United nations peacekeeping operations

1.

In this exercise we’ll concentrate on the words and word combinations to be sure you know what they mean.

	peacekeeping	active maintenance of a truce between nations or communities, especially by an international military force
	deployment	of troops, resources, or equipment is the organization and positioning of them so that they are ready for quick action
	personnel	people employed in an organization or engaged in an organized undertaking such as military service
	truce	an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time
	ceasefire	an arrangement in which countries or groups of people that are fighting each other agree to stop fighting
	buffer zone	an area created to separate opposing forces or groups which belongs to neither of them
	refugee	a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster
	supervise	observe and direct the execution of (a task, project, or activity)
	observer	a person who watches or notices something
	separation	the action or state of moving or being moved apart
	disarm	take a weapon or weapons away from (a person, force, or country)
	demobilize	take (troops) out of active service, typically at the end of a war

2.

Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.

UN PEACEKEEPING: THE FIRST STEPS

Traditionally, UN peacekeeping meant the deployment of military personnel. The blue berets were normally deployed in international conflicts after a truce was signed.

From 1948 to 1989 there were two main types of UN mission:

1. Observer misions with unarmed military observers. For example, the military observers deployed in 1988 to monitor the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq.

2. Peacekeeping forces deployed in an area of separation or buffer zone. For example, the UN soldiers deployed in 1974 after Israeli and Syrian forces stopped fighting.

 

PEACEKEEPING TODAY

In the 1990s this idea of UN peacekeeping changed. Today’s peacekeepers often deploy to stop civil wars and missions are more complex and have more objectives. For example, UN troops disarm and demobilize soldiers, help refugees return to their homes and clear mines.

In today’s peacekeeping missions there are many more civilian peacekeepers, including police officers, engineers, medical personnel and drivers. These civilians build roads, schools and hospitals, and they supervise elections. An example of this kind of mission was the UN mission to Cambodia 1992-1993.

 

3.s	Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

 

1. Does the country participate in UN peacekeeping missions?

2. What are / were the names of these missions?

3. Do you know anyone who has any experience of UN peacekeeping missions?

 

4.	Match the words with the definitions.

 

area of separation	to disarm
ceasefire	refugee
to demobilize	truce

 

1. A permanent agreement to stop fighting. ______

2. Sides in a conflict don’t deploy soldiers here. ______

3. This person leaves his home because of war. ______

4. When a soldier becomes a civilian. ______

5. A temporary agreement to stop fighting. ______

6. When you take away someone’s weapons. ______

 

5.	Read the text again and complete the chart.

 

		traditional peacekeeping	peacekeeping today
when	after a truce is signed
	before a truce is signed
who	mostly military
	military and civilian
where	international conflicts
	civil wars
what	deploy in a buffer zone
	help refugees go home
	clear mines
	supervise elections
	monitor ceasefire agreements

 

6.	Work in pairs. What do peacekeepers need to know about a mission area before they deploy? Think about these things…

 

the country’s laws	the religion
the country’s history	the terrain
the people	the language; English

 

7.	Here are some rules for peacekeepers. Put the rules in the table.

 

Drink alcohol when you are on duty.

Respect the laws and religion of the country.

Respect the environment of the country.

React emotionally.

Talk to journalists without permission.

Be punctual.

 

always	never

 

GRAMMAR: MODALS

CAN/BE ABLE TO

NOTE:

We use can to express physical and mental ability. We also use can when we express possibility or permission depending on circumstances.

 

Present	Past	Future
can I am able to He, she, it is able to We, you, they are able to	could I, he, she, it was able to We, you, they were able to	will be able to

 

E.g. We can see the lake from our bedroom window.

This helicopter can take off vertically, but it can’t fly very high.

Can you speak any foreign languages?

 

I can’tsleep.	I haven’t been able to sleep recently.
Tom can come tomorrow.	Tom might be able to come tomorrow.
Maria can speak French, Spanish and English.	Applicants for the job must be able to speak two foreign languages.

