Organisations and Movements

Banks and Building Societies

In Britain, the central bank is the Bank of England. There is a network of branches of the retail¹ banks, with several banks represented in most towns, however small. The main banks, also known as the High Street banks, include the 'Big Four', National Westminster (Natwest), Barclays, Lloyds and the Midland, with the TSB (Trustee Savings Bank), the Royal Bank of Scotland and Abbey National (formerly a building society) also well represented. In all, there are more than 14,000 bank branches throughout Britain. About eight adults out of ten in Britain have a bank account, using it chiefly for making and receiving payments by cheque, for withdrawing² cash (now usually by automatic cash dispenser³) or for receiving salary payments. Of the main kinds of account, the current⁴ account is themost widely used, although deposit accounts, which pay interest⁵, are also available. The distinction between the two has recently been blurred⁶, however, since many banks now pay interest on current accounts as a result of competition from the building societies. The cards issued by banks are widely used. They include cashcards (for the cash dispenser), cheque cards (to guarantee cheques), credit cards (the best-known being Access and Visa), and, most recently, direct debit cards (allowing a payment to be deducted⁷ directly from a customer's account). Both credit and debit cards now operate in shops that use the EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) system. To enable customers to keep a check on their accounts, banks send them statements every month or every three months, while cash dispensers usually provide on request a printed record of the current balance of the account. The High Street banks lend money to account holders, either as an overdraft⁸ on the account or a bank loan⁹. They also provide finance for small businesses, especially for new businesses. The banks that deal with company finance on a larger scale, are called merchant banks. In general, banks are open only on weekdays from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm, although the dispensers operate for 24 hours a day. The service they offer also includes a range of specialized financial services, such as life insurance, buying and selling stocks and shares, or making foreign transactions¹⁰. Building societies arose in Britain in the 19th century as a type of savings club. Their main purpose was to lend money to members for the purpose of buying (or, originally, building) a house. Even today, one of their prime functions is to lend money for a house-buyer's mortgage¹¹. But they are now usually regarded first and foremost as savings organizations, with most societies offering different types of savings schemes, depending on the amount saved. Overall, building societies today operate increasingly like banks, and offer most (if not all) the facilities that banks do, in competition with them. About six out of ten adults have a building society account, with the three largest societies (Halifax, Nationwide Anglia and Woolwich) accounting for almost half of these, although there are over 100 societies altogether. Most towns have a selection of branches of different societies, competing with each other in terms of the interest offered to investors and charged to borrowers. Societies have an advantage over the banks in their opening hours which are usually 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, as well as Saturday mornings. The state-run National Savings Bank, which has around 20 million accounts, is also popular with savers, while the Girobank offers both banking and savings facilities. A recent development offered by both banks and building societies is the 'home banking' facility¹², whereby a customer or member can conduct financial transactions by telephone. For example, accounts can be checked and bills paid by this method. The facility is gradually being amalgamated¹³ with a similar one for 'teleshopping' in which a small computer unit is plugged into a telephone socket.

1.[rı:'teıl] a розничный 2.[wı∂'drכ:] v забирать 3.[dıs'pens¶] n автомат 4.['k۸r¶nt] a текущий 5.[peı' ıntr¶st] выплачивать проценты 6.[bl¶:] v сделать неясным 7.[dı'd۸kt] v вычитать 8.['¶uv¶dra:ft] n превышение 9.[l¶un] n заем 10.[træn'zækò¶ n] n сделка 11.['mכ:gıd_З] n заклад, ипотека 12.[f¶'sılıtı] n зд. услуга 13.[¶'mælg¶meıt] v объединять(ся)

