RUMOUR

A rumour is a widespread report that is unproved in fact. It often serves to provoke, or to increase, antisocial collective behaviour. Rumour must be distinguished from lack of communication, for the rapid spread of rumour may very well be due to effective communication. The term rumour refers not to a method of its communication, but to its content. Under crowd onditions, it becomes difficult to check the source and accuracy of the information one receives, and thus to evaluate it, and so rumours are acted on as if they were true information. Rumour often arises because of a lack of information. People want to know what is happening, and so the rumour fills that need. Rumour may also be created as a rationalisation of or justification for emotional excesses and collective behaviour.

ESCAPE OF A KILLER VIRUS

ESCAPE OF A KILLER VIRUS

Two years ago, on a remote island off the coast of South Australia, government scientists began testing a form of biological warfare. Under supposedly tight quarantine restrictions, researchers on Wardang Island introduced the calicivirus into animal test groups. Death from this particular infectious agent is swift. As the blood of the victims begins to clot, restricting the brain's oxygen supply, they become lethargic; within 30 hours they are dead from acute respiratory and heart failure.

No one paid much attention to these pestilent experiments until this year, when they suddenly got out of hand. By October researchers realized that the virus had escaped from the test sites and spread throughout the 30-sq-km island. As scientists tried in vain to contain the outbreak, their worst fears were soon realized: casualties began to appear on the mainland. But even as the death count surged into the millions and the disease reached as far as the Flinders Ranges 800 km away, Australians didn't panic. In fact, many cheered, since the victims of the plague were old enemies, the country's vexatious rabbits.

For most Australians, the benign image of the rabbit conveyed by Peter Rabbit simply doesn't apply. Ever since a landowner imported and released 12 wild rabbits in 1859, they have multiplied into a ravenous horde that nibbles away at the nation's crops and agricultural profits. Planning for systematic extermination programs began in the 1940's, when an estimated 1 billion rabbits were devouring produce, causing land erosion and destroying native habitats. Government scientists introduced myxomatosis, an anti-rabbit virus from Brazil, in 1950.Though the campaign reduced the rabbit population to 100 million within two years, the survivors later built up immunity and restocked their numbers.

In 1984, a virus that began sweeping through China's rabbit population gave Australians new hope. Harmless to humans, rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) was introduced to Europe in the '80s, probably via smuggled rabbit products, and has helped bring rabbit populations down to tolerable levels. Impressed by the well-documented results, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation imported a batch of the virus from the Czech Republic in 1991. After three years of safety tests, they set up the experimental station on Wardang Island for field trials.

Tests convinced the CSIRO that the virus posed no threat to other Australian animal species or to humans, so plans had been made to release RCD at seven sites on the mainland in February 1998, following further research and a period of public debate.

Then came the outbreak. So far an estimated 5 million rabbits have died, and the epidemic continues to move north and east. Few people would miss the $500 million in damage the rabbits cause each year, but in the aftermath of the Ebola scare in Africa, the ease with which the calicivirus eluded its human handlers has raised some troubling issues. Embarrassed CSIRO scientists believe the disease was spread by bush flies that came into contact with the infected rabbits and were then blown onto the mainland by freak winds. The government has imported 100,000 doses of Cylap vaccine to save pet and laboratory rabbits, and the CSIRO is trying to persuade the public that no damage to the environment or human health will result from the virus' premature release.

 Environmentalists have also voiced concern that a sudden disappearance of rabbits could have unfortunate effects on the wildlife food chain. One possibility is that foxes and feral cats, which depend on rabbits for food, could instead turn to small native fauna, some of which are endangered species.

For the moment at least, fanners are overjoyed about the killer virus. "This is the most exciting development for the Australian environment in years," says David Lord, a fourth-generation farmer, whose 66,000-hectare spread near Broken IIill has some 750,000 unwelcome guests.

ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture, the method of treating diseases by using needles, is

based on the Chinese model of health and disease. In this model, there

are three main systems in the body. The first two of these are the

circulatory and nervous systems as in the western view but,

additionally, there is a sort of energy movement.

 The Chinese believe that all forms of life are controlled by two

basic movements of energy. One is outward moving and the other is

inward moving. When an outward movement reaches its limit, it

changes direction and starts to move inwards. Similarly, when an

inward movement reaches its limit, ü changes direction and starts to

 move outwards. The operation is like a pump, and this constant

pumping movement may be seen in almost every form of life - the

human heart, for example.