 

8.ó

®

Tell the group what you can do.

 

Ski, cook, drive a car, ride a bicycle, bake cakes, repair home appliances, sew uniform, interpret English into Ukrainian, interpret Ukrainian into English, box with somebody, make a fire, build a house, make salads, sell vegetables, grow lemons, ride a horse, skate, swim, dive, read English books, play the guitar, play football, play hockey, lift the weights, tame animals.

 

9.	Change the sentences according to the example, using can’t.

 

Example: I don’t believe that he is fifty. – He can’t be fifty.

1. I don’t believe Mr Cameron is as old as that, he looks much younger.

2. I don’t believe you will postpone this meeting.

3. I don’t believe Larry trusts David. He is so cunning.

4. I don’t believe you are cheating the test.

5. I don’t believe Greg swims so well.

6. It’s impossible that she is a ballerina.

7. I don’t believe he is a sergeant.

8. I don’t think he is good at maths.

9. I don’t believe it is a joke.

10. It is impossible she drives a car so well’

11. I don’t believe it is Nancy’s fault.

12. I don’t believe you are so lazy.

 

10.	Complete the sentences. Use could or was/were able to.

 

1. The plane was damaged but the pilot ______ land it safely.

2. Paganini ______ play the violin well at the age of three.

3. The ship was badly damaged but the captain ______ bring her safely to land.

4. When a child I ______ play the piano rather well.

5. The firemen ______ rescue all the people and the fire was put out.

6. Granny ______ speak five foreign languages when she was young.

7. Max was the brightest student and he ______ easily win the grant.

8. In my childhood I ______ dive in deep places.

9. Mr Foster ______ climb the hill and was saved by the rescue party.

10. We ______ cover another twenty miles and felt rather tired.

11. My mother ______ sew all her clothes when she was young.

12. After Jimmy had learned all new words he ______ read the text easily.

13. The sky was clear and we ______ see the stars in the sky.

14. It was difficult to find her but I _____ do it.

15. Finding himself in a strange place Robert ______ to find the road himself.

16. She knew spanish perfectly and ______ read the books without a dictionary.

17. When Frank was a little boy he ______ understand maths.

18. After Randolf had learned all the rules he ______ write a dictation without any mistakes.

19. I ______ skate and ski twenty years ago.

20. There were no broccoli at our greengrocer’s but I ______ find it in the next one.

 

11.	Complete the sentences. Use can/can’t (cannot).

 

1. Fighters ______ attack enemy aircraft in the air but they ______ fly long distances.

2. A fighter-bomber is a fighter that ______ carry bombs and rockets.

3. The stealth bomber ______ fly 6,000 miles and radars ______ see it.

4. The US SPRUANCE-class destroyer ______ fight submarines, ships and aircraft.

5. Transport aircraft ______ move men and equipment long distances.

 

12.	Complete the following sentences.

 

1. Our commander could …

2. The teacher can …

3. The best friend of mine was able to …

4. The sergeant can’t …

 

13.ó

®

Finish the dialogue.

 

A: Hi, David! How are things going on?

B: I’m quite well, thank you. Jim, will you be able to help me with these papers?

A: Sure, I will. I can come tomorrow in the afternoon and we will start.

B: And can you take some new discs with you?

A: …

B: …

 

14.	Choose the correct answer.

 

1. We ___ skate and ski and every winter we go to the mountains.	a. could b. can c. are able
2. ___ you give me another cup of tea, please?	a. could b. can c. will be able to
3. Hugh ___ his mind yesterday. That’s why he didn’t come.	a. was able to change b. could have changed c. could change
4. We ___ leave for Crimea without our parent’s permission.	a. weren’t able to b. couldn’t c. can’t
5. Mr Huston was so skilful that he ___ manage this deal himself.	a. can b. was able to c. could
6. What ___ to change him so much?	a. could have happened b. can happen c. could happen
7. Danny ___ really swim the best in his group.	a. was able to b. could c. can
8. At last they found a taxi and ___ get to the station.	a. could b. can c. were be able to
9. Our son ___ read 80 words a minute. He is a very smart boy.	a. could b. can c. will be able to
10. You ___ this. It’s impossible to do.	a. can’t promise b. couldn’t promise c. couldn’t have promised

 

LAUGHS PARADE

 

What’s the Score?