Charities There are over 150,000 charities in Britain. They raise money¹ for many different causes, from caring for the poor and disadvantaged to funding vital medical research. Among the best known, with the highest incomes, are the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Oxfam, the Imperial Cancer² Research Fund, the Cancer Research Campaign, the Salvation³ Army, Barnardos, the Save the Children Fund, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Charities raise money in many ways. Volunteers visit homes and ask for donations⁴, or collect contributions on busy shopping streets on Saturdays. In both these cases the people who donate money are given a small paper sticker⁵ to wear. (Formerly, small paper 'flags' were pinned to clothing, so that such collection days were known as 'flag days', a term still sometimes used.) Some charities hold special national fund⁶-raising weeks for this purpose. At a local level, many kinds of events are held to raise money for national and local charities. They include coffee mornings, bring-and-buy sales, car-boot⁷ sales, fetes⁸, raffles, amateur sports contests or dramatic entertainments. Sponsored sporting events, in which people take part in an organized walk, run, swim, etc., and are 'sponsored' by people who agree to give a certain sum to a particular charity if the event is successfully completed, are increasingly popular. Charity appeals are regularly made on radio and television. One kind of fund-raising event on television is the 'telethon', in which famous people appear or perform for no fee⁹. Such programmes can bring in millions of pounds from the public, and the 27-hour Telethon held by Independent Television in 1990 to raise money for old people, children, the disabled and regional charities raised over £26 million. Many firms give to charity, with large companies like British Petroleum and Marks and Spencer donating millions of pounds annually. Some people, especially rich people who have no heirs leave large sums to charity in their wills. Many charities obtain much of their income in this way. Voluntary donations are also collected locally for 'good causes' other than registered charities. For example, a fete might be held to raise money for repairs to the roof of the parish¹⁰ church. There is an established tradition of charity work among show business and sports personalities, and celebrities often 'sponsor' a favourite charity by becoming personally involved with its work and its fund-raising. Members of the royal family are involved with many charities, usually as president. An official register of charities is kept by the Charity Commission, which is responsible for overseeing¹¹ their activities, giving them advice and preventing fraud. One of the functions of the Commission is to receive the income from land and investments held by charities and to return it to them free of income tax. This tax relief¹² helps charities considerably.	1.['reız 'm۸nı] добывать деньги 2.['kæns¶] n рaк 3.[s¶l'veıò(¶)n] n спасение 4.[d¶u'neıò(¶)n] n денежное пожертвование 5.['stık¶] n этикетка 6.[f۸nd] n деньги, денежные средства 7.[bu:t] n багажник 8.[feıt] n праздник 9.[fı:] n вознаграждение 10.['pærıò] n церковный приход 11.['¶uv¶sı:] v наблюдать 12.[rı:'lı:f] n освобождение
Emergency Services The main emergency telephone number in Britain is 999. In the USA it is 911. This calls the fire brigade, the police, the ambulance service, a coastguard rescue¹ service (for sea and cliff² rescue), or a mountain rescue party. The first three services are those most commonly used. The procedure is to dial the emergency number (the call is free), to tell the operator which service is needed, to give the number of the telephone being used to make the call, and to give the address or location where help is needed. The required service normally responds³ within minutes. The number 999 was chosen because, on the old dial phones, it was considered to be the easiest to dial in darkness or smoke. The fire service usually deals with floods and with rescue work from a height, using an extendable ladder. The latter may be for a person trapped⁴ on a roof (or threatening suicide⁵ by jumping from a high place) or even for a pet animal trapped in a tree. For emergencies involving gas, water or electricity, the usual procedure is to call the appropriate company. Gas companies usually have a special number for reporting escapes of gas. Water companies do not normally deal with emergencies inside the home, such as burst⁶ water pipes, but only with external incidents, such as a broken water main⁷ or sewage⁸ pipe. For water emergencies inside the home, the usual procedure is to call a plumber. People who are in despair⁹ and feel suicidal can call the Samaritans, a voluntary organization that offers advice and friendship in such cases and operates on a regional basis. Children who feel that they are in danger from adults can now call the organization Childline, using the single national number 0800 1111. (Calls to numbers beginning 0800 are free in Britain.) Where a specialized service is required, the call for help is often made to a branch of a national voluntary organization or charity. Their numbers are listed separately in the local telephone directory¹⁰ and include such bodies as Alcoholics Anonymous, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Rape Crisis, and Relate (the former Marriage Guidance Council). The directory also lists the telephone numbers of local police stations and hospitals. Britain's two main motoring organizations, the Automobile Association (AA), and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), operate emergency services. Both organizations have emergency telephone points along many main roads for the use of their members. There are also emergency telephones on motorways for general use by motorists who break down. The location of the nearest such telephone is indicated by an arrow on a marker post¹¹ by the side of the road. Help for a medical emergency that happens at home is usually obtained by calling one's own family doctor (or any doctor), rather than the local hospital, although the ambulance service will respond to a 999 call in serious cases. People who try to obtain non-urgent¹², medical help direct from a hospital casualty¹³ department are usually referred back to their own doctor, since it is the family doctor who arranges hospital treatment.	1.['reskju:] n спасение 2.[klıf] n отвесный склон 3.[rıs'pכnd] v реагировать 4.[træp] v ловить в ловушку 5.['sjuısaıd] n самоубийство 6.[b¶:st] рр лопнувший 7.[meın] n трубопровод 8.['sjuıd_З] n сточные воды 9.[dıs'pε¶] n отчаяние 10.[dı'rektrı] n телефонная книга 11.['p¶ust] n столб 12.['¶:d_З¶nt] a срочный 13.['kæ_Зu¶ltı] n несчастный случай

