1 Is racism a problem in your country? What recent examples of racism have you read or heard about?
Arrest of black lecturer heightens distrust
Michael Leary had arranged to meet his the handcuffs and forced them on me.
friend at 8pm outside McDonald's in They hurt my wrist"
Brixton, South Tendon. Three police cars and a van arrived. "I was
Dressed in smart casual clothes Mr Leary, pushed into a car. I said there was no need
39, waited for about 20 minutes. He to use force and one of the officers told me
wandered down the busy street There was to "shut up'' as if I was a piece of dirt."
no sign of her, so he returned to his spot ,       „ .
outsidethefastfoodstore. f_ waf ^en touBnxt?n ,statl0"<
where he claims he was pulled along by
At 8.30pm two white men approached ^ handcuffs ^ a coW» He was told to him. Mr Leary is black. The men, plain- ^ off Ws dothes s0 ^ he could ^ clothed police officers, said they had seen sealed, him "hanging around" and were going to
take him to Brixton police station to search No drugs were found. His credit cards him for drugs. were taken to see whether they were stolen.
"I was completely shocked," recalled Mr There was no apology or explanation. Leary. "I told them I was waiting for a "I was arrested and searched because I friend, and I was a university lecturer, was a black man in Brixton. I was just They started pushing and pulling me waiting for a friend and minding my around. When I refused to take my hands own business, but I was made to feel out of my pockets, the youngest officer got like a criminal."
2 Re-tell the story by putting these sentences in the right order.
a He walked down the street to see if his friend was there.
b He returned to McDonald's.
c He waited for 20 minutes.
d He was approached by two policemen.
e Michael arrived outside McDonald's.
f He was handcuffed.
g He was searched and, finally, released.
h He was taken away in a car.
□
z
□ z
□
□
□
□
3 Which one of these headlines would be suitable for the article? Explain why the others would not be suitable.
a   Police say sorry to black lecturer
b   Lecturer accuses police off racism
c   UNIVERSITY LECTURER FOUND WITH DRUGS
lecturer university teacher casual not formal, eg.
a pullover and jeans,
not a suit and tie wandered walked slowly spot place, position plain-clothed not in uniform
(working but pretending to
be members of the public) hanging around being in a
place, but not doing
anything particular search look in pockets,
shoes etc. handcuffs metal rings
which police use when
arresting somebody minding my own business
not interfering with anybody
Look at this sentence from the article.
The men, plain-cl had seen him "hangin
4 In written English we often put extra information ("plain-clothed police officers") between commas. Can you find another example in the article?
5 When speaking, we usually make extra sentences, as in a-h below. Put two sentences together to make one, with information between commas.
Dave's a tennis player. He has two children.
Dave, a tennis player, has two children. George Bush is coming to speak at the conference next week. He's the ex-President of the USA. Ms Santoni is 23. She is a candidate in the general election. Hong Kong was once a British colony. It is now a city in China.
Talk &b°-*t it
6 The police in Britain use "identity codes" [i/c's) when they are describing people. For example
i/cl means "white", i/c2 means Mediterranean, i/c3 means black. If they say "male i/c3, mid-teens", they mean "black boy, about 15 years old". Do you think it is right to use these racial descriptions? Why/why not?
7 Some people are embarrassed to talk about race. They think it might be offensive to others. How do you feel? Should we talk about it,
or is it better to keep quiet?
8 The National Front is a racist political party in Britain. It wants to "send back" black and Asian people to "where they came from".
Do you have parties like this in your country? Why do some people support them?
9 In the USA, they have tried to increase the numbers of black people in some jobs by "positive action". If a white person and a black person have the same qualifications, the black person gets the job. Is this a good idea?
Soccer is now the most popular international sport in the world. It started in England almost 200 years ago.
Bill Gates started his career as a software writer. He is the richest man in the world. The "Af on a Lisa" ("La Gioconda") was painted by the Italian Leonardo da Vinci. It is now in the Louvre in Paris.
Youth unemployment rates
Averages for May 1995 - May 1996
(% of 16- to 24-year-olds)
35 30 25 20
Men Women
10 What does the table above tell us? What could be the reasons for the differences between the various groups?