“How many times have I told you to fall in for these formations on time, Private Smith?”

“I don’t know, sergeant. I thought you were keeping the score.”

 

Not a Soldier

“Where is your rifle, soldier?”

“I haven’t got it.”

“Haven’t got it? What’s the good of you? What do you call a soldier without a fifle?”

“An officer.”

 

Fire at Will

At the firing range the sergeant explained to his men:”When I say ‘Fire’ I want all of you to fire at will (вести одиночный огонь без команды).” Just then a rookie (новобранец) jumped to his feet and dashed off madly.

“Who was that?”

“That was Will.”

Trench Digging

“Does the Unit Engineer know that the trench has fallen in?”

“Well, sir, we’re digging him out to tell him.”

Answers (ex. 14): 1. b; 2. a; 3. b; 4. b; 5. c; 6. a; 7. b, c; 8. c; 9. b; 10. c.

UNIT: 28

PEACEKEEPING

Lesson 2

MILITARY OBSERVER

1.

In this exercise we’ll concentrate on the words and word combinations to be sure you know what they mean.

	monitor	observe and check the progress or quality of (something) over a period of time; keep under systematic review
	patrol	keep watch over (an area) by regularly walking or travelling around it
	border	a line separating two countries, administrative divisions, or other areas
	station	put in or assign to a specified place for a particular purpose, especially a military one
	team	two or more people working together: a team of
	lieutenant colonel	a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps ranking above major and below colonel
	suspicious	having or showing a cautious distrust of someone or something
	uniform	a special set of clothes which some people, for example soldiers or the police, wear to work in
	destroy	end the existence of (something) by damaging or attacking it
	report on	tell people about it, because it is your job or duty to do so
	foot patrol	keep watch over (an area) by regularly walking
	vehicle patrol	keep watch over (an area) by regularly travelling around it
	submit	accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person
	inspection	examination
	artillery	large-calibre guns used in warfare on land

2.

Read the dialogue and translate it into Ukrainian

F: Good evening, this is First Hand and I am Frank Shewster. This evening I am joined by Major Markus Olsson. Markus is a Swedish Army officer currently serving with the United Nations Observer Mission in Cape Gold, or UNMOC. How are you, Markus?

M: I’m very well, thank you, Frank.

F: Markus, is this your first mission with the UN?

M: No, actually this is my third mision. I first served in a UN mission in the Balkans, in Kosovo in 1999. Then, I served with the UNMOC mission in the Congo in 2001.

F: And how long have you been here in Blueland?

M: I’ve been here since January – a little more than six months. And my tour of duty is twelve months.

F: What can you tell us about UNMOC?

M: Well, UNMOC was established after the ceasefire between Redland and Blueland forces. The mission of UNMOC was and still is to monitor the ceasefire and patrol the DMZ.

F: I’m sorry, what’s the DMZ?

M: DMZ stands for demilitarized zone. This is tha area along the border where both sides have agreed not to station troops. UNMOC is responsible for patrolling on both sides of the border.

F: Thank you. And how many UNMOs are there?

M: At the moment, there are 34 unarmed UN monitors, supported by UN and local civilian staff.

F: I’m sorry. You say that UNMOs are unarmed. So, you don’t have weapons?

M: That’s right.

F: And what do you do if there’s any trouble?

M: Well, in case of trouble, we can call on US troops deployed in the area. In the next village, there’s a company of South Korean special forces.

F: And, have you ever asked the UN troops for help?

M: No, we haven’t had any real problems yet. My district is pretty quiet.

F: Can you tell me about your team?

