
was so particularly repulsive, that in comparison of it the gravity of
Colonel Brandon, and even the boisterous mirth of Sir John and his
mother-in-law was interesting. Lady Middleton seemed to be roused to
enjoyment only by the entrance of her four noisy children after dinner,
who pulled her about, tore her clothes, and put an end to every kind of
discourse except what related to themselves.

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In the evening, as Marianne was discovered to be musical, she was

invited to play. The instrument was unlocked, every body prepared to
be charmed, and Marianne, who sang very well, at their request went
through the chief of the songs which Lady Middleton had brought into
the family on her marriage, and which perhaps had lain ever since in
the same position on the pianoforte, for her ladyship had celebrated
that event by giving up music, although by her mother's account, she
had played extremely well, and by her own was very fond of it.

Marianne's performance was highly applauded. Sir John was loud in his
admiration at the end of every song, and as loud in his conversation
with the others while every song lasted. Lady Middleton frequently
called him to order, wondered how any one's attention could be diverted
from music for a moment, and asked Marianne to sing a particular song
which Marianne had just finished. Colonel Brandon alone, of all the
party, heard her without being in raptures. He paid her only the
compliment of attention; and she felt a respect for him on the
occasion, which the others had reasonably forfeited by their shameless
want of taste. His pleasure in music, though it amounted not to that
ecstatic delight which alone could sympathize with her own, was
estimable when contrasted against the horrible insensibility of the
others; and she was reasonable enough to allow that a man of five and
thirty might well have outlived all acuteness of feeling and every
exquisite power of enjoyment. She was perfectly disposed to make every
allowance for the colonel's advanced state of life which humanity
required.

CHAPTER 8

Mrs. Jennings was a widow with an ample jointure. She had only two
daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married, and
she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the
world. In the promotion of this object she was zealously active, as
far as her ability reached; and missed no opportunity of projecting
weddings among all the young people of her acquaintance. She was
remarkably quick in the discovery of attachments, and had enjoyed the
advantage of raising the blushes and the vanity of many a young lady by
insinuations of her power over such a young man; and this kind of
discernment enabled her soon after her arrival at Barton decisively to
pronounce that Colonel Brandon was very much in love with Marianne
Dashwood. She rather suspected it to be so, on the very first evening
of their being together, from his listening so attentively while she
sang to them; and when the visit was returned by the Middletons' dining
at the cottage, the fact was ascertained by his listening to her again.
It must be so. She was perfectly convinced of it. It would be an
excellent match, for HE was rich, and SHE was handsome. Mrs. Jennings
had been anxious to see Colonel Brandon well married, ever since her

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connection with Sir John first brought him to her knowledge; and she
was always anxious to get a good husband for every pretty girl.

The immediate advantage to herself was by no means inconsiderable, for

it supplied her with endless jokes against them both. At the park she
laughed at the colonel, and in the cottage at Marianne. To the former
her raillery was probably, as far as it regarded only himself,
perfectly indifferent; but to the latter it was at first
incomprehensible; and when its object was understood, she hardly knew
whether most to laugh at its absurdity, or censure its impertinence,
for she considered it as an unfeeling reflection on the colonel's
advanced years, and on his forlorn condition as an old bachelor.

Mrs. Dashwood, who could not think a man five years younger than
herself, so exceedingly ancient as he appeared to the youthful fancy of
her daughter, ventured to clear Mrs. Jennings from the probability of
wishing to throw ridicule on his age.

"But at least, Mamma, you cannot deny the absurdity of the accusation,
though you may not think it intentionally ill-natured. Colonel Brandon
is certainly younger than Mrs. Jennings, but he is old enough to be MY
father; and if he were ever animated enough to be in love, must have
long outlived every sensation of the kind. It is too ridiculous! When
is a man to be safe from such wit, if age and infirmity will not
protect him?"

"Infirmity!" said Elinor, "do you call Colonel Brandon infirm? I can
easily suppose that his age may appear much greater to you than to my
mother; but you can hardly deceive yourself as to his having the use of
his limbs!"

"Did not you hear him complain of the rheumatism? and is not that the
commonest infirmity of declining life?"

"My dearest child," said her mother, laughing, "at this rate you must
be in continual terror of MY decay; and it must seem to you a miracle
that my life has been extended to the advanced age of forty."

"Mamma, you are not doing me justice. I know very well that Colonel
Brandon is not old enough to make his friends yet apprehensive of
losing him in the course of nature. He may live twenty years longer.
But thirty-five has nothing to do with matrimony."

"Perhaps," said Elinor, "thirty-five and seventeen had better not have
any thing to do with matrimony together. But if there should by any
chance happen to be a woman who is single at seven and twenty, I should
not think Colonel Brandon's being thirty-five any objection to his
marrying HER."