Youth Movements Youth organizations have been popular in Britain since the 19th century. The Boy Scouts movement was founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1908 and has since become a world-wide organization. Two years later, 'B-P', together with his sister Agnes, founded the Girl Guides. These were not Britain's earliest youth movements, however. The Sea Cadets and the Boys' Brigade began in the 19th century. Scouts and Guides today are still the leading youth organizations in Britain in terms of numbers: there are around 700,000 Scouts and slightly more Guides. The Scout Association has the aim of training boys to use their initiative, teaching them to use practical skills, and helping them to become useful members of society. It attaches¹ importance to moral values such as loyalty and responsibility. The Girl Guides Association has similar aims but with greater emphasis² on community service and activities such as camping, games and hiking. Many young people belong to a youth club, whose activities usually involve³ a mixture of sport and community service. Youth clubs operate under the overall guidance of the National Association of Youth Clubs, which is responsible for over 6,000 clubs in Britain with a total membership of about 700,000. Similar in style and organization are the '2,000 or so boys' clubs run by the National Association of Boys' Clubs. Young Farmers' Clubs (YFCs) are run to give young people practical experience in agriculture, home crafts and country life generally. YFCs have nearly 50,000 members. Both young people and adults belong to the popular Youth Hostels Association (YHA), which is an international organization. The Sea Cadet Corps, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps are organizations for young people who are interested in joining one of the armed forces when they are older. Some boys' public schools have a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) where pupils can progress⁴ to a specific Naval Army or Air Force section after basic military training. Two of the leading religious organizations for young people are the Boys' Brigade, founded in 1883, currently with almost 150,000 members, and the Girls' Brigade, founded in 1965, with only about 1,300 members in Britain. Both are evangelical⁵ in outlook. The Boys' Brigade stresses the importance of 'Christian manliness' while the Girls' Brigade aims to improve the quality of life through 'self-control, reverence⁶ and a sense of responsibility'. More specifically evangelistic are the Covenantors⁷, an association founded in 1906, which similarly uses the Bible as the basis of its Christian teaching to a membership of about 15,000 teenagers. The Scripture⁸ Union is a similar evangelical organization. The Outward⁹ Bound¹⁰ Trust, founded in 1946, offers young people the chance to participate in adventurous activities such as sailing, canoeing, rock climbing. Apart from youth movements such as these, there are a number of informal ways in which young people can form groups together or share an interest. These range from organizations like the many local clubs and social groups, or the national fan clubs for pop stars and pop groups, to less clearly defined groups, like skinheads, who adopt a distinctive life-style, their shaven heads and usually tattered¹¹ clothing making a recognizable 'statement of identity'. The same is true of rockers, with their love of rock music, black clothes (often leather) and motor cycles. Seasonal rallies of rockers are still held, one of the best-known being the one attended by thousands every summer on the Isle of Wight.