M: Sure. I’m part of three-man team. The senoir UNMO in my team is a Ukrainian

lieutenant colonel. Then there’s a French major and me.

F: And how are relations with the local population?

M: When we arrived here, the locals were a bit suspicious. Probably because we wear military uniforms. However, we’ve tried to help a little in the village in our free time and the people are now a lot more open with us. In fact, now we have really friendly relations with the villagers. I think I’ve been to eight weddings in the last six months.

F: And what have you done in the village, Markus?

M: Well, a lot of buildings were destroyed in the war and we’ve tried to improve things a little. With a lot of help from the South Korean special forces guys, we’ve rebuilt the local school and we’ve repaired the electricity lines in the village.

F: Is that part of your job?

M: Not officially.

F: Can you tell us something about your duties?

M: Sure. The role of an UNMO is to observe and report on any situation that may be of interest to the UN. In practice, that means most of our time is spent on patrol. Almost every day, we carry out foot patrols and vehicle patrols and when we get back, we have to submit patrol reports. Another important part of our job is inspections. In the ceasefire agreement, both sides agreed not to deploy artillery or tanks in an area fifty kilometres each side of the border. These are called ‘arms limitation agreements’ and we regularly carry out inspections to make sure that each side is respecting these agreements. We also mount OPs or ‘observation posts’, close to the DMZ and we investigate reports of shooting across the DMZ.

F: Sounds like you’re busy.

M: I certainly am. Yesterday I started work at six o’clock in the morning and I didn’t finish till eleven o’clock at night.

F: Well, Marcus. That’s all we’ve got time for. Thank you very much for talking with us and good luck in the next six months.

M: Thank you, Frank.

 

3.	Complete the words. Use these letters: a, e, i, o, u.

 

1. DMZ D_m_l_t_r_z_d Zone

2. MUNOC M_ss__n of United Nations _bs_rv_rs in the Congo

3. OP _bs_rv_t__n Post

4. UNMO United Nations M_l_t_ry Obs_rv_r

5. UNMOC Un_t_d N_t__ns of Mission of Obs_rv_rs in Cape Gold

 

4.s	Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

 

1. Who is Major Marcus Olsson?

2. Where has Marcus served with the UN?

3. How long has Marcus been in Cape Gold?

4. Who can the UNMOs ask for help in case of trouble?

5. How many observers are in Marcus’s team?

6. Has the attitude of the local population changed? How?

 

5.	Complete the sentences. Put the verbs in the correct tense.

 

1. Marcus _____ with the UN mission in the Congo in 2001. (serve)

2. He _____ in Cape Gold six months ago. (arrive)

3. He _____ his family since December. (not see)

4. He _____ to eight weddings since he arrived. (be)

5. Marcus is still on patrol. He _____ to the base. (not return)

 

6.ó

®

Act out the dialogue.

 

GRAMMAR: MODALS

MUST / MUSTN’T / NEEDN’T

NOTE:

ü We use must (= it is your duty to do sth, you are obliged to do sth) to express obligation.

E.g. You mustwear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle.

 

ü We use mustn’t (= it is forbidden to do sth, you are not allowed to do sth; it is against the rules or the law) to express prohibition.

E.g. You mustn’t feed the animals in the zoo.

 

ü We use needn’t (= it isn’t necessary to do sth) to express absence of necessity.

E.g. You needn’t water the plants. I’ve already watered them.