"A woman of seven and twenty," said Marianne, after pausing a moment,

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"can never hope to feel or inspire affection again, and if her home be
uncomfortable, or her fortune small, I can suppose that she might bring
herself to submit to the offices of a nurse, for the sake of the
provision and security of a wife. In his marrying such a woman
therefore there would be nothing unsuitable. It would be a compact of
convenience, and the world would be satisfied. In my eyes it would be
no marriage at all, but that would be nothing. To me it would seem
only a commercial exchange, in which each wished to be benefited at the
expense of the other."

"It would be impossible, I know," replied Elinor, "to convince you that
a woman of seven and twenty could feel for a man of thirty-five
anything near enough to love, to make him a desirable companion to her.
But I must object to your dooming Colonel Brandon and his wife to the
constant confinement of a sick chamber, merely because he chanced to
complain yesterday (a very cold damp day) of a slight rheumatic feel in
one of his shoulders."

"But he talked of flannel waistcoats," said Marianne; "and with me a

flannel waistcoat is invariably connected with aches, cramps,
rheumatisms, and every species of ailment that can afflict the old and
the feeble."

"Had he been only in a violent fever, you would not have despised him
half so much. Confess, Marianne, is not there something interesting to
you in the flushed cheek, hollow eye, and quick pulse of a fever?"

Soon after this, upon Elinor's leaving the room, "Mamma," said
Marianne, "I have an alarm on the subject of illness which I cannot
conceal from you. I am sure Edward Ferrars is not well. We have now
been here almost a fortnight, and yet he does not come. Nothing but
real indisposition could occasion this extraordinary delay. What else
can detain him at Norland?"

"Had you any idea of his coming so soon?" said Mrs. Dashwood. "I had
none. On the contrary, if I have felt any anxiety at all on the
subject, it has been in recollecting that he sometimes showed a want of
pleasure and readiness in accepting my invitation, when I talked of his
coming to Barton. Does Elinor expect him already?"

"I have never mentioned it to her, but of course she must."

"I rather think you are mistaken, for when I was talking to her
yesterday of getting a new grate for the spare bedchamber, she observed
that there was no immediate hurry for it, as it was not likely that the
room would be wanted for some time."

"How strange this is! what can be the meaning of it! But the whole of
their behaviour to each other has been unaccountable! How cold, how
composed were their last adieus! How languid their conversation the

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last evening of their being together! In Edward's farewell there was no

distinction between Elinor and me: it was the good wishes of an
affectionate brother to both. Twice did I leave them purposely
together in the course of the last morning, and each time did he most
unaccountably follow me out of the room. And Elinor, in quitting
Norland and Edward, cried not as I did. Even now her self-command is
invariable. When is she dejected or melancholy? When does she try to
avoid society, or appear restless and dissatisfied in it?"

CHAPTER 9

The Dashwoods were now settled at Barton with tolerable comfort to

themselves. The house and the garden, with all the objects surrounding
them, were now become familiar, and the ordinary pursuits which had
given to Norland half its charms were engaged in again with far greater
enjoyment than Norland had been able to afford, since the loss of their
father. Sir John Middleton, who called on them every day for the first
fortnight, and who was not in the habit of seeing much occupation at
home, could not conceal his amazement on finding them always employed.

Their visitors, except those from Barton Park, were not many; for, in
spite of Sir John's urgent entreaties that they would mix more in the
neighbourhood, and repeated assurances of his carriage being always at
their service, the independence of Mrs. Dashwood's spirit overcame the
wish of society for her children; and she was resolute in declining to
visit any family beyond the distance of a walk. There were but few who
could be so classed; and it was not all of them that were attainable.
About a mile and a half from the cottage, along the narrow winding
valley of Allenham, which issued from that of Barton, as formerly
described, the girls had, in one of their earliest walks, discovered an
ancient respectable looking mansion which, by reminding them a little
of Norland, interested their imagination and made them wish to be
better acquainted with it. But they learnt, on enquiry, that its
possessor, an elderly lady of very good character, was unfortunately
too infirm to mix with the world, and never stirred from home.

The whole country about them abounded in beautiful walks. The high
downs which invited them from almost every window of the cottage to
seek the exquisite enjoyment of air on their summits, were a happy
alternative when the dirt of the valleys beneath shut up their superior
beauties; and towards one of these hills did Marianne and Margaret one
memorable morning direct their steps, attracted by the partial sunshine
of a showery sky, and unable longer to bear the confinement which the
settled rain of the two preceding days had occasioned. The weather was
not tempting enough to draw the two others from their pencil and their
book, in spite of Marianne's declaration that the day would be
lastingly fair, and that every threatening cloud would be drawn off

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from their hills; and the two girls set off together.

They gaily ascended the downs, rejoicing in their own penetration at

every glimpse of blue sky; and when they caught in their faces the
animating gales of a high south-westerly wind, they pitied the fears
which had prevented their mother and Elinor from sharing such
delightful sensations.

"Is there a felicity in the world," said Marianne, "superior to

this?--Margaret, we will walk here at least two hours."