1.[¶'tætò] v придавать (значение) 2.['emf¶sıs] n зд. упор 3.[ın'vכlv] v включать в себя 4.[pr¶u'gres] v развиваться 5.[‚ı:væn'd_Зelık¶l] a евангелический 6.['rev¶rens] n почтительность 7.['k۸v¶n¶nt] n завет 8.['skrıptò¶] n библия 9.['autw¶d] a внешний 10.['baund] n граница 11.['tæt¶] v рвать в клочья

Voluntary Organizations There is a long tradition in Britain of doing voluntary¹ work in the community, and there are thousands of groups both formal and informal, national and local, that cater for those in need. It is estimated² that as many as one adult in three does work of this kind. Many organizations are registered charities, with fund-raising being an important part of their activity. Others are more concerned with counselling³ and giving practical help, and many of these are funded by the government or by local authorities, especially when they are working in the field of health or social services. Some voluntary organizations are specifically set up to work in conjunction with⁴ government schemes, often as a complement⁵ to the National Health Service. The work of voluntary organizations can be divided into three types. The first helps with personal and family problems, especially in areas such as marriage breakdown⁶, cruelty⁷ to children, loneliness and poverty⁸. Some of the best known organizations are Relate (formerly the Marriage Guidance⁹ Council), the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), the Child Poverty Action Group, and the Samaritans¹⁰, who help people who feel suicidal¹¹ by providing a sympathetic listener and counsellor by means of a 24-hour telephone service. The second kind of voluntary work is concerned with the sick and disabled, and there is a wide range of organizations that do this work. Three of the largest are the British Red Cross Society, the St John Ambulance¹² Brigade (who attend public events to provide first aid) and the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS). The latter provides a wide range of services, including the 'meals on wheels' service that brings a hot midday meal to people unable to leave their homes. Organizations that provide help with disabilities include¹³ the Royal National Institute for the Blind¹⁴ (RNIB), which provides a 'talking book' service of recorded readings, the Royal National Institute for the Deaf¹⁵ (RNID), MIND (the official name of the National Association for Mental Health, which works with the mentally ill). MENCAP (the Royal Society for Mentally Handicapped¹⁶ Children and Adults, which works with the mentally handicapped), the Spastics Society, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and Age Concern and Help the Aged which both work with old people. The third type of voluntary work is the community service provided by many organizations, including religious bodies such as the Salvation¹⁷ Army, the Church Army (founded as a missionary society of the Church of England), the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). All four organizations are famous for their hostels. The National Association for the Care and Resettlement¹⁸ Offenders (NACRO) helps exprisoners to settle in the community. There are 1,300 Citizens' Advice¹⁹ Bureaus in Britain, staffed mainly by volunteers. They offer advice on people's legal rights and provide information about the help that can be obtained²⁰ from voluntary bodies and the social services. There are many 'self-help' groups, often working at a local level, such as those formed by parents to run playgroups for young children, or those that provide practical help for disabled people in a particular community. Therearealso many groups that provide information and advice to sufferers²¹ with a particular illness and their families.

1.['vכl¶nt¶rı] a добровольный 2.['estımeıt] v оценивать 3.['kauns¶l] v давать совет 4.[ın k¶n'd_З۸ηkò ¶n wið] вместе 5.['kכmplım¶nt] n дополнение 6.['breıkdaun] n распад 7.['kru¶ltı] n жестокость 8.['pכv¶tı] n бедность 9.['gaıd¶ns] n руководство 10.[s¶'mærıt¶nz] n Самаритяне 11.[‚su:ı'saıdl] a зд. быть склонным к самоубийству 12.['æmbjul¶ns] n скорая помощь 13.[in'klu:d] v включать 14.['blaınd] a слепой 15.[def] a глухой 16.['hændıkæpt] a имеющий физический недостаток 17.[sæl'veıò¶n] n спасение 18.[‚rı:'setlm¶nt] n трудоустройство 19.[¶d'vaıs] n совет, консультация 20.[כb'teın] v получать 21.['s۸f¶r¶] n зд. страдающий