Understanding this idea of energy movement is important when

looking at the theory behind Chinese Acupuncture. In this theory.

 there is a life force which consists of inward and outward moving

energy in each person. Inward moving energy tends to increase

activity and the other produces calm. The health of the body depends

on the balance between the two. If this balance is disturbed, diseases

occur.

 The Chinese also discovered that this movement takes place around

the body along 26 channels called meridians. Each one of these is

connected to a different part of the body and has a different function.

Diseases also occur when a meridian is blocked. To help unblock

energy channels, doctors place needles in different parts of the body,

 but to cure the disease the needles have to be placed in the right place

and have the right depth.

The earliest acupuncture needles were made of stone. These would

have been used when the first books were written about acupuncture

4,500 years ago. The Chinese later used needles made of bone and

 then of different metals such as iron and silver. Today, they are made

of steel.

The Chinese first believed that the needle itself cured the disease.

However, this was before it was discovered that there are certain

points along the meridians which are connected to various parts of the

 body, such as the stomach and the heart.

There are over 800 different needle points in the body. The doctor

examines the patient and decides which part of his or her body are

over-active or under-active; in other words, the doctor finds out where

there is too much or too little energy. When the acupuncture points

 have been found, needles are placed in the skin at various depths.

They are then left there for different periods of time, which might be

as short as a few seconds.

A major recent development has been the use of acupuncture in

medical operations. In such cases, it is used instead of anaesthetics, in

 order to take away the pain felt by the patient. In China today, this use

of acupuncture is extremely common in both major and minor

operations, even operations on the heart.

In the East there are nearly three million doctors who regularly use

acupuncture. It is taught in several Russian universities. And even in

 Europe and America there are thousands of doctors who have now

learnt how to use acupuncture. The West, however, uses only one part

of the technique intensively; that is, the use of needles to relieve pain

during operations.

A. What do the following refer to?

1. 'these' (line 3):

2. 'other' (line 6):

3. 'if (line 9):

4. 'this theory' (line 14):

5. 'the other' (line 17):

6. 'these' (line 21):

7. These' (line 27):

8. 'there' (line 41):

9. 'which' (line 41):

10. 'such cases' (line 44):

B. Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).

1. According to the Chinese, the energy movement in the body can be

observed in the working of the human heart.

2. Knowing about the energy movement in the body is necessary to

understand how acupuncture works.

3. The life force in the theory of acupuncture refers to the balanced

movement of energy in the human body.

4. The outward moving energy in the human body makes a person very

active.

5. Energy channels in the body are called meridians when they are blocked.

HIGH-RISE

HIGH-RISE
In October 1981, newspapers in the USA and the UK reported
plans for a 169-storey building in Chicago. If this is built, it will be
almost twice as tall as the 384-metre Empire State Building in New
York.
Since the early days of civilised man, buildings have been getting
higher all the time. Today, all large cities have tall buildings, either for
use as offices or as flats. These are called high-rise buildings. The
tallest of a]i in fact, are not used for offices or for living, but are
special structures for radio and television. For instance,Warsaw Radio
Mast in Poland, which is 646 metres tall, is the tallest of such
structures. The world's tallest office building is the Sears Tower in
Chicago. This has 110 storeys, and reaches a height of 443 metres.
16,700 people work inside the building, and there are more than one
hundred lifts for their use.
But why do we have high buildings? Is there any real advantage?
The most common reason given is that in many cities there is a lack of
space.
The island of Manhattan, New York City, is a good example of
this. Here, office space is very expensive. There is no more land.
Buildings have to go up. The same reason is given for high office
buildings in Tokyo, London and other large cities of the world.
But what about people? Is it really necessary to build high
buildings for people to live in?
Today, there are many who believe high buildings actually damage
people's minds and feelings. These people believe high-rise buildings:
-have no advantages, except for their owners and for banks
-are not cheap to build
-do not help create open space
-destroy the landscape
-cause crime
-are not good for children
-are expensive to look after
High-rise buildings lower the quality of life. The following reports
show this. Report from England, 1967: The higher people live off the ground,
the more likely they are to suffer from mental illnesses. Women,
because they spend most time at home, suffer most.

3. The report from Denmark .
a) shows more people live in high-rise buildings in Denmark than in other
countries
b) states the disadvantages of high-rise buildings for children
c) shows how women living in high-rise buildings suffer
d) says that crime rate is higher in high-rise buildings in Denmark than in other
countries
4. Which of the following is not true?
a) The tallest buildings in the world are special structures used as offices.
b) When people live in high-rise buildings, they are cut off from real life.
c) High-rise buildings are still built although they have many disadvantages.
d) Mental illnesses increase especially among women who live in high-rise
buildings