Margaret agreed, and they pursued their way against the wind, resisting
it with laughing delight for about twenty minutes longer, when suddenly
the clouds united over their heads, and a driving rain set full in
their face.-- Chagrined and surprised, they were obliged, though
unwillingly, to turn back, for no shelter was nearer than their own
house. One consolation however remained for them, to which the
exigence of the moment gave more than usual propriety; it was that of
running with all possible speed down the steep side of the hill which
led immediately to their garden gate.

They set off. Marianne had at first the advantage, but a false step
brought her suddenly to the ground; and Margaret, unable to stop
herself to assist her, was involuntarily hurried along, and reached the
bottom in safety.

A gentleman carrying a gun, with two pointers playing round him, was
passing up the hill and within a few yards of Marianne, when her
accident happened. He put down his gun and ran to her assistance. She
had raised herself from the ground, but her foot had been twisted in
her fall, and she was scarcely able to stand. The gentleman offered
his services; and perceiving that her modesty declined what her
situation rendered necessary, took her up in his arms without farther
delay, and carried her down the hill. Then passing through the garden,
the gate of which had been left open by Margaret, he bore her directly
into the house, whither Margaret was just arrived, and quitted not his
hold till he had seated her in a chair in the parlour.

Elinor and her mother rose up in amazement at their entrance, and while
the eyes of both were fixed on him with an evident wonder and a secret
admiration which equally sprung from his appearance, he apologized for
his intrusion by relating its cause, in a manner so frank and so
graceful that his person, which was uncommonly handsome, received
additional charms from his voice and expression. Had he been even old,
ugly, and vulgar, the gratitude and kindness of Mrs. Dashwood would
have been secured by any act of attention to her child; but the
influence of youth, beauty, and elegance, gave an interest to the
action which came home to her feelings.

She thanked him again and again; and, with a sweetness of address which

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always attended her, invited him to be seated. But this he declined,

as he was dirty and wet. Mrs. Dashwood then begged to know to whom she
was obliged. His name, he replied, was Willoughby, and his present
home was at Allenham, from whence he hoped she would allow him the
honour of calling tomorrow to enquire after Miss Dashwood. The honour
was readily granted, and he then departed, to make himself still more
interesting, in the midst of a heavy rain.

His manly beauty and more than common gracefulness were instantly the
theme of general admiration, and the laugh which his gallantry raised
against Marianne received particular spirit from his exterior
attractions.-- Marianne herself had seen less of his person that the
rest, for the confusion which crimsoned over her face, on his lifting
her up, had robbed her of the power of regarding him after their
entering the house. But she had seen enough of him to join in all the
admiration of the others, and with an energy which always adorned her
praise. His person and air were equal to what her fancy had ever drawn
for the hero of a favourite story; and in his carrying her into the
house with so little previous formality, there was a rapidity of
thought which particularly recommended the action to her. Every
circumstance belonging to him was interesting. His name was good, his
residence was in their favourite village, and she soon found out that
of all manly dresses a shooting-jacket was the most becoming. Her
imagination was busy, her reflections were pleasant, and the pain of a
sprained ankle was disregarded.

Sir John called on them as soon as the next interval of fair weather
that morning allowed him to get out of doors; and Marianne's accident
being related to him, he was eagerly asked whether he knew any
gentleman of the name of Willoughby at Allenham.

"Willoughby!" cried Sir John; "what, is HE in the country? That is good

news however; I will ride over tomorrow, and ask him to dinner on
Thursday."

"You know him then," said Mrs. Dashwood.

"Know him! to be sure I do. Why, he is down here every year."

"And what sort of a young man is he?"

"As good a kind of fellow as ever lived, I assure you. A very decent
shot, and there is not a bolder rider in England."

"And is that all you can say for him?" cried Marianne, indignantly.
"But what are his manners on more intimate acquaintance? What his
pursuits, his talents, and genius?"

Sir John was rather puzzled.

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"Upon my soul," said he, "I do not know much about him as to all THAT.
But he is a pleasant, good humoured fellow, and has got the nicest
little black bitch of a pointer I ever saw. Was she out with him
today?"

But Marianne could no more satisfy him as to the colour of Mr.

Willoughby's pointer, than he could describe to her the shades of his
mind.

"But who is he?" said Elinor. "Where does he come from? Has he a
house at Allenham?"

On this point Sir John could give more certain intelligence; and he
told them that Mr. Willoughby had no property of his own in the
country; that he resided there only while he was visiting the old lady
at Allenham Court, to whom he was related, and whose possessions he was
to inherit; adding, "Yes, yes, he is very well worth catching I can
tell you, Miss Dashwood; he has a pretty little estate of his own in
Somersetshire besides; and if I were you, I would not give him up to my
younger sister, in spite of all this tumbling down hills. Miss
Marianne must not expect to have all the men to herself. Brandon will
be jealous, if she does not take care."

