ANGLAIS PARTIEL > The Working World - working conditions - women - Employment & unemployment - Education & Training > The Environment - Pollution - Tourism

I. The Environment A. Environment & pollution After the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the World Summit on Sustainable development (2002, Johannesburg) brought together (réunir) thousands of participants including heads of states and government, national delegates, NGO’s leaders, businesses and other groups to improve people’s lives and conserve our natural resources. - Over 6bn people inhabit the Earth, an increase of 140% over the past 50 years. By 2050, the earth’s population is projected to rise to 9bn. - One fifth of the world’s people must survive on less than one $ per day - About 1,1bn people lack access to safe drinking water. Contaminated drinking water account for (représente) 10% of all diseases in developing countries. - Infant mortality is 10 times higher in developing countries than in the industrialised world. - In 1996, 25% of the world’s 4630 mammal species ans 11% of the 9675 bird species were at significant risk of extinction. Some of the most challenges facing the world today include : * alleviating (réduire) poverty *improve the ability (competences, capacities) of all countries, particularly developing countries, to meet the challenges of globalisation *promoting (promouvoir) responsible consumption and production patterns to reduce waste and over-reliance on natural resources *ensuring that all people have access to the energy sources needed to improve their lives. Sustainable development The term “sustainable development” was popularised by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in its 1987 report entitled Our Common Future. Î The aim of the World Commission was to find practical ways of addressing (moyens d’aborder) the environmental and developmental problems of the world. More & more people become aware of environmental and developmental problems of the world even if they are not able to provide (fournir) a precise definition of “sustainable development”

Indeed, They smell the problem in the air; they taste it in their water; they see it in more congested (surpeuplé) living spaces; they read about it in the newspapers … Environmental problems Some Environmental issues are caused by natural itself * Asbestos = toxic and carcinogenic (cancérigène) substance present everywhere in our environment. Since 1997, the use of asbestos has been banned in our country. Notwithstanding (despite) this, the problem of asbestos remains unresolved. The treatment and removal of asbestos require great care and prior consideration must be given to those suffering from asbestos-related diseases and to everyone that has been exposed to it. But most of them are due to industrial activities • Acid rain : 2 common air pollutants, sulphur dioxide (dioxide de soufre ) and nitrogen oxides (oxide d’azote), are the major cause of acid rain. The main sources of these pollutants are coalfired (centrals thermique utilisant du charbon : charbon brûlé), nickel and copper smelters (foundry), and motor vehicles. • Deforestation : About 40% of existing carbon is contained in forests. But, burning trees and deforesting leads to an important carbon waste in the atmosphere, which contributes to aggravate the greenhouse effect. • Global warming is also aggravated by daily life actions like using your car which release exhaust fumes, or irresponsible behaviour such as throwing rubbish in the nature. • WATER : - Groundwater contamination : Groundwater constitutes almost 70% of the worldʹs freshwater (eau douce) supply (reserve). But groundwater contamination is another alarming problem which is notably caused by the use of chemical fertilizer. - Humans waste water, using it for unnecessary things like aquatic parks or golf courses Ö All these elements lead to ozone depletion and are harmful to fauna and flora. Indeed, industrial activities can be environmentally harmful if there is no rules and emission standards. Ö That’s why, World Summit on Sustainable development in Johannesburg (2002), brought together thousands of participants included heads of states and governments, NGO’s leaders … They wanted to find to live in balance with our world, Ö But pollution caused by Humans and industrial activities remain a problem : Humans continue destroying the planet whereas they are just another animal on this planet and like every other animal, they depend on the trees to produce oxygen and disperse carbon dioxide, they need drinking water to survive…. => Because of pollution, which destroy their natural habitat, many species are endangered I think we should develop the use of more ecological techniques like organic fuel, fuel-efficient cars, solar and wind energy… Moreover, people should pay more attention to waste recycling because garbage can be reused.

II. Working world

A. Women & work - Sex discriminations : The discrimination on grounds (raisons) of sex is an offence under the following acts : * 1970 : Equal Pay Act => Forbids having different terms for men and women in their contracts of employment. * 1975 : Sex discrimination act => Prohibits discrimination when offering a contract of employment. Even if progress have been made as regards ( male-female ) parity, there is still a gap between male and female pay, for the same work. But it is not the only discrimination suffered by women. Indeed, employers often have prejudices on the quality of the work provided by women : It is a well-known fact that * Women are physically and psychologically less strong than men * Many women give up their career to devote herself (se consacrer à) to bringing up their children. * Moreover employers hesitate to entrust them with positions of responsibility. * They think that women will be less efficient than men because, if they become pregnant, they will take maternity leave during their motherhood, so they will be absent. It is an additional cost for the firm : it has to hire a substitute. It is true that women can be less efficient when they are pregnant, but pregnancy and marital status could not be a reason for dismissal or other discriminations. It is an infringement (atteinte) of women’s rights. Additionally, measures exist to help them to continue working after a childbirth: * Childcare facilities like crèches * The possibility to employ a nanny * Maternity allowances and child benefits Thus the European Community attempted to reduce these differences and to put men and women on an equal footing : First of all with the Treaty of Rome in 1957, in which equality is a fundamental principle. Furthermore, laws have been created to defend women’s rights in their professional and family life. But things are rarely so simple: Even if an employer can’t make a woman redundant because of her pregnancy, he can wait several months and use the slightest excuse to do it. That’s why some employers attempts to make them resign (démissionner) by moral or even sexual harassment Mots de liaison : • Sans tenir compte de : regardless of • Par suite de : As a result of • Quand même : All the same • D’ailleurs : besides • Notwithstanding : malgré • Cependant : However • D’où : Hence • En d’autre termes : In other words • Ou plutôt : or rather

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De ce fait : thereby Par conséquent : therefore

Mots utiles : • l’émergence : emergence • a means of : un moyen de • ce qui a amené le __ à : causing the ____ to • des dizaines de : dozens of , about ten … • des centaines de : hundreds of • des milliers de : thousands of • des milliards de : millions of • mettre qqch en évidence : to hightlight • caractère (de qqch) => ex : à caractère commercial : of a commercial nature • compter parmi : to be counted among • susciter (débat): to trigger , to spark off • mettre en application : to implement • mettre en place : to put sthg in place / to establish sthg / to set up • faire passer (l’idée …) : to get accoss