Read the text.*
A ROAD TO... SOMEWHERE?
I Don't Think So!
The word Drug is defined as "any substance other than food that can affect the way your mind and body work." There are hundreds of different drugs, each with its particular effect on the body's nervous system. Narcotics are a series of drugs that affect the mind, causing mental changes. The United States Government will not allow any new drug to be prescribed by a doctor or sold by a pharmacist until the drug has been thoroughly tested and proven to be medically safe. These tests take as long as years before they are approved for use by the public; and even after they have been approved and sold for years, serious side effects may appear and the drug is removed and discarded for any further medical use.
Unstable drugs, referred to on the streets as Crack, PCP, Ice, LSD, Speed and many others, are made up of several chemical substances, which are made illegally in hideaways without proper equipment or skills to carefully measure exact proportions - resulting in a drug that no one knows what the after-effects will be.
FACT: Unstable drugs are responsible for killing thousands of young people experimenting with drugs each year. Those who escape death are sometimes confined to a mental institution.
A drug dealer's interest is in your money - not your health!
Always look for the signs!
Dramatic Changes in Behavior
Signs of Physical Deterioration
Identification with Drug Culture
Signs of Drugs and Paraphernalia
Dramatic Changes in School Performance
Some of Life’s Dangers
We are taught as children to avoid danger. In our world there are small creatures like snakes and spiders that if they bite or sting you, you will die. Over 30,000 people a year die from snake bite alone. Just the sight of such living things sends a message of DANGER to the observer and one stays away. There are other dangers out in the world that take more lives than the attacks totaled from those living creatures. The sad part is people who suffer from these killers place them into their own bodies. The end result is the same. So what is the difference?
Ex.1. Read the text A ROAD TO... SOMEWHERE?
Be sure that you know all the words and word combinations given below:
to define
substance
particular
nervous system
mental changes
to prescribe
thoroughly
medically safe
approved
side effect
removed and discarded
unstable drugs,
illegally
hideaway
after-effects
confined
mental institution
deterioration
paraphernalia
escape
Ex.2. Read the text A ROAD TO... SOMEWHERE?
Find English equivalents of the following Russian words and phrases:
…лекарство, медицинский препарат, наркотик
…может повлиять на физические и умственные способности
…специфический эффект
…проверка идёт несколько лет
…для дальнейшего применения в медицине
… «грязные наркотики»
…уличное название
…состоят из нескольких химических веществ
…производятся незаконно
…надлежащее оборудование
…точное количественное соотношение
…в результате получается лекарство (наркотик)
…наркоторговец
…обращайте внимание на симптомы
… атрибуты, принадлежности
…значительные изменения в отношении к учебе
Ex.3. Read the text Some of Life’s Dangers
Each word in the bold font is closest to:
to teach
a) to instruct; b) to learn; c) to tutor
to avoid
a) to encounter; b) to elude; c) to find
children
a) child; b) kids; c) pupil
world
a) universe; b) earth; c) globe
Ex. 4.
Answer the questions about the text A ROAD TO... SOMEWHERE?
1. Are the words “drug” and “medication” synonyms?
2. Different drugs have different effects on the body nervous system, don’t they?
3. How do narcotics differ from other drugs?
4. What is the policy of the United States Government on any new drug to be prescribed by a doctor?
5. What does “medically safe” mean?
6. How long does it take to approve a new drug?
7. In what case a drug can be removed and discarded for any further medical use?
8. What are unstable drugs? Why are they called “unstable”?
9. Why are they responsible for killing thousands of young people experimenting with drugs?
10. What signs are you supposed to look for if you think that someone is on drugs?
Ex. 5 Read the text A ROAD TO... SOMEWHERE? once again, or just scan it. When you are done with reading or scanning, try to finish the sentences using proper words, without looking at the text.
1. The word Drug is defined as "any ……other than food that can …….the way your mind and body work."
2. There are hundreds of different….., each with its ……effect on the body's ….. system.
3. …… are a series of drugs that affect the mind, causing ….. changes.
4. All new drugs must be ….. tested and proven to be medically …..
5. These tests take as long as years before they are …… for use by the public.
6. Sometimes even after they have been approved and sold for years, serious side ….may appear and the drug is removed and ….. for any further medical use.
7. ….. drugs are made up of several chemical substances, which are made ….. in hideaways.
8. They are made without proper ….. or skills to carefully measure exact proportions.
9. That’s why no one knows what the …. of these unstable drugs will be.
10. Unstable drugs are …… for killing thousands of young people ……. with drugs each year.
Read what different people think about alternatives.
Alternatives are different choices you have to help you stay drug free and trouble free.
* * *
Nick: I consider myself somewhat of a hobbyist, in other words, interested in a variety of hobbies - not just one. I have found by expanding my talents, it can benefit my family, friends, and in some cases, earn some extra income in the process.
Most of all, these hobbies are fun!
By getting involved in these positive alternatives, it will help you stay drug free and trouble free, and that is a life long reward.
* * *
John: I enjoy creating computer-generated graphics and I understand I have only scratched the surface of this medium. I have spent many hours relaxing in front of my 19" monitor and designing.
* * *
Jack: I LIKE TO COOK!
Yes that's right, give me a recipe, a spoon and a few goodies from the local grocery store and look out when the dinner bell rings! In class I have been exchanging recipes with some of my friends that also like to hang out in the kitchen and create masterpieces that tingle the taste buds.
* * *
Mike: A friend of mine taught me how to use a 35mm camera. One day I took a few photographs up in the mountains and as we all do gave it no more thought, until I received the film back from the lab. Most of the photos I took that day were the usual snapshots but one really turned out nice. I was so impressed with the photo I had it enlarged to a whopping 5" x 7" enlargement. I began wondering why this one photograph stood out from the rest... and that is how it all started.
* * *
Greg: Woodworking
When I was about 8 years old I watched as my Grandmother cleaned out one of those catch-all drawers that everyone has in their bedroom. She came across a small green cardboard box that contained a wooden chain about 24" long. She began telling me the story of this wooden chain's creation and creator. My Great Grandfather would sit for hours after a hard-day work and with his little pocket-knife whittle away at long pieces of wood. I sat studying this chain and all its detail while the story was told. I thought to myself; here my Great Grandfather, who has been gone for many years, has left something behind. Something that was made with his own two hands and a family keepsake. I thought it very special that as long as the chain survived, so would the memory of my Great Grandfather.
Woodworking is something I started by watching my Father work in his shop. I collected scraps of wood and with a few nails... created nothing, but it sure was fun. With a variety of small hand and power tools I was taught the basics. Once in high school I started taking wood shop classes and became proficient with the concepts and tools of woodworking. One of my first projects was a chess/checker board made out of the hardwoods maple and walnut. I have told my son of the boards creation, I think it will survive, and hopefully, so will the memory of its creator.
Share your own thoughts on this issue with your classmates.
1. What is your hobby?
2. Tell us when and how it all started.
3. Does it benefit you, your friends and your family?
4. Is it fun to have a hobby?
5. What positive alternatives are your friends involved in?
6. Why do you think that alternatives or hobbies help young people to stay drug free and trouble free?
7. Which of the stories given above you like most and why?
Thank you for sharing your stories and thought with us!
*Тексты взяты из американской программы DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) и переработаны Людмилой Бали.