"I do not believe," said Mrs. Dashwood, with a good humoured smile,
"that Mr. Willoughby will be incommoded by the attempts of either of MY
daughters towards what you call CATCHING him. It is not an employment
to which they have been brought up. Men are very safe with us, let
them be ever so rich. I am glad to find, however, from what you say,
that he is a respectable young man, and one whose acquaintance will not
be ineligible."

"He is as good a sort of fellow, I believe, as ever lived," repeated

Sir John. "I remember last Christmas at a little hop at the park, he
danced from eight o'clock till four, without once sitting down."

"Did he indeed?" cried Marianne with sparkling eyes, "and with

elegance, with spirit?"

"Yes; and he was up again at eight to ride to covert."

"That is what I like; that is what a young man ought to be. Whatever
be his pursuits, his eagerness in them should know no moderation, and
leave him no sense of fatigue."

"Aye, aye, I see how it will be," said Sir John, "I see how it will be.
You will be setting your cap at him now, and never think of poor
Brandon."

"That is an expression, Sir John," said Marianne, warmly, "which I

particularly dislike. I abhor every common-place phrase by which wit

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is intended; and 'setting one's cap at a man,' or 'making a conquest,'

are the most odious of all. Their tendency is gross and illiberal; and
if their construction could ever be deemed clever, time has long ago
destroyed all its ingenuity."

Sir John did not much understand this reproof; but he laughed as
heartily as if he did, and then replied,

"Ay, you will make conquests enough, I dare say, one way or other.
Poor Brandon! he is quite smitten already, and he is very well worth
setting your cap at, I can tell you, in spite of all this tumbling
about and spraining of ankles."

CHAPTER 10

Marianne's preserver, as Margaret, with more elegance than precision,

styled Willoughby, called at the cottage early the next morning to make
his personal enquiries. He was received by Mrs. Dashwood with more
than politeness; with a kindness which Sir John's account of him and
her own gratitude prompted; and every thing that passed during the
visit tended to assure him of the sense, elegance, mutual affection,
and domestic comfort of the family to whom accident had now introduced
him. Of their personal charms he had not required a second interview
to be convinced.

Miss Dashwood had a delicate complexion, regular features, and a

remarkably pretty figure. Marianne was still handsomer. Her form,
though not so correct as her sister's, in having the advantage of
height, was more striking; and her face was so lovely, that when in the
common cant of praise, she was called a beautiful girl, truth was less
violently outraged than usually happens. Her skin was very brown, but,
from its transparency, her complexion was uncommonly brilliant; her
features were all good; her smile was sweet and attractive; and in her
eyes, which were very dark, there was a life, a spirit, an eagerness,
which could hardily be seen without delight. From Willoughby their
expression was at first held back, by the embarrassment which the
remembrance of his assistance created. But when this passed away, when
her spirits became collected, when she saw that to the perfect
good-breeding of the gentleman, he united frankness and vivacity, and
above all, when she heard him declare, that of music and dancing he was
passionately fond, she gave him such a look of approbation as secured
the largest share of his discourse to herself for the rest of his stay.

It was only necessary to mention any favourite amusement to engage her

to talk. She could not be silent when such points were introduced, and
she had neither shyness nor reserve in their discussion. They speedily
discovered that their enjoyment of dancing and music was mutual, and

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that it arose from a general conformity of judgment in all that related

to either. Encouraged by this to a further examination of his
opinions, she proceeded to question him on the subject of books; her
favourite authors were brought forward and dwelt upon with so rapturous
a delight, that any young man of five and twenty must have been
insensible indeed, not to become an immediate convert to the excellence
of such works, however disregarded before. Their taste was strikingly
alike. The same books, the same passages were idolized by each--or if
any difference appeared, any objection arose, it lasted no longer than
till the force of her arguments and the brightness of her eyes could be
displayed. He acquiesced in all her decisions, caught all her
enthusiasm; and long before his visit concluded, they conversed with
the familiarity of a long-established acquaintance.

"Well, Marianne," said Elinor, as soon as he had left them, "for ONE
morning I think you have done pretty well. You have already
ascertained Mr. Willoughby's opinion in almost every matter of
importance. You know what he thinks of Cowper and Scott; you are
certain of his estimating their beauties as he ought, and you have
received every assurance of his admiring Pope no more than is proper.
But how is your acquaintance to be long supported, under such
extraordinary despatch of every subject for discourse? You will soon
have exhausted each favourite topic. Another meeting will suffice to
explain his sentiments on picturesque beauty, and second marriages, and
then you can have nothing farther to ask."--

"Elinor," cried Marianne, "is this fair? is this just? are my ideas so
scanty? But I see what you mean. I have been too much at my ease, too
happy, too frank. I have erred against every common-place notion of
decorum; I have been open and sincere where I ought to have been
reserved, spiritless, dull, and deceitful--had I talked only of the
weather and the roads, and had I spoken only once in ten minutes, this
reproach would have been spared."