Protest Movements As well as the many industrial and political protests made by means of strikes and campaigns of various kinds Britain has seen a number of well-defined¹ protest movements. These have largely centred on five main causes²: for sexual equality, for racial equality, for abolition³ of nuclear weapons, for environmental protection, and for the banning⁴ of experiments on animals. Campaigners for sexual equality have mainly been women and homosexuals. Women have been fighting for equal rights with men at least since the 18th century, and in the 20th century campaigns have ranged⁵ from the suffragette movements of the early years to the 'Women's Lib' movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In Britain the 'gay rights' cause has been pursued by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, an organization founded in 1965. Supporters of the Anti-Apartheid⁶ Movement, founded in 1959, have campaigned constantly for racial equality in South Africa. A virtually⁷ continuous protest meeting was held outside South Africa House in London until Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress leader, was released⁸ from prison in 1990. The anti-nuclear protest movement has been strong since the end of the Second World War. In Britain, the movement has been led by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which in 1958, the year of its foundation, organized the first of a series of annual protest marches from London to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment⁹ at Aldermaston in Berkshire, as well as holding a number of 'Ban the Bomb' rallies in Trafalgar Square, London, and elsewhere. A continuous anti-nuclear protest was made in Britain in the 1980s by a women's 'peace camp' at Greenham Common in Berkshire, the Royal Air Force base where US cruise missiles¹⁰ were stationed. Increasing public awareness¹¹ of the need to conserve the environment has resulted in numerous protests. The leading movement in the campaign against pollution¹² of the environment is Greenpeace, founded in Canada in 1971 but now active worldwide. It strives¹³ in particular to halt¹⁴ industrial activities which threaten the environment, and has fought equally hard against the testing of nuclear weapons. In just one action of many, British members of Greenpeace climbed Nelson's Column, London, in 1988 to protest against pollution by acid¹⁵ rain. Another leading anti-pollution organization in Britain is the Friends of the Earth, also founded in 1971, which has campaigned in particular against nuclear hazards and the destruction of the countryside. Greenpeace also seeks to ban hunting of whales¹⁶ for food and oil, and to prevent the killing of young seals for their fur. In this it is joined by several other 'animal rights' movements. In Britain, there has long been a lobby¹⁷ to ban 'blood sports', that is the hunting of foxes and other wild animals, with the League Against Cruel Sports, founded in 1924, one of the most active in the field. Animal rights campaigners have set fire to stores selling furs, have illegally entered laboratories to destroy equipment used in experiments on animals, and have physically attacked researchers working with animals. In 1990 members of the Animal Liberation¹⁸ Front (ALF), one of the more militant organizations in this area, carried out car bomb attacks on veterinary surgeons. Though supported by some, their violent¹⁹ action was condemned²⁰ by certain other animal rights groups.

1.[dı'faın] v обозначать, очерчивать 2.[kכ:z] n причина 3.[‚æb¶u'lıò¶n] n отмена 4.[bæn] v запрещать 5.['reınd_З] v выстраиваться в ряд 6.[¶'pa:thaıt] n апартеид 7.['v¶:tju¶lı] adv поистине 8.[rı'lı:s] v освобождать 9.[ıs'tæblıòm¶nt] n учреждение 10.['kru:z 'mısaıl] межконтинен-тальная ракета 11.[¶'we¶nıs] n осознание 12.[p¶ 'lu:ò¶n] n загрязнение 13.['straıv] v стараться 14.[hכ:lt] v останавливать 15.['æsıd] n кислота 16.[weıl] n кит 17.['lכbı] n лобби 18.[‚lıb¶'reıò¶n] n освобождение 19.['vaı¶l¶nt] a насильственный 20.[k¶n'dem] v осуждать

⇐ Предыдущая 1 23