 

7.	Complete the sentences. Use must, mustn’t or needn’t.

 

1. You ______ take photos when you are in the National Museum.

2. You ______ smoke when you are at a petrol station.

3. He ______ come to the party if he doesn’t want to.

4. You ______ buy this book. I can lend you mine.

5. You ______ wear formal clothes in order to attend the reception.

6. You ______ go to the bank. I can give you some money.

7. You ______ come in tomorrow. There’s not much work to do.

8. When on a plane, you ______ turn off your mobile phone.

 

8.	Write the following sentences using must, mustn’t or needn’t, as in the example.

 

1. It’s not permitted to walk on the grass. – You mustn’t walk on the grass.

2. It is necessary for John to renew his passport.

3. It is forbidden to park your car here.

4. It isn’t necessary for you to come along if you don’t want to.

5. He’s obliged to be at work at six o’clock in the morning.

6. It is forbidden to take photos in the museum.

7. It is your duty to protect the environment.

8. You aren’t allowed to use a dictionary during the exam.

 

9.	Complete the sentences using needn’t and the following verbs.

 

ask

come

explain

leave

tell

walk

 

1. We’ve got plenty of time. We needn’t leave yet.

2. I can manage the shopping alone. You ______ with me.

3. We ______ all the way home. We can get a taxi.

4. Just help yourself if you’d like more to eat. You ______ first.

5. We can keep this a secret between ourselves. We ______ anybody else.

6. I understand the situation perfectly. You ______ further.

 

10.	Complete the sentences. Use must, mustn’t or needn’t.

 

1. We haven’t much time. We ______ hurry.

2. We’ve got plenty of time. We ______ hurry.

3. We have enough food at home, so we ______ go shopping today.

4. Gary gave me a letter to post. I ______ remember to post it.

5. Gary gave me a letter to post. I ______ forget to post it.

6. There’s plenty of time for you to make up your mind. You ______ decide now.

7. You ______ those tomatoes. They’ve already been washed.

8. This is a valuable book. You ______ look after it carefully and you ______ lose it.

9. What sort of a house do you want to buy? Something big? – But it ______ be big – that’s not important. But it ______ have a nice garden – that’s essential.

 

11.	Read the situations and make sentences with needn’t have.

 

Note: compare needn’t (do) and needn’t have (done).

Ø Everything will be OK. You needn’t worry. (it’s not necessary)

Ø Everything was OK. You needn’t have worried. (you worried, but it was not necessary)

 

1. Paul went out. He took an umbrella because he thought it was going to rain. But it didn’t rain. He needn’t have taken an umbrella.

2. Linda bought some eggs when she went shopping. When she got home, she found that she already had plenty of eggs. She ……………………………..

3. A colleague got angry with you at work. He shouted at you, which you think was unnecessary. Later you say to him: ‘You ………………………………

4. Brian had money problems, so he sold his car. A few days later he won some money in a lottery. He ……………………………………………………….

5. We took a camcorder with us on holiday, but we didn’t use it in the end. We ………………………………………………………………………………..

6. I thought I was going to miss my train, so I rushed to the station. But the train was late and in the end I had to wait twenty minutes. ……………………….

 

12.	Write two sentences for each situation. Use needn’t have in the first sentence and could have in the second. The first one is done for you.

 

1. Why did you rush? Why didn’t you take your time? You needn’t have rushed, you could have taken your time.

2. Why did you walk home? Why didn’t you take a taxi?

3. Why did you stay at a hotel? Why didn’t you stay with us?

4. Why did she phone me in the middle of the night? Why didn’t she wait until the morning?

5. Why did you leave without saying anything? Why didn’t you say goodbye?

 

13.ó

®

Describe the picture.

 

LAUGHS PARADE

 

Overseas Complaint

A soldier stationed somewhere overseas far away from his home wrote in his letter to his parents:”If I sound blue (если я хандрю), it isn’t that I got up on the wrong side of bunk (койка). It’s that I got up on the wrong side of the world.”

 

At Sick Call

Medical officer: “And what’s the matter with you, my lad?”

“Recruit: ”I find it difficult to breathe, sir.”

Medical officer: “Right! Excused breathing for seven days.”

 

Miracles of Marching Drill

A rookie (новобранец) asked his companion the meaning of the command “Halt!”

“Why,” said his friend, “When the drill sergeant yells ‘Halt!’ you just bring the foot that’s on the ground to the side of the foot that’s in the air, an’ remain motionless.”

UNIT: 28

PEACEKEEPING

Lesson 3