"My love," said her mother, "you must not be offended with Elinor--she
was only in jest. I should scold her myself, if she were capable of
wishing to check the delight of your conversation with our new
friend."-- Marianne was softened in a moment.

Willoughby, on his side, gave every proof of his pleasure in their

acquaintance, which an evident wish of improving it could offer. He
came to them every day. To enquire after Marianne was at first his
excuse; but the encouragement of his reception, to which every day gave
greater kindness, made such an excuse unnecessary before it had ceased
to be possible, by Marianne's perfect recovery. She was confined for
some days to the house; but never had any confinement been less
irksome. Willoughby was a young man of good abilities, quick
imagination, lively spirits, and open, affectionate manners. He was
exactly formed to engage Marianne's heart, for with all this, he joined
not only a captivating person, but a natural ardour of mind which was

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now roused and increased by the example of her own, and which
recommended him to her affection beyond every thing else.

His society became gradually her most exquisite enjoyment. They read,
they talked, they sang together; his musical talents were considerable;
and he read with all the sensibility and spirit which Edward had
unfortunately wanted.

In Mrs. Dashwood's estimation he was as faultless as in Marianne's; and

Elinor saw nothing to censure in him but a propensity, in which he
strongly resembled and peculiarly delighted her sister, of saying too
much what he thought on every occasion, without attention to persons or
circumstances. In hastily forming and giving his opinion of other
people, in sacrificing general politeness to the enjoyment of undivided
attention where his heart was engaged, and in slighting too easily the
forms of worldly propriety, he displayed a want of caution which Elinor
could not approve, in spite of all that he and Marianne could say in
its support.

Marianne began now to perceive that the desperation which had seized
her at sixteen and a half, of ever seeing a man who could satisfy her
ideas of perfection, had been rash and unjustifiable. Willoughby was
all that her fancy had delineated in that unhappy hour and in every
brighter period, as capable of attaching her; and his behaviour
declared his wishes to be in that respect as earnest, as his abilities
were strong.

Her mother too, in whose mind not one speculative thought of their
marriage had been raised, by his prospect of riches, was led before the
end of a week to hope and expect it; and secretly to congratulate
herself on having gained two such sons-in-law as Edward and Willoughby.

Colonel Brandon's partiality for Marianne, which had so early been

discovered by his friends, now first became perceptible to Elinor, when
it ceased to be noticed by them. Their attention and wit were drawn
off to his more fortunate rival; and the raillery which the other had
incurred before any partiality arose, was removed when his feelings
began really to call for the ridicule so justly annexed to sensibility.
Elinor was obliged, though unwillingly, to believe that the sentiments
which Mrs. Jennings had assigned him for her own satisfaction, were now
actually excited by her sister; and that however a general resemblance
of disposition between the parties might forward the affection of Mr.
Willoughby, an equally striking opposition of character was no
hindrance to the regard of Colonel Brandon. She saw it with concern;
for what could a silent man of five and thirty hope, when opposed to a
very lively one of five and twenty? and as she could not even wish him
successful, she heartily wished him indifferent. She liked him--in
spite of his gravity and reserve, she beheld in him an object of
interest. His manners, though serious, were mild; and his reserve
appeared rather the result of some oppression of spirits than of any

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natural gloominess of temper. Sir John had dropped hints of past

injuries and disappointments, which justified her belief of his being
an unfortunate man, and she regarded him with respect and compassion.

Perhaps she pitied and esteemed him the more because he was slighted by
Willoughby and Marianne, who, prejudiced against him for being neither
lively nor young, seemed resolved to undervalue his merits.

"Brandon is just the kind of man," said Willoughby one day, when they
were talking of him together, "whom every body speaks well of, and
nobody cares about; whom all are delighted to see, and nobody remembers
to talk to."

"That is exactly what I think of him," cried Marianne.

"Do not boast of it, however," said Elinor, "for it is injustice in

both of you. He is highly esteemed by all the family at the park, and
I never see him myself without taking pains to converse with him."

"That he is patronised by YOU," replied Willoughby, "is certainly in

his favour; but as for the esteem of the others, it is a reproach in
itself. Who would submit to the indignity of being approved by such a
woman as Lady Middleton and Mrs. Jennings, that could command the
indifference of any body else?"

"But perhaps the abuse of such people as yourself and Marianne will
make amends for the regard of Lady Middleton and her mother. If their
praise is censure, your censure may be praise, for they are not more
undiscerning, than you are prejudiced and unjust."

"In defence of your protege you can even be saucy."

"My protege, as you call him, is a sensible man; and sense will always
have attractions for me. Yes, Marianne, even in a man between thirty
and forty. He has seen a great deal of the world; has been abroad, has
read, and has a thinking mind. I have found him capable of giving me
much information on various subjects; and he has always answered my
inquiries with readiness of good-breeding and good nature."

"That is to say," cried Marianne contemptuously, "he has told you, that
in the East Indies the climate is hot, and the mosquitoes are
troublesome."

"He WOULD have told me so, I doubt not, had I made any such inquiries,
but they happened to be points on which I had been previously informed."

"Perhaps," said Willoughby, "his observations may have extended to the

existence of nabobs, gold mohrs, and palanquins."

"I may venture to say that HIS observations have stretched much further

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than your candour. But why should you dislike him?"

"I do not dislike him. I consider him, on the contrary, as a very

respectable man, who has every body's good word, and nobody's notice;
who, has more money than he can spend, more time than he knows how to
employ, and two new coats every year."

"Add to which," cried Marianne, "that he has neither genius, taste, nor
spirit. That his understanding has no brilliancy, his feelings no
ardour, and his voice no expression."

"You decide on his imperfections so much in the mass," replied Elinor,

"and so much on the strength of your own imagination, that the
commendation I am able to give of him is comparatively cold and
insipid. I can only pronounce him to be a sensible man, well-bred,
well-informed, of gentle address, and, I believe, possessing an amiable
heart."

"Miss Dashwood," cried Willoughby, "you are now using me unkindly. You
are endeavouring to disarm me by reason, and to convince me against my
will. But it will not do. You shall find me as stubborn as you can be
artful. I have three unanswerable reasons for disliking Colonel
Brandon; he threatened me with rain when I wanted it to be fine; he has
found fault with the hanging of my curricle, and I cannot persuade him
to buy my brown mare. If it will be any satisfaction to you, however,
to be told, that I believe his character to be in other respects
irreproachable, I am ready to confess it. And in return for an
acknowledgment, which must give me some pain, you cannot deny me the
privilege of disliking him as much as ever."

CHAPTER 11

Little had Mrs. Dashwood or her daughters imagined when they first came
into Devonshire, that so many engagements would arise to occupy their
time as shortly presented themselves, or that they should have such
frequent invitations and such constant visitors as to leave them little
leisure for serious employment. Yet such was the case. When Marianne
was recovered, the schemes of amusement at home and abroad, which Sir
John had been previously forming, were put into execution. The private
balls at the park then began; and parties on the water were made and
accomplished as often as a showery October would allow. In every
meeting of the kind Willoughby was included; and the ease and
familiarity which naturally attended these parties were exactly
calculated to give increasing intimacy to his acquaintance with the
Dashwoods, to afford him opportunity of witnessing the excellencies of
Marianne, of marking his animated admiration of her, and of receiving,
in her behaviour to himself, the most pointed assurance of her

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affection.

Elinor could not be surprised at their attachment. She only wished

that it were less openly shewn; and once or twice did venture to
suggest the propriety of some self-command to Marianne. But Marianne
abhorred all concealment where no real disgrace could attend unreserve;
and to aim at the restraint of sentiments which were not in themselves
illaudable, appeared to her not merely an unnecessary effort, but a
disgraceful subjection of reason to common-place and mistaken notions.
Willoughby thought the same; and their behaviour at all times, was an
illustration of their opinions.

When he was present she had no eyes for any one else. Every thing he
did, was right. Every thing he said, was clever. If their evenings at
the park were concluded with cards, he cheated himself and all the rest
of the party to get her a good hand. If dancing formed the amusement
of the night, they were partners for half the time; and when obliged to
separate for a couple of dances, were careful to stand together and
scarcely spoke a word to any body else. Such conduct made them of
course most exceedingly laughed at; but ridicule could not shame, and
seemed hardly to provoke them.

Mrs. Dashwood entered into all their feelings with a warmth which left
her no inclination for checking this excessive display of them. To her
it was but the natural consequence of a strong affection in a young and
ardent mind.

This was the season of happiness to Marianne. Her heart was devoted to
Willoughby, and the fond attachment to Norland, which she brought with
her from Sussex, was more likely to be softened than she had thought it
possible before, by the charms which his society bestowed on her
present home.

Elinor's happiness was not so great. Her heart was not so much at
ease, nor her satisfaction in their amusements so pure. They afforded
her no companion that could make amends for what she had left behind,
nor that could teach her to think of Norland with less regret than
ever. Neither Lady Middleton nor Mrs. Jennings could supply to her the
conversation she missed; although the latter was an everlasting talker,
and from the first had regarded her with a kindness which ensured her a
large share of her discourse. She had already repeated her own history
to Elinor three or four times; and had Elinor's memory been equal to
her means of improvement, she might have known very early in their
acquaintance all the particulars of Mr. Jenning's last illness, and
what he said to his wife a few minutes before he died. Lady Middleton
was more agreeable than her mother only in being more silent. Elinor
needed little observation to perceive that her reserve was a mere
calmness of manner with which sense had nothing to do. Towards her
husband and mother she was the same as to them; and intimacy was
therefore neither to be looked for nor desired. She had nothing to say

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one day that she had not said the day before. Her insipidity was
invariable, for even her spirits were always the same; and though she
did not oppose the parties arranged by her husband, provided every
thing were conducted in style and her two eldest children attended her,
she never appeared to receive more enjoyment from them than she might
have experienced in sitting at home;--and so little did her presence
add to the pleasure of the others, by any share in their conversation,
that they were sometimes only reminded of her being amongst them by her
solicitude about her troublesome boys.

In Colonel Brandon alone, of all her new acquaintance, did Elinor find
a person who could in any degree claim the respect of abilities, excite
the interest of friendship, or give pleasure as a companion.
Willoughby was out of the question. Her admiration and regard, even
her sisterly regard, was all his own; but he was a lover; his
attentions were wholly Marianne's, and a far less agreeable man might
have been more generally pleasing. Colonel Brandon, unfortunately for
himself, had no such encouragement to think only of Marianne, and in
conversing with Elinor he found the greatest consolation for the
indifference of her sister.

Elinor's compassion for him increased, as she had reason to suspect

that the misery of disappointed love had already been known to him.
This suspicion was given by some words which accidently dropped from
him one evening at the park, when they were sitting down together by
mutual consent, while the others were dancing. His eyes were fixed on
Marianne, and, after a silence of some minutes, he said, with a faint
smile, "Your sister, I understand, does not approve of second
attachments."

"No," replied Elinor, "her opinions are all romantic."

"Or rather, as I believe, she considers them impossible to exist."

"I believe she does. But how she contrives it without reflecting on
the character of her own father, who had himself two wives, I know not.
A few years however will settle her opinions on the reasonable basis of
common sense and observation; and then they may be more easy to define
and to justify than they now are, by any body but herself."

"This will probably be the case," he replied; "and yet there is

something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is
sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions."

"I cannot agree with you there," said Elinor. "There are
inconveniences attending such feelings as Marianne's, which all the
charms of enthusiasm and ignorance of the world cannot atone for. Her
systems have all the unfortunate tendency of setting propriety at
nought; and a better acquaintance with the world is what I look forward
to as her greatest possible advantage."

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After a short pause he resumed the conversation by saying,--

"Does your sister make no distinction in her objections against a

second attachment? or is it equally criminal in every body? Are those
who have been disappointed in their first choice, whether from the
inconstancy of its object, or the perverseness of circumstances, to be
equally indifferent during the rest of their lives?"

"Upon my word, I am not acquainted with the minutiae of her principles.

I only know that I never yet heard her admit any instance of a second
attachment's being pardonable."

"This," said he, "cannot hold; but a change, a total change of

sentiments--No, no, do not desire it; for when the romantic refinements
of a young mind are obliged to give way, how frequently are they
succeeded by such opinions as are but too common, and too dangerous! I
speak from experience. I once knew a lady who in temper and mind
greatly resembled your sister, who thought and judged like her, but who
from an inforced change--from a series of unfortunate circumstances"--
Here he stopt suddenly; appeared to think that he had said too much,
and by his countenance gave rise to conjectures, which might not
otherwise have entered Elinor's head. The lady would probably have
passed without suspicion, had he not convinced Miss Dashwood that what
concerned her ought not to escape his lips. As it was, it required but
a slight effort of fancy to connect his emotion with the tender
recollection of past regard. Elinor attempted no more. But Marianne,
in her place, would not have done so little. The whole story would
have been speedily formed under her active imagination; and every thing
established in the most melancholy order of disastrous love.

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Vocabulary Transcription Definition Translation

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Sense and Sensibility

1st Abhor /əbˈhɔːʳ/ To detest utterly. Abominar,

aborrecer.

2nd Acquaintance /əˈkweɪntəns/ A person whom one knows Conocido

slightly.

3rd Acquiesce /ˌækwɪˈes/ To agree to what someone Consentir

wants.

4th Alloy /ˈælɔɪ/ Admixture, moderation. Moderación

5th Artful /ɑːtfʊl/ Skilful in achieving a desired Ingenioso,

end. astuto
6th Ascertain / ˌæsəˈteɪn/ To find out definitely Determinar

7th Bachelor /ˈbætʃələʳ/ An unmarried man. Soltero

8th Becoming /bɪˈkʌmɪŋ/ Suitable or appropriate. Favorecedor

9th Bequeath /bɪˈkwiːð/ To dispose of (property) as in Legar

will.

10th Bestow on /bɪˈstəʊ/ To present (a gift) or confer [+ affections]

(an honour). ofrecer (on a)

11th Candour /ˈkændəʳ/ Honesty and Franqueza,

straightforwardness of speech sinceridad
or behavior.

12th Chagrined /ˈʃæɡrɪnd/ Annoyed and disappointed. Disgustado

13th Cherished /ˈtʃerɪʃt/ Cared for. Apreciado

14th Contempt /kənˈtempt/ Scorn. The feeling of Desprecio,

despising. desdén

15th Cunning /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ Clever at deceiving. Astuto,

ingenioso

16th Countenance /ˈkaʊntɪnəns/ Face or facial expression. Semblante,

rostro

17th Defer /dɪˈfɜːʳ/ To delay until a future time, Posponer,

postpone aplazar

19th Dejection /dɪˈdʒekʃən/ A feeling or spell of dismally Desánimo,

low spirits. abatimiento

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177
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18th Devolve /dɪˈvɒlv/ To pass or cause to pass to a Recaer

successor or substitute, as
duties or power.
20th Diffident /ˈdɪfɪdənt/ Lacking self-confidence, shy. Inseguro,
cohibido
21st Dwell upon /dweləˈpɒn/ To think, speak, or write at Poner enfasis,
length about (something). insister en

22nd Entreaty /ɪnˈtriːtɪ/ An earnest request or plea. Súplica

23rd Folly /ˈfɒlɪ/ The quality of being foolish. Locura,

disparate

24th Forbearance /fɔːˈbɛərəns/ Refraining from enforcing Paciencia

something, such as a right or
a debt.
Tolerance, patience, restraint,
or leniency.

25th Forlorn /fəˈlɔːn/ Lonely, unhappy and Triste,

uncared-for. melancólico

26th Gross /ɡrəʊs/ Very coarse or vulgar. Burdo

27th Illaudable /ˈɪlɔːdəbl/ worthy of censure or Censurable

disapprobation

28th In jest /ɪndʒest/ Something done or said to De broma

amuse people.

29th Irksome /ˈɜːksəm/ Annoying or tiresome. Fastidioiso.

Pesado
30th Jointure /ˈdʒɔɪntʃəʳ/ Money or property settled on Bienes
a wife to provide for her after gananciales
her husband’s death. de la esposa

31st Keen /kiːn/ Eager or enthusiastic. Entusiasta

32nd Mild /maɪld/ Gentle or températe in Afable
character or behavior.
Moderate.
33rd Moiety /ˈmɔɪ.ə.ti/ A half. One of two parts or Mitad
divisions of something.
34th Pique /piːk/ Archaic. to pride (oneself) Enorgullecer
(usually followed by on or
upon).

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35th Raillery /ˈreɪlərɪ/ Good natured teasing. Burlas,

chanzas

36th Rapture /ˈræptʃəʳ/ Extreme happiness or delight. Éxtasis

37th Rash /ræʃ/ Acting or done without Precipitado,

proper though or temerario
consideration, hasty.
38th Recollection /ˌrekəˈlekʃən/ The power of retaining and Recuerdo
recalling past experience.

39th Relish /ˈrelɪʃ/ Liking or enjoyment. Entusiasmo

40th Render /ˈrendəʳ/ To surrender or relinquish. Dar, rendir

41st Saucy /ˈsɔːsɪ/ Cheeky or slightly rude in an Fresco,

amusing and light-hearted descarado
way.

42nd Scanty /ˈskæntɪ/ Barely sufficient or not Insuficiente,

sufficient. escaso

43th Scold /skəʊld/ To find fault with or rebuke Reñir,

(a person) harshly. regañar

44th Sense /sens/ Intelligence, discernment, Sentido

capacity for making sound común
judgments.

45th Sensibility /ˌsensɪˈbɪlɪtɪ/ Capacity for refined Sensibilidad

emotional response to
feelings and experiences,
involving delicate sensitivity
to moral and aesthetic issues.

46th (to be) Smitten /ˈsmɪtn/ Deeply affected by love. Estar

locamente
enamorado

47th Strive /straɪv/ To make a great effort. Esforzarse,

procurar

48th Suffice / səˈfaɪs/ To be enough or satisfactory Ser

for a purpose. suficiente,
bastar

49th Vexed /vekst/ Annoyed and puzzled. Irritado,

afligido
50th Zealously /ˈzeləslɪ/ Showing or having Con
enthusiasm. entusiasmo
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Reference section

Reference section

Bibliography:

 AUSTEN, J. 2004. “Sense and Sensibility. Oxford world’s classics.” Oxford:

University of Oxford. 1-35, 301-308.

 Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. 2007.

 Collins Universal Spanish-English / English-Spanish Dictionary. HarperCollins

Publishers. 2009.

Online resources:

 Austen, J. 2008. Sense and Sensibility. Project Gutenberg.

http://www.gutenberg.org/

 Lavell, A. Vocabulario Controlado sobre Desastres (VCD).

http://vcd.crid.or.cr/vcd/index.php/

 http://www.answers.com

 http://en.wiktionary.org

 http://www.collinslanguage.com/

 http://www.nytimes.com

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk

 http://edition.cnn.com

 http://www.sciencedaily.com

 http://www.bbc.learningenglish.com

 http://www.listen-to-english.